Robocop
Robocop (Neca) - 35th Anniversary
Rated 4.00 stars by Dark Fire Action Figure Art
This is a decent figure of RoboCop, but it is essentially a reissue of the old Spring Holster RoboCop with some added accessories. The articulation is limited just like their previous RoboCop figures. This isn't a huge deal since RoboCop has pretty stiff movements in the films, but I feel there could have been some upgrades made, given the Hagane Works RoboCop is the same scale and has much better articulation then the NECA figures. The spring holster is very fragile and easy to break on these figures, so I avoid using them at all given I had bad experiences with the previous three releases. This one also should have been the one to be included with the Repair Chair, but that was more of a smart move on NECA's part forcing fans to buy both pristine and battle damaged versions if they...[See More]

Broken Tusk
Predators (Neca) - Series 18
Rated 4.00 stars by Dark Fire Action Figure Art
This was a long awaited figure for me, given the original Aliens Versus Predator comic run is probably my favorite comic series of all time. The figure is essentially the Ultimate Jungle Hunter Predator mold NECA tends to reuse a lot, which is justified given he looked a lot similar in build to the Jungle Hunter in the comic series, too. Some pieces of the armor such as the wristblade gauntlet, belt, and knee guards are new sculpts, the rest of the armor is a reuse of the Kenner homage Stalker Predator they had released in series 16, but again this reuse is justified given his appearance in the comic. He includes his burner gun, which is nice and pretty comic accurate, though I feel it should have included some ammo on the sling given it was present in the comic. A blast effect would...[See More]

Reptile
Mortal Kombat (Jazwares) - Series 3 - Shaolin Monks
Rated 3.25 stars by RMaster007
Mortal Kombat is one of those licenses that seemed tailor-made for action figures, given that it's an uber-violent fighting game with a wide cast of characters sporting unique designs and weaponry. Jazwares is one of the many companies who took on the license, having quite a long run with it. The MK9 figures were the ones I most knew, but they started with Deception and Shaolin Monks, and the figure I got here comes from the latter in their first Reptile. The cardback doesn't have too much to it, as it just has the logo, character and game name, and a cross-sell on the back. The graphics fit the license well, and the green motif is pretty nice, and somehow fits Reptile for obvious reasons. It's also easy to open, with no ties to worry about, and just a single piece of tape needed to hold...[See More]

Cabal 3-Pack
Marvel Legends - Infinite Series (Hasbro) - Marvel 85th Anniversary
Rated 4.00 stars by Wes68
The Cabal 3 pack brings together some notable villains. Whether this pack resonates with you will largely come down to whether or not you either already own the figures; or your personal preference for one figure over another. From my perspective for example? I have no real attachment to or knowledge of Iron Patriot. I do now of course learning that it is essentially Norman Osborn in Iron Man armor. This pack does reuse a lot of things. The Iron Patriot appears to be a reuse of the Iron Man Extremis armor. There may be some new sculpting, and the Norman head is new. So if you have a retro Goblin? You can use the Norman head on him. So let's talk about Taskmaster next. Taskmaster may offer the most bang for your buck. He uses a newer vulcan body versus the prior Bucky Cap body. His...[See More]

Ken Kaneki
Total Anime (Jazwares) - Tokyo Ghoul
Rated 4.85 stars by RMaster007
While most anime collectibles come from their home in Japan, there's been plenty of western toy companies who have tried their hand at figures, with varying results. Nowadays, Bandai and McFarlane are doing a few anime icons, and while they could look much better (with some looking worse than others), they serve as good alternatives for those who don't want to pay import prices. Jazwares announced last year they're getting into the anime figure game with their "Total Anime" line, and they're tackling today's most popular series first, alongside a less popular series in Tokyo Ghoul, with Ken Kaneki being their first work with the license. All of the packaging across the figures is the same, with official artwork and a cross-sell and figure photo on the back, but the colors vary between...[See More]

