Search found 56 matches for fiction

NSFW (?) -- The newly assembled "Death Star Trooper" (HERE) just had to get into a silly adventure. As always, this is intended for comedy, and while it does not depict anything explicit, it does make reference to adult themes and therefore may not be suitable for every setting or audience. Although already censored, two more informative images have been hidden as spoilers; you can click on them to view them if you wish.

For the previous installment of Star Wars silliness, check out the Silver Linings story.

Loosely inspired by the "How it should have ended" series...

































Quasi-explicit censored IMAGE hidden as Spoiler

Click if you wish to view IMAGE:

Quasi-explicit censored IMAGE hidden as Spoiler

Click if you wish to view IMAGE:

For the previous installment of Star Wars silliness, check out the Silver Linings story and these others:

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t2799-star-wars-the-further-adventures-of-darth-maul-updated-with-part-ii-may-2020

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t1852-star-wars-a-negative-body-image-story

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t2206-star-wars-moving-on-solo-story

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t1862-star-wars-a-lone-scoundrel-story

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t1150-star-wars-spacecops (not sixth scale)

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t909-star-wars-new-imperial-unit-aquatrooper-part-two

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t2541-star-wars-a-love-gone-wrong-story

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t1076-star-wars-christmas-revised-edition


#starwars #comedy #parody #scifi #fiction #hottoys #sideshow #phicen #tbleague

The Sexiest Man Alive (People 2014) is back and there is more of him to love than ever before!

For the modified head sculpt, see HERE.



Courtesy of Woo Toys and World Box, here is the most amiable God of Thunder yet!



Woo Toys set WO-004 is available in four variants, including (A) clothes and accessories, (B) clothes, accessories, and head sculpt, (C) full set including World Box AT018 body, and (D) just the head sculpt. Since I had the body, I went for set B. The clothing and accessories include: pajama pants, crocs, hoody, robe, fingerless gloves, watch, game controller, two Coke cans, two Heineken beer bottles. You have to attach the labels/designs on the cans and bottles yourself. Neither the Cokes nor the Heinekens are actually film-accurate. Chris Hemsworth wore the gloves throughout, as they hid the edge of the fat suit he wore for his character's appearance in the film.



"Fat Viking" Thor comes with one of the outfits seen in Avengers: Endgame, but it allows you to recreate more than one look or cringe-inducing scene...



To keep Thor comfortable, he has his pale blue crocs, representing what has got to be the most unsightly footwear ever designed. But they are done in fine detail, and they fit the feet of the AT018 body perfectly.



You can have him lounging around on the couch in his red robe and playing with his video game controls while enjoying a beer.



Or give him his hoody so he can dress up appropriately for going out... The strings hang too close to each other, but it is otherwise film-accurate. Don't forget to caffeinate for energy.



And just in case, throw in the robe. Between that, the hoody, the pajama pants, and the crocs, it's office casual these days, no? Don't forget the shades, or suffer the combination of hangover and sunlight.



I'm cool, man!



Just let me rest my eyes a little... no, I'm not dead!



These shades need some cleaning... or maybe it's just not too bright in here...



SPOILER ALERT! The outfit, as a whole, is most accurate to the part of the film where Thor revisits Asgard to reunite with his beloved family members and possessions. To be film-accurate, the watch would sit atop a black leather gauntlet-type accessory worn over the glove.



All he has to do is reach out...



And he is still manifestly worthy of greatness!



No one can withstand the Sexiest Man/God alive!



Let all others tremble in despair!



All in all, I think it is a fine, fun set, allowing the recreation of the character from more than one scene in the film. It can also serve for kitbashing purposes. The head sculpt is not the most accurate Chris Hemsworth we have seen, but it is passable. And the sculpted hair lends itself to rehairing. I should note that the head sits a bit high on the body, in part because that is a common occurrence with WorldBox bodies, in part because of the neck adapter (which I tried to modify) and the molded hair (which is somewhat flexible but not too soft). Put together, this Thor is about 30 cm (11.8 in) tall, which is a little short for Chris Hemsworth, whose 6 ft 3 in (190.5 cm) would translate to 31.75 cm (12.5 in) in sixth scale. But this is due to the WorldBox body, which is the only "fat" body readily available. It is neither the right height nor the right physique for the character, but dressed up it still conveys the look fairly well.

What do you think?

I got mine from Giantoy (you can shop around and find it elsewhere, too), so here are a couple of their links for the Fat Viking sets and the WorldBox body:
https://giantoy.com/products/woo-toys-wo-004c-woo004c-fat-viking-1-6-scale-1
https://giantoy.com/products/worldbox-1-6-durable-male-figure-fat-plump-body-at018

For the modified head sculpt, see HERE.

#avengers #thor #chrishemsworth #wootoys #worldbox #scifi #fiction #film #male

NSFW (?) Although there is nothing really graphic here, the story deals with adult situations and may or may not be appropriate for all viewers or settings. And it is certainly very much tongue-in-cheek. Although already censored, one more informative image has been hidden as a Spoiler; click if you wish to view it.

For the next installment of Star Wars silliness, check out the Happy Endings story.

Continued research into the far reaches of space has turned up never before seen footage of Leia's adventures on Endor. It is currently unclear whether this footage is a deleted scene, a fan film, a parody, or something else. But it certainly provides additional insight into the Star Wars universe...

Extra photos in Post 16 and Post 28.















Quasi-explicit censored IMAGE hidden as Spoiler

Click if you wish to view IMAGE:

Although I was not planning on it, I got a few of the Endor Leia parts (and that made me get a couple of the Deluxe Luke parts too) and couldn't resist doing something with them. I also wanted to continue exploring the basic possibilities with the graphics software, although they would be quite remedial for some of our more tech-savy graphic artists.

What do you think?

Extra photos in Post 16.

For the next installment of Star Wars silliness, check out the Happy Endings story.

#starwars #endor #leia #luke #scout #parody #humor #fiction #scifi #hottoys #sideshow #tbleague #phicen

It should come as no surprise considering what many of us already did with the Disney Store version, but Hot Toys' new Krennic set is a very good place to start to recreate Colonel Yularen, an officer of the Imperial Security Bureau, from A New Hope. Or, for that matter any other Security Bureau officer (there were a total of at least three seen on screen -- Yularen with and without a black officer cap, a younger slim officer that appears twice by the elevators -- the second time alongside Yularen, and a younger rotund officer roaming the halls). It is a relatively simple kitbash.


















Tunic, pants, boots from Hot Toys Krennic.

Belt from Hot Toys Krennic but modified and reversed for accuracy.

Officer badge modified (and mounted with magnets) from older Hasbro or Sideshow or Hot Toys set (I forget).

Officer cap from Sideshow Commander Praji.

Body and hands from World Box AT025.

Head from Damtoys Dam 78031 Sr-71 ”Black Bird” Flight Test Engineer (Donald Sutherland from Space Cowboys). The head is, of course, a remote likeness to Yularen, simply being the most similar head sculpt I know to be available; since I might want to use it for Donal Sutherland elsewhere, I have not attempted to modify it further.

What do you think?

#custom #kitbash #starwars #anewhope #anh #yularen #empire #scifi #fiction #film #male

For additional images, see Post 9 below.



Introduction

After a long wait, Hot Toys has released its sixth-scale rendition of Director Orson Krennic from Rogue One. I still have a soft spot for this film, which felt more like Star Wars than any other since Return of the Jedi, although I have gradually come to realize how many plot holes, inconsistencies, and improbabilities it contains. Krennic, played by Ben Mendelsohn, served as a relatively interesting and relatively well-developed disposable antagonist, and I'm happy to see that he has made it among that select list of characters from the film that has received the Hot Toys treatment (apart from Chirrut Imwe and the three versions of Jyn Erso, he is the only one with an actual face, all the others being masked and a robot). As far as I know, this is the first higher-end sixth-scale rendition of Krennic, the closest thing to it being the Disney version which I reviewed HERE. Although it would be an unfair comparison, in every respect except price, unsurprisingly the Hot Toys product is superior.



Packaging - 3 / 4 stars

All Star Wars sixth-scale collectibles from Hot Toys come in identical packaging, which has its advantages, but also means that there is even less cause for excitement than usual. Perhaps it is unfair to expect more, and I personally don't put a lot of store on this. The packaging is perfectly collector-friendly and safe, and accomplishes its purpose beautifully. Krennic comes in a standard shoe-box type container with a removable lid, a printed color "title card," and a transparent plastic trey with its plastic lid holding the figure and its accessories; a small transparent plastic trey and lid combo holds the rain poncho, and is taped on the underside of the main trey. Like other Rogue One sets by Hot Toys, the box lid features a "cigar band" affixed near its bottom, with the character's name and stylized depictions.



Sculpting - 4 / 4 stars

I don't know whether they quite nailed Ben Mendelsohn's features perfectly -- from certain angles the likeness is striking, from others less so. However, they did achieve a lifelike and realistic portrait, complete with countless wrinkles and hair strands. And that is just the head. The sculpting on the other molded pieces (rank badge, code cylinders, belt buckle, gun, ammo clips) seems to be flawless and sharp. The cap is molded plastic in fine and fitting detail, giving it the appearance of real cloth. Hot Toys resolved the usual dilemma of making such removable headgear look realistic and properly sized by giving Krennic a magnetic removable hairpiece that could be swapped with the magnetic removable cap. The cap looks flawless when in place, and the hairpiece is quite undetectable. The stature of the body, 11.75 in (about 30 cm) is approximately correct to Ben Mendelsohn's height of 5'11". This is worth noting, because in the film Krennic appeared shorter than Tarkin, but the action figures are about the same height. We should not forget that Peter Cushing's Tarkin was digitally recreated for Rogue One, and Hot Toys' Tarkin is actually scaled correctly to Cushing's height of 6'.



Paint - 3.5 / 4 stars

Hot Toys is known for both the excellence of its sculpting and the almost equal excellence of its paint application. It is done extremely well, with various dull and glossy surfaces as appropriate. However, it is not quite perfect. I noticed a little bit of inaccuracy here and there on the blaster pistol, and the overall treatment of the face is perhaps a little less nuanced than what we saw in the promotional materials (which is not necessarily surprising). When dealing with light-colored hair, Hot Toys has a tendency to use a metallic paint or finish, and this is what it did here. It looks good and allows us to appreciate the incredible detail of the finely molded strands, but it does not necessarily convey the salt-and-pepper hair of Ben Mendelsohn in the film with complete realism. That said, I'm not sure anyone could have done a better job of it with molded, painted hair. The entire color palette appears to be slightly warmer than what we see on screen.



