HiddenLevel

25 TOY FINDS OF THE MONTH OF

August 2015

At the end of each month I, Brunpuppies, will put together a list of the toys that I acquired over the course of the month. The number of entries will differ depending on just how many toys I got in that month. The order of the list will be based purely on my personal opinion of the items and is in no way definitive. I'm sure you the reader will have you own favorites and I am open to hearing about them in the comments section.

It should be no surprise, but August is yet another month dominated by Marvel Legends. Considering I still have to pick up the Hulkbuster series, September probably will be as well. That’s not to say I didn’t find some other great toys too. In fact there are some figures on this list that I was extremely happy to get my hands on. Unfortunately a few of them had some issues that were a real buzzkill. Let’s take a look at what I got:

25. Super Mario: Paragoomba and Boo Mystery Bag Minifigures (K’NEX)

I got these two figures to add to my Super Mario display. Luckily they are perfectly scaled to fit in with my S.H.Figuarts Mario and my World of Nintendo figures. Other than the peg holes on the figures that are meant for connecting to other K’NEX pieces, they look like they stepped right out of the video games.

24. Shokugan Build Model "Mobile Suit Gundam" RX-78-2 Gundam Action Figure (Bandai)

Barnes and Noble seems to be carrying more and more Bandai import toys and I’m very happy about that. As of now, my local B&N has over eight different series of boxed figures at under $10, as well as S.H.Figuarts, Gundam models, and Star Wars Realization figures.

This particular figure comes from a new boxed series that a store employee just happened to be putting on display as I was browsing the store. I thought the figure looked interesting and the price was cheap, so I took a chance and picked one up.

It’s a very cute figure, but I can’t help but be a little disappointed. First off, it’s billed as a model and the back of the box even shows it in about two dozen pieces, but once you open the box you find that it comes mostly assembled. You really just have to put the head on the body. For me, more than half the fun of toys like these is putting them together. My other issue with the figure is that it is not hard plastic, but instead an eraser like, rubbery material. In fact, I’m not all that convinced that this isn’t an eraser, I just can’t read any of the Japanese text on the box to confirm one way or the other.

23. Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Monkey Brains Action Figure (Playmates Toys)

I should just write a standard review for all Playmates Ninja Turtle figures at this point.

A fun character with a decent sculpt, but disappointing articulation, incomplete paint applications, and not in scale with other figures in this line. My love of the Nick cartoon compels me to to continue collecting figures based on the show. It usually helps me to enjoy the figure more if I view them as figurines rather than action figures.

Yep, that works for about 95% of this toyline.

22. WWE Superstar Mankind Action Figure (Mattel)

Really just got this because in the few interviews I’ve seen him in, Mick Foley seemed like a pretty cool guy. Other than that, this is a fairly typical WWE Basic figure, I just happen to like the look of it plus it was cheap.

21. Police BMW R1200RT-P 1:12 Scale Motorcycle (New Ray Toy Co.)

While vacationing in Quebec City, I came across this vehicle in a little shop. It looked pretty cool and the fact that it’s a police motorcycle made it significantly different from my other motorcycles in this scale so I felt justified in getting it.

I like it well enough and some figures look really great riding it, especially my old C.O.P.S figures. The only real complaint i have is that I wish it had less plastic and more diecast parts, but that’s really just minor.

20. World of Nintendo Fire Mario Action Figure (JAKKS Pacific)

This is my very first Mario from the World of Nintendo line. I skipped the first release because I already had the Mario from S.H.Figuarts. It’s amazing how similar they are in both scale and sculpt. The biggest difference is in the quality of the paint. The Figuarts Mario is has an absolutely perfect paint job, which it should considering it was more than twice as expensive. The articulation between the two isn’t nearly as far apart as I would have expected. Other than a very limited neck joint, the WoN Mario has just enough joints to make it a fun toy to pose.

This Fire Mario is a nice variation of the original. The only difference is the color scheme and the mystery accessory, in this case a fire flower. I can’t help but wish it also included some fireballs. I guess it’s time to start experimenting with a glue gun and some clear yellow and orange paints.

One last thing, the color of Mario’s skin seems to be a bit off. It’s a little more red than it should be. Maybe Mario get a sunburn when he gets fire powers and I just never noticed.

19. Superheroes: Darkseid, Grodd, Venom, Groot, Iron Man Igor, Juggernaut, and Rhino Minifigures (LEGO Knockoff)

These knockoffs have really been my guilty pleasure lately. As much as I hate supporting these non official LEGO products, I’m just too tempted by that fact that for under $15 I am able to not only get a few figure that would require purchasing over $200 worth of sets to get otherwise, but also get a few characters that aren’t available at all from LEGO.

