Walmart Iron Man Mark IV
Just like the Walmart Exclusive 6″ Mark VI and War Machine (and to a lesser extent, the Mark V), the new Mark IV has been hard to come by a the malls lately. They’d been announced as being included in distribution lists of the recently concluded Toys R’ Us World of Heroes event at Robinsons Ermita, but they started showing up in other TRU branches several days before the event. As you can imagine from my previous post about the toy market in the Philippines, stocks for this figure aren’t plentiful and price is way up there (Php 1000 retail).
Still, I wasn’t about to pass this up and I’m glad I didn’t. He’s easily better than the Mark VI, though I still consider the War Machine the best of the bunch.
The package is the same as the previous 3 releases; a carded blister with a big window so that buyers can see all the kit he comes with. As is normally the case with Hasbro these days, the photography in the back fails to really show what this figure can do. I’m telling you, that prototype shot can’t begin to tell you how fun this toy is (though it does have a better paint job than the production units).
It looks like Playkit is sourcing thier stuff from Canada now instead of the US. The first ones I bought at Toy Kingdom sported the Walmart sticker out front. These don’t. Plus there’s the small, bi-lingual print in the back. And the “Hasbro, Canada” printed in on the card.
Sherlock Holmes I am not.
Now, why would I pay another Php 1000 for what is esentially the same figure as the Mark VI? Well, the biggest draw of this new figure is the Robert Downey, Jr. head.
That’s right, for a limited time only, you can own your very own 6″ Robert Downey, Jr.! The star of such films as Heart and Souls, Only You, and Ally McBeal (I do watch other things besides nerd films) can be yours to display on your desktop! Own a piece of Hollywood with you’re very own IRON MAN! Order now and we’ll give you a free rocket launcher! It really works!
You get the idea.
The RDJ head is a pretty good likeness of the actor. Hasbro kind of cheated by giving him sunglasses. That means they didn’t need to worry about the eyes at all (ask any artist and they’ll tell you they’re the hardest thing to get right). Still, the result is very nice, and I honestly don’t mind that they aren’t removable. He looks cool in them, which is what Tony Stark should look like I think.
You shouldn’t try to remove them. I’ve heard people say that they are a seperate piece, but that they’re glued on there hard and fast. If you do manage to take them off, they’re going to be a mess and you’re not going to be able to display it without some heavy re-working of the head. I don’t have the skills for that, so the shades are staying on.
The heads swap fairly easily, and are secure. The neck is a combination of a swivel and a ball-joint:
Either head pops off and pops back on smoothly without any problems, but limit the times you do this, since it’ll probably weaken the plastic over time and you’re ball might just pop out of the neck.
Unfortunately, Hasbro didn’t engineer any of the other Walmart armors with this kind of neck joint. None of their heads can pop off this easily, which means that the ball joint underneath those noggins are probably not a fit for these heads. Too bad.
You can switch him with the Hasbro Marvel Legends 2-Pack Tony Stark head though. The ball joint for the 2-Pack Iron Man is a little bigger, so it’s a loose fit, but it works.
Sadly, you can’t do it the other way around since the the other one has a longer neck. Downey, Jr. looks like a giraffe with the Classic Armor.
Aside from the head, the Mark IV also comes with 2 extra sets of hands, just like the other armors. There are 3 pairs in all; the closed fist, the open palms, and one in between.
The palms can be positioned so he can fire his repulsor blasts, and the relaxed pair double as gripping hands. Iron Man with guns!
He also comes with the same dinky looking rocket launcher that’s come with all the armors since that first dinky looking Iron Man from the first movie. They sould retire this stupid thing. I don’t think I’ve ever displayed any of the armors with it. It doesn’t really fit at all. If it was shoulder mounted MAYBE, but not like this.
Since I’d already tried the Classic Iron Man with this body, I decide to try another as well. Forge’s hand sort of fits in his socket, but it’s a tight fit and it’s kind of messed up the plastic in there. The real Iron Man hand is kind of loose now. Stupid stupid stupid.
The Iron Man hand doesn’t fit in the old 2-pack figures either sadly. I don’t know why I’d want to do that, but you never know. I hope Hasbro moves to true interchangeable parts with their new Marvel Legends line.
Paint is a little different from the first one in so much as there are no longer any silver accents. I actually prefer it. They didn’t really work. You need to be careful in the one you choose, though. When I was going through the examples they had at the Cybertron PH distribution table at the event, I went through about 6 figures before I found a good one. The rest had angry red splotches on the face or other blemishes. Of course, since they’re so hard to find, beggers shouldn’t be choosy.
