Iron Monger (Marvel Legends)

Marvel Legends Iron Monger

After all those random visits at Target and Wal-Mart (in Canada), I finally completed the Build-A-Figure Iron Monger along with getting those figures like Bleeding Edge, Ultron and others that carried Monger's BAF parts with them. I could have bought the last three parts/figures at BBTS, which they released three months before it finally showed up in the store, but I just don't wanna pay for shipping for these figures. I mean, you can easily find Hasbro Marvel Legends at your nearest supermarkets and shopping centres, so why go all through that expenses?















Taking a glance at this figure, I thought it is very cool looking but then again, Hasbro continually gave us Build-A-Figures that are shorter than those Toy Biz ones. In fact, it's even getting smaller and shorter for every Wave! But for me, as long as Hasbro keep showing improvements (though sometimes screwing things up) with creating and designing their action figures, I guess I'll be fine even with all their growth-deficient BAF's.

Like the Hasbro ML Ultron, Iron Monger primarily gets its colour from the plastic it's made of while this is being covered with a glossy outer layer that made this figure shine and shimmer. In addition to its gloss, this figure has some tiny dust-like glitters scattered across its armour that (although seem unnoticeable) adds a sort of metallic look on Monger. Still, you can see some of these swirls and twirls on its plastic but not as bad and obvious as that of Ultron.

In reference to the comic books, the rendition of this Iron Monger is phenomenally accurate. Given with extra bits of aesthetic features, Monger maintains its classic look; the rectangular arc reactor, the visor, and the all-blue armour. They added some muscle folds around its torso, a big charging port at its back, and lines and grids for a much fancier look. Also, I really like that they added a pair of these cable wires on each of its arms but with that antennae on its shoulder, I don't think if it's necessary to add that albeit rather can be permanently removed with customization.

Although I wasn't able to successfully make Monger do a "flying pose", like the Marvel Select Rhino, Monger can stand in one foot and execute a beautiful "charging pose" without the help of a clear stand. Despite its wider girth, this Marvel Legends figure has, probably, an average score in poseability, which isn't bad.

Monger has that ball and socket neck that lets his head turn 360 degrees, lean side to side and gaze down but hardly look upwards because of this collar around its neck. With its diaphragm joint, it is still achievable to get Monger to look up as well as other torso movements. Monger got ball-jointed shoulders that, if it wasn't for these stiff shoulder guards, may have get it to raise its arm all the way up. It has bicep swivel, ball-hinged elbows that lets it flex and swivel right at the elbow line and a couple of these wrist twists. The legs can kick forward and back, and at the sides. It has double-jointed knees, ball-hinged ankles that turns side to side while slightly hindered by the armour around its legs. Thankfully, its ankle pivots functions properly.

Standing at around 7.6 inches tall, it is in perfect scale with any standard Hasbro or Toy Biz Marvel Legends you'd like to throw beside it. Versus the Hulkbuster, Iron Monger is undeniably much leaner and shorter... as it should be though. Having read some positive reviews about this Build-A-Figure, no doubt this figure is a must-have for every Legends collector.

Ultron (Marvel Legends)

Marvel Legends Ultron

When this Marvel Legends Iron Man Wave came out, I am one of those few people who became restless as to why we got an Ultron figure instead of a Mandarin if this Wave is actually a tie-in with those Iron Man/Avengers movies. Honestly, I didn't expect Ultron to come out nor even realize its significance. Now after Avengers: Age of Ultron got announced at the SDCC 2013 event, I don't know if Hasbro already knew about this bad robot but, apparently, they released this action figure couple of months before the event. Whether this is planned or just coincidence by Hasbro, none of us, geeks expect that Ultron would be the main villain in the next instalment.













There are a lot of speculations flying around about this new Avengers movie opening in the year 2015, but a confirmed fact states that Tony Stark will be Ultron's creator (instead of Hank Pym a.k.a. Ant-Man). I think this will be our first time to see J.A.R.V.I.S. (voiced by Paul Bettany) going haywire as he/it will slowly turn into one of the Avengers' toughest foes, ...but this is just my own speculation. I'm not so sure what is really going on behind those curtains, but I think this could be possible.

And so... yeah, we finally got a 6-inch scale Ultron figure for our Marvel Legends collection. Looking at this figure, I can't say I am disappointed nor too happy with it. I still think the sculpt and the paint detail of the Marvel Select Ultron is quite unmatched when it goes up against all the Legends ones. While the MS Ultron holds a more classic look, this Hasbro ML Ultron has that modernistic and a bit of Iron Man-esque look in it.

