REVIEW – MEDICOM LUPIN THE THIRD KUBRICKS (SERIES ONE AND TWO)

Posted by Mighty Mike on April 13, 2020
Posted in: Collectible. Tagged: , , .

The Castle Of Cagliostro is a Japanese Anime action/comedy released in 1979 and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It follows master thief Lupin The Third as he and associates Jigen and Goemon attempt to find the source of counterfeit bills, but in doing so ends up rescuing the princess held by Count Cagliostro and uncovering the hidden treasure that the Count is after.  

Name: Lupin the third – Castle of Cagliostro (series 1 and series 2)
Line: Kubrick
Manufacturer: Medicom
Released: 2003
Price: Then: recommended retail price 504 YEN .  Now:  varies depending on figure
Scale: 3.5 Inches in height
Accessories: Various (depending on figure)

Medicom make a lot of different products, one such product they are known quite well for are Kubricks. For me the Kubrick figure is a type of toy/collectible I would only ever associate with Japan, even although it shares similarities with Lego, the design is still what I would call ‘very Japanese’ so much so that if I were to put together a short list of toys that instantly make you think of Japan Kubrick would be one of them.

Their simplicity is one aspect that really appeals to me, how a character is broken down to about as basic as it can be, but still is a great representation of the character, is definitely part of the Kubrick charm in my opinion.

Back in late 2002 and early 2003 Medicom released two series of Kubricks based upon the classic anime film, Lupin The Third: The Castle Of Cagliostro. listed below is a breakdown of each series and the ratio of figures per batch of 24, these were blind boxed so you never knew what figure you were going to get, on top of that Medicom loves to throw in chase figures which are really rare and can be quite hard to come by.

Series 1 consists of the following figures:

Lupin The Third (5:24)

Daisuke Jigen (4:24)

Goemon Ishikawa (4:24)

Fujiko Mine (in disguise) (2:24)

Lady Clarisse (in wedding dress) (4:24)

Gustav (1:24)

Kage (Cagliostro assassin) (4:24)

Series 1 CHASE Figure: Archbishop (assortment ratio unknown)

Series 2 consists of the following figures:

Count Cagliostro  (3:24)

Lady Clarisse (4:24)

Inspector Zenigata (4:24)

Police Riot Officer (6:24)

Fujiko Mine (4:24)

Lupin The Third (in wetsuit) (3:24)

Series 2 CHASE Figure: Count Cagliostro (in Cagliostro wedding ceremony attire) (assortment ratio unknown)

The Castle Of Cagliostro was one of the first Anime films I watched when I was younger, at one time, one of our local TV stations (SBS) had a weekly screening of classic anime films and along with Akira, Ghost in the shell etc  The Castle of Cagliostro was one of them and after first viewing I found myself wanting to watch it and others again ( so it was a short trip to the video store for me!)

Also if anyone knows the full list of anime movies SBS screened during that time, let me know as I’m curious about what the full list was!

Needless to say, these movies left a big impression on me and made me a fan of anime from there on.

Now, when it comes to these particular Kubricks, on my first trip to Japan I picked up just Lupin by himself from Liberty 7 (back before they got raided for all their Kubricks) (and from the sounds of it, I should be placing the blame well and truly on that little box, if the stories are true from their blog page)

As I obviously recognized him and was also won over by the Kubrick charm at the same time I could see he was from a set, but decided just Lupin was enough for me at the time, However each trip I would slowly pick up a new figure or two from each series, until it was starting to look pretty much complete outside of Gustav, the Archbishop and the chase figure of Count Cagliostro. (Thanks to Nakano, Osaka and other various Japanese stores selling Kubricks)

Thankfully as luck would have it I was able to snag all three from eBay from a Japanese seller who had them up for sale (series 1 in a complete set and the count by himself) after being able to do some research on the chase figures through Mandarake’s sold listings on their website (it’s almost like an archive after all!)

Seeing that there’s so few info on this set I’ve decided to review it as part of my ongoing effort to cover toys and figures that don’t get as much love as they should (pretty much my blog’s mission statement anyway!)

SCULPTING

Kubricks are made using a base body and then adding extra pieces to them to make up a character, the base body consists of smooth flat surfaces it works well as a blank canvas for the character to be created on. Each figure is a pretty great representation of each character as they appeared in the anime, each with their own specific accessories. They all look great, even if some of the extra chest pieces look a little soft and a little oversized. (Fujiko, for example)

PAINT

The paint application is the other part of the puzzle to really make Kubricks look great! Most of these figures are not too heavy with the paint applications, it’s quite minimal in all honesty. Still, it’s all very neat with little to no slop.

ARTICULATION

Kubricks will in most cases share the same amount of articulation unless hindered by an accessory (the Alien space suits for example) Kubricks have the following basic articulation: swivel head, ball-jointed shoulders, swivel hands, swivel waist and ball-jointed hips. These joints are meant to mirror human movement and they accomplish that quite well for each joint’s simplicity. You can get some decent poses if the extra parts don’t interfere too much. But, In most cases, the neutral arms down by the sides, legs straight AKA straight out of the package pose works best.

ACCESSORIES

Each Kubrick comes with appropriate accessories and Medicom really did a great job with these. As you can see in the photos each character has the appropriate gun or sword, but some of them don’t come with anything at all as that’s perfectly fine too as some of them didn’t have anything to begin with. (Lady Clarisse for example)

POTENTIAL PROBLEMS

Not too many things I can think of. Perhaps, losing the tiny accessories or even the hands as they can come out fairly easily. These are made for collectors however, so they should be well taken care of.

PRICE

Good thing most of the characters in these two series aren’t going to be very expensive if you happen to come across them. only the chase figures or ones that are short packed will have a higher asking price. So it just depends on how much of a completionist you are.

