DC COLLECTIBLES DESIGNER SERIES

A while back I reviewed the Talon figure from wave 1 of DC Collectibles’ Batman toyline based on the artwork of Greg Capullo. Just before Christmas I acquired my second figure from the line, wave 2’s Catwoman. I really liked the look of Talon but due to some articulation issues (his loose ankles mean he’s constantly falling over) he was not a contender for my “best of 2014” year-end list. Since I hadn’t picked up any of the other wave 1 figures it seemed as though the Capullo line, despite being beautifully sculpted by Jonathan Matthews (the same guy who did the amazing New Gods figures based on Jack Kirby’s artwork), was sadly going to be shut out of my list. However, Catwoman swooped in just days before the deadline and clinched the number 5 spot.

Giant Robot Comics had a “buy 2 get 1 free” sale on for Boxing Day so Doug and I popped in (along with the rest of his family) to check it out.

First off let me say that I’m used to shopping for toys alone; or perhaps with an embarrassed girlfriend in tow. I am not used to shopping for toys with Toddlers. I don’t know how Doug does it.  His youngest, Luke, is an awesome little dude but he is the epitome of the terrible twos. While Doug dealt with the tantrum I went about my business browsing the latest action figures. The pegs were freshly stocked with the latest “Capullo Batman” and “Son of Batman” figures. I went with Catwoman and Batgirl from the Capullo series and for my freebie I snagged a Zatana from DC Collectibles’ New 52 line. I was very tempted to pick up the Damian Wayne Robin figure too but if I did that then I’d have to either put one of my original picks back or pick out two more figures to take advantage of the savings. Seeing as it was the day after Christmas I couldn’t justify carting 6 new figures home so I stuck with my original three picks. As luck would have it my pal Andrew ended up getting me Damian for my birthday 2 weeks later so stay tuned for that review.

I was super stoked to get this figure. Much like the Supergirl and Robin (until a few months ago) Catwoman was an essential DC character of which I did not yet own an action figure. I don’t have a massive DC collection but it’s about 40 strong so it seems crazy that none of those characters were represented. Not only are they important characters in the DC universe but they’re also some of my favorites. There have been many versions of each of them released in the past but none of them matched my expectations.   The HUSH Catwoman released in 2004 and based on Jim Lee’s art was probably the best version of the character prior to this but even that one wasn’t quite up to snuff. The face was too cartoony or something.

This Greg Capullo inspired Catwoman finally gives us what I would consider a definitive version of the character.

The sculpt is rally impressive. The costume is relatively simple but it should be. A cat burglar shouldn’t have a whole lot of bells, whistles, and bright colors.  She’s wearing a sleek black cat suit with a zipper down the front and some buckles on her boots. The design is enhanced by a number of subtly sculpted wrinkles and folds in the material. The body is very curvy and feminine but doesn’t suffer from any outlandish proportions as is sometimes the case with female figures. Impressively she’s wearing high heeled boots yet she stands up on her own quite well. I haven’t had to pick her up from the floor once.

The head sculpt is also beautiful in its simplicity. She has a black cowl with ears, gold and silver goggles, and a neutral facial expression.  I praised the Supergirl figure for not having bright red lipstick which Catwoman does have however this is a much more seductive character so it makes sense. You can’t see her eyes through the oversized cat-eyed goggles but the gold paint glistens in such a way that from certain angles the lenses almost look translucent.  If I were to complain about one thing it would be that they painted her nostrils. It looks fine but it makes them more pronounced than they need to be.

The articulation on this figure is decent but it could be better. Her legs only go forward and back with no side-to-side movement and she has no torso articulation at all.  Personally I prefer aesthetic over functionality for most of my figures since I just display them anyway but a character like this should be a little more flexible.  Although, DC’s earlier figures were so stiff that Catwoman is plenty nimble by comparison.

For accessories she has a whip as any good cat-themed bad girl should. It’s made of soft rubber so it hangs realistically and looks good no matter how you pose it.

I highly recommend you get this figure but if by some chance you can’t track one down don’t fret. A new series of figures based on the artwork of Jae Lee (Jim’s brother) is due out later this year and the Catwoman is very similar to this one. 10 out of 10.

G.I. JOE FIGURE SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE 3.0

They’re a little behind schedule but the first FSS 3.0 shipment from the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club has finally arrived.  If you don’t know what I’m talking about here’ s a quick recap.  There exists a G.I. Joe fan club.  When you sign-up for an annual membership/subscription to the newsletter you get an exclusive G.I. Joe figure.  The Club also hosts an annual convention where they sell a box set of 15 exclusive figures.  These practices have been going on for over a decade. Three years ago the Club made even more exclusive figures available to fans by offering a figure subscription service as an add-on to the regular membership.  For a tidy fee members can opt to have 12 unique figures mailed out to them in pairs over the course of six months.  A bonus 13th figure is included in the final shipment.  I signed up the first 2 years and was quite pleased with the results.  Sure it’s expensive but Hasbro hasn’t been producing many Joe figures themselves lately so if you want new figures this is the way to go.

When the line-up for FSS 3.0 was revealed last April I was a little bit disappointed but only because 5 of the announced figures were repaints of toys we just got in the previous year’s 15 figure convention set.  The Convention set was “Night Force” themed and featured a bunch of Joes that had never been released in the modern style before.  I would’ve preferred to have gotten the Joes in their classic outfits and not their darker Night Force attire but I was just happy to finally be getting modern versions of Spearhead,  Muskrat,  Psyche Out,  and Repeater.  I suppose I should have known that the Club would eventually release them in their classic colours and had that been 100% confirmed I may have passed on the set that year.  But since I couldn’t be certain that I’d get another shot at owning those figures I shelled out the $400 for the set.

I don’t mind that the Club is releasing repaints of the Night Force Joes, in fact I’m glad they are, but I wish they had spaced them out more over the next 2 or 3 FSSs.  After dropping a few hundred on the box set it kinda hurts to drop a couple hundred more so soon afterwards on essentially the same figures.

The FSS figures ship out in an unknown order so its supposed to be a surprise when they arrive in the mail.  The surprise is always ruined in advance for me because I live in Canada so my figures show up a week or 2 after all the American members get theirs.  By the time mine show up the internet is already flooded with pics and reviews.  But here are my 2 cents anyways.  The first pair of figures was 2 of the aforementioned repaints; Psyche Out and Repeater.  Today I’ll be reviewing Repeater.

I never owned the original 1988 Repeater as a kid, my brother Doug did.  Repeater was never a character who got much time in the spotlight of either the cartoons or comics so I have very little attachment to him.  The 2013 Convention set Repeater was my first ever version of the character.  Despite my lack of nostalgic ties to him I loved the 2013 Repeater figure.  He was constructed entirely of a Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson as Roadblock body with a newly sculpted head by Boss Fight Studios.  The body was big and badass and the head was fantastic.  The face had lots of personality and the hat was well detailed.  Best of all the Leno-chin that plagued the ’88 original was gone.  The inclusion of the vest and stedi-cam machine gun, borrowed from other figures, solidified the 2013 Repeater’s status as a must-own figure.

This 2015 version is constructed of the exact same pieces so everything that was great about the Night Force version applies to this one as well.  The only difference in the actual figure is the paint job.  This one features the tan tetris-pattern camo of the 1988 figure.  The darker Night Force colours looked really good on this sculpt but this is the Repeater colour scheme I grew up with so I prefer this version by a slight margin.  I will say that I was kind of surprised they didn’t give him black hair this time around though.  It would have been more accurate to the original but the lighter brown hair looks fine.

One thing I really like about this figure is that the Club plugged up the holes on his legs.  When this body was originally used for Roadblock it had 2 massive holsters on the legs.  They were removed when it was used for the Night Force Repeater but 2 plug holes were left in their place.  This time around a small holstered pistol and a pouch were used to hide the holes and it looks really good.

The other major change is in the accessories.  Gone is the massive stedi-cam gun and bullet belt.  But in their place is a pretty cool silver and black machine gun with a removable ammo pack and bi-pod. He also has a different backpack.  The new one looks really nice but the vest obscures the hole on the figure’s back so I can’t get the pack plugged in.  That kind of sucks but it’s not a big deal.

This is an awesome figure and a great way to start off FSS 3.0 especially if you didn’t already own the Night Force version.  9 out of 10.

G.I. JOE: FIGURE SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE 3.0

In my last post I reviewed Repeater version 5; one of two figures included in the first FSS 3.0 shipment.  Today I’m gonna take a look at the other one, Psyche-Out.

The first Psyche-Out was released in 1987.  I didn’t have him but my brother Doug did.  He was kind of an odd looking figure but we didn’t mind him.  That figure was repainted and rereleased in 1988 as Night Force Psyche-Out.  Neither of us owned that figure and thats partly because we didn’t know it existed.  The Night Force figures were Toys R Us exclusives.  We didn’t have a Toys R Us handy and the figures didn’t appear on the back of the packaging as most figures did so Doug and I were completely “in the dark” when it came to Night Force.  We may have skipped them anyway even if we had known they existed because we weren’t super keen on repaints. 

A very different looking Psyche -Out came out in ’91 but Doug and I had quit collecting the year prior so it wasn’t really on my radar either.

I got back into collecting Joes in 2002 with the launch of the new-sculpt era.  That was the first time I collected Joes on my own and not in partnership with Doug.  That meant I had to buy ALL of the figures myself.  It was expensive but kind of cool because it gave me my first opportunity to own many of the characters that Doug owned when we were kids.  Unfortunately Psyche-Out was overlooked by Hasbro during that era so I never got a version of him to call my own.  When the modern era began in 2007 I had even more opportunities to own some of Doug’s characters but sadly Psyche-Out was overlooked again.

It wasn’t until the Collector’s Club took matters into their own hands and released Psyche-Out version 4 as part of their 2013  Convention Set that I finally got my very own Psyche-Out.  He was made up of Duke and Zartan parts with a new head sculpted by Boss Fight Studios.  The parts came together pretty well to recreate the basic look of the 1988 Night Force figure though there were a few tweaks such as short sleeves and knee pads.  I liked the figure and was glad to finally have the character in my collection but I was a bit disappointed that it was the Night Force version; a version I have no childhood attachment to.

