Tag: western figures

Alien Shocktrooper – Independence Day

This was another super-cheap Western figure from Mandarake that I couldn’t not buy. Also… shiny…

Shiny and blue is also a winner with me :P. And tentacles. This figure feels very 90s. And being 90s style, it has to have an action feature:

Not entirely sure if this cardboard dude is supposed to come out or not. He doesn’t easily, so he’s stayin’ in there. Here we can see there is plenty of glitter underneath the sealant. 

Here is the head closed:

The red eyes stand out from the rest of the figure, but aren’t too hash a contrast. The sculpting is good for its age, though the colours chosen are probably somewhat Marmite if you like them or not. 

Left:

Here we see the majesty of this thing. The tentacles take up quite a bit of room, but the upper ones have wires, so they can be posed. The lower two he stands on are solid so they can prop him up. The purple accents on these tentacles are a nice touch. The upper tentacles are pre-attached, but the lower ones are an absolute arse to get in – would recommend warming the figure to ease insertion. 

Close-up of the body:

Still looking shiny and decently detailed. The protruding bit on his upper back is the clip you squeeze to open the head. The head will spring closed. 

Right:

This shot shows the levers and hinge aren’t really that hidden. Does give you a good grip to open it though, which makes sense as a toy aimed at kids. 

Close-up of the lower tentacles:

Decently detailed, and reasonably easy to balance him on these back “legs”. 

Back:

All the tentacle you could need! Haven’t posed them much, but with some fiddling, they’d look good.

Close-up of the tentacle ends:

Here we can see there is more than one tip type, which is a nice detail. I like the way these came out. 

You also get a host dude:

He has a certain amount of flexibility, but isn’t designed to be poseable. The paint colours are nice though. I’ll either find somewhere he can hang onto, or maybe hang him onto a tentacle. He’s a decent little accessory to the figure, but he’s not capable of standing on his own, so that’s a bit of a shame. Would have more display potential if he did. 

Overall, I like this figure, not sure who I’d recommend it to. It also came with a floppy disk, but haven’t been bothered to try and see if it still reads. As of the time of writing, here’s some videos that I found of the mission disks that came with these figures: https://www.youtube.com/user/JTcheatwood/videos They’re all very short minigames (my brother had the Area 51 one as kids, which came with a mini playset, which is why I know the vague content of the disks). 

Cyborg – Justice League (2017) – Kotobukiya

This figure I found was for sale at one of Mandarake stores I planned to visit, so put it on my “to buy list”.

And then bought it:

Whilst the film was a pile of poop (watched it on the plane), I quite like the design of Cyborg. Not convinced it rivals his comic book look, but I like it on its own merits. What I like about it: the red accents, the wires near his chin, and a couple of other details on his upper half. What I don’t like: The midriff feels overly fussy, his legs feel too “robot”. 

Face:

His face is nicely sculpted and painted, and I think Kotobukiya did a good job of this. The metal part fits well. His hair, however, looks rather on the painted-on side, which spoils it a bit. I really like his upper chest with the angular parts, red glow and wires. Love the show-of-strength pose. 

Stand:

The base is magnetic, so he sticks well to it. I like the logo, but the base being thing looks like more like a cheap coaster than a base for a figure. Wish they went for the thicker style the other western Kotobukiya figures came on. 

Left:

The pose doesn’t feel overdone from this angle, which I  like. The sculptwork is really nice and looks good from this angle.

Right:

The expression fits the pose from this side, but the hair being a bit shiny looks odd. ‘tis my main niggle with this figure. The shading on the metal parts is really nice and give it a lifelike feel. 

Back:

I really like the design of the back, and think it works better than the front… but that’s more DC’s fault. The fin effect is a lot less fussy than the randomness on the front, and the metal places help accent it. The shielding on the spine looks really good to me:

Here we can also see the number of paint effects going on, on the metal parts of the figure. I think they did a really good job with that. 

Overall, I think if you like this figure mostly relies on if you like DC’s design. Apart from the hair, I think Kotobukiya did a good job of recreating Cyborg in figure form, and am glad to have him, even though the film is poop. 

DC, stop making crap movies kkthx!

Figure Spotlight: Diablo

I have both the Diablo figures by NECA – one is “normal” Diablo, other is Shadow of Diablo. Here they both are together:

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The normal Diablo I got as a gift, the Shadow of Diablo I ended up paying a fair bit for, as it got customs’d. Both figures are from the same mould, with different paint jobs. 