OVERALL

Kubricks in general are always going to be cool. The designs are that perfect combination of simplicity and detail and I think Medicom have pretty much covered all the characters they possibly could from the movie. I think this is easily the most complete set of Lupin merchandise you are going to come across let alone from the Castle of Cagliostro. If you are a big fan of this movie like me, the two series of Kubricks are a nice set to have. it was fun for me to track down the complete set, even if it did take a bit of time to do so, but there was a lot of toy store hunting in Japan, with eBay ultimately filling in the last few gaps. Medicom have done an excellent job as usual.

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RETRO REVIEW – KENNER CORP. HICKS

Posted by Mighty Mike on April 12, 2020
Posted in: Retro. Tagged: , , .

Kenner’s line of ‘Aliens’ Space Marine toys was fairly short-lived. After only 1 & 1/2 series of figures, the Marines were dumped in favour of Predators instead to do battle with the Aliens. What marines we did get, however, were quite cool and in most cases had action features to add more play value. Corporal Hicks, a fan favourite character that appeared in the Aliens film franchise, also received a figure in this toy line.

Name: Corporal Hicks
Line: Aliens
Manufacturer: Kenner
Released: 1992
Price: Then: $10-$16.  Now: $10 – $26 MOSC or less if loose
Scale: 4 -5 Inches in height
Accessories: Rocket Launcher, Claw, Two Alienator Missiles  

I really can’t remember why my brother and I decided to collect the Kenner Aliens toys when we were kids – being a toyline based off an MA 15+ series of movies – but they did look cool. The Alien designs were nice and there were a variety of figures.

But you can’t just have Aliens… You need Marines as well! Regardless of what collectors at the time and collectors now think of this toyline, I still like what Kenner did with about 90% of the figures they made.

Hicks was the one figure we would never see at the store, besides the Panther Alien, maybe they were short-packed? So neither I nor my brother owned him when the toyline was originally released.

It wasn’t until later in life where my brother finally picked one up. (He is the bigger fan of Corporal Hicks out of the two of us, even if I think he’s pretty cool in general, I always preferred Hudson over Hicks.)

SCULPTING

For the most part, I’d like to think Kenner did a good job of taking the source material and putting their own spin on it. Apparently, there was going to be a cartoon to tie in with the toys so that would make sense changing the characters a bit. I think Corporal Hicks looks pretty good, It’s a passing likeness and he’s not an accurate match to the Aliens movie, but ticks a lot of the boxes of what you’d expect from a Corporal Hicks figure in my opinion for the time period.

PAINT

Generally, the paint on Kenner’s products was always to a fairly high standard. The paint application on this particular Hicks is quite good, no bleed, no slop. The quality of the older toys sometimes puts a lot of newer companies to shame. Plenty of greens and blacks make up Hick’s uniform the tan looks a little out of place but the gold/silver mixture looks excellent.

ARTICULATION

Hicks has the typical amount of articulation for a toy of this time period, Swivel everything! Swivel head, swivel shoulders, swivel waist, and swivel hips. You can move his joints but you can’t really do a lot with him besides simple poses. It’s decent articulation, but nothing to write home about.

ACCESSORIES

Hicks comes with a rocket launcher, Some kind of Claw/gun arm weapon and two missiles for the rocket launcher. The firing action on the rocket launcher is quite good the claw/gun arm is a bit miss-placed it just clips on his arm and that’s it. It would have been cooler if he came with a Pulse Rifle like Vazquez did, as I think that would be a more appropriate weapon for the character.

POTENTIAL PROBLEMS

None that I can think of;  Corporal Hicks is rock solid. What would you expect from an early 1990’s toy?  Just make sure your one has a good paint job before you buy it.

PRICE

I was happy with the $10 + shipping costs; however, I wouldn’t pay too much for this figure, as he is not worth any large amount of money.

OVERALL

The Corporal Hicks figure lacks the fun action feature many of the other Aliens Space Marines have, but it’s made up for with a missile-firing rocket launcher, this doesn’t make the figure as great to play with as Ripley or Drake, for example. Hicks is still an important character in the Aliens universe and this is his first real toy/collectible figure made of him, it’s worth picking him up, if you are a Kenner completist of their Aliens line or if you like Corporal Hicks in general.

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RETRO REVIEW – TYCO DINO RIDERS ANKYLOSAURS WITH STING

Posted by Mighty Mike on April 11, 2020
Posted in: Retro. Tagged: , .

RETRO REVIEW – TYCO DINO RIDERS ANKYLOSAURS WITH STING

Dino Riders was a short lived toy line by Tyco started in the late 1980s; it also had an accompanying cartoon series and combined very detailed dinosaur models with futuristic weaponry. Each dinosaur came with its own unique armour which, depended on the size of the Dinosaur included 1-3 small humanoid figures, in scale with the dinosaur.

The Ankylosaurs’ role for its Rulon masters, was to be used as infantry support weapon with a crossbow mounted on its back which fired a ‘high explosive projectile’. Being a small toy, it didn’t have any action feature or motorised walking action. 

Name: Ankylosaurus with Sting
Line: Dino Riders
Manufacturer: Tyco
Released: 1988
Price: Then: $7.00 – $ $17.00 MIB Now: At least $20.00 Loose
Scale: 1:24
Accessories: One Rulon mini figure, one mini figure weapon set.

The Ankylosaurus was one of those toys I vividly remember receiving as a child. The closest toy store my parents would take me and my brother to was the Big W in Chullora. (which is still open today) we were bought all manner of toys from there, Lego, Transformers, Toy Biz wrestling figures and even Dino Riders.