Articulation is also the same (see the previous review), with one exception. They’ve fixed the torso crunch joint. While he still can’t do a sit up, he isn’t stuck in that painfully straight pose that the Mark VI is. Thank you, Hasbro.
If you’re not a completist and just want ONE 6″ Iron Man toy, this is the one to get. Sad to say though, it’s unlikely that they’ll ever be easy to obtain. If you have relatives in the States, tell them to be on the look out for it now, so they can score it for you. It should be much cheaper there and relatively more accessible.
Me, I’m just happy I didn’t have to run all around Metro Manila looking for him.
Collecticon 2010
This toy collecting is stressful!
Coming right off of the Toys R’ Us World of Heroes event last weekend, we’ve got another event to look forward to next month. The Collecticon 2010! Our wallets weep.
This year, the Collecticon will be at the Atrium of Robinson’s Midtown Mall in Ermita. It’s a pretty big space and I heard that it was relatively easy to get around it last time, so I’m looking forward to going. The reason I’ve been passing on the ToyCon in recent years is the sheer mass of people that attend. It’s not fun searching for comics and toys when you have to fight through a mosh pit to get to them.
Admission is FREE and it’ll run during mall hours on October 2 and 3 (I assume this is a weekend). I doubt they’ll open at 10:00 AM as advertised. Nothing in this country ever starts on time.
There’ll be toy collection displays, life sized statues, auctions, Customizer workshops, trivia and photo contests, cosplayers, and a dance competition.
Here’s a pic from last year’s event (photo credit, unleashed from PTK)
This is the third time Hobbiworx and Pinoytoykolektors.com have put this event up, so I’m hoping that it’ll be big. It’s a long time till the Christmas ToyCon in Megamall…
Tomahawk
Hasbro has really impressed me with their moves with their Transformer line. They’ve been able to sustain interest in the good old robots in disguise toys for quite a while, unlike their G.I. Joe line which have kind of stagnated and are moving out of the toy stores. A big part of that renewed interest is due to the two hit movies (something I will thank Michael Bay for), but more than that, they’ve come up with some great new toys overall, and ones that fit well with either the Bayverse or your G1 or Classic toys.
Currently, there are several ongoing Transformer sub-lines. There’s Generations line which is similar to the Transformers Classics line and focuses on characters from the G1 continuity and comics. There’s also a set from Takara in Japan, a newly re-painted Transformers Animated line (though, we’ve already seen these from Hasbro). You’ll also see the tail end of the Revenge of the Fallen movie toys on the shelf.
Then there’s the new Hunt for the Decepticons line.
These toys are new ones that are shoehorned into the space between the second and third movie. It’s there to keep people’s interest in the brand name as we wait for that upcoming film. The toys that have come out so far are a mix of the blocky G1 designs (most of these toys are leftovers from the Transformers Universe line that weren’t released - like Seaspray) and more insectile, or avian aesthetic like the bots in the movies. This new look to the Transformers has been hit or miss for me; I liked the Leader Class Starscream, and Leader Class Optimus Prime, but many of the rest left me cold. I’m glad to say that the new toys look like they’re gonna be all right.
Tomahawk is one of the new Hunt for the Decepticons Autobots. I got mine during the recent Hasbro/Toys R’ Us World of Heroes event at Robinson’s Ermita. Note that even with the huge amount of stock at the location, Tomahawk went pretty fast on the second day (it was a 3-day event and the new figures were only released on the second day) and was pretty much gone by lunch. That gives you a pretty good idea what’s gonna show up on eBay in the next few weeks.
It’s not surprising. Tomahawk has a lot of things going for him:
1) he’s a flying Autobot
2) he’s all black and awesome
3) he’s got an original transformation scheme
4) he’s a helicopter
5) it looks like he’s short-packed
6) his articulation is pretty good
7) he’s loaded to the gills with weaponry
he’s got a gerwalk mode (Robotech!!!)
9) he’s got less kibble than expected
10) it says on the back of his card that he kicks ass
Honestly, that’s good enough for me.
The figure comes packaged in a standard looking card with plastic bubble, colored yellow rather than red. Inside, you’ll get the manual, a small catalog, and a small slip of paper with a code for the Hunt for the Decepticons site that will let you unlock content there.
