Thursday, May 15, 2014

Knockoff Nation: Hulk MiniFigures



Welcome to another installment of Knockoff Nation.  This is a (semi)regular article on HiddenLevel where I (OgelBlockHead) will review toys that come from the Far East, typically China, that are off-brand versions of more popular brands.  In the past this usually indicated poorly made toys; cheap plastic, castings from lousy molds, sloppy paint, mismatched parts, etc., this is no longer always the case.  If you know where to look, you can find some really nice toys at a great price.

Today's review is of Lego knockoffs of the Incredible Hulk(s).  There are a few Lego sets that currently include the green Hulk but not of the gray or the red.  The prices that I have found for this set are fairly reasonable.  I bought them on Ebay for about $5.  If you look around, you should be able to find it for about the same.  At that price it's less than $2 each, which is more than reasonable for a regular sized minifigure, never mind these large figures.  As always, you can usually save by bundling with other figures.
Knockoff on the Left, Lego on the Right

When placed next to a real Lego minifigure, the knockoff (called KO from here on out) figures come pretty close to matching the original.  The Hulk I have is from an Avengers movie set so I am not sure if the ones from other sets have a different face print, but it is a bit different from the KO.  The other difference that I can tell is that the KO is a little shinier than the Lego, not by much, but you can tell by the photos.  Other. than that, I think these 3 figures could pass as Legos.
The  look of the Hulk figures is great.  The scale works well with other characters, depicting them as appropriately larger.The articulation isn't quite as good as the typical minifigure.  There are only joints at the wrists and shoulders.


First up we have the green Hulk.  This figure is of Dr. Robert Bruce Banner's alter ego that he turns into whenever he becomes angry.  He's a really nice shade of green that matches how he is usually portrayed.  These torn pants appear to be khakis as opposed to the typical purple color.



Next up is the Red Hulk or Rulk as he is sometimes referred to.  Unlike the other two Hulks, this character is not Bruce Banner.  This figure is of General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross.  He is a long time rival of the original Hulk that became his own version of the monster in order to even the playing field. The colors on this figure all match the way he is usually depicted although he is sometimes shown as having gray hair.


Speaking of gray, last up we have the gray Hulk.  This Hulk is usually depicted as a repressed personality of Banner's called Joe Fixit, a Las Vegas enforcer and tough guy.  The transformation is usually triggered at night as opposed to when he is angry.  Although this Hulk would often wear tailored zoot suits, this figure represents the character after an unplanned transformation.  The paint on this one, like the others, is nice and crisp.  It's great that none of the main colors were repeated between any of these figures.
This set, unlike some others, did not include any bases which is fine because the figures stand great on their own.  The only accessories are 3 wrenches which are totally unnecessary, but still nice to have.

I have to say that I was really excited about this set and it didn't disappoint. The not-so-minifigures add a nice variety in size to my collection and they represent characters that I love.  If you do too, I highly suggest seeking them out.
-OgelBlockHead

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