|
|
|
|
|
I’ve previously reviewed both Barney Ross and Gunner Jensen, and to end this week of Expendables reviews, today I’m taking a look at the Heavy Weapons Specialist of the team, Hale Caesar. In the movies, Hale Caesar is played by Terry Crews, and is brought into the plastic world by Diamond Select Toys. Hale Caesar is one of my favorite characters from the movies, so join me as I take a closer look at the figure and see if it lives up to the character.
Continue reading
The Expendables has become a hit franchise, reigniting the careers of some of the greatest action stars of the last 30 years. When word hit that Diamond Select Toys got the license for the Expendables 2 and was releasing an action figure line, I was more than a little excited. I love the movies and am a huge Sylvester Stallone fan, so the more figures of characters from his movies, the better.
Of course I’ll try my best to stay objective in the review, but I may not be able to help but let my fanboy show once and a while. I already reviewed the Barney Ross figure for Toy News International, but today I’m taking a look Gunner Jensen, the character played by Dolph Lundgren in the movies. So join me as I take a closer look.
I recently did a review of the brand new Diamond Select Toys Barney Ross figure from their Expendables 2 toy line for Toy News International. It’s now up on on TNI, so if you’re interested in reading it, just click here to check it out.
2012 was a good year for the Snake Men. We saw the release of Kobra Khan, got a cool Snake Men army building two-pack, and we got Rattlor. Rattlor was one of those characters I always thought was cool, but never paid too much attention to until the 200X revamp. They really made him insanely intimidating in that series. First of all, in the MYP cartoon he became General Rattlor, and had this really awesome armor, and was considerably bigger than the other Snake Men, just in case you had any doubts on his authority. From that, to lines such as “There is no greater honor than to be consumed by King Hisss!”, Rattlor was one bad dude. So naturally, I was greatly anticipating his release in the Masters of the Universe Classics toy line. Does he live up to the expectations? Continue reading to find out!
RATTLOR
Evil Snake Men Creature With The Quick-Strike Head™REAL NAME: Slltyo of the Rattlor House
A loyal leader in King Hssss’ army, Rattlor was the first of the Snake Men to escape their imprisonment in the Void. He worked with the Snake Men descendant Kobra Khan to liberate the entire serpent army. Once freed, Hssss quickly began a three-way war against the Masters of the Universe and Skeletor’s Evil Warriors, with Rattlor leading the attack. Eventually, Khan manipulated Hssss into demoting Rattlor and he defected to the evil Horde army. Under Hordak, Rattlor became known as “The General” for his keen insight into enemy strategy. After sounding his sinister battle ratter, Rattlor lashes out at victims with his terrible quick-strike head!
John Constantine was, to me, the biggest surprise out of the entire lineup of figures in the 2012 DC Universe Signature Collection. I knew that Mattel was using the Signature Collection as a way of giving fans the more obscure, fan demanded characters that most likely wouldn’t work at retail, but I never thought in a million years that we’d be getting John Constantine. He’s recently come back into the main DC Universe, but for most of his time as a comic book character he’s been in the Vertigo world, a DC Universe separate from the main one for the most part. So getting a Vertigo character from Mattel is pretty great, and hopefully opens the doors to other Vertigo characters. We’re already getting a line of Watchmen figures this year, so perhaps a series of Fables figures next year? Neil Gaiman’s Sandman? Or Transmetropolitan? If I got a Spider Jerusalem figure, I think I could call life complete.
But I digress. We’re here to talk about John Contantine and his new figure from Mattel. So join me as I take a closer look at this Hellblazer and determine if he’s a worthy addition to DC Universe Classics.
Continue reading
Kobra Khan may be a snake themed character, but in the Masters of the Universe world he was originally a part of Skeletor’s Evil Warriors. He was created before the concept of the Snake Men. However, since then, fans have adopted him as a member of the Snake Men, because…well…he’s a snake man. The 200X cartoon series even touched on him being one of Skeletor’s minions by portraying him as a double agent; a very nice touch indeed. So with that, today I’ll be taking a look at the Masters of the Universe Classics Kobra Khan figure and see if he is a worthy addition to King Hsss’ army.