Articulation - 3 / 4 stars

I am tired of writing that the Hot Toys body has the usual excellent articulation, but the clothing gets in the way. Unfortunately, this is true here, as so many other times in the past (Bespin Leia was mercifully spared this issue, but that seems to be an exception these days). The problem appears to be Hot Toys' insistence on using padded undergarments; these are intended to fill out the clothes better than the plastic body itself, but the difference in appearance is minuscule, while the degree to which articulation is made more difficult or outright restricted is consistently annoying. In the case of the Krennic figure, this is especially true for the shoulders and to a degree for the hips and abs -- although with some effort you can make Krennic sit down passably. The wrists work well, the knees and ankles very well, and the tall boots do not impede the ankle articulation. This helps the figure balance well in various poses, and you can even achieve some mid-stride poses at times. I understand why they went with a head sculpted with an integral molded neck (with all sorts of creases on it), but the resulting head articulation is very limited in terms of tilting.



Accessories - 3 / 4 stars

Krennic comes with a blaster pistol that fits on the holster suspended from the belt, three ammo clips that fit into special openings on the belt, two code cylinders to fit in the slots on both sides of the chest on the tunic (or together in the one slot on the right side of the poncho), a molded plastic hat that can be swapped for the hairpiece making up the top part of the hair, and several interchangeable hand sculpts, including a right fist, a left pistol grip hand (which works ok, but not great), and five more hands that are difficult to describe, but I try anyway: a right closed hand, a right almost closed grasping hand, a left open grasping hand, a left more closed thumbs up hand, and a left more open thumbs up hand. Each of these was presumably useful for some scene, but as I was looking at Krennic's scenes I found that many of the hands that would be necessary to replicate them were not provided with this set. Add to the partial repetitiveness and idiosyncrasy of the hand sculpts the absence of any real pairs (i.e., there's only one fist, there's only one gun grip, there are no relaxed hands, etc), and this makes for an odd and limiting choice of hand sculpts. In terms of spare parts, there are two extra wrist pegs and an extra belt button. There is a now fairly standard stand with a neat extra piece to fit under and around the detachable name plate that makes it look like the end piece of futuristic ramp. However, the top of the base, instead of the usual Death Star floor texture (or the like), has a printed image of Krennic's head (alongside a Death Trooper's) glued on. The image is slick enough and colorful enough, and there is a faint textured inscription of the character's name ("Orson Krennic") in the fictional Star Wars alphabet on top of it (it is not apparent in my photo). But unlike so many previous stands, you are not given the option of using a standard floor-textured surface instead. And that is disappointing. The limitations of the base and of the hand sculpts and the fact that virtually every "accessory" is actually part of the character's outfit detract from this category, especially at this price point.



Outfit - 3.5 / 4 stars

Krennic's outfit ought to be considered one of the best things in this set, yet here too there are some flaws. The basic outfit is the cream (not white) officer's tunic paired with black pants and black leather-like jackboots, as well as a black leather-like belt with a silver buckle and button. Over this, Krennic wears his cape in a matching color, held fast with magnets at the shoulders. Everything is beautifully tailored and looks and works great; the cape has some wires along the bottom edge that allow for some posing, if not much. But if you look closely, you would see that the cape's collar rides too high -- perhaps it is too wide, or perhaps the cape's magnets do not hold it far enough down -- in stills from the film the cape's collar does not reach as high as the tunic's collar, leaving its top edge exposed; with the figure it is the opposite. Moreover, when Krennic bends his arms at the elbows, the sleeves ride short at the cuff. Neither of these flaws is particularly horrid, but they are notable. Then there is (almost) a whole alternative outfit, and this is what gives this category a higher score. You can remove the cape (and the rank badge which plugs into the tunic) and swap them for the rain poncho, once again in matching colors, and pair that with the molded plastic officer's cap (replacing the hairpiece). The light material used for the rain poncho seems like a good idea, except that it really does not drape well enough, and there are no weights or wires to help it. Moreover, unlike the rank badge on the tunic, the rank badge on the rain poncho is not designed to be removed; but it should have been, as in different scenes in the film Krennic wears different rank badges with the poncho -- the one-row all-red rank badge at the beginning, and (presumably after promotion) the two-row red over blue rank badge (here used for the tunic) at the middle. I suppose one could make modifications, but this appears to be a detail Hot Toys overlooked. Speaking of rank badges, the film continues the tradition of inconsistency and confusion that has plagued the Star Wars saga since just after A New Hope (apparently). The six red squares in a single row badge gives Krennic a rank equivalent to general (like Tagge in the Death Star conference room in A New Hope), while the six red squares over six blue squares badge gives him a rank equivalent to fleet admiral (like the unfortunate Ozzel in The Empire Strikes Back) -- although the number of code cylinders might make a difference. Of course, the confusion of Gareth Edwards' team is not Hot Toys' fault, but once again, both badges should have been removable/swappable. As noted above, everything in the set seems to have a slightly warmer palette than what is seen onscreen in the film. This is a good thing where the outfit is concerned, as the creamy tunic allows one to kitbash imperial security bureau officers (like Yularen from the Death Star conference room in A New Hope) far more effectively than if the tunic was in a lighter, colder white. Note that the great cap will be problematic for kitbashing, because it is inside is adapted for use with a magnet and would require substantial modification before you could place it believably on another head.







Fun Factor - 4 / 4 stars

Whatever the limitations of the set, there is no denying that Hot Toys has delivered a recognizable Krennic who can be paired with all but one of the more frequent characters he interacted with in the film (the notable omission is Galen Erso). We have a Vader from Rogue One (not to mention two from A New Hope), a Tarkin (from A New Hope), three Jyn Ersos, as well as Death Troopers, Shore Troopers, and Stormtroopers (all from Rogue One). Even without the natural kitbashing potential for imperial security bureau personnel, this gives Hot Toys' Krennic a great potential for posing and/or interaction with other figures and in a variety of real or digital environments. I had fun attempting to recreate various frames from the film, or to pair Krennic with others -- so much so that I took more photos than I'm including in this already more than usually illustrated review. So, yes, this set is fun, and I'm glad I went for it. For additional images, see Post 9 below.





Value - 2 / 4 stars

Retailing at about $235+ (USD), this is not a low-cost product, and being mid-range (and increasingly low-range) for Hot Toys these days is not particularly comforting, given their notorious inflation of prices. On the other hand, even if it lacks some of the "fancy" electronics or more elaborate bases and backdrops found in some of Hot Toys' deluxe sets, it does come with enough extra clothing and accessories to allow for a whole second look. So this category gets a middling rating.





Things to watch out for

Really nothing much -- except perhaps to watch that you don't lose those smaller pieces, like the code cylinders and ammo clips. The figure is reasonably sturdy and capable of balancing on its legs, in part due to the good ankle articulation. The hands are easier to swap than usual (softer plastic?), which is a great thing, although Hot Toys included a spare pair of wrist pegs just in case.  







Overall - 3.25 / 4 stars

This rating may not convey my pretty thorough enjoyment of the set, but it does reflect the several limitations and imperfections, compounded with Hot Toys' increasingly hefty prices. Judging by the fact that most of my usual go-to sellers have already sold out this brand new set, it must be popular enough (and perhaps produced in small enough quantities). There is plenty you can do with it or with its parts, which is not always the case.







Where to buy

Among my usual go-to stores, Alter Ego Comics, Big Bad Toy Store, and Timewalker Toys have sold out of this set, so you can try your luck on our online retailers list (HERE) or on eBay.







I hope this has been useful. What do you think?

One more for the road...



For additional images, see Post 9 below.

#starwars #hottoys #rogueone #director #krennic #scifi #film #male #fiction #review

[BB-9014A] Guess Me Series Jack 1/6 Figure

$134.99 USD

COSTUME:
TAILCOAT
PLEATED-FRONT TUX SHIRT
PIQUE VEST
BOW TIE.
HEAD SCULPTURE " JACK "
BODY W/ RELAXED HANDS

ACCESSORIES:
DRESS SHOES








[BB-9014B] Guess Me Series Jack 1/6 Figure

$144.99 USD

COSTUME:
LONG FROCK COAT
Pleated-Front Tux Shirt
SUSPENDERS
CORDUROY PANTS
SKETCH PORTFOLIO
DRAWING TOOL PENCIL BAG
HEAD SCULPTURE " JACK "
BODY W/ RELAXED HANDS (2 PAIRS)
DRAWING TOOLS HOLDING HANDS (1 PAIRS)

ACCESSORIES:
1905 MARCHING BOOTS
DRAWING TOOLS
POCKET WATCH
















#newproduct #BlackBoxToys #GuessMeSeries #Jack #male #movie-based #ship #fiction

Introduction

Logan/Wolverine is a favorite comic book superhero, and very much at the heart of the recent X-Men movie franchise. I should state out front that I am by no stretch of the imagination an expert on any of the relevant source material, although I have seen all the movies with Wolverine played by Hugh Jackman. At any rate, this character has been a favorite for various sixth-scale iterations in both licensed and unlicensed versions. I like Logan and the franchise well enough, without specifically being a huge fan, so I was not exactly overly eager for yet another sixth-scale iteration. But this one did offer something innovative in more ways than one: a seamless Logan, and more importantly (since we can all stick one of the Logan head sculpts on a TBLeague body) a hairy Logan. The body alone was worth checking out, but the product is actually pretty full of promise. It comes with a reasonably large set of accessories and two interchangeable heads; there is also a clothed version with a more conventional hard-plastic exposed-joints body. There is a lot they did very well, and a lot that is still wanting... as you can see below. For those that were hoping otherwise, the body is not a TBLeague one or, I think, a Jiaou one.

Disclaimer -- for reasons that will become apparent later, I did stick another head on the body at one point, and some of the photos (in the articulation section) are with that head sculpt; it happened to be a Tom Cruise head, so just pretend it is a perfect color match and that Tom Cruise's real body is not actually the smoothest, most hairless naturally-occurring mammalian surface found on the planet (except of course in Tropic Thunder).