However, for their third figure subscription service the Club has taken that 2013 figure and repainted it in the original 1987 Psyche-Out colours so I am disappointed no longer.

This is a pretty great figure.  Everything I liked about the version 4 sculpt remains but the flashy new paint job really makes it pop.  I love seeing his bright green shirt and red earmuffs again.  I’m also very happy to see him blonde again as that’s how I knew the character growing up.  For whatever reason the Night Force versions have darker hair.  Another change brought out by the paint job is he now has full sleeves.  He’s still clearly wearing a short-sleeve shirt but now he has a long-sleeve grey shirt with black dots on beneath it.  This Under-Armour design looks pretty cool and is accurate to the original.

Besides the paint job the other major change here is in the accessories.  This version still has a somic emitter and removable radar dishes that snap onto his arms but his gun and back pack are completely different.  I prefer this version’s gun because it’s more sci-fi looking which suits the character.  I also like that he can hold it realistically with both hands.  His back pack is a silver repaint of Zartan’s so it opens up which is neat but its not as cool as the solar-panel back pack of version 4.

One cool thing about his accessories is that the Convention Set figure came with red radar dishes (probably in error as the original ’88 Night Force figure had black ones while the ’87 green shirted figured had red ones) but this version comes with black dishes.  That means you can swap out the dishes and have two vintage accurate figures now.  This figure looks even better once you give him the red accessories.  8 out of 10.

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE CLASSICS

One of the greatest cartoons of all time was He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (MOTU). I will always prefer robot and monster characters to human characters and one of the best things about MOTU was that all the bad guys were monsters and so were half of the good guys. The spin-off show about He-Man’s sister, She-Ra, was also a good show but inferior for a few reasons. One of those reasons would be the lack of monsters and robots on the good guy side.

She-Ra’s villains, the Horde, were arguably just as cool, if not cooler, than He-Man’s villains. Mantenna and Leech were some of my favorite vintage MOTU toys even though they were technically She-Ra characters.  Hasbro chose to include the monstrous Horde figures in their 1985 MOTU assortment which was already a well-established boy’s brand by that time. They marketed She-Ra and the other members of the Great Rebellion as a separate toy line geared towards girls called Princess of Power (POP). Neither my brother Doug nor I ever owned any POP figures; but neither did my sister. She was much more into Barbie and Jem and the Holograms.  So I wonder if perhaps Mattel would have been better off just including the girl figures in the MOTU line as well.

They say that girl figures in boy’s toy lines don’t sell. That may be true in some cases but that wasn’t the case with me; some of my favorite G.I. Joe toys were girls (Zarana, Jinx, Lady Jaye, etc.). Had Hasbro opted to include the She-Ra figures as part of the MOTU line as they did with the Horde maybe I would have collected a few of them. But because they were so clearly geared towards little girls I steered clear of them. The She-Ra figures all had rooted hair and they came with combs and frilly skirts so they were as much dolls as they were action figures.

I’m glad that the POP characters were included under the umbrella of the MOTU Classics toy line which began in 2008. Especially since the members of the Great Rebellion were completely shut out of the 90s and early 2000s MOTU toy revivals.  The Classics line has given fans like myself our first opportunity in nearly 30 years to buy most of the She-Ra characters.  The Classics versions have done away with the rooted hair and frilly skirts.  The psuedo-doll features have been set aside and what we’re left with is some really nice looking action figures that blend in seamlessly with He-Man and his crew.

I was super stoked to add She-Ra to my collection in 2010 and I was also very happy to add Bow (the one male POP character) in 2011 and Glimmer (She-Ra’s best pal) in 2014. However, as the MOTU Classics line went on year after year, and after most of the cool monstrous characters had already been released, the line became a little too She-Ra-centric for my tastes. It seemed we were getting a new princess figure every other month last year. I added Castaspella the spell casting girl, Entrapa the girl with the magical hair, Mermista the mermaid, and Flutterina the butterfly girl to my collection in 2014. I was so fed up with buying girlie figures that I put my foot down and passed on a handful of them including Double Trouble the spy girl, Spinnerella the ribbon girl, and Sweet Bee the bumblebee girl.

Most of the girl toys I opted out of purchasing were nice looking figures but it’s been many years since I’ve watched the She-Ra cartoon so I don’t even remember most of them.  At nearly $50 a pop (when you factor in the shipping to Canada) they simply weren’t worth it to me. It was a rare instance where frugal Mike won out over completest toy collector Mike.

This past November Mattycollector.com had their annual Cyber Monday sale where a bunch of previously released figures are made available again at discounted prices and with free shipping.  I figured that was my chance to scoop up a few of the POP and lackluster MOTU figures that  I’d passed on over the past year or two.  I ended up getting 2 MOTU figure, Geldor and Dekker, and 2 POP figures, Octavia and Netossa.  I was pretty happy to nab them at $20 a piece instead of the usual $27 plus shipping.  However, when they finally arrived in the mail the other day, after a lengthy delay to to strikes at the ports in L.A.,  I got saddled with a $60 customs charge.  The fine people at the Canada Boarder Services Agency decided to overvalue the contents of my shipment by 400%.  So that sucked.

Overcharge aside, some of the figures ended up being better than I expected so I was pleased about that.  Netossa was not a character I was looking forward to but she ended up my favourite of the four.

Netossa is pronounced “Ne-TOSS-a” by the way, not “NET-ossa” as I had been saying.  I only realized my error when I looked up her animated appearance from the old POP cartoon on youtube.  I did that because I have zero recollection of this character and I wanted to familiarize myself a little before writing this review.  Apparently the character only appeared 4 times out of the 93 episodes so there wasn’t a whole lot to learn.  She’s an expert marksman and she’s good with a net.  Thats what I learned.

The figure itself is very nicely sculpted an painted.  I’m sure she shares a few parts with other figures but a lot of her components are brand new.  Her bodice, skirt, and headpiece are all great looking pieces.  The headpiece looks like something a Valkyrie would wear.  The coolest part of her costume is her signature net cape.  The original 1987 toy had a real cloth cape where as this one has a soft plastic cape that looks and feels like a fly swatter.  It doesn’t really work as a net that she can use to capture her enemies but it looks great as a cape.  Her face sculpt is quite beautiful and the hair is simple yet really cool.  It looks kind of like a lion’s mane.

For accessories all she came with is a shield which is kind of dumb.  I get that her “net” is her weapon but they should have given her a sword or trident or something.  Luckily I have accumulated a ton of extra MOTU accessories so I’m sure I’ll be able to find her something.

I love the combination of blues, whites, and silvers in her outfit.  It looks particularly good against her dark skin tone.  I have very few action figures of black women in my collection (Storm from X-Men and Michonne from Walking Dead are the only 2 that come to mind) so Netossa is a very welcome addition.  9 out of 10. 

G. I. JOE: RENEGADES

After posting my review of Netossa the other day I realized that it was the perfect time for me to review one of the few black female figures in my collection because February is Black History Month. That got me thinking that perhaps I should review a few more black action figures before the month is through.

At first I thought I’d review a Lando Calrissian but I just boxed up my Star Wars figures the other day.  They’d been sitting out for nearly a month since the last time I hauled them out for my Storm Trooper review.  To avoid making another big mess I decided to grab one of the black figures that was readily available in my man cave.  I had a few options but I settled on a somewhat controversial one.

Ripcord was the name of a red headed G.I. Joe paratrooper released in 1984.  It was a great figure but the character really came to life in the Marvel comics written by Larry Hama.

But after one dynamic storyline involving a murdered girlfriend and a feud with Zartan Ripcord drifted into the background and never again played a major role in the series.

Which is why I was quite surprised to learn that the writers/producers of the first live action G.I. Joe movie had chosen to include him in the 2009 film Rise of Cobra.  I was even more surprised when the actor hired to fill the role was announced: Marlon Wayans.

I couldn’t wrap my head around the decision.  I could understand if they wanted some diversity on the team and there were no black characters from the original line-up to choose from but the G.I. Joe brand has a ton of great black characters.  I could also perhaps understand the justification if Ripcord was a comedic character and Marlon best emmulated his brand of humour but historically Ripcord was not a funny character.  Or maybe if they had already locked in Marlon for some reason and it was critical to the script that his character be a paratrooper but that wasn’t the case either.  Yes, Wayans parachuted from a plane at the end of the movie but I think any Joe character would’ve been capable of a single jump.  I just didn’t get it.

Did Marlon do such a fantastic job in the role that he changed my mind?  No, but I don’t hate him in the role either.  There’s plenty to dislike about the movie, including Wayans, but all-in-all it felt like an extended episode of the cartoon.  It was fun and I enjoy it.  In the years since Rise of Cobra more and more characters I grew up with in comics and cartoons are going through changes when they appear in film and television.  In G.I. Joe both Doc and Dialtone have become women and in the Marvel movies Nick Fury and the Human Torch also went through a white-to-black change.  I’ve come to terms with these being separate interpretations of the characters.  Comic Nick Fury is comic Nick Fury and movie Nick Fury is movie Nick Fury.

However, the casting of Wayans as Ripcord has had ripple effects in other Joe media.  Rip Cord is now African American in the comics published by IDW and he was also black in the short-lived 2010 animated series “G.I. Joe  Renegades”.  This action figure, Rip Cord version 6, was packaged as if it were based on the stylized Renegades design but it doesn’t really resemble the animated Rip Cord or any other previous version of the character for that matter.

This Rip Cord is black but he’s completely bald and his outfit is a departure from anything we’ve seen before.  He’s got a bulky vest with a high collar, baggy pants, lots of pouches, and some slick yellow goggles.  I initially passed on this figure when it first came out because I was still hung up on the race change but I snagged it a short while later after taking a closer look at it and I’m glad I did.