Ultron gets its colour from this gray plastic that is being used to create this figure. If you look closely, you can see some swirls and twirls around Ultron's smooth and glossy body. There are some colour shading around this figure but it is really not that of a huge deal.

I am not too impressed with the sculpt, however, I like that they added these shoulder guards, that bony spine going down its back and the ala-Colossus type of skin; making it looked bad ass. This modern day Ultron may have more features than the Select version but some of these features are out of proportion. The feet are way too big and tall as well as that clenched fist in its right arm.

The poseability on this figure though is better than the Select version, however, this Marvel Legends figure is not among those other figures in this toyline with great amount of articulation. With a head that moves all the way up and ball-hinged shoulders, you can easily take this Ultron on a flight mode. In addition, Ultron got double-jointed elbows, wrists that can rotate and bend, also, the torso can rotate and bend. It got ball-hinged hips, upper-thigh swivel, double-jointed knees, ankles that can rotate and bend but no pivot.

If you're into customizing action figures, I am sure it is going to be easy for you to paint this guy with all gray and do some colour shading to cover this swirly-twirly thing going around its plastic. Unless Hasbro intended to have an Ultron that looks like a caramel-coated candy, then, really, I'm not feeling this one and they need to realize that it actually doesn't look nice. I wouldn't I say "I recommend" this figure but rather say get him to complete your Iron Monger Build-A-Figure or get him for your Avengers collection.

Catwoman: The Dark Knight Trilogy (Play Arts Kai)

Play Arts Kai Catwoman: TDKR

After I saw Anne Hathaway finally donned a superhero role and played the ever sexy yet deceitful Catwoman in that third and final instalment of the Dark Knight, I wasn't sure if I should be happy that she finally entered into this genre or feel bad knowing that that was her first and last movie being as Catwoman. She actually did a pretty job handling the role, and although she might get another offer for another superhero role, she will always be marked in my head as the Catwoman! Nolan's Batman trilogy is one of my favourite superhero movies of all time, and I'm so glad that one of my favourite toylines, Play Arts, finally entered into making some movie characters and getting Batman and Catwoman on hard plastics and ratcheting joints.











Like the Play Arts Kai Dark Knight Batman, the sculpt on this figure is fabulous. All that definition, especially those curves, just captures what the actress would probably look like if she's shrunk into an 8-inch action figure. I like how Play Arts gave you that option of getting her hair sway around her side to better appreciate the entire sculpt of this figure. As for the face/head sculpt, there is no doubt that this figure had come close to the actual Hathaway-Catwoman in the movie.

By checking the surfaces around her "get-up", you could see different textures on different areas. The torso is mostly covered with this fine grain of dots looking like meshed spandex, while her arms and legs are smooth and has a little gloss in it. In addition to this skin tight all-black spandex, comes a couple of these pointy heels painted with metallic silver, which (aside obviously from her face) stand out. Catwoman's utility belt are sculpted perfectly yet you can't really notice it from this photo because there is no paint shading nor texturing aside from just being solid black.

Articulation wise, this figure is comparable to some of those Marvel Legends action figures with the shoulder blade articulation like the one in X-Force Wolverine. But having said that, there's still that standard Play Arts Kai knee joints that elongate every time you bend her legs. To point all of them, this Catwoman got a double ball-jointed neck (yes, I said double) that extends and hyperextends her neck to the front and sides, however with her long fiery red hair, you cannot have her look up.

She got ball-jointed shoulder, swivel to the biceps, ball-hinged elbows, and ball-hinged wrists. At her torso lies her diaphragm swivel that lets her turn and lean side to side, and waist swivel that is a little hard to twist and turn. She got this T-joint that is ball-hinged that lets her move her legs forward and back, and spread outwards. The only letdown this figure has is that it got no thigh swivel, and even with the ball-hinged ankles, this figure still needs those cuts around the thighs desperately for better poseability.

Catwoman got a few interchangeable parts. As I've mentioned earlier, she got an interchangeable hair that goes from loose and hanging to that shampoo-like commercial type, and faces that are switchable for her masquerade ball and voyeurism. She has a pair of hands that seem to perform some kind of a claw attack but doesn't have any claws. Surprisingly, I didn't expect her to come with a 9mm handgun since I am used to of her carrying a bullwhip like in the comics, but I'm still happy about this accessory. But I wished she could have at least two more interchangeable hands or parts and that's the other complain I have with this figure.