Packaging - 4/4 stars
The set comes in a pretty standard-sized box with white surface color and some fairly abstract graphics, including what looks like a heavily posterized photo of one of the head sculpts. The box is held closed with magnets on the right side, lift that up and then open it like a book. Inside, below a thin layer of black foam, are located two black foam treys, holding the action figure and its accessories. Everything is snug enough, safe, and collector friendly. I don't expect much from packaging (ever), but I do like it.



Sculpting/Molding - 3.5/4 stars
This category covers a lot, since there are not one but two head sculpts and the body to consider, not to mention the sculpted sword, sheath, hand sculpts (including adamantium claws), base, and shoes. Let's go backwards (you can see some of these pieces in other photos in the review). The Japanese sword (katana) and its sheath are both sculpted and nicely scaled and detailed, especially the intricate wrist guard, loops, and the characters (writing) on the surface of the sword. The adamantium claws, added to fairly standard fists, are sturdy, cleanly sculpted, sharp, and appear to be made of light non-magnetic metal (aluminum/aluminium?). The base part of the action figure stand (a standard crotch-grabber, or whatever rude term we use for it these days) is a raised plastic platform molded to appear like rusted, worn/pitted metal, with a large X in the center. Certainly far more interesting than a bland (blank?) base that might already be more than what most "third party" companies provide. The shoes (short boots) are sculpted in intricate and realistic detail, from their laces and loops to the sole.

The rubbery (silicone?) body surface is molded into the shape of a tightly muscled body with defined muscles and some veins; the only thing missing are the nipples (oddly, as they are painted). Since someone is bound to ask (and be too shy to do so), I did check, and the figure is definitely male, and fully so -- the body is molded this way, no attachable/detachable parts. Not something that we necessarily need for this particular look, but since customization, poseable figures, and seamless bodies are all about being more realistic, I appreciate their commitment to realism. With the head(s) and shoes on, the body stands about 12.25 inches (31 cm) tall.

Then there are the two head sculpts. I'm not certain that the circumference of the body surface at the neck is ideal for the head sculpts. One can probably stuff something inside to increase it and decrease the current gap -- or perhaps the heads are sitting a little too high, and they do appear a little too large for the body (or is it Logan's hair?). But let's focus on the sculpts themselves. The one that comes "on" the body is the less agitated scowling one; the alternate head has an anrgy shouting expression. Normally I would prefer a less animated expression for a sixth-scale head, but I'm not actually sure which one I like better here, and whether that has anything to do with how well one or the other is executed. Either way, they did the right thing, providing both a more animated and a more neutral head sculpt (rather than one more animated one). Whether or not this is a perfect rendition of the actor's features (and I don't remember enough to tell if they are copies of previous sculpts), the head sculpt is very finely done in both cases, and the hair stranding is superb (suitably finer strands for most of the hair, but clumpier pieces for the spiky top). The shouting head sculpt has the added complexity of the open mouth with the teeth and tongue, and this too appears to have been executed very well.



Paint - 3.5/4 stars
The paint applies to everything but the cloth parts of the outfit. The shoes and sword sheath are painted to look like leather, offset by a few metallic elements painted appropriately; the shoes are also given a bit of weathering. Each hand sculpt is painted to not only math the body, but also to match the painted-on body hair; the adamantium claws are painted to look stained with blood, and the same effect is applied to the fists to which they come attached.

We have seen some of this before. What makes this set unique, is that the painting is carried over to the seamless rubbery surface of the body. Individual body hairs are painted or printed, and appear to be reasonably hard-wearing (although I was fairly careful, I'm sure I would have noticed some damage if things weren't properly done). The hair is a little faint on the body (less so on the hand sculpts) and I wish it had been just a little bit more contrasting and that there was just a little more of it. They probably didn't want to overdo it, but even so the overall effect is quite good. And since someone was going to ask about that, I checked, and apart from the pubic area, the body hair treatment is not carried below the waist. Yep, apparently Logan shaves his legs. I know we weren't going to look at it, but it would have been nice if they had applied the hair painting/printing to that too. There appears to be some subtle spotting on the body surface, adding extra realism (though some of it may be dust or tiny strands attaching to the surface!). The nipples are painted softly (though disappointingly not sculpted). The use of fairly traditional plastic joint pegs was not a bad idea in itself, but they should have been given a less shiny surface to match the body and hands more closely; better yet, they should also have been given the body hair effect. Minor issues aside, there is a lot TBLeague and Jiaou can learn and re-learn from this set.

Both head sculpts are exquisitely painted. For one thing, they match the body surface color very well, something difficult to do with different materials. The work on the eyes (glossy, with tiny eyelashes), eyebrows, mustache and beard is all very fine; the hair is perhaps a little flat, but this is largely offset by the fine sculpting of the strands. While it is probably just short of perfect, I'm impressed by the paint application on the lips, teeth, and tongue (or more generally, mouth interior) on the more animated, shouting head sculpt.



Articulation - 2.5/4 stars
There is no stainless steel skeleton inside the rubbery body surface here. The active joints are perhaps plastic; the movement is certainly a little jagged. You can achieve very decent articulation in most respects in the upper half of the body (for example, you can bend beyond 90 degrees at the elbows), although holding more extreme poses would prove impossible -- the joints are too weak to keep the material pushing them back to a less extreme position. This is where this body falls short of the standards set by TBLeague. In particular, trying to raise the arm over the shoulder and head results both in a bounce back and in an unsightly fold on top of the shoulder. Things get more problematic below the waist. Here it is hard to tell to what extent the problem is due to the body's joints and rubbery surface causing a bounce back, and to what extent to the restrictions caused by the fairly tight pants and fairly high rim of the footwear. As a result, he can bend at the knee only up to 90 degrees, and he cannot sit quite properly. The ankles are fairly sturdy, but very difficult to work with. They can allow you to tilt backwards and forwards, but rotating them sideways for additional support in some poses seems nearly impossible. This makes standing the figure on its own quite difficult. And that difficulty is exacerbated by the fact that the whole body has the tendency to bounce and wobble a little bit (making me wonder if it has a full skeleton of any material inside at all), and to renegotiate its pose or center of gravity. Getting this body in a specific pose might be easy within limits, but getting it to stand in that position can be very frustrating. Once again, I wish they had gone with a metal skeleton. There is a stand, of course, and if one poses an action figure on a shelf one would probably use the (a) stand anyway, but that isn't the point.



Accessories - 4/4 stars
First, the set includes four additional pairs of hands, making five pairs total: fists (they come on the body), relaxed hands, pistol grip hands, sword grip hands, and the fists with the adamantium claws sticking out of them (these are located in the lower black foam trey, with the base/stand). Other spare parts include the alternative head sculpt (the shouting one). Then there is the Japanese sword and its sheath, which are the only "real" accessories. Note that the sword is not only finely sculpted, painted, and inscribed, it even has actual cord (I think) wound round its handle: very nice touch. I refuse to see a base/stand as an accessory proper, although the difficulties in getting the figure to stand certainly make it a relevant addition; and it certainly looks cool. There are a lot of hand choices here, but other than that this is not a whole lot of accessories. I have long forgotten the scene or film this is based on, so I can't guarantee there was anything else that could have been included (a pistol for the pistol grip hands?), and we should realize that there is a separate, "suit" version of the set (with a different action figure body but the same accessories). The reason why I'm not going to deduct points for this is the price of the set. When Hot Toys sells you a Leia without a single accessory for over $200, that is pretty insulting. When this pretty new and obscure outfit sells you an innovative and impressive, even if not quite perfect product for $165 and includes a couple of accessories, it is somehow less annoying... to me.



Outfit - 3.5/4 stars
The outfit (excluding the sculpted footwear) is very simple: pants and belt. The pants are in a drab color, with a modicum of weathering, most obviously a long blood stain on the right side of the right upper leg, where the bloodied adamantium claws must have brushed against the fabric. It's a nice touch. The belt is made of stretchy cloth and works like a real belt, with a real buckle. Neither of these things is phenomenal, but they are more than adequate. Considering the look reproduced in the set, they are just right. The promotional materials mentioned socks, which do not appear to be included; I doubt they would be missed, and this is the only thing they promised that they did not deliver.



Fun Factor - 3/4 stars
War Wolf has no one to play with (other than possibly his other self), and that hurts; but you can always improvise. The effective limitations on the articulation (bounce back, tight pants) are annoying, but not extreme. The worst problem is the difficulty standing and balancing the figure. But if you end up perching him on a stand on your shelf, that would no longer be an issue. As usual, the fun factor would vary from one collector to another, and depend on their imagination and interest.



Value 3.5/4 stars
This is a popular protagonist from a popular franchise; the set is attractive and innovative, if fairly basic. That said, in the world of high-end sixth-scale collectibles, $165 (USD) including shipping is close to the lower, rather than the higher end of the price range, and I appreciate that. There was clearly some research and development that went into this, and while the result is not perfect, it is still impressive and in many ways a step forward (a step, one might add, that other, established outfits should have taken already but have not). But note that this price might not be available at all sources; in this instance I used eBay.



Things to watch out for
Hard to tell yet. The body surface feels just a little sticky, and closer to TBLeague's silicone bodies than Jiaou's TPE ones (though I could be wrong); either way some protective powder probably won't hurt -- but I haven't tried it myself. I would not abuse the joints excessively; if they are indeed plastic, they might snap. Heat up the hand sculpts before placing on the pegs -- there are no spare pegs provided, and these are not exactly the same as the ones used by Soldier Story or DAM or by Hot Toys and others. Careful with exchanging the head sculpts -- they require some effort to remove or to attach, and you don't want to snap the neck peg that comes out of the body; heating up the head a little bit before trying this should help. I didn't try too hard to test it, but although it appeared safe and secure, I would handle the parts of the body where the hair effect has been applied with some basic care. That said, it is not as fragile (or the body as difficult to pose) as the twelfth-scale version of Logan that came out some time ago.



Overall - 3.4/4 stars
In terms of looks, the set delivers everything it promised. While it is fairly limited, it does include a number of interchangeable parts, including two beautifully-executed head sculpts. And it commands a price nearer the lower end of the range current in our hobby. I do wish the articulation were better, while I realize TBLeague has spoiled us. But it has also set a standard that ADD should have made sure to match. As it is, neither has attained perfection.



