Guardians of The Galaxy Team Pack Review

Guardians of The Galaxy Team Pack Review

A few days back MUReview gave you the scoop about two new Team Packs that hit eBay, the Guardians of The Galaxy, and Fantastic Four FF packs. Tonight, we will take a look at the Guardians of The Galaxy team pack, the first “all new” figure team pack released to this point.Packaging:

Bright colors, nice art, all of the figures are snug and secure.  On the back is a nice little blurb about the GotG, as well as a buy it for the Fantastic Four Team Pack (non-variant).  You also have the 2010 / 2011 Commander Steve Rogers artwork.

Figures

Starlord

Starlord is a pretty figure, excellent paint app.  Very nice articulation, moves at the neck / head, shoulders, elbows, wrists, nice tight hip joints.  He’ll bend at the knee and twist at the ankle, but does not feature that added tilt articulation on the newer legs of figures like Cyclops.  I appreciate the matted difference in the paint on the helmet vs. the body / uniform paint.

My one complaint with the Starlord figure…no holsters! The man’s got guns! Any man with a gun needs a place to put it!  Hardcore fans may agree, or disagree with the red / blue palate, and the decision not to give Starlord his spats.  I don’t mind though.

 

 

 

 

 

Rocket Racoon

This little fella comes with one moving part, his tail, and it’s a good thing too.  Without the tail, he’d spend his days on his a$$ or his face.  No articulation at all here.  He comes with one gun that makes him about twice as wide, and the shape of his gun hand makes a good hold on the gun a little tenuous.  The paint application is good, but standing next to Starlord, he looks less glossy overall, especially the striping on his uniform.

 

 

 

Drax

As far as an accurate visual representation of the character as per his days in the Guardians, Drax is spot on.  The paint is excellent, but where I find fault is the size / scale.  It’s probably just me, but I feel like they could have used a Skaar / Hulk body for Drax, maybe with skinnier legs.  It’s not really how he is, but it’s how I picture him.  Otherwise, he’s got two knives that look great when held, but ridiculous when holstered.  It looks like the back belt holster openings weren’t made far enough apart, so you can’t make the knives fit underneath each other.  As well, when holstered, the handles stick very far out from the body making Drax looks like he’s got little wings.  I think what I  just said may have been totally contradictory…but I want the knives to fit, and I don’t want them to look silly holstered…Hasbro should do that.

Groot

Groot is one of the most enigmatic characters in the Marvel Universe.  He’s a tree.  He’s fairly bad@$$, and he only says “Groot!”.  Outside of Nova he might be one of my favorite characters, simply because I find him saying Groot to be totally entertaining…and he’s a tree.  However, I feel like he’s the biggest miss with this box set.  Hasbro had a chance to make a truly interesting figure at full scale.  I pictured branches all over the place, not really a “whole” figure, but that was my vision.  What we have though is Groot as a sappling just beginning to extend out of a flower pot.  No articulation, and limited detail, which is expected for something of the size, but I was really hoping for fully grown, fully uniformed, GoTG Groot!  For now he’ll hang out in the same case as Drax and look menacing.   (side note, yes…Groot IS mooning you).

You can snag yourself a GoTG Team Pack at our sponsor, BigBadToyStore.

 

 

 

2011 SDCC Exclusive Sentinel giveaway winner announced!!

2011 SDCC Exclusive Sentinel giveaway winner announced!!

Note: So sorry for the delay on this, I’m never trusting article posting to an iPhone app ever again!

I just want to take a quick second to thank everyone that participated in this giveaway. For a site just a month old this past weekend, having nearly 200 entries was very impressive (to me at least!). I will say, most folks settled for the vanilla single entry, and probably would have had a better chance to win had they tossed more tickets in the hat.

So, thank you again for everyone that participated, please, look forward to more giveaways like this in the future, NYCC Exclusives, Customs, whatever neat stuff I can find that you good folks might want. To keep things fair, the winner of this contest CANNOT win the next.

I’ll stop beating around the bush.

Congratulations to MUReview reader jamesmruddy –

I will be in contact with you shortly to obtain address information.

