It's been a slow year for 4" (1/18) and what little product is out in the market right now doesn't really interest me. I got the second wave of Marvel's Infinite series a few months back but never really paid much attention to the figures. Maybe it's because of the lineup - mostly obscure characters from all over. Whirlwind from the '80s, Eric Masterson Thor (Thunderstrike) from the '90s, and Red She HUlk from the 2000's. Oh and Death's Head from Marvel UK.



Or maybe it's because despite having new molds with improved articulation available to Hasbro, all figures except Red Shulkie use the old bodies from the Marvel Universe days. Whirlwind has the old standard body, Thunderstrike uses the old Thor body with Beta Ray Bill shins, and Death's Head uses Colossus' body. Red Shulkie may use the new female large body, but we all know that this new body has just the same hip problems as the old female body.



And even though Red She Hulk uses the new female body, the figure is a complete repaint of green She Hulk. Not even a new head. At least Thor gets a new head. Whirlwind gets a new head, new armor, and new gauntlets.



Maybe all of Habro's budget went into producing Death's Head's new parts? Death's Head comes with a new head, new chest with cape (unfortunately not glued down onto the body), new shins with spikes, new weapons, specifically the axe and mace that can either be hand-held or can be plugged into the figure's wrists to replace the hands. Oh and Death's Head also gets a new shield that clips onto the figure's arm or onto the back while holding both the axe and mace!



So, is this wave worth getting? I really do not recommend it.



- JM

Disclaimer: I haven't played through Arkham City or Arkham Origins yet. I've only recently finished Arkham Asylum and I'm just getting started with Arkham City.



But based on screen caps floating around the Internet, this figure seems to be a fairly accurate representation of Victor Fries from the game. As expected from Mattel, the sculpt is not as sharp as those from other toylines so some amount of detail is lost.



Also, although the paint is again, fairly accurate, there are some missing paint applications such as the blue hoses around the abdominal area, the blue rings around the back canisters, and the two lights on top of the helmet.



I've read people complaining about the scale of this figure, but it seems to work fine among other DC Multiverse figures. One has to realize that other lines like Hasbro's Marvel and Joe figures have been slowly growing in height over the past several years, while other DC figures like DC Collectibles' Green Lanterns and Injustice figures seem to stick to the smaller side of the spectrum.



I really want to like this figure but something's just not right about it. Sure, it's large and imposing, just as Freeze should be, it has this bulky suit of armor and that bubble helmet characteristic of Freeze, the figure even comes with a freeze ray! But somehow, just like the other DC Multiverse figures, it just doesn't feel right.



- JM

After looking at Mattel's take on a videgame Batman, we now look at DC Collectib;e's take on another videogame Batman. For DC characters in the 6" scale, collectors have had the choice of either Mattel's mass-produced toys, or DC Collectibles' more statuesque figures. While Mattel has held the license for DC in the 3.75" scale for the past several years, DC Collectibles recently jumped into the fray with their Convention-exclusive line of Green Lanterns and has followed up with their Injustice: Gods Among Us line of figures based on the popular videogame of the same name.



Among all the Injustice two-packs, this is the only set that actually makes any sense: it pairs long-time arch-enemies Batman and Joker together. Other sets had Catwoman and Doomsday, Superman and Nightwing (a character who doesn't even actually appear in the story), Cyborg and Harley, just to name a few.



Batman here is based on Insurgency Batman.... no wait, Regime Batman... uhm... wait, both Batmen were part of the Insurgency... as far as I can tell, this is the Batman from OUR Earth and not from the Earth where Superman went crazy.



As with all of DC Collectibles' Injustice figures, Batman is sculpted with screen-accurate details: all the panel lines that seem to define the Injustice designs are present. The figure still has the brittle transparent ball-and-stick joints that wereused on the Green Lantern figures but somehow none of my INjustice figures have broken... so far.