Where to Buy
You can always check eBay or the following (among others) --

Cotswold Collectibles for $180

Timewalker Toys for $180



Hope this has been useful. As always, what do you think? And one more for the road (or, in Spanish, Una mas y vamos)



#addtoys #warwolves #logan #wolverine #hughjackman #xmen #marvel #superhero #mutant #male #fiction #productreview

Since there seems to be some appreciation for re-runs (and I also don't seem to be able to find a posting of this particular set on this site)...

Ever wonder what really happened to Han and Leia? Did the facile movie explanation give you enough information? No? Well, lucky for you I have happened upon some secret Jedi scrolls that fill out the true story... either that or I have had a bad dream shaped by Robot Chicken and Catastrophe.

Here it is anyway... in 17 photos.



































Hope you found it fun. For more "reveals" on Han Solo, check out this one:
Moving on Solo

#humor #parody #satire #starwars #hansolo #han #leia #scifi #fiction

Having converted a Jason Momoa Aquaman head (HERE) and an Arnold Schwarzenegger Conan head (HERE), it seemed like a natural choice to do the same to the new Bucky Barnes head sculpt by HT. The face is excellent but the hair, while very impressively sculpted, is just soft molded plastic. I object to this on principle anyway, so here we go again. For more details on the process, please consult the other threads linked above.

More photos in Post 6 below

The original head:


I gently pried off the two-part hair sculpt and perched it on his shoulders for this photo:


You don't need a very ample scalp if you are going to give your head sculpt an ample hair, but I decided I should fill-in the various indents with Kneadatite Blue and Yellow. I painted it very lightly with a flesh color (not even trying to match the face, since it wouldn't be visible), then began to glue on the hair in rows, starting with a line parallel to the bottom of the head sculpt at the back.


No matter how disheveled, I left the hair in place for a while, giving the glue a chance to cure.


Then I gently removed any loose strands, rinsed the hair with water, and gave him a haircut.


Finally, to make the hair less puffy, I applied a solution of water and shampoo+conditioner. I may have overdone it, giving him a more compact, wet hair look, but I will worry about styling it later (or not -- I wasn't completely crazy about the original/movie look of the hair).


Hope this is helpful or informative. What do you think?

More photos in post 6 below

#custom #kitbash #modification #bucky #barnes #wintersoldier #hottoys #ht #infinitywar #marvel #film #fiction #male #superhero #head #headsculpt #hair

Spoilers for Solo 2. Not really. It can't be any sillier than this, can it? Or...













Hope this was lame enough to be fitting and fun. What do you think?

For more Star Wars stories, check out these two:

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t1852-star-wars-a-negative-body-image-story

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t1862-star-wars-a-lone-scoundrel-story

#starwars #parody #satire #hansolo #solo #qira #darthmaul #spoilers #fiction #scifi

With the recent release of the Return of the Jedi (ROTJ) stormtroopers by Hot Toys (HT), it became apparent that the new product required additional sculpting and molding, partly intended to reflect the subtle changes in appearance between films and partly to improve any imperfections with earlier (especially A New Hope (ANH) ) versions of their stormtrooper. All this lends itself to comparison and, having promised that in my review of the HT ROTJ Stormtrooper, here it is.

At this point, HT has released three different versions of the basic imperial stormtroopers, not counting the slightly different Spacetrooper, Sandtrooper, etc. The three versions, in order of production, are those from ANH, Rogue One (RO), and ROTJ. Why a character type from the same franchise featured in films set in the same fictional era should exist in so many versions should be a mystery, but it is not: the appearance of the basic stormtroopers was altered between films. Some of this had to do with improving the actors' experience and was not intended to alter the overall look, some of it was intended to cause minor "improvements" to the appearance. A dubious rationale from the point of view of continuity, for sure, but it was done, and it gave HT the opportunity (or excuse) to produce several versions.

In the comparison photos below, the stormtroopers are arranged according to the chronology of the Star Wars fictional universe: RO - ANH - ROTJ. I realize that RO is not technically part of the Original Trilogy, but since it is set mere days (or minutes?) before ANH, and since it is intended to portray the same character type from the same era, I am including it here.

First, a side-by-side comparison of the all-important stormtrooper helmets made for each film:



Then, a side-by-side comparison of HT's stormtrooper figures; front view:



HT's first basic stormtrooper depicted the character type's appearance from ANH. It was a sharply executed, beautifully sculpted and painted figure, and an improvement on any that existed among higher-end sixth-scale models. The one serious departure from a correct reproduction of the appearance of the stormtrooper was HT perpetuating a mistake already present in the earlier Marmit and Sideshow versions. This was making the space along the nasal ridge larger between the toothed "frown" and the "mouth" than between the "mouth" and the lower edge of the integral "goggles." It should have been the reverse. Perhaps in part due to this error, the helmet also became too "snouty," extending too far down and forward. The result was a striking and attractive sculpt, but ultimately an inaccurate one. I should point out that the stormtrooper helmet is nearly impossible to get right due to its complexity, its variety (there were two slightly different types, "hero" and "stunt," from the start), and due to the fact that the original molds were based on a hand-sculpted and unintentionally asymmetrical sculpt. That smaller-scale toys and collectibles should "correct" this to a streamlined, symmetrical version (which might even be logically better grounded) is probably unavoidable. Even so, the basic error in proportions should have been spotted and avoided.

Side-by-side comparison of HT's stormtrooper figures; side view:



For Empire Strikes Back (ESB) and ROTJ, the stormtrooper helmets, though still based on molds from the original film, were altered by Lucasfilm (Mk II). The most obvious difference was the repainting of the "frown" from gray to black, and a less extensive black paint application on the sculpted "mouth" area. Because of the way the molds were produced, the helmets also assumed a slightly thinner, taller, aspect. Note that although the Mk 2 helmets were produced for ESB, they were barely used in it (most scenes were already shot, using slightly altered ANH helmets), and were mostly used in ROTJ. HT's recently produced ROTJ Stormtrooper feature a new helmet sculpt that reflected the changes in appearance fairly well, and undid the earlier mistake in the ratio above and below the "frown" along the nasal ridge -- now the length above is longer than the length below. In fact, they seem to have over-corrected, making the difference a little too large, and still ending up with a slightly too "snouty," if generally more accurate, helmet.

Decades after the Original Trilogy had been filmed and released, the stormtrooper helmet was altered once again for RO. In this instance, it was streamlined by computer design, although some of the original asymmetry was allegedly preserved. The RO helmets naturally attempted to recreate something closer to the ANH look (e.g., the gray toothed "frown"), but the slightly larger and uniformly bubble lenses did alter the appearance a little bit. HT's RO figure appears to have captured the on-screen appearance perfectly in the helmet, with a correct ratio along the nasal ridge above and below the "frown."

Side-by-side comparison of HT's stormtrooper figures; rear view:



In terms of the rest of the stormtrooper armor, changes undertaken during the filming of the Original Trilogy were largely minute and mostly undetectable, being mostly related to the way the armor was designed to fit onto the underlying body suit. The most visible external changes included adding a narrow trim along the edges of the torso armor elements -- chest and upper-back plates, abdomen and lowe-back plates, cod and butt plates -- and also inverting the small rectangular button plate in the middle of the abdomen. Both of these changes are featured correctly in the HT ROTJ Stormtrooper figures.

The RO armor design made larger departures. Generally speaking, the edges of the armor pieces receded to allow for better articulation, and also the lengths of the body armor pieces changed, presumably for the same reasons. The chest and upper-back plates became narrower but longer. All this is most easily spotted when looking at the troopers from behind. In the same area, the upper-back plate now features a long groove running along the upper edge of the integral "backpack" area, and a little circular hole just above it on the right. The cod piece, belt, and thermal detonator all received minor redesign. The small rectangular button plate in the middle of the abdomen returned to its ANH look, except that the one "stray" button was now made rectangular; also, all the buttons became recessed. All this is correctly reproduced in the HT RO Stormtrooper figure.

Finally, there is the question of holsters. In ANH Stormtroopers were usually portrayed with them (on their left hip), in ESB with them (on their right hip) and ROTJ sometimes with (on their right hip, Death Star scenes) and sometimes without (Endor scenes). Except for that last variation, HT's ANH and ROTJ Stormtroopers are correctly equipped, with the holsters on the correct sides, respectively. HT's RO Stormtrooper comes without a holster, which is also correct. Although this is not illustrated here, HT's ANH Stormtroopers came with two weapons each (or three, if you got the two-pack), but the ROTJ and RO Stormtroopers came with only one, the E-11 standard blaster rifle.

Overall, I would say HT was most successful in recreating the RO stormtrooper appearance; if you get that belt unstuck from the abdomen plate, it would also be the best-articulated of the three stormtrooper figures. The ANH and ROTJ figures are also very well designed and executed, but somewhat undermined by the errors in helmet design (especially ANH, less so ROTJ).

You can find detailed reviews on the HT stormtroopers below:
ANH Stormtrooper (HERE, by Michael Crawford)
RO Stormtrooper (HERE)
ROTJ Stormtrooper (HERE)

I hope this has been useful. What do you think?

#starwars #hottoys #imperial #stormtrooper #galactic #empire #review #comparison #fiction #scifi

Here we go again.

There was something a little off with the recent Conan head that was designed to go with Kaustic Plastik's Masterclass Warrior set (reviewed HERE). Apart from some possibly questionable choices in the paint, the most obvious problem was the sculpted hair. While it was decently (not super finely) sculpted, it looked like molded plastic (which is admittedly what it was). Mr Toys had just released their own Conan set (reviewed HERE) which, while largely based on earlier work by Kaustic Plastik, broke new ground by offering us a Conan with "real" hair. Between this and my earlier attempts to create an Arnold Schwarzenegger-as-Conan head sculpt (using one of the Hot Toys Terminator heads), and my recent modification to the Hot Toys Jason Momoa Aquaman head sculpt (replacing the sculpted hair with "real" hair -- see HERE), the next step was obvious. But this was going to be a slightly more ambitious project, because it involved not only removing the plastic hair and replacing it with "real" hair, but also filling in and repainting likely or potentially visible grooves in the head sculpt, detaching, modifying, and repainting the headgear (so it would be both screen accurate and removable, not to mention so that I could put in the hair properly), and also partly modifying, repainting, and remounting the necklace ornaments on a more sensible string that would allow the necklace to hang about right.

