Action Figure Review: Persistence from IAmElemental by Rebel Elements

     Today I'm looking at Persistence, the sixth figure in the first series of IAmElemental
 I've been spending a lot of time reviewing the IAmElemental line but if you're unfamiliar with it, then check out this review where I discuss in detail this cool new line that launched on Kickstarter in early 2014. There is a lot of reuse in these figures, so these last few reviews are a bit more brief (go on and all of them if you want the full scoop). These figures come packaged in blind bagged style bags but they have a checklist on the back with the figure inside marked (with a marker, actually) so you know who you're getting. I'm not sure if these will be marked this way at retail, but it certainly seems like a good idea. Persistence's bio card says: "Persistence finishes what she starts and persists in spite of obstacles. She has the ability to push through any obstacle with super strength." Ready to keep on keeping on with Persistence? Then join me after the break...

The Facts:
Height: 4 1/4 inches tall

Articulation: Swivel/hinge knees, ball jointed hips, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel/hinged elbows, and a ball jointed head.

Accessories: Removable backpack,Enthusiasm elemental shield, two collectible cards, and a drawstring storage bag.

The Positives:

   *I'll simply say again that the overall presentation of these figures is rather nice. I'm extremely pleased by the quality of the articulation and the durability of the figure. These figures are really well made and just have a great vibe about them. Persistences's blue cape and outfit highlights definitely set her apart from the other figures in the set, but they still all have a very cool look when the team is assembled.

*Each figure is loaded with extras. They're not all traditional accessories, but they are some cool little extras. Persistence comes with the line's standard collectible cards, elemental shield, and drawstring bag but she also comes with her own unique cape that fits over her head. This is a cool extra that really changes the look of the figure. Persistence perhaps has the most traditional superhero vibe of any figure in the line.

The Negatives:

* I've really liked the headsculpts on all the figures I've reviewed so far and while I'm not disappointed in this one, it just doesn't stand out as much to me. Maybe it's more due to my feelings that the deep magenta skin clashes with the light elements of her outfit. I actually like her better without the cape.

*While they're easy to pose, they are a little tough to stand. I really wish these figures had some peg holes in their feet. I've actually been using her shield to stand her on the shelf. It doesn't work perfectly, but it's better than nothing.

* This is more of a critique of the line overall, but I do wish that there were a few different body types in this first series. I know molds and tooling are expensive, so I expect we'll see some in a second series, but it would have been nice to give these figures a bit more variety, particularly when they're all so similar in their color scheme. Part of the philosophy of this line is to create action figures that convey a healthy body image (very few people have the same body as She-Hulk, Power Girl, or Superman), so it'd be appreciated to see figures with different body sizes.

 IAmElemental is a still a very cool line although I'm not as thrilled with Persistence's color scheme as I am with the other series one figures. I don't dislike this figure; she just seems less exciting than most of the other. I'm giving a Persistence a Good and a 1/2 rating. She's still a well done toy and perhaps your thoughts on the color scheme might make you interested in this powerful hero.






Remember to check out IAmElemental's website and my IAmElemental series overview here, along with other cool Kickstarter toys I've reviewed:

Courage Red Honesty
Bravery
Energy
Honesty
Industry
Enthusiasm


1/18th Scale Weapons by Marauders, Inc.Series #7 Part 1


Grabit Robot Multipurpose Holder by Trinkits
Grabit (Green)


Legendary Monsters by Nevermore Toys
Momo, The Missouri Monster


OMFG! by October Toys
OMFG Series 3 (Barbarianaut, Pugnacious, Dr. Decay, Fruit Punch, and TenCan)


S.U.C.K.L.E. by DKE Toys
Series 1 + Kickstarter Exclusives

Action Figure Review: Spawn of Cthulhu from Legends of Cthulhu by Warpo

     After reviewing both the Cultist and the Kickstarter exclusive High Priest, it's finally time to give the main man a once over. Well, it turns out that this isn't actually Cthulhu; it's a Spawn of Cthulhu. An over sized Cthulhu was a stretch goal for the Kickstarter campaign that never came to fruition then but that will hopefully be available at some point in the future. For now though, you've got one of Cthulhu's youngins to look after. Or just a very small Cthulhu, if you want. Anyways, let's just get on to the toy because he's pretty grand. More of this green monstrosity after the break...

The Facts:
Height: 4 inches

Articulation: Swivel hips, swivel shoulders, and a swivel neck.

Accessories: Removable wings and Necronomicon.

The Positives:

* Everything about this figure feels very solid. He stands easily and feels like a durable toy built for hours of play. For being a small figure (four inches) he has some nice heft to him. The grabbing and grasping hand poses are nice for a figure that doesn't really need to hold anything.

*The sculpt is amazing! I love all of the lumpy, bumpy, veiny details covering this entire sculpt. While this guy looks and feels like a retro toy he feels more like something from Knickerbocker's Lord of the Rings line rather than a Kenner figure. He stands out in a big way from many other vintage styled toys.

*Warpo did a really nice job on the paint work. The mixture of green and yellow really makes this guy pop out from the other figures in the line. It's a nice look that's pairs with the sculpt to make this guy instantly recognizable as Cthulhu (or a Cthulhu minion). I'm also a sucker for the sunken, beady red eyes. Eerie!

