Mighty Morphin Pudgy Pig
Power Rangers Lightning Collection (Hasbro) - Mighty Morphin
Rated 5.00 stars by Karl T. Face
Animal heads where they don't belong have always been creepy. Artists have been milking it since Bosch at least. And that's why I own this. I somehow missed out on Power Rangers as a kid, despite a love of fun Kaiju. I'd never seen tokusatsu before, and it seemed silly and overblown. Which was the point, of course. Anyway, the livestock legionnaire here was created to devour all the world's food in the US version, while the original series had Witch Bandora specifically starving out one family with a bespoke pig head creature. She was cranky on account of her new diet, you see. None of that matters to me, as this thing looks to have crawled right out of a Breugel print. The pig head is exactly a normal one, with good skin texture and slightly overgrown tusks. The arms (which,...[See More]

Napoleon Bonafrog (Colossus of the Swamp)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Classic Cartoon (Neca) - Basic Series
Rated 4.70 stars by RMaster007
The 1987 TMNT series has not only provided NECA a wide character selection, but plenty of potential for character variants. We've seen a few already, with Catwoman April, Dark Turtle Donatello, and a few different versions of Bebop and Rocksteady, and there's a couple more in the pipeline now. We're even getting ones that weren't in the show! For now, the latest variant is of Napoleon Bonafrog, based off his hulked-up form from "Napoleon Bonafrog: Colossus of the Swamps." As usual, Dan Elson is doing the packaging art for the single releases, and it looks just as great as always. It resembles the old FHE tapes well, and I'm now wanting those get-ups for B&R as figures. The box is also huge, as to house the size of this figure. The "colossus" version of Napoleon is sculpted by Brodie...[See More]

Poochie
Simpsons (Super7) - Ultimates
Rated 4.25 stars by RMaster007
Poochie is a rather interesting Simpsons character. In his debut episode, "The Itchy and Scratchy and Poochie Show," he was meant to be a character that nobody in the show liked, but fans of the show consider him one of the most memorable one-shots, enough to let make a few cameos here and there. It also led to Super7 incorporating the character into their Ultimates line, his first figure since the Kidrobot vinyl. The concept of Poochie's character in-universe was that he was supposed to be a cool dog everyone would love. That failed, but he was designed to look "cool." He's got a backwards cap, sunglasses, and a goatee (since when was that last thing cool?), all on an orange dog with floppy ears and a long snout. The transition of his likeness from 2D to 3D was handled as well, as he...[See More]

Bluto (Yellow Pants)
Popeye (Boss Fight Studio) - Basic Series
Rated 4.50 stars by RMaster007
After getting Boss Fight Studio's excellent Popeye and Olive Oyl figures a few months ago, I felt it was time to get another figure from their Popeye Classics line. And who better to get than Popeye's long-time rival Bluto? Starting right off the bat, I'll point out that Bluto, unlike Popeye or Olive, has no interchangeable heads; just the one portrait. However, it looks great. His eyes are shut tight, and he's got a sinister grin on his face. His hair and beard bear great detail, and unlike the glossy skin, they and the teeth are painted. The nose has a stray mark on it, unfortunately, and there is a bit of missing paint for the facial hair. The hat is a separate piece held onto Bluto's head by a magnet, but said magnet isn't very strong. As with the others, Bluto is sculpted by Paul...[See More]

Robot Scratchy
Simpsons (Super7) - Ultimates
Rated 4.70 stars by RMaster007
It's been a good long while since I covered one of Super7's Simpsons Ultimates, and with the next few waves showing up early next year, it's about time I got the last figures from wave one I needed, including the Robot Scratchy to my Itchy. Originating from season 6's "Itchy and Scratchy Land," the Scratchy bot's design is executed much like Itchy's. The head is a blockier version of the cartoon cat it's based off of, with a protruding brow and tongue hanging out. The head is fully painted, which is a surprise for Super7, but the work is mostly clean aside from a bit of clumping on its lower jaw. There is an alternate head that looks the same, but the face can be removed to reveal the inner workings underneath. There isn't a ton of wiring, but what's there is neatly painted. Robot...[See More]