This time I took more photos to illustrate more of the steps, in case someone finds this helpful for modifying this or a different sculpt.

Just in case I did something horribly wrong, I managed to get myself an extra Kaustic Plastik Conan head (1). As I had noticed before, the hair was made of soft plastic, and divided into sections (two side locks and a larger back piece, separated by the headband from the crown of the head hairpiece, which last was actually part of the head sculpt), just like Hot Toys' Aquaman head. So, I heated up the head sculpt a little with a hair dryer (not much was actually needed), and gently pried off the large hair piece covering the back of the head (2).



Then I proceeded to dislodge the headband, which was (if I recall) divided at the back of the head on one end of the sculpted strings holding the two parts together. I heated and gently pried off the headband from the head, into which it was ensconced by virtue of several sections fitting into indented grooves that were parts of the head sculpt (3a-5). One of them was right in the middle of the forehead (4-5).



With the headband off, I gently pried off and removed the two side locks of hair (4-5).



With the headband and all detachable hairpieces removed, it was necessary to remove almost all of the molded hair that was an integral part of the head sculpt at the crown of the head (4a-4d). I left in place a little hair over the forehead, since that can be a challenging transition between sculpted face and "real" hair.



After a failed experiment with Vallejo acrylic putty, I filled the visible grooves in the forehead and temples with Kneadatite Blue/Yellow Epoxy Putty (the kind that comes in a tape and you mash and knead it together into a malleable green substance for sculpting and filling -- a skill I learned from members of OneSixthFigures) (5). It was my first experience with this material, but I think it worked reasonably well. Someone with greater skill and patience, would have done more in the way of sculpting bone and flesh structure and gotten the filling to sit completely flush and seamless (with filing down). Since this was going to be obscured most of the time by the headband (for the classic look), I didn't worry about it too much, though I wanted it to look ok even when exposed. Once the Kneadatite had cured overnight, I painted it with Vallejo Acrylics, trying to get as close as possible to the head's skin tone (which is perhaps not ideal itself, but I didn't want to repaint the whole thing -- which might actually have been the way to do it); I also took the opportunity to fix the hairline and darken the eyebrows. As far as painting the head, that was it (6).



Then came my "favorite" part (I'm being sarcastic), the application of the hair. I picked a warmish milk chocolate brown, because that is pretty close to Arnold's appearance on the screen during the film. Using as a basic guide the technique outlined by Morezmore (HERE), but also taking some shortcuts and utilizing superglue, I basically went in rings around the back and sides of the head, starting with a level above the edge of the head sculpt's neck and making my way upwards (7-9b).



Having gently removed as many loose strands of hair as I could, I gently rinsed it with water, gathered it backwards, and let it dry (10a-10c).



After this I cut the hair to approximate Conan's appearance in Conan the Destroyer (since that is where we see the matching outfit and accessories) -- I didn't cut as short as I should, just in case I made a mistake -- and filled up any visible "holes" (there were surprisingly few) with either more hair or acrylic marker (11). Then it was time to add the headband and the necklace and complete the modification (12).

I had shaved down the inside of the headband (especially the parts that were designed to protrude so that they could fit into the grooves in the head sculpt) to make it thinner, so that it would fit more easily around the modified head; I glued it shut at the back, and when the glue had cured, it fit the head like a charm. I had also repainted the pyramidal ornaments on the head band in brass, to match the film appearance. The ornaments on the necklace were all correct (except for the color of the "sun" or "wheel" pendant), but the necklace did not work at all. I had to remove each ornament and glue it onto a thin leather string which could hang a little more naturally (it is also malleable, if needed). I made sure to place the fangs correctly (both for appearance and so that they no longer attempted to bite into the body), and glued their now purely decorative fastenings in place. Similarly, I made sure the pendant sat ("hung") correctly, glued on a couple of pieces of string to match the screen appearance, and repainted it in brass, for the same reason (12).



Here are a couple of comparisons: with the unaltered KP head and necklace, and...



with the Mr Toys head (the necklace for that set has the wrong pendant).



I don't know if I would call it perfect, but I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. There are some additional things that can be done, for example a shampoo+conditioner treatment to create more waviness in the hair. For this shot I put the modified head, headband, and necklace on the rest of the KP set, but that would require some additional minor modifications to be completely movie accurate. I suppose it is a work in progress.



What do you think?

#custom #kitbash #modification #arnoldschwarzenegger #conan #barbarian #destroyer #film #fiction #fantasy #kausticplastik #kp #head #headsculpt #hair #male #tbleague #phicen #body

Update: for the new Kaustic Plastik Conan Masterclass set, see HERE.



Introduction
It seems like this is ancient/fantasy action figure review week, what with the Rome Imperial Army Legionary (HERE) and Centurion (HERE) figure reviews posted earlier, and now my Conan the Barbarian set from Mr Toys finally arrived yesterday. As a fan, it was not something I could easily pass up, although I already own the two fantasy barbarian warrior sets from Kaustic Plastik and was also going to pick up Kaustic Plastik's new Conan set, which is essentially an upgrade on their previous work and a variation of the Mr Toys set. In fact, Mr Toys seems to have redone a version of Kaustic Plastik's old sets with a selection of the items and some new additions, basically trying to replicate Conan's iconic look from Conan the Destroyer (by far the worse of the two Conan Arnold Schwarzenegger films, in my book). The Mr Toys set is available in two variants, one without (A) and one with (B) the TBLeague (Phicen) M35 seamless action figure body. Since I had M35 bodies to spare, I ordered the smaller, less expensive set A. Because this is not a complete action figure set, I am going to simplify the review and not assign point values, while providing as many images as usual. For the M35 body itself, you can check out my detailed review and a zillion images HERE.



Packaging
The set I ordered (without the M35 body) comes in a tidy black rectangular cardboard box with a slip-on cover showing off the product, the Mr Toys logo, and product number. Inside the box there are two black foam treys (always appreciated) with the various items that come in the set stored safely and easy to access. Nothing mind-blowing but certainly neat and collector-friendly.


Sculpting
This category includes a number of items, but of course the most focal one is the head sculpt. Mr Toys appears to have used a head sculpt of Arnold Schwarzenegger that seems just a little more youthful than what we usually see, and is therefore appropriate for the film-based character; nevertheless, it features a sufficiently stern expression. This is the first "real" hair Conan head sculpt we have gotten, and that is a big plus in my book. The sculpting on the head appears to be of excellent quality. It is also very well done on the remainder of the sculpted elements: from the soft plastic headband with its ornaments, to the two pendants, to the ornamented over belt, the utilitarian dagger, and the ornately decorated sword. This category leaves nothing to be desired, and although many of the pieces appear to have been copied directly from the old Kaustic Plastik sets, there are also improvements -- including quality (especially durability -- nothing fell apart as I was handling it), the "real" hair head sculpt, the removable head band, the teeth added to one of the necklaces (although they actually go with another pendant that Kaustic Plastike had not yet produced and was therefore substituted with one that they had made, but didn't go with the teeth).



Paint
In terms of quality, the paint work appears to be excellent. The face looks realistic, the eyes are precisely painted and glossy, the metallic elements -- whether actual metal or painted plastic -- are convincing and precisely executed. Accuracy is a slightly different matter: for example, parts of the sword should have been given a gold or bronze coloring, but like the old Kaustic Plastik set we get the same clean steel look; the leather strings wound round the boots and fur leggins should have been black. There is little in the way of weathering here, except perhaps on the dagger, the buckle on the back of the ornate belt, and the metal pendant. More weathering would have lent the figure's appearance added realism.



Articulation
Technically, since my set was the version that came without a body, there is none; the recommended M35 body (HERE, although M34 would probably work just as well) has pretty much all the articulation you could possibly expect and the rather skimpy outfit does not get in the way much. The boots allow for excellent ankle articulation, making wide stances easy to achieve. It is great that the boots include feet (or perhaps they are integral to them), and these fit well onto the TBLeague body. Nevertheless, the stainless steel plus silicone body is heavy and with a high center of gravity, meaning it is not going to be overly steady on its ankles. Take precautions against the figure toppling over, and perhaps stuff something in to tighten the fit of the ankle peg into the hole inside the boot.





Accessories
The set includes the following accessories: the metal pendant on a string with four teeth or fangs (inaccurate, both because of their placement and because they were paired with a different, golden sun pendant that is not provided here); the green stone snake cult pendant; the decorated battle (?) headgear with "noseguard", which is tied with string at the back of the head; the dagger which fits into a sheath attached to the belt (it fits well, but perhaps a little too high); the long sword which comes with its own sheath with imprinted design and has a couple of hooks on its back, allowing it to hang from either the decorated belt (again, rather too high) or to attach to a leather-like belt that goes across the chest and back and is buckled on the front. There are several other items, but I am keeping covering them under Outfit below. The accessories are of high quality in terms of durability and execution, but again not always entirely accurate (most notably the pendant paired with the teeth/fangs necklace or the lack of gold treatment on the decoration of the sword).



Outfit
The outfit is minimal, but that is the look we saw on screen for most of Conan the Destroyer. There is a furry (wolf- or bear-skin?) kilt, held in place by leather thongs (called "leather pants" in the product description), over which goes the wide belt decorated with "metal" strips and a dragon crest in the middle; all this is very well executed. The lower arms are protected by a couple of vambraces. On the right lower arm there is a brown leather vambrace with gold- or bronze-colored round studs (which represents the much more numerous and more closely set spikes in the film -- the simplification is carried over the old Kaustic Plastik set). On the left lower arm there is a black leather vambrace with thongs, held together by velcro (I'm not sure it should have been quite black as opposed to dark brown, except perhaps for the thongs wound over it; and it should have been made a little wider to allow a more comfortable fit). Finally, there are the brown leather boots with grey fur trim on the top, and brown leather straps (should have been black or much darker brown leather) wound around both boot and trim. These constantly move out of place and require some futzing to get halfway right; nevertheless they do not fall apart like those in the original Kaustic Plastik set, which is a relief.



