Revoltech Predator
It’s been some time since I last bought a Revoltech figure. I started with Danboard but quickly moved onto the Fräulein Revoltechs, including the TV and Movie versions of Gurren Lagann’s Yoko, Pocco, among others. After I got completed the four Transformer figures (Hot Rodimus, Starscream, Megatron, and Convoy) I stopped the line. I had gotten most of the characters in the line up at that time that I knew, and since prices were going up it was time to drop it.
But then they had to go and pick up all sorts of new licenses and drag me back to the toy store. Damn you, Kaiyodo!
Now aside from their outstanding line up of Mecha, Super Robots, and other Anime characters, they’ve also got characters from some of my favorite movies. Kaiyodo’s Tokusatsu Revoltech line covers various characters, usually superheroes, from live-action films and television series that are heavy on the effects. Things like kaiju monster movies, superhero TV serials and mecha dramas are dumped into this sub-line, but there are also figures from various American Sci-Fi and Horror movies.
So far there are 25 figures, including 3 Xenomorphs from Alien, Batman from The Dark Knight, Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13th, and Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Carribean. Number 22 on that list is the Predator from, duh, Predator.
The box is about twice the size of the old Fräulein Revoltechs’. Most of the newer toys are packaged with more accessories and interchangeable parts, so the increase in size is understandable. However, this particular piece had surprisingly little inside the carton.
If you open the front flap of the box, you’ll see the figure, a few extra hands, the face mask, a plain round stand, a small, transluscent orange box to hold those pieces, and a tiny little nameplate. Oh, and a little plastic coin worth 10 Revoltech points (I not really sure what they’re actually called, but it looks like you could trade them in for freebies IF you lived in Japan).
There are also some catalogs that describe the rest of the Sci-Fi Revoltech line up. Brings me back to the 80’s when I was intent on collecting all the Robot Pts I could so I could get me a set of OMNIBOTS! and reinforce my Autobots against the Decepticon onslaught!
Anyway, the number of accessories in the set makes this one of the poorest figures in the line. He really should have some weapons (SPEAR!) or a better stand that allows for jumping positions (the one included is absolutely useless).
He comes already assembled, but I went to the trouble of taking him apart so you could see exactly why these toys aren’t for kids. Like Zombie Kong and Cyborgic Rex, there are far too many tiny parts that fit too easily in young mouths.
If you’re not familiar with Revoltech at all, the gimmick is that the figures are built upon the proprietary “revolver” joint (basically a racheted hinge joint with a post on either end that fits into holes in the various body parts). figures are sculpted with an eye to maximum articulation and they make the most of this double post-hinge system.
It doesn’t always work, but more on that later.
When I got him out of the box, I couldn’t help but compare him immediately to NECA’s Classic Predator.
Sculpt wise, I’ve got to say that NECA’s effort was far better and much closer to the source material. The Kaiyodo figure’s proportions are all out of whack with short legs, a long torso, skinny arms, and a truly gigantic head. The thing is massive compared to the rest of him. It’s got it’s own gravitational pull.
He fares much better in terms of paint, with colors that are slightly darker and glossier than the bigger figure. He looks slimier. I’m not sure that it’s a good thing.
It’s to be expected. The Japanese markets are different from ours so they can price things to match what it takes to make them. If there are two 6″ figures and one requires more paint, then Kaiyodo is free to price it higher than the other. In a similar situation, toys intented for the American market would need to be at the same price point. So if NECA is making a 7″ figure line, it’s got to fit it’s processes and paint applications to the allowed budget. Hence the mass market messiness of the their Classic Predator.
Articulation is also better on the Revoltech toy, but since the line boasts about their articulation, that race was run as soon as they announced the figure.
The best feature of the Revoltech Predator, though, what made me wonder if I shouldn’t just keep it despite my preference for the NECA figure, is the detail:
As I said, the paint is great, with the spots on the alien really distinct compared to the NECA version and all the colors in the proper place. The face is particularly well done, and the mandibles look creepy as hell. His crest and the gold bands on his dreadlocks are colored in rather nicely as well.
The mouth is closed on this one, which allows his face plate to fit snugly on to his head. It’s a molded piece that is held on my friction, but with the deep eye sockets and protruding jaw, it stays in place well. The molded pocks and nicks in the metal of the helmet really stand out, too.
The shoulder-mounted cannon isn’t as sturdy as the first toy. While the NECA version’s gun was loosely mounted and could fall off, the entire shoulder assembly on the Kaiyodo version is wibbley. It’s mounted on with a single, tiny revolver joint and simply rests on his shoulder. This is annoying since his head’s so big it tends to knock it askew. It also doesn’t point up or down very well (you can do it, but the joint’s so tight it feels as if it’d break).