Joker is based on the Insurgency Joker... wait, there's only one Joker in the game since evil Superman killed his world's Joker during the opening cinematic. Again, the sculpting on Joker is fantastic, with even crisper details than on Batman.



Joker is one of the few Injustice figures who comes with an accessory, specifically his rocket launcher with painted smiley face on the tube. BAtman unfortunately doesn't come with anything, not even a batarang.



Joker's design in the game is generic enough to be used as Joker from any other universe so this figure can be used alongside other toylines. Batman, on the other hand is very specific to this game and I've heard alot of complaints about this design. Personally it reminds me more of Owlman from the Crisis on Inifinite Earths animated movie than Batman.



This is probably the last two-pack we'll be getting of Injustice figures and it's a good thing that DC Collectibles decided to release this set tha last since most of the others didn't really generate much interest due to the pairings of characters.

- JM

Yes, it's a bad game. I stopped playing after encountering the first Alien in the game. But that didn't stop Hiya Toys (formerly Tieka Toys) from producing some kick ass 1/18scale Xenomorphs!



These figures came out in two waves, the first two Aliens that were released were the "basic" Soldier and Lurker while the more "specialized" Spitter and Boiler came out later.



Now for the inevitable comparison to Hot Toys' snap kits: The Lurker is basically the drone or the dome-headed creature that appears in all films with the word "Alien" (without the S) in the title while the Soldier is the warrior or the spikey headed creature that appears in all films with the word "Aliens" (with the S) in the title. Since the first AVP film has the dome heads, then the Lurker is basically the same creature as the one portrayed by Hot Toys' snap kits from that movie. Also, the Soldier, with the spikey head, must be the same creature as the one from Hot Toy's second line of Aliens based snap kits.



The new figures are generally the same size as the old snap kits. Any discrepancies in height can be attributed to posture. Remember that for the first two films, the creatures were played by a guy in a suit so they walked flat on their feet. Starting with Alien³, the CGI Xenomorphs could now walk on their toes and had reverse jointed legs.



THe old Hot Toys snap kits were dry-brushed and had a flat finish to them. These new figures are painted with a gloss coat giving them a slimy appearance. This is something to watch out for as the gloss coat means having caked paint mucking up the joints.



Just like the old Kenner toys, each Xenomorph comes with a facehugger! And that's not all! Each one also comes with an egg with the lips in closed (Soldier and Spitter) or with the lips opened (Lurker and Boiler). And each also comes with a stand made to resemble a metal grate (the floor of the Sulaco or the Nostromo)!



But these toys aren't without their flaws. They are just as fragile as their old snap kit counterparts. Right now I already have two out of four figures with broken joints. The pseudo-ball joints used have very thin pegs and tend to get stuck with the glossy paint.



Should that stop you from buying them? Hell no!



- JM

So... with all these new (and old) 1:18 Xenomorphs running around, I needed to find myself a 1:18 Queen!



Obviously, the new license holder of the Aliens, Hiya Toys has only four Xenomorphs out right now and no Queen. The previous three 1:18 manufacturers, McFarlane, Hot Toys and Takara Tomy all had Queens in their respective lines but they all had their problems: McFarlane's Queen was nothing more than a statue and was based on the AVP Queen with the spiny crest. Hot Toys' Queen, was poseable but was also based on the spikey AVP Queen, and Hot Toys' snap kits are notoriously fragile. And then there's the Microman Queen. Still based on the spikey AVP Queen. But this figure is just slightly larger than a normal Microman figure. In fact it even came with a tiny Predator figure (similar to the tiny Antman and Wasp figures from Marvel Universe). Now the first two Queens would have been the perfect 1:18 size if they had been the Queen from the 1986 film Aliens. Remember that in AVP, the Queen was huge, and a Predator would only come up below knee level if standing side by side with the AVP Queen. And the AVP Predators were HUGE.



