Demolition Gremlin 2-Pack (Gremlins 2)
Gremlins (Neca) - Ultimate Collection
Rated 4.85 stars by RMaster007
After the disappointment that was the Brain Gremlin, I wasn't really sure if I would pick up another New Batch figure, or in this case, two of them. Eh, it's a set I've been wanting for a while, and spoiler alert: these two are much, much, better. I really like the packaging for this set, as it's supposed to resemble a big crate, and it sort of fits with the theme. It's easy to take everything out and put back in afterwards, though there's a couple plastic ties and bits of tape to remove for that to happen. Most of the Gremlins looked the same in the first movie, but The New Batch gave them more varied appearances, and this set has two of the generic ones. The bodies are the same, but the colors and the heads are different. Compared to the green Gremlin, the brown one has a narrower...[See More]

Hudson
Gargoyles (Neca) - Ultimate
Rated 5.00 stars by RMaster007
The Gargoyles line by NECA has only a few figures so far, but it's proven to be a great line thanks to all the effort put into it, and I have a good feeling there'll be a ton of new releases next year. Recently, the line got another addition, which is the elderly Hudson. Since Thailog, the line's been using original artwork, and Hudson's is really nice. As the case is with any NECA release, the packaging is designed to be easy to open, and the removal of some tape and plastic ties is all you need to get everything out. Djordje Djokovic - who also helped out with the boxart - continues to sculpt the line with a mix of screen-accuracy and more details and realism than the cartoon had. Hudson has the two head options the other figures have: a neutral expression and a roaring expression....[See More]

Grimlock & Autobot Wheelie
Transformers - Studio Series (Hasbro) - Movie
Rated 4.80 stars by RMaster007
It's a good time to be a Transformers fan with all the different merch coming out, including a couple different sub-lines from Hasbro. One of those is the Studio Series, and while I've only gotten two from that line so far, both of them are really dang good. One of those is the mighty Dinobot leader Grimlock, and I'm not joking when I say he's my favorite one in my collection (well, second-favorite, I got that Masterpiece Shockwave). Grimlock comes in a window box, since this figure was released before Hasbro decided to push for plastic-free packaging. The figure and nearly everything else are shown clearly in the box, and there's some cool artwork to complement it. There's a few plastic ties to snip to get the figure out, but other than that, everything can be taken out easily. The...[See More]

Wolf Man (Color)
Universal Monsters (Neca) - Ultimate Collection
Rated 4.70 stars by RMaster007
Since Halloween is drawing near, I feel that there's no better time than any to review another Universal Monsters figure by NECA. I already loved the Frankenstein they put out, so after some time, I decided to pick up their second figure: the Wolfman. As the case is with most packages for Ultimate figures, the Wolfman's has the original poster art for the film on the front. The other sides have a nice collage of figure photographs. Like usual, the front is a panel that flaps open to show off what's inside. This is really useful if you're looking for the figure at retail, so you can find the one with the best paint applications. The Wolfman stands about 7 1/4" tall, and has not just one, but two sculptors. Trevor Grove is responsible for the head sculpts, and I assume Kyle Windrix did...[See More]

Raphael (Undercover)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Super7) - Ultimates!
Rated 4.75 stars by RMaster007
It didn't take long for Super7 to start integrating some of the deeper cuts of the TMNT line into their world of Ultimates. Scratch was the first of them, and now there's a couple other lesser-known characters and variants. One of those variants is Raphael from the "Undercover Turtles" subline from 1994, and they managed to get him complete and into customers' hands in under a year. I'm pretty sure the main reason it didn't take Super7 as long to produce him is because of all the reused tooling. This figure is 90% the same sculpt as the regular Raphael, with the main difference being the paint as I'll discuss below. The default head is a "modern" one, and it's almost the exact same as what they did with the previous Raphael, but the bandana tail hangs down instead of flowing to the side,...[See More]