I remember seeing the shelves stacked with the many Dino Rider toys, my brother and I came away with an Ankylosaurus each and did end up receiving a few larger ones for Christmas and Birthday gifts. That memory for whatever reason has stuck with me all these years. So, of course I plan to review most of the Dino Rider toys that were made. (Even if it takes a while to do so)
Also this Ankylosaurus is one of the many of Tyco’s Dino Rider toys that fall under the “Colours may vary” label as the prototype shown in the toy box art and catalogue is orange as opposed to the released figure which is grey.

LIST OF PARTS

Inside the box you get the following items:

One Ankylosaurus dinosaur

One Sting Rulon mini figure

One Brain box and harness

One crossbow

One mini figure weapons set

PACKAGING

The artwork on the front of the box features a very colourful battle scene portraying the Ankylosaurus engaged in battle the Dino Riders. Upon lifting the flap, you are able to view the toy inside the box as well as a number of pictures listing the highlights of the product.  A cropped section of this artwork is displayed on both sides of the box, with the back of the box showing all products from the current series engaged in battle with each other.

The excellent graphics do a great job of attracting you towards the box. (This was one thing I loved about Dino Riders when I was a child.)

SCULPTING

Tyco have done a great job with the amount of detail on not only the dinosaurs in this series but the mini figures too. There are lots and lots of great details all over the Ankylosaurus’ body, it looks great!

The Rulon mini figure looks excellent too and has the same body as the other standard Rulons; he also has the same head type as Antor. For a small scale figure, it is very detailed and has many creases in the clothing as well as smooth armour sections.

PAINT

Besides paint on the Ankylosaurus, the paint applications have been kept to a minimum. I really think Tyco tried very hard to get the best application possible on all the Dinosaur toys. The end result is wonderfully blended multi-toned grey colours for the Dinosaur. The colours work really well to contrast with the plastic grey and purple of the armour and weapons!

Sting has a little bit of paint application – mainly just for extra details on his costume or on the toys head. It’s all nice and neat. The rest of the figures parts are cast in the colour they are meant to be, which is perfectly fine as this works really well for the toy.

ARTICULATION

The Ankylosaurus has very limited articulation being his four legs with are all swivel joints, it’s not much, but this is a basic figure after all and it still helps to add plenty of play value to the toy.

Sting has the same amount of articulation that all the other Rulon figures have: swivel head, swivel arms – where the arm meets the body, swivel legs – where the legs meet the body and hinge joints at the knees.

For an older figure, this is more than enough for it to not only work well with the accessories but be put into a number of poses too.

Obviously, articulation has come a long way since then, but you still get quite a lot with Sting.

ACCESSORIES

All the Rulon toys in the first series came with the same weapons: one crossbow, one binocular, one shield, one bazooka, one electronic whip or ball and chain and one ladder. You get a good number of weapons for each Rulon and I really like the red colour it’s been cast in, it really pops!

POTENTIAL PROBLEMS

I would be careful with the brain box/harness when you are taking it off as you can potentially create plastic stress marks on parts of it due to the age of the plastic. Otherwise just avoid samples that have been yellowed.

Series 1 Mini Comic

PRICE

Depending weather, it’s MIB, MISB or loose will affect the price you pay. However, from time to time you can grab a bargain on eBay.

OVERALL

This is one of the more basic figures that Tyco released in their Dino Riders line, obviously the cheaper price point for children whose parents wouldn’t buy them the larger toys, I have fond memories of not only receiving the Ankylosaurus, but plenty of hours playing with it and the other Dino Rider toys my brother and I were lucky to get as children. It makes for a great army builder, I actually have about four of these myself and in a group, they look pretty impressive. Worth picking up if you really want to have a complete Dino Riders Collection.

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REVIEW – TAKARA TOMY MASTERPIECE SERIES LASERWAVE (SHOCKWAVE)

Posted by Mighty Mike on April 10, 2020
Posted in: Collectible. Tagged: , , , , .

Shockwave has a cold, brutal, scientific approach to war. His thought process is ruled by logic. He sees emotion as a weakness and a distraction. He also seeks to overthrow Megatron as leader of the Decepticons. He transforms into a powerful Cybertronian laser gun and can fly in either gun mode or robot mode.

Name: Laserwave (MP-29)
Line: Transformers Masterpiece
Manufacturer: TAKARA TOMY
Released: 2016
Price: 12,000 YEN
Scale: Roughly  21 cm in height
Accessories: Numerous hands and gun hand and mini Laserwave gun.

I don’t know if I’ll get to reviewing every toy and/or figure featured in my “Best of 2016” list But, I’ll try my best to get through most of them at some stage.

Shockwave/Laserwave made that list and is a pretty awesome figure, even if I don’t actually own it myself, my brother is the bigger Shockwave fan, so naturally he was the one to buy him. But, that means I still have access to the figure to do a review as it’s a pretty good addition to the Masterpiece lineup.

SCULPTING

Both robot and gun mode look great! But, out of the two modes, robot mode is easily my favorite. I really think that Takara Tomy has done an excellent job in matching the look of the character from the cartoon series and translating that into toy form.

The figure in hand looks amazing and it towers over most of the Autobots. (Even if some fans have complained about the height, the show bible height chart tends to suggest otherwise.)  There are plenty of nice little details all over the figure, If I had one complaint, it’s that the lower legs don’t stay together as well as you’d like.

PAINT

I’m pretty sure Laserwave has hardly any paint application if anyone him, I’m going to assume the feet have been painted grey and maybe the outside panels on the legs, but I think that’s about it.

Otherwise, everything has been cast in the colour it’s meant to be and that’s just the way I like it! It’s a very nice shade of purple, I wouldn’t say show or vintage toy accurate, But it suits Laserwave well enough.

ARTICULATION

With the Masterpiece Transformers figures, they really have a decent amount of articulation, but some of that articulation is to assist with the transformation. So I’m not really going to try and list every joint and joint type with these kind of toys.

