Saturday, August 31, 2019

Action Figure Review: She-Ra from Masters of the Universe ReAction by Super7

   Wow! This is my third review of a She-Ra figure in just a little over a week. That's great! Right now, thanks to Mattel's She-Ra and the Princesses of Power line there are quite a few different She-Ra dolls on the market. Factor in Super7's "no holds barred" release schedule for the Masters of the Universe line this year and we've received as many or more She-Ra figures this year than MOTUC released during the line's entire run! Today I'm checking out the ReAction She-Ra, a figure that was originally available in a 2-pack at SDCC 2018 with Hordak. I never had that set, though, so She-Ra is all new to me! Let's check her out after the break...

Friday, August 30, 2019

Action Figure Review: Shadow Weaver from Masters of the Universe ReAction by Super7

   For years fans of Filmation's She-Ra: Princess of Power lamented the fact that there had never been any action figure released of Shadow Weaver, the evil Horde Sorceress who was a mainstay in the cartoon. In 2012 Mattel finally released a Shadow Weaver action figure in the Masters of the Universe classics line (she was the yearly subscription figure) but since then there hasn't been another Shadow Weaver released... until now! Thanks to both Super7 and Mattel, we're about to be hit with Shadow Weaver figures. Mattel released Shadow Weaver in their She-Ra and the Princesses of Power line as an SDCC 2019 exclusive (alongside She-Ra) while Super7 has Club Grayskull and vintage styled Shadow Weaver figures scheduled for release within the next few months. 2019 is apparently a very, very good year for Shadow Weaver! Super7's ReAction Shadow Weaver gives us a taste of what a vintage Shadow Weaver might looked like (although in a different scale and style). Let's check out Shadow Weaver after the break...

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Action Figure Review: Modulok A from Masters of the Universe ReAction by Super7

    Wow! It's been almost a month since I reviewed Super7's Modulok B! I've just been busy and reviewing lots of stuff, so it's taking me a while to take a look at all of these. Want to know something else crazy? Now Super7 has a Modulok D out! It was first offered at PowerCon 2019 but is now available online, too. Is there a Modulok C? Who knows? Today I'm checking out Modulok A, though, which is the closest figure to the standard Filmation look for Modulok. He's really the same figure as Modulok B, just with a different head, so this is going to be one of my lazy reviews where I just cover the new stuff. Sound good? Then join me after the break...

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Action Figure Review: She-Ra from She-Ra and the Princessess of Power by Mattel

   At the end of last week I reviewed the deluxe Battle Armor She-Ra and Swift Wind set from Mattel's She-Ra and the Princesses of Power line and today I'm reviewing the standard She-Ra figure. I've actually had these figures for a few weeks but I had to wait until after my daughter's birthday to pull them out. She got a set for her birthday (along with the sword and shield set), and guess what? I have a set of my own! Yeah, these totally are not my favorite Masters of the Universe figures of all time but, really, I'm just excited to see something Masters of the Universe related at mainstream retail in its own toyline. Like with the vintage She-Ra toyline, these dolls feel like a blend of the Netflix cartoon designs with a more traditional, doll influence. Like those vintage toys, they also utilize a mixture of plastic armored bits and fabric clothing to create a toy that's a mixture between an action figure and a fashion doll. I'm curious how fans overall will feel about these: Fans of the show may not like that the dolls have a very different visual style from the animation of the series, though folks who don't like the animation style may be able to appreciate some of the redesigns as they are rendered differently here. Let's take a look at She-Ra, who will always be the Princess of Power, after the break...

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Action Figure Review: Wild Card from Fortnite: Legendary Series by Jazwares

    Today I'm checking out another cool figure from Jazwares' 6 inch scaled Fortnite: Legendary Series toyline and this time it's Wild Card. Wild Card is an outfit from Fortnite that has four distinctive looks depending on the face-plate chosen. Rather than offer up for separate figures with different heads, Jazwares actually included all four face masks as separate, swappable accessories. If you want a full gang you can purchase four copies of the figure but if you just want to display them one at a time, you'll only need one! Interestingly, this guy was released in Fortnite last September. Wait... this guy has been out less than a year and Fortnite managed to get an action figure out of him? That's pretty impressive! Either they're working closely with Epic Games on the license to get out figures of upcoming characters or Jazwares can put action figures of new characters out faster than Hasbro and Mattel, especially considering the figure has been out for a couple of months now. Let's check out the very cool Wild Card after the break...

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Overwatch Ultmates: Soldier 76 (Golden)- Review Coming Soon!

 I just received the Soldier 76 (Golden) from Hasbro's Overwatch Ultimates in the mail yesterday and wanted to show him off a bit. A review will be coming at some point soon, but for now just check out some cool pictures.