Enter Revoltech. Revlotech has recently started producing Aliens in their Sci Fi line and as part of the 35th anniversary of the 1979 Alien film. Now, Revoltech figures are approximately 5" in scale. I know alot of people use Revoltech Aliens alongside Joes but they're just too large for my taste. Since Revoltech also produced a Queen, I thought it might be just the right size.



So I tracked one down. The box was only slightly larger than the other Revoltech boxes in the store. Hmmm... Bought it anyway. During the drive home, I kept thinking about how Kaiyodo fit an Alien Queen into the small box. Traffic light... I lifted the Velcro-fastened front flap... It was a Queen, allright, but it was... small. As soon as I got home, a quick look at the packaging revealed that the figure was only 320mm (the largest Revoltech to date). I took the Queen out of the box, attached the arm and leg and posed it. Now, it can hold the basic pose without falling over, but the slightest movement will cause it to topple over. Any other pose will also cause it to topple over. Hmm... just like the snap kits and Hiya figures I'm gonna use it with. So that's what the transparent pole is for!



So, what makes this Queen so special? The 32 points of articulation using 25 Revoltech joints (which is nothing more than a fancy detachable hinged-peg joint, similar to the pseudo-ball joints you see on Hasbro Marvel figures). OK. But those joints stick out like sore thumbs on every joint. They disrupt the continuity of the figure. Especially at the hips. It's like the entire figure was sculpted by Watanabe Yuki then chopped up by Kaiyodo to insert Revoltech joints all over. Notice the gaps in between the shoulders and hips where the limbs are supposed to connect to the body? And then there are the 4mm Revoltech joints used on each of the rays of the Queen's wing remnants (yes, those are wing remnants) they're so tiny, that I feel like I'm gonna break them every time I touch them. I don't even see the need to pose each ray individually since they're all so close to one another.



Another thing I noticed about the Queen is that it's made of translucent PVC. Brown translucent plastic. Painted with glossy metallic midnight blue paint. Sticky glossy metallic midnight bluepaint which got stuck in the plastic tray while in the box and caused it to chip off. Why are all of Kaiyodo's Aliens made out of this see-through material???



So I set the new Queen up alongside my snap kits and Hiya figures. Immediately I noticed she was too small. A human should come up around mid-thigh of Stan Winston's Queen. Joe figures came up to about hip level of the Revoltech Queen. Hiya Aliens and snap kit Aliens and Predators are even taller.



At the end of the day, I still think that the old Kenner Queen (from the playset, not the carded one) is still the most screen-accurate, and in-scale to our 1:18 figures.



- JM

This figure is Batman as he will appear in the upcoming videogame Arkham Knight. Like most people , I actually thought the armored suit that appeared in the first photos and trailers would be Batman. It was only after I saw this figure that I found out that the Arkham Knight was the bad guy of the game!



This particular Batsuit is VERY similar to the Batsuit from Arkham Origins, which doesn't make alot of sense since Origins is a prequel to the entire series, taking place about 5 years before the first game (Arkham Asylum). If anything, the design evolution of this armored Batsuit should actually follow the armored Batsuit from Arkham City. But it doesn't. Instead of the silver anatomical armor plates, this Batsuit has gray pads on the upper body only just like the Origins Batsuit.



But right from the bat, (pun intended) this figure is much much better than the previous Batman figures that came before it. Gone are Mattel's Infinite Heroes wide bodies and stubby limbs. The armor pads are sculpted, not just painted. The textures of the black suit underneath, the fabric suit, and the armor pads are all scultped differently. In fact, the fabric cape has two different textures! leather on the outside, and cloth on the inside! Even the seams from the cowl to toe are all sculpted with crisp detail!



Whereas the previous figures in the line had missing paint applications, this figure has all the different paint applications present. The irises of the eyes may be just plain black dots unlike the blue and black of the first two Batman figures but this time, those dots are centered and give Batman a very sharp and determined stare.