Overall, the Play Arts Kai Catwoman is a likeable action figure because of how she's accurately being sculpted to look just like in the movie. Standing next to Batman, Catwoman is just in the right scale with the right height and body mass. Batman fans may want to include this in their collection.

Gambit (Marvel Select)

Marvel Select Gambit

Here's a guy that can turn his deck of cards into stack of grenades; behold the Ragin' Cajun, Gambit! For sure, he is one of the coolest guys around in the X-men universe with powers never to be underestimated. Since 2011, the year when this action figure was released, the Marvel Select Gambit, so far, still got the most accurate rendition on a Gambit when compared to other brands. Sporting a classic look (the pink shirt) based from the cartoon, this figure got all what it takes to make it look good on display with a lot of accessories to choose from. May that be Gambit throwing his cards or Gambit holding his bo staff; you name it... Gambit got it.














When it comes to sculpt and paint job, there are two areas in this figure that brought me awe! First, the head and face sculpt really captured the ones from the T.V. series or comics while getting that realistic details from the paint. Upon its great head sculpt, a lot of people say he looked a bit like James Franco or David Beckham but, for me, he just look the good ol' slick and suave Gambit. I like how the paint job on the hair appears to be having that black-brownish look, and that facial grimace made this figure as alive as his kinetically charged cards.

Second, Gambit's signature trench coat added some "energy" on this figure. With the coat's bottom part slightly bent towards the back, it renders a kind of air-assault look. Made of soft plastic, this trench coat got a lot of folds and creases around it along with these dark colour shadings making it more fabric-like. Gambit has a body-type of a sprinter so his entire body especially the legs are much leaner. The application of dark colours between those muscle folds on the torso defined Gambit's physique.

The articulation on this figure is being hindered a bit by the areas being covered by his trench coat. Gambit got a ball-jointed neck that moves his head up but doesn't go far. He got ball-hinged shoulders, swivel to the biceps, single-jointed elbow, and swivel to the wrist. This figure got a beautiful diaphragm swivel that lets him rotate to the sides and lean forward and back and to the sides. He got ball-hinged hips that lets his legs move forward and to the sides, upper thigh swivel, single-jointed knees, and hinges to the ankles that lets it move up and down. No ankle rotation or pivot on this figure.

This figure comes with a Danger Room back drop that looked kinda like the one on the Marvel Select Storm, which I turned into a flooring (if you've noticed it among these photos). Gambit has quite a lot of interchangeable hands. One hand is used for holding a charged-up cards. There is a throwing hand that can latch on into this purple energy with flying cards molded in it, and then you got a pair of hands for his bo staff. He got two sets of flying cards; one set can be held with his fingers and the other one doesn't have anything that could let Gambit hold unto.

The Marvel Select Gambit stands about 7.5 inches tall and is on the same height as the MS Nightcrawler. This is a very well done action figure by Diamond Select Toys and I totally recommend it if you're trying to complete your team of Marvel Select X-men.

Vikor (Masters of the Universe Classics)

Masters of the Universe Classics Vikor

If there is one guy from the Masters of the Universe Classics that can closely render the likeness of Conan, then that's gotta be Vikor. Out from his package, this guy can easily be mistaken as the "other guy" for those who are not huge into collecting MOTUC figures because of one simple feature- the loin cloth! That's right! Those furry loin cloths have always been a popular active wear for both boys and girls of this Eternia kingdom, but one guy seems to go against the groove and that's my man, Vikor right here. Regarded as the "He-Man of the North", this guy simply out-styled a rather much standard warrior-type looks of the most powerful man in the universe.












The overall feature of this guy looks kind of like a crossbreed between a Hun and a Viking. Vikor's horned helmet, robe and shield are very much Viking-like. However, when you look at his dark hair and brownish skin colour and, especially, the shape of his eyes, it strongly resembles that of a Hun... or someone like Attila.

One cool feature about this guy is the sheath for his sword is placed at the back; just above his butt that holds his sword stably without causing any issues with the articulation. Being a northerner such as he is, he wears this robe that is completely irremovable; being tied around his neck with this ornamented necklace, which is sculpted and textured nicely to look just like a real furry robe for that nasty northern weather. Like we've discussed, his loin cloth is different than most we've seen in this toyline; this torn dirty drape made of soft plastic makes him a lot refreshing to look.