The best part though are his forearms. On his right he’s got his trusty double blades that extend out. The NECA version has them as well, but the detail on his gauntlet seems much sharper and the paint cleaner. On the other hand, he’s go the flip-open panel that we first saw in the original movie where he started his self destruct. The panel really does flip up and there are alien numerals painted on the display screens.
Sweet!
Though the Revoltech Predator looks good under the microscope, as a whole it just fails to really excel. The odd shape of his torso, his giant, planet-sized head, and his fiddley joints really bring down his value.
Although you can get him into some really insane poses, he often fails to keep them because of the weight of his upper body and the multiple break points created by all those points of articulation (who would have thought you could have TOO MUCH articulation?). His circular stand is useless as well since even if you plug in the small post found on it into his foot, he tends to bend at the ankle and fall on his face.
Put that together with the fact that they failed to include any real accessories (other than the extra hands), and it doesn’t feel worth the Php 1,800.00 (about $40 US) I pre-ordered him fore, let alone what they’re asking for him now.
Unless you’re a Revoltech nut, I’d say this is an easy pass.
Pursuit of Cobra
Shock Troopers
It’s been awhile since I first started with the G.I. Joe: Pursuit of Cobra (PoC) line, but since then I’ve collected quite a few figures. During the Thor Movie toyline launch (I know I’ve mentioned this in the past 4 reviews, but I got a butt load of toys on that day), I lined up for one of the sets of PoC figures that included the following:
This was great since I missed the last distribution event where the PoC line was introduced to the market, and because I wanted at least 3 of the “army builder” bad guys. I’d already gotten 3 Jungle Vipers and 1 Shock Trooper from a buddy at PinoyToyKolektors and with the set I got from another collector that included a second Storm Shadow, Duke, Alley Viper and Shock Trooper, I was done with the riot troops as well. Awesome.
As with the PoC Snake Eyes (Wave 3), the packaging of these figures is very nice. The cards are relatively small and simple, no odd shapes or overly crazy angles. The figures and accessories are all packed in securely with a minimum amount of tape and rubber bands and the volume of the bubble is just enough to protect the toy.
What does that mean to a collector? Easy display and storage if you’re a “Mint on Card” guy, and easy to get the figure out for us openers. Best of both worlds.
Once you’ve opened it, there are all kinds of goodies inside.
He has a total of 12 items in his inventory; a riot shield, a flak vest, a helmet, a gas mask, goggles, a radio, a sledgehammer, some weird nunchucks/baton thing, an assault rifle (an HK416 - thanks @dorkimusprime!), a sub-machine gun (Heckler & Koch MP5K), what looks like a taser, and a shotgun (Franchi SPAS-12).
That’s a lot of gear.
This is great since most Cobra troops are inherently “army builders”. Like the Pit Commando, the gear here is perfect for giving a group of similar figures different silhouettes.
The figure it self is pretty great looking, with a balaclava clad head that looks better than either the PoC Beachhead or the Firefly. He looks pretty odd with the flak vest off, his neck being slightly long, but if you put it on, it looks great. The vest is detailed with all sorts of beautiful wrinkles, straps, and pockets that really add to the percieved value of the toy.
On the back of the figure’s vest, there’s a small hole where you can plug the radio into. This is great since small pieces like this are bound to be lost if you can’t store them on the figure.
Sadly, that’s the only nod to storage that Hasbro gave us with this figure. There are no accommodations for any of the other gear he comes with. No pegs, no straps, no hooks. You’d think they’d at least come up with a back pack that would hold the sledge hammer and the “SANBAT” (shock-and-neutralize electroshock batons), but no such luck.
I particular get annoyed that there’s no holster for the taser pistol. It would have been great if he could store that in a shoulder holster, put it right under his left arm on the vest. A simple peg and hole could have allowed the MP5K to be hooked on his jacket as well on the small of his back.
However, the great things about this figure really outweigh those little matters. Things like the wrist articulation which he shares with the PoC Snake Eyes (Wave 3) figure. Instead of a simple wrist swivel, there’s a swivel-hinge there. And instead of an in and out movement, the hinge allows an up and down swing which is great for shouldering the rifle!
The other four weapons are just as great, giving you a ton of display options for your little “elite tactical assault unit.”
The MP5k seems to be a great choice of weapon, being a shortened version that is suited to the cornering one would expect in an urban environment.
The SPAS-12 shotgun is great for the guy you have on point, though I do wish it had a working stock (or at least had it folded out permanently). I’m pretty sure it’s a reissued piece from a previous figure, but it’s a great include.
The SANBAT nunchucks are a little odd as a weapon and are one of the things that I wish he could just store on his person, but the sledgehammer is great for your door kicker.