All these figures came out great and the paint apps are surprisingly good. Groot and Igor are my favorites, but really they’re all great minifigures.

18. World of Nintendo Princess Peach Action Figure (JAKKS Pacific)

I very happy to have the last of the four main characters from Super Mario Bros.2, which just happen to be the Mario game I’ve played the most in my life. I’m fairly pleased with the way Princess Peach came out. The sculpt is very good and the scale works perfectly with the other characters. The paint, while sloppier than I would like, is at least vibrant and screen accurate. The articulation is minimal, but I can’t think of much that could have been done to improve it.

Now bring on the inevitable Princess Daisy repaint.

17. World of Nintendo Fox McCloud Action Figure (JAKKS Pacific)

I hadn't realized just how much my Nintendo collection was missing Star Fox figures until I saw this one hanging from the store peg, but I sure am glad to have this now. Fox is a fun looking character and I think he fits in great with the Mario figures from this line (rather than the smaller scaled Link and Samus). The mystery accessory is a little model of McCloud’s spacecraft that looks to be equally more detailed than it was in the Super Nintendo game.

Now I want a Slippy Toad to go with this figure!

16. Marvel Legends Infinite Series White Tiger Action Figure (Hasbro)

I’m assuming this figure never would have been made if it were not for White Tiger’s heavy involvement in the Ultimate Spider-Man animated series. Whatever the reason, I’m glad it was made because I really like the simple but sleek costume design. This body that’s been used for the recent Spider-Girl figures works perfectly for this character.

Having this figure makes me really want to get action figures of teenage versions of Power Man, Iron Fist, and Nova as well as Steel Spider. Maybe even new versions Iron Spider and Miles Morales Spider-Man (I was never happy with the Wal-Mart exclusive version).

15. Star Wars Black Series Han Solo (Stormtrooper Disguise) Action Figure (Hasbro)

I passed on this figure several times until I recently found it on clearance at Target because I just didn’t feel good about paying full price for something that is 90% reused parts. At half price, I was more than happy to pick it up. It turns out that a Han Solo head on a Stormtrooper body is more fun than I would have expected. I always really liked that sequence in the first movie so it shouldn’t be that much of a surprise. Now it really makes me want to pick up Luke in disguise too, but again I’m not willing to pay full price.

Even though I’ve heard and read a lot of complains about the way the helmet looks compared to the other troopers, I’m perfectly fine with it. In fact, it’s my favorite part because I love putting it on other figures. My particular favorite is to put the helmet on Agent Coulson. A Stormtrooper helmet looks great with a suit.

14. Legacy Collection: Evolve Goliath Action Figure (Funko)

“Quality control (QC) is a procedure or set of procedures intended to ensure that a manufactured product or performed service adheres to a defined set of quality criteria or meets the requirements of the client or customer.”

This is a really great looking figure and at $20 for a figure this size, it’s a pretty good value in today’s market. The problem is that Funko still seems to be having QC issues with their figures. Despite promising over a year ago that they were no longer going to use clear joints on there figures, they are still doing so. Now, my figure hasn’t broken (yet), but I have read quite of few reports of this particular figure breaking easily. The other issue I had which hopefully is exclusive to my figure is that a left upper arm piece was used for both arms. This means that the right arm only bends backwards instead of forward. Unfortunately my figure was purchased in a comic store that I visited while I was in Maine, so a return is not possible. I’m not sure if I really want to deal with customer service at this point.

Had Goliath not had these issues, it may very well have ranked at the top of this list.

13. Bioshock Infinite George Washington “Heavy Hitter” Motorized Patriot Action Figure (NECA)

Yet another otherwise awesome figure that was ruined for me because of poor quality control. With this figure an entire piece was missing, the cravat (a short, wide strip of fabric worn by men around the neck and tucked inside an open-necked shirt.) Really, it was my fault for not noticing it was missing, I was just really excited to find this $30+ figure for only $7 at Toys R Us. But even if I had noticed, I may have just assumed it was hidden somewhere in the package. I wouldn’t have minded so much if it didn’t leave the figure with a big unsightly peg hole right at the top of the shirt. As you can see in the picture, I’ve made a bit of a scarf out of plastic to cover it up. If it wasn’t such an old figure at this point, I would go through customer service to get a new part (not that I’ve had any luck with any toy company’s customer service so far.)

Again, if it wasn’t for this stupid, necessary issue, I would absolutely love this figure. This thing is huge and it has a great steampunk look to it.

12. Star Wars the Black Series Han Solo and Tauntaun Action Figure Set (Hasbro)

This set is on par with the average Black Series release, it’s just nice to have another “alien creature” to add to add to the display especially an oversized one. I’d have no really complaint about this set if it wasn’t for the fact that Han Solo’s legs weren’t attached! I just had to hit them with the blow dryer for a few minutes to soften them up so they could pop into the peg joint, but it’s really not something I should have had to do. Maybe the people over at Hasbro need to take some classes with Funko and NECA about Quality Control.