If you can look past this being “Ripcord” its actually a wonderfully sculpted figure with a great paint job.  One area where it’s lacking is the color of the weapons.  Both his large laser rifle and his small pistol, which can be holstered on his leg, are molded in baby blue plastic.  Its an odd choice that diminishes the realism of the figure but at least they add a splash of bright color to the otherwise earthy toned figure.  The removable goggles fit on his head perfectly and the translucent plastic looks great; they’re some of the best Joe goggles I’ve ever seen.  He also came with a full paratrooper mask but that’s tucked away in my accessories bin.

I really like this figure.  I would never allow him to replace the ginger haired Ripcord on my Joe team but he makes for an excellent paratrooping protege.  8 out of 10.

MARVEL UNIVERSE

I got some great new toys in this week including my second shipment from the G.I.Joe figure subscription service but before I delve into those reviews I’m gonna keep my black history month theme going here with a review of Thunderball.

Thunderball is a Marvel comics villain who’s been around since 1974. He’s a member of the Wrecking Crew along with Bulldozer and Piledriver and led by the Wrecker. The Wrecking Crew are primarily Thor and Avengers villains but I see them more as villains of the Marvel Universe in general. They pop up everywhere. Every time there’s a gang war or a villainous gathering of any sort the Wrecking Crew are there. Often times they’re just background characters used to pad group shots on splash pages. This figure, which is part of Hasbro’s 3 ¾” Marvel Universe line, was packaged in a Secret Wars themed 2-pack along with Spider-Man. 1984’s Secret Wars was one of the first company-wide comic book crossover events which are so common nowadays. Practically all of Marvel’s heroes and villains were thrown together by a cosmic being and forced to fight on an alien Battle World. It was the perfect place for the Wrecking Crew’s special brand of panel filling.

It’s somewhat odd that Thunderball would be paired with Spidey for the 2-pack because the Wrecking Crew aren’t generally associated with the Web Head; he’s got a big enough villain roster as it is. However my first exposure to the Wrecking Crew was in “Spectacular Spider-Man” just a few after I began collecting comics. I would have been 9 years old when I picked up Spectacular issues 125 and 126 in 1987 which featured the Wrecking Crew hunting down the same computer disc as the new Spider-Woman, Julia Carpenter. The cover to issue 125 is very dynamic and is one of my all-time favorites.

My favorite member of the Crew is the Wrecker. He’s got a cool costume and he gets the most face time in comics so I feel I know him best. Thunderball was once a scientist who specialized in gamma radiation so he’s the brains of the group. The other 2 members are pretty much inter-changeable to me, just a couple of meat heads. I’m sure their individual personalities were fleshed out at some point but I didn’t read whatever book that happened in.

I like Thunderball simply because he’s a Marvel character. He’s the kind of villain who’s available to be beaten up in a few panels to add some action to the opening scenes of a comic. He’s nothing to call home about but he fills a role. Not every villain can be a Doctor Doom with plans to take over the world. You need street level guys like this for bank heists and whatnot.

I’ve never given much thought to Thunderball’s costume before but now that I’m examining it I notice that it really sucks. It’s completely generic. Full body green tights, yellow underwear over top, long gloves, buccaneer boots, and a fairly dull mask. There’s absolutely nothing interesting or defining about it. He doesn’t have a logo or even a letter on his chest. It’s weak.

Thunderball’s calling card may not be his outfit but his weapon is one to remember.  He carries a wrecking ball on a chain. Now that’s pretty badass but even that schtick isn’t wholly original. Another Marvel villain, The Absorbing Man created in the 1960s, did it first and does it better.

As far as this actual toy goes it’s not bad. It’s a good representation of the character and it’s appropriately taller than other figures like Spider-Man. The articulation is a little wonky, as is often the case with this line, so it can be difficult to get Thunderball to stand in a neutral pose that looks natural. The wrecking ball accessrory looks cool but doesn’t always stay in his hand very well so it might take a few tries to pose him swinging it over his head or anything.  The dark paint wash over the green tights shows off the sculpted muscles and keeps this figure from looking too flat.  6 out of 10.

WCW WRESTLING

Black History Month rolls on and I have another black action figure review for you.  Today I’m taking a look at Butch Reed.

Butch Reed made his debut in the WWF in 1986.  It was shortly after that when I became familiar with him.  I don’t remember his debut as I was just getting into WWF wresting around that time. He was already an established presence when I started watching.  He fought and defeated “The Birdman” Koko B. Ware at the legendary Wrestlemania III where Hulk Hogan slammed Andre the Giant.  Apparently he went on to have memorable feuds with Tito Santana and Don “The Rock” Muraco.  I remember all the fighters but the details of the match-ups are pretty blurry to me now; I would’ve been 8 or 9 when all this was going down.  The main thing I recall about “The Natural” Butch Reed is his blonde hair.  One of the reasons I don’t remember much about him may be because his stint in the WWF was quite short; he left shortly after Wrestlemania IV in 1988.  WWF was the only wrestling promotion I cared about so when he left the organization he may as well of fallen of the face of the Earth as far as I was concerned.

I was aware of the WCW and knew who the stars of that federation were, mostly by way of generic wrestling magazines, but I never watched it.  I knew that Butch signed with them after his WWF departure but I knew next to nothing about the path his career took.  It was actually pretty interesting to read his wikipedia page in preparation for this review and to learn about what came after the WWF and even more so what came before.

From ’83 to ’86 he fought in an organization called Mid-Soutch Wrestling where he fought under the name Hacksaw.  The Nickname put him at odds with Jim Duggan, the other Hacksaw.  Mr. Duggan is the only Hacksaw I was ever familiar with because he carried that nickname with him when he entered the WWF some years later whereas Butch made the change to “The Natural”.  I only ever knew Reed as a bad guy (or “heel” in wrestling jargon) so its neat to  learn that he started out as a good guy (also known as a “face”) and the tag-team partner of the Junk Yard Dog.  After Reed became a heel in Mid-South he took on a new partner, Jim Neidhart, I guy I know as “the Anvil” from WWF.   Reed later switched back to being a face and had feuds with baddies like Ted Dibiase and Kamala.

Loved these trading cards when I was a kid. Had the whole set.

After WWF he fought in WCW as part of a masked tag-team known as DOOM along with Ron Simmons. He and Simmons were eventually unmasked and ended up feuding with each other.  Thing have been relatively quiet for Reed since he left WCW in 1992.  though he’s fought for smaller regional promotions here and there.  The best thing I learned from his wiki page is that he’s still alive.  So many wrestlers from my childhood have passed away so it’s nice to check in on a guy like this who I haven’t give much thought to for the past few decades and find out he’s alive and well.

As kids I, along with my brother Doug, managed to collect nearly the complete collection of LJN’s big rubber WWF wrestling figures.  We loved those things.  Unfortunately they never made a Butch Reed.  However, I had a double of Koko B. Ware and so I painted the double’s hair blonde and used it as Reed.  I’m not sure why I had a double of the Birdman but I may have acquied it specifically to create a custom Butch Reed…I can’t recall for sure.

After LJN lost the WWF license Hasbro began putting out smaller articulated WWF figures which I didn’t like nearly as much as the big solid rubber ones.  Meanwhile, Galoob began releasing WCW figures right around the same time.  Galoob’s figures were solid unarticulated pieces much like the LJN figures but they were smaller and more-or-less to scale with Hasbro’s figures.  I wasn’t interested in the WCW characters who had never fought in the WWF, like Sting and the Steiner Brothers, but I was happy that Galoob finally provided me with a real Butch Reed figure.

Since this figure is of plain ol’ WCW Butch Reed, and not WWF’s “Natural” Butch Reed it doesn’t have the trademark blonde hair, but hair color aside this is a great figure.

The sculpts on the WCW figures were ahead of their time.  The likenesses are very good and the proportions are far superior to those found on the goofy Hasbro figures.  Butch’s hair is textured, he’s got veins sculpted into his arms, and his Nike sneakers have loads of nice details.

The key to a great unarticulated wrestling figure is the pose and Butch has a great one.  His arms are up and curved which is perfect for body slams, pile drivers, clotheslines, and a bunch of other essential moves.  I also like that he has one open hand and one closed fist as that allows for more possibilities as well.  Of the 3 WCW figures I have (I also have Lex Luger and Brian Pillman) Butch is my least favorite character but my favorite toy because of his great pose.  8 out of 10.

THE A-TEAM

Black History Month continues with another African American toy review.  Thus far we’ve taken a look at Netossa from Masters of the Universe, Rip Cord from G.I. Joe, Thunderball from the Marvel Universe, and “The Natural” Butch Reed from WCW/WWF.  Well I’ve got a great one for you today, the pop culture icon known as Mr. T.

Technically this figure is of B.A. (Bad Attitude) Baracus, a character Mr. T played on the A-Team, but the character and the man are so intertwined in my brain  that I don’t really see any distinction between the two.  Mr. T was one of my first black role models along with Lando Calrissian from Star Wars (Gordon from Sesame Street may have edged them out by a year or two).  I’m actually not sure if I was first exposed to Mr. T on the A-Team which ran from 1983 to 1987 or from his role as Clubber Lang in Rocky III which came out in 1982.  Most likely the A-Team as it was more kid-friendly but I know I saw Rocky III when I was quite young; it was the first film of the series that I saw and I’ve been a devoted fan ever since.  Mr. T was awesome in both roles.  It was cool seeing him play both a hero and a villain.  I don’t know if I’d go so far as to say it showed he had range but you don’t see many  actors playing such opposite ends of the spectrum very often.

The role of Clubber gave us the classic catchphrase “I pity the fool” and hinted at Mr. T’s unique fashion sense but it was the role of B.A. where I feel we got to know the real Mr. T.  He was still a scary dude but he was kind and funny too.    He wore his trademark gold chains (and rings and bracelets) which is something he’s done in real life since his days as a bouncer.

The same year the A-Team debuted Mr. T also starred as himself  in a Saturday morning cartoon that had him solving mysteries with a bunch of kids.  It made sense to me at the time but when I watch the Mike Tyson cartoon that’s around nowadays I realize how goofy a premise it was.  I don’t remember the cartoon very well but I do remember that I loved the Mr. T cereal that featured his animated self on the box.  It was basically Cap’n Crunch in the shape of a “T”.