The last accessory is the “high-impact ballistic body shield”. It’s an amazing little clear plastic riot shield with the Cobra logo on the front. Frankly, it sells this figure by itself.
The shield fits perfectly on to the left arm of the figure, and together with the nice lower body and arm articulation, you can get it to cover a significant amount of real estate on the guy. That’s good, since I doubt a lot of city dwellers would welcome the arrival of these riot troops in their streets. They’ll stop fruit, empty cans, rocks, even the occasional GI Joe laser blasts (as if those guys could EVER hit anything).
Even though I love this figure, I have to wonder why they decided to give them to Cobra. Cobra’s already got the awesome Alley Viper for urban assaults, so whey give them another grunt? Maybe Alley Vipers are too expensive to train and equip? Evil Organizations have budgets too, I guess. Being an HR Professional in Cobra must be a bitch.
I think this particular figure would have been better as a Joe grunt, some guys to give Beachhead someone to yell at. They’d be a sight better than the Joe Troopers in the Firefly set.
Plus they’d make an excellent Shockwave when Hasbro inevitably decides to issue a repaint.
Another Con! Looking forward to this one. It’s usually a much smaller event without the ancilliary stuff going on, like cosplay and gaming events. That means a more relaxed environment to actually browse through comics.
I’ve been to the MCC the past 2 years in a row. Though it was noticeably smaller last year than in 2009, it was still a lot of fun thanks to the talent they bring in. They also held the Renaissance event early last year. That was pretty great.
I expect there will be an entrance fee so be warned. If you’re not a huge comic geek, don’t bother coming. If you are, enjoy yourself.
Metro Comic Con 2011
Where: Megatrade Hall 2
When: Saturday, May 7 at 10:00 am until
Sunday, May 8 at 9:00 pm
Here are some pics from the past 2 years:
To cap off our unofficial Thor week here (I’ve reviewed Marvel’s Destroyer and the 4″ Frost Giants so far) I’ll be taking a look at the new Marverl Universe Giantic Battles set, Savage Frost Giant and Loki.
It’s been awile since Hasbro’s last assortment of Gigantic Battles figures, and I honestly thought we’d never see any new 12″ figures when they cancelled the Marvel’s Icons line. Thankfully, they’ve been gearing up in preparation for the huge merchandising opportunity posed by the new movies coming out this year and in 2012. With the Thor film due out next month and the Captain America one right on it’s heels, Hasbro’s bound to be cranking out a ton of product in the coming months. This 2-pack was probably the biggest single purchase I made at the Thor Movie toyline launch last weekend, and one of the most popular items at the event.
The box hasn’t changed from the first wave of Gigantic Battle sets. It’s a rectangle with the corners chopped off. It’s sturdy, easy to open, and totally re-useable. Perfect for Mint In Box collectors. Hasbro continues to use the new paper strings to secure the figures inside the package, which is welcome since it’s so easy to cut right through them if you’re an opener like me. A few quick snips and you’ve got both Loki and his pet giant out of the plastic trays.
The back of the box has the standard Marvel product photography on it, as well as a little image of the other figure set in the line, Goliath and the Clone Thor (also availble at the event, but not nearly as popular). It’s odd how Hasbro puts such little effort into these photos when the comic included (a reprint of a classic Thor issue where Loki invades Asgard with an army of monsters) has examples of what they can do with dioramas when they really put their mind to it. There are ads for both the Iron Man 2 line and the Marvel Universe line, the latter featuring the Galactus figure, that scream “buy me!” to any half-way interested party. Those are the images I’d like to see on the backs of boxes.
There really not much to the set.
If you’re a Thor fan, you’ll want to get this.
If you’re a Marvel Universe collector, you’ll want to get this.
If you’re a fan of 12″ figures, you’ll want to get this.
If you’re none of the above, it’s an easy pass. There are issues here that stop it from being a “must have” toy.
The first would be the fact that Loki’s a pretty plain figure. It’s basically the same body we’ve got from the first Black Costume Spider-man, Iceman, etc. It’s not a mold I’m particularly fond of. The clenched fist looks odd and the gesturing hand doesn’t look particularly evocative. The ankle joints are also kind of limited, and the legs tend to fall off the hip joint because of clearance issues (they’re easily fixed). In addition, he has no accessories to speak of. An alternate head would have been nice. A sword maybe? Or a cape. But he gets nothing.
The paint is nice; clear tampographing of the design on his chest and stomach. I suggest being careful picking through your choices for one with no fudge marks between the green and yellow areas. Pay attention to his face as well. Articulation is fair, if not stellar.