KOBRA KHAN
Evil Master of Snakes™REAL NAME: Khan of Clan Kobra
A descendent of the ancient Snake Men™, Khan became fascinated with the many legends of their victories in the Great Wars. Breaking into the archives of Eternos Palace™, he learned that the great King Hssss™ had been locked in the Void at the end of the war. In a ruse to free his King, Khan joined forces with Skeletor® and, with the help of Evil-Lyn®, they acquired Zodak’s staff, the key to freeing his Snake Men™ brethren. Together he and Evil-Lyn® opened the Snake Pit portal releasing Hssss and his ageless army, returning their terror to Eternia®. Khan went on to loyally serve Hssss, controlling his prey with his evil hypnotic mist!
Following DC Collectibles’ huge success with their line of figures based on the video game Arkham Asylum, they’re now into series 3 of their line of Arkham City figures. Series 3 includes the subject of today’s review, Azrael. He was featured in the game in one of the side missions, but was not really integral to the plot. Still, he’s been one of the more popular Batman characters since he first appeared in the 90’s, and action figures of him usually sell very well. So it’s no surprise that DC Collectibles would pick him for a figure to be made, seeing as how he’s a popular character from an immensely popular video game.
But does the figure live up to the hype? Keep reading and find out as I take a closer look.
Continue reading
This list of reviews from around the net covers the last two weeks of 2012, December 17th-31st. Because it covers two weeks, the list includes one hundred from twenty-six different sites!. The reviews are all categorized by major brands, independent releases such as Onell or Spy Monkey are listed under the “7th Market” heading, and smaller brands are grouped together under Miscellaneous. Huge thanks to NoisyDvL5 at itsalltrue.net for starting this and helping to make the toy community grow.
Continue after the jump for the full list, and remember: The offsite reviews do not necessarily reflect the views of me or Mint Condition Customs.
Continue reading
Back in 2011, Mattel held a Create-A-Character contest for their Masters of the Universe Classics line. The idea was that you could submit as many character designs as you wanted, and the winner would be made into an action figure in 2012 for their 30th Anniversary sub line. Nobody but the people at Mattel knew who the winner was until the big reveal at San Diego Comic-Con this past Summer. Lo and behold the winning figure was none other than the subject of this review, Castle Grayskullman! He was created by Daniel Benedict and ever since the reveal has met with mostly positive reactions. To many fans, it was clear why Mattel picked this as the winner, as it seemed to perfectly represent the spirit of the contest and Masters of the Universe as a brand. It seemed like something that could have sincerely been a figure back in the vintage line, which I think gave it that edge.
But that’s, of course, speaking purely of the design. How does the figure hold up though? Join me as I take a closer look and find out.
CASTLE GRAYSKULLMAN
Heroic Embodiment of Castle Grayskull™REALNAME: Not Applicable
During the Second Ultimate Battleground, Hordak® and King Hssss’ grand army pressed in against the allied heroes of Eternia®. In the darkest moment of battle, all hope seemed lost as many heroes fell, including Snake Man-At-Arms® and Stratos®. Reaching out through the Orb of Power, hidden deep inside Castle Grayskull®, He-Man® and the new Sorceress® used an unrepeatable spell to call upon the Powers of Grayskull™ and infuse life into the very spirit of the castle itself. Rising from the castle’s hidden Chamber of Defense; Castle Grayskullman™ marched into battle, swinging his dual swords of power, helping to turn the tide.
Back around the time the Amazing Spider-Man movie came out, Hasbro released some 6″ action figures based on Spider-Man and the Lizard. Well recently Hasbro released a new figure in the 6″ line, that of Spider-Man with an alternate unmasked head, which is the subject of today’s review. Is it worth picking up? Join me as I take a closer look and find out.