Tomahawk starts off in vehicle mode, which is understandable since the robot would require much more space in the bubble. It’s a great looking toy by itself, and looks like it might be loosely based on the Boeing AH-64 Apache. What’s great about the Apache is that it’s a flying arsenal, with a 30 mm chain gun, Hellfire and Hydra rocket pods, and wingtip stations for Sidewinder or Stinger missles.
That is a lot of hurt.
The toy doesn’t have all of that, but there are non-removable missles and a removable rocket launcher under each wing, and a rotating gun under the nose. The rocket launchers launch two long, tan missles and can be placed either under the wings, or clipped under the tail. You can also store the tan missles in either the launchers or on the clips. The launchers will also fit into the robots hands if you’d like to do that, but I like them under the wings.
The transformation is pretty great. The tail portion form the arms of the robot, while the undercarriage form the feet. The torso is basically the cockpit and the head is hidden underneath the windscreen.
I love the fact that the rotor blades are nice and thick, yet bendable. It means that there’s little chance of the blades breaking, which is a very real risk with other helicopter Transformers I’ve had in the past. Just taking a look at the recent FansProject Warbot’s rotor/sword, you can see how painfully thin that sucker is.
Another great thing that I found is the rear tail fin, which ends up on his right hand after the change. It folds together to form a katar of sorts for Tomahawk, or you can keep it open as an axe or duh, a tomahawk.
The figure also has a number of balljoints that help it out. The wings, head, and shoulders are all mounted on balljoints, with hinge elbows, knees (two each on the legs) and ankles to add to the joint count. There is some limit to his movement since his arms are shaped oddly and his digitigrade legs make posing less intuitive, but he’s far passed the old plastic brick days.
Though the deluxe class toy is still pretty pricey at Php 700.00 a pop, we still enjoy the cheapest price in the region for these toys. Considering how much harder it is to design and manufacture a Transformer, I think that makes this one worth the money.
If you’re a Transformer fan, this is one of the best to come out in recent memory. Go out and get him NOW. If you wait, you’ll miss out.
Public Enemies 3-Pack: Batman
The animated film, Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, was well recieved by the public, enough so that DC and Warner Bros. are planning Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, a sequel of sorts. It wasn’t my favorite DC Animated movie, but it was a fun romp. I couldn’t get over how many “moments” old Bruce and Clark had together, though. It was worse than Lord of the Rings, than “Oh, Frodo”.
That didn’t stop me from wanting this set though. I thought we wouldn’t be seeing it locally, since the DC Infinite Heroes (Mattel’s 4″ line) wasn’t doing too well. They were priced about the same as Marvel Universe figures, but didn’t show the same workmanship. That’s saying something since I thought most of the first batch of Marvel Universe figure were crap. The DCIH line has been pretty crappy from the get go, with inferior articulation, and an overly soft, cartoony aesthetic. They felt like something geared towards children, but we already had that with the Justice League line. Though they were also comical in their look, they have a much stronger style that unifies the line. The DCIH figures just looked… well, they stayed on the pegs till they were finally brought down to P150 a pop, so you do the math.
This 3-pack here was a Target Exclusive in the States. We didn’t get them at retail, but I found this one at the recent Metro Manila Comic Con for only Php 500.00. I couldn’t pass it up. I saw that 4″ Batman sitting there, the last one among a sea of 3-packs featuring Superman, and I went ahead and paid the dude behind the table.
I’d heard about this Batman figure online and knew that it had the articulation that the DCIH line had been missing. From what I saw of pics of the Superman and Captain Atom figure, they also had the same joint count. Having only the Microman Batman who kept falling apart for my 4″ scale collection, I wanted to get this one to fight with my Marvel guys. Which is why I acted so fast.
Lesson 1: always, always inspect toys carefully before you buy them, even ones in the bargain bin.
I’m assuming the reason this was the last one left was because there are quality issues galore. Bats has got tons of flashing (excess plastic that wasn’t cut from the figure after being removed from the mold) and some sloppy/fuzzy paint lines, Atom has got two spots on his chest left unpainted where the red should be (dunno how that happened), and Lightning has two left hands.
That’s right. Two LEFT hands.
Insert Rage Guy graphic here.
This is why you shouldn’t fixate on one figure only. Since I was so enamored of Batman, I barely glaced at the other figures when I was checking it. Now, everytime I look at Black Lighting, I’m hit with a wave of Buyer’s Remorse.
Two LEFT hands.