In the mean time you can PM him and post on the forums about how much of a big jerk he is for winning something everyone else wanted.

Thank you all again for participating and stay tuned for more in the future!

Collecting supplies, the MUReview way

Collecting supplies, the MUReview way

I love collecting my Marvel Universe figures, so much so that I’ve dedicated a website to the act.  Seems like every time I put a picture of a figure on a message board, a page, a post, or wherever, I get a question about how I store / display my figures.  The answer is simple if expensive.

I use the Protech CC-5 ACTION FIGURE DISPLAY to encase the figures.  These keep them generally safe and I don’t have to dust nooks and crannies of individual figures.  These cases are perfect for 3.75 inch action figures, there isn’t much headroom for any that are taller, but I have not had a problem fitting the slightly larger Marvel Universe Figures like Colossus or Warpath.  Accessories (Wings, Surfboards, etc… Generally will not fit).

I’ll also make use of the LOOSE ACTION FIGURE SHADOW BOX, which will hold 24 loose figures.  Also great for not having to dust, but it’s a little harder to display and manipulate due to it’s size.  As far as the figures they will hold, it’s about the same as the clear cylinders, but there is a little less room width wise, so those broader figures might have to find a different home.

 

I have, on many attempts purchased the Protech Action Figure Stands for Newer Star Wars Action Figures, but most times I think I get sent the wrong ones, because the pegs never fit the feet (this is from a site that’s no longer online).  I have never been let down though, with the Entertainment Earth Action Figure stands, which I buy through Amazon.

I have also had a good amount of luck using the “Earth Stands” from Earthtoymall.com.  These are single foot stands, so you’ll want two per figure.  

Collecting supplies aren’t without their price.  I used to have a great site I went to that offered this stuff dirt cheap, it was near criminal.  However, I now frequent the http://www.protechproductsinc.com/ which I have found to be great with shipping and very reasonably priced, if not the best price online for most of the above. The Entertainment Earth stands are about 12 bucks a bag from Amazon and you can grab them at the link below.  Hard to go wrong with a product that has the action figure line you collect right on the package.

All model Sentinel comparison

All model Sentinel comparison

I try to be an active member of as many Marvel related forums as I can. It doesn’t always happen, running my own site, having a kid, a job, etc…  Luckily though, I was over on Marvelousnews.com and a forum member posted some great pictures and comparisons of Sentinel figures over the years.  I contacted him and asked if he wanted to do a review / comparison for MUReview.  Turns out, he already had one up.  It is with that, that I am happy to bring you the following from Roshan’s Guides.  (Views expressed below do not necessarily reflect views of MUReview.net and / or it’s affiliates).

Welcome to Roshan’s Guides.  This is the first of (hopefully) thousands of reviews I’ll be bringing to you each week.  I’m going to be hitting all of the best the action figure world has to offer.  But tonight, the first up to bat will be a Sentinel mash-up: San Diego Comic Con Sentinel and the regular release Sentinel.

For those of you who went to San Diego Comic Con, or were lucky enough to get one off of Hasbrotoyshop.com, you already know how massive the Sentinel box is.  It comes in at 28″x19″  (whereas the non SDCC version is 21″x12″).

The reason for the giant size, is due to the figure being carded.  Just like last year’s Galactus, Sentinel joins the ranks of the largest carded figures ever made.

I know it’s not technically feasible to put something like that on a retail peg.  The weight alone of just one would probably tear the peg off the back wall.   But just imagine how cool something like that would look hanging from a peg.  I almost didn’t open the thing for the review because it looked so cool carded.  Almost.

I measured him at 16″ so just slightly larger than the Marvel Legends Build-A-Figure Sentinel, and much bulkier than the legends Sentinel.  I still prefer the Legends Sentinel to the Universe Sentinel, even though the Universe version is still an awesome piece.  I see a lot more human characteristics on the Universe version this time around.  The thing has a belly button.  Really?  A robotic killing machine was designed to have a belly button?  It’s all good though, the figure is still very solid.  Poseability is solid, I count about 20 points of articulation, but the figure holds a pose well, which was often a problem with the Legends Sentinel who was prone to popping off BAF parts when a pose was pushed too far.