Fun Factor
The absence of other character from the Conan films does not help, but nevertheless, the fairly complete outfit and accessories makes this a fun set. This is augmented by the excellent articulation potential and by the quality and durability of the items included in the set. Still, not something you would want careless children to mess around with.



Value
The set I bought, without the M35 body included, retails for anywhere between around $85 and $100 (USD), often with shipping included, if you're buying on eBay from China. This is not exactly cheap, but it is not horrendously more than the price of the old Kaustic Plastik sets from years back, partly reprized by Mr Toys. If you are buying the set with the M35 body included, the price jumps to closer to $180, but that includes the $80+ for the body. Overall, the price is not inconsiderable, but also not horribly exaggerated compared to earlier and similar practice. But of course if you are buying multiples, or also looking forward to picking up Mr Toys' He-Man set and Kaustic Plastik's new and improved Conan set, the costs will add up.



Things to watch out for
If you are treating the figure with the usual amount of care appropriate for high-end collectibles of this type, there should be little or nothing to worry about. As I mentioned, the figure can be a bit top-heavy and lose its balance, so take precautions about that. I do worry that the little round metallic studs on the leather vambrace on the right hand might fall off, as they did with the Kaustic Plastik version, but on the whole the quality seems to be better, so perhaps it should less of a concern.



Overall
All told, this is a very good set. It is not perfect (occasional mistakes with the pairing and painting of accessories, etc), but it is fairly complete as far as what we can associate with this look of the character, and it is durable and beautifully executed. Don't get me wrong: I love the old Kaustic Plastik stuff, and between their two sets, you do get more than you get here; however, I am weary and wary of everything I touch coming apart in my hands, and Mr Toys' set is like a breadth of fresh air in that respect. Moreover, with the new head sculpt, the "real" hair, and the removable headband, we get some real and unprecedented improvements in terms of the selection, functionality, and appearance of the items making up the set. I am very pleased overall, and I think most others who go for this set will be too. One should note that it looks like the new Kaustic Plastik set will correct some of their earlier mistakes and omissions (including some carried over into the Mr Toys set) -- but the new Kaustic Plastik set is much more expensive, does not include a body, and features a beautiful but one-piece sculpted head (the hair and headband are part of the head sculpt).



Where to buy?
This is a tough one. Most outfits carrying these here in the States have long sold out their pre-orders, although it is to be expected that they might get some additional sets. I don't like to pre-order, but when I saw so many venues sold out, bit the bullet and pre-ordered from GianToy (you can do so directly or via eBay). If you want one and haven't pre-ordered it, check where you would usually check (just in case), or look on eBay.

For comparison purposes, here are a couple of photos of this set alongside my custom Conan the Barbarian (also based on the appearance in Conan the Destroyer) and the much more loosely-inspired "Conanesque" figure.





I hope you found this useful. What do you think?

Update: for the new Kaustic Plastik Conan Masterclass set, see HERE.

#conan #barbarian #arnold #schwarzenegger #mrtoys #film #fiction #fantasy #warrior #male #productreview #review

Like so many of us, I wasn't completely satisfied with Hot Toys' Aquaman head sculpt in terms of both likeness and molded hair sculpt (which is very nice in and of itself, but hair this long should not be sculpted for various reasons). So I decided to modify it with a re-hairing and partial repaint. Here is a little summary of the progression of the project.

Although Hot Toys made the questionable decision to go with sculpted hair, it tried to improve its appearance by installing it in layers, which helps customization by easing removal and allowing for a more or less complete fully-realized head beneath. I began by carefully tugging on the soft plastic hair of the original head sculpt (1). In this instance it is composed of four different pieces glued to the head proper and to each other. Luckily, they weren't glued very strongly, and with just a little bit of persistence and repetition, I was able to begin pulling off the largest, enveloping exterior hair piece (2).



This left the pieces hanging over the sides and back of the neck (3a-3b). They were removed the same way.



Removing the pieces hanging over the side (4) and the back leave us with a bald head (except for a bit of the hairline over the forehead, which I decided to keep) which features some useful goorves carved into it (5a-5b). The reason these are useful is that without them you would end up with an even fuller, puffier hair after you glue it onto the head, and they help diminish this problem a little bit.



Next I used three different colors of hair to glue onto the bald head in tiers -- starting with a line just above the neckline running around the back of the head and moving upwards. When this step was completed, the look was a dramatic mess (6). After the glue had cured, I weeded off loose strands and rinsed the hair to make it fall a little more naturally, and painted some highlights and color variations (to match the hair) onto the molded beard, mustache, and forelock, as well as over those parts of the hair where the glue was visible; I also tried to lighten some of the painted stubble on the head (where the mustache and beard part going upwards along the jawline) to increase the likeness to Jason Momoa (7).



Finally, I cut down the hair to the correct length (with locks reaching as far down as about the armpit) and treated it with a mixture of water and shampoo+conditioner that I did not rinse off, to give it a more natural fit (8a-8b). And with that my modifications are complete.



Here are three views of the resulting appearance.



And here are some more close-up ones.



Here is a comparison between the HT set (Aquaman from Justice League) and the same with the modified head. I should point out that I was modifying the head on principle, not specifically for this figure set or look. I am also aware that the screen look has much more emphatically bleached locks towards the lower reaches of the hair, but I wanted a slightly more organic and subdued look.



I think it turned out ok, and I hope you liked it or found it interesting. What do you think?

#jasonmomoa #hottoys #aquaman #custom #kitbash #mod #hair #head #headsculpt #superhero #scifi #fiction #film #movie #actor #male

Introduction

I don't really play video games (did some computer games, and that was mostly in the fairly distant past), but that does not mean that I don't come across cool action figures based on video game characters. And I don't just mean the Battlefront versions of Star Wars Empire Strikes Back Snowtroopers. CC Toys has just released a product called Unexplored Nate Summer Version, obviously inspired by the Nathan Drake character from the popular Uncharted video game series (and, if I am correct, the character's look from Uncharted 4). Although I knew next to nothing of the character or the game, I liked the set, so I got it when I found it for a decent enough price. I did some research preparing for the review, but I'm sure there are plenty of things I may have overlooked.



Packaging: 4/4 stars

Although there is nothing particularly mind-blowing here, we get a sturdy and compact box with a fine color rendition of the product and all the necessary information. Inside is a single black foam trey with its black foam lid, providing safe accommodation for the figure and its accessories. Everything is completely safe and collector friendly. I particularly appreciate the combination between small size and sturdiness of the box and the use of a foam rather than plastic trey on the inside.



Sculpt: 3.5/4 stars

The character's head sculpt is very close or identical to what we see in the promotional images and the photograph on the box. The light and quality of my photography is not quite good enough to give it real justice. The sculpt is executed in minute detail, with tiny intentional imperfections and wrinkles and wounds/scars on the skin, fine (though not quite Hot Toys fine) hair and stubble. (The sculpting of the hair is actually finer than what you see in the photos, in which the camera has focused on the facial features instead.) The sculpting extends to the torso and arms, with veins, muscles, and hairs indicated here as well (the lower body -- judging by the lower legs -- does not have this kind of detailed treatment, but then again, it is not meant to be visible). The hand sculpts are made of plastic a little softer than what I have usually seen, but easy to manipulate and use with the accessories. The sculpted detail on the shoes is excellent, and the sculpted accessories (flashlight, gun, etc) also look very good. Nate stands about 11.75 inches (30 cm) tall and is well-proportioned except perhaps for a slight giraffe-neck effect (presumably intended to counter-balance the clothed upper body but still perceptible).

There is something a bit off from the face of the video game character (which actually changed a little between games) -- perhaps the proportions of the head and/or the size and shape of the jaw or the whole lower part of the face). The resulting face is good, but not an exact rendition of the character's; it should certainly be longer (especially the forehead and mouth/chin areas) -- see HERE. Perhaps one can think of it as a younger, more boyish version of the character from the game; or a cosplayer playing the character; or perhaps the animated rendition of the character was wrong all along. I mean, Tom Holland was supposed to play him in a movie... And it is not as if Sideshow did better (it went the other extreme). Am I too easy on this because it is based on an animated character, or because I am not particularly familiar with/attached to the source material?



Paint: 4/4 stars

While not appearing to be particularly complex or spectacular at first sight, the paint job on this figure and its accessories is actually very good. There is subtle weathering on things like the bodkin, flashlight, gun, and hook, and they have been painted in a manner that makes them look realistic and used. The eyes are glossy and beautifully done, although the pupils might be a tad too large. The hair may appear a bit flat when it comes to color, but then again so was that of the computer character. The eyebrows and stubble, however, are very impressively handled, and the wounds/scars (mostly on the right side -- camera left -- of the face) are done well -- not too much or too little color added. A sort of freckle effect is applied to the upper body and arms in a manner subtle enough to look pretty realistic. The shoes have been painted to look like used and scuffed leather, while the loopholes look metallic. The watch's face looks glossy and translucent. I don't think there is much more than we could have possibly expected in this category.



Articulation: 3/4 stars

The overall articulation of the figure is quite decent, but it leaves something to be desired. The head can pose well on top of the neck; the figure also articulates well at the shoulders, hips/thighs, (double-jointed) knees, and wrists and ankles. However, there is very little give at the lower neck, somewhat limited abdominal crunch, and single-jointed elbows that can only bend to 90 degrees. Additionally, the lower half of the body is a little bit on the floppy side, and the ankles in particular seem rather weak, although the figure can stand on its own. The lower body articulation is slightly restricted by the tight pants, which would prevent very wide stances.



Accessories: 3.5/4 stars

There are quite a few accessories included with the set. Apart from the action figure stand and the stand-alone name-sign "Nate," there are the hook (with articulated claws) with attached coiled rope, the bodkin, the flashlight, the watch, the waist pack, and the ring, which comes on the left relaxed hand, but is a separate little metal piece that you could theoretically put on another hand and finger. I overlooked (and therefore forgot to show) a little belt loop (or bracket) that closes with magnets and is intended to secure the coiled rope to the belt.

