Packaging -
***
Nothing new here - clamshells, with decent insert cards.
There's actually character specific info on the back of each, which
gets them some additional brownie points.
Sculpt - Sasquatch,
Maestro, Wolverine ***1/2; X-23, Bishop, Iron Fist ***
All of the sculpting here is above average for mass market release
toys, but some of these really stand out.
Every time a set of figures is
first previewed on line, you always make assumptions on which one will
be your favorite. This series was no different for me, and
like usual, the one I thought would be my favorite, wasn't.
Instead, Sasquatch really turned
out great. There's a ton of detail in the hair on his overall
body, and the work on the teeth and face is really
impressive. The hand and feet look terrific, and the
individual sculpted positions of the fingers work great with the
articulation. He stands excellent on his own in tons of
positions, and in general the sculpt and articulation mesh well.
Maestro sports a ton of detail
as well, especially on his body. The beard flows
realistically, and the stern expression is serious but not
painful. He stands well too, although not quite as well as
Sasquatch. He is kind of flat, from front to back, which was
a little visually jarring at first, but he's grown on me with some time.
The other four all have
highlights and lowlights to their sculpts. Bishop has a ton
of detail, and the articulation and sculpt work well
together. But he's got a stubby look, with an overdeveloped
body for his height. He comes off looking like Gimli's cousin.
Iron Fist fits in nicely with
other ML figures in this style, like Deadpool, Daredevil or
Spider-man. The sculpted hands are a little too specific to
exact martial arts moves, and I'm not a big fan of the ballet slippers,
but fans of the character will probably be pleased.
X-23 is not a fan favorite, and
there was much debate over her inclusion. Of course, it
always helps to have at least one female figure in the series, and they
did a much better job on her than some recent releases, like Mystique
or Scarlet Witch.
The extendable blades in her
feet work well, and she can stand with them out or tucked in.
The hair sculpt is straight, with no silly wild movement sculpted in,
and while the claws are soft, they hold position pretty well.
Of the entire set, the biggest
surprise is Wolverine. I mean, just how many versions of this
guy do we need? But this one was easily the most photogenic
of the bunch, with a terrific sculpt. There's just the right
amount of detail, and he doesn't have the over-done physique of
Bishop. He's also done in a smaller scale, more appropriate
to the character. Some folks aren't going to like the smaller
size though, and you may find that it detracts from your opinion of
this figure. For me, it's just about right, and one of my
favorite sculpts of this character so far.
Paint - Sasquatch,
Wolverine ***1/2; Bishop, Maestro, Iron Fist, X-23 ***
The paint application is above mass market standards, but not quite up
to specialty shop standards. However, considering the price,
you're getting some really good work here.
Some of the figures go a little
overboard on the wash, like Maestro or Bishop. There's some
sloppy work between colors, and occasionally the finish or texture
isn't quite consistent.
But there's much more positive
than negative. The small detail paint work is great, and
while some of the wash is too much, other areas - like Maestro's beard
- are just right.
Sasquatch even has a different
finish on his tongue and eyes, more glossy, giving them a wet
look. While there aren't a lot of other small details on his
paint job, his is one of the best overall.
Wolverine also has an
exceptional paint job, sporting some small detail apps on his face and
arms that are quite impressive. I like how they did the hair
on the arms with paint, rather than sculpt, and they pulled it off
pretty well in this scale.
X-23 is less exciting,
paint-wise, but still quite good. The silver on her blades is
a little inconsistent, and some of the small details aren't as clear,
but overall she's still above average.
Articulation -
Sasquatch, Wolverine ***1/2; X-23, Bishop, Iron Fist ***; Maestro **1/2
There's never any shortage of articulation on a Marvel Legends
figure. In fact, too much articulation has become a complaint
from some collectors of the line.
One of the issues with all this
articulation is weak pin joints. On many figures I've gotten
figures with bad pins, that hold the limbs at odd angles, or break too
easily. In this set, Maestro was the only one with some pin
problems, especially at the knees. With the large amount of
bulk from the waist up, it did cause him some trouble staying standing.
None of these figures have true
ball jointed necks. Instead, they have pin joints at the base
that allows the head to move forward and backward, and turn.
There's no real side to side tilt movement though. Maestro
has this joint, but it's pretty much turned into a cut joint by the
beard. He also has the funky ML shoulder joints, with the
special torso attachments that give the arms some greater movement out
from the body. The ball jointed shoulders work well, along
with pin elbows, double jointed knees, ball jointed waist and hips, pin
and peg wrists, pin and swivel ankles, pin fingers (all move together)
and pin half foot.
Sasquatch has all that
articulation, plus double jointed elbows instead of single
pin. His ankle articulation is a little restricted by the
fur, but his neck articulation works great even with the long
hair. His chest joint also has a greater range of movement,
allowing him to hunch forward. Unlike Maestro, each of his
fingers are individually articulated at the single pin.
Iron Fist is much like his
predecessors in the ML line, including the double jointed shoulders
that have articulation on both sides of the ball PLUS the torso
attachment that allows additional movement away from the
body. His fingers are like Maestro's hinged with a single pin
for all to move together. His ankles lack the swivel joint
that allows them to move in and out, but he does have cut joints on
both arms and legs at the line of his costume.
X-23 has the closest to a ball
jointed neck of the bunch, but the hair restricts it quite a
bit. She also had the cut joints at the forearms and calves,
along with the swivel joint at the bottom of the ankle.
However, she doesn't have pin joints for the fingers or the half
foot. The half foot was lost when the pin joint was added to
allow you to bring out the blades from the bottom of her shoes.
Wolverine doesn't have the
additional torso joint at the shoulders, or the cut joints on the
forearms, but does have the cut joints at the top of the boots, and
articulated fingers. Again, his fingers all move as one on a
single pin. He has all the rest of the standard ML
articulation, including double jointed elbows and knees and half foot.