To be honest I don’t remember the A-Team all that well either.  I watched it religiously back then but I was 5 or 6 years old and that was a long time ago.  I’ve never bothered to revisit the show even when it came out on DVD.   I did watch the 2010 movie but that was pretty damn weak and made me want to re-watch the old TV show even less.  I’d rather remember it as being good.  A couple of things that I do remember about B.A. from the show is that he had an intense fear of flying and that he was a skilled mechanic.

When I was a kid I owned this B.A. figure which stands about 5″ tall.  My brother Doug owned Hannibal, the leader of the group, from the same line but we never got Face or Murdock.  It always bothered me that we only had 2 of the 4.  At least Doug owned the whole team in the smaller 3 3/4″ scale.

This figure is articulated at the knees, hips, waist, shoulders and neck.  it’s a little odd that he has knee joints and not elbow joints but I think that might have been because you could buy their van and the knee joints were necessary so he could sit down.  The sculpting on this figure is really impressive.  The face looks fairly true to life, the hair is textured, the socks are ribbed, and the necklaces have lots of little details.  The paint work is also quite nice with a good mix of colors.  I especially like the metallic gold used on the jewellery.

Since B.A. was the mechanic this figure came with a tool box that contained a bunch of tools like a saw, a wrench, pliers, etc.  I think he also came with a gun but I lost mine long ago.  The latch on my tool kit is broken but I do still have the kit and tools that I owned as a kid.  However, I actually didn’t hold onto my B.A. figure.  I’m not sure what happened to him but he probably fell victim to a yard sale in the early 90s.

Fortunately, when a wave of A-Team nostalgia struck me a few years back I was able to acquire the whole gang relatively cheap on ebay.  It was a pretty nice feeling to finally assemble the whole 5″ team since its something I’d wanted to do since I was 5 years old.

It’s also a nice feeling to finally review this figure.  I selected Mr. T to appear on my blog banner way back when because this is such an interesting and unique figure in my collection.  It’s crazy that I hadn’t gotten around to writing his review until just now, more than 3 years in.  9 out of 10.

G. I. JOE: KRE-O

Today I have a quick little review for you.  Why quick?  Because I have very little to say about this figure.  But not because it’s bad; its actually pretty great.

I love these G.I. Joe block figures and have sung their praises many times in past reviews of Tripwire, Tele-Viper, Mutt, and others. However, they all share the same body construction so there isn’t much more I can say about the design.  Where these figures really shine as individuals is in the paint jobs and accessories.

Iceberg has an awesome paint job.  All the sculpted detail of the original 1986 Iceberg figure have been accurately recreated with paint.  He’s got his powder blue vest, furry cuffs on his gloves and boots, the holstered gun on his chest, and even the red patch on his sleeve. I also like the smirk on his face.

Hasbro is pretty crafty about recreating all the classic Joes’ signature weapons while using pre-existing pieces.  The ’86 Iceberg only came with one large white rifle but  Hasbro still managed to show some of their ingenuity with this figure.  Kre-O Iceberg has the large (ridiculously so) white gun but he also has a pair of skies (previously included with Snow Job), a removable fur collar (which is actually just the Snow Serpent’s vest reversed) and a pair of removable goggles (previously included with multiple figures).   Now Iceberg can wear his goggles up on his helmet (which was the original figure’s only option since they were sculpted as part of his helmet) or down over his eyes where they would actually be useful.

The other reason this review will be short is because I previously reviewed the 1986 Iceberg as well as the 2011 abomination produced by the Collector’s Club.  In those reviews I exhausted any Iceberg stories I may have had.

So in closing, this is another great Kreon and another great black action figure.  Stay tuned for more Black History Month reviews.  8 out of 10.

Snow Buddies

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE

When it first dawned on me that I should do a Black History Month theme this month the first figure I thought to review was Lando Calrissian.  I put it off for a few days because I didn’t feeling like dragging out my bin of Star Wars toys but today is the day.

Lando is definitely one my favorite black characters in pop culture.  He first appeared in the second Star Wars movie, The Empire Strikes Back, in 1980 and returned for the final instalment of the original trilogy, Return of the Jedi, in 1983.  I saw all 3 Star Wars movies in the theatre somehow.  I’m not sure if this was commonplace but I believe my local theatre re-released the original in the lead up to Empire’s release.  I don’t remember the trips to the theatre because I was like 2 or 3 years old at the time but I know it happened because my brother Doug and I spoke of it often.  He’s 2 years older than me so his memories from those days are a bit better than my own.   My point is that I’ve been a fan of Lando Calrissian for longer than I can even remember.

The actor who portrayed Lando was Billy Dee Williams.  He was fantastic in that role and I bet he’d have been stellar in most any role but I have seen him do little else.  I can recall small roles in the first Batman movie and the Ladies’ Man and more recently I saw him play himself in an episode of Modern Family but thats about it.  For that reason it’s very hard for me to look at Billy Dee and not see Lando Calrissian.  Mr. Williams came to my little town of Halifax a while back as a guest panellist at our local sci-fi/comic convention, Hal-Con.  I talked a bit about the convention in my review of  Snake Mountain which I picked up on the sales floor that year.  I wish I could tell you that Billy Dee was as smooth a talker as Lando with a bunch of great behind the scenes stories from the set but Billy seemed a little slow.  If you happened to catch him on Dancing With the Stars then you know what I’m talking about.  The moderator really had to pull answers out of him. Mind you, he was about 75 years old at the time so we have to cut him some slack.  Though at one point he did allude to hooking up with Princess Leia which was kind of funny.

When I planned to write about a Lando figure I thought I would either review him in his iconic blue shirt and cape  from Empire or his Skiff Guard disguise from Jedi.  But as I was digging through my Star Wars bin trying to find those two I came across this figure.  I forgot all about this one.  This is Lando in an outfit he wore while hanging out at the rebel base and then attacking the Deathstar in Return of the Jedi.

It’s not as instantly recognizable as the other outfits but it’s pretty cool.  This is Lando after he was made a General in the Rebel Alliance so the whole outfit is just classier than his Empire garb.  He still has a spiffy cape but its less “pimpy” than the blue one.

As for the figure itself, it’s fine for what it is.  I’m not a big fan of the “Power of the Force” figures of the late 90s in general.  They were more screen accurate than the vintage 80s toys but they still didn’t look great and in retrospect they don’t even have the fun “camp” factor of the originals.  This figure has 6 points of articulation (hips, shoulders, waist, and head) which is one more than the vintage figures (they didn’t swivel at the waist).  I really wish that Hasbro had given these guys some knee and elbow joints seeing as they had pulled it off with G.I. Joes 2 decades earlier.  Maybe the limited articulation was meant as an homage to the originals but to me it just seemed cheap and lazy.  His torso is too thick and his legs are a bit short but not horribly so.

The thing I like least about this figure is the wide stance.  I’m not a fan of pre-posed figures.  I’d prefer the figure have enough articulation for me to pose him however I choose but if you’re gonna make him rigid than at least put him in a neutral position.  Hasbro really got carried away with the action poses when they were making figures for the prequels and that’s a big reason I  lost interest in collecting them.

On the plus side  the sculpt is pretty good (proportion issues aside).  I like that they sculpted so many wrinkles into his pants and jacket and the face sculpt is quite a good likeness to Billy Dee.  I also like the paint job.  The colors look good together and there are some nice painted details such as the badge on his chest and the bracelet on his wrist.

For accessories Lando has a flexible rubber cape and a blaster which I did not feel like hunting for.  This figure is totally fine as a child’s plaything but as a collector I’d like something more.  6 out of 10. 

GOTHITROPOLIS

I’ve talked about the Four Horsemen before  but it’s been a while ago so allow me to recap.  The Four Horsemen are Jim Preziosi, Eric Treadway, H. Eric Mayse and Christopher Dahlberg.  They’re toy sculptors who met while employed at McFarlane Toys in the 1990s.  McFarlane Toys is a company created by Todd McFarlane because he wanted control over how toys based on his comic “Spawn” were made.  Todd and his company changed the game by designing toys with adult collectors in mind.  I was often dismayed by how stiff many of the figures were, some of them were essentially statues, but there was no denying that they looked better than anything else on the market at the time (check out this beauty); a big reason for that was the work of the Horsemen.  Todd wasn’t shy about giving the artists who designed the toys credit for their work.  He would praise the individual artists in the pages of his comics and he even credited them on the toys’ packaging.  He made the Horsemen into toy sculpting rock stars.  I was sad to learn they were leaving McFarlane in ’99 to go off on their own but I was excited by what they were gonna do next.

Their first big gig after leaving McFarlane was redesigning the Masters of the Universe (MOTU) characters for the 2002 relaunch of the popular 80s toyline.  Their updated versions of He-Man and company were much more detailed and dynamic (with a distinct anime influence) than their vintage counterparts.  I loved their 2002 MOTU line because it combined the top-notch sculpting  collectors had come to expect from them with the bright colors and play features that kids love.  Their 2002 Kobra Khan was the  very first figure I reviewed on this blog.

Sadly the 2002 MOTU line fizzled out after a couple of years but the Horsemen continued to work with Mattel on their DC and Harry Potter lines.  Simultaneously the Horsemen began acquiring licenses and producing toys of established properties like the Outer Space Men as well as producing their own original toylines such as The Seventh Kingdom.  Seventh Kingdom were highly detailed 6″ figures geared towards the collector’s market akin to what they had produced with McFarlane Toys in the 90s.

I really liked the look of the Seventh Kingdom figures but I had moved away from collecting darker, super-detailed, McFarlane-style toys by then. G.I. Joe and Transformers had been revived at that point and most of my collecting dollars were going towards them.  Besides that, the Seventh Kingdom figures were hard to get.  They were only available on the Horsemen’s website and for very limited periods of time.  There was next to no marketing for the line so you really had to be in the know as to when new figures were going up for sale.