The Sentinel also comes with light up eyes and sounds.  I didn’t count how many phrases is spoke but it was enough to keep my son busy pressing the button on the guy for about 10 minutes playing with him and the other Sentinel.  It sounds like they both have the same number of phrases.  I would have preferred to see the button for the sounds on the back since it messes with the aesthetic of the front chest plate, but it’s better for the kids from a playability stance.

Now to compare the SDCC with the standard release:

After going back and forth on it, I prefer the standard release over the SDCC.  I like the colors on the SDCC version, but the retail version just has the added details that put it over the top.  There are scratches all over the shoulder plates of both sentinels, but given the dark purple on the SDCC, it doesn’t show up as well as the retail release.  The retail release also has a manufacturing number on the right shoulder that makes it stand out.

The retail version also comes with a Wolverine pack-in which makes it more expensive than the SDCC version.  Given the additional packaging and carding, and also that there have been so many Wolverine’s in Universe, I feel there’s more value in the SDCC Sentinel if you can find it at a reasonable price.  Just don’t go looking to ebay right now that reasonable price.

So how does this Sentinel stack up the rest with the historical Sentinels?

Like I said before, I still prefer the tried and true, but it’s definitely a step up from the old Toy Biz rotocast versions, and the Wild Sentinel from Classics (yea I know I’m missing the water blaster Sentinel, but I can’t find him ATM). Now as far as value for your money goes, you can’t get a Legends Sentinel for $55 (usually he’s twice that), so if you don’t have the funds, or want to build up an army, the retail version is the way to go.  I hope these things get bought up quick.  The Galactus had a tendency to sit a bit on shelves, but with the Sentinel being an army builder, this should be a hot item to collect.

Marvel Masterworks Sentinel (Retail) – a different kind of figure review

Marvel Masterworks Sentinel (Retail) – a different kind of figure review

I don’t really have any kind of a formula that I’m looking to stick to for the action figure reviews that you will find here on MUReview.net.  I could just come up with a template and fill it out per figure, and I may yet do that.  But, with this guy, I think a little something different is in order.

As a collector, I find that it’s easy to lose sight of what it is that I’m collecting.  I tend to look at my Action Figures as little mini statues, not for play, only for display or, worse, storage.  At the core of it though, I get that the stacks of figures I have on my desk are toys.  I hope I don’t get myself ostracized from the collecting community for saying that.  Probably won’t, but I get that I’m a giant child, regardless of whether I display, or play with my toys.

Toys, as many of us know, may be enjoyed by all, but they really are for kids, children, toddlers, etc…  Collectors just get the obsessive benefit.  Because my passion / obsession is something for kids, I figured, why not let my little guy have a crack at it. He’s only 16 months old, he can’t type, but his reaction when I handed him the Marvel Universe Sentinel (Retail) from Hasbro, was worth a million of your “words”.

He has since formed a bond with this hunk of plastic that I have rarely seen with any of his other toys or stuffed animals.  He carries it around everywhere.  He tries to feed it, give it his nippy, he even asks the Sentinel to kiss his “booboos”.  From the looks of it, he has even figured out how to use it to torment the dog.  Whether he presses the chest button, or we press it for him, his eyes light up just like the Sentinels.  He lovingly refers to him as “Guy”.

Going further, and what’s even funnier is that my wife is now quoting the Sentinel, advising our son to “Stop Halt mutant” out of the kitchen.

If you want more nuts and bolts on the figure, have a look at my SDCC exclusive review here.  Also, just a quick note, the paint job is definitely different.  A few more nice details, and the silver and purple color scheme instead of the purple on purple that X-Men nerds (like me) all grew up with.  One complaint I didn’t address in my original review…or maybe I did.  This guy needs articulated hands / fingers!

It should also be mentioned that, unlike the SDCC Sentinel, this Sentinel comes in a much smaller box, different (very nice) artwork, and a pack in Wolverine that strikes me as the exact same Wolverine as can be found in the Giant Sized X-Men Box Set released earlier this year (to be reviewed at a later date).

Also, check out or SDCC 2011 Sentinel Giveaway here.

Gallery below: