Iron Man 2 Advanced Tactical Armor
Okay, I was supposed to review another Final Fantasy XIII figure since I only have one more left after Lightning and Vanille. I wrote it on my to do list and set aside some time om my calendar before Holy Week and everything, but variety is the spice of life, and you never know what will show up on the pegs.
I had no idea this set would be showing up here. In fact, I only saw the test shots of it once online somewhere when Hasbro was showing some of their upcoming products. I was actually buying some unrelated merchandise from one of the guys on PTK when he told me that they had just shelved a few of these. Knowing how random things are when it comes to toy hunting, I decided to get the set even if the Iron Man addiction has already put me in the red.
The packaging for this particular 3-pack is similar to the Marvel Universe 3-packs we’ve gotten here over the past year or so. It’s just a plain, rectangular box with a nice big window that allows you a pretty good view of all three figures,as well as the accessories. The price break is welcome (the old 3-packs were Php 2,200), but I’ve got a feeling it was Toys R’ Us that was overpricing them. They seem to do that with their exclusives.
I’m very glad that Hasbro has stopped with the fancy box art that they’ve been using in the various Transformers lines. Sure it may draw some attention to them on the shelf, but all those annoying tabs and the rolls of tape and twist ties it takes to hold everything in place are just idiotic.
This package is very neat (if a little big) and tidy. You cut open one piece of tape, slide out the cardboard liner, and pop each figure and accessory out of the molded plastic tray. Easy peasy. You can keep the box if you want to put them back. It’s a simple matter to pop them back in and display as if it was Mint in Box (but you’ll know it’s not and it will eat at you and eat at you until you buy a second set - ah, the life of a collector).
The side of the box has some nice Iron Man artwork if you want to display it bookshelf style.
There are 3 armors included in the Kmart exclusive “Advanced Tactical Armor” pack (sometimes called the “Heavy Metal” pack on the local forum boards). The first is the “Omega Factor Armor”, an army green re-color of the Movie War Machine. The second is the “Vibranium Armor”, a Mark VI re-color in Captain America colors with a nifty sheild. The last is a Mark V re-color, cast in transluscent red and painted with black and silver highlights, that is called the “Bio-Metal Armor”.
None of them have any unique accessories. The guns on the Omega armor are the same as the ones on the single packed War Machine, the shield is the same that comes with every Captain America figure, and the missle launcher that comes with the Bio-Metal suit is the same that we got with the Hypervelocity figure, only cast in the same transluscent red plastic as the new figure.
The back of the box doesn’t really say anything about the new armors, other than that they were made to tackle different kinds of missions. Doi. We kind of figured that out, Hasbro. I’d have appreciated some background on the armors, maybe a description of the Omega Factor Armor, or why the Vibranium Armor is colored Red, White and Blue (I know it’s a What if? nod, but that’s not exactly part of the public consciousness now is it?).
The lack of info is not a bad thing, but considering that Hasbro is the second largest toy manufacturer in the world, you’d think they could shell out for a nicer box. The toy photos and tiny little text box are dissapointing.
The figures, on the other hand, are pretty surprising.
Let’s start with the Bio-Metal Armor.
The figure is a carbon copy of the Mark V armor, or the “suitcase” armor seen in the latest trailer of the new movie. A few people I’ve talked to have said they weren’t really that impressed with how this armor turned out, but when I got the Mark V, I was genuinely pleased with it. I found myself favoring the little red Iron Man more than the Iron Monger or Stealth Armor. It was just so much more unique.
The Bio-Metal one has the same sculpt, but it doesn’t fare so well. There’s nothing specifically wrong with the figure. It has nice paint applications an accessory, the same extra hand, and is cast in translucent plastic which is always a plus for me since it adds to the fun. After sitting down with the town, I figured out why I couldn’t give it the same rating I gave the first one.
It looks like Iron Man in his underwear.
The dark red and black “body” with the silver highlights on his butt, crotch, and feet make Iron Man look as if he’s wearing a banana hammock and the latest havianas.
It’s not a good look for the armored Avenger.
The aforementioned Hypervelocity rocket launcher doesn’t help things at all. Sure it’s cool that they molded it out of the same translucent plastic, but they didn’t even bother to adjust the clip that attaches it to his arm.
The clip is still the same one that was designed to attach to the Hypervelocity Armor’s gaunlet, which is a totally different shape from the Mark V’s. The Mark V’s arm is a lot smaller than the clip, which means that this launcher becomes something like an over-sized iPod armband. Would have been nicer if they just attached a peg back there and had it attach to his back. Instant jet pack.