Action Figure Review: Battle Armor She-Ra & Swift Wind from She-Ra and the Princesses of Power by Mattel

    Oh my gosh! I'm reviewing an honest to goodness new Masters of the Universe toy from Mattel! Yeah, it's from the She-Ra and the Princesses of Power line based on the Netflix series, but still: It's a Mattel branded MOTU toy! It's kind of been awhile since that has happened (with the exception of Mega Construx) but it seems like it's going to be a thing going forward as Mattel seems to once again be banking on He-Man and She-Ra as having powerful potential at retail, on Netflix, and at the move theaters. The most exciting thing about the She-Ra and the Princesses of Power line to me isn't the having the toys for myself, however: It's that I was able to give this entire line to my daughter for her birthday! My daughter is a huge MOTU fan and, as a 6 year old girl, this line is right up her alley. Her middle name is Adora and while I bought her a few MOTUC figures even before she was born, these are the first MOTU toys that are for her first and foremost. Of course, yeah, I bought a set of most of them too, so these are mine to review.  I just had to hold off on getting mine out to review until after the little one's birthday. First up I'm reviewing the largest set from the new dolls which is the Battle Armor She-Ra and Swift Wind two pack. Let's check this one out after the break...

Friday, August 23, 2019

Action Figure Review: The Visitor from Fortnite: Legendary Series by Jazwares

 It's been about a month since I last reviewed a figure from Jazwares' excellent Fortnite: Legendary Series but I'm getting ready to go through a mini streak and review a couple more. Seriously, I should finish off this series soon. I really like these! 2019 has been the year of surprising video game figure releases from games I just don't play and Jazwares has really put out some great product with this line. The Visitor is probably my favorite figure from this series as not only does he have an incredible look but his accessories make him insanely fun to play with. I've heard folks mention that he may be intended to be a tribute to Boba Fett and Jango Fett but I tend to think he looks more like a blue version of Bane Malar or the Guavian Enforcer. Seriously, though, even if you're not a Fortnite fan this guy would make a pretty good random bounty hunter to hang out with the Star Wars: The Black Series crew. The Visitor outfit is a Legendary outfit from Season 4 of Fortnite and that's about all there is to it so far as I know. You can make up anything you want about this guy, though. Let's check him out after the break...

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Action Figure Review: Tracer (Posh) and McCree (White Hat) from Overwatch Ultimates by Hasbro

    Series 2 of Hasbro Overwatch Ultimates is just starting to trickle out and I was quite surprised last week when the 2-pack of Tracer in her Posh outfit and McCree in his White Hat outfit shipped. Hasbro has a few different SKUs for Overwatch Ultimates and they've definitely been putting out some cool 2-packs so far, pairing together two characters from the game. This is an interesting 2-pack that some folks will love because of the slick color scheme and other will skip because both of these figures are available individually in their standard looks. Since the Overwatch Ultimates line uses new sculpts for each character, Hasbro is definitely going to be using repaints to help balance costs. So far I've been a fan of all the repaints shown and this one is very, very cool. Let's check out Tracer and McCree in their white outfits after the break...

Friday, August 16, 2019

Action Figure Review: Anakin Skywalker from Star Wars: The Black Series Archive by Hasbro

 While I pick up most Star Wars: The Black Series releases, I actually haven't picked up any of the Archive series figures yet. If you're not familiar with the Archive series, Hasbro has been rereleasing some of the harder to find and more desirable Black Series figures from the early years of the line a rerelease in new packaging. Most of the figures aren't really any different but for some figures with visible faces, such as Luke Skywalker (X-Wing Pilot) and Yoda, Hasbro has improved the figures with the new face printing technology. Anakin was the first figure that appealed to me from the Archive series because even though I have the original release, he's one of the few Black Series releases with an alternate portrait. Considering he comes with two improved portraits, I figured he was worth a second purchase. Let's see what the new and improved portraits look like after the break...

Thursday, August 15, 2019

Action Figure Review: Stinkor from Masters of the Universe Action Vinyls by The Loyal Subjects

   Today I'm checking out the last figure from the case of series 2 of The Loyal Subjects' Masters of the Universe Action Vinyls, and it's Stinkor! I really like Stinkor and while he's not one of my very top favorite MOTU characters he's definitely a character I have vivid memories of from childhood. I distinctly recall my mom taking me to see the 1987 re-release of Snow White, taking me to dinner at McDonald's, and then buying me the vintage Stinkor figure. I still like Stinkor figures although I gotta give The Loyal Subjects some criticism since their version of Stinkor doesn't stink. Why not? The vintage figure reeked of patchouli and nearly every Stinkor since then has attempted to replicate the feature. Not this one, though. Still, he's a colorful design and a fun figure, so let's check him out after the break...

Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Action Figure Review: Sorceress (Pink) from Masters of the Universe Action Vinyls from The Loyal Subjects

    Like many other blind boxed lines, The Loyal Subjects have assigned various rarity ratios to the Masters of the Universe Action Vinyls. For series 2 there are two different variants of the Sorceress offered: A standard, Filmation/ vintage toy colored Sorceress who is listed at 1/24, or 1 in every 2 cases, and a "Pink" Sorceress who is listed as a 1/96 rarity, or 1 in every 8 cases. I didn't get the regular Sorceress in my case but I did end up with the "Pink" Sorceress. The vintage minicomcs features lots of unique color schemes for the MOTU crew (often because the artists and colorists were working before toys were finalized or because they sometimes received black and white photos to work with) and the Sorceress in her pink outfit appeared in some of the series 4 and series 5 minicomics, first appearing in Skeletor's Dragon, as well as The Stench of Evil, The Battle of Roboto, The Flying Fists of Power!, and King of the Snake Men, as well as the Princess of Power comic The Story of She-Ra. The Sorceress is one of those characters whose look changed drastically throughout the early years of MOTU, so it's interesting to have different variations of her. The Loyal Subjects seems to love the minicomic variants, so let's check out this somewhat rare variant of the Sorceress after the break...

Monday, August 12, 2019

Action Figure Review: Ram-Man from Masters of the Universe Action Vinyls

    I've got three Masters of the Universe Action Vinyls figures left to review and after today's review I'll be down to two. Today I'm checking out Ram-Man, one of my favorite Masters of the Universe characters. I never owned Ram-Man as a kid but I always was intrigued by how differently he was constructed from the rest of the figures. The vintage Ram-Man is such a unique figure though he's obviously built around his action feature. Most subsequent Ram-Man figures have worked to meet a balance between offering up some updated articulation while still also capturing the Heroic Human Battering Ram's classic proportions. Let's see how The Loyal Subjects captured Ram-Man in this line after the break...

Sunday, August 11, 2019

Action Figure Review: Genji (Chrome) from Overwatch Ultimates by Hasbro

   A week or two ago a new Overwatch Ultimates figure popped up unannounced on Amazon: Genji in his Chrome outfit! While Genji is going to be released in his regular skin as a 2-pack with Hanzo and in the upcoming GameStop 4-pack in his Carbon skin, this version of Genji was a surprise. Genji is a very cool character who not only has a fairly intriguing backstory (which I'll delve into more when the 2-pack comes out) but also has the game-winning strategy of being a cyborg ninja. When I was in 9th grade, back in 1998, I was obsessed with Metal Gear Solid. I loved the game, loved the toyline from McFarlane toys, and even went so far as to make my own Metal Gear movies with friends. Anyways, Genji reminds me a lot of Ninja/ Gray Fox from Metal Gear Solid and that makes me happy. I seriously want to love this guy but the figure has some issues that make him weaker than he should be. Let's check Genji (Chrome) out after the break and see how he fares...

Saturday, August 10, 2019

Random Overwatch Pics: Review Coming Soon!


Action Figure Review: Mer-Man from Masters of the Universe Action Vinyls by The Loyal Subjects

      I've been slowly making my way through some of series 2 of The Loyal Subjects' Masters of the Universe Action Vinyls line and today I'm checking out one of the original Evil Warriors: Mer-Man! Like the other figures in this series, Mer-Man is a 3 and a 1/4 inch stylized figure that sort of feels like a miniature version of a Masters of the Universe Classics figure. For series 2, The Loyal Subjects made some changes to the line including changing the base bodies up a bit and selling some of the figures in window boxes. It seems to me that around half of the figures in each case are sold in an open window box while half are sold in a blind box. It's an interesting way to approach a line that previously was fully blindboxed. Anyways, let's dive in and check out Mer-Man after the break...

Friday, August 9, 2019

Action Figure Review: Reinhardt (Bundeswehr) from Overwatch Ultimates by Hasbro

    Want to know a secret? So far this year, Hasbro's Overwatch Ultmates line is one of my favorite toylines. Other than being passingly familiar with a few of the characters, prior to 2019 I hardly paid Overwatch any attention. The Overwatch Ultimates line has been one of my favorites of 2019, though, and thus I've found myself delving into the incredibly deep mythology and storyline of the series. I haven't played the game any, as I don't really like multiplayer games or team shooters, but I'm still loving the strong characters Blizzard has created. Having now read up on the game I can say with a bit of experience now that Reinhardt Wilhelm is indeed one of my favorite characters. He must be fairly popular as Hasbro released an exclusive version of him at SDCC 2019. Decked out in his camouflaged armor from his time in the German Armed Forces, this version of Reinhardt is noticeably different from his non-exclusive counterpart. While this isn't the character's signature look this definitely is the stronger of the two figures. Let's check out Reinhardt (Bundeswehr) after the break...

