Ultimate Spider-Man – Scarlet Spider

Ultimate Spider-Man – Scarlet Spider
As is often the case with the Ultimate Spider-Man / Spider-Man toy lines, we get unannounced surprises.  Here with Scarlet Spider, no different, he just came out of nowhere on store shelves, and go figure, you could actually find him?!  There is some awesome stuff here, and some outright terrible stuff, let’s discuss.

Scarlet Spider

The Good

  • The paint is amazing. Glossy, perfectly applied.
  • Attention to detail on the alt color finger tips.
  • Sharp clean lines.
  • All of this good stuff, it’s about paint isn’t it? The paint is awesome.  That’s good, because at the end of the day, this figure looks just like Scarlet Spider, and for how I collect and display, that’s perfect.

The Bad

  • The articulation!  Holy moly, I feel like I haven’t seen figures this limited since the original Secret Wars toy line.  In fact, this figure feels almost like a Daredevil I used to own from that same line.
  • No elbow joints, no knee joints, no wrist or ankles.  No hip movement, no torso movement.  you are getting a figure that can stand up and not much else.

The rest

Harsh, I know, on the articulation, but as stated, I’m displaying this figure.  I’ll never play with him and I don’t make dioramas. Scarlet Spider will fit in perfectly with my collection of many Spidey’s, and he is welcome.

Availability

Amazon had him for me at a few bucks extra, but check KMart, Walmart and Target plus Toys R Us and you probably won’t be disappointed.

Photos!

Minimates: Guardians of the Galaxy – Drax Rocket Raccoon and Groot

Minimates: Guardians of the Galaxy – Drax Rocket Raccoon and Groot

Minimates: Guardians of the Galaxy – Drax Rocket Raccoon and Groot

Well here we go.  It’s time to have a look at what I consider to be the crown jewel of the Guardians of the Galaxy Minimate set.  Crown, because it’s got not only Rocket, not just Groot, but Drax too!!  The set is awesome, let’s check it out.

Drax

The Good:

  • The red tat work is perfect.
  • Outstanding Bautista facial expression is expertly captured.
  • Drax’s upper body is made beefier by a removable muscle vest, this vest makes the size dead on.
  • 2 knives…way better than 1 knife.

The Bad:

  • No holsters for his knives.
  • The nifty tattoo work is paint only, nothing molded.

Rocket Raccoon and Groot

The Good:

  • Rocket is adorable.
  • Rocket’s tail is an excellent assistant to insure balance.
  • Rocket features surprising articulation at hip / waist bend and elbows.
  • Rocket’s gun fits perfectly in his hand.
  • Groot looks perfect in scale with Rocket.
  • The detail work on Groot to showcase tree folds and even leaves is second to none.
  • The head molding captures Groot very well.

The Bad:

  • While Rocket is more atriculated than expected, there are some points of limitation that I would be remiss not to note.  His arms can’t swivel up or down.
  • Groot, in the movie, from my memory has big black soulful eyes.  This figure seems to show that the blacks are the pupil / iris and there appears to be a red outer piece representing the sclera?  Bet no one was expecting medical knowledge here?

Both

The Rest:

  • It’s Rocket and Groot with a bonus of Drax.  Must have!

Availability:

 

Rocket, Groot and Drax Pictures:

Minimates: Guardians of the Galaxy Full Set Pictures:

 

 

 

MUReview received these products for free.

Super Awesome Me!

Super Awesome Me!

Super Awesome Me – Captain America…also, DJ

Not 30 days ago, I was lucky enough to attend the Hasbro “Twas the night before” party in swanky old Manhattan.  At said party (which was absolutely epic), guests were treated to hang out in a line for a little bit, to have their heads scanned to be turned magically into an action figure of their choosing (Choose Captain America or Iron Man).

The process consisted of…well mostly waiting in line, because of course every single human at this party wanted to be scanned!  But after waiting in line, the ‘customer’ sat in a fancy chair in front of a TV, with, of all things, a Microsoft Kinect (360 version, not Xbox One version), on a track below the TV set.  When the system was ready to go, the TV said “stay still”, and the ‘customer’ did so as the Kinect slid back and forth, angling itself a few times until returning back to the middle and resting again.  By this point, your turn was half way over and you were ushered around to the other side of the kiosk where you entered in some quick info and picked your hero.

Less than 30 days later, surprise! Super Awesome Me!  Captain America with my ugly mug showed up on my doorstep!  Now, some things.

