Iron Man (Revoltech)

Revoltech Iron Man (Mark III)

Yyup, that thing lights up! That's no photoshop or camera trickery. Good thing that the instructional manual that comes with this Mark III Iron Man got some pictures in it on how to play with it especially with that "light thingy" there, or else it would probably take me awhile to figure out how to switch that on and off looking at all these words written in Japanese. This is the first Asian-based action figure I have and I actually have to purchase him online. Got some great respect for Revoltech; they did an amazing job creating this Iron Man figure- this is probably the most playable and well designed Iron Man figure I have ever seen.















Now lets start with the sculpt and paint detail. Nothing special about the surface and texture on his armour- it's just the traditional red and gold Iron Man suit. Head and body sculpt is based from the Mark III armour in the first Iron Man movie. The Mark VI version, also from Revoltech, looks neat and cool but personally I like Iron Man better with a circular arc reactor than the triangular one (like that one on Mark VI), that's why I choose this guy over it. I like that they painted those eyes white to make it look as if it's glowing. However, there is one minor issue I'd like to point out, and that is his repulsor shooters right on his palms are way too small- almost pinpoint small, and I want it just a little bigger to make it more noticeable when you look at the entire figure.

What I'm truly impressed about is the poseability on this guy. I love how this Iron Man is so flexible and can do tons of poses yet have all the important details on his armour intact and not getting in the way. Having great amount of articulations is good and I have seen some action figures that have that, but then these would likely ruin the sculpt and detail on the figure. But this Iron Man here got both; it is a pretty well designed action figure.

Almost everything on this guy is ball-jointed. The knees, elbows, shoulders, wrists and neck are ball-jointed, and so no wonder why this guy got some great "pose possibilities." He's got joints underneath his collar bone connecting to his neck so you can hyper-extend his head when you have him do the flying pose. Although this figure doesn't have the ab crunch and the waist swivel, you can't complain any further when you got a diaphragm swivel that lets you bend his torso forward and back.

The secret to that light thingy on his chest is a little tiny battery (one you use on your watch) and a little switch under his diaphragm swivel. You need to detach the chest from his abdomen for you to see and flip the switch, and gaze upon the awesomeness of this figure. One real issue I have with it is that the light flickers every time you move his torso. I guess the switch needs to be stabilized for it not to do so.

The Revoltech Iron Man comes with interchangeable hands that you can switch from either punching, shooting or flying. And most importantly, he comes with this Robert Downey Jr. head, which kinda look a bit like a Japanese anime version of him. I guess that's how they do all their toy stuff in Japan, which I don't mind... it's just that I'd rather want a more accurate face of Mr. Downey Jr. so he doesn't look odd together with my Marvel Legends. Also, he comes with this storage bin where you can put all his stuff and that name thing there for which I don't know what it's called.














I gotta say this Iron Man action figure is probably better than the Hasbro one for alot of obvious reasons. The articulation, the sculpt, and the stuff that comes with this guy just gives it the upper hand. Unfortunately, Revoltech is making only quite a few Marvel action figures but hopefully they will come up with some new ones,... and I am planning of getting their Spider-Man!

Hulk - Face Off (Marvel Legends)

Marvel Legends Face-Off Hulk

Now this, in my opinion, is the "Perfect Hulk" but it's quite distasteful that he comes with the Leader in this Two-Pack: Face Off Series. Like, I only want the Hulk you know? So you can either individually buy this action figure cheap but loose, or with that archenemy of his (that some people doesn't care about) along with its nice packaging and pricey tag. Either way, you may be amazed not only because of the perfect sculpt this Hulk got, but also you can get this big guy to SMASH! It's a smashing Hulk! ...and we'll get to that later.
















Toy Biz did an amazing sculpt on his entire head. You can see he is one angry beast! I don't like the Avengers movie action figure Hulk because he looks kinda anemic; it just lacks rage and power. Now the Series 9 Hulk, also made by Toy Biz, is a good figure to have in your collection considering the fact that it has a classic touch- the square-head ala-Frankenstein face. However, if I'm gonna be assembling an entire Avengers team, I prefer this guy over the classic type. I think the head sculpt is the main reason why I like this guy.

And lets not ignore Hulk's monstrous body. Everything from his torso to his arms and legs is well proportionate. I know some Hulk figures have arm lengths that goes right down to the knees, some got short legs while some need beefing up, but this one here doesn't give you that odd feel. One of the little complaints I have with this guy though are those shimmering holes that fasten the joints on his elbows, knees and ankles. I wish Toy Biz did a better job covering it, but it's no big deal.