In terms of weapons, the set includes only a Beretta 92FS Brigarier Inox handgun, which has apparently appeared in all four games of the series. While I realize that providing the whole arsenal of weapons featured in the game would have been impractical or cost-prohibitive, it seems that one or two extra pieces would have been advisable, perhaps a rifle that the character is often shown slinging about on his back. Judging by Uncharted 4 alone, additional weapons could have included: Colt Rail Gun/M1911A1 hybrid, a flintlock pistol, a Mateba Model 6 Unica, a Sa. Vz. 61 Skorpion/IMI Micro Uzi hybrid, a Robinson Armament XCR-L CQB, an IMI Romat, a Ruger Mini-30 Tactical, a Ruger Mini-14, a Beretta ARX-160, a Remington ACR, an M14, a Winchester Model 1866, a Armscor/Rock Island Armory M30 M5 Matte Nickel, an RPG-7, and especially the SIG-Sauer SIG556 Classic rifle. And this doesn't take into account several oversized weapons. Apparently many of the weapons were misnamed and/or rendered somewhat incorrectly in the game (see HERE).

The nice paint and sculpting work done on the accessories has been mentioned above.





Outfit: 4/4 stars

The outfit is simple enough and reflects the character's look from Uncharted 4. It consisting of khaki-colored pants (chinos), a blue long-sleeved shirt (henley), and the harness/shoulder rig with a holster and ammo pouches. The pants are slightly distressed to make them look used. The blue shirt has some staining to make it look dusty and worn, and the long sleeves can be easily rolled up to achieve the iconic look from the game; it also features four silverish-colored buttons. The harness/shoulder rig is made of thin leather or leather-like material, complete with metal loops and caps. There is also some white padding over the lower torso/abdomen, secured with velcro behind the back; I removed it so that I could achieve the signature "half-tucked" effect. The outfit is completed with the brown walking shoes, which are finely sculpted and painted, as noted above.





Fun Factor: 3.5/4 stars

Despite the limited choice of weapons, the set comes with several accessories, and despite the less than perfect articulation, it poses very well. Because of this, it has plenty of fun potential. The only reason I'm giving this less than a perfect score is that the absence of any of the other protagonists (or antagonists) from the game means that one cannot easily pair the character with others from the same source -- at least not without some ambitious kitbashing.





Value: 3.5/4 stars

Retailing at about $160, this is not exactly cheap, but it is much more affordable than many other high-end action figures. Admittedly, you get a slightly inexact likeness and this is not a fully licensed collectible (hence the product name). But the product is very good overall, and unlike so many others these days (including some from very respected companies), comes with a nice array of accessories.





Things to watch out for

Giantoy, from which I purchased the figure, included a possibly generic note that it would not be responsible for broken wrist pegs. Whether this was in any way specific to this figure or a general disclaimer, be careful with the pegs (there are no spare ones included) and use a blow dryer or hot water to heat up the plastic when swapping hands. The tiny clip allowing the flashlight to attach to the belt can easily come off (though it was also easy to glue it back in place); and being black and tiny, it would be easy to lose -- so you would want to be careful with it. The little belt loop (bracket) intended to secure the coiled rope in place which I forgot to feature closes with magnets. This is generally great, but in this instance I noticed that the magnets were so strong, and the glue so weak, that one of the magnets became unglued from the (p?)leather strap. Easy to fix with some super glue, but another thing to keep in mind. Given the relative weakness of the ankles, the figure might topple relatively easily.



Overall: 3.6/4 stars

I am not disappointed with this product, but then again I did not have particularly high or set expectations. Yes, the likeness to the video game character could have been better, and we could have had slightly better articulation and a rifle, but all in all, Unexplored Nate is a pretty nice set.



Where to Buy

Apart from looking on eBay, I would suggest looking at these:

Cotswold Collectibles for $160 (preorder)
GianToy for $163
Monkey Depot for $160 (preorder)
Timewalker Toys for $160 (preorder)



I hope this review has been useful. What do you think?

#uncharted #nathandrake #unexplored #nate #videogame #fiction #adventure #male #modern #productreview #cctoys

Part II: The search for Superhero Fireman Chad continues...
For Part I, see post 1 above.

Same disclaimers apply as for Part I.

More leaked documents from IAFOOSHA shed additional light on the continued investigation, which was apparently going nowhere fast...



Appendix A: covers of additionally identified volumes (outside the firefighter-related genre)







Appendix B: front and back covers of volumes collected and filed by agent Goodenough









I hope you have enjoyed this new installment of (hopefully) humorous inanity, created in response to some of the comments above.

#humor #parody #satire #romantic #erotic #fiction #fireman #firefighter #modern #male #ancient #rome #medieval #middleages #starwars #scifi #superhero

It has been a week of unforeseen silliness that is hopefully at least mildly amusing to more than just two or three of us. Someone else's posting inspired one photo story (New Superhero Revealed?), and someone else's tutorial question another (Star Wars A Negative Body Image Story). And now my Patrol Trooper product review (HERE) has resulted in the impromptu photo story that follows...



















Hope you liked it.

#starwars #hansolo #patroltrooper #humor #humour #parody #comedy #scifi #fiction

Introduction

There was precious little I liked about the Star Wars stand-alone film Solo, but despite the inherent silliness and redundancy, there was just something that made me love the look of the new Patrol Trooper (I cannot say the same about the Biker-Scouts-on-steroids or the "Mimban Stormtroopers," both of which I found completely redundant, although the so-called "Mud Troopers" appear to be a good enough try at generic imperial infantry -- think "AT-ST drivers" -- in combat gear). The Patrol Trooper's design is at once new and familiar; in fact it is as if a stormtrooper, scout trooper, and shore trooper came together in some unholy and magical union and produced the patrol trooper. Although I had some concerns about the size of the helmet in the promotional images, I eventually bit the bullet and preordered it. It is not a decision I regret.



Packaging: 4/4 stars

There is nothing really new or exciting about Hot Toys' traditional Star War packaging, apart from the colorful cigar box band attached to the bottom of the container, which showcases the product and its name in the same way we have seen with figures from Rogue One. When you open the lid, you find the now traditional card bearing a nice image of the action figure in action -- a nice but completely unnecessary luxury that is probably somehow intended to help justify the price. The box mercifully contains only a single plastic trey (with its cover) -- something that I have to point out as a blessing, having recently re-boxed my Hot Toys classic Superman (that thing had a positively heinous number of often unnecessary treys and covers). Of course that also means that the number of items and accessories is fairly limited. Everything is safe and collector-friendly.



Sculpting: 4/4 stars

I suppose not having a human likeness to get right helps, but the excellence of the sculpt seems impeccable. The detail is sharp and precise, both on larger and simpler surfaces, and in places that are densely crammed with it (like the recessed panel on the back of the armor). The same carries over to the weapons and hands. I no longer think the helmet is too oversized, although it does have the tendency to appear so in photographs (it looks fine in hand). The Patrol Trooper stands about 30 cm (12 inches) tall.



Paint: 4/4 stars

The basic paint job is simply black and white, with very little exception or nuance (like the green button on the chest armor and a few grey areas on the helmet and thermal detonator). However, Hot Toys gave the figure ample weathering (although this does not extend to the weapons). This is very well done (although I admit I prefer my troopers clean), pretty well balanced in terms of both intensity and distribution all over the figure's white armored elements. It is most pronounced on the boots, the helmet, and the inside parts of the gloved hands. The helmet's lenses are translucent green, even more noticeably so than usually. The white armor elements and the lens on the pistol are appropriately glossier than the rest of the surfaces.



Articulation: 3/4 stars

The underlying Hot Toys action figure body presumably has all the articulation you could possibly desire, and it appears that at least some of the joints are now lightly ratcheted (the elbows), presumably so as to hold poses better. The armor and outfit partly restrict this articulation, and some of this might have been possible to address. For example, if Hot Toys had not put the same movement-inhibiting heavy padded garment under the visible layers as it usually does these days, it might have given the hips much better and almost unrestricted articulation. As it is, sliding the utility belt upwards does help, but only to a point. There is a partial problem with the wrists -- here the rubbery armored sleeves press down gently on the hands and make them pop off a little too easily. The worst impact is on the waist, where there is virtually no possibility for lateral or crunch movement. Other than that, the figure's articulation is surprisingly good and it can stand well on its own thanks to the two-part design of the boots and the resulting good ankle articulation.



(Want to know the story behind this photo? Check out the photo story HERE.)

Accessories: 3/4 stars

The accessories that come with the Patrol Trooper are very limited, although admittedly not unreasonably so. We get an action figure stand and some spare parts, as well as an instruction leaflet, which is not likely to tell you anything you could not figure out on your own. The figure comes wearing relaxed hands, which can be exchanged with the included pair of fist hands, pair of grip hands, and single left hand with outstretched "halt!" fingers (I wonder why we couldn't we get its right counterpart); this makes a total of seven hands. Then there are the two real accessories: the pistol and baton ("nightstick"). Neither of them features any articulation, but they are well sculpted and painted (in the gun's case, the lens is glossy; the baton has several silverish metallic elements); but there isn't much in the way of weathering on either weapon. The pistol looks like a slightly revised version of the Scout Trooper pistol from The Return of the Jedi. Now while this limited selection is appropriate for what we see on the screen, it is just not something to be really excited about. Perhaps a standard imperial blaster rifle would have been a nice thing to include; I am not naive enough to argue that they should have added his ride, which would probably have doubled or tripled the price. So I am possibly a little hard on this category, which might deserve another half star.



Light Feature: n/a

While there is no light feature included, light helps accentuate the green-tinted lenses of the Patrol Trooper's helmet. In some light you can actually tell they are green rather than black, and since there is no actual face under the helmet, in some poses the light would shine through, revealing both the color and transparency of the lenses. While this is not realistic in itself, it is very cool. Here is an exaggerated demonstration of this color and transparency.



Outfit: 3/4 stars

The sculpted armor has been commented upon in the sculpting and paint categories above. The rest of the outfit is made of soft(er) goods. This is slightly more complex than usual with such figures and consists of the following: real fabric straps seemingly holding together parts of the chest plate; black trousers with a white stripe on the outer side; armored sleeves (i.e., sleeves with attached armor plates); and leather-like top; all of this is worn atop an underlying padded suit. This last part was Hot Toy's effort to make sure the outer, visible clothing fills out, but as usual causes annoying partial restrictions in the articulation. The leather-like top looks great with its realistic, pitted texture. The armored sleeves are made of a ribbed rubbery material that in principle looks great, but folds in somewhat unsightly ways when you bend the arms at the elbows; more importantly, some have expressed concern that this part of the outfit would develop cracks after repeated bending and drying out. I am not too concerned, but it is possible, and I would have preferred the use of some ribbed fabric anyway.



