Figure Review: Daredevil (Spider-Man Classics)

In the year 2001, Toy Biz launched its Spider-Man Classics line, which lasted for two waves. These figures would pave the way for Toy Biz's Marvel Legends line in terms of attention to detail and articulation. I bought this figure from a toy and comic convention I went to this past weekend. In a way, I still have a soft spot for Toy Biz's Marvel figures, particulary the Spider-Man Classics, so I thought I'd pick it up. That and I've gotten into Daredevil a few months ago and didn't have a figure of him already.

For those who are not familiar with Daredevil, basically the story goes that a young Matt Murdock was rendered blind after coming into contact with a radioactive substance spill while trying to save a blind man from being hit by an oncoming tuck. He ended up gaining heightened senses as a result. His father, a boxer named Jack Murdock, supports his dreams to become an attorney. Later on, however, Jack is killed by a group of gangsters after refusing to throw a fight. With his own brand of blind fury, Matt takes on his father's killers to avenge his death. Attorney by day and vigilante by night, the Man Without Fear makes sure the streets of Hell's Kitchen are safe for even the most simple of citizens. Anyway, onto the review...

Sculpting - 8/10

Daredevil's sculpt, for the most part, is quite decent. From what I gather, it's based off of Joe Quesada's representation of Daredevil. As I've said in my Spider-Man 2099 review, I like how the muscle folds on the back aren't just drawn on, which applies here. He may look a little skinny to some, but I don't mind that since it's only a minor issue. There's not a lot of detail on the figure, but I do like the stretch lines on the mask as well as around the mouth.  That shows to me that his mask is being pressed against by the figure's frown. The billy club holster is a nice addition as well. My only complaint is that in the lower leg area, there are some blemishes that look as if the plastic had been grinded down resulting in some flat yet circular spots. There are also similar spots on the figure's forearms and left half of the neck, which kind of show up in the side view pictures.



Paint - 9/10

Being mostly red, the figure's paint job looks pretty good. Since Toy Biz was limited with what it could it do at the time, I like the fact that the belt and the billy club holster strap are painted on with a different shade of red. I think if the belt and strap were part of the sculpt, they would've looked too bulky, so in my mind, Toy Biz made the right decision. The only minor issue is that near his nose, some of the red paint from mask seems to have gone over onto his face a bit, but it's hard to notice anyway.



Articulation - 9/10

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

• hinged toes
• hinged ankles
• rotating calves
• double jointed knees
• rotating thighs just below the hips
• ball jointed legs
• rotating waist
• mid-torso joint
• ball jointed arms
• double joined elbows
• rotating wrists
• hinged wrists
• hinged fingers
• rotating neck
• rotating head

Taking into account what Toy Biz was able to do in terms of articulation, since Toy Biz had its limits, I think the articulation is still pretty good by today's standards. I imagine I could up with a few poses for the figure if I really took my time. I like the fact that the figure's fingers are hinged so that way the figure can hold his billy club.



Accessories - 8/10

The figure comes with a billy club, a wall mountable display base, and a reprint of Daredevil #241. The display base, from what it looks like to me, is a "stained glass" church window. There's some nice detail on it and even the decal windows look decent. I don't have any complaints about the billy club, but in regards to the waist, I don't feel like it was necessary to include the waist clip since I probably won't display the figure on the wall with it looking like he's jumping or falling off the ledge. Whatever floats your boat, I guess.

 Overall - 9/10

I would highly recommend this figure to any Daredevil fan or anyone who is just looking to get into one of Marvel's more underrated characters. You could probably find this figure at your local comics shop or at any toy or comic conventions in your area. If you're looking to buy online, Amazon is probably your best bet.

Knockoff Transformers "Air-Force"

Bootlegged version of G1 Air-Raid found in Minehead. The KO line also advertises other smaller Aerialbot figures.

Knockoff Transformers "Power Warriors"

'Transformers' 2-packs found in Poundstretcher.

Both the robots resemble bootlegged versions of Legends class Bumblebee .

Jake & Finn

Adventure time,
C'mon, grab your friends,
We'll go to very distant Lands
With Jake the Dog,
And Finn the Human,
The Adventures'll never end,
It's Adventure Time!

REVIEW: Shredder, (TMNT 2012, Basic)

From: Playmates
Retail: Variable
Accessories: Katana blade, 8 pronged Shurikens

I was really pleased to come into possession of a Nickelodeon Shredder in the early draft of the 2012 TMNT toys release. These toys were hard to come by to say the least!

Being the most notorious antagonist of Splinter and the TMNT, Shredder is an important character to be done right in the plastic. Whatever the interpretation, Shredder has to look the business! Nick Shredder delivers on most aspects!

This Shredder based on the Nickelodeon show succeeds in being a subtle blend of being sharp and pointy, but looks like he can move about freely. Scale-wise, he stands taller than the 4 Turtles as he should do and is not physically over exaggerated. Oroku Saki stands tall, strong and unrestricted - unlike the static battle poses some past Shredder toys have suffered from.

Arsenal-wise: Shredder is equipped with a nifty looking Katana which the figure can hold with authority. The other 2 items are a pair of small 8-pronged throwing stars that could easily end up inside a vaccum bag if not careful! The main 'arsenal' of course is Shredders moulded on armour, featuring his usual arm/shoulder/leg blades and scary helmet. The dragon scale motif chest plate is what defines this Shredder different from past incarnations.

Sadly, this Shredder is let down by a couple of design flaws and choices. Firstly the figure has no articulation in the knees like the Turtle brothers do, but he does have a swivel-waist!. Secondly the colours lack in places such as strapping on the back and in particular – the eyes! Shredder's illustration on the packaging shows he has a major case of 'pink eye' or otherwise lost an eye from a previous battle. The toy does not replicate this for whatever reason, and he is instead represented with clear white eyes with faint pupils which otherwise could have been coloured in. The white eyes do let the figure down when viewed from particular angles, because they just don't stand out very well.

The colour-scheme overall for Nick Shredder has strong points, in that he bears more of a real world palette. The very dark brown/purple work well and help show up depth in the design. This is less lazy than going down the clichéd black route. The grim-penny coloured armour is also an excellent choice and puts across a great dirty metal look. Certainly a milestone achievement since the original skinny, 'bare-chested', blue armoured Shredder release from Playmates.

This is also one of two Shredder toys in the first wave of Nick TMNT. It should be noted that a second 'Sound-FX' version of the Foot Clan leader depicts him a little stockier, bears longer arm blades and has a cape. Aside from these differences, both Shredders look pretty much the same as the TV show design.

I've come across many a Shredder toy in my 20+ year experience of TMNT figures. Some are reasonably good, and some are pretty bad as a basis of comparison. Despite certain setbacks, this one is a keeper. It is not 100% perfect, but it has succeeded in pushing the envelope a little further in how Shredder as a figure should be made.

A further step up the ladder has definitely been taken.