Like I've mentioned just awhile back, this is a smashing Hulk having just enough articulation to get this Green Goliath to grip, bash, crush, stomp, pound and pulverize! Have him lift a rock, break an iron bar, or punch a hole on the ground- just do as you please. Another complaint I have with this guy is that open palm on his right hand, how I wish it would be just a punching hand. But with this open palm, I can actually have him do like what he did in the Avengers movie when he "high fived" an alien air unit.

WHAKOOOM

This Hulk got ankle pivots, single-jointed elbows and knees, finger articulation, toe articulation, ball-jointed head and waist swivel. I don't mind not giving him the ab crunch cause he is perfectly fine with his given articulation, and having it may destroy the definition of his body ...so I'm cool with it.

 

I definitely would recommend this Hulk, either get him loose or brand new. He is in perfect scale with most Marvel Legends action figures and some Selects. I wish I have that BAF Red Hulk (by Hasbro) so I can give you a really good size comparison between the two figures from different toylines. Overall, I got no regrets getting this guy.

 

 

Hawkeye: The Avengers (Hasbro)

Hawkeye: Avengers Movie by Hasbro

This Jeremy Renner, ...I mean rather, Hawkeye by Hasbro or Marvel Legends (for that matter) almost... and I mean almost hit all the marks on those aspects you want to have in an action figure. Sculpt and paint detail- check! Articulation- check! But playability?... now this here got some major and totally unacceptable issue- no arrows!




















I thought maybe I overlooked it when I unboxed this figure or someone was messing around with my stuff, but evidence just leads to no arrows for this Hawkeye figure. I heard a suggestion that you can use the Green Arrow's arrows for this guy but I don't frickin collect DC action figures, man! So maybe I'll just innovate and see what scraps I could find in my room.

Anyways, lets move on with his amazing head sculpt. Hasbro just captured all of Jeremy Renner's head and facial features in the Avengers movie. It's like they casted and blow dried Renner's entire head, and shrunked the porcelainized piece ready to be created into clones of little Jeremy Renners. I like that they gave him the sunglasses. I think he looks cooler having it than without it. This action figure stands about 6.2 inches tall; really in good scale with other Marvel Legends figures. He's got that really pure violet colour on those fingers and across his torso. I think maybe they could tone down that colour a little bit so it doesn't look cartoonish, but it doesn't bother me.

"At night, my black arrows fly into the air unseen."

Hawkeye features some great amount of articulation, and that means great poseability! His articulation includes the diaphragm swivel, double-jointed elbows and knees. My favourite ankle rockers are in here! He's got hinges to the wrists and ankles that can move forward and back. Head can move side to side and forward to back. Although, I still want that waist swivel but I can't complain since I can pose him the way I want him.


His quiver is removable and it's actually hallow inside, but there's no entry at the top where you can shove some arrows. I guess that explains why they didn't give him the arrows. But overall, I like this figure and I wish the Marvel Legends Classic Hawkeye that's coming out next year will be better than this one.

Thor (Marvel Select)

Marvel Select Thor

The Marvel Select Modern Thor is probably among those poorly articulated and poorly scaled MS action figures out there. Yet despite my ungodly comments on Mighty Thor here, this is the only Thor so far with the best sculpt and paint compared to other Thors from other toylines. It come as no surprise that Marvel Select would choose aesthetics over functionality. Diamond Select is known to be good at what they do best (that is paint application and sculpt) and it is quite annoying that they can only do what they do best!

But I got to give kudos for its amazing paint job. They did an excellent job on Thor's armour with that metallic wash making it look as real as a chain mail. Also, the paint job and sculpt over his chest area is fabulous. Although I wasn't too impressed with Thor's plain red cape; I think they need to put more detail on it, but overall this is my favourite Thor when it comes to detail.

The hammer with an almost unpronounceable name, Mjolnir is actually not bad. It renders the old depiction of the hammer, which looks rough just like a stone. This Thor comes with a unique base that you can hang up unto a wall for that overt display of glory and mightiness.

Now for poseability and articulation; there are probably just enough hinges and joints for this Thor to proudly stand being this god figure that he is. Actually, I probably would be amazed and consider him as one of my favourites if only his arms can be raised straight up high, and kind of have him summon a lightning with his hammer, but no it doesn't. I can't do something out of ordinary or even basic with this guy except having him show off his muscle and turn his head side to side. This is not so electrifying for the god of thunder.

Furthermore, his height is not in scale with other Marvel Select action figures. Although he is a little taller than the Select Captain America but I think he could have been much taller because he suppose to be taller next to the Hulk.

