1989 Batmobile

1989 Batmobile

Jada 1:24 scale die cast metal

As I've said before, it's hard for me to resist picking up any 89 Batmobiles I see.  At least I didn't have one in this scale already.  $20 for a detailed, die cast metal and a nifty lil Batman to stand alongside it? Score!

The canopy opens and closes.  It also has machine guns that can be raised, lowered, and covered.  Just remember, kids:  Batman doesn't kill...except when he totally does.  Just rubber bullets anyway, right?

The Batman isn't quite as detailed as the picture on the box, but still looks great for as small as he is.  I only wish he could fit inside the car.  That would put this release over the top!

The flat black paint job is movie perfect, as are the silver details on the sides and back turbine.  I have read reviews online that this blows Hot Wheels' attempt at this scale out of the water on price and quality.  

I picked this up at Walmart.  The line also has the 66 Batmobile, the Nolan Tumbler, and the BatmanVSuperman's Arkham Light.  I hate to turn down pure West, but the 89 will always be my Batmobile.

X-Men Legends Warlock Wave

X-Men Legends

Warlock wave

Colossus, Polaris, Firestar, Dazzler, Shatterstar, Cyclops

The X-Men are back!  Well, in toy form at least.  Yes, if you were thinking that last year's Juggernaut wave was a fluke, think again...Hasbro must have talked Marvel out of punishing action figure fans (Disney/Fox movie pettiness) or something.  Wave 2 is here with some classics, long-time favorites, and a great build-a-figure.  

Jim Lee Cyclops!  It's the 90s all over again!  Tactical gear! Utility harnesses!  Gloves!  Useless pockets!  Um, yeah...if the X-Men comic relaunch wasn't one of the biggest selling comics of all time and the cartoon weren't so great, I probably would just stick with a classic interpretation of this guy.  Great looking figure, though.  The real gripe is that the leg "belts" aren't glued in place and tend to slip down.

A C-list X-Man, Polaris isn't all that exciting to me.  She's got Magneto's power of magnetism and dates Cyclops' brother, Havok.  To make her less exciting, they gave this figure the same power effects as Havok but molded in translucent green.  Still, she's got a decent sculpt.  

Back to the A-list with an updated Colossus!  I haven't followed Marvel books in a long time (Age of Apocalypse and the Spider-man Clone Saga had me jumping ship) so I have no idea when/where this new jumpsuit made its debut.  Not a bad update.  I really dig the alternate metal beard head.  Very Lenin-esque, comrade!  The silver metal paint looks great, especially on the arm detail.

Yuck!  The 90s threw up on my blog!  What could be worse than a Jim Lee design?  A Rob Liefeld design, of course!

Shatterstar has the mutant power of being an expert military strategist and blah blah blah...a badass with swords,  How original!  But we didn't have one with pseudo-cowboy boots, old-timey football headgear, and samurai-meets-glam-rock hair!  As lame as he is, Hasbro still nailed his jump from page to articulated figure.  "Did I mention he has swords?!  Two of them!  And one of them has two blades on it!  I bet he could totally take Darth Maul in a fight!"

Dazzler here is definitely a step up from Shatterstar, even if Disco is long dead.  Lots of figures have swords, but how many have roller skates?!  And bell-bottomed jumpers?!  Feathered hair?!
Give her a break...she was created as part of a late-70s record cross-promotion because of the success of KISS.  I dig this earlier look, but am more familiar with her mid-80s, arcade game style...which I hope Hasbro gets to somewhere down the line.

Quality control issue!  One of the skates was missing its front wheels in-package.  I didn't see it as this part was tucked away from view behind the cardboard packaging.  These collector's figures are hard to return to stores for an exchange as its hard enough to find them in the first place! And Hasbro customer service?  I bought an Admiral Ackbar figure from the Force Awakens last year that I didn't notice had two right arms.  They sent me a new figure, free of charge...but it was General Hux (pronounced: peg warmer).

Oh, well...made due temporarily with some blue (s)ticky-tack.

Classic Sunfire was probably the figure I was most excited for in this wave.  I say "Classic" because there has already been an attempt at Sunfire in the 6-inch scale a decade ago.  Age of Apocalypse Sunfire was the winner of a fans choice poll against updates of Gambit, Magneto, and Storm as well as never-before-in-this-scale figures of Silver Samurai, Lillandra, Aurora, and Northstar.  Are you kidding me?!  People were crying foul then, just as they are now:  I still don't have a Silver Samurai!

Anyway, this Sunfire comes with two rubbery fire effects that fit over his fists.  Like the various "magic" and "mutant power" effects, expect this one to be repurposed/overused by the end of the year.

Build-a-Figure Warlock!