Unfortunately, the figure isn't without it's flaws. And just like it's predecessors, it lies in the articulation: htese figures desperately need swivel biceps or swivel elbows!!! Also, the head sits too far back on the neck, limiting downward movement of the head... wait, are these supposed to be ball joints on the necks? My figure is stuck looking upwards.



Despite those two minor flaws, this figure is still the BEST DC Multiverse figure out right now and possibly the BEST Batman figure in this scale.



- JM

thanks for all the reviews and photos! Even if new product is light at retail, it's still nice to see this kind of in-depth review.

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[attachment=-1]uploadfromtaptalk1430722851786.jpg[/attachment]

1:18 Hulkbuster!!!

Full review as soon as I finish taking photos.

-JM

Sent from my SM-T531 using Tapatalk

Nice! Can't wait for that.

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Sweet! I ordered one a few weeks ago from China and it's supposed to be here soonish. I'm happy that it looks good with 1:18 figs.

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I ordered one of the metallic versions, and got it last week.
It's pretty cool.
Not a ton of articulation, but enough for me, for display purposes.

I was a little disappointed about neither hand being a fist, but they feel like they are soft enough plastic that I may be able to do something about that.

Also thinking about clearing out the stuff under the helmet to add a 5-poa Iron Man figure to the cockpit.

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Tony Stark is always thinking ahead about how best to protect Earth. One of the dangers that has preoccupied him for

years is the one posed by the Hulk. Stark built the Hulkbuster Iron Man armor, an immensely powerful suit designed

specifically to take down the Hulk and prevent him from threatening the planet.



Ever since the first screen caps of Age of Ultron were leaked to the public, every toy collector wanted a figure of that

Hulkbuster. Unfortunately for us 1:18 collectors, Hasbro only produced the oversized Titan Hero Hulkbuster, the tiny 2.5"

Hulkbuster, and the Legends BAF Hulkbuster.




Fortunately for us 1:18 collectors, a Chinese manufacturer has stepped up to the plate. Now right off, let me tell you

this thing is a lawsuit waiting to happen: the packaging is a blister card with the Avengers: Age of Ultron logo and

graphics all over. It doesn't even try to avoid the copyright infringement by using Engrish like those bootleg Transformers. Even the bubble is embossed with the (A) logo!






Now some of you might be getting this figure not carded, but bagged. So on to the figure itself. The figure stands about 6 inches, perfect for Marvel Universe if we go by the height comparison images floating around the Internet. The figure is made of hard (but not brittle) plastic of old toys as opposed to the soft rubbery plastic Hasbro uses these days. The sculpt is so accurate, I wouldn't be surprised if it was copied from an actual licensed product.




The figure has peg joints for the shoulders, elbows, knees, and ball&socket hips. No rotating wrists or waist. But seriously, nobody needs an acrobatic Hulkbuster. Hulkbusters are just meant to stand around your toy display and look menacing.




Now there are two versions of this figure out there: one has metallic paint like what Hasbro does with the old Iron Man figures and the other version is the one I have, which uses that swirly metallic plastic like that used on the Iron Man Assemblers. I personally haven't seen the metallic/candytone version but I'm pretty satisfied with this version I have right now. It blends in quite nicely with the rest of my Iron Man Armory.








As with most Chinese bootlegs, this figure has an LED right smack in the middle. But unlike the other Avenger bootlegs, the LED here actually makes sense: it's the ARC reactor! Push an unobstrusive little button on the small of the figure's back and the RT light up! Unibeam!






As you can probably tell by now, this is no ordinary bootleg. The quality is better than other bootlegs out there. And it's because of this that I think Hasbro's gonna pull the plug very soon on this one, so better get yours before the Cease and Desist order comes along.














- JM

Nice! Where do you get these from?

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Nice indeed. But I can't help realizing that having to rely on Chinese license-jumpers to get a figure of the coolest guy in the #1 movie of the year is an indicator of how pathetically lame Hasbro has become.

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$15 shipped. Sold!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Marvel-Avengers ... 1339065702

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