Rapid-Fire Toy Reviews

Rapid-Fire Toy Reviews is a semi regular article where a HiddenLevel contributor will do a quick break down of his or her feelings about several different toys.  This this just allows some toys to receive coverage that may not otherwise get a full scale review. This review is by Brunpuppies.

Today's reviews are all of action figures that I have recently purchased and would love to do full reviews of but, simply do not have time to do so.  I think all of these toys warrant some mention, so that is why I have chosen them for the first edition of Rapid-Fire Toy Reviews.  There are a lot of firsts here for me, whether is a first purchase from a line, brand, or genre.  I've lucked out by not buying any duds lately.  I'm sure that won't always be the case, but for now, let's get to the reviews of these great figures. (Click on images to view them larger.)

RX-79[G]Ez-8 GUNDAM Ez8 by Bandai

  

This Gundam is the very first action figure model kit that I have ever made.  It was extremely fun to do and I'm sure I'll make many more.

Sculpt:  This thing is great! I was completely amazed at the amount of detail they packed into such a small figure.

Verdict: 10/10

Scale:  Based on the box and the product pictures I thought this was going to be a lot bigger.  It's only about 5 inches tall.  The scale is called out as 1/144 scale which I guess only makes it in scale with other Gundams and no other toy line I can think of.  I guess he can also fight Godzilla.

Verdict: 7/10

Paint:  There is no paint unless you do it yourself.  All the parts are cast in the proper colors and there are some super tiny stickers you can apply.

Verdict: 7/10

Articulation:  Everything moves on this thing!  The articulation at this or any other scale is insane.  I didn't think this would hold together that well once I completed it, but everything is tight and works smoothly.

Verdict: 10/10

Accessories:  The Ez8 comes with plenty of guns, laser swords, flight packs, and alternate hands for you to use and they are all highly detailed and look great.

Verdict: 10/10

Overall:  I am not regretting giving action figure model building a try one bit.  It brings my hobby to a whole new level.

Verdict: 9/10

Mars Attacks by Mezco Toyz

  

I've always kind of liked the retro design of the Mars Attacks aliens, so when I saw this figure on sale for half price, I figured I could find a place for him in my collection.  

Sculpt:  The sculpt is pretty accurate to what what the aliens looked like in the movies, comics, and old Topps trading cards.  The details are a little soft, but that may be the fault of the design not the sculptor.

Verdict: 8/10

Scale: The figure is about 6 inches tall which probably puts him in the 7"(1/10) scale since this is meant to be a "little green man", but he does't look that bad with 6"(1/12) scale figures if you don't mind him being a little big.

Verdict: 8/10

Paint:  The paint is pretty basic on this figure.  It's not bad and luckily it's a matte plastic rather than a gloss, so it doesn't look very plastic and "toyish".  It could, however, have used just a little more paint to bring out the details especially on the head of the figure.

Verdict: 6/10

Articulation:  There is quite a bit of articulation on this figure, the problem is that the joints don't have all that much range.  The hip joints are just strange and the knee joints are almost useless so you are left with a lower body that you can't do much with.

Verdict: 6/10

Accessories:  You get three accessories with this guy, a ray gun, a ray rifle, and ... a ray stick I guess. They all like cool with the figure, you just can't have the figure hold the rifle with both hands due to limited articulation.  The guns could also use some paint.

Verdict: 8/10

Overall:  Not a bad figure at all, it just could have used some improvements in a few places.  For $10 he was worth the price.

Verdict: 7.5/10

Shocker Combatman by Bandai S.H.Figuarts

                

I know next to nothing about Kamen Rider, I just saw this figure and it seemed to combine my new found interests in Japanese 1/12 scale action figures and luchador masks (due to my recent trip to Mexico), so I had to check this guy out.  This is my first import figure from Bandai and not my last.

Sculpt: Other than the belt, there isn't a whole lot of detail here.  That being said, even thought the sculpt is fairly simple, the proportions and the design just make for a cool figure.

Verdict: 8/10

Scale:  This guy is 6 inch (1/12) scale and he fit's in just great with other figures from other lines of this scale. He looks great fighting Batman, Spider-man, or even some Stormtroopers.

Verdict: 9/10

Paint:  The paint is very simple, but also very clean and well executed. The paint on the belt is the most impressive paint application on the figure.

Verdict: 8/10

Articulation:  This is where the figure really shines.  I had a lot of fun posing this guy.  There is plenty of articulation to get this toy into whatever position you want. He really lives up to the term "action figure".

Verdict: 10/10

Accessories:  Combatman comes with less weapons than you would think for a guy with that name. He just has a knife and an eagle-headed baton.  In addition to that, he has a whole bunch of interchangeable hands which do help him out with various fighting stances.

Verdict: 7.5/10

Overall:  Despite any shortcomings this figure may have, there is still something about him that makes him a really enjoyable action figure.

Verdict: 8.5/10

Talon by DC Collectibles

   

Batman: Court of Owls was one of the better stories to come out of the New DC 52, and the Talons were a great addition to the Dark Knight's rogues gallery.  DC Collectibles sucked me in yet again with a great looking figure of an interesting character.

Sculpt:  He looks like he stepped right out of a Greg Capullo drawn page.  Some really great details and design especially with the cowl.

Verdict: 9/10

Scale:  The scale on this figure is somewhere between 6 inch (1/12) and 7 inch (1/10) scales.  He fits in perfectly with the other recent DC Collectible action figures.  He can also fit with the DC Universe Classics lines if you consider that some Talons are depicted as being fairly large.

Verdict: 9/10

Paint:  The isn't a whole lot of paintwork on this figure but what is here, is really well done.  The metallic paints are cleanly done and really pop.

Verdict: 9/10

Articulation:  Like a lot of the newer DC Collectibles, the articulation is a HUGE improvement over what was done in the past.  Other than the lack of neck articulation due to the cowl design, this figure has all the articulation you need for some great poses.

Verdict: 9/10

Accessories:  Talon comes with a whole mesh of bladed weapons.  Not just 2 swords and 2 knives, but those throwing knives do in fact come out of the belt!

Verdict: 9/10

Overall:  A really great figure.  A very solid 9.  Only thing keeping keeping it from being a 10 is that there is nothing that goes above an beyond what you would hope for.

Verdict: 9/10

WWE Classics Signature Series The Rock by Mattel

    

I have tens of thousands of action figures, yet somehow I have NEVER owned a wrestling action figure in my entire life.  Not that I have anything at all against wrestling, I've just never been what you might consider a fan. For no particular reason, I decided to change that.  This $10 figure seemed like a good one to start with.

Sculpt:  I have no real issues with the sculpt of this figure.  I think the likeness of Dwayne Johnson is pretty good.  The details are a little soft, but for the price point I think it's fine.

Verdict: 8/10

Scale:  Perfectly in scale with other wrestling figures form what I can tell.  This figure also seems to be between 6 inch (1/12) and 7" (1/10) scale.  His compatibility with other similarly scaled lines may vary.

Verdict: 8/10

Paint:  There is no exceptional paint work here, but what is here is very clean.

Verdict: 7.5/10

Articulation:  This seems there are two price points with WWE action figures with this being the lower one.  The main difference seems to be the amount of accessories, the amount of paintwork, and the upper leg articulation.  That lack of articulation other than a t-crotch really limits how you can pose the Rock.  Other than that, the articulation is pretty good.

Verdict: 6.5/10

Accessories:  Normally there is nothing for this figure, but since it's a K-Mart variant, it comes with a championship belt, which is nice to have.

Verdict: 8/10

Overall:  Nothing groundbreaking here, but I'm happy to have at least one big name wrestler to battle some of my other action figures.

Verdict: 7.5/10

Harry Potter: Dementor by NECA

This toy is a bit old now, but he's new to me.  So far, I only have a NECA Harry Potter and a Voldemort in my collection, but I saw this figure for $5 at a discount bargain store and thought he looked cool as hell. 

Sculpt:  This is NECA at it's finest. It's a beautifully creepy sculpt that even extends to the normally unseen skeletal body under the robe.

Verdict: 10/10

Scale:  This fits in just fine with any of the other 7 inch (1/10) scale figures from NECA and can even fit with 6 inch (1/12) scale figures.

Verdict: 9/10

Paint:  The paint really does a wonderful job of bringing the sculpt to life.  I don't have a single complaint.

Verdict: 10/10

Articulation:  Other than peg wrists and some restricted arm articulation, there's not much here.  Not that there is really much more that needed or could have been done.

Verdict: 4/10

Accessories:  All that is included is a nicely detailed and painted base with a clear rod to allow the figure to hover.  At least it is well executed.

Verdict: 7.5/10

Overall:  Event if this were just a statue, I would be very happy to have this to display.  At $5 this was a steal.

Verdict: 8/10

That's it for now.  Be sure to check back for more Rapid-Fire Reviews.  If you want so full length reviews, here are a few you can check out:

Figma Legend of Zelda: Link

DC Collectibles Bizarro

NECA Godzilla

NECA ED-209

Fantastic Four Minifigures

Hulk Minifigures

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