WEEKEND CAPTION FUN #21

The Doc is in?

Comment with a caption.

WEEKEND CAPTION FUN #20

Hulk Hogan and The Big Boss-man hit the arcades. Comment with your own caption.

Battle Beasts, Rocky Rhino (1987)

Recently acquired another Battle Beast over the Easter break. Rocky Rhino (aka Greysharp in Japan) of the Wood tribe is a proud addition to the slowly growing collection.

Figure Review: Ghost Rider (Hasbro Marvel Legends Series 1)

As far I know, Hasbro has been recently revamping its Marvel Legends line for the sake of making their figures more comic book accurate. These figures do not include comic books like the Toy Biz Marvel Legends did, but I heard that the next wave will. Hasbro is continuing the build-a-figure tradition, though, which is cool for the collectors that wish to build Terrax. The Terrax series was released earlier this year, which I thought I'd give a try by purchasing the Ghost Rider figure from a local toy show in my area. I have a Ghost Rider figure from the '90s Toy Biz series, but I lost him and he didn't stay together very well due to his action feature, so I am glad to have picked up a more modern version of Ghost Rider.

Let's get on to the review...

Sculpting - 9/10

Ghost Rider is a very nice representation of his comic book counterpart. Nothing seems off to me in terms of the sculpt, which works because it's not bulky or skinny. I like how the shoulder pads, the forearm pads, and the knee and shin pads have their own textures, which are well-complemented by their respective spikes. Heck, even the textures on the figure's lower body look great. The flames look cool too and they're all the right size.

                                                

Paint - 9/10

There's not a lot of color on this figure, but I still think that the paint came out great. He has nice tints of blue on the front of his jacket, which I guess is sort of like a tuxedo jacket. There are also blue shades on his shoulder pad, which kind of have a cool pastel look to them. Another thing that stands out to me about the paint is the fact that the flames have a kind of white/clear steak to them on the bottom half. That affect kind of goes from bottom to top throughout the flames since there are some patches of tints and hues for variety's sake. The only problem I have to be with the paint job is that there appears to be some minor smudges on the chains.
                                         

                                      

                                 

Articulation - 8/10

From what I gather, the figure has about thirty points of articulation...

• ball jointed neck
• ball jointed shoulders
• rotating biceps
• double jointed elbows
• ball jointed wrists
• hinged torso
• rotating waist
• ball jointed legs
• double jointed knees
• ball jointed ankles

The articulation is a little less than a typical Toy Biz Marvel Legends figure, but it's still decent. I guess that happened as a result of Hasbro's revamp. The good part is is that the figure's jacket and pockets don't really hinder movement all that much.



Accessories - 1/10

The figure is rather lacking in the accessories department. Sure, his jacket can be unsnapped, but it would've been nice if it were easy to remove so that way an extra -- perhaps battle damaged jacket -- would've provided another option. It also would've been great if Ghost Rider's signature chain weapon was included since the figure's right hand looks like it can hold it. He does come with both of Terrax's arms and a piece of paper with information about Terrax (not pictured), but I wouldn't count those as accessories.

                                   

Overall - 8/10

Despite the fact that this figure doesn't offer much in terms of accessories, he's still a great figure that is sure to please any Ghost Rider fan. There is a variant that has red and orange flames, but from what I've seen, that one doesn't look as nice as the regular version. From what I gather, both versions are on Amazon and could probably be found on eBay. If you prefer to pick up the figure from you local comics shop or any conventions in your area, you'll probably spend between $15 and $20. Regardless of your method of purchasing the figure, you'll be happy with him since he stands out in any collection.

REVIEW: Freestyle Skate Batman (Batman Beyond)

From: Hasbro

Price: Varies

Accessories: A ‘not hover’ board and attachable wings.

Batman toys have been unleashed in many fruity flavours, exotic colours and obscure variants of the caped crusader. And, there’s the extra cheese too… So much for stealth whilst crimefighting at night!

The Batman Beyond (branded Batman of the Future in Europe) TV series surfaced around the late 90’s into 2000-01 and launched many toys in support. The great thing about the Batman Beyond concept is the whole futurology of Batman taken to a new level. New gadgets, new costumes - and new hi-tech vehicles!