With that said Laserwave is still quite fun to pose and play around with. He has standard joints like ankle pivot and knee joints, elbow joints etc. Most of these joints are ratchets so you know they aren’t going to loosen up on you over time.

ACCESSORIES

The Type of character Laserwave was in the cartoon, you knew he wasn’t getting too many accessories, also it didn’t help that his design he didn’t really need anything either. (Hand? Check. Gun hand for a weapon? Check.)  You get a few different hands/gun hand and you get a mini version of Laserwave in gun mode, which for some weird reason he used as his own handgun in the cartoon.

So to combat that Takara Tomy has included purple clear parts so that you can turn him into the vintage toy version as well! This is a nice touch and I really do like the look of that clear plastic.

His gun hand and gun barrel both light up and his backpack also turns into a stand for the gun, which I think is quite neat.

POTENTIAL PROBLEMS

I can’t see there being too many problems with Laserwave, besides some sections like the legs being a bit dodgy in terms of how well they hold together he’s still a solid release. Just make sure you put those Decepticon logos on straight!

PRICE

Amazon JP is the place to go if you want to get the best price for Laserwave, you can pick him up for about 12,000 YEN and that’s a pretty good price for what you get if you ask me.

OVERALL

Laserwave is a welcome edition to the Transformers Masterpiece Decepticon ranks. He may be lacking in accessories, but more than makes up for that in awesomeness and cartoon accuracy alone.  He is a great example of taking the original toy and updating it. If you are collecting the Masterpiece line you need to pick up this Laserwave/Shockwave figure, you won’t be disappointed that you did!

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REVIEW – MEDICOM SNOOPY AND WOODSTOCK VCD

Posted by Mighty Mike on April 8, 2020
Posted in: Collectible. Tagged: , , , , , .

Snoopy is the pet beagle of Charlie Brown in the long-running comic strip, Peanuts. Appearing in the comic strip since the 1950s, Snoopy has become one of the most iconic and recognisable characters from the series.

Name: Snoopy and Woodstock set
Line: Vinyl Collectible Dolls
Manufacturer: Medicom Toy
Released: 2011
Price: Then: 3,990 Yen, Now: roughly 9,000 Minimum.
Scale:  (Snoopy) 11.5 cm in height, (Woodstock) 4.5 cm in height.
Accessories: None

This particular figure hadn’t really been on my radar to purchase. I knew of its existence, But never went out of my way to pick it up. That all changed after watching the Peanuts movie fairly recently, seeing my wife and son both like Snoopy too, I thought why not pick up one of the best-looking collectible figures available from Medicom.

SCULPTING

It’s always going to be hard to turn a 2D drawing into a 3D figure, but I think Medicom have done a pretty good job. Snoopy and Woodstock look best from the side, front on, not so much. From the side, they definitely evoke that distinctive Peanuts look, so I guess you could say that’s their best side. Lots of very smooth surfaces and hardly any texture matching what you would assume the character would have if you turned a drawing 3D.

PAINT

Snoopy and Woodstock are both cast in the colours they are meant to be; normally, that’s my personal preference for most figures over painting them, so that is already a big plus for me. What paint there is, is kept to a minimum. It’s nice and very neatly applied, up to Medicom’s usual high standards.

ARTICULATION

Snoopy has very basic articulation; his head is a ball-joint and his arms are swivel joints. It’s not really too much, but once you play around with Snoopy a little bit, it’s nice to have the option to change up the basic pose even if it’s just a slight variation.

ACCESSORIES

I could technically count Woodstock as an accessory, seeing that Snoopy is the biggest draw of the set to me. He’s got one swivel joint where his head meets his neck. He’s sculpted just as excellently as Snoopy and it’s neat he’s included as he really rounds out the set.

POTENTIAL PROBLEMS

None that I can see, except maybe Snoopy’s white plastic; could yellow if placed in direct sunlight and his neck joint might become loose over time if regularly posed.

PRICE

I paid a fairly decent price seeing I bought mine off Ebay, pretty much the same price as he can go for on Amazon JP, which was around $90.00 AUD including shipping, from Japan. That’s not too much of a mark up when compared to some of Medicom’s other products, considering I was fairly late to the party. With this particular set, I would try and pay as close to retail price as you can.

OVERALL

If you are a fan of Peanuts or Snoopy you really need to have this figure set in your collection, it’s an excellent representation of Snoopy and Woodstock, I haven’t seen anyone else make a figure that comes close to looking as good as these two do.

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REVIEW – HOT TOYS SCARLET WITCH (CIVIL WAR) 1/6 SCALE COLLECTIBLE FIGURE

Posted by Mighty Mike on April 7, 2020
Posted in: Collectible. Tagged: , , , .

Marvel Studios Captain America: Civil War continues the story after the events of The Winter Soldier and Age Of Ultron. After a series of unintentional accidents where the Avengers actions have lead to collateral Damage, Iron Man and Captain America take different sides on deciding what direction should be taken to oversee the Avengers actions. Leading to a climatic battle between the two sides, Scarlet Witch joins the side of Steve Rogers battling against her former teammates. 

Name: Scarlet Witch (Civil War Version)
Line: Movie Masterpiece Series
Product Code: MMS370
Manufacturer: Hot Toys
Released: 2016
Price: $199 – $250 USD
Scale: 1/6
Accessories: Various hands and items as well as a display stand

I’ve already reviewed the first version of Scarlet Witch from Hot Toys here. I’ll be repeating myself a little bit as this figure has a few things in common with that release. However, it does improve on some of the lacking aspects of the previous release (quality of hair, boot articulation etc.)

