Monday, June 13, 2016

Action Figure Revew: Guardians of the Galaxy from Marvel Legends Infinite Series by Hasbro

  Today I'm looking at the Guardians of the Galaxy Marvel Legends: Infinite Series 5-pack that was released late last summer. An exclusive to Entertainment Earth, the set is an online only release that features the five most prominent members of the Guardians of the Galaxy in their comic inspired outfits. Not only did the film Guardians of the Galaxy prove to be wildly successful but it also had an impact on the comic (which wound up taking some cues from the film). Of the five figures in this set, two were originally build-a-figures (Rocket Raccoon and Groot), one was released as part of a difficult to find convention exclusive set (Star-Lord), and one is entirely new (this is the first comic Gamora released), so it's a pretty desirable set for fans of the team. Besides, how often can you typically purchase most of a superhero team at one time? Usually teams get spread out over years! I've watched this set since last year and now that it has been dropping to around 25% off at a few places I decided to jump in and snag it before it simply disappears. Ready for a look at this bunch of a-holes from Knowhere? Then join me after the break...



 The Facts:

The set originally retailed for $120 dollars as an Entertainment Earth exclusive but lately they've had it on sale for $90 dollars. That's less than $20 a figure which is a real steal. As you're about to see, this is an incredible set with some solid figures. How cool to form an entire team in one swoop, right? The set comes in this gorgeous, oversized 5 panel box with some great artwork. on the front and interior flap.
Drax the Destroyer

Height: 6 3/4 inches tall

Articulation: Swivel/hinge ankles, double hinged knees, swivel thighs, ball jointed hips, swivel waist, mid-torso hinge, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel biceps, double hinged elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, hinged neck, and a ball-jointed head.

Accessories: Two smaller knives, two larger knives, two sets of swappable hands (gauntlet and normal), and two wrist guards.
 Gamora

Height: 6 1/4 inches

Articulation: Swivel/hinge ankles, double hinged knees, swivel thighs, ball jointed hips, mid-torso balljoint, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel biceps, swivel/hinge elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, and a ball-jointed head.

Accessories: Sword, cloak, cape, and two interchangeable portraits (hooded and unhooded).
 Groot

Height: 9 inches

Articulation: Swivel/hinge ankles, swivel/hinge knees, swivel/hinge hips, swivel/hinge mid-torso, swivel/hinge shoulders, bicep swivels, double hinged elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, and a ball jointed head.

Accessories: None
 Rocket Raccoon

Height: 2 7/8ths inches

Articulation: Ball jointed tail, swivel waist, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel/hinge elbows, forearm swivels, and a balljointed head.

Accessories: Three rifles and a potted baby Groot.
 Star-Lord

Height: 6 5/8ths inches tall

Articulation: Swivel/hinge ankles, double hinged knees, swivel thighs, ball jointed hips, swivel waist, hinged mid-torso, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel biceps, double hinged elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, a hinged neck, and a ball jointed head.

Accessories: Two Kree sub-machine guns and a cosmic cube.



* Drax's articulation is awesome. I'm really torn between Hasbro's Marvel Legends and Mattel's WWE Elite as having the best mass market articulation right now but Marvel's using double jointed elbows from time to time (along with their superior ankles) might just steal the thunder away from Mattel. This guy is tons of fun to pose in a variety of warrior-like stances totally befitting a guy named Drax the Destroyer.

 * I love the look of these armored gauntlets Drax is wearing. The glove portion are simply sculpted hands with some wicked looking nails while the wrist guards are separate pieces that float over the forearm. The paint work on these is quite nice and is extremely clean. These definitely seem like effective tools for heightening Drax's savagery in combat.


* This might be a new head-sculpt. It's certainly not the headsculpt from the movie figure nor is it the figure from the Return of Marvel Legends series 2. I like. It looks appropriately pissed off without being full on out of control (Drax seems to possess some restraint) and just has a lot of character.

 * This Drax uses the legs from the Guardians of the Galaxy movie figure which means that he has the cool armored boots with sheathes attached. The pants and boots are really cool and the boots have a great drybrushing effect on them that makes them look weathered and worn, something that always shows the true quality of a pair of boots.