The Frost Giant, while not as vanilla as Loki, has it’s issues as well. He comes with two accessories; his flint axe and a bone helmet. Both are made of a rubberized plastic and sport very nice, detailed sculpts. The helmet fits well on his head, while the axe can be held in either hand. The axe is a loose fit, but it won’t fall out easily. Those aren’t the problem though.
The Giant’s problem is two-fold; sculpt and articulation.
His sculpt is actually pretty great from the neck down, but when you get to the face, he looks distinctly cartoonish. His eyes and lips look drawn on in pen, rather then painted on with a blended wash or graduated shading. He ends up looking like he came out of one of those Super Hero Squad cartoons. He also looks vaguely cross-eyed. It’s a bummer. It can be mitigated by putting on the helmet, but it’s still noticeble when you get close.
His articulation is a more annoying issue since it was avoidable. Remember the Face-Off Mandarin? This guys shares the same problem. The sculpted costume pieces, specifically the fur shoulder cloak and his skirt are molded from a thick, unyielding plastic. Because of it, the shoulders and the hips are limited, especially the hips. Hasbro really should have borrowed a card from their Star Wars line and done it in real cloth. It’s truly disappointing.
Though I wouldn’t say this set great value for your money at Php 2,200.00 (about $48.00 US), it’s worth checking out if you’re a fan. We have got so few characters from the Thor series in the 4″ line, it’s nice to have Loki to go along with the Enchantress. Plus, since Frost Giants come in all sorts of sizes, the one that comes with this set can fit in with my 4″ SDCC Thor, Marvel Legends Thor, or my Marvel Select Thor with no fuss.
That’s a pretty good deal.
Marvel’s Frost Giants
When I attended last week’s launch of the Thor Movie toy line, I went a bit nuts:
Among the things I piled into my goodie bag were several of the Thor toys that were available at the distribution tables. I reviewed the 8” Marvel’s Destroyer toy a few days ago, but there were loads more. Because I collect so many lines and scales, I had to cherry pick among the 4” Asgardians. I chose to get the 2 Frost Giants that were available that day.
There are 2 available in the first batch of figures from Hasbro; the regular “Invasion Frost Giant” and the deluxe “Ice Attack Marvel’s Frost Giant”.
The deluxe figures are just re paints of the regular 4” line with extra accessories. In this case, the darker Frost Giant gets an ice axe and two spring-loaded missile launchers. With a price tag that’s 40% more than the regular figures, the value of these deluxe figures is dubious.
Still, I can’t resist a good repaint.
The Invasion Frost Giant is cast from a light blue plastic, making it look like one of James Cameron’s Pandora aliens, except that they’re much less feline and effeminate. There are molded lines on the legs, chest and back which I imagine are some kind of tribal scarification. These are painted a darker blue while the adornments he has sculpted on his head, legs and arms are done in gold. He’s wearing a green loincloth.
The Ice Attack Marvel’s Frost Giant is made out of a much darker plastic with light blue accents painted onto those lines. The gold accents are painted orange instead; while his man skirt is also orange (neither skirt is removable).
The sculpt on the figure is great. The embossed scarification lines really made my day, and the face looks appropriately war-like with a nice looking scowl. I’m not sure I like the fact that they made his left hand in a gesturing pose as opposed to a gripping fist. It would have made for more variety if you were army building.
Accessories-wise, Hasbro has made a good showing with these two figures. While they’ve got a way to go picking quality gear for their non-GI Joe lines, most of the things here are a step in the right direction.
The regular Invasion Frost Giant comes with 3 pieces; an ice helmet, an ice club, and something that the package says is a shield. It doesn’t really look at all like a shield and can’t be held in any position that would really protect the giant’s body. It’s really just a very big, very unwieldy, stabbing implement that slides on over his arm.
The Ice Attack Marvel’s Frost Giant (that’s the last time I’m saying that full name – from now on, it’s “the dark one”) comes with an additional weapon, a mean looking ice axe, and two clip-on missiles launchers with missiles.
Of all the gear, I think the ones most likely bound for my bits box is the set of rocket launchers. They just don’t FEEL like something you’d see in Asgard. For all the science in Movie Thor’s world, I find it illogical to include this with a figure wearing a g-string.
The big knives are all right, but I would have gladly traded them for a few snap on ice armor pieces. And as I said, the fact that the dark one can only hold either the club or the axe is a disappointment.
At Php 500.00 (about $11) for the regular figure and Php 700.00 for the deluxe, I’d say it’s best to just get a few regular Frost Giants and just get one deluxe figure as their lieutenant.
Though there are some missed opportunities on these two toys, I’d put them solidly in the WIN column. The figures by themselves are worth the purchase and despite the silly BFGs that come with the deluxe figure, the other 3-4 accessories give both some nice play value.
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Slangards
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