Ultimate Foot Ninja
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Mirage Comics (Neca) - Basic Series
Rated 4.75 stars by RMaster007
The Foot Clan, countless numbers of faceless goons who live to serve the Shredder and do his bidding… and they make darn good toys as well. NECA has done a handful of Foot members across different incarnations of the TMNT franchise, and the latest comes from the Mirage comics that started it all. The packaging is similar to what the Mirage line usually gets, except since this is an "Ultimate" release, there's a front flap attached to it. The flap gets some great artwork by Kevin Eastman, and the reverse side of it gives us plenty of shots of the figure. Other than that, it's all the same, including a couple of annoying plastic ties to cut out. The Foot Ninja recycles the mold used for the first version made back in the late 2000s by Four Horsemen (but not released until 2016), but with...[See More]

Godzilla (Godzilla vs Biollante)
Godzilla (Super7) - Ultimates
Rated 4.10 stars by RMaster007
We all know him, the undisputed king of the monsters. Godzilla has been around since the 1950's, and has been a global phenomenon ever since. It's no surprise that he's gotten plenty of figures, with some of the latest being Super7's Ultimates. The first wave's been out for a while now, and it's focused on the Heisei-era Godzilla vs. Biollante. The packaging is a lot deeper than usual for Ultimates, due to the size of the character. The slip cover bears Japanese text on the front and English on the back, and the Godzilla-skin-like texture is a nice touch. The box underneath has simple but nice graphics, though I wish the bio on the back was character-specific rather than generic text I'm certain Super7 copied from somewhere. There's a few ties holding in the figure, but you can get those...[See More]

Prowl (Animated)
Transformers - Legacy - Evolution (Hasbro) - Deluxe Class
Rated 4.00 stars by RMaster007
While I haven't consumed a whole lot of Transformers media, I will say the late-2000s "Animated" series by Cartoon Network is my favorite. The unique characterizations, great writing and art style, and noteworthy voice cast hit all the marks for me, and getting a more screen-accurate than usual toyline certainly helped. When news came out that it would become a part of the current Legacy line, I was hyped, and even more by the fact that my favorite character, Prowl, would be the first one. When transitioning from just Legacy to Legacy "Evolution", the packaging colors went from purple to blue. The graphics and illustrations look great, and it's easy to get the figure freed up using some scissors. Yes, it's the plastic-free packaging Hasbro likes doing, but with some of their products...[See More]

Battle Armor S.N.A.K.E.
G.I. Joe (Super7) - Super Cyborg
Rated 3.75 stars by RMaster007
Although ReAction and Ultimates are what Super7's most known for, they've done a few other kinds of toys. There's their "supersize" vinyl figures, their Shogun Warriors tributes, known as Super Shogun, and their Super Cyborg line, dedicated to producing large-scale figures of robots and mechs (and for some reason, the Creature from the Black Lagoon). The latest Cyborg release, as well as my first one, comes from none other than G.I. Joe. Specifically, it's the S.N.A.K.E. Armor, based heavily off the original toy. The box for this thing is massive, which is fitting given the figure is equally large. The graphics are simple, but are based off the old Joe toy card/box art. There's a bio for the armor on the side, and the back provides an X-ray view of the figure. What I don't like about the...[See More]

Broadway
Gargoyles (Neca) - Ultimate
Rated 4.80 stars by RMaster007
Yes, in the midst of all the Turtle product NECA's putting out, we're still getting plenty of Gargoyles figures. One of the recent releases brings us closer to completing the Manhattan Clan with Broadway. He hasn't been too common to find in brick-and-mortar stores, my preferred method of getting figures, but Walmart was kind to me. As usual, we get some great, original box art for this line, featuring Broadway menacingly swooping over the streets of Manhattan. There's plenty of shots of the figure itself, but I wish they'd give each character a bio on the back rather than the same generic text. There's a few of those plastic ties to remove, but aside from those, you won't have much trouble getting the figure out. Like Brooklyn, Broadway isn't as human-like in his facial features as...[See More]

