Kastor’s Retro Reviews

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Kastor’s Retro Reviews

come check out the new column on Kastor’s Korner

Finally the new home is OPEN

Hi all just wanted to give all an update.  Kastor’s Korner has a new home @ http://www.kastorskorner.com/   This week will see the long over due HML3 final review as well as DCUC wave one.  We should also have some Mattel answers soon

Action Thursday: Moleman

Finding these mole monsters on clearance at TRU is great!!!

Marvel Legends Black Queen

Welcome back to another Kastor’s Review.  This time we take a look at the newest exclusive offering from Hasbro Marvel Legends, Jean Grey, the Black Queen.   This figure is not hard to review because it has very little in the way of new parts.  This figure is simply a remodel of Emma Frost, White Queen.  The newer parts are the head and a new paint scheme.  While Emma didn’t have a great head sculpt, this figure shows that details and a decent paint job are possible from Hasbro.  Where this figure fails is where every other HML fails, articulation.  I know most of you ask what kind of articulation the Black Queen needs, but we need to stop using this as an excuse for Hasbro.  This type of figure is unacceptable based on what we have been offered in the past.  The only reason that Hasbro seems to have us over a barrel is that most of us want to finish various teams and sets and we are forced to settle.  But I think as time goes on and the figures overall quality decreases, so will the collectors who need to get all the figures despite the wish lists. 

 

Hasbro Marvel Legends 3: The Cap Compare

Captain America may be dead in the comics but he is still kicking in the Marvel Legends line.  This new Cap marks the return of the 1^st appearance figures.  Joining the ranks of figures like Spiderman, the Thing, Ironman, the Hulk, Wolverine, and the Punisher, this Captain America is a standout figure.  Though there is a very cartoonish look to him, he really does reflect the original design of the character. The figure reflects the comic look of the character, however the figure loses points area of articulation.  

As part of the Hasbro Marvel Legends this Captain America has a great deal of decreased articulation.  In this review we will take a look at how Hasbro has actually set the figure back instead of moving Captain America forward.  I decided to look at this figure in stages, highlighting the difference between Marvel Legends 1(ML1) Cap, Face-Off (FO) Cap and this Hasbro Marvel Legends 3(HML3) Cap. There was an Ultimate Captain America but for this review we will stick to the 616 universe figures, besides the Ultimate figure is similar to the previous Captain America.   

Starting top down on the figure the heads all seem to have a good sculpt, reflecting the look of the Captain America they are modeled after.  This is the one place that all the figures have been successful.   

Where the differences seem to be most apparent is in the body.  The joints, such as the arms and legs, are the most glaring examples of the decrease in the quality of this line.   Starting with the arms: you can see all figures have the ball jointed shoulders. In both ML 1 and HML 3 you can the joint is not as well hidden as in the FO.  The one thing Hasbro started to get right as you can see here, they all share the same elbow articulation in the double joint.  The double joint was missing in the other figures in previous waves of HML.   

Moving our way down the arm to the wrist you can see the articulation is hidden on the new HML Cap, whereas in the older Caps you can see the joint as part of the sculpt, not hidden at all. This new way of hiding joints can be both a blessing and a curse.  While the hiding of the joint gives some figures a more realistic look, it also hinders the range of motion.  This new figure fails in the hand itself of the new HML3 Cap.  While you can see how in the first ML 1 you could close his hand, and next in the FO Cap the added finger articulation, the new HML 3 Cap has no finger articulation.  While it’s not always necessary, I think it just adds to the growing cost-cutting of the figures. I would have expected this type of sculpt and lack of articulation in the first offering of the figure, not the 5^th.  You can also see the lack of detailed sculpt from the elbow down of the new figure.   