Warlock, of the 80's New Mutants, would not be one of my top priorities as a toy want.  However, having one in-hand, he sure makes an awesome figure.  He towers over the other figures in this wave by a couple inches, has decent articulation, and great dirty-metallic gold paint job.  Another great leap from the page to the third dimension!  He even comes with an accessory...an interchangeable saw hand!

These were standard $20 figures, and I paid just that for them for fear of poor distribution like the first wave of X-Men.  They are just now hitting online and retail stores.  I found them months earlier, as Walgreens had first dibs for some reason.  It was a toy hunt just like the old days...hitting 8-10 locations in and around town, finding them piece by piece or 2 at a time for the most part.  Good times!  I'm caught up and ready for more X-Men love, Hasbro!  

Wolverine: Old Man Logan

Wolverine: Old Man Logan

Hasbro 6-inch figure

So, the "Old Man Logan" comic that this figure is based on is kinda bat-shit insane.  I'm not going to go into details, but I will leave you with this nugget for your curiosity:  he fights the hillbilly, inbred offspring of the Incredible Hulk and She-Hulk.  Needless to say, that did not make its way into the loosely-adapted movie "Logan," which this figure's release was timed for.  

It's a great looking figure.  Short, stocky, and mean looking...and fairly accurate to the comic.  The articulation and paint are perfect and there's some nice detail in the shirt, coat, buckle, and boots.  The facial expression is great for moderately-peeved Logan.  A snarling, screaming Adamantium rage alternate head (WTF?!) would have been a nice pack-in, as this figure comes with zero accessories...not even a build-a-figure-part.  Nope, not even alternate, claws-sheathed hands.  Really?!

I would have left this figure on the shelf if it were not for the potential of having an excellent civilian-clothes Logan in my collection.  Also, it helped that I already had a decent head-swap in mind with an old figure I already had.  Enter House of M Wolverine (aka Air Strike Wolverine) from an offshoot of Toy Biz's Marvel Legends line, X-Men series.  It's a decent, comic accurate figure, but is way too tall and lanky for my tastes.  Still, the head sculpt is one of the best unmasked Wolverines out there.  

After boiling and popping the head off, it was off to get my Dremel tool.  It took some work and care hollowing out the head so it would fit on OM Logan's neck ball.  For some reason, they made this one unnecessarily large.  But with a little patience and some trial fittings: 

Not too bad, in my opinion. The head sits a little higher than I'd like, but looks great with the full range of motion and hunched over poses.  If I was a real stickler, I would match the skin tones on the neck and hands better.  Good enough for me!  

The head also fits the Hasbro Legends Wolverine that came out in the previous X-Men wave:

I'm happy with the results of a, what, customizer level 2 job?  I made the $20 figure work for me, otherwise, it probably wouldn't be worth the money or time.  Here's hoping Hasbro gets to the yellow and blue, tiger stripe Wolverine redeco soon!  

Random Marvel Legends

Random Marvel Legends:

Captain Marvel, Spider-Woman, Enchantress

There are so many figures out there that divide my attention (and funds), that I have to pass on a few every now and then...especially in the realm of comic book heroes.  Though, if you play the cards right, you can wager which ones will be giving you a second chance to pick them up...and usually at a discount.  Here are a few recent pickups I made at $9 a figure in the Wal-Mart clearance aisles:

I have the Carol Danvers Ms Marvel figure that Toy Biz put out a decade back...as Warbird?  Kinda looks like old-school Meg Ryan? Whatever.  Like most of their figures, the push for maximum articulation leaves them all gangly looking and barely able to stand.   Hasbro has made just the right adjustments.  

This version, Captain Marvel, has just the right balance of articulation to get some great action poses.  She also has an alternate, unmasked head and and energy effect that fits over her fist.  For my display, I'm sticking with the Kree mohawk!

Spider-Woman is from a different wave, but shares the same body as Captain Marvel.  This is fine for standing, but you won't be able to get her into any Spider-Man-like poses.  She's got a new head, of course, and some creepy posing hands.  She also comes with two types of underarm webs:  flared out and closed.  These plug into slots in the figure's triceps, but not as easily as they should.  Both options limit mobility above the waist, and tend to fall out with the slightest movement. 

Enchantress has a different female body sculpt.  One that is better suited to show off her *ahem* powers.  Yes, she comes equipped with two, huge...magic power thingies?  Hasbro is really getting some mileage out of this particular accessory with Dr. Strange, Dazzler, Scarlet Witch....just mold it in a different color and call it a day!  

Anyway, back to the sculpt.  She shares the same body type that Hasbro used on their Scarlet Witch.  And bringing things back around to the beginning, things have only improved since the Toy Biz days.   Yeesh!