Action Figure Review: Scrap-Iron & Anti-Armor Drone from G.I. Joe: Classified Series by Hasbro

 

   I always love reviewing G.I. Joe: Classified Series figures! It's still my favorite action figure line out there and probably has been since it came out in 2020. Today I'm checking out Scrap-Iron & Anti-Armor Drone, another "deluxe" release that ships in a larger box with a significantly larger than normal accessory. While there's been a good bit of mockery in regards to what Hasbro refers to as deluxe these days, Scrap-Iron really does fit the bill. I'd wager to say that he's one of my favorite Classified Series releases this year to date. I never had Scrap-Iron as a kid (the vintage figure was "Scrap Iron" with no hyphen) as he was released before I was old enough to play with G.I. Joe figures, but I did have his missile system from the Cobra Battle Gear Accessory pack #4. It was a very impressive accessory in the vintage line and Hasbro has done a great job of not just updating it but modernizing it and improving upon it. This guy is incredible and is another great example of what happens when Hasbro's G.I. Joe team fires on all cylinders. Let's check out Scrap-Iron and the Anti-Armor Drone after the break...

Action Figure Review: Two-Face from Batman '66 by McFarlane Toys

 

   So...I know that right away some of you are thinking: "Two-Face didn't appear in the 1966 Batman TV series, did he?"

   You're correct. He didn't. But he almost did. There were scripts created that would have utilized the character, probably in a fourth season. Most significantly, there was an outline by Harlan Ellison which was adapted into a comic in 2014 and there was an animated movie five or six years ago, too. There is also a lot of talk that Clint Eastwood was tapped to play Two-Face in the 1966 television series. So, where does this guy come from? The Batman '66 comic adaptation of the Harlan Ellison script. Recently McFarlane has been mixing characters from the Batman '66 comic series into the Batman Classic TV Series line which I think is a fine idea, but a number of collectors are frustrated with because all of the TV series characters haven't been made yet. Still, Two-Face. This guy and Egghead really got my attention and caused me to start paying attention to this line. I really wish this Two-Face were in the larger scale of the 7 inch DC Multiverse figures, but he's still pretty nifty. Let's check him out after the break...

Action Figure Review: T.U.5.C.C. Sentry from Cosmic Legions by Four Horsemen Studios

 

   Ready for some more Cosmic Legions? Today I'm checking out the second legions builder figure I picked up the night I went to a Cosmic Legions launch party: The T.U.5.C.C. Sentry. Another one of the T.U.5.C.C. employees at Hvalkatar, a combination prison and production facility for the regenerative formula Thryxium, the Sentries have to make sure that no one breaks in or out of the facility. These guys seem to be more concerned with the security of the external facility and are equipped to operate on the outside. Like the Science Officer, the T.U.5.C.C. Sentry is an "army builder" type figure, and thus sells for a little less than the standard named characters. He's got less paint, too, making him feel more more generic, but he still comes with quite a few extras to kit him out in multiple different ways. Let's check out the T.U.5.C.C. sentry after the break...

Action Figure Review: Two-Face as Batman (Batman: Reborn) from DC Multiverse by McFarlane Toys

 

   Remember that time when Two-Face was Batman? It was a popular image from the teaser poster for Battle for the Cowl and appeared as a hallucination experienced by Dick Grayson while under the effects of fear gas, but that was it. Two-Face didn't run around dressed as Batman or anything in the comics. DC Direct released the looks as a figure back in 2010 and that might be the most memorable appearance of this design. Why did McFarlane Toys make this design? Well, it's a unique version of "Batman" for one, plus it's a Batman villain. Throw in that most of the figure is reused and you've got a pretty easy sell for the Batman-centric DC Multiverse line. Considering Batman and Batman-centric characters are the center of my DC collecting, I jumped on this one. I still have the DC Direct version from the Batman: Reborn line, too, though I might be willing to trade it off at this point. Let's take a look at Two-Face as Batman after the break...

Action Figure Review: T.U.5.C.C. Science Officer from Cosmic Legions by Four Horsemen Studios

 

   I picked up four figures on the night I went to the launch party for Cosmic Legions, two of which were legions builders for the first series. I picked up both the T.U.5.C.C. Science Officer and the T.U.5.C.C. Sentry, so we'll start things off with a look at the Science Officer. Trained in science and medicine, the Science Officers both help to guard the laboratories of Hvalkatar and perform routine tasks to keep the production of Thryxium going. As army builders, these guys are a little less expensive and a little more basic than your average Cosmic Legions figure, but they're still nicely geared up and equipped with some cool pieces for versatility. Let's take a look at the T.U.5.C.C. Science Officer after the break...

Action Figure Review: David L. "Bazooka" Katzenbogen from G.I. Joe: Classified Series by Hasbro

 

  The newest series of G.I. Joe: Classified Series figures to be released is mostly made up of new figures, but there is one figure that's a repaint: David L. "Bazooka" Katzenbogen. Well, it's more accurate to say that the repaint was released before the standard figure, as the Tiger Force variant of Bazooka was released as a Target exclusive during the first week of January. The Tiger Force version of Bazooka was the figure I had as a kid, though this version in his classic red, white, and blue jersey is clearly the more recognizable figure. This is one of those reviews where the two figures are so similar and have been released so close together that I'm reusing a lot of my previous review of Tiger Force Bazooka with new pictures. Let's look at one of the members of the 1985 vintage A Real American Hero lineup after the break...

Action Figure Review: Highwarden Slogg from Cosmic Legions by Four Horsemen Studios

   I was definitely aware of the Four Horsemen Studios' Cosmic Legions line but I didn't preorder the initial series or anything. I really do like Mythic Legions but typically the only figures I pick up from it
 are the Masters of the Universe tribute characters. When I learned that Four Horsemen Studios was bringing those tribute to figures Cosmic Legions, I started paying more attention to the line. Besides just Opor-A-Tiv83 and Sskur'ge, I realized that I liked the figures. A lot of the figures, really. I went and preordered two figures and figured I'd wait patiently. But then I learned that a really cool collectibles store not far from me, Needless Toys & Collectibles, was having a midnight release for the launch of the line at 12:01am on July 27th. Well... I ended up heading out late at night in the middle of the week with my friend and former podcasting partner Andrew to drive a county or so over looking for some Cosmic Legions. And that, good readers, is how I ended up with Highwarden Slogg. 

   Highwarden Slogg is the main boss of Hvalkatar, a mining complex and prison operated by T.U.5.C.C. that's key to the story of Cosmic Legions thus far. Hvalkatar isn't known for it's rehabilitation methods but instead for hosting gladiatorial combat using the prisoners and for mining and refining Thryxium, a valuable substance that helps keep Slogg alive. It's in Highwarden Slogg's best interests to keep things running smoothly on Hvalkatar. Let's see how this massive monstrous meanie gets the job done, after the break...