The normal Diablo:

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The paint job on this one is quite striking – the yellow and red contrast nicely. The figures are decently poseable – along with the usual articulation, his shoulder parts move, his back spikes move and his table is bendable. 

Here’s a shot of his side:

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Not too much to see here, though one thing here is to note he’s not on his stand properly – both of these figures are prone to falling over, and the peg is not long enough to hold him in place at all. This sort of makes the leg articulation useless, as you can’t really pose his legs in many positions without him faceplanting. Usually I have him leaning against the wall to prevent him from attempting to skydive. 

Back view:

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Nice paint job here too. Tail is poseable, but it’s kinda awkward to move it around – the wire is quite stiff. Now to leave this Diablo munching on the wooden backdrop, and look at Shadow of Diablo:

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This guy has a reasonably striking appearance from afar, but does not stand up to closer scrutiny. Close-up on his face:

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 The blue wash appears messy, where it blends into the black parts, and the shoulders don’t look as well blended as the ones on the red version. Whilst the blue paint does feel more sloppy, I’m not sure if the paint itself was partially a factor in the figure’s paint flaws. There’s less colours to play with here, though NECA is known for doing sloppier paint jobs towards the end of figure runs. 

Here is his side:

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Not much to say here – looks rather like the original version, only blue. 

The back:

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Here you can see the blue wash being uneven on the two outer back spikes. Also if you look closely near the tip of his tail you can see two dots – this is the wire showing through :/. Pretty sure this was from the figure’s construction, where they haven’t embedded the wire correctly. Fortunately, it doesn’t show as this part is usually facing the wall. 

So if you have a choice of one or the other – definitely go for the “original” version. The blue one just doesn’t have as good of a paint job, and an image search seems to confirm it’s not confined to just mine (as well as some reviews from the time). Getting hold of either at this stage is likely to be an expensive proposition though. I believe the original RRP was £25, but good luck getting them for that now. 

Tribble – Star Wars

I found this in the same charity shop as yesterday’s figure. And was not gonna leave this one behind! I’ve been looking to buy one of these on and off for awhile, so glad to find one at a price I was prepared to pay.

 So let’s have a look at him (or himher… seem to recall tribbles are hermaphrodites):

Fluffy ball! Better not feed it!

And to show it’s an official Tribble:

He’s been tagged, for identification and tracking purposes.

Though the main feature of this “figure” is the box, which has holes so you can keep him in the tub:

Here we can confirm the contents:

Ooh, child safe. I don’t have to worry about it around my husband then!

Some good advice:

Don’t want to be overrun with furry critters!

Some further rules:

Hm, need to find me a Vulcan apparently. 

Top:

Can see him well from the top :). 

Glad to have this furry ball, despite it being just a furry ball… but was an iconic episode of Star Trek. 

Rock God – Guitar Hero

Found this fellah in a charity shop, still sealed. So ofc I had to do my bit for charity and buy him:

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Here he is, showing the world how to rock! He was a bit hard to assemble, as the peg on the base wouldn’t fully go into his speaker. A poke with a sharp object to make the hole deeper, and bam! In fits the peg :D. Once assembled, he does stand up OK, but if he’s slightly off, he’ll just rock over onto his butt ><. 

His colouring is very nice though – not particularly complicated shading job, but the colours work. The beard probably has the most amount of shading in this figure.

Close-up of the base:

I like the fact they’ve used the logo for the stand, but it would’ve been nicer if the stand was larger or heavier, so that the figure was less prone to rolling over. The pegs are solid though, and has withstood the rolling over this figure has done. 

Left:

There are some paint transfers, seemingly from his skirt. Or is it a kilt? I do like the belt and the massive metal chain. 

Right:

The buckles on the shoes and wrist straps are nice. He does articulate a bit, but not very usefully. You can’t get many poses out of him. 

Back:

I like the fact the speaker has some detail on the back. His hair has a nice amount of shading in it. 

Top:

His face looks really good, and his mouth as depth to it. His eyes look a bit odd, as they are plain blue, but it is a pretty shade of blue. 

Overall, I like this figure, It’s an OK figure, but not overly fancy. I got him pretty cheap though. And he goes well with his golden counterpart I already had :). 

Venal Anatomica – Clive Barker’s Tortured Souls

Whilst putting together a Suruga-ya order out of timesale items, I found this dude! And again, I’m buying cheap Western figures from Japan, lol.

So here he is:

One cool-looking dude… if you like this sort of thing. Standard amount of metallic protrusions for a Tortured Soul. I like the metal chains that hang in front of him, and the claws jutting out of his hand. 