Did I say he was translucent?
Next up would be the Vibranium Armor or the “Captain America” Armor.
The idea is taken from the What If? Civil War series. I’m a little fuzzy on the details. I’m sure one or two geeks on the boards will be happy to clear this up for me, but either Iron Man programs armor to mimic Steve Rogers tactics, or Steve Rogers dons the armor. Either, or, this armor looks awesome, and since this mold (the Mark VI) looks more like the Extremis Armor than the Mark III toy from the first movie did, it’s a better figure.
Hasbro repainted the 6″ Mark III a few years ago for their Concept Series. The Captain America Iron Man was the one that was hardest to find, but it was also the one with the worst paint out of all of them. I’m glad to say that this 3.75″ version is much nicer.
The body is cast in white and then painted with a metalic blue. The blue fares much better than the red that they used with the other 3.75″ toys and doesn’t look clumped and tacky. It’s nice and even all over and it doesn’t look as if it bleeds into the silver.
The accessory he comes with is the sheild that comes with all the 3.75″ Captain Americas. Not bad, since it is scaled perfectly for these figures. It has the same elastic bands that let you strap it to his back, but again, the fold out clip that attaches it to his arm is sized for another figure altogether. It’s a little too big to clip onto this guy’s arm, so it tens to fall off a lot. Not a big con, but it’s aggravating.
Again, like the Mark IV and the Mark VI, you can switch his hands out with either of those two figures. That way, if you want him blasting away with all repulsors on full, you just need to pop it out at the wrist and make the trade.
Last but not least is the Omega Factor War Machine Armor.
As I said, it’s a straight re-color of the Movie Series, 3.75″ War Machine. From photos on the Net, it looks like the only change here is a swap from gun metal grey to olive drab green. Since I don’t have the Movie version, we’ll have to settle for a comparison with the Comic Series War Machine:
As you can see, he’s much more heavily armored than the Variable Threat Response Battle Suit Mark II, Model JRXL-1000. He’s got 2 chain guns which are both bigger than the Comic Series version’s puny cannons. There’s also an included ammo belt that connects to a slot in his back and feeds in either of the weapons. It’s a little fidly, and I’m wondering if I should just glue it in place.
Instead of the nice little fire effects that the Comic Series version comes with, this guy gets the requisite missle for his BFG. Though it’s a bit oversized, it’s not ridiculously so. It’s a welcome change, and actually makes him look meaner than the other toy. The missle not as nice as the fire effects, but it’ll do. You can swap the Gatling gun fire from the other figure as well if you want.
If you like the missle launcher from the Comic War Machine better, you can swap them out too, but I’d be very careful. The other weapons are set pretty tight, and I have a feeling it would be very easy to snap that ball mount right off.
Another improvement over the Comic Series version is the shoulder armor. The pads were the biggest fail of the Comic version, limiting the range of motion to a sideways swing. The Movie version has a pad made of much thinner plastic, with more room inside for the arm to swing forward. You still can’t bring it straight up without lifting the shoulder armor up on it’s hinge, but it’s far more natural looking.
The paint is done very well (there weren’t many bad examples that I saw), and these are 3 of the better sculpts in the new 3.75″ line, but I doubt this is a set that’s the target of many collectors out there. There are no new features, no new accessories, and the normal versions should be available here in the Philippines any day now. At Php 450 each, getting the three single carded versions would be cheaper than paying the Php 1,900.00 asking price for this boxset.
But considering how hard it was to get the Comic Series War Machine, I don’t want to risk not having this mold in my 3.75″ armory. I’d probably have to pay some scalper later on to get a War Machine at twice retail value. This way, I’ll have at least 1 Movie Version, and the green makes for some nice color variation in my display.
Variety is the spice of life.
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Originally posted Apr 27, ‘09 5:58 PM on my Multiply site.
Once in a long while, there’s a story that is just so unbelievably good that you literally can not stop until you’ve reached the end. Of all the movies, TV shows, comics, and books I’ve read, there are only a few that become part of the geeky slush that fills my brainpan. The Star Wars saga (if you ask “Which ones?” I will smack you), Transformers (again, mention Bay and I will smack you), Claremont’s X-Men, The Dark Knight Returns… Those are a few of the yarns that make up the framework of what I am.