11. Marvel Legends Infinite Series Heroes for Hire Misty Knight Action Figure (Hasbro)

Another great female action figure from Hasbro’s Marvel Legends line AND it’s of a character that I never would have expected to get a figure of. Other than the fact that the eyes are painted a little wonky, I’m very happy with how Misty turned out. Now Hasbro needs to make a Colleen Wing to go along with her. It can even use the same body with a new color scheme.

10. Marvel Legends Infinite Series Superior Venom Action Figure (Hasbro)

Some people seem to think this is an unnecessary release, but not me, I’m all for more symbiote figures. I’d love to see a Spider-Carnage from back when Ben Reilly was Spidey, some of the lesser know symbiote characters like Hybrid, Riot, Scream, Phage, Agony, and Lasher or even a half classic / half black costume Spider-Man.

As for this figure, I think it looks great. It’s an excellent use of the new Spider-Man body. My only complaint is that he tentacles aren’t articulated and have at very least a ball-joint where it plugs into the back.

9. Mortal Kombat X: Scorpion Action Figure (Mezco Toyz)

I’m not much of a Mortal Kombat fan (I was always more into Street Fighter), but I do like the “ninja” characters from the games. I figured I’d check out Scorpion since he was my favorite and I’d see how much I liked him then I would decide whether I’d get any other characters from this line. I have to say that other than the fact that the face mask keeps falling off, the figure is quite nice. The detailed sculpt and paint are excellent and the articulation, while not as plentiful as I would like, is still enough to get some decent poses. At this point I’m open to picking up figures of Subzero, Smoke, and Reptile. Oh, and Goro because there is just something wonderful about that four armed S.O.B.

8. WWE Battle Pack Series #32 - Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H Action Figure 2-Pack (Mattel)

I know of Triple H, but I have no idea who Daniel Bryan is. It doesn’t really matter, I got this for the Triple H, specifically his suited body. I had planned on placing the Hammerhead’s head (that came with Chameleon) on this body, but it didn’t really work scale wise. Fortunately Triple H is an awesome figure in its own right. It’s far more articulated than a typical basic WWE figure, it’s more along the lines of an Elite figure. The articulation is great and has every joint that the Chameleon figure has (also in a suit) except it has a single elbow hinge rather than a double. So basicly this pack is the same price as a single Marvel Legend and it comes with a figure that is equally as good only bigger, plus is comes with an additional figure. As far as I’m concerned, Bryan is just a great accessory to a really cool figure.

7. Marvel Select Colossus Action Figure (Diamond Select)

This is just an awesome figure of Colossus. The sculpt is exactly the way I picture him to look. He fits in great along side the other “big hitters” for Marvel Select. I only wish his scale was passable amongst Marvel Legends figures, but he’s just too big. Still, I very glad I finally picked him up.

6. Marvel Legends Infinite Series Heroes for Hire Ghost Rider Action Figure (Hasbro)

This is easily my favorite Marvel Legends Ghost Rider action figure yet. Other than the fact that I’m not wild about the hands have their trigger fingers out, there is nothing I would change about this figure. That doesn’t however mean that I wouldn’t like to see more included with this release.Ghost Rider NEEDS to have is bike. Now, I understand that this might not be a cost effective to have this figure come with an in scale motorcycle so I’m open to other options like having it sold separately in the line or maybe as a Build-a-Vehicle in an upcoming series. The point is that it needs to be available. Other than that, Hasbro could have at least included a chain for Ghost Rider to swing around.

5. Marvel Legends Infinite Series Savage Force Kraven Action Figure (Hasbro)

The only problem I have with my old Kraven figure is that the face is painted and the skin tone doesn’t match the the skin on the rest of the body which is cast in color. This new Kraven once again has a face that is painted and the body is not. Luckily the two colors do a much better job of matching, I just find it a little weird that the head wasn’t just cast in the same color as the body in the first place.

In general, I like this Kraven much more than the old one even though it’s a more modern costume rather than the classic one. The sculpt is very good and all the new parts made for this figure really make it a lot more visually interesting than some of the other recent figures. This new body size and proportions look great alongside the latest Spidey figure. I’d love to see updates of some of the other Sinister Six characters that are handled like this one.

4. Marvel Legends Infinite Series Rhino Build-A-Figure (Hasbro)

I’m not entirely sure I needed another Rhino action figure, I’m quite happy with the one from the Sinister 6 Toy Biz box set as well as the Marvel Select version, but this new one is still a very nice addition to my collection. The size, sculpt, and articulation on on this figure in particular are all great. The best part though is the head options. This is the first time that a Rhino with the half mask has been made, but the other head has an expression that just makes him look outright f***ing insane. I really like them both and wish I could display them at the same time.