Fun Factor: 4/4 stars

Despite his very limited screen time, the Patrol Trooper is a cool-looking character that lends himself to inclusion into a variety of custom Star Wars scenes and situations. With his good articulation, he should be a fun addition to any scene or collection. And I write this without any intention of combining him with any other Solo characters (even if I intend to pick up a "Mud Trooper").



Value: 3/4 stars

I am divided on this category. I pre-ordered this product for $210 (USD), but the common retail price now seems to be $220, and that does not include shipping. I thought the lower pre-order price comparatively decent, in line with other army-builder non-protagonists already produced by Hot Toys in the Star Wars franchise -- where $205-210 seems to be Hot Toy's rather twisted idea of a bargain. Seeing the new retail price makes me think twice about that conclusion (which was only relative anyway) and perhaps this category ought to lose another half star. But the figure itself is a great, if limited product, and the price is far lower than some of the egregious prices Hot Toys is asking for other, especially protagonist figures.



Things to watch out for

Not much. As mentioned, the hands tend to pop off a little too easily, so you might want to keep an eye on them in case something disappears. The baton slides into its holder with some difficulty, and I recommend trying to slide it in from the underside (contrary to instructions). The holder itself can come off the belt, but you can easily re-attach it.



Overall: 3.5/4 stars

I didn't know quite what to expect of this figure and wasn't sure how much I would like it, given how little I liked the film it was in and how much I resent the constant infusion of newer and ever sillier trooper types (at the expense of the established ones we know and love) even in what is supposed to be basically contemporary to the Original Trilogy. But I do like it: both as a design and as an action figure, with which I have very few gripes. The one real disappointment is the price, but that has to be what one expects of this company and license these days. Everything else about this product is passable at worst and great at best. Since these are troopers and they should come in plural (or at least dual) numbers, I was tempted to get one more, but given the (new and higher) price and the fact that we only see one on screen, I have for once managed to restrain myself.



Where to Buy

Apart from eBay, I can suggest these:

Big Bad Toy Store for $220
Cotswold Collectibles for $220
Timewalker Toys for $220



Shooting the photos for this review resulted in an impromptu photo story (the third this week!), which you can check out HERE.

Hope this was useful. What do you think?

#starwars #solo #hottoys #patroltrooper #galacticempire #imperial #military #fiction #scifi #male

Part I: A New Superhero Revealed? Leaked memo from IAFOOSHA.
Fort Part II see post 47 below.

Stryker started it. Blackpool encouraged it. This is dedicated to them. I can resist the potential for things that strike me as silly/funny only so much. It was actually a surprisingly difficult custom, and then there was research and too many potential things to recreate. Photo heavy, but I kept the images light.

NSFW (?) This contains somewhat adult humor so it may or may not fit your definition of "not safe for work"; there is certainly nothing truly explicit and the intent is humor, but you've been cautioned. For other disclaimers, please see at end.

SUPERHERO FIRE-MAN









































































Hope you found it at least moderately amusing -- I realize that different things resonate with different people and there are plenty of different angles to things and issues, some of them serious, some not.
Any favorite book covers so far? Just don't expect me to write the books...

#superhero #fiction #humor #humour #parody #dating #romance #firefighter #fireman #modern #comedy #vampire #roman #hero #fire #explosion #erotica #books #covers #tbleague #phicen #m34 #kitbash #custom

Note: For the ready-made fully-articulated new Hasbro Rogue One figure, see HERE.

Stormtroopers were among the original set of Star Wars action figures, but have encountered a long string of imperfections in any common collectible scale. Of those based on the films set in the time of the Original Trilogy, the Rogue One 1/6-scale version by Hot Toys probably came closest to capturing the precise appearance of what we saw onscreen, but that version of the imperial stormtroopers was itself slightly modified from the basic original design (you can check out my detailed review HERE). I am not talking about these here and today.

I am talking about the "classic" or "vintage" scale of figures (generally about 3.75 inches tall) established by Kenner and continued by Hasbro. First, a brief journey through a few of the more important stages of Stormtrooper action figure evolution at that scale. Kenner's original Stormtrooper (1978) was nicely sculpted for its time, but unfortunately under-articulated even then: the usual five-point articulation (swivel shoulders and hips and head) was brought down to four points, because the helmet was sculpted as part of the torso. A sparse and often sloppy paint application made the figure's appearance even more unfortunate.


(More photos and brief review HERE.)

Kenner's figures became more and more sophisticated in sculpting and paint, but the Stormtrooper was not revisited and continued to be produced on the basis of the same molds. Until, that is, the Power of the Force collection included with a hideous, misshapen, and standing-challenged figure (1995). The less said about this, the better. The one improvement was that the head could now swivel around on top of the neck, and the waist could swivel around its axis.


(More photos and brief review HERE.)

After that travesty, things looked up when Hasbro acquired the license. In 1999 it produced its first Stormtrooper (with battle damage), complete with a gun rack and 10 points of articulation (admittedly, of the rather basic, swivel kind, except for the ball-jointed neck and shoulders).


(More photos and brief review HERE.)

Hasbro's improved model took off, and was reiterated and occasionally slightly modified over the following years. By 2011 (Vintage Collection # 41), the little Stormtrooper featured not only a removable helmet and an underlying battle-scarred human face, but also 14 points of articulation and ball-jointed neck, shoulders, elbows, waist, hips, knees, and ankles. I had started collecting action figures again.


(More photos and brief review HERE.)

What more could you ask of a 3.75 inch action figure? These figures were not perfect, but for the most part the issues were the preciseness (or lack thereof) of paint application and the often soft or distorted sculpt of the helmets (and not just those that were designed to be removable and made of softer plastic). Then Hasbro went backwards instead of forwards, abandoned the excellent articulation it had achieved, and reverted to... five points of articulation (except for the 6-inch Black Series Collection). And that was enough to get me stop collecting Star Wars action figures in the Classic scale.

But while the articulation went back to Neolithic, Hasbro's sculpting improved dramatically and so did the resolution of its paint application (I say resolution, because it is not always applied with absolute precision or correctness). The sad under-articulated Stormtroopers produced for Rogue One appeared perfect until you tried to pose them. This made me think: is it possible to combine the excellent head (i.e., helmet) sculpt of these new figures with the nicely articulated Stormtrooper bodies of Hasbro's more felicitous products? In almost all cases, that proved impossible -- not without serious alterations (whittling off parts of the neck pegs) and compromises (like having exceedingly wobbly heads or sacrificing neck articulation completely). But there was one combination that worked perfectly, and that is the point I have been getting at.

You would need a Hasbro Rogue One 3.75-inch Stormtrooper (either the ones carded by themselves HERE or, better yet, the ones in the two-pack with Baze Malbus HERE -- these have a better/more complete paint application) and a Hasbro 3.75-inch Spacetrooper (Legacy Collection # 32, HERE and HERE).



The Spacetrooper is nothing more than a Zero-Gravity-kitted-out Stormtrooper, let loose on the surface of your friendly neighborhood space station. He has been given a removable rebreather tank system with a hose and an additional blaster rifle.



The face, which has been described in somewhat unflattering terms, is actually a decent attempt (given the scale and the time when it was made) at capturing set photos of none other than the versatile Star Wars designer and occasional extra Joe Johnston preparing to be filmed as a Spacetrooper.





At any rate, the crisply sculpted and (usually) precisely painted new Stormtrooper helmets fit perfectly on the "Spacetrooper" neck peg, making for the simplest custom of all time (I am sure it's a draw, but it is one of them). Now you can get a good looking (as in screen-accurate) and well-articulated Stormtrooper all rolled into one.



Can it get any better? Yes. If you used the helmet from the single-packed Rogue One Stormtrooper, you'd probably want to paint in the two trapezoidal areas on the back of the helmet (if you used the helmet from the two-pack, they are already -- and correctly -- painted). More importantly, while the "Spacetrooper" has 14 points of articulation, unfortunately the hips are swivel rather than ball-jointed. My attempts to swap out the legs with those from even better-articulated versions failed, although they should have worked in theory.



I helped myself to a bunch of both figures some years ago and did some army building. The under-articulated bodies would act as holders for the unused heads and helmets and could always be used for background characters in formation (which would be more authentic than painting them in as they did for the emperor's arrival scene in Return of the Jedi).



Now here's the possible rub: these figures are getting rarer to find, but are still available and often inexpensive (even the 2-pack). But Hasbro has re-launched its Vintage Collection and started putting out some excellent and (even more encouraging) excellently-articulated 3.75-inch figures. Not yet available at the time of writing but advertised to appear this year is the Vintage Collection Rogue One Stormtrooper. If it is like the others in the series, and if its sculpting is on a par with the earlier under-articulated versions, it would obviate the "need" to kitbash the perfect Stormtrooper. Of course, you might prefer a real Original Trilogy figure (I think we all would), but the differences -- especially in this scale -- are largely too minute to notice (unlike with the sixth-scale figures). And you can never have too many Stormtroopers. So if you happen to have a bunch of these already in your collection, you could still apply this easy kitbash to make them more compatible with the new ones you might be interested to get. That, at least, is how I see it.



As always, let me know what you think.

Note: For the ready-made fully-articulated new Hasbro Rogue One figure, see HERE.

#starwars #hasbro #stormtrooper #stormtroopers #spacetrooper #film #fiction #scifi #rogueone

Just like Turner Classic Movies and Ben-Hur on Easter, we are not above re-running Star Wars Christmas in all of its segments (and don't worry, we have consigned the dreadful Star Wars Holiday Special to "legends").

I am bringing back the Star Wars Christmas story from before, slightly enhanced and expanded and all in one place. Hope you enjoy it.

DISCLAIMER: Although the photos below don't feature anything explicit, they might contain some reference to adult themes.

But first a word from our sponsors...







































































Merry Christmas and Happy New Year (or Happy Holidays of your choice) to all!

#starwars #photostory #fiction #humor #christmas