Still, I can’t really be too annoyed since the pack WAS only Php 500.00. For the price of a single Marvel Unverse figure, I’ve got a decent looking 4″ poseable Batman figure, and equally poseable Captain Atom figure with a single paint issue who can probably be used as a custom, and the crappy Black Lightning. It’s not a bad deal.
But I keep coming back to that TWO LEFT HANDS.
Argh.
Plus, Lighting doesn’t share the same articulation as the other two. His upper body’s fine, but he’s lacking the swivel/hinge (or balljoint, whatevs) at the hip that the other two have. It’s annoying as all get out. Instead of being able to do this:
He can barely pull off this:
But enough of that.
The set comes with a nice little backdrop; a crumbling brick wall with a “Lex Luthor for President!” poster and some graphitti sprayed on it. It’s a fun include that you can use for a display if you’re too cheap or lazy to buy/make high end one *raises hand*.
Personally, I love it when toy companies go that extra mile and put some brain juice into their packaging. If you saw something like this next to the crappy packages of the Hasbro 3-packs, which would you pick up?
Yeah, thought so.
On to Batman.
As I said, I really wanted a 4″ one to fight with my Marvel Universe and GI Joe figures. He’s just about the right size, maybe a skotch too small, but it’s barely noticeable unless you put him back to back with someone. If Batman used guns, you could load him up with ordnance from the Joe collection or any other 1/18 scale line. I’m hoping he’ll fit into that Tumbler Batmobile I keep seeing at Toy Kingdom.
He also fits in well with the Microman line, so if you have Batgirl, Catwoman, Superman, and or Ras Al Ghul from Takara, you’re in luck.
While the Takara Bats still beats the Mattel Bats on joint count and flexibility, I have to give the contest to the Public Enemies figure because it’s just far easier to play with. The Takara figure has always been a display piece. It comes with lots of tiny parts that are easy to loose and that are hard to get into position. They become loose with time and are awfully fragile.
This one doesn’t really have those problems.
What it does have is sculpt issues. It’s not the DEFINITIVE Batman figure just yet. The sculpt is very SOFT looking, and sort of reminds me of Adam West. He doesn’t have a belly, but the muscles aren’t defined as well as a superhero’s should be. Like Bruce Wayne got had a few months off and took in a few too many Krispy Kremes on his way home from patrol.
It’s not bad,but it does bother me.
Which basically sums up this set just fine. It’s not bad, but I don’t think it’s something you should go out of your way to buy. If you found it at Php 500.00 like I did, go ahead. But don’t fret if you don’t. You aren’t missing much.
NECA’s Classic Predator
As far as I’m concerned, action movies peaked in the years between 1982 and 1991. Before then, we got old fogey’s like Charles Bronson and Charlton Heston who’s movies always kind of bored me. After that we got moronic new recruits like Vin Diesel and The Rock who’s star vehicles never really worked.
But back in the 80’s, man… in the 80’s we had Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Arnold Schwarzenegger was THE action hero during my childhood. More than Sylvester Stallone, more than Bruce Willis, and more than Chuck Norris (despite the abundant anecdotal evidence to the contrary). The The Terminator could have kicked Rambo’s, McClane’s or… well whatever role Chuck Norris is really famous for’s collective asses all together. Arnie was the man. Unlike Stallone’s vehicles, Schwarzenegger’s roles seem to hold up better with time. I still get a kick out of watching Kindergarten Cop and Terminator is still up there on my list of favorite movies. Then there’s Predator.
Predator is probably the first movie that comes to mind when I think about action films about covert military fire teams. It is probably the reason I enjoyed A-Team and The Losers so much. Stories about small groups of soldiers going up against an enemy are just like crack to me. Mission Impossible, Aliens, Doom; even if they aren’t that good cinematically speaking, I tend to like them. I loved the movie so much, I couldn’t pass up this little guy.
As you can see, he’s not really as geared up as the Hot Toys Predator is, but he does come with his photon/laser cannon assembly (just called a “backpack” on the card). It seems a bit small to me, but it works fairly well. The thing clips onto his left shoulder where there’s a soft rubber piece of armor there. It doesn’t really snap into place, but there are tabs that hold it fairly securely. The cannon itself is pretty fragile though. There are 2 joints, a hinge joint which seems to come off very easily, and a balljoint that allows the gun to swivel and pivot.