* Look at all these knives! Drax the Destroyer comes with four knives: Two that are the same as those that came with the movie figure and are designed to fit into the boot sheathes and two which are just massive and wicked looking. The smaller knives have a nice paint wash while the larger knives actually have painted handles (one of these knives also showed up this year with Nuke). I love that Drax comes with all this sharp stuff!



* If you're not all about Drax's armored gauntlets you can swap out Drax's hands for these standard green hands. They swap easily and have a tighter grip for the smaller daggers.


 * Gamora looks great. Her face is quite lovely and the various paint on her headsculpt is neat and clean. The hair also looks good flowing over her shoulders. 


 *  Gamora comes with a unique skull shaped belt buckle attached to a plain brown belt. This piece is not removable but it does float loosely over Gamora's hips.


 * Gamora comes with a pretty cool robe, cape, and an alternate hooded head with a different expression (she looks pretty pissed off here) to give you multiple ways to display her. The robe is a fabric piece that has a hole for her head and her right arm, which helps to keep it anchored. The cape is a simple plastic cape with painted gold clasps that fits around her neck and stays on quite well. To top things off, throw the alternate head on (it swaps easily) and now she has a hood covering her. I love how these separate accessories give her so much display versatility!


* Gamora comes armed with a crazy sword. This thing is pretty fearsome looking and fits nicely in her right hand (she could hold it in both hands except that her left hand is a permanent fist) for killing whatever baddies get in her way. It seems to be molded in gold plastic with a silver painted blade.

* Gamora seems to have the same body as many other female Marvel Legends figures which means that the body is solid, the upper body has and lower legs have really good articulation while the hips are a bit restrictive. Still, it's a pretty good body and doesn't feel at all rubbery. Actually, that's a really big plus for all of these figures: They all feel solid and sturdy with no rubbery plastic or joints.



 * Drax has unique pants (well, he shares them with another Drax figure) while Rocket, Groot, and Star-Lord get their own unique sculpts. That makes Gamora feel like she's getting shortchanged a bit. Her outfit is pretty much all paint. It's clean paintwork but it's still paint. Some sculpted parts (even just a new torso) would have been incredible. She does come with an alternate head, cloak, and cape, though, so maybe she's actually coming out ahead.

 * Groot was originally a build-a-figure in the movie based Marvel Legends Guardians of the Galaxy line but I never got the chance to fully build him (I skipped Nova and the Space Armor Iron Man). Fortunately, I now have the chance to play with the figure (you could swap the movie head on this body) and it's really fun. The articulation might be a bit more stiff than your average Marvel Legends figure but it still works pretty well.


* Wow! That's a scary Groot! While the body is reused from the movie figure, the head is not; it's entirely new and is really, really creepy. I'm digging it although it is hard to reconcile this version of Groot with the version we see in the film. Still, good work is good work and this head sculpt is just aces.


* Again, since the body is reused from the movie version of Groot, you get the same cool sculpting that figure had. There's a nice dark wash here that makes this figure look much better than the movie version, however. I love the darker, richer brown color, too.


* I love how Groot's body looks like musculature and veins made out of organic plant matter and wood. It's just such a cool aesthetic and it looks incredible.


* Rocket Raccoon does have some limited articulation but that's kind of expected with a small figure like this. Articulate his smaller legs and you might make them too fragile and not able to support the figure's weight. The ball jointed head and arms are great, though, and give him plenty of personality.



 * Even wielding a gun as large as he is (or larger!) Rocket stands really well. His ball jointed tail really does help serve as a movable base that allows him to stay standing no matter what this little guy is wielding. Doesn't he look happy to be packing so much heat?


*And rocket certainly is packing some heat! He's got three rifles and they're all pretty cool. They even all have extra paint applications. Coolest of all, though, is that Rocket comes with...


* The Destroyer Armor Prototype Gun! Yes, this is the gun that Agent Phil Coulson used in The Avengers against Loki aboard the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier. This thing looks truly wicked and it's pretty cool that Rocket uses it. How'd he get his paws on it? Thievery, probably.