The stories above were all introduced to me during my formative years, when I still wanted to be a colonial marine or a debonair archaeologist with a fedora. Unfortunately, I no longer have the same sense of wonder I once felt when the Enterprise broke the past the Warp barrier in “Where No Man Has Gone Before”. Nowadays, I approach each new story, each new book with a degree of cynicism that borders on the pessimistic.
Which is exactly how I felt about the Nickolodeon cartoon series, Avatar: The Last Airbender.
The series, created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, isn’t really an “anime” cartoon, but my initial reaction to it was that it was another childish, never-ending series of pointless battles like Dragonball or any number of Japanese TV programs. I frankly didn’t want to bother with another boring show with one-dimensional characters whose sole purpose is to pose heroically as the “next week on…” screen pops up.
When I finally decided to give the show a chance, I was immediately drawn into the world created by the authors. Much like high fantasy novels like The Wheel of Time, the world of the Airbenders is rich with culture and alive with danger. It’s at once familiar and yet totally wondrous. Politics, War, Genocide, Love, Hate, Retribution and Redemption all play a part in the show’s 3 season run.
I’m sure you’re familiar with the plot; world needs a messiah and one is prophecied to appear. In this story, the messiah is the Avatar, a child born once in a generation that can bend all four elements; Water, Fire, Earth and Air. He is the soul of the previous Avatars re-incarnated and a vessel for their wisdom and power. But unsure that he is ready to take up the responsibility of savior, he runs away and dissapears.
The evil Fire Nation, a kingdom of Firebenders, takes advantage of his dissappearance and conquers the rest of the world, ruling over the Water Tribe and Earth Kingdom, and exterminating the Avatar’s people in their Air Temples. 100 years pass and he is discovered frozen in ice at the South Pole. The cartoon follows the Avatar as he learns what has happened to the world he left behind and what he must do to save it.
The cartoon series is populated with a great cast of characters, from the lost Avatar, Aang, to the exiled Fire Price, Zuko. All of them go through their own arcs during the the show, learning and growing as the writers reveal more and more of their world. The story follows Aang as he learns how to control the other elements of Water, Earth and Fire, meeting interesting people and escaping from his enemies.
The fight scenes are gorgeous, a testament to the animators. They aren’t like anything I’ve seen before in Japanese or American animation. For that matter, I’ve never seen fight choreography like this in live action movies. Each bending style is based on a real world martial art that reflects the core of that kingdom’s spirit. Water is adaptive and Waterbenders focus on breath and visualization of their goals. Their movements are copied from Tai Chi. Northern Shaolin Kung Fu uses strong arm and leg strikes, perfect for the Firebenders rage-fueled art. Bāguàzhǎng, a martial art whose practitioners are known for the ability flow in and out of the way of objects is what Airbenders use. Hung Ga Kuen, from Southern China, is famous for it’s immovable stances and hammer strikes which reflects the skill that Earthbenders need to move rock.
The culture of each society is just as rich as their martial arts. The Water Tribe is a nomadic people like the American Indians or Eskimos. The Air Nomads were monks who isolated themsleves from the other peoples in magnificent temples. The Earth Kingdom was a thriving city society. And the Fire Nation is a nation of soldiers whose goal is glory. Each has it’s own customs and character which shows through in the main cast.
Though the show only runs 3 seasons, don’t worry, you won’t be dissappointed when the end comes. The final 2-hour “movie” is something that gets you out of your seat, gasping at every matte painting and effect. When the climactic battle finally comes, you’re holding your breath, anxious despite years of saturday morning cartoons telling you that good always wins over evil.
But believe me when I say, you’re going to hate leaving these characters as much as Frodo and the Hobbits of Middle-Earth.
Excited for The Last Airbender?!
Before there was James Cameron’s Avatar, there was Nicklelodeon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender. Now the cartoon seires, which ran for 3 seasons from 2005, is being given the live action treatment as M. Night Shyamalan’s The Last Airbender.
A few days ago, we got treated to another new look at the upcoming movie. I’ve loved all of Shymalan’s films since The Sixth Sense, dispite the dismal reviews he always gets. Though the past few have seemed lacking, I’m hoping that this turns things around for him. I’d hate to see his imagination dissappear from Hollywood while filmmakers like Michael Bay make the big bucks.
It looks like this is going to be a great year for geek cinema.