Grunt and Jersey Red
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Classic Cartoon (Neca) - Multi-Packs
Rated 4.70 stars by RMaster007
Guess this means I can finally say the gang's all here. Grunt was among Bebop and Rocksteady's gang that was only present for the first season of the original cartoon, and his name is Grunt; they didn't have to change it to avoid coming into conflict with Disney like they did with Dopey and Dumbo. Grunt looks almost like someone out of Mad Max or something similar, with nothing but a harness covering his torso, a gray belt, metal wristcuffs and (presumably) kneepads, and a big mohawk. He's also pretty muscular, but not to the degree B&R would become after being mutated. Anyways, the sculpt for Grunt's figure was provided by Eric Barnett, and stands around 6 3/4" tall. He looks accurate to the show, and almost everything with painted "outlines" are sculpted as well, so he's not a flat...[See More]

King Arthur
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (Diamond Select) - Series One
Rated 3.55 stars by RMaster007
I believe almost everyone has heard of and/or been exposed to Monty Python at least once. The British comedy troupe is known for a couple things, but what they're most recognized for is their film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, a tour de farce of gags set in the Middle Ages. The film's popularity has led to plenty of merchandise, but surprisingly not a lot of figures. Sideshow did a ton of characters in 1/6 scale in the early 2000s, but Diamond Select also took a shot at it with a few figures in a smaller scale. How few? Only three got released. The packaging is a big cardback with graphics related to the film, along with a cross-sell and text about the film and figures on the back. It's quite simple, really, but it looks nice, and I didn't have too much trouble getting everything out...[See More]

TMNT III Samurai 4-Pack
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - 1990 Movie (Neca) - Exclusives
Rated 4.80 stars by RMaster007
After doing plenty of figures from the first two Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies, it was inevitable NECA do the third movie next. Granted, it's considered the weakest of the New Line trilogy, and I agree, but I'd be lying if I didn't say it was a guilty pleasure. I was more than happy to hear the "samurai" turtles would be getting a four-pack, and I made sure to pre-order mine from NECA directly once the chance arrived. The packaging is much like the past movie four-packs, recreating the VHS box art with the included figures. That part's a slip cover over the open-window box underneath, and it gives you a good view of what's inside, along with neat interior art and plenty of photos on the back of both it and the cover. There's a bit of tape and plastic strips to remove, but it's all...[See More]

Megatron
Transformers (Super7) - Ultimate
Rated 3.70 stars by RMaster007
It's been a good long while since we got the first wave of Super7's Transformers Ultimates, and after waiting what seemed like forever, the second wave is finally showing, albeit through Big Bad Toy Store first. The big player of this wave is Megatron, who I picked up as soon as I saw he was in-stock. Like with wave one, the sculpt for Megatron is done by Four Horsemen, Super7's usual go-to for Ultimates. S7 doesn't bother to credit them or anyone specific for these figures, so you wouldn't know unless you looked at the Horsemen's site. Anyways, Megatron's head sculpt is spot-on to how he looked in the G1 cartoon, sporting his usual expression showing how displeased he is with you. There's two other heads sporting a sinister laughing expression, one with a weird helmet, and the other...[See More]

Radiation Ranger
Toxic Crusaders (Super7) - Ultimate
Rated 4.75 stars by RMaster007
Every villain needs henchmen, nameless mooks who do all the dirty work for you. It's especially good if they're robots, since they can create tons of them to send out and get thrashed. Shredder had his Foot Soldiers, COBRA had their B.A.T.s, and Dr. Killemoff had these guys. As with any good robotic hench, the Radiation Ranger's face is never shown, and if it was, it'd be all metal and circuitry. Super7 chose to recreate the Ranger's toy design, rather than its cartoon design like Toxie. They're wearing a gas mask connected to a life support backpack and whatever that thing on their chest is. The connecting wires are made out of a soft, rubbery material, and pop in and out easily. The backpack is separate from them in the box, but it pops into the two holes on the shoulders easily....[See More]