In hindsight I wish I had paid closer attention to the line and picked up a few when I had the chance.  Each wave of the Seventh Kingdom features a group of animal warriors, kind of like over sized Battle Beasts.  The first wave released in 2006 was made up of 7 cow warriors.  They more or less all had the same body but had different heads and paint jobs to differentiate them.

Perhaps the fact that they went with all cows for wave 1 is another reason I didn’t put much effort into seeking out the Seventh Kingdom figures.  The sculpts and paint jobs were great but cows don’t exactly make for the coolest animal warriors.

Wave 2 featured elephants, wave 3 jungle cats, and wave 4 goats.  They snuck a rhino and a hippo into the elephant wave and those are the 2 figures I most wish I had.  I’m unlikely to get them now though as my only option is the secondary market and most of them sell for $100+ on ebay.

Last year I heard that the Horsemen were using the crowd-funding site kickstarter to finance their latest wave of figures.  The line was called Gothitropolis but it was completely compatible with, and essentially a continuation of, the Seventh Kingdom line.  This time around it was birds.  The initial figure was a raven warrior but as the campaign grew the Horsemen continued to add variant figures to the line.  The added figures featured repainted raven bodies with brand new heads to represent different species of birds.  The kickstarter was a huge success and the Horsemen ended up committing to 13 different Gothitropolis figures after raising over $300,000.  I missed out on the kickstarter unfortunately and 11 of the figures sold out lightening fast when the Horsemen put remaining stock up for pre-order on their website for non-kickstarter supporters.  Luckily I managed to place pre-orders for 2 figures before they completely sold out.  It took a couple of months for them to show up but a couple of days ago Cardinus the Cardinal Warrior and Eaglus the American Eagle Warrior arrived in the mail.

Now that I have them in hand I really wish I had acted sooner and bought the whole set because these figures are amazing.  From the neck down they share the exact same sculpt but the paint jobs are so different that you would never realize it.  Both are wearing high collared gladiator style armour that covers their full torso as well as a loin cloth, bracelets, and knee-to-shin armour.  The armour has a ton of sculpted details such as small wings on the back, a phoenix emblem on the chest, and jewels and rivets everywhere.  Every time I look it over I find something else.  The leg armour is very cool with a plated design.  The arms and legs feature exposed feathered skin which is also very detailed.  Every centimetre of these figures is impressive.  For accessories each bird came with a long spear with a spiked ball on the end and a belt that is loaded with intricate treasures.  They even came with 2 pairs of alternate feet/talons so you can display them flat-footed, with open attack mode feet, or with clenched perching feet.

From here on out I’ll focus on Eagalus’ unique features.  His feathers are realistically painted black and brown and his feet are yellow. His armour is painted red, white, and blue and it looks fantastic.  Its just screams USA.  It’s a shame Stephen Colbert retired before getting a chance to place one of these on his desk.  The head is totally awesome and quite realistic.  The mouth is open wide as if he’s bellowing a patriotic battle cry.  The beak, the eyes, and the inner mouth all feature multiple paint applications and the white feathers have a grey paint wash which adds some texture.  You can tell the Horsemen didn’t cut any corners on this figure.

Eagalus’ most unique feature is his cape.  None of the other Gothitropolus figures have this accessory.  Its  a large cloth cape made of a tattered almost American flag.  The stars and stripes are present but instead of a blue box in the corner the blue area is shaped like a screaming eagle’s head.  It took me a while to get the cape to sit around his neck properly but now that it’s in place it looks epic.  This toy is phenomenal and an early front runner to be named my toy of the year for 2015.  10 out of 10.

I almost forgot to mention the packaging.  12 of the Gothitroplis figures feature black and purple “gothic” packaging but Eagalus came on a very patriotic red, white, and blue blister card with a small bio on the back.  Best of all the packages are designed in such a way that the figures can be resealed after they’ve been opened.

G. I. JOE: FIGURE SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE 3.0

I’ve been slacking off on the reviews lately but it’s not due to a lack of toys. I actually picked up some fantastic new action figures this past week. I hope to share them all with you over the next couple of days but I’m going to start off with Spearhead and Max.

Spearhead and his bobcat Max were first released in 1988. I loved when Joes came with animal sidekicks so I was pretty excited about Spearhead back in the day and almost equally stoked for Max. Max was the first, and remains the only, G.I. Joe cat. The sculpt on the original Max was pretty good but he was just a solid hunk of orange plastic with absolutely no paint applications or articulation. Some painted eyes and spots would’ve been appreciated but unpainted pets were the norm back in the 80s.  As for Spearhead, he isn’t exactly a beloved G.I. Joe character amongst fans in general and I can understand why.

His bright orange camouflage was pretty garish and unrealistic and his helmet sat very high on his head which made him look kind of dorky. Plus his weapons were comically oversized and molded in a dull gray that made them look particularly plastic. Despite all that I really liked Spearhead. The helmet did look stupid and the colors were loud but they didn’t bother me much and the sculpt of the figure was pretty good overall.  I liked his padded, almost quilted, vest and bandolier. I especially liked his neutral face sculpt. Spearhead had an angry scowl on his blister card art (as most Joes did) but the figure looked like a friendly next door neighbour type of guy.

A 2nd version of Spearhead was released in 1989. Version 2 featured the exact same parts but they were painted darker colors because Spearhead was now part of the Night Force sub-team.  Even Max got a greenish-black makeover in ’89. I never had the Night Force version when I was a kid, in fact I didn’t even know it existed, so I have no nostalgic ties to that look.

When G.I. Joe returned to toy store shelves with a vengeance in 2002 after a decade long hiatus I was quite excited by the prospect of getting new versions of my old favorite Joe and Cobra characters. Sadly Spearhead, C-list character that he is, never got an updated figure during the new sculpt years of 2002-2006.

When the modern era/25th anniversary figures launched in 2007 Spearhead seemed likely to be passed over again since the line was focused on iconic characters.  By 2013 Hasbro still hadn’t produced a modern-era Spearhead so the Collector’s Club took it upon themselves to fill that gap in our collections. Spearhead was included in their 2013 Convention Set along with a few other C-list Joes who had been neglected by Hasbro. I was happy to finally have a modern Spearhead but I wasn’t thrilled that the theme of the box-set was Night Force so all of the Joes were wearing their dark Night Force uniforms. I thought the parts chosen to construct Night Force Spearhead were pretty good though and that was the most important part. I figured that now that the Club had gone through the trouble of making these characters chances were pretty good that they would rerelease them in their classic colors eventually.

And so they did.  Last spring the Club announced that Night Force members Spearhead, Muskrat, Psyche Out, Repeater and Hit & Run would be released in their classic colors as part of the Club’s third figure subscription service. I wasn’t in any rush to get classic colored versions of the other guys but I was very happy to hear a classically colored Spearhead would soon be part of my modern era collection.

The wait is over.  Spearhead and Max, along with Vypra, arrived in the mail last week and I am very happy with the results. Less so with Vypra, who I’ll review later, but Spearhead is great.

This figure features all the exact same pieces used to create the Night Force version in 2013.  The body originally belonged to a Cobra Trooper, the appendages to a Cobra Shock Trooper and the head to Dusty.  Reused heads really frustrate me most of the time but I don’t own the Dusty figure that first used this head so it feels like an original Spearhead head sculpt to me.   The way the hair is styled it almost looks as though it should have been Spearhead from the start.

I liked these pieces for the Night Force version but I love them now that they’ve been painted tan and orange.  I’m actually shocked at just how much better this figure is than the 2013 version.  What a difference a paint job can make.  This looks like the Spearhead I loved as a kid and just looking at it makes me happy.  I’m sure many would disagree with me but I think this may well be the highlight of FSS 3.0.

Max got a fantastic new paint job too.  It’s the same sculpt as the 2013 version (which I don’t love because the legs are too close together so he topples over) but the deco on this version is far superior.  He has orange fur (like he’s supposed to) but also a white underbelly which is a nice touch.  He’s got the same black spots and white teeth as the 2013 Max but this one has added paint apps on the face such as black lips, a black nose, and a pink tongue.

Spearhead also came with a display stand, a helmet (that fits good), a couple of rifles, a knife, and a large backpack. Good job Collector’s Club. 10 out of 10.

TRANSFORMERS: COMBINER WARS

Combiners (or Gestalts) are large Robots that are made up of several smaller Transformers.  The first Combiner was Devestator, released in 1985, who was made up of the 6 individual Constructicons.   The Constructicons were a squad of green and purple construction vehicles.   The individual characters were awesome so a kid could be satisfied owning only a couple of them but I was fortunate enough to own all six meaning I was able to combine them into Devestator.  The original Devestator looked great but he wasn’t all that fun to play with because he fell apart so easily.  He was particularly fragile mid-torso where Hook connected to Long Haul.   Hasbro quickly improved on the Gestalt process by making all future combiners 5 figure sets instead of 6.  There was now a single larger-format figure to form the torso and 4 smaller figures to form the arms and legs.  This prevented the mid-torso break that plagued Devestator.  The first new and improved Combiners out of the gate were the Stunticons which formed Menasor, the Combaticons which formed Bruticus, the Protectobots which formed Defensor, and the Aerialbots which formed Superion.   My brother Doug and I owned them all and they were fantastic but sadly we got rid of all our Transformer toys when we were teenagers.

wicked card art

Ever since I got back into collecting Transformers in the mid 2000s when Hasbro launched their Generation 1 (G1) inspired “Classics” line I’ve wanted updated versions of the Combiners.  Hasbro has released dozens of Transformer toys every year since the rebirth and the brand has even grown in popularity during that time with the help of 4 crappy blockbuster movies and yet the Combiners never came.  We did finally get a Bruticus in 2012 as part of the video-game inspired “Fall of Cybertron” line but that was it.  It blows my mind that Hasbro sat on these great characters for so long.  In the 10 or so years since the Classics line launched Hasbro has held back on fan-favorite  characters and sure-fire money makers like the Combiners and the Dino-bots.  It’s crazy.  That oversight created a whole new market where third-party companies release their own unofficial versions of those characters.  I’ve picked up some brilliantly designed third-party Transformers over the years such as the Insecticons, the Sharkticons, Gears and Sweve, and even Cy-Kill.  Multiple third-party companies have tackled the Combiners but unfortunately the cost (around $100 per figure) has kept me from buying any.  At least I’ve been able to get a small taste of Combiners awesomeness in recent years by way of the Kre-O block figures.