Close-up of those claws:

The paint has been done well, so they look like they’re in his flesh, instead of just being kind of stuck there. We can also see one of the chain weapons that hang by his sides. 

Close-up of the ball chain:

Two more brutal weapons on chains. Yeah, don’t get near this guy :P. Also a meathook attached to his wrist, making him dangerous in melee combat. 

The cap on his head can also be taken off so you can see his brain:

The cap is attached by a chain, so it dangles down his back if you take it off. He has a much more skull-like appearance like this. Wonder if he can scratch his head with that shoulder blade. 

Head from another angle:

Gory! Chain for his cap is the one attached to the chain on his right shoulder. 

Left:

Here we can see the bands around his head, that have been nicely done and the detailed boots. Seems to have a chatterer vibe going on. 

Right:

Some more weaponry on his right arm, plus here you can see the nail that “holds” the skull cap on. 

Back:

Here we can see the fabric effect done on the plastic – I think this is pretty effective, especially when looking at it in a photo like this. His upper back is pretty detailed, with the flesh parts poking through the back. 

Overall, I do rather like this figure. I think he’s a bit plainer than other Tortured Souls figures, but the sculpting is good and the paint is really nice. I’d recommend him if you’re a fan of the series, and can find him for sale. 

Starfire

When this figure originally came out, I ended up passing on it. But then I recently had the opportunity to buy it at a store, so I decided to go for it:

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I love Starfire’s hair and purple outfit. With the colour and the shapes, it’s an eye-catching ensemble that compliments her fiery hair. She has a well-sculpted face, though I think the eye shadow is a bit dark. 

Left:

I like the way her hair blends from opaque to transparent. I think they nailed this effect for an action figure. Here you can see she has the typical joints for an action figure, though she doesn’t have ankle-rocking ability. With her shoulder pads being high up, these don’t restrict arm movement. 

Right:

Here we can see where mine is sun damaged…. If you look at her thigh, you will see where it transitions from light to dark… but personally I prefer the lighter colour! She is supposed to be on the orangey side, but personally I’m not a fan of that – it can feel rather overdone to me. If you look closely in the front shot at the top of this blog, you will see where the twisty tie went across her stomach. Hair transition looks smooth on this side. One thing that irks me slightly is her hand positions – she’s not a character that holds any weapons/items, but her right hand is posed almost like she should be holding something. Not quite sure what pose they were planning for you to put her in, but I think a more neutral hand position would make more sense. 

Back:

Here we can see her hair and original skin colour. He hair somewhat limits head poseability. Also she’s not the easiest to get balanced, which isn’t much of a surprise. These days they’d likely give her some ankle-rocking action to make her easier to pose, but she’ll always be back-heavy, thanks to her hair. 

Overall, I think this is a reasonable figure. It’s nothing special, but I feel it has been competently produced. Though… probably best not buying her from a comic shop that likely had her on display for years like I did, lol. However, she seems to be rather hard to get hold of, unless you really want to pay far over the odds for her. 

Kin – McFarlane

Here we have Kin from the Spawn universe:

You can choose to display him with or without the pig mask, and the arm he carries is a separate part. The demon on his back is attached via a wire, and cannot be removed, but can be moved to sit in various places on his back. 

Close-up of the demon: 

Love the paint job on this figure – a fair amount of detail, and I particularly like the detail on the demon’s face. Having some articulation in the demon is nice too – allows some customisation of how you sit him on top of Kincaid. 

Without the pig mask:

Didn’t focus on his face in this shot, but  here you can see he’s fully detailed, if you don’t like the pig mask. The placing and sizing of the holes that hold on the mask are such that they don’t really show when you have his mask off, which is a nice touch, if people don’t want the mask. 

Left:

Here we can see the length of the mask – is pretty long! The hair effect on Kin’s arms is good, and I really like the stippled blood effect on the demon’s back. One of the better recreations of blood that I’ve seen on a figure. Often bloodied bits look rather fake, but this one doesn’t. 

Close-up of the axe:

Yeah, I think this axe comes with a side of tetanus. Some lovely paint details on his boots too. 

Right:

And that’s one putrescent arm! I love how they’ve mailed most of the textures o this figure. Only one I’m not a fan of is the trousers – they look a bit wooden rather than cloth due to the paintwork. 

Back:

Even from the back, there’s a lot to be seen in the moulding and the painting. The way the demon is climbing onto Kin’s back gives a sense of motion to me. Love the way they’ve given the trousers a bunch of highlights to help add to them, though the paint does leave them looking kind of woody instead of hessian sack. 