This is the first Scarlet Witch figure that I bought for myself, I waited for one to come up for the right price and promptly made my purchase and soon enough she was on her way from Japan via EMS and the price wasn’t half bad either.

Even if I’m a little behind on the release schedule (Scarlet Witch was released in December 2016 after all!), the wait was worth it, now that I have her in hand.

LIST OF PARTS

Inside the box you get the following items:

One Scarlet Witch figure
Seven interchangeable hands
One necklace
Four Scarlet Witch power flame effects
One Tiny Ant-Man figure (in running pose)
One display stand

SCULPTING

This is the same head sculpt that came with the first two versions of Scarlet Witch and some collectors aren’t happy about that. It’s almost like they expect Hot Toys to make a new head sculpt with every new release. I’d rather they do what they are doing now, where they nail the head sculpt the first time and keep using it, just keep improving the paint application with each new release.

They have done a great job capturing the likeness of Elizabeth Olsen, so why ruin it by trying to improve on perfection? The body is pretty much the same too, but the hands and boots are not.

PAINT

I don’t think there’s anything new I can really say here as far as paint applications go. Hot Toys continually put out the best mass produced painted figures in the market, no one can come close to surpassing them yet, they are all still struggling to keep up and it’s not just the heads, it’s the whole package! A lot of companies don’t bother to paint things like hands or bodies properly, not Hot Toys, it’s things like this that make them the best.

The care and attention to detail is second to none. Civil War Scarlet Witch is another shining example of this. The paint application on the face is extremely realistic and brings an unparalleled level of realism to the figure and excellent job by JC Hong and his team.

The head sculpt maybe the same, but the paint apps aren’t, I feel out of the three heads released thus far, this is the best version to date, just something about it looks a little stripped back, but it somehow makes the sculpt look even better, perhaps Scarlet Witch was just hiding under too much makeup the first time around.

They’ve even fixed up the flat flesh tone issues that the first Scarlet Witch had (the hands now having gloves on them helped in this instance.) Hot Toys have brought their usual paint application A game with this figure.

ARTICULATION

Scarlet Witch uses what I guess we can call by now the standard Hot Toys female TrueType body, which appeared around the release of Jill Valentine, Baby Doll, and Resident Evil Alice figures. Which we haven’t seen a release of it by itself yet, either, but we can only hope and pray for that!

It’s a great base body and has a few different leg, arm and bust variants to make it quite versatile. This particular version has the following articulation:

Ball jointed neck, ball jointed chest, ball jointed shoulders, double jointed elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, ball jointed waist, ball jointed hips, double jointed knees and ball jointed ankles.

You can get Scarlet Witch into a good number of poses and she’s not hampered too much by her clothes, like the first figure, the only part where she struggles are her boots, this time, though, it’s not a bad thing that she has extra added articulation where the ankles are, instead of solid boots, its that said articulation makes her a bit more unsteady on her feet ( I think the shin/calf part of the boot makes the ankles become a little looser than they should be), but at least this version of Scarlet Witch can now do much deeper stances, I’d recommend using the stand for her, however. Otherwise, it’s all good, nice and tight joints, she is a pleasure to pose.

OUTFIT

Yet another category Hot Toys by default excels in.  They have mass produced 1/6 clothes down to a fine art. Now there are other companies that are catching up. (in my opinion, Blitzway are the closest) But Hot Toys still consistently nail it with each new release and keep pushing that envelope more and more.

I’m very impressed with Scarlet Witch’s outfit as a whole. The long red coat is the stand out for me, it just looks amazing, it’s incredibly detailed and it also has some wire in the ends so it can be posed flared out and even some tiny buttons to keep it pinned to her body at the waist!

I also like the look of the corset and ‘leather’ tights visually, for whatever reason, I find this outfit very appealing compared to the previous releases, even if it’s a bit more subdued than say, her Avengers outfit. So kudos the film’s costume designer and Hot Toys for replicating it in 1/6 scale.

ACCESSORIES

You aren’t getting a lot of accessories with Scarlet Witch. A few extra hands and four “power effects” it’s a little bit more I guess then the first Scarlet Witch and the extra “power effects” are great and add a little bit more variety to your display options.

I feel the choice of hands is great, there is enough variety to get a lot of cool looking poses from Scarlet Witch and I did have a lot of fun trying different combinations out and playing around trying to get the best poses out of her.

The included mini Ant-Man is a nice touch as well.

POTENTIAL PROBLEMS

There aren’t really too many things to watch out for with this figure, handle her carefully and read the instructions are two good pointers. Also, take care changing the hands out, I haven’t had a problem with the female figures wrist joints yet, unlike some of the males ones, but it never hurts to heat up the hands a little to make them a touch softer, if you want to be extra careful!

PRICE

I paid about 24,000 YEN for Scarlet Witch and I’m pretty happy with that, beats the local price here ($340 -$ 360 AUD, you are kidding me!) Obviously, shop around and try to get the best price you can, but don’t delay too long as she appears to be quite popular. (When the price is right of course!)

OVERALL

This is my favorite Scarlet Witch figure from Hot Toys to date. If you haven’t picked up a Scarlet Witch figure yet, I’d say go out of your way to get this one. Otherwise just choose the one with the costume you like the most, either way, you won’t be disappointed. I feel this version has the best paint applications on the head sculpt and best rooted hair (out of the three releases) too. She’ll look great with the rest of your Avengers figures and better still look great with Quicksilver too.

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REVIEW – HASBRO STAR WARS BLACK SERIES AT-AT DRIVER

Posted by Mighty Mike on April 6, 2020
Posted in: Collectible. Tagged: , , , .

The AT-AT Drivers are the pilots of the Imperial Forces AT-AT Walkers, first seen in The Empire Strikes Back during the battle of Hoth. Working in teams of two they control the AT-AT Walkers driving and firing controls. Their uniforms are designed to protect them in harsh frozen climates if they are forced to abandon the AT-AT Walkers during combat.