In addition, each wrists has these medieval handcuffs molded together with these real chains that hang loose (a memory of a prisoner he once become). Unlike his "southern" counterpart, Vikor's set of weapons comes with unique designs. Given with a green and red colour scheme, he got a shield with a huge spike in the middle, and a more simpler yet beautifully crafted sword and battle axe.

While I think it is needless to go over with the articulation after I did all that review with He-Man and King Grayskull, I still want to mention how smooth these joints move as I execute every pose I could think of from this figure. The only gripe I had with this figure is the movement on his head that has been limited because of his long and almost rock-hard hair that's keeping his head from looking up and also making it harder to move side to side.

Despite having the same size and body mold as the rest of the MOTUC male action figures, Vikor stand out in a way that he is apparently anti-He-Man. I thought I just want to grab him from the shelf after my unresting search for newness took over, and so Vikor is definitely a must-grab figure to keep that MOTUC collecting fresh and exciting.

Xenomorph Warrior: Aliens (NECA)

Xenomorph Warrior: NECA

Quite normally, it's always been those little green men that are associated with the word, "aliens" whenever people come to hear it or asked what they look like. But in my case, I grew up with Ridley Scott's and James Cameron's sci-fi movies of aliens back in the 80's, and so alien for me is always this nasty looking beast trying to slaughter each and everyone of us. This depiction of an alien- the Xenomorph got stuck inside my brain when I was a kid until I grew out of it. One thing that never faded though, is that the Xenomorph alien is still the best sci-fi horror movie character that keeps giving me the thrill.














Like the NECA Predator line, these movie-based action figures from Aliens is loaded with lots of details. From this package, you'll be amazed by how the sculpt is finely done; from its basic feature down to the deepest and smallest detail. And at the back of the package is a little background info about the Xenomorph, and portraits of other figures like Dwayne Hicks and William Hudson that comes with this series.

The Xenomorph Warrior is painted with a combination of some shades of brown and black with brown equally dominating the black colours. Using a dry brush technique, shadings are done mostly around its big long head, torso and its skinny legs with that exoskeleton mostly covered in clayish brown paint while what it seemed to be its "internal part" are all in black. In addition, the entire body has some gloss to capture that wet and slimy look from the movie. But to be quite honest though, I would probably like it if NECA put more black than brown in this figure; I think that would have been movie accurate, ...but it's still a cool looking figure (got no complains about it)!

From the head down to its toenails and tail, the sculpt on this figure is inarguably phenomenal. You can't say something is missing with the detail on this figure. In fact, I didn't even know some of these alien anatomical parts exist on a Xenomorph not until I got this figure! Parts such as these bone structures popping out from its forearms, this oversized vertebra located just below its nape, and these floating veins that runs along from its jaw to the shoulders are something I didn't catch in the movies. These four "bagpipes" (yes, I call 'em bagpipes) at the back of this figure and those floating veins I just mentioned are made of a softer plastic while the rest are just regular action figure plastic material.

Xenomorph comes with some cool features. If you open its mouth, you'll get introduced to its infamous phallic tongue, which is retractable and can be pulled in and out with your nail tips. Despite this amazing feature, I wish NECA could have sculpted the tongue with some bony alien structures like what they did on the head instead of just covering it with white paint. Its oversized vertebra can be removed if you want to get it out of the way as you move its head. And definitely not the least, its bony tail is imbedded with a bendable and malleable wire, which helps you position it in any way you desire.

Articulation wise, this action figure got a decent amount of joints with some minor discrepancies. Like I've said, you can remove the vertebra at its upper back to allow the head to move freely. However, the head itself only has limited movement, and you can't get its head to gaze high up nor turn its head all the way to the sides. It got ball-hinged shoulders and swivel to the biceps. The elbows and the wrists are all ball-hinged that lets you bend as well as rotate. It has a diaphragm swivel that is close to its waist. No thigh swivel on this Xenomorph, but it got a ball-jointed hips. The knees are double-jointed and the feet rotates and got some toe articulation!

To a NECA Predator, the Xenomorph stands taller with a height of 9 inches tall, which is the right size the fact that Xenomorphs do stand taller than the Predators. I hopefully (crossing my fingers) want to see NECA create an Alien vs. Predator line in the future. If you're starting to get into the sci-fi horror/action movie line or if you've been collecting these figures, then definitely you gotta check out the ones from this company.