Kin’s jacket:

They didn’t skimp on the detail, despite the fact it is likely to be covered up by the demon. The paint has been neatly done, which shows of the details in the jacket. Almost a shame the demon is permanently connected to Kin – would’ve been nice if there was a connector on the wire. However, I do have a McFarlane figure with detachable wires and they do fall out pretty easily, so maybe this was the best solution. 

Overall, I can strongly recommend this figure if you like the looks of it. It’s not very poseable, but if you’re OK with that, this is a solid figure. 

Minecraft Chest Series Blind Boxes

Found these at Poundland, so I picked up the 6 that they had.

The first two, zombie, and zombie on fire:

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Originally these retailed for £3. You only get one of these per box, so I think £3 is a LOT to pay for such a tiny figure (they’re around 2cm in height). £1 is still…. kind of a bit. At least they’re painted OK. 

Sides:

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Fire zombie has more to look at, by virtue of the fire. Sleeves aren’t painted too straight on him though. The normal zombie has pretty blobby paint. though the textured areas are nice. 

Back:

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Hm. Yeah. Distinctly average. 

Alex and Steve:

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These two are more interesting than the zombies, but you can see the seeming cheapness of the plastic, with the patterns on Steve’s armour. There is a bit of overpaint here and there, but no too noticeable.

Sides:

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I like the design of Steve’s shield, but it is poorly painted. Alex seems to have had a hard life, and there’s a number of paint scratches in her hair. Pickaxe has a number of paint flaws, but at least they’ve done the head in a proper gold. 

Back:

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Here you can see where the plastic was poured into the mould. Not much hiding Paint on Alex is much neater back here. /sigh. 

And finally, Blaze and Snow Golem:

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Brown paint missed on the Golem. Blaze paint is also a bit messy. The transparent bit on the Blaze is kind of a nice touch. 

Sides:

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Snow Golem looks fine, but the red paint on the Blaze is a bit of a mess. The paint is mostly where it should be, but with the groove going all away around the edge of the Blaze, it makes it look like the paint didn’t quite come up to the edge it should do. 

Back:

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Again, clear mould marks from where the moulds were filled. Paint is neat back here though. 

Even at £1, I wouldn’t particularly recommend these. Definitely not for £3! Would’ve liked to see some of the more interesting picks from this collection, but overall, the quality and size doesn’t justify a premium price for these figures. Unless you’re hardcore into Minecraft and really want these, I wouldn’t particularly recommend them.

Whilst I was at Poundland, I also bought this minecart:

The print quality of these vary, so I’d recommend inspecting it in the packet, if you care. Some of them are not printed straight at all. I’ve decided to leave this one in the packet, so not sure of the quality of the wheels etc. 

If we look at the back:

… we can see that they’ve released the same minecart, in various different packaging. Collect them all? Nah, think I’ll pass on that. I don’t think I really need more than one of these tbh…

Joker, Harley, Cyborg & Mr Freeze – Metal Nanofigs

Ended up getting some more Nanofigs from Asda. Not sure quite why I keep doing this… oh yeah – they’re cheap… 

So first up, Joker:

Well-painted, for such a small figure. He has purple boots though… and the shiny jacket might be an acquired taste, 

Left:

A little bit of an ear going on, and a very red smile. Hair has some shape to it. 

Right:

Bit more definition in the green hair paint on this side. And a sea of shiny purple. Good thing I like shiny purple.

Back:

Some details in the sculpt back here. Am happy with this nanofig. 

Next up, how did his ‘partner’ Harley go?

Ah. Hm. Yeah, she didn’t fare so well. Missed paint on her hair, by the bat and the lines aren’t too crisp on the jacket. Not sure what’s going on with the bat, being flesh-coloured… that doesn’t quite work. She has a full face though, unlike some of the nanofigs, which is a nice change. 

Left:

Yeah, definitely evidence of some painty mess here.

Right:

Seems to be some mess going on with her hip, and her foot seems poorly moulded. Or maybe overpainted. 

Back:

Faaail. A number of black marks, and not much attention paid to paint edges. You can’t see the back of the figures, and this one shows it. 

Cyborg:

Recognisably Cyborg, but he does have some mutant growths on his shoulders. There isn’t a large amount of detail in the paintwork, but what’s there has largely been done neatly. 

Left:

A sea of silver. Think some definition has been lost in the legs from the thick paint apps, but probably better this than seeing through the paint. 

