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Ultimate Rhino

Coheteboy is on a roll with the Toybiz figures - tonight's review is of the Spider-man Classics Ultimate Rhino!  It's all your's, Coheteboy!

It's almost hard to believe that the Spider-Man Classics line has endured while only providing one villain per wave. This production model doesn't seem to work too well with other properties but if we're already on Series 9 and the property is showing no signs of slowing down, it MUST be working! Ultimate Rhino is this series' lone villain and is released along side Black Costume Spidey, Cyber Spidey, and Secret Identity Spider-Man.

Ultimate Rhino has been hitting shelves for months now so you should be able to find this figure a little easier now. 







Packaging - **
The "classics" packaging never tries to appeal to the collectors as it looks pretty cheap with the usual bubble/card and poor graphics. The back of the card details the action gimmick but a description about the character is nowhere to be found. If Toy Biz took the extra step to detail the origin of the figure, I'm positive they'd sell a lot more toys. 

Sculpting - ***1/2
Even if you don't know what Ultimate Rhino looks like, there's no doubting how good this figure looks. Sure, it ain't the costume we'd like to see but it looks GOOD. It's as if Rhino got an upgraded super suit! I could have done with a less extreme facial expression but it looks good when put in fighting poses. I'm also pretty impressed with the textured armor on this figure. Overall, a good effort on Rhino... even the head sculpt looks good, though I wouldn't mind if it was less extreme. 

Paint - ***1/2
While Ultimate Rhino is pretty limited to greys, the various shades used impresses me. There's also great use of 'metallic' silver paint in the armor which looks great. I have to make a special point to mention the face... this is probably the best facial paint I've seen in a long time from Toy Biz. The eyes are nicely painted and both teeth AND gums are colored in. That's something that's been lacking in other figures, especially Hulk. So what more can you ask for? You got clean lines and detail. That's enough for me.

Articulation - ***
From my count there is about 30 points of articulation on Ultimate Rhino, but a lot of it is limited thanks to the action feature. The neck, legs and waist are all somewhat restricted which really makes it difficult to come up with interesting stances for the Rhino. There's more articulation than the first Rhino figure but all the same, it could be a lot more. Rhino does make up for those previous mentioned limitations with superb articulation in the hands, knees and feet, with the ability for the feet to be angled to stay flat on the floor. 

Accessories - ***
Ultimate Rhino comes with a wall with four removable pieces. We've all seen this type of accessory before but it works well and isn't as "gimmicky" as other Spider-Man Classics accessories. Here's something that could actually look good with the figure! 

Action Feature - **
I think of all the action features I've seen on these toys, this has got to be one of the worst attempts. Any time you're required to squeeze the legs for something to happen is a bad idea. Once the legs are squeezed, Rhino's head lunges upward as he throws a punch. Does it work? Of course it works... but does it work well enough to have? No, not really. The action features on Hulk figures only require you to push a button for something to happen. To have the legs, head, and waist be so limited only to serve the gimmick is a horrible idea. But don't worry, the Rhino has no trouble standing up at least.

Value - ***1/2
For a well articulated with a decent accessory, I think what you get is well worth the price of $7-8. The only drawback I found is with the action feature but it's passable. If you like the "ultimate" versions of things, this will be worth it for you. 

Overall - ***1/2
In short, I'm not too familiar with the ultimate versions of the marvel universe, but from an action figure perspective, this is a fantastic version of Rhino. I personally dig the way this Rhino looks and aside from the action gimmick, it's great. This could have been a perfect score if it weren't for the gimmick.

Where to Buy - 
I picked Ultimate Rhino up at KB for $7.99 but I've also seen it at Toys'R'Us for $6.99. Target and Wal-Mart should also be carrying these soon enough.

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Figure from the collection of Coheteboy.

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