Iron Man - Mark 42: Iron Man 3 (Marvel Select)

Marvel Select Iron Man - Mark XLII

Upon purchasing this Marvel Select Iron Man Mark XLII (Mk 42) at my local comic bookstore, I say I have officially got an Iron Man action figure based from the Iron Man 3 movie. I never really bothered ordering the one from Hasbro, although that one is more articulated, but the 7-inch scale with all its great amount of details feels just right for a movie-based action figure. In this case, aesthetics outweighs functionality. Then again, I would still get into everything that are nice and nasty about this figure.















The overwhelming gold colour of the Mk 42 armour makes it one of my least favourite Iron Man suit, let alone how crappy the suit was in the movie. But somehow in my view, I think that movie would probably give the producers and screenwriters some thought on how the character, Tony Stark, is prepared to face yet another otherworldly beings in the Avengers 2. It's like a stepping stone to Thanos.

Anyways, enough of that movie. The colour scheme of the Mk 42 is like a reverse polarity of the Mk 3, Mk 6, Mk 7 or any standard red and gold Iron Man suit you've seen in the comics and the movies. You would not notice any shading or special paint effects (like little sparkles) around the suit, just the colours- yellow, red and gray intertwining together. The external parts are mostly covered in yellows and reds, while gray colours are applied mostly in its interior parts and joints. One thing I also notice is that the red areas are glossier than the yellow ones as you've seen on these photos. So this isn't your knight in shinning titanium alloy suit as you've probably seen in most Iron Man figures. But even without the gloss, I still think this armour looks pretty neat once on the shelf. Moreover, I like that Diamond Select painted the eyes white and not screwing it up like what they did on the MS Mark VI.

What truly impressed me with this figure is the body mold and the sculpt. Standing at 7.4 inches tall, this is the only Marvel Select Iron Man figure I've seen that has the perfect body shape. Arm and leg lengths, and torso are in the right anatomical measurements. The overall girth, specifically the chest is not too wide nor too skinny to feel and look at. Mk 42 has some robotic designs on these ball-hinged shoulders under the shoulder guards as well as the entire armour is covered with designs of "iron platings", wirings, gears and a bunch of robotic stuff.

The Mk 42 comes with interchangeable parts. Both arms can have either fisting hands or shooting hands, or both at the same time. Just by popping its head off, you can replace it with an unmasked version and reveal the man behind this great invention. And if you're ready to get him back into action, you can always put that armoured head back to its place.

Not surprisingly, this Iron Man cannot do a more pronounced flying pose. It is a Marvel Select; it is what it is. However, the articulation on this one is not as bad as its predecessors. In fact, this is one of the most articulated Marvel Select figures along with MS Ultron and MS Captain America.

The Mk 42 got ball-jointed neck that lets you turn its head 360. It got ball-hinged shoulders that lets you turn and move his arms up and down with two of these shoulder guards that are ball-socketed that moves along with the arms but limits it as you move further upwards. And so the only way for you raise it higher is to get these removable shoulder guards out of the way. It got swivel to the biceps, single-jointed elbows and ball-hinged wrists. One thing I like about the hands is that it have these soft pliable plastic wrist guards that bend as you try pose it shooting its repulsor rays, but I'm a bit worried about the wear and tear of these plastics and so I better not use it constantly. Moving on, Mk 42 got diaphragm swivel that can rock front and back, and side to side. No waist swivel, but it has this T-joint, ball-hinged hips and thigh cuts around this area. It got double-jointed knees that kinda reminds of those Play Arts Kai figures. Both toes can point up and down, ankles can swivel and turn 360 as well as do the pivot!

At the bottom of its feet, there are peg holes which suppose to latch on to a base stand. But unfortunately for this guy, its base stand does not have any pegs (which made me wonder), and so you just have to get him to stand on the right position to get it to stay there in place. The design of the prop really look awesome even with its plain metallic gray colour.

MS Iron Man Mk XLII vs. MS Iron Man Mk VI (size comparison)

Next to the Marvel Select Iron Man - Mk 6, the Mk 42 stand probably half an inch taller and it is much leaner compared to it. I definitely recommend this figure for its richness in detail and better articulation. Marvel Select figures comes cheap ranging between $20 to $26 bucks, so its not much of an acid burn in your wallet.