Play Arts Kai FFXIII Vanille
Having already explained what I love and hate about Final Fantasy in my review of Lightning, I’ll let it slide this time. Suffice to say that while I dislike the storytelling of the series, I am in awe of their designs. Vanille is no exception. This particular figure is based on the playable character in Final Fantasy XIII which was just released a week or so ago and is a very nice rendition of the “mysterious but upbeat young girl” as she appears in the game.
Again, like the old Play Arts figures, Oerba Dia Vanille comes in a plainly shaped box with a nice big window on it that shows off most of the figure, as well as the accessories that come with it. She has comes with two extra hands and two versions of her fishing rod; one folded and one extended.
When I first saw these, I had no idea about what the game was about, and I still have no real intention to play it. I thought the rod was some kind of magic staff from some kind of pantheistic religion that the other games seemed to have. Apparently, it’s “a foldable fishing rod with multiple lines that can be reeled and used to attack enemies” (Wikipedia).
It looks rather odd to say the least, and I can’t fathom how it is actually meant to be effective in combat, but it’s a video game, so I’ll cut them some slack. I hear that there’s anime out there with characters that use giant staplers for weapons, so this is small potatoes right here.
In game, the rod is supposed to fold up and fit behind her back, but like they did with Lightning’s Blaze Edge, they just gave us two seperate pieces. A word to the wise, you’re going to want to be extra careful with them. I’ve already broken the folded one twice and had to glue the “arms” to the main body to keep it from snapping off again.
The folded version fits nicely in a pair of hoops that are attached to her fur skirt. The hoops have little nubs in them that are supposed to lock into holes in the skirt, but it doesn’t work nearly as well as Lightning’s holster. Still, you’d need to really work at it if you wanted the rod to fall out, so it’s not a big deal.
The extended staff/rod looks really… ridiculous. There’s no other word for it really. As a weapon it doesn’t look effective at all, which is why I thought it was a staff or wand for a magic user. Who knows, maybe in game she grows into that role, but you’ll need to ask one of those Game reviewers about that.
The staff is pretty slender and fits easily into her clenched pair of hands. It’s so slender that it’s actually a loose fit, so tends to flop around a lot. Again, it’s not a big problem, since there are plenty of ways to pose her where it doesn’t matter.
The other thing that’s included with the figure is a stand. I’ve already explained the cons and… cons of this stand so I won’t go into to much detail.
Let’s just say that it took me FOREVER to balance her in the pose in the second picture below:
Articulation is just as impressive as the other female figure of this line. She’s got just as many joints (give or take a few) as Lightning and is just as flexible. Like Lightning, she does suffer from some pretty loose hinges, but that is preferable to locked joints, especially in something that costs this much money (Php 2,300.00).
Below is a peek (pun intended) at the hip joints that Square Enix put into her. If she didn’t have that skirt covering that set up, it would be awful, but thankfully, the design really does well in hiding it all.
Sculpt is even more impressive than the first figure. While I have to say I like Lightning more than Vanille overall, I can’t fault her design or details. There is so much more here than on the other toy. From the tiny beadwork on her bag and necklace, the awesome pigtails that seem to flow naturally no matter how you turn them (yes, there are joints there, too), to the fur textures on her skirt; all of it is amazing.
The extra pair of hands are included as well, but they’re really just soft gesturing poses. Good for casting I guess. I just use one set and left the others in the small box where I keep all my extra body parts. One day I’m gonna collect all those extra parts and make me a monster.
Scale wise… she’s a monster. While she’s no where near the 12″ mark, she’s getting there. She’s a full head over the old Final Fantasy toys, and taller than even my GI Joe Sigma 6. Sad, really, since I used to display Play Arts and Joes together since the Joe line up was such a sausage fest. Hasbro I hate you for never making a Scarlett figure.
The height is still passable really, if you have them in an action pose, or if you pretend she’s a supermodel in heels and the Joes are all Asian.
Overall, I think this was still a pretty good buy, especially since the production runs didn’t seem all that crazy, and stores didn’t import them in terribly large numbers. If I decide that I don’t need to keep her, I could probably get a good price for the figure down the road and only lose a couple hundred bucks or so.
However, if you’re going to only buy one of these figures, I’d have to recommend Lightning. She is just so much more impressive than Vanille.
Comic Series War Machine
I was afraid I wasn’t going to be able to get a War Machine from the new 3.75″ movie line, but luckily, with the help of Cybertron Philippines and some friends, I was able to score this short-packed figure at the suggested retail price of Php 450.00. For those overseas, that’s about $9.00 to $10.00 depending on our exchange rate. Of all the toys released so far, this has got to be the one that really feels worth the asking price.