Right:

Head paint has been done well, rest of it is what it is, lol.

Back:

Yeah, looking decent back here, no real complaints. 

Overall, he’s pretty decent, but does suffer from the lack of paint details these figures have. 

Lastly, Mr Freeze:

Mr Melty Face! His head looks distinctly mutant, like they couldn’t decide if it was his helmet or his head. I think it would’ve looked far better if they shortened his skull, so he didn’t have his helmet on. Paint on his left arm looks like a “yeah, that’s about right” job. Rest of the paint, such as it is, looks like it has gone where it was supposed to. 

Left:

Not much definition here. Looks OK. 

Right:

His glove and boot lack detail in the moulding imo, and look overly plain. 

Back:

One large paint gouge here, at his mid-back :(. His left glove looks really good from this angle, with the gun… looks better here than on the front!

Overall, Mr Freeze looks OK, barring that stupid head. Argh. Goggles could’ve done with more work too. 

My favourite out of these is the Joker. Harley is probably the weakest out of this set. For less than £2 each, they’re pretty decent, and better than what you can get out of some pricier blind bags. And you can pick the ones you want! Wouldn’t recommend ordering these off the internet (unless you’ve got good pics of the ones you’re buying) as the paint jobs can vary massively. Did try to pick the better looking ones, where I could. I remember there only being one Mr Freeze though. 

Harley Quinn – Arkham Knight – DC Collectables

This one I bought at Hawkins Bazaar, who had a few characters on clearance. But some of them are being sold at B&M for cheaper, so if you see figures there, check if they’re in B&M or TK Maxx first. 

Here is Harley Quinn, based on her appearance in Arkham Knight (not played the game, but does she appear in both of her outfits?):

Most of the paintwork is well done, but there are a few dodgy bits here and there. The paint quality varied between figures, so I picked the best one. Some of them, the white paint was encroached upon by the black/red paint. 

This figure is very shiny. Not sure if I’m a fan of the look or not. Wish the black line on her left side was a bit straighter. The diamonds on her leggings are painted nicely though. 

Close-up of her face:

I like the rouge on her face, the lipstick and eyes are painted very well. Not too much of a fan of the “blow-up” hat look. The hat has been given seams like it’s an inflatable, not sure if this is intentional detail, but not really a fan. The creases are nicely realised. Some of the white n her collar does seem to let some of the undercoat show through, but not too badly on mine. 

Left:

Here you get to see the extent of the shiny. Does make it look like she’s wearing some plastic-y fetish suit. The colours are very vibrant though. 

Right:

Looks fine from this angle, other than some previously made points. 

Back:

Quite a bit of creasing detail throughout her body and hat. The pom-pom balls are nice. Her neck looks odd from this angle though, from the way they’ve done the joint. 

And now for some notes about posing her:

Why, DC, why?! No hopes in her feet to add a stand, so you’ll either have to go for no stand or a claw stand. Without a stand, she’s a bit finnicky to stand up. You can get her to stand, but she will be prone to falling over. Also getting her to hold her bat can be troublesome, though looks good once you get her to hold it properly. 

Overall, I can see why this figure was reduced. She’s a bit of a pain to pose, and I think the shiny look would be polarising between collectors. She articulates well, but this is let down by the lack of stand. If you see this for around a tenner, and you like the look of her (and prepared to throw in a stand if you can’t prop her up), I’d recommend her. But I’d recommend also leafing through the stock to ensure you get one with a minimal amount of paint flaws. 

Manic – Scary Fairy

Bought this at a comic shop that was selling it off for £5:

One scary fairy, as the box promised! From a distance, this figure looks good. It’s also weighty, made out of some kind of resin. 

If you look closely at the hair and the logo on his T-shirt especially, you can see the sloppiness in the paint. 

Hair close-up:

Here you can see where the black doesn’t quite go into the gaps at the front, and some places where it’s escaping onto the white paint

Left:

Not too much to see. Though having the trouser base colour the same as the skin colour makes it look odd from the side. Paint isn’t too bad this side.

Right:

Couple of little bits of stray paint, and some little white marks in the hair. Not too much different from the other side.

Back:

Wing attachment could’ve done with some more hiding. But I do like the wings -they’re made out of a clear plastic, and are mostly painted neatly. However, would’ve been nice if they added to the central connector so it’d appear more “in keeping” with the wings. 

Overall, I wouldn’t recommend paying a lot for these figures, but it is a nice, fun figure, that’s a bit unusual. Due to the weight, they’re probably not economical to be shipped internationally, so I’d recommend looking for them domestically where possible. 