MS Captain America vs. MS Thor (height)

Despite all these nice details on Thor's entire body, the articulation just isn't appealing to me. I really hope Diamond Select could improve a little on this area, and not just sculpt and paint. Thus, I recommend you to pass on this figure if you plan getting it. MS Modern Thor is not worth the praise.

U.S. Agent (Marvel Legends)

I really care less about how the United States government will be running their country for another 3 years of Obama, but I'm glad with the success of the election... and the result! America has once again inspired other nations and countries around the world from this success. And from that, in return I will be showing you this dude here that may probably resemble America's glory. I could have used a more prominent character like Captain America to do this, but unfortunately I've already showed that guy couple months ago. So... yeah, it is gonna be U.S. Agent!














Unlike Cap, one thing you'll notice right away is that U.S. Agent bares the American flag colours except one- the blue. Now this figure may not seem to be "America-like" for baring such colours like the red, white, and black, but I find it pretty neat and sophisticated, and I guess this figure is actually more resembling than Cap because America is supposed to be a nation of diversity! Also, I don't care if an action figure dress odd and silly as long as it's based from the comic book.

U.S. Agent is part of Wave 3 Marvel Legends by Hasbro. He came with Punisher and Doctor Doom and the rest. He has same height as the Punisher; standing 6'4" I believe, and got same body sculpt as Bucky Cap from Wave 2. Just the head sculpt is different- he looked grumpier as he seems!

As for articulation, he's got ball-jointed head, double-jointed elbows and knees, waist swivel, ab-crunch, and that lovely ankle pivot. One thing I don't like though is that you can't rotate the cuff part on his forearm. I think it's more preferable to have both rotation under the cuff part and the wrist.



 This guy comes with a handgun and a Bowie knife. Like the ML Steve Rogers, there are no holsters to hold the weapons, which is kind of a bummer! Although you can just have him hold the gun and the shield, and take the gun away if you want him to switch to a knife, but it just demerits the playability. And just to point out- holsters can actually add art and beauty to any comicbook-based action figures known to carry guns and other weapons. So that's just sort of my philosophy.
















This figure actually looks pretty good on the shelf. I have less complain about it, which is good. I would vote for U.S. Agent over the Steve Rogers (Marvel Legends- Wave 1) if the two clash together between who's got better feature and poseability. Likewise, I highly recommend him over Steve Rogers.

Spartan - Mark V Gold (Play Arts Kai)

Play Arts Kai Spartan-Mark V

Now here's an appetizer for those who are expecting to get the new Halo game on Tuesday! This is the Gold Spartan - Mark V by Play Arts Kai. Now I know some people picked up those ones from McFarlane, and there are quite a lot of them at Wal-Mart actually, but I like this one better. Although it's a bit pricey but it's worth it. Play Arts has been creating some really awesome action figures lately, based on video game characters, so... go Play Arts! Can't wait to see more of your products.

















I'm not sure how accurate this action figure is compared to Master Chief or whoever that guy is in the game but this is how Square Enix envisioned their version of the Spartan. But the way I see this, I think it's true to the games and the amount of detail is phenomenal!

The entire armour is painted in metallic gold; even the visor is painted in gold, which could have been done better but no biggie. The sculpt on the armour just look complex and really well-defined.

Everything you're looking for in an action figure can be found here. Poseability wise, the Spartan can execute whatever pose you could imagine with ease. It's got ankle pivot, double jointed elbows, and it's got some kind of an extendable shoulder blade so you could actually move the entire arm across the chest. One thing that most people complain about the Spartan, and I guess all Play Arts action figures, are these odd knee articulation. It is like the knees are stretching as they're bent. It's not really obvious though but you'll notice it the longer you look at it.

Playability wise, this action figure has interchangeable hands that you can switch between "pistol-gripping" to "rocket launcher-holding" hands. However, I prefer to use the pistol-gripper for any type of weapon because it has a tighter grip and holds much better than the other one. I wish they added an assault rifle into his arsenal; I just find it unacceptable not giving this Spartan his main weapon. I know the Blue and Red Spartan got the rifles (although no rocket launchers) but this one has none.
















You can place all his weapons around him. Rocket launcher goes on the back, and pistol goes on the right leg. One thing you've noticed on the first photo is that the pistol got that shimmering peg that goes into its hole. I think I'm gonna trim that off just a little so it doesn't look ridiculous.

And overall, this is a nice piece of work by Play Arts, and if you just love Halo, then having this action figure is the way to show your love to it. Just my opinion though.