But finally, in 2015, Hasbro has taken their head out of their ass and decided to release updated official versions of the 1980s Combiners and they’re putting a major marketing push behind them.  They’ve rebranded the G1-inspired line “Combiner Wars” and are set to release a crap-load of awesome new figures.  The Aerialbots and Stunticons are hitting stores now and the Constructicons and Protectobots will follow soon afterwards.  On top of that, even characters who weren’t traditionally part of Combiner teams like Optimus Prime and Megatron  are getting new figures that can be used to create brand new giant robots.  Plus the Transformers comics published by IDW will be tying into the Combiners Wars storyline, fleshing things out and building the mythology.  It’s shaping up to be a great year for Transformers fans.

I was at Walmart this past Tuesday and saw that they had the first wave of Combiner Wars figures: 4 of the 5 Aerialbots and Optimus Prime.  I wanted them all but money was tight so I picked up just 2 of the Aerialbots; Firefly (formerly known as Fireflight) and Alpha Bravo.  I left Silverbolt (the larger Voyager class figure that forms Superion’s torso) and Sky Dive behind.

Once I got them home and opened up I was immediately impressed.  Many of the recent Hasbro Transformers have felt kind of cheap but these figures feel good and sturdy.  The sculpts are brand new, the designs are very nice, and there’s plenty of articulation.  I was so impressed that I went right back out and picked up Silverbolt so I could begin combining them.  A great thing about these current combiner toys is that any of the smaller deluxe class figures that form the appendages can be used as either arms or legs.  I’ve opted to make both Alpha Bravo and Firefly legs (at least for now) and let me tell you, my armless Superion looks f**king awesome so far.  I’ll post some pics of him in either my Firefly or Silverbolt review.  I cannot wait to complete Superion and then move on to constructing Menasor.

Slingshot

As an individual piece Alpha Bravo is pretty neat.  The Aerialbots have always traditionally been a team of jets but Alpha Bravo is a helicopter.  He has replaced former team member Slingshot.  Interestingly though he has some design elements that seem to be a nod to the former member.  Slingshot had a unique head design; an orange face flanked by two white panels.  Alpha’s head looks less human than Slingshot’s but is clearly inspired by it.  I recall Slingshot having the most personality out of all the Aerialbots from their appearances in the old cartoon so I’m kind of surprised that he was the one to get the boot.  But don’t lose hope Slingshot fans, in the Japanese Aerialbots box set they kept the original team together so Slingshot is out there if you’re willing to shell out the cash.

This figure looks great as a robot, as a helicopter, and as an arm or a leg.  Hasbro has upped their game.  9 out of 10.

MARVEL LEGENDS

When it comes to art, sometimes I like something immediately and other times I need time for it to grow on me.  For example, I didn’t care for Nirvana the first time I heard them but after a couple of listens I became a huge fan.  In regards to comic book art some of my favorite artists started out as some of my least favorites. Mike Mignola, the creator of Hellboy, and Mike Allred, the creator of Madman, are prime examples.  Jack Kirby was one of those artists that I needed some time to absorb.

When I got into collecting comics in the 1980s Stan Lee was still very much a part of Marvel.  He wasn’t necessarily writing any of the famous characters he co-created (Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, etc.) but his editorial column, Stan’s Soapbox, appeared in every comic and he popped up on TV quite a bit.  He was essentially the face and spokesman of Marvel comics.  To this day he’s synonymous with Marvel, making cameo appearances in all of their films.

I was aware of Jack Kirby back then, the artist who co-created those characters with Stan, but I didn’t truly appreciate his contributions until many years later.  Kirby was basically retired by the time I got into comics and he wasn’t a public figure like Stan was so I didn’t know much about the man or his art.  I only ever came across his drawings in reprints of old comics and his style struck me as old-fashioned.  I appreciated that he had a hand in creating the characters I loved but in my young mind the artists of the 80s and 90s were far better then Kirby.  How naive I was.

As I got older I gained more of an appreciation for Kirby’s work and I began to understand why every comic book artist that has come along since his time has cited him as a major influence.

And then one day a few years back it just hit me like a slap in the face.  It was as though something had awakened inside my brain and suddenly I didn’t just appreciate Kirby’s artwork but I absolutely loved it.  I finally saw what all those great artists who were inspired by him saw.  His style wasn’t old fashioned, it was revolutionary.

I have since made an effort to read classic books drawn and written by Jack Kirby on a regular basis.  My comics library now features a healthy dose of Kirby’s genius as does my wardrobe.

My Kirby shirts

One of Kirby’s lesser known  characters, that he created all on his own, is Machine Man aka Aaron Stack aka X-51.  Machine Man first appeared in the 10-issue  “2001: A Space Odyssey” comic published by Marvel in 1977.  From there he spun-off into his own short-lived series also written and drawn by Kirby.  From then until now Machine Man has been one of those obscure Marvel characters that shows up as a guest star in random books from time to time and occasionally stars in his own mini-series.  He never caught on as a mainstream super hero.

I’m not sure what the first Machine Man book I read was but I’m betting my first exposure to him was in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, a reference series which provided bios of all the characters in the Marvel Universe.  I probably thought he was pretty stupid looking back then because when not drawn by Kirby he has the potential to look particularly lame. I remember he was featured in a story in the anthology series “Marvel Comics Presents” but I can’t recall the details of it.  Then he was in Deathlok and the West Coast Avengers and probably a few other things.  More recent stories that I’ve read that featured Machine Man were Next Wave, Marvel Zombies, and Red Hulk.  Somewhere along the way I came to like the character.

Machine Man is a robot whose only notable abilities are his telescoping arms and legs.  He’s strong and fast too and I think he has some hidden weapons like arm cannons and whatnot but that stuff is pretty standard.  He’s essentially Inspector Gadget but the one thing that elevates him above similar characters is his simple and elegant Kirby design.  Machine Man is basically just a dude in a purple unitard with bulging eyes, he looks like the Phantom getting ready to lay in a tanning bed, and yet somehow Kirby makes it look great.

This hot-off-the -presses Marvel Legends figure that I bought last week isn’t necessarily based on Kirby’s artwork but it captures that Kirby vibe.  Pretty much all of that comes through in the face sculpt as the body is a standard one that has been used multiple times in the Legends line.  I wasn’t a big fan of the Legends figures for a long time, which is why I focused on collecting the smaller 3 3/4″ Marvel Universe line, but Hasbro has been putting out some really great Legends figures lately.  The fact that characters like Agent Venom, Scarlet Spider, and Machine Man aren’t even available in the smaller scale makes the Legends versions must-haves.

Machine Man’s body may be one we’ve seen before but it’s a good one.  The muscle details are very well done and the articulation is good.  The new pieces added to the standard body to create Machine Man are few and far between but very effective.  There’s the excellent head sculpt, the thick ribbed belt, and most importantly the telescoping arms.   The metal rods can be attached at the wrists and you can put either open hands or closed fists at the ends of them.

The other thing that needs to be mentioned is the paint job.  The metallic purple used on this figure looks fantastic and gives it a believable metal sheen.  It’s broken up nicely by the flat grey and the bright orange eyes give him just the right amount of flair.  This is a top notch action figure.  10 out of 10.

knocking out a couple of Kirby’s creations for the distinguished competition.

G. I. JOE: FIGURE SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE 3.0

Shortly after I stopped collecting G.I. Joe toys and comics as a kid the brand became overrun with ninjas. Ninjas had been a part of “The Real American Hero” almost since the beginning but they were just a small part; mostly focusing on the rivalry between Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow. I didn’t mind when a couple other ninjas were introduced into the toy line such as Jinx and the Night Creepers but by 1992 there was a whole sub-team of Ninjas on both sides of the Joe vs Cobra conflict. Even the comic book became ninja centric for a while and was even renamed G.I. Joe starring Snake Eyes and Ninja Force. It wasn’t the influx of neon ninjas alone that drove me away from G.I. Joe but they certainly didn’t help.

1992 version 1. pic borrowed from yojoe.com

Nowadays the ninjas don’t bother me so much and I think it has to do with the size of my collection. It seemed like I had a ton of Joe figures when I was a kid but realistically I probably only had about 50 of them in the shoebox I kept them in. My brother Doug had slightly more and together we had nearly the entire 80s collection. Back then, a sub-team comprised entirely of ninjas would have had a major impact on my soldier-to-ninja ratio and I liked that G.I. Joe was primarily a military toy line. If I wanted a team full of Ninjas I could play with my ninja turtles. Nowadays, as an adult collector, my modern-style G.I. Joe figure collection numbers in the hundreds so a handful of ninjas doesn’t have the same affect. I hope to see every character from the vintage line done in the modern style eventually so I say bring on the ninjas and let’s get them over with.

The first of the Ninja Force characters to sneak their way into the modern line was one of Cobra’s operatives, Dice. The Collector’s Club included him in their inaugural figure subscription service (FSS) 2 years ago. Dice was not a character I had any childhood attachment to but I was quite impressed with the Club’s take on him. The fact that his mask was removable was pretty sweet too. It seemed obvious to Joe fans that his partner-in-crime Slice would be included in the second FSS but to our surprise he was not. I didn’t mind his omission because Slice wasn’t a character I had any nostalgic ties to either and that freed up a slot for a potentially more desirable figure. Besides, I already had a suitable, though unofficial, modern-era Slice in my collection.

temporary Slice

If I were to describe Slice I’d say he’s essentially a red ninja (which are abundant in the world of Joe) wearing a fencing mask. In a G.I. Joe: Retaliation branded 3-pack released in 2013 to coincide with the release of the second live-action Joe film, a removable silver fencing mask was included as an accessory to the red ninja in the pack. Clearly this was added so that fans could place it on one of their red ninja figures to create an instant Slice, which is exactly what I did. For the past couple of years my simple custom of Slice has been standing next to Dice on my Cobra Officer shelf and that was good enough for me.