Sinclair – Bad Taste Bears

Saw this in a collectables store, and simply had to buy it, seeing as it’s become topical again:

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So what’s he surprised about, with his VR? Is it Skyrim?

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Ah, probably not Skyrim…. maybe Witcher? 

Left:

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Here we see the haptic feedback system. We’re not here yet, but hopefully we won’t need to wear a large “backpack” when we do get there… However, it looks like it works well, judging by a certain part of the sculpt. Some bits of stray paint, but nothing too significant. 

Right:

Pretty much the same story as the left, but there’s a bit more of the black wires that haven’t been painted properly. It doesn’t show too much, but it’s pretty obvious if you’re looking closely at it. Having one of the wires as a real wire is a nice touch though. 

Back:

Ah, VR as imagined in the early 2000s. Such an industrial-looking box. Should imagine these days, it’d be a sleek black box. Maybe even teadrop-shaped. 

Top:

At first,  I thought this was way too fat, but on reflect, I think it’s fairly comparable to a Rift/Vive. 

Overall, I like this bear. The sculpting is good, and the subject is amusing. However, the painting is a bit lacking in a couple of places, which brings it down a bit. Now to see what the actual future brings for VR!

Hal Jordan – Test Pilot – Mattel

Saw this figure loose at a collectable figure store. Wasn’t sure who it was, until I did a bunch of research. 

Turns out it’s Hal Jordan as a test pilot:

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The figure isn’t in pristine condition, but he was cheap, and I liked his spacesuit outfit. The helmet “glass” is a neat-looking shimmering blue. 

Left:

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His clothes are moulded well for a cheap figure, and the paint is surprisingly not messy. Here you can also see the translucency of his helmet. The colouring is basic, but I think that was a good choice, to avoid colouring mistakes.

Back:

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Backpack looks OK, but it might’ve been nice to have it not in a block colour. It’s not really a collectable figure, so it’ll do. Sculpt works fine imo. 

Without the helmet:

Not much detail in the face – quite reminiscent of much older figures. I don’t think there’s enough detail there to match it up with any particular drawing/actor. With him without his helmet on, it’s clear his crotch is the colour of his top half. Would’ve been nice if his crotch was made to match his pants, not his top. 

Back:

Some creasing on his jacket, which is nice to see. Stops him from being totally plain back here, when they could’ve easily gone for a flat sculpt, what with the backpack accessory. Hair also has a good patterning to it. 

Overall, I like this figure. In some places it’s pretty basic, but his clothes have had a decent amount of attention put into the sculpt. His hands have been curled in a way which makes him look like he should have an accessory – and the pictures that I found on the internet seem to imply he didn’t come with one. Would’ve been nice to have a tiny lantern, or a more neutral hand pose. Overall, I’m happy with this random pickup. 

Ghost – Dark Horse Comics

This was a random pickup at a local game collectables store. Been eyeing this one up the last few times I’ve been in (actually… think I eyed her up the first time I went in there…) and finally decided I’d buy her. 

So here she is, finally escaped from her plastic prison:

She probably wouldn’t appeal to people used to more modern figures, and definitely seems to lurk in a transitional period between older style and newer style figures. She lacks any kind of leg articulation, and her skin is shiny om her body, which can be seen on her chest. The face aims for more realism, but still seems rooted in an older style. Her belt comes separately, and you clip this around her waist. 

You can also take off her cape:

She does look a bit odd like this though. The white cap doesn’t quite work on its own. Doesn’t  look like she does in the comic provided. Despite the lack of articulation she’s a bit of a pig to balance too. She holds her guns well though, but doesn’t look right without them.

Let’s explore more what she looks like with the cape, by looking at her left side:

The cape has been somewhat crudely moulded to fit around her arm. Which has a pretty obvious seam line. I do like this white, glossy paint though. 

Back:

Some creases, but lacks the more lifelike look they’d give a modern figure. She has some nice high-heeled boots, but that’s part of the source of her poor balance. 

Right, without the cape:

Ignore the mess on her shoe – that’s white tack. Seam a bit less obvious in the arm, and her glove has better painting on this side. Here you can start to see the fabric cap the white bit under the cape is supposed to be. 

Back:

They’ve aimed to make it look like the hair cap is moving around with her movement. This helps it look clothlike form this angle, but it’s just too severe a shape to work without the cape at the front imo. 