Name: AT-AT Driver/Pilot
Line: Star Wars Black Series
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Released: 2016
Price: $19.99 USD
Scale:  6 inches in height
Accessories: E-11 Blaster Pistol

This is pretty much my first and only Star Wars Black Series purchase so far, I did dip my toe in ever so slightly a few years back and picked up Greedo which I had for a little while, before selling off, but I never took him out of the box and had a good look at him properly. So when Hasbro finally announced the AT-AT Driver I was looking forward to owning the figure and promptly placed my pre-order with BBTS.

The figure was released late December last year and I had my pile-of-loot shipped in January so he didn’t make the cut in my “best of” list. This was still one of the figures I was hoping that Hasbro would include in their Black Series of 6″ toys and I’m glad to have finally got my hands on him.

SCULPTING

I’m no Star Wars expert when it comes to Imperial armour and the tiny nuances when comparing what’s on the screen to toys and figures. But to me, this looks like a pretty good effort from Hasbro and looks quite good when compared to say the 3.65 AT-At Driver with the removable helmet. (That figure’s helmet looks horrible FYI) I think the proportions look about right and there’s plenty of nice details all over the figure. Plenty of creases on the clothes and nice smooth surfaces for the armour.

The Helmet itself is definitely the standout and that life support chest piece is a close second. (Seeing these are the main components of the AT-AT Driver armour in my opinion, I’m glad they’ve nailed them.) The only thing I don’t like is where the chest armour meets the hips as it cinches in and makes the AT-AT Driver look like he’s got some voluptuous proportions and once you notice it, it can’t be unseen, that’s for sure.

PAINT

There’s not too much paint on the AT-AT Driver. It’s mainly used for little details like the life support system on the chest or on the helmet. Overall I’d say it’s generally nice and neat, however, there are some stray spots on other parts of the figure. I really think the paint does a nice job of bringing out the details on that chest piece.  I’d say the paint application is up to Hasbro’s usual standard (say when compared with the Marvel Legends I have for example.)

ARTICULATION

The AT-AT Driver has the following articulation: Ball-joint/swivel head, hinge/swivel shoulders, hinge/swivel elbows, hinge/swivel wrists, ball-joint waist, hinge/swivel hips, swivel thighs, double-jointed knees and hinge/swivel ankles which can pivot as well.

All in all, it’s a good amount of articulation and one of the highlights of the Black Series from the beginning. You can get the AT-AT Driver into plenty of poses without too much trouble, even if the hoses that are attached to the helmet and chest armour make the head a bit hard to move around too much and the strap/loop things on his legs affect the articulation there too.

I enjoyed playing with him while taking the photos this is a pretty fun figure to play with and to pose.

ACCESSORIES

The AT-AT Driver comes with the ever present E-11 Blaster Pistol that almost every Imperial trooper and pilot tends to come with. Just like the smaller 3.65 Inch figures, the blaster is a bit warped right out of the package. Besides this common issue, it looks good and fits into the AT-AT Driver gun holding hand with little-to-no difficulty and is a snug fit.

Child Birthing Hips You Say?!?!?

POTENTIAL PROBLEMS

None I can think of, besides the minor nitpicks mentioned above.

PRICE

I paid $19.99 USD for the figure from BBTS and I’m quite happy with that. I’m assuming that’s around the normal retail price and for the quality of the figure not too cheap, but not too expensive either. I don’t tend to buy many figures in person these days after all when the Internet is so convenient.

OVERALL

I’m not going to be buying every figure released in the Black Series, I’m going to be very selective with what characters I buy, so my collection at the moment is very small (just the AT-AT Driver right now). Much like my Marvel Legends purchases, it will just be my favorite characters. With that said, I’m very impressed with this figure, it’s a very strong effort from Hasbro and the price point is great too. I’m assuming you’d have to be an Imperial Forces completist to pick this guy up, but he does look quite nice next to the Snowtrooper. I’m very happy with him and if you end up buying one for yourself, I’d like to think you’d be too.

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RETRO REVIEW – KENNER SGT. DRAKE

Posted by Mighty Mike on April 5, 2020
Posted in: Retro. Tagged: , , .

Kenner’s line of ‘Aliens’ Space Marine toys was fairly short-lived. After only 1 & 1/2 series of figures, the Marines were dumped in favor of Predators instead to do battle with the Aliens. What marines we did get, however, were quite cool and in most cases had action features to add more play value. Drake, a character that appeared in the Aliens film franchise, also received a figure in this toy line.

Name: Drake
Line: Aliens
Manufacturer: Kenner
Released: 1992
Price: Then: $10-$16.  Now: $10 – $26 MOSC or less if loose
Scale: 4 -5 Inches in height
Accessories: Smart Gun, Bayonet

I really can’t remember why my brother and I decided to collect the Kenner Aliens toys when we were kids – being a toyline based off an MA 15+ series of movies – but they did look cool. The Alien designs were nice and there were a variety of figures.

But you can’t just have Aliens… You need Marines as well! Regardless of what collectors at the time and collectors now think of this toyline, I still like what Kenner did with about 90% of the figures they made.

When my brother and I first saw these figures, normally each one of us would choose which ones we liked best, my brother owned Drake so from a nostalgia point of view, I don’t really have that same connection as say Ripley or Hudson figures which I personally owned.

SCULPTING

For the most part, I’d like to think Kenner did a good job of taking the source material and putting their own spin on it. Apparently, there was going to be a cartoon to tie in with the toys so that would make sense changing the characters a bit. Drake has all the key elements: blonde hair, tank top and camo pants. All things the character had in the movie, even if it looks nothing like actor Mark Rolston. Still, overall I think it’s a great looking figure.