Tokka and Rahzar
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Classic Cartoon (Neca) - Multi-Packs
Rated 4.80 stars by RMaster007
So this one's an interesting story… It's hitting Target now, but was available on the Costumes website when Haul-a-thon happened back in March. A handful of people got it, some for their collection, others to sell for hundreds of dollars cause they're scum. After a long while wondering when it'll see proper release, this set finally showed up in-store at Target, and it keeps up the trend of easy-to-find Turtle two-packs. The designs of Tokka and Rahzar in the cartoon seemed to be closer to the figures than the movie designs said figures were based off, so I guess these could be updated versions of the old figures? Anyways, Paul Harding is sculptor once more here, and their sculpts are spot-on to the show, though I did notice that compared to shots from the show, Tokka's face is quite...[See More]

Zach and Smash
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Classic Cartoon (Neca) - Multi-Packs
Rated 4.70 stars by RMaster007
NECA giving us not one, but two guys pretending to be Ninja Turtles? I'm pretty sure they're trying to tell us something… Zach was one of those characters that were created specifically for the original cartoon, and he also represented what kids wanted to be: a turtle. I've been wanting the "fifth turtle" in the line for a while now, and now my wish has been realized. Paul Harding provided the sculpt for him, and he looks dead-on to the show. I imagine it wasn't easy to get that hairstyle right in three dimensions. Two different head sculpts are included for him: one with the mask and headband, and one without. The paint is very clean, with no bleed at all, though there is one issue that I want to go over. Zach stands around 5" tall, making him a pretty big kid. There's plenty of...[See More]

Slash
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Super7) - Ultimates!
Rated 5.00 stars by RMaster007
It's been a good while since we've last got some of Super7's TMNT Ultimates in-hand, and the wait was a lot longer than we thought. Wave 5 was supposed to be out back in March, but we all know how delayed S7 products can get. That wave has already gotten in some reviewers' hands, and should be hitting customers and retailers very soon, but the first new release actually comes from wave 6, and it's my most anticipated release from the line: Slash. Super7 continues to use the same packaging for their Ultimates; a trapezoidal window box with a slipcover. It looks pretty nice thanks to all the unique graphics, and it's not hard to get everything out of it. Slash gets a larger box than usual, just like Muckman, so try to make room for it. I'm fairly certain Four Horsemen are still doing the...[See More]

Tale of Usagi Yojimbo
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Classic Cartoon (Neca) - Basic Series
Rated 4.90 stars by RMaster007
The world of indie comics have given us many different icons, including the rabbit swordsman Miyamoto Usagi. While he's the star of Stan Sakai's long-running Usagi Yojimbo comic, he's best known for his crossovers with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, including comics, cartoons, and action figures. Since one of those cartoons was the original 80's one, that means you-know-who gets to make a figure of him. NECA continues to give us great artwork with these releases, harkening back to the days of the F.H.E. video tapes. As per usual, the front is a "fifth panel" that flips open to show off what the figure and all it's accessories look like. Unfortunately, they're held in by those annoying plastic ties, something I wish they'd stop using. The sculpt for Usagi was done by Paul Harding, the...[See More]

Cobra B.A.T.
G.I. Joe (Super7) - Ultimates
Rated 4.65 stars by RMaster007
If there's one line of figures I'm excited to be getting soon, it's Super7's G.I. Joe Ultimates. Yeah, Hasbro's ongoing Classified Collection is cheaper and nicer, but I think we can all agree getting figures based directly off the original cartoon is awesome. The first wave of Ultimates won't be out for another month or so as far as I'm concerned, but until then, we got our first released figure during SDCC. It's one of COBRA's Battle Android Troopers, or B.A.T.s, with its comic design rather than the cartoon one. The packaging is standard Ultimates; a trapezoidal box with a slip cover. The slip cover invokes a metallic look, with rivets and peeling paint. The package underneath has a character bio and some nice graphics on the back, and is attractive overall. Surprisingly, there's no...[See More]