Ultra Magnus
Transformers - Generation 1 (Hasbro) - Series 3
Rated 4.25 stars by Karl T. Face
Magnus was an interesting toy. We hadn't really seen any major upgrades to existing Transformers yet, and here was this white Optimus with a car carrier trailer that becomes an exo-suit. But that point has been discussed ad infinitum, so how's the toy? Right off the bat, mine's not in the best shape. Everything's nice and tight (worryingly so in some cases), the chrome is just near death. Which hardly matters to me, as it's only ever getting displayed in two modes; vehicle(s) and robot. In that order, we've got a very boxy car carrier here, with room for four cars. The rocket launchers stick straight out the front, but I haven't figured out what to do with the hands and rifle. I do know the helmet fits on the chestplate to form a sort of mobile gun emplacement. We get a pretty full range...[See More]

Batman (Blind as a Bat)
Batman - Animated Series (McFarlane) - Basic Series
Rated 4.40 stars by RMaster007
McFarlane's been doing well when it comes to DC, especially now that they're re-releasing older DC Collectibles figures. I got the first wave of their BTAS reissues/redecos, and while I found them mostly underwhelming, they were enjoyable. The second wave came out a while back, and I found it much better, especially since it has not one, but two new figures that weren't in the original line. One of the new figures is another version of Batman, based off the episode "Blind as a Bat." In the episode, Bruce Wayne was rendered blind by the Penguin, so he has this special headwear made for him to aid his vision. The helmet is spot on to the episode, complete with a cord (shame it can't go into the belt like in the show), though the shape of the chin is still inaccurate, being closer to TNBA...[See More]

Batula
Worst (Super7) - Ultimates
Rated 3.50 stars by RMaster007
In a world dominated by pop culture, there's not a lot of original toy lines out there. Everyone's rushing to grab a certain license first so they can put out figures, apparel, glassware, or whatever. But Super7, when they aren't trying to obtain as much licenses as possible, has their own creation, known as The Worst. Devoted to creating as much crazy villains as possible, the line's been going on as ReAction for a few years, but it was last year they announced the characters would make the jump to Ultimates. The first wave has only two figures, one of them being Batula, the "bat prince of darkness." Batula's packaging is no different from other Ultimates, though the front of the slip cover has a cool illustration of the character, rather than a logo or anything else. The window box has...[See More]

Duffman
Simpsons (Super7) - Ultimates
Rated 4.50 stars by RMaster007
The first wave of Simpsons Ultimates had a guy who serves beer, and now we have a guy who promotes beer. Makes sense, doesn't it? Duffman is said to be played by many different people in the show, but he always looks the same (is there a bunch of guys who look the same in Springfield?). The man has a somewhat cylindrical head shape, wearing a Duff hat and sunglasses. The sunglasses aren't removable, but there are eyes sculpted and painted underneath, though he doesn't seem to have pupils. The default portrait is a grin, but he also has an open mouth head, as well as a head with a Duff sticker slapped onto his face, coming from "Pygmoelian." The sticker can actually be removed, pegging into the mouth, leaving you with an "oh yeah" expression. All three heads look nice, and the clean paint...[See More]

Scumbug
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Super7) - Ultimate
Rated 4.80 stars by RMaster007
Scumbug isn't a TMNT character you see talked about much. He wasn't really present much in past media, being just a one-time character in the original cartoon, and some other versions like the Archie comics barely looked like him, though Mutant Mayhem reintroduced him (or in it's case, her) to today's audiences. NECA already made a great figure of him a while back, but that hasn't stopped Super7 from making their own version. While NECA's Scumbug was a recreation of the toon design which was no different from the original Playmates toy, Super7's more directly updates the toy design. Most of that involves simply making him more colorful, with all those little bugs crawling over him now being painted, along with a few other additional colors. There are some changes to the overall design as...[See More]

Mighty Morphin Eye Guy
Power Rangers Lightning Collection (Hasbro) - Mighty Morphin
Rated 3.50 stars by Karl T. Face
Ironically, I eyeballed this extensively when it came out. Finally pulled the trigger on a trade, but there's a reason I waited. As a Kaiju nut and mythology fan, I couldn't turn down another classic Dora Monster in the end. This one's based on Argos, the hundred-eyed giant that guarded one of Zeus' side pieces from his frequent advances, despite her having already been turned into a heifer. Dora Argus, meanwhile, was created to trap a little girl in a nightmare dimension to break her spirit so their pathetic resident vampire could actually drink human blood for a change. Either way, this is some wacky stuff. First, the good. This thing is big, hefty, and very well sculpted. Various eyes are half-closed, and the freaky skin texture looks great. The articulation is the usual Lightning...[See More]