 * Little Groot is also included in this set! Perhaps you could consider him an accessory for Groot but I always lump him in as an accessory for Rocket in this state. The older Marvel Universe Guardians of the Galaxy set came with a very similar accessory so perhaps Hasbro was able to simply resize that earlier sculpt. They look pretty similar other than paint differences, don't they?


*Star-Lord also has fantastic articulation. He's a truly delightful figure to pose as his joints are all tight and sturdy and they have an excellent range of motion. There really just isn't a weak figure in this set, is there?


* This figure looks awesome! He originally was exclusive to an impossible to actually obtain Hasbro SDCC exclusive (the Thanos Imperative set) but now you can get him here much more easily. I like his colors better, too. The sculpting here is impressive and really conveys a different tone than the movie version of Star-Lord.

* Seriously, there are so many cool details on this figure and the paintwork really helps them to shine. I love the covers over Star-Lord's boots and the button up gloves he wears. It's very official looking and has such a unique flare to it. It's very un-sci-fi looking which makes it stand out all the more.

 * Peter Quill comes with his dual Kree sub-machine guns. The sculpts are nice and he holds them well but wouldn't a bit darker plastic have been a good choice? I guess it doesn't really matter here, though, as maybe the bluish metal color is standard in some other galaxy. They look just fine when he's wielding them, though.

* Star-Lord also comes with a cosmic cube. It's just a translucent blue cube, but what more did you expect? I'm assuming this is the cube given to Star-Lord by Kang the Conqueror that the Guardians used to fight Thanos. It's a cool extra in a set overflowing with goodness. Unfortunately, Star-Lord has a tough time holding it...



* Drax holds it just fine in his gauntlet clad open hand. Pretty cool looking, right? #TeamWork
 I have to admit that I already am heavily biased towards nearly anything related to Guardians of the Galaxy but this set surpassed my expectations and I can't believe that I didn't pick it up last year! This is truly an Epic set: Excellent, quality figures, a handful of accessories, and the fact that you're getting an entire team in one go. That's just pure win all around! If you haven't scooped this up and you have any love for the Guardians of the Galaxy at all, I'd advise grabbing it as soon as possible. Chances are that as the second film approaches (we're less than a year away from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2!) merchandise will rise in popularity and folks will snap these up, especially considering you can now find this set for around 25% off! It's a great purchase and another Marvel Legends entry that makes me wish Hasbro were handling the DC license at retail. While Hasbro is really doing some weird stuff with Star Wars right now, they're firing on all cylinders with Marvel Legends aren't they? Confirmed Epic!

I've reviewed a few other Guardians of the Galaxy toys on the site such as the Marvel Legends movie versions of  Drax and Star-Lord, the Disney Infinity Groot and Rocket Raccoon and the smaller scale Star-Lord and Gamora from the main movie toyline. I've checked out many other Marvel Legends figures, including:

Marvel Legends: Captain America by Hasbro (2016)
Nuke

Marvel Legends Infinite Series by Hasbro
Captain Marvel (Maidens of Might)
Ms. Marvel, Captain America, & Radioactive Man 3-Pack
Scarlet Witch (Maidens of Might)
Spider-Woman (Fierce Fighters)

Marvel Legends Infinite Series: Captain America: The Winter Soldier by Hasbro
Baron Zemo
Hydra Agent
Red Skull

Marvel Legends Infinite Series: Spider-Man by Hasbro
Jack O'Lantern (Villains of the Night)
Spider-Girl (Warriors of the Web)

Marvel Legends: Iron Man 3 by Hasbro
Classic Iron Man
Heroic Age Iron Man
Iron Monger Build-a-figure
Iron Patriot
Ultron

2 comments:

  1. AGREE AGREE AGREE, I love this set! It worked SO well for me, because I have absolutely none of these figures in any form, and didn't even have any Groot parts. Amazing set all around.

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    1. Yeah, this set is just pure fun. Hasbro makes some incredible Marvel Legends figures right now. I wish they'd release comic or film versions of some other characters from the GOTG movie.

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