When it was announced that Slice would be included in the third FSS my initial thought was “meh”. I supposed it would be good to have an official Slice to stand next to Dice and at least it would free up the red ninja stand-in who could now be displayed with the others on my henchmen shelf. When it was revealed that Slice would be getting a newly sculpted head by Boss Fight Studios I was actually disappointed. I love the work of BFS but the Club can only afford to hit them up for a couple of newly sculpted pieces for each FSS and it seemed a waste to use one of those slots for Slice when the fencing mask was already available for use.

Now that I have Slice in hand I still don’t know if crafting him a new head was the absolute best use of the Club’s resources but it is a damn good head. From the neck down the Club used a red ninja figure just like I had done so the only difference in construction between this official Slice and my unofficial one is the new head.  But that lone new piece makes a world of difference.  The fine detail in the mesh faceplate is fantastic and I love the flowing ties in the back.

The other thing that really brings this figure to life is the new paint job. He’s molded in a vibrant red plastic which looks awesome and sets him apart from all the other red ninjas whose outfits are more crimson. The black star pattern on his outfit (which is straight from the original 1992 Slice figure) looks awesome and goes even further to differentiate Slice from the rest of the nameless ninja horde.

For accessories Slice has a display base, backpack, 4 swords, and a couple of ninja claws.  It’s all stuff we’ve seen before but they look good and they’re all appropriate choices for the character. This is one of those figures I wasn’t really looking forward to but now that I have it I’m totally sold. 9 out of 10.

TRANSFORMERS: COMBINER WARS

Last week I picked up 3 of the Combiner Wars Aerialbots which merge to form Superion. If any part of that sentence doesn’t make sense to you perhaps you should first read my review of Alpha Bravo. In that review I provided all the exposition you’ll need to understand what I’m talking about in this review.

Since my brother Doug owned the original Aerialbot toys in the 80s I don’t have the same personal attachment to them that I do for the Protectobots or Constructicons which were combiner teams I owned. But if I had to pick a favorite Aerialbot it would probably have been Fireflight. The team consisted of one large Concorde style plane called Silverbolt (who I always thought looked kind of dorky in robot mode) and 4 smaller jets, one red (Fireflight), one black (Air Raid), one gray (Skydive), and one white (Slingshot).

1986 Fireflight

Fireflight was the brightest and boldest of the crew and I suppose that was part of the reason why he was my favorite, but it also had to do with his face. When it comes to Transformers I usually prefer the ones who have more robotic looking faces, with visors and face plates, like Optimus Prime. The ones with more humanoid faces, with noses and mouths, like Megatron I find less appealing. Silverbolt, Slingshot, and Skydive all had humanoid faces so that left only Fireflight and Air Raid to choose from.

The original Transformers toys have a nostalgic charm about them but some of them were pretty crappy figures. Even as a little kid I knew when Hasbro was being cheap and selling me crap. The 80s Combiner figures left a lot to be desired. They were short and stubby, their legs were often locked together, and they barely had any articulation. Good luck trying to create a dynamic action pose for a figure that can’t bend at the knees or elbows or even turn his head. Sometimes their arms were little more than nubs protruding from their sides. Luckily Hasbro had Marvel Comics and Sunbow Animation helping them make their characters seem cool and thus desirable to children because sometimes the toys themselves just didn’t cut it. The clunky blocky nature of 80s Transformers toys like Fireflight is what prompted me to part ways with my collection as a young teen.

We’ve come a long way since then because now C-list appendage-forming Transfomers like Fireflight are getting made into awesome action figures like this one. This Fireflight, who is now called Firefly for what I assume are legal trademark reasons, is bigger and better than the original in every way. He’s a fully posable, nicely sculpted figure that any kid would be thrilled to have. This guy has ball-jointed limbs and joints so he can be posed in a squat, in a leap, and even break-dancing.

His jet mode looks pretty good too but as I’ve said before I buy these things for the robots not the vehicles. If you want a thorough review of his wing span and the accuracy of the landing gear or whatever you’ll have to look elsewhere.

All of the deluxe sized Aerialbots like Fireflight can be turned into either a leg or an arm when being combined to form Superion. I’ve opted to turn Fireflight and Alpha Bravo into legs for the time being so my Superion can at least stand.

Superion is shaping up to be super cool once completed but it seems a real crime that figures as great as this are relegated to being displayed as limbs. If I ever find the Aerialbots at a discounted price I will be buying doubles so they can be displayed in their individual glory.

Knowing that I’ll be getting Constructicons and Protectobots of this quality later in the year has me giddy with excitement. 9 out of 10.

G. I. JOE: FIGURE SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE 3.0
Last year I did a pretty good job of reviewing all my Figure Subscription Service (FSS) G.I. Joes as they arrived in the mail. I’m lagging a little behind this year but I’m trying to get back up to speed before the next two figures show up. Thus far I’ve covered Psyche Out and Repeater from the first shipment, Slice from the second shipment, and Spearhead from the third. That just leaves Muskrat and this figure; Vypra.

The first Vypra figure was released in 1998 which was a weird time for G.I. Joe. The 3 ¾” Real American Hero (RAH) toy line that flourished in the 80s and hung in there during the early 90s  finally called it a day in 1994.  From there, the brand essentially stayed dead until the new sculpt revival of 2002. However, there were several blips on the G.I. Joe radar during those “dead” years. In 1995 Hasbro tried rebranding G.I. Joe as Sgt. Savage. One wave of figures was produced and the line quickly fizzled out. Later that year Hasbro released G.I. Joe Extreme which featured figure with a brand new scale and construction. Collectors and children alike ignored it so that line also faded into obscurity (although the Collector’s Club snuck an Extreme character into their inaugural FSS).

1997/98 saw the release of a handful of Toys R Us exclusive figure 3-packs and vehicle sets to celebrate RAH’s 15th anniversary. All of the figures in those sets were constructed using repainted 80s molds. It was cool seeing vintage style Joes in toy stores again but there wasn’t much to get excited about since the line was nearly 100% repaints of toys I already owned.  I didn’t bother to pick up any of the 15th anniversary figures.

One of the 1998 vehicle sets was a repainted Cobra Stinger Jeep but instead of coming packaged with a Stinger Driver it came packaged with a brand new character named Vypra.  As per her file card, Vypra’s primary military speciality was driving the Jeep and her secondary military specialty was martial arts. It seemed like an odd choice to package a ninja as a vehicle driver but whatever.  One interesting thing to note about her file card is that it revealed her true name, a rarity for Cobra operatives.  Vypra’s real name is Ann A. Conda (groan).

Construction wise, Vypra was a Jinx v.1 figure from head to toe.  She even came packaged with all of Jinx’s accessories, two swords, a backpack to store them in, and a naganita.  Except instead of wearing red pajamas like Jinx,  Vypra was wearing black and blue.

Second and third versions of Vypra were released in 2004 in a Toys R Us exclusive 6-pack titled Ninja Cobra Strike Team.  Again, the figures were complete repaints of Jinx v.1 but in an odd move both 2004 Vypras were wearing red, making them almost indistinguishable from Jinx.  The one thing that differentiated them from Jinx, and each other, was that each had a unique golden pattern painted on their chest.  The file card described them as twin sisters and members of the Arasikage Clan, the Clan that Snake Eyes, Storm Shadow, and Jinx belong to.

With this most recent version of Vypra the Collector’s Club has dropped the red twin sister angle and used the black and blue 1998 Vypra as a reference point.  Vypra v.4 is a repaint of 2012’s Jinx v. 4 which makes sense since the 2012 Jinx is the modern update of the 1987 Jinx on which the original Vypra was based.

Jinx is one of my favorite Joe characters and I thought Hasbro did a great job of updating her for the modern era with their 2012 San Diego Comic Con exclusive figure.  It pained me to keep that figure sealed on the blister card but I’ve opted to keep all my SDCC Joes carded.  At least the pain was alleviated when Hasbro re-released the figure, repainted in Yellow, as part of their Retaliation toy line the following year.  That figure I opened.

Because that Jinx figure is pretty great, Vypra is pretty great too.  The body is slender and feminine,  well articulated, and there’s some nice sculpting throughout.  One thing I’m happy about is that for the first time Vypra is not entirely a repainted Jinx figure.  The Club has swapped out Jinx’s ninja-sock -footed lower legs for a pair of combat boot wearing gams courtesy of Scarlet.  It’s a small change but it’s a nice nod to the fact that Vypra is not just a ninja but a combat driver as well.

According to this Vypra’s file card she’s actually picked up a third military specialty; she is now the Cobra intelligence courier.  The new file card also says that she “tenaciously defends the secret of her background, using false histories and even deceptive attire to keep both friend and foe alike from discovering her true motives or the extent of her skills”.  That might help to explain away the Ann A. Conda alias, the 2004 red outfit, and the twin sister.  This chick is full of lies.

Vypra came with a display base, a pair of swords, a double sheath backpack to store them in, a gun, and a suitcase which houses a second gun and a computer.

I like this figure but I’m not wowed by it since it’s essentially a figure I have twice already; though it does look nice in black and blue.  What I do like is the character.  I’ve never owned a Vypra before and I’m always happy to add new “name” characters to my Cobra ranks.  I wish Vypra had a more unique look, like a new head, to separate her from Jinx but I can appreciate that the Club needs to save cash where it can and that this figure is true to the original Vypra which was a straight repaint of Jinx.  Besides, if they both came from the Arashikage Clan then it make sense that they’d wear the same outfit.  8 out of 10.

UMBRELLA ACADEMY

The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite was 6-issue mini-series published by Dark Horse Comics in 2007.  It was followed by another mini-series, The Umbrella Academy: Dallas, in 2008.  Since then things have been pretty quite at the Academy.

I was initially drawn to the series because it was written by the lead singer of My Chemical Romance, Gerard Way (I’m a fan). I really enjoyed his writing on the series so I was disappointed that he didn’t produce any other comic work for a long time.  It wasn’t until 2013’s “The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys” that we got another Way penned series.  More recently he wrote a Spider-Man one-shot for Marvel.