PAINT

The paint on most of Kenner’s toys and figures tend to be quite neat. Drake is a pretty good example of this, but there is a little slop around his hairline. Otherwise, it’s all very neat and expertly applied, as always, if you are able to get a good look at what you are buying you can pick one with a good paint job.

ARTICULATION

Drake technically has about six points of articulation, swivel head, arms, legs and waist, however besides the arms and legs the rest will all move when using Drake’s action feature, where you rotate his waist, it moves his upper torso with the head staying in place, so it looks like he’s maneuvering his Smart Gun around at different targets. (You can still move his head independently if desired.)

This is a pretty cool action feature and really captures the action from the movie quite faithfully, however, it does limit Drake as he’s essentially stuck in the one, unchanging pose.

ACCESSORIES

Drake only comes with a bayonet which can be attached  to the end of his Smart Gun, it makes sense that you would want to keep aliens as far away from your person as possible and this would help to do that, but just the Smart Gun by itself would be enough, I’d like to think. I guess it’s just thrown in there for extra play value.

POTENTIAL PROBLEMS

None that I can think of;  Drake is rock solid. What would you expect from an early 1990’s toy?  Just make sure your one has a good paint job before you buy it.

PRICE

I was happy with the $10 + shipping costs; however, I wouldn’t pay too much for this figure, as he is not worth any large amount of money.

OVERALL

Drake is a pretty solid figure, even if he is sculpted in the one pose. His action feature is fun and really adds a great amount of play value to the figure. He may not be the most important character in the Aliens franchise, but memorable nonetheless. If you are looking to complete your Kenner Aliens collection, Drake definitely needs to in there.

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REVIEW – HOT TOYS TERMINATOR ENDOSKELETON 1/4 SCALE COLLECTIBLE FIGURE

Posted by Mighty Mike on April 4, 2020
Posted in: Collectible. Tagged: , , .

In The Terminator, Arnold Schwarzenegger is an unstoppable cyborg killing machine sent back in time from the year 2029 by the artificial intelligence network, Skynet to terminate Sarah Connor, the woman who will give birth to the future’s Resistance movement leader, John Connor.
The original Terminator movie was released in 1984 and is considered one of the best sci-fi films ever made. It featured terrific action sequences, a well-written story, and incredible special effects for its time.

Name: T-800 Endoskeleton
Line: Quarter Scale Series
Product Code: QS002
Manufacturer: Hot Toys
Released: 2013
Price: Then: $399.99 USD, Now: $570 – $730 USD
Scale: 1/4
Accessories: Plasma Rifle as well as a display stand

You’d think being a Terminator fan I would have bought this figure the day it was released, well I didn’t, main reason being, where was I going to put this beast? I had seen my friend’s Enterbay Battle Damaged T2 T-800, and was obviously impressed with the sheer size and amount of detail on the figure. (Not really impressed by Enterbay’s choice of materials or their ‘hit and miss’ factory paint application.)

So at this point the thought of potentially owning the Hot Toys 1/4 scale Terminator Endoskeleton was in the back of my mind, I did come very close to picking it up the year before when I was in Japan as the price was still very good and brand new in box, I couldn’t complain. But alas, I had no space in my suitcase by this point and nowhere to put it.

However, the year after I was better prepared for such a potential purchase. Two suitcases devoted to mainly toy purchases, you can’t go wrong! ( I ended up sandwiching The Endoskeleton box with Hot Toys Godfather’s box in the one suitcase, another great deal on that one too!)

So finally I had this figure in my collection, but I still have no way to display it properly, so it just sits in its box for now. This review was the first time I was able to take the figure out and have a good and proper look at it and a good play around. Which probably worked out better that way as it makes it almost like I bought it brand new and hadn’t opened it before. Still, that sense of wonderment and excitement you get from your first couple of Hot Toys’ figures was definitely there as I removed this figure from the box, it’s easily one of Hot Toys best figures they’ve released so far!

LIST OF PARTS

Inside the box you get the following items:

One 1/4 T-800 Endoskeleton figure
One Plasma Rifle
One display stand

SCULPTING

One of the best aspects of 1/4 Scale figures is the amount of extra detail that is applied to each figure, being much larger in size you can really take in the subtle skin texture on a figure, for example. But, this review is about the Terminator Endoskeleton. The extra detail you get to appreciate here is all the tubing, pistons and other mechanical like details of the Endoskeleton design in general, and boy is it detailed!

This is easily one of the best versions of the Endoskeleton in any scale and unlike Sideshow’s statues, for example, they haven’t given it funny looking teeth.

This figure just oozes awesomeness! The only very minor nitpick is that on the neck, there’s a very obvious mold line in the middle at the front. But, besides that, the sculpting is great!

PAINT

I’m going to assume the Endoskeleton parts have all be chromed or vacuum metalized, however, this isn’t some shiny ‘fresh off the production line’ T-800, this one has been out in the battlefield for a bit and has a fair amount of wear on the surface of that chrome. The overall effect is quite nice. But, it’s that shininess that sets the figure apart from other Hot Toys releases of Endoskeletons and makes it really stand out.

ARTICULATION

I don’t know if I even want to try and work out just how much articulation this figure has! But there sure is a decent amount and a lot of it well thought out and also well hidden, that it doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb either. Being a mechanical looking skeleton, it’s quite easy to hide some joints and other joints, obviously being just part of the design.

Things like the neck and hips are restricted a bit by the pistons and hoses, but overall he’s very poseable. You can at least get him in all the Terminator type poses you would want, and without the aid of the display stand as seen in the photos, but, I wouldn’t recommend leaving him displayed without the stand, however! The last thing you want is this expensive big figure taking a tumble!