Overall I think this an OK figure. I paid £10 for her, which I think is fair. I don’t think this figure will particularly appeal to many people, especially as I think she’s not a well-known character. I think she really is a product of her time, and online sources suggest she was manufactured in 1998, which would seem about right for her style. And I’m pretty sure I put her belt on backward for this review… erm. Oops. I think she looks pretty neat with the cape, which is why I bought her. If you don’t mind her half-90s, half-2000s look, I think she’s decent overall.  

Nomad – Mass Effect 3

Wasn’t originally interested in this, but GAME was selling ‘em off for £3, so hey, why not. Not actually played the 3rd in the series, but I’ve had enough quality time with the Mako to pretend I’ve actually driven this one. 

It’s a decent little die-cast car. Not really surprised these have ended up significantly reduced from their original £10 price tag. It feels more substantial than a Hot Wheels car, but not so much I’d pay a big premium for it. 

Back:

The sculpt and paint job seem to be good on it – the lines seem nice and crisp. 

Top:

Looks nice and neat from the top.

Side:

Cuts a nice profile. Some silver details nestling in there. 

Bottom:

Sculpted and painted here too. So you do get something decent for your money, but I debate if this more “grown up” Hot Wheels affair is really worth the RRP. Which is probably why every GAME seemed to have a few they were flogging off at the time I bought this one, and there’s probably a number of them still floating around. 

If you want a small ND1, then this does the job. Not sure how many people really want a little Nomad, but the manufacturer clearly overestimated, though if you want one, I don’t think this one will disappoint. 

Alexa Bliss – WWE Elite Series

Normally I wouldn’t consider buying a wrestling figure, but upon seeing this one, and it being on sale, I decided to get it:

At first, I thought it was a cross-dressing bloke. On further research, she’s female, and they did a bit of a poor job with the head sculpt. Sorry Alexa :(. So that was probably why she’s on sale, oops. Her head is squarer than it should be, which was the source of my confusion. I was mostly attracted to this figure, due to the bright colours, though. 

Another thing my research dug up is the belt and the bits on her hands should be shiny – I find it odd they didn’t use silver paint on these, especially as they’ve used silver elsewhere on the figure. 

Also the sculpt – it seems they went for customising the body and the face, but the arms and legs are probably generic sculpts. 

I love the hair, outfit and boots on this figure, but the arms seem kind of generic and don’t really fit. They’ve done her makeup, so that’s a nice touch. 

Left:

One pink pom-pom comin’ up! Here we can see the blend of the dye in her hair – the blend job is so-so. Some of a seam showing on her hip.

Right:

Rather disappointed they didn’t put her hand jewellery in silver. Think it would’ve looked much better, but it’s not very delicate, so not true-to-life. And a blue pom-pom! Dye blend in her hair seems better on this side. 

Back:

Here you can see how the paint in the hair differs on the two sides. Her top straps are nice and shiny – this is definitely one of the selling pints of this figure. Here you can see that the top of her boots is a separate part – this helps with articulation. The poofy bits on her back aren’t terribly accurate to real life, but OK for a cheap figure. Not really finding this “elite” series to really be elite, which is likely why they’ve hit the bargain bin. 

And one last thing on articulation:

Her waist has plenty of it! 

I think this figure is a fine one as a cheap one for the kids, if you get it cheap. It’s not hugely accurate to her real look imo, so I don’t see her much as a collector’s item. I paid £10 for her, so she was definitely on the cheaper side of things, though I think the regular price was £20 or something, which is just too much imo. She did come with a base, but it is a cheap piece of rubbish and I wouldn’t recommend it. 

If a quality articulated figure manufacturer made her, I’d definitely buy it though – love this outfit, and I don’t think the figure does it justice. But it’s OK for a tenner and not knowing who she was prior…

Coon – South Park: Fractured But Whole

Saw the collector’s edition being sold off in GAME, and I didn’t own the game, so I went for it. £25 isn’t bad for a game and a figure. I haven’t played much of the game yet – seems to have a slow start, but I have photographed the figure it came with. So let’s have a look at that:

This is Cartman as Coon, the main character in the game. This figure is pretty large. Love the bold colours, and the paint’s been kept within the lines, which helps the figure “pop”. Gotta hand it to Ubisoft, they’re cranking out some nice collectables currently. 

Close-up on that claw:

Vicious. Don’t want to be clawed with those. 

Left:

Looking the part from this side. I think they’ve transferred Cartman into three dimensions well – doesn’t feel too fat, yet fat enough. Bit of dodgy paint on this side, with the black strap heading to his ear. Ah well. 