Though it’s not as big as the Iron Monger, it has one of the best sculpts of the line, and comes with some relevant accesories that fit well and really complete the look of the figure.
The Variable Threat Response Battle Suit Mark II, Model JRXL-1000 is worn by James Rhodes, Tony Stark’s right hand man in the comics, and his military liason in the movie. As a Vietnam vet and an engineer, he’s got skills. He needs all of that training to pilot this thing because it’s packing heat.
The list of weaponry is as follows:
This doesn’t even include his photon emitter force shield, forcefield-based stealth technology, boot-jet propulsion, self-contained breathing system, carbon-composite-based steel mesh armor, solar charged power systems, tactical computer system with automatic laser guided weapons targeting.
Imagine all that coming at you when all you in a war zone, and you’ll see why every toy of this guy dissappears from shelves so quickly.
In this case, the figure is just about as accurate as you can get in this scale. I’ve been checking on various art from the books and it’s damn near perfectly matched to the illustrations. This is one mean looking bastard.
His shoulder mounted rocket launcher and Gatling gun are there, as are his arm mounted guns. The unibeam and repulsors can also be seen (though he can’t really use the repulsors since his hands are sculpted in place). The shoulder ordanance actually pivots on their mounts, and slide down his back when not in use. That means he’s got a pretty wide kill zone with that chain gun of his.
He comes with some very cool accessories. If you have the 6″ War Machine from the old Toy Biz Marvel Legends line, then you remember that he comes with some righteous translucent pieces that attach to his launcher and cannon to simulate what they’d look like in the thick of things. This itty-bitty War Machine also has those and they make him look pretty mean.
I do wish that he came with some boot jets or an exhast stand like the Comic Classic Armor, but if you have some of the other figures in the line, you can add on the flamethrower or repulsor beam attachments to his hands and have a proper party.
The figure also comes with the “armor cards” that are a signature of the line. As a signature I think they’re pretty innocuous. Happily, they don’t affect the toys’ sculpt or articulation in any way and can either be left off or included in the display.
Sadly, there are other things that do hamper his articulation. I don’t really understand why, but the designers decided to switch things around with this toy. Rather than have the shoulder armor as a seperate, removable piece like the Power Assualt Armor’s, they attached it by a hinge to War Machine’s body. That means that when the shoulder guard is down, he looks great, but he can’t move his arm foward or back. If you move it up so that the arm can move, it looks awful. Moving the arm to the side looks passable, so that’s gotta me your choice if you’re going to display him.
The rest of his joints are pretty much on par with the rest of them. He only has a swivel neck, and his torso joint/ab crunch is severly limited due to the chest peice, but I can live with both.
Paint wise, he’s one of the most consistent in the line. I saw maybe 8 examples of him at the toy launch and none of them was particularly awful. There was one that had a slightly dark smudge on the lighter silver paint, but it was small error and I’d still have gotten it if that had been the last one left.
Once I had him out of the package, I couldn’t help but compare him to the old 6″ version. I was never really satisfied with that one because I was bothered with the stocky frame and the long arms, as well as with the faceplate, that kind of reminded me of a monkey. The weapons on that one also felt like afterthoughts. Since the figure was built off the old Silver Centurion mold, that could have been the case. The Gatling gun didn’t even point up.
Glad to report that this version looks much better than that one. Better proportions, better hands, better face plate, better guns. Basically all that was wrong with that old toy is improved in this one. Except scale. If this was 3″ taller, it would be awesome.
Compared to the other figures in the line, he might he a smidgen taller. Maybe half a head. You wouldn’t really notice unless he were standing back to back with another figure. Nice touch since I’ve always imagined that this thing would have more raw power than Iron Man if only for the fact that he has so much more ordanance to haul around.
So, verdict then?
This time, the hype is right. If you only get one figure from those that have been released locally so far, I’d suggest War Machine. The impressive sculpting, good paint applications, and awesome accessories really sell this toy for me. It’s really too bad that it’s the hardest one to find, but I’d think that would be the case even if Hasbro had decided to pack this 3 per case.
He’s just that popular.
If you're looking for biased, one-sided views of toys and other assorted geekery, then you're in the right place. If you want objective, you'll need a blog written by someone who isn't an obsessive geek.
These are my views on various toys, movies, places, and things, along with assorted pictures and the the occasional link to stuff I find sufficiently geeky.
Enjoy your stay and leave a comment.
Slangards
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