OUTFIT

Well, it’s an Endoskeleton, so there’s no outfit to speak of.

ACCESSORIES

You get one Plasma Rifle and that’s about it. If you bought the Special Edition version of this figure, then you got two Plasma Rifles, which would be pretty sweet. But, one is enough for me.

As expected, the usual focus on detail and craftsmanship is ever present here. I was impressed back in the day with the 1/6 scale version of the Plasma Rifle that came with the original 1/6 scale Endoskeleton, But the larger scale means more detail and the ability to appreciate that detail more so as the scale is increased.

I can’t fault the rifle, with the exception of perhaps the colour as movie stills and some props lead me to believe the rifle is silver and black, but I actually prefer the all black/grey/gun metal grey colour, I think it makes the rifle look that much nicer in hand.

The other accessory is the display stand, I really don’t like the look of it, I think it looks quite boring and lame actually, I would have preferred some kind of simple black cover as an option and be able to swap out between the two. But, the paint and sculpting on the base aren’t up to the high standards of the Endoskeleton itself and that’s a little disappointing.

POTENTIAL PROBLEMS

The only real problem I can think of is, that I reckon the arm and/or ankle joints might loosen up over time, especially the arm or arms holding the Plasma Rifle, even if it isn’t that heavy, those arms look like they would have trouble over time. Other than that, finding space for the damn thing!

I’m not devoting a whole shelf in my cabinet just for the terminator, but if I were to get one of those large acrylic boxes, I’d have found my solution to the problem, so alas, the Endoskeleton stays in its box for now.

PRICE

I was lucky enough to pay around $350 AUD for this guy back in 2014 thanks to the many second-hand toy stores in Tokyo. The plus side to it being second hand is you are encouraged to inspect the item before you pay, so if there are any problems, hopefully, you can spot them!

I was happy with the price and it was my big splurge on that trip as I hadn’t really bought anything notable up to that point of my holiday.

OVERALL

If you are in the market for some 1/4 scale goodness, then you can’t go by this amazing figure from Hot Toys, even though I don’t buy many 1/4 scale figures (This being my only purchase in the scale so far) I needed this guy in my collection at some point, as I am a big Terminator fan and besides 1/1 scale stuff, it doesn’t get and bigger or better then this!

If you can find one for a decent price these days, all the better as the prices only seems to go up for all 1/4 figures, be it Hot Toys or Enterbay. If you are a Terminator fan and have the space and the budget I’m sure you already have this, if you don’t I wouldn’t sit on your hands too much longer as it lives up to the hype. It may have one or two minor nitpicks, however it is still truly an extraordinary figure to have and own!

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REVIEW – HASBRO TITANS RETURN TRIGGERHAPPY

Posted by Mighty Mike on April 3, 2020
Posted in: Collectible. Tagged: , , , , , .

Triggerhappy is wild and unpredictable, apparently too busy laughing uncontrollably to look where he’s shooting and loves the sound of his guns blasting away. He transforms into a Cybertronian Starfighter and is partnered with Titan Master Blowpipe.

Name: Triggerhappy
Line: Transformers Titans Return
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Released: 2016
Price: 24.99 AUD
Scale: Roughly 14.5 cm in height
Accessories: Two Blaster Weapons, Blowpipe mini figure, Tech Spec card

I didn’t really want to get sucked into buying anything from Hasbro’s Titans Return line initially. Even after the reveal of  Skullcruncher, I thought the design looked amazing but, I didn’t want to commit if they were just going to drop the ball like Combiner Wars did.

Unfortunately for me, I came across Triggerhappy in Big W out at Rouse Hill last month and after staring at the toy in package for about 30 seconds I knew I was picking it up then and there.

Now I’ve managed to pick up some of Takara’s offerings (Skullcruncher, High Brow etc.) you can pretty much say I’m all in. If Triggerhappy didn’t do it, Trypticon, certainly would have.

SCULPTING

Hasbro have done a great job here, Triggerhappy is absolutely covered in detail! Plenty of raised sections, paneling etc to make him look quite good, in both robot and plane mode. I really like the head design too, finally, a Triggerhappy toy has a cartoon-accurate face!

PAINT

There’s not too much paint on Triggerhappy, it’s mainly just used for small details. I’m fine with that, they just help to break up the solid blocks of dark blue and grey. What paint we do have, is nice and neat overall.

ARTICULATION

Triggerhappy has a lot of ball joints, swivel joints and hinge joints, which makes him really fun to play around with. Most importantly the shoulders and hips are ball joints, this really helps you achieve some great poses. If I had one complaint, it’s that his feet don’t pivot so it makes it hard to stand him up properly, the further apart his legs get.

ACCESSORIES

Triggerhappy comes with two guns and the Titan Master mini figure, that turns into his head. The guns are pretty cool with plenty of detail, they can even be combined together to make a larger gun the mini figure can sit in.

The Titan Master mini figure is all kinds of cool! He’s got articulated head, arms, and legs, the only thing I don’t like about the Hasbro version is that Hasbro doesn’t tend to paint the faces of them, whereas Takara does!

POTENTIAL PROBLEMS

I can’t really see anything to watch out for, except you could misplace the mini figure if you aren’t careful!

PRICE

I paid about 24.99 AUD for Triggerhappy. I normally don’t purchase toys from stores locally, but I’ll make the exception if I want to try and get one with a good paint job. For the price, I’m quite happy with what you get in the blister card.

OVERALL

Triggerhappy is a great addition to the Titan Returns Toy line. He’s what you would expect when you take an older toy or character design and update it, it’s good to see this happening not only in just the masterpiece line anymore, as I really think Hasbro are doing an excellent job with Titans Return so far! It will be interesting to see if Takara plans to release their own version and how much it will differ from Hasbro’s.

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