Right:

Not much to see here tbh. 

Back:

Some well-done folds in his cape, and the coon logo. And his coon tail. They’ve even replicated the knot that holds his ear band on. On close inspection, he does have stray brown paint on the back of his right here. Hm, sloppy. 

Bottom:

Ooh, two years ago. Guess it was about time the game went on clearance :P. The base of his tail is flat, so he sits well, and is very stable. 

Overall, I think this is a decent collectable and glad I got it. As long as the game doesn’t suck, I reckon I got a good deal. 

Minecraft Diorama – Mining Mountain

I saw these mini-dioramas online, complete with poor reviews thanks to size. Especially for the original price, I wasn’t ever going to get one of these. 

Saw one at TK Maxx for a bit cheaper, and decided that was the best deal I was gonna get to judge it for myself. So let’s see!

Here it is out of the box:

Even with the small box, half of it is padding. So if you see the box for one of these, it’s roughly half the height of the box. I’d regard this thing as palm-sized – I can hold it comfortably in one hand. The grey piece underneath it is a connector you can use to connect multiple of these dioramas together, if you get more than one. 

Close-up of Steve’s back:

Yeah, these scratches were fresh out of the box. Can also see the crummy paint job on his pants. Not quality. He’s also leaking shirt onto his left arm. 

Left:

Kinda wish this cobweb was moveable. That would make for more of a feature. Either that, or have the holes in it like it should. This cobweb is made out of a rubbery material. 

Right:

The upper grass block is actually quite nicely done. Not so much for the one “hiding” the action feature. 

Back:

/yawn. Can’t we even get a spider decal back here…?

So… the action feature! Will it redeem this? Upon pushing Steve down, let’s see what happens:

We get some coal. Hm. Let’s try again:

Gold. Now we’re getting somewhere…

Third time’s the charm?:

Diamond! Yay! 

I think the action feature is pretty neat, but doesn’t redeem this overall. I paid £10 for this, and well… it’s not great. It could’ve really done with some spare bits – maybe some tools for Steve and/or a couple of critters to play with. A spider and a creeper would’ve been well-received. A chest would’ve been a nifty addition for that cavelike feel. Overall, I think this thing is worth a fiver at best. It’s too small to make a good toy, without much interactivity. It could’ve been like a Minecraft Polly Pocket, but without a couple of other mini-figures, it lacks that value. If you already have some of the blind box micro figures, this set would combo well with those though… but then that’s adding to the cost just to make it fun… 

Overall wouldn’t recommend unless you can get one cheap in good condition. Or you just have to have everything Minecraft.

Harley Quinn – Arkham Knight – DC Collectables

Bought this from Hawkin’s Bazaar, of all places. They were doing a sale, and she was a good price, so I picked her up:

As far as Harleys go, this figure isn’t super-special, but is decent-enough looking for the tenner I paid. I like the creases in her clothing, and she’s got some blush on her face, making it stand out more. She is a mild pain to pose though – hard to get her to hold the bat like I want her to. The paint is largely crisp and clean, but paint jobs do vary between figures, so I picked from the best I was looking at. Some of them the white overpaint wasn’t quite thick enough to hide her uniform underneath. 

Face close-up:

I do rather like the face on this figure. The flashing on the hat does make it look a bit like a blow-up hat, lol. Maybe it is? The furry balls on her hat and chest are meh, but they are on most figures, and these seem decent enough. 

Close-up of the bat:

Yep, looks like the quintessential Harley bat. Ruffs have a bit of stray paint on her wrists, but are well-sculpted. 

Left:

Looks OK from this angle. 

Right:

Some creasing at her middle and on her arm. Not sure they fully committed to the outfit wrinkles from this side. Note she has none on her legs. 

Back:

Here they seem to be a little undecided if they were committing to put wrinkles in her outfit or not, too. She does have a butt though… Her neck looks odd from this angle too. The paint is good on her outfit though.

And one of the major annoyances with this figure:

No. Stand. Holes. And she’s not easy to stand up on her own – she’s pretty finnicky, so can suddenly go SPLAT. Why DC Collectables, do you have to do this? Why no peg holes…? 

I think this might be quite a divisive figure – the shininess is going to appeal to some, but not so much to others. Not surprised this one has binned, but I think it’s a fairly solid figure for half the RRP. Though you may want to consider including a claw stand into your purchase so she doesn’t fall over. Currently I have her propped up against an acrylic stair stand, so she doesn’t fall over.