1.  Had no idea it was coming, totally, absolutely made my day.

2. It looks INCREDIBLE!  It’s me without the bald spot / receding hairline!

3. This is something you can do for yourself, …just not, now.  The window was at the end of September at limited Walmart and Sam’s Club stores.  However, click this link and check back at that sight often for upcoming windows for scanning and printing.

4. 3 Makes me really sad! I wish you could all go check this out today.  This is really one of the neatest things I’ve seen.

5. In case you were wondering, the heads are 3d printed.  The bodies are the standard Cap and Iron Man 12 inch figures you can find in stores today. The face is made of gypsum rated at 4+ for age range, but it’s delicate…this shouldn’t really be played with.  Also to note…it’s a very interesting thing to touch.  Very grainy feel to the head.

 

Now then, the above said.  Holy crap, thank you Hasbro, this is so freaking awesome.  What are they gonna think of next?  Let’s look at the pictures!

IMG_1586

 

MUReview received these products for free.

Minimates: Guardians of the Galaxy – Ronan and Star Lord

Minimates: Guardians of the Galaxy – Ronan and Star Lord

Minimates: Guardians of the Galaxy – Ronan and Star Lord

The Big Bad and the swashbuckling hero from Guardians of the Galaxy feature as our next look at the Minimates set of the same name.  Ronan and Star Lord come with the bells and whistles you’d hope for for the most part, let’s see how this goes!

Ronan

The Good:

  • Ronan’s facial detail is perfectly captured in Mini form with sharp lines, bright colors and fine detail.
  • Exceptional uniform detail with removable Sash and Cowl (down to the shoulders).
  • Removing the cowl confirms…he’s bald!!
  • Meaty hammer that fits perfectly in his hand.

The Bad:

  • The meaty hammer…it would be nice if it had a lil’ Infinity gem in it.

Star Lord

The Good:

  • Removable / swappable helmet / hair works perfectly to show off the movie experience.
  • Element guns look great and fit nicely in the hand.
  • Star Lord includes walkman and headphones!!
  • Facial detail includes five o’ clock shadow.
  • Star Lords jacket is just layered in detail, first it’s color, then etched sharp lines, looks great!

The Bad:

  • In the movie, Star Lord has a myriad of nifty coats and outfits.  It would have been awesome if we at least got the short coat and the long coat.
  • The headphones…they just don’t fit over the hair.
  • No holsters here.
  • Pelvic Sorcery not included.

Both

The Rest:

  • Ronan and Star  Lord are an excellent set in the Guardians of the Galaxy Minimates series and you should probably go get it today.  Because…I said.

Availability:

 

Ronan and Star Lord Pictures:

Minimates: Guardians of the Galaxy Full Set Pictures:

 

 

MUReview received these products for free.

Minimates: Guardians of the Galaxy – Gamora and Nova Corps Centurion

Minimates: Guardians of the Galaxy – Gamora and Nova Corps Centurion

Minimates: Guardians of the Galaxy – Gamora and Nova Corps Centurion

Next up in our look at the 4 2-packs from the Minimates Guardians of the Galaxy set, Gamora and the Nova Corps Centurion.  Each figure is very well executed, let’s see the finer points.

Gamora

The Good:

  • Once again, incredible fine line detail, even the soft lines on the movie version of Gamora’s face are captured to a tee!
  • Removable hair…but why would you want to?
  • I feel like that’s a really nice sword, AND she’s really happy to see me.
  • Measures up very well to the previously / long since released Gamora comic version Minimate.

The Bad:

  • It would have been cool to have a way / place to hook Gamora’s sword to her.

Nova Corps Centurion

The Good:

  • Really perfectly captures the character as seen in the Guardians of the Galaxy film.  The uniform is spot on.
  • As always, the weapon sits well in the Mini hand.
  • Nova Corps vest is finely detailed.
  • The helmet Nova Burst is dead on, perfect.
  • Very nice multi-colored weapon.

The Bad:

  • With a pair of pliers, I was able to remove the helmet.  Sadly, no painted on hair.  Oh well!
  • As with the Sakaar Trooper, I’d of loved to have seen two Centurions to a pack to help with army building.

Both

The Rest:

  • I’m gonna have to buy a few of these and hope I can find something to do with Gamora I think…

Availability:

    • Not even Toys R Us has these pretties.  You are going to have to pay a little above retail and grab em on Amazon if you want them!

 

Gamora and Nova Corps Centurion Pictures:

Minimates: Guardians of the Galaxy Full Set Pictures:

 

 

MUReview received these products for free.