3. Entertainment Earth Exclusive Marvel Legends Infinite Series Guardians of the Galaxy Comic Edition Star-Lord Action Figure (Hasbro)

As much as I like the movie version of Star-Lord’s costume (which has now made it’s way into the comics) I really like this costume a lot more. It reads more as a uniform and the helmet/mask is just damn cool. It really frustrated me that both versions of this figure in this particular costume were only available as part of exclusive sets. I was able to get this figure on its own on Ebay for about the price of a regular Marvel Legends figure, but now I kind of regret not just getting the full set.

This particular figure uses many of the same body parts that were also used for Ghost Rider and I think in both cases they look fantastic. In this case the hands with the trigger fingers out make a heck of a lot more sense. I really like the sculpt of the guns that Star-Lord comes with although I’m not crazy about the color. I just may have to paint them at some point. Other than that, this is an excellent addition to my Guardians of the Galaxy display.

2. Marvel Legends Infinite Series Scarlet Spider Action Figure (Hasbro)

I have no complaints about this figure at all. As far as I’m concerned, this is the perfect Scarlet Spider action figure. Considering I liked the Clone Saga more than most people, I’m very happy to have this to replace my old KB Toys Exclusive version. It’s really a whole lot of fun to pose alongside the other figures using this new Spider-Man body.

1. Marvel Legends Infinite Series Savage Force Chameleon Action Figure (Hasbro)

The Chameleon being in the number one spot may be a little odd, but it really comes down to a few different factors, chief among them being that it was the figure I was most excited about this month. Had I not encounter so many QC issues with other figures this month, this figure might not be in this coveted spot. This also happened to be the last figure I found from this series in order to complete the Rhino Build-A-Figure so it also had the thrill of the hunt going for it. As for the figure itself, it uses one of my favorite bodies that Marvel Legends has made, which is the suited body. I like it due its clean general look and it’s excellent articulation. It also happens to come with plenty accessories and best of all it’s really three figures in one!

This figure comes with three different heads that all swap out easily. The first head is obviously the Chameleon while the other two are meant to be disguises, in this case J. Jonah Jameson and Hammerhead, but there is no reason they can’t work as stand ins for those characters. As Chameleon I think the figure works perfectly from head to toe, as J.J.J. I think it works reasonably well although I always picture him wearing a black vest and a white dress shirt rather than a blue suit jacket, as for Hammerhead he’s not bad but I think he comes across as being a bit small and I usually picture him in a pinstriped suit. In all three cases this is the first time they are being represented in the Marvel Legends series. I am sure they are many people buying multiples of this figure just so they can have more than one of these characters in their displays.

Along with the three heads, this figure also comes with three different guns and a Build-A-Figure part. Personally I think they could have given this B-A-F part to either Misty Knight or White Tiger rather than them coming with duplicate parts, because I’m sure this figure would sell well even without a piece of Rhino. As for the the guns, they are all welcome additions to my 1/12 scale arsenal. The small laser pistol looking gun seems like exactly the type of weapon Chameleon would carry whereas the machine gun seems perfectly suited for Hammerhead. As for the last gun, Jameson isn’t much for packing heat so this one doesn’t really seem like something he would use, however it does seem like the perfect weapon for the Winter Soldier rather than the bizarre red gun he came with.

Overall, this is a really nice figure that has a bunch of display options and it may just tempt me to double dip. I truly wish that more figures from this series would come with multiple head options and a variety of accessories like this one does.

That's the list for this month. Below are a few more pictures of this month's toys.

-Brunpuppies

Click Here for last month's list

Full Marvel Legends Rhino series lineup.

All four player options for Super Mario Bros. 2.

World of Nintendo Mario (L) with S.H.Figuarts Mario (R)

Size comparison

Three of the most recent Spider-Characters.

A great reuse of body parts.

Three suited body types: Mattel WWE (L), Hasbro Marvel Legends (C), Mattel DC Movie Masters (R).

Toy Biz Sinister 6 Marvel Legends Set Rhino (L) and Hasbro Marvel Legends Infinite Series Rhino (R).

That's it for this month!

Sunday, May 8, 2016

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Friday, April 15, 2016

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Friday, December 11, 2015

Friday, December 4, 2015

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Friday, November 13, 2015

Friday, October 30, 2015

Friday, October 23, 2015

Friday, October 9, 2015

Friday, October 2, 2015

Friday, September 25, 2015

Friday, September 18, 2015

Friday, September 11, 2015

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

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