Futuristic upon Futuristic…

 

Freestyle Skate Batman involves ‘Terry’ taking to the streets in style with what can be best described as a skateboard homage to the Batmobile.

The skateboard has two spring loaded functions situated at both the front and back. The back is a launcher to fire the skateboard forward and the front launcher fires a missile.

The actual Batman figure that rides the skateboard is the weaker part of the set. Whilst Batman looks like Batman even in a shade of royal blue, he is very limitedly articulate and stuck in the same stance.

The color scheme for this toy is not really ideal. A correct palette for the Batman and his batmobile skateboard would have made a bigger improvement all round. A green and grey downscaled ‘batmobile’ just does not seem right.

The skateboard itself is stable and holds the Batman figure well when fitted on. Batman, even without a crash helmet is guaranteed a stable ride when launched across the kitchen table of doom. Very much a plus!

Overall, this is an ok set. Like a pair of scissors, the skateboard and figure are somewhat hopeless without each other. It is best not to lose either item in transit whilst fighting against Blight and the Jokerz. A good package if you can find one on eBay, but only at a fair price.

Transformers Name Controversy

As if the revelation about the streaking Lego Santa was'nt enough of an eye-opener, I was brought to the attention yesterday of a very questionably named Transformers product.

That's not a 'photoshop', it's the packaging of an upcoming Stunticons homage figure.

Of course slang words in the US/UK differ from one another. I beleive the said name on the box is also offensive Stateside too. You have to question how much research the department at Hasbro put into thier Transformers names. I beleive they still own the copyrights to 'Menasor', 'Dead End' and 'Drag Strip'.

This is probably the most controversial name on a Transformer since the 80's when a certain fire-breathing triceratops hit the UK toy shelves. There have been other questionable Transformers names since, but never on this level. Let's hope Hasbro sorts it out.

New Arrivals!

The newest arrivals to the Figured Out UK Office - Transformers: Animated stars Bulkhead and Starscream both boxed (for now anyway!). There will be a lowdown on both of these figures soon.

===HERO

NEWS: Cloverfield Monster Finally Revealed

NEWS: hasbrotoyshop.com posts the Cloverfield Monster finally.
See It Here!

Since the movie came out in January, it has been available for pre-order at a lovely $99.99 with no pictures... But now the site finally gives you a glimpse of what this monster looks like. It is supposedly available at the end of September as well.

A friend of mine and I have been wondering if it was a hoax when the site listed it as available for pre-order for the movie. Who is willing to drop a hundred dollars on a monster toy that you haven't seen yet? Definitely must be a promotion for the movie. Alas, now we can see this monstrosity!

The site brags about it having:

• 70 points of articulation and incredible life-like detail
• Authentic sound
• 14” tall
• 10 parasites
• Two interchangeable heads
• Statue of Liberty head accessory
• Special Cloverfield collector’s edition packaging

I have yet to see these special pieces it comes with. Or the packaging. Or even the movie. Now that I have seen this monster, I know I won't be caring about seeing the movie. It looks like an overpriced and messed up McFarlane toy. I just feel like I have saved $10 and don't have to see the movie now. Perhaps the next time I see this monster will be in a clearance sale.
-Slash

NEWS: superarticulated.com Reports That HML Hulk Waves Will Be $15 Per Figure

NEWS: superarticulated.com Reports That HML Hulk Waves Will Be $15 Per Figure
Source: http://superarticulated.com/2008/02/15/hml-hulk-wave-15-bucks/#comment-106

$15 a figure for two waves consisting of four figures each? $120 for a Fing Fang Foom. Since Hasbro has taken over the Marvel Legends line, I feel like the figures are lacking a consistency of scale and we have seen too many repaints (IE: The White Queen body has been used many a time) already in what has been only roughly a year?

I know these figures are for the upcoming movie and it's cool to see the possibilities for a ton of Incredible Hulk characters to be made but from what they are offering, it's all been done before. Just feels like Hasbro's Marvel Legends team is running out of ideas. How many Hulks do we need in a line? I know it's a Hulk movie.

I hope Hasbro can wake up before the ML fans stop collecting. If that day happens, it'll be a sad day for me even though I stopped collecting. I enjoyed seeing all the ToyBiz ML figures on shelves and collecting the characters I liked. But these Hasbro figures? Not impressive.

Points go to Wes for the heads up and also the MarvelToys info.