This is the “Classic” Predator, which is basically the one that showed up in the first film. There are 2 other Predators in the first set of figures that NECA’s released, but seeing as how there were 4 Predators total in the new movie, you can easily predict that we’ll see more of these soon.
I decided to get this one first before the others because 1) I didn’t really like the design of the new ones as much as this one, 2) it’s sort of short packed at 4 per case (the others have 5 per case), 3) he’s unmasked and 4) this is THE Predator. The others are just someone’s idea of The Predator.
The fact that he’s unmasked is a big factor in getting him. There’s a ton of detail here, unlike the 2 new Predators in the line. At Php 1,200.00 at Toy Kingdom (they’re only Php 1,000 at 2Rats) I felt that that extra detail in the face would make it more worthwhile. The open mandibles and the eyes set in deep sockets are just like I remember in the first film, so all the “accuracy” fanatics should be satisfied.
The rest of the figure is just as detailed, from the dreads to his hands, to the gauntlets to the netting and armor. It’s all there in it’s sculpted glory. You’d expect that they would just paint the netting onto his legs and torso, but I was surprised to see that it’s actually sculpted.
He’s even sculpted with his thumb sticking out. I assume that the costume in the first film restricted the actor’s fingers which is why he was always posed like that. I don’t know why NECA decided to translate that (it feels like taking the screen accuracy to an illogical degree), but there you go. Like I said, accuracy fans should be pleased.
There are some things that caught my attention though. Nitpicking time.
The biggest issue is paint. Over all, it’s good. There’s a top coat that gives him a sweaty, grimy, slimy look to his skin, and the shade and colors are spot on. But he suffers from being painted piecemeal, and not as a whole. it’s painfully obvious on his thighs. The pieces above and below the swivel don’t match up no matter how you look at it. At least the loin cloth tatters on the thigh portion of the V-swivel at the hip are painted. I hear there are some units that were not, the reddish brown left the pale yellow green of his skin.
You’ll also notice that the black lines that are supposed to go on the strings of the netting aren’t registered properly, and there’s a lot of spillage around those applications, globs of black pooling around the thighs and torso. It’s not TOO bad, but it is noticeable. I guess even NECA is cutting corners now.
Another thing I hate about it is the aforementioned V-swivel hips. NECA hasn’t been really consistent when it comes to articulation. Sometimes they have terrific joint schemes, like the Ninja Gaiden and Dead Space figures, and then sometimes you get throwbacks like the Gears of War figures. And it’s not even a sculpt issue, since the GOW line has the COG Soldier in it which shares the same aesthetic, but shares the Dead Space hip joints.
As it is, the range of motion on The Predator’s lower half is limited. If you really want him to do a JCVD impression, then it’ll work. If not…
It’s actually a lot like my Kabuki Scarab figure; another toy that looks great, but has limited play value.
The upper half is decent however, with some good swivel-hinge shoulders and elbows, and balljointed wrists. I do wish there was a ab crunch somewhere in there, to get him in a hunched-over waiting position, but I can live without it. Especially with the balljointed neck which has a decent range.
If you look closely at the head, you’ll notice that his jaw is a seperate piece. It’s not removable (it’s glued on), but it lets you know that NECA has plans to re-issue this sucker down the line. We’re definitely going to get a “closed mouth” version at some point, and then one with a mask, and then others as they come up with them.
The scale is about right. He’s about an inch and a half over the Terminator 2 Arnold, which puts him at about a foot (?) above him in real terms. NECA could pull that head off the T-800 and use it for a 7″ scale Dutch figure easily. *prays hard*
There’s also another great feature I’ve yet to mention. I’ve heard that the other two predators share the fact that they have a single arm blade that tends to fall off. This one has the classic dual blades and the designers have worked EXTENDING blades into the figure. They’re not spring-loaded, but they do work well, and they don’t fall out.
Excellent.
Sadly, the other side doesn’t have a fold out self-destruct panel. You’ll need to shell out for the Hot Toys version if you want that level of detail.
Overall, this bastard is HEAVY, well sculpted, acceptably painted, with decent articulation. Most of the Predator releases near at near this scale have largely been pre-posed statues, so this figure is a nice departure, even with the V-cut groin. The inclusion of the blades, the backpack and the cannon is just icing. It might have added to the value if they had included more accessories (another jaw, mask, extra hands), but like the T-1000, you know we’re gonna see those in future releases.
You can feel free to wait for those, but if you can’t, then this is a perfectly good buy right now.
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
I may give you a half-way serious answer.