Finally, there's
Bishop. His neck joint allows you to position his hair on
either side of the gun sling in back, so that posing is not
restricted. H has the standard double jointed shoulders
withouth the torso extenders, and even the individual finger
articulation (which really works well with the two guns), but lacks
double jointed elbows. Due to the meatiness of his arms, they
went with a single pin elbow.
Accessories - ****
Here's the thing - most of these figures don't have much in the way of
accessories. But they do have one thing in common - the
pieces to build Apocalypse.
The 'build a figure' (or BAF)
concept is certainly not new, and it's not even unique this
year. Other companies like Palisades and Mezco have used it
recently with solid success.
But Toybiz has taken this
concept to a whole new dimension with the three BAF's they've done so
far - Sentinel, Galactus, and now Apocalypse. These figures
are better than any of the 6" characters, with excellent articulation,
great sculpts, and bang up paint jobs. I've never recommended
that you buy a figure just for the accessories before, but you really
should consider it just to get the 'Pocky. I have a complete
review of him up over at Movie Poop Shoot.
I was so excited about putting
him together, that you'll notice in the photos of X-23 there is no shot
of the torso piece that accompanies her. Why?
Because she was the last one I opened up, and I got so caught up in
snapping together Apocalypse that I forgot to shoot the photo first!
There is one small
problem. Maestro and Sasquatch come with the two
arms. However, Sasquatch has the large bendy tube that
attaches from the arm to the body - Maestro does not. It
doesn't appear to be a simple issue of someone on the production line
not getting enough sleep and just forgetting it, since I'm not sure
where in the tray it would even fit.
Toybiz figured out the omission
though, and are stepping up and doing the right thing. Just
give them a call at 1-800-728-2018, and let them know your Maestro is
missing the connector. They'll ship you one free of
charge. Very classy, and great customer service!
Each figure also comes with a
comic book, which is a nice touch but nothing spectacular.
Iron Fist has a couple flaming
bolts that he can hold as well, and Maestro comes with his
helmet. It fits pretty well, and looks great.
Finally, Bishop has two guns,
both of which fit nicely in their holsters, one on his hip and one on
his back. They also fit well in his hands, thanks to a
pin/hole arrangement on his palm and the grip.
Fun Factor - ***1/2
Kids will love these figures. They aren't going to be
recognizable to them, but the character designs are cool enough that it
won't make much difference. X-23 might not make much of a
hit, but characters like Sasquatch, Maestro and Bishop are just too
cool visually not to be fun.
Some of the articulation might
get frustrating for little kids. I know my son gets a
frustrated with Maestro, because he tends to topple over so
easily. But in general, these will be loved by any kid
looking for new superheroes to add to the arsenal.
Value - ***1/2
I picked these up for under $7
each at Target, and that's a hella bargain. After just
getting molested over the DC Superheroes at $10 each, these were a
welcome relief. You may end up paying closer to $8 or even $9
depending on the retailer of course.
Things to watch out for
-
If you're a variant hunter, you'll want to keep an eye out for the
Wolverine, Bishop and Iron Fist. And of course, always pick
out the best paint possible, since the quality of the ops tends to vary
across the run with ML.
Overall -
Sasquatch, Wolverine ***1/2; X-23, Maestro, Iron Fist, Bishop ***
I hadn't expected Sasquatch and
Wolverine to be my favorites of this bunch. In fact, I hadn't
really expected to like any of them all that much, and picked up the
full set just to complete an Apocalypse. He is fantastic by
the way, and I have a complete review of him up over at MPS today.
But those two figures turned out
so good, and so photogenic, that they are now in my scale comparison
pile for future reviews. Don't be surprised when you see them
again, especially Wolverine.
There are a lot more photos
here, so be sure to check them all out. You may find that
while you thought that Apocalypse was the big draw here, that some of
the smaller figures in this series are well worth adding to the display
shelf as well.
SCORE RECAP:
Packaging - ***
Sculpt - Sasquatch, Maestro, Wolverine ***1/2; X-23, Bishop,
Iron Fist ***
Paint - ***
Articulation - Sasquatch, Wolverine ***1/2; X-23, Bishop, Iron Fist
***; Maestro **1/2
Accessories - ****
Fun Factor - ***1/2
Value - ***1/2
Overall - Sasquatch, Wolverine ***1/2; X-23, Maestro, Iron
Fist, Bishop ***
Where to Buy -
I picked these up at Target for under $7. Online options
include:
- Amazing Toyz has
pre-orders up for $10 each, or $60 for the set of six.
- OMGToys has
pre-orders for series 12 at $10 each, or $59 for the set.
- CornerStoreComics
has sold out of some of these, but still has a few individuals for $10
each.
- Yikes Comics has
some of the individuals for $13 - $15 each, or the variants at $30.
Related Links:
I've had plenty of Marvel Legends reviews:
- there's the guest review of
the Fearsome
Foes of Spider-man boxed set, Urban
Legends box set, X-men
Legends boxed set, and the Fantastic
Four boxed set.
- The previous Sentinel BAF was guest
reviewed.
- then there's the various
series reviews, including series
9 (including Galactus), series 8 Captain Marvel and Doc Ock, series 7 Vision, series 6 Juggernaut, Wolverine and Deadpool, series 5 Blade, Nick Fury, Sabertooth and Colossus,
along with series 5 Red
Skull, Silver Surfer and Mr. Fantastic, series 4 Goliath, Punisher, Beast, Gambit, and Elektra, series 3 Daredevil and then the rest of the series,
series 2 Thing and
Namor,
and finally, from three and a half years ago, the series 1 review,
KEEP SCROLLING DOWN FOR
A TON OF PHOTOS!
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