Alice (Alice in Wonderland)
Disney (Super7) - Ultimates
Rated 3.50 stars by RMaster007
As with Pinocchio, the story of Alice in Wonderland existed well before the animated Disney movie, but it's that version that people remember most. They did a great job capturing the strangeness of Wonderland, thanks to great animation and humor, along with memorable characters. It's no surprise Super7 decided to bring some of the characters to the world of Ultimates, including Alice herself. Alice is the only figure in the second wave to get normal-sized packaging, compared to how wide and deep the other figures' boxes are. The slipcover has a blue checkered pattern, and the box underneath has painted graphics based off Wonderland itself. It's all nice and attractive, but we're here to open it up. There's only two ties holding the figure in, and they can be cut out easily. The renders...[See More]

Tyrannocon Rex / Autobot JP93
Transformers - Collaborative (Hasbro) - Jurassic Park
Rated 3.75 stars by Karl T. Face
Jurassic Park was a hell of a movie. It's seen a lot of toys, but never like this. I finally bit the bullet, so here we are. Right off the bat, I must address the packaging here. It'd be an amazing display backdrop if it didn't have those slots cut into it for the plastic tray, but it's still a nice diorama, with the paddock in the rain and the flipped car and whatnot. Also, they snuck Mr. DNA onto one of the inner flaps. It's almost enough to make me ignore the weirdly unimaginative names. Unlike Gigawatt and Ectotron, this one's a micro-continuity all its own, a simple dino-hunt story with no comic tie-in. It's good enough for my multiversal display. Beginning with JP, this is a really good altmode. Licensed car design, impeccable paint apart from a few odd spaces in the lettering...[See More]

Flange Doozer
Fraggle Rock (Boss Fight Studio) - Basic Series
Rated 4.10 stars by RMaster007
We all know who the Muppets are, ranging from Kermit and crew to the many characters of Sesame Street, but we can't forget Fraggle Rock. I recently got into the show, and with its fun characters, great songs, and entertaining stories, it's definitely worth your time. Boss Fight Studios acquired the license last year, and the first wave should be here soon. For now, they're kicking things off with a "preview" figure: Flange, one of the various Doozers on the show. The packaging is somewhat simple but good, with a red-purple gradient almost all around, a cross-sell on one side, and a character bio and accessory layout on the back. It's a pretty small box, but so is the figure. The interior is what's really special, however. The figure is held onto a rock-like tray, which is appropriate...[See More]

Casey Jones
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Mirage Comics (Neca) - Basic Series
Rated 4.50 stars by RMaster007
Having already done the cartoon and movie versions of Casey Jones, it's no surprise that the Mirage version was next. Although he's been out for a while, I didn't pick it up until I hit up Best Buy recently in hopes of finding their exclusives. Better to get something than nothing. As with any incarnation of the character, Casey wears a hockey mask to conceal his identity. Actually, I think it's just to make him look cool. The mask has a blocky appearance, with a few scuffs here and there, letting you know he's been in a few fights. His wild, messy hair, rather than being solid black, has some brown wash to make it pop more. An unmasked portrait is included as well, with a gritted teeth expression fitting to the character. The figure is sculpted by Josh Sutton, with good attention paid...[See More]

Donatello
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Classic Cartoon (Neca) - Giant-Sized
Rated 4.70 stars by RMaster007
Quarter-scale is rather unusual for action figures, considering that sixth-scale is a more common size for large figures. However, NECA's being producing figures in such as scale for years, with the more recent ones coming from the TMNT license. I already got the first 1/4 toon figure, Raphael, and now it's on to the second one: Donatello. Since the turtles all looked the same in the show, NECA was easily able to reuse the mold for Raphael for Donatello. The default portrait gives Donnie the reused mad eyes, but the closed mouth is a new piece, and the extra head is a surprised expression with open eyes and mouth. Like before, the eyes and mouths are separate from one another, and can be swapped. There's also a third mouth with a closed smile, but you will need to heat up the plastic to...[See More]