Thursday, August 8, 2019

Action Figure Review: Fisto from Masters of the Universe Action Vinyls by The Loyal Subjects

    Today I'm checking out yet another figure from series 2 of The Loyal Subjects' Masters of the Universe Action Vinyls line and this time it's one of the Heroic Warriors: Fisto! I love Fisto as he's just a simple, bearded warrior with a massive metal fist. What's not to like? Despite being gimmicky (again, giant metal fist and he's named Fisto), he definitely didn't feel as gimmicky as some of the later Heroic Warriors in the line. Fisto always felt like a character who was just waiting to break into the A-list of MOTU characters, especially in the 200x series where he was written as Man-At-Arms' brother and, possibly, the true father of Teela. Fisto: Heroic hand-to-hand fighter, foe of the Snake Men, absentee father, and star of multiple memes. Let's check this guy out after the break...

Wednesday, August 7, 2019

Action Figure Review: Modulok B from Masters of the Universe ReAction by Super7

   Today I'm checking out one of the two Modulok action figures from the most recent series of Masters of the Universe ReAction figures. While you probably think of the "evil beast of a thousand bodies" when you think of Modulok, the Filmation cartoons made the character much simpler by giving him a standard, symmetrical body and only one head. This figure is actually labeled as Modulok B; while this head is indeed one of the two included with the vintage toy, Modulok didn't actually "wear" it on the Filmation series (although he did pick it up one time and show it off." Still, this must have seemed like an easy chance to reuse the mold for Modulok, so Super7 went with it. I really think swappable heads would have been a cool feature here but that's not how things played out. Let's check out Modulok after the break...

Monday, August 5, 2019

Action Figure Review: Malynna from Mythic Legions by Four Horseman Studios

   Today I'm checking out the second Masters of the Universe homage figure from the Soul Spiller series of Mythic Legions figures and this time it's Malynna, an evil Uubyr who pays tribute to Evil-Lyn. Malynna is an Uubyr which is a hybrid of a vampire and an orc and who hangs around as part of the villainous Circle of Poxxus. While I haven't really collected Mythic Legions, I've lately been picking up the MOTU tribute figures. What's really cool about these is that they really show how strong the MOTU color palettes were for the vintage figures. Just seeing the yellow and that light blue color on this figure alone immediately brings to mind the vintage Evil-Lyn figure. Like most other Mythic Legions figures, Malynna seems to feature a number of reused parts mixed with some new parts and colors. Since this is my first female Mythic Legions figure, she's all new to me, though. Let's check out Malynna after the break...

Sunday, August 4, 2019

Action Figure Review: Mantenna from Masters of the Universe ReAction by Super7

    Today I'm checking out another member of the Evil Horde from Super7's Masters of the Universe ReAction line: Mantenna! Like with the rest of the Horde in this series, Super7 has opted to go with a more Filmation inspired look rather than a toyline inspired appearance. I wonder why, since the line usually seems so inspired by the earliest years of the toyline? Anyways, Mantenna is still easily recognizable and definitely more lovable here. He's just such a lovable loser in the Filmation series that you can't help but feel bad for the poor guy. Mantenna stands out not only because of his unique appearance but also because he features an action feature, something that doesn't often happen in this line (Mekaneck has a working neck while Scare Glow actually glows). Let's check out this evil spy with pop out eyes after the break...

Thursday, August 1, 2019

Action Figure Review: Cowarros from Mythic Legions by Four Horsemen Studios

    Prior to a month or so ago the only Mythic Legions figure I owned was the Orc Legion Builder 3 figure but recently Four Horsemen Studios released the Soul Spiller series of figures and I just had to pick up the Masters of the Universe inspired characters from the line. Today I'm checking out Cowarros, a heroic feline warrior who serves under the lion warrior Leodysseus. Of course, this guy is absolutely inspired by Cringer/ Battle Cat from Masters of the Universe. I mean, where else have you ever seen a green tiger with orange stripes? My guess is that the name Cowarros might be a play on the word "coward" since the Filmation version of Cringer was notoriously cowardly (plus, his name featured the root word "cringe"). Cowarros went on pre-order last summer but he's finally here to either bolster your Mythic Legions or give your MOTUC collection an alternate take on Cringer. Let's check him out after the break...