Moving down the body to the legs, we see the same decrease in both detail and articulation.  Again you can see here the ball joints at the hips and the double knee joints as you move down the figure both the detail and the articulation decreases.  The lack of articulation leads to the inability to pose the figure.  The loss of the toe joint makes it harder to get the figure into various poses as well as balance the figure.  There is also a hidden ankle joint like the wrist and while it may help to make the figure look a little better, you can tell when you start to pose that the ability to move the feet in certain directions is impossible, once again limiting the movement of the figure.   Overall this is a solid figure, just not a solid Marvel Legend.    

Hasbro Marvel Legends 3: The Boxes

Coming up over the next few days will be the full blow review of HML 3.  Come back tomorrow for the faces.
 

Action Thursday

Working on putting together the big reivew of HML 3, I thought I would post a nice action shot. 

Have You Seen This Man?

Have you seen this figure?  No?  Well that is because Hasbro decided to send out cases of Marvel Legends 3 the Brood Queen Wave with out her tail and this long wanted figure.  That is right they short packed a BAF piece.  Guess where the only place you can find one unless you were lucky at a store?  Give up?  Hasbro Toy Shop is the only place you are going to find him in stock for sure, so good luck to collectors finding him in store. 

HML Fantastic Four In Action

HML Fantastic Four: It’s all in the Details

One thing we are seeing as Hasbro takes over this line is the loss of details.  This is not the Marvel Legends of the past in so many ways.  The line which is on the store shelves now is Marvel Legends in name only.  The scale is seems different, and the lack fine details really make this new line a waste in some cases.  With the new company in charge of this line so did the need to cut costs, which is the biggest failing of this line.  We are left saying thank you for most wanted figures that are only average at best.  While I was content with the quality of figures in wave one and two of this line, the Fantastic Four was a huge let down. 

If there was an easy way to get the BAF figure with out buying the whole wave I would take it in a second.  While it was a great idea for Marvel Legends to include these BAF’s I think the whole idea needs a break.  I think the line needs to go back to what made it so popular in the past, articulation and great attention to details.  When you compare a Toy Biz made figure to a Hasbro one, it’s obvious that the Hasbro figure is no where near as good of a figure.  One of the major problems is also the promotional photos of the figures. 

When I first saw the Thing from this line in the wizard article I was amazed at the details and the shading of this figure, and was all ready to replace my current Thing with this one, then I got the figure.  This figure is tiny in comparison with other ML figures and Thing figures.  Ben looks almost like he should be in the 5 inch movie line not a Marvel Legend.  While I still think the sculpt of this figure is well done, the paint just reduces the quality of the figure.  One thing which also saves this figure is the articulation which is comparable to other Thing figures. 

On to Johnny Storm who I had high hopes for as well.  While some do not like the Icons figure it was impressive to me and what I thought I would get this line, but again the figure is a major let down.  Torch seems tiny compared to other figures in the line and the colors are too bright and cartoon like for the Marvel Legends line.  They decided to re-sculpt the hair and give him a flaming high-top fade like Kid n’ Play. 

We finally get a Namor in his classic outfit of green trunks and he is basic.  Again the picture which Hasbro put out to promote the figure made this seem like the must have of the line and again I was disappointed.  The figure look like the regal king of the sea and when you looked at it in person see the lack of a paint wash and the lack of quality in his face.  If this was meant to be a 1^st appearance figure this would be passable but as a regular 616 figure it is lacking.  When you put this figure next to the ML 2 Namor there is no comparison. 

Finally the last disappointment of the line is Sue, Invisible Woman.  Again the same problem with the others plague sue.  She lacks detail and a paint wash making her too bright to blend in with the rest of the Marvel Legends line.

I know I have been tearing apart this line but with the problems in this line and the cost it needs to be pointed out.  The fact that there are only 3 figure out of 9 which are worth the cost of these figure there is a problem.  This line was supposed to be for collectors, yet the standard which we have become accustomed has been lowered.  For most this whole wave will cost you about $90 and unless you really want a Ronan I would advise most to avoid these figures. 

 

Pick up what you like and leave the rest for the kids.  I do have to say I think Reed and Mole Man are the standout stars of this mediocre line.