Umbrella Academy was about a group of 7 super powered individuals who were raised together as adopted siblings.  Some went on to becomes heroes, others became villains, and one of them was dead before we even got there.  I remember I enjoyed both series’ and I lent them out to friends a fair bit back when they first came out.  However, its been quite a few years since I’ve read them myself so I confess the details of the stories are a bit fuzzy in my mind;  perhaps I’ll give them another read soon.

As good as the writing was I think it was primarily Gabriel Ba’s art that made the book feel special.  If a more traditional styled comic book artist had drawn the series I don’t think I would hold it in nearly as high regard.  Gabriel’s art (and Dave Stewarts’s colors) were captured beautifully in a set of 6 PVC figures released by Dark Horse in 2009 (the dead sibling wasn’t included).  The figures came in a clear umbrella-topped dome which was a pretty neat piece on its own.  I have previously reviewed 2 figures from the set; the White Violin, and my favorite UA character, Space Boy.  Today I’m taking a look at The Seance.

The Seance was the most goth emo character in a world full of goth emo characters.  He had his hair swept down over one side of his face, he wore a black trench coat, he chain smoked cigarettes, he had a ghostly white complexion, and he was always moody.  He also had the words “Hello” and “Good-bye” tattooed on the palms of his hands; I can’t recall if there was any significance to that.  His super powers were the ability to levitate and talk to the dead so long as he didn’t have shoes on.

The Seance was not one of my favorite characters from the series however this figure is a very nice rendition of him.  The sculpting, and even more so the paint work on these UA figures really make them look like they just stepped off of the page.  I’ve seen lots of bad shadowing painted on figures but the shadowing on these toys is brilliant.  My over saturated camera shots don’t do the paint apps justice.

I really like the pose chosen for this figure.  He’s standing with his shoulders back, a cigarette in hand, and his jacket flowing behind him.  It shows off all the good design elements of this character.  Unfortunately it also draws attention to what I would consider a major design flaw, that big white diaper he’s wearing.  I know it’s standard practice for super heroes to wear their underwear over their tights but these shorts are too big and too white for the Seance to pull this look off. Superman he is not.

There’s a lot to like here, its one of the nicer figures in the set but since I’m not a big fan of the character, and because he’s wearing a diaper, he loses some serious points.  5 out of 10.

G.I. JOE: FIGURE SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE 3.0

The first modern-era Muskat figure was included in the Collector Club’s 2013 Convention Set. The theme of the set was Night Force so all 6 of the set’s Joe figures were wearing their darker Night Force colors.  I was glad to finally be getting updated versions of Muskrat, Spearhead and the others but I would’ve preferred modern updates of them in their classic outfits as opposed to their nocturnal sub-team attire.  I soon got my wish because it was only a year or so later that the Club announced they’d be including version 1 repaints of those Convention Set Night Force figures as part of their third figure subscription service.  Three of the scheduled six FSS 3.0 shipments have arrived thus far and of those repainted characters I’ve already received and reviewed Repeater, Psyche Out, and Spearhead.  Next up is Muskrat who came with Slice in the second shipment.

The first Muskrat was released in 1988 and he was described as the Joe team’s swamp fighter.  It was actually a specialty that made sense given how many of the Joe team’s enemies hang out in the swamps such as the Dreadnoks and Croc Master.  As practical as he may have been I simply wasn’t a big fan of Muskrat.  He fell into that category of indifference for me.  Maybe if I had owned the original figure instead of my brother I would’ve developed more of a fondness for the character.

The version 1 Muskrat was dressed all in green so he could blend into the murk and he carried a machete and a “swamp skimmer” boogie board with him to help him navigate through the swampy terrain.  His most iconic design feature was the floppy brimmed hat sculpted to his head.

In ’89 Muskrat version 1 got repainted in black and blue when he was added to the Night Force sub-team.  The 2013 Convention Set Muskrat was an homage to the ’89 Night Force version.  It was constructed using a Franken-Joed body with a brand new head sculpt and some new accessories.

I suppose it was a decent update of Muskrat but I only gave the figure a 5 out of 10 in my 2013 review.  My problems with it were that I didn’t like the Night Force deco, the head sculpt didn’t say “Muskrat” to me, and I just don’t care much about the character in general.

This latest version (version 5) is the exact same build as the 2013 figure only it’s painted as an homage to the original 1988 green Muskrat.  It’s an improvement in my eyes because the colors are better but my issues with the head and the character remain.

I still find the character rather dull and that’s unlikely to change unless IDW starts putting a seriously cool spin on him in their comics like they did with Chuckles.  And the head sculpt is fine but it also comes across a little bland. Plus he’s too angry looking; I liked that the ’89 Muskrat looked so friendly.

As for what works, the new paint deco is great.  I love the blueish green hue used on his pants, boots, vest and backpack.  It could almost be too much green but there are enough painted accessories throughout the figure to break the green up sufficiently.

This figure also has a leg up on it’s Night Force predecessor when it come to accessories.  Both versions have a hat, vest, display stand, shotgun, pistol with silencer, knife, and machete but this version also comes with a rifle, the Swamp Skimmer, and a bear trap.  I don’t know if a boogie board would really be of much use in a swamp but I’m glad to see it again.  This is Muskrat’s first time getting a steel trap accessory (I believe it first came with Pursuit of Cobra Recondo)  but it makes a lot of sense for him.  The trap is made using three separate pieces so it’s an impressive little add-on.

This is an okay figure and worth getting if you like Muskrat or are a completist like myself.  However the Night Force version was my least favorite figure of the 2013 Convention Set and this version is my least favorite FSS 3.0 offering so far.  6 out of 10.

G. I. JOE: FIGURE SUBSCRITION SERVICE 3.0

This afternoon my 4th FSS 3.0 shipment arrived.  The Collector’s Club never tells us what order the figures are being shipped out in because they want it to be a surprise at the mailbox.  Most American club members seem to get their shipments within a couple of days of each other but I live in Eastern Canada so it takes about 2 weeks longer for mine to arrive.  Therefore the surprise is always spoiled for me by posts on the various Joe sites I visit regularly.  Approximately 2 weeks ago I found out which 2 figures would be included in the 4th shipment, Alpine and Hit & Run.

Based on the images I’d seen online both looked like they’d be decent figures but this was a duo I wasn’t too excited about.  I prefer to add new characters to my Joe ranks rather than constant reissues of characters I already have.  Of the 12 known figures included in the FSS 3.0 only half of them are new characters who hadn’t yet been released in the modern era, like Vypra and Slice.  The other 6 are updated versions of characters I  already own modern-era style figures of.   At least in the case of Spearhead, Repeater, Muskrat, and Psyche Out they were updated versions that put the characters in their iconic version 1 outfits.

With Alpine and Hit & Run I already have modern-era figures of them in their iconic version 1 outfits.  The new FSS Alpine presents the character in his less well known new-sculpt era outfit and the new FSS Hit & Run is just an “improved” version of the Hit & Run we got in 2009, a figure which I was content with.  So neither of these 2015 updates were figures that I felt I really needed in my collection.  But as per usual the Club has left me pleasantly surprised.

The Hit & Run is quite nice but I’ll talk about him in a future post.  Today I’m gonna take a look at Alpine version 6.

The first Alpine figure was released in 1985.  He was the Joe team’s mountain trooper and he came with some pretty cool climbing gear.  He was featured heavily in the G.I. Joe cartoon so he quickly felt like an integral member of the team. I imagine he’s a favourite of many Joe fans.  I had the original figure and really enjoyed playing with him as he scaled the mountain that was my bunk bed.

Alpine got a bit of a make over in 2004 when version 2 was released during the new-sculpt era.  The new-sculpt version traded in his jacket and goggles for shorts and a full beard.  I didn’t love the new look but I didn’t mind it.  It seemed a little too casual an outfit for combat but it wasn’t a bad figure.  My least favourite change was probably the color scheme.  He went from wearing sensible green and brown to garish yellow and red.  Hasbro must’ve agreed that the new colors weren’t working for him because they re-released the figure twice more that same year in variations of green and brown.

When the first modern-era version of Alpine was released in 2008 the figure was based on Mr. Pine’s original 1985 appearance: brown pants, white T-shirt, green jacket, goggles, moustache.  It was a fine update of the original so I would’ve been fine if we never got another Alpine after that.

2015 vs 2004

Unfortunately that figure was pretty hard to find and many fans missed out on it.  So there was demand out there for another modern-era Alpine figure.  The Club answered the call and released this figure.

Alpine version 6 is based on Alpine version 3, one of the green and brown repaints of the yellow and red version 2.  However, the Club has made some good choices to make this figure more closely resemble the most iconic version of Alpine.  Instead of a full beard and a ball cap this version has a moustache and a hat with goggles.  I actually think it looks pretty great overall and when I compare it to the 2008 figure I liked so much I think I might prefer this one.

The full body (with the exception of the lower arms and hands) is borrowed from the 2013 Kwinn figure which works exceptionally well here.  It’s well detailed, well articulated and well proportioned.  The head is a brand new sculpted piece from Boss Fight Studios.  I was a little iffy on it at first but the head has grown on me over the past couple of hours.  I like that he’s smiling and there’s a ton of great sculpted detail in the hat.  The colors are classic Alpine and they compliment each other nicely.  Plus there are plenty of little paint apps throughout, such as the socks, watch, and shirt logo, which break-up the earth tones.

For accessories Alpine v6 includes a display base, a pick axe, a backpack which holds the axe, a grappling hook with rope, and a couple of guns.  They’re all nice pieces and the guns even have painted stocks which is always appreciated.

The Club’s annual 15-figure Convention Set is going on sale soon and I’m not as thrilled with the contents as I have been in past years.  Skipping it has crossed my mind because those sets ain’t cheap.  But figures like this which surpass my expectations are the reason why I’m going to shell out my cash when the time comes.  9 out of 10.

2008 vs 2015