Showing posts with label Kingdom Hearts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kingdom Hearts. Show all posts

Friday, May 3, 2019

Tron

Tron
Diamond Select - Kingdom Hearts


'Member Tron?  Tron Legacy?  You know...the successful revisiting that turned a profit but Disney shelved any potential sequels after they bought out Star Wars?  Fuck you, Bob Iger...




























Anyway...new Classic Tron figures!  And they actually look like Bruce Boxleitner and David Warner!  I hope someone gives Mr. Warner one of these or it was part of a likeness deal because, with all the great movies he's been in, I don't think he's ever had a figure like this.  There's still hope that "Evil" will see the light of day on account of a new Time Bandits series in the works.



















The figures look great and sport more articulation than was expected from the early promo images.  They looked like they may not have any knee articulation.  Final product?  Double-jointed knees!  The paint and lines are clean and my only gripes are that the costume is a bit restrictive with elbow movement and they did not come with identity discs...but I stole some fudge-ably scaled, glow-in the-dark ones from their smaller, retro counterparts!










































Sora and Goofy look awesome, all decked out for the grid.  Articulation is similar with earlier versions of these characters.  Sora has the Tron-ed out Keyblade and Goofy gets nothing.  Aw, c'mon!  Small weapons getting cut as saving measures can't reduce cost all that much!  Not as much as you would save cutting a full character from...hey, where's Donald?!  Ugh...guess we'll have to keep our fingers crossed for a Walgreens budget release...
















The lack of Donald is even more baffling considering the third pack from this Kingdom Hearts wave.  Mickey in his robes is the main draw here, and the larger Heartless is all-new...but another standard, inarticulate Darkness?  Sure, he's got a nifty, translucent purple paint job, but we couldn't even get a reused Keyblade for the Head Cheese?!  At least these negatives aren't as disappointing as the world selection for KH3!



















I threw in a Tron Legacy Clu figure that I picked up on Ebay.  I didn't buy these with the movie's release, as they were slightly larger in scale than most figures I collected.  He's about 7.5 inches tall...so not too bad next to these new figures.  The articulation is not great, but I did always think the electronic gimmick was neato.  With the press of a button, a young Jeff Bridges flickers in the helmet and spouts several lines of dialog, appearing to be moving his mouth in an old school video sort of way.






































If you like Kingdom Hearts, these figures are a win.  If you like Tron, these are a super win.  Get 'em while the gettin's good.  It's surprising that Disney let these guys out to play.  Tron isn't even featured in KH3...must be some big fans over at Diamond Select!  End of line...

Friday, September 7, 2018

Kingdom Hearts

Kingdom Hearts
Diamond Select Toys

Kingdom Hearts has always been a weird concept:  Final Fantasy meets Disney.  I've never been a FF fan, but anything that can breathe new life into classic cartoon characters is more than welcome.  Donald Duck is a wizard?  Sure, why the hell not!  Mickey Mouse with a sword?! Has he been allowed to be this violent since the 1930s?!  The awesomeness of the concept and gameplay should be enough for you to stomach nonsensical, Japanime-style storytelling.  Recommended!



























Anyway, Diamond select began producing 7-inch scale KH figures last year.  Most figures come in multi-packs in stores, online, and comic shops ($25).  Walgreen's and Gamestop have produced a handful of paint-variant exclusives ($10).  Sometimes, accessories and character exclusives.  The Walgreen's Mickey has so far been the only way to pick up Pluto.  I hate character exclusives, but this one was pretty easy to find.

















Articulation varies character to character, and is sometimes hindered by costumes or size of the figure.  Even with some limitations, they look great.  Pete and Goofy may be my favorites so far.  At least one more wave has been announce at this time:  Tron and Sark with Sora, Goofy, and Donald in their Tron outfits!  New Tron figures?!  No problems, only solutions!

This may be the best line of Disney action figures ever produced.  If you're a fan of the games, or just Disney characters, they are worth picking up.
Life-size Keyblade foam prop that I picked up at a comic convention for $25.
Some of the single-packed figures have been clearanced at Walgreen's for $5.  Roxas was worth it just for the Oathkeeper keyblade.  Happy hunting!