*The removable wings are a nice touch. If you want to army build this gives you the option of winged and wingless Cthulhu minions. The wings easily plug into the back and stay put rather securely. They're made from a rubbery material that is quite fitting for wings.

*The Necronomicon, written by the Mad Arab Abdul Alhazred, is a powerful magic tome filled with information on summoning the Great Old Ones including Cthulhu himself! This is a cool sculpt. It's a fairly nice sized little grimoire that features a latch to keep the book from accidentally opening and some tentacles decorating the cover. This is definitely my favorite accessory in the line!

* I've mentioned the beautiful packaging all of my reviews for this line so far, but I haven't shown it yet, so here it is! It's rather lovely front and back.

The Negatives:

* I have none. This is an extraordinarily executed figure. Unless you just don't like this style of action figure I can't think of anything that I thought should have been better.

     Seeing as I have no complaints about this figure I'm quite content with giving him an Epic rating. He's quite fun and rather incredible. While I hope to own the oversized Cthulhu that Warpo has teased a few times since the Kickstarter campaign originally launched, this Cthulhu spawn is a great Cthulhu figure on it's own. It's just so fun and creepy that I don't see how anyone couldn't love it. You know, unless they grow anxious at the though of slowly losing their sanity...





I've reviewed two other figures from this line so far: The Cultist and the High Priest!


I'll be reviewing Conjured Cthulhu, Professor, and Deep One in the next few days, so keep checking back!

Spotted: Bootleg Mattel Movie Masters Man of Steel

I did not see this coming, but with the recent craze over Man of Steel, it was likely a sure shot that bootlegged toys of the Man of Steel action figures would hit the flea markets. When Marvel's Avengers became a big hit, bootlegged toys of the Avengers flooded the Market. I purchased a set of that just to see the workmanship of the bootlegged toys. My entry about that can be viewed here. When Iron Man 3 was released, there were also tons of bootlegged action figures based from the molds of the Iron Man 3 toy line. I skipped that though. As for Man of Steel, all I have now are stock photos of the bootlegged figures courtesy of Jeffrey Velasquez. But I will be doing a proper review of these once I get my hands on them.

Bootlegged Movie Masters Man of Steel Superman

Front

Back

The Authentic Movie Masters Man of Steel Superman

The photos of the Bootlegged Superman figure gives us brighter colors of the Man of Steel Superman costume. Personally, they look good as they closely resemble the comic book colors of Superman's costume. But I highly doubt if those colors would fit with the Man of Steel movie's direction. Man of Steel gave us a Superman in a much darker world, the movie's costume's color tone complemented that world nicely. I believe the bootlegged Superman figure also comes with lesser points of articulation. Recent bootlegged toys like that of the Avengers featured almost an exact mold of the original figure they patterned it from but lesser in articulation. As seen from the photo above, the bootlegged one does not feature ankle joints. And I highly suspect that the shoulders and hips articulation would be moved sideways. Bootleggers usually replaces them with a more traditional swivel articulation. I also think that the bootlegged one won't be having any swivel wrists, swivel biceps, and swivel thighs. I would be doing a more proper review of the figures once I get my hands on them though. Most probably side by side with the originals. As for my Action Figure review of the Original Movie Masters Man of Steel Superman, you can view it here.    

 Bootlegged Movie Masters Man of Steel Black Suit Superman

Front

Back

Press photo of the Black Suit Superman

In the Man of Steel Movie, there was a dream sequence where Superman wore an almost similar black suit with that of General Zod as Zod was trying to convince Superman to join him in recreating Krypton on Earth. Mattel initially had denied that there was a variant Movie Masters Man of Steel Superman action figure featuring Superman in a black suit with red heat vision eyes. But just recently, Mattel made this variant available through their website. But of course the bootleggers beat them to it by releasing their own version as pictured above. Whoever was the brains behind these bootlegged Man of Steel figures, I've got to commend them for their creativity in milking the potential for repaints (something that Mattel is also giving us as a fourth variation of the figure) Mattel has already released four variation of the Superman figure, with the first two differentiating on the accessories department (the second release came with a Kryptonian Command Key), while the third one came as an SDCC exclusive as a two pack with Zod and featured a cloth cape and a light up heat vision. The fourth (and I hope the final variation) is a straight repaint of the original figure but comes with a new head sculpt. If I'm not mistaken, the head sculpt features an evil look and red eyes. The bootlegged one on the other hand reuses the same head sculpt of that of the original one and gave him red eyes. I have an inkling that the bootlegged one would have a light up eyes gimmick as bootlegged toys always had this trademark light up gimmick. I could be wrong though but the bootleggers better not mess up the potential of this bootlegged version of the black suit Superman.          

Bootlegged Movie Masters Man of Steel General Zod

Front

Back

Press Photo of the Movie Masters General Zod

I skipped on getting the Movie Masters Man of Steel Non-Armored General Zod when I found out that there would be an Armored General Zod action figure up for release in Wave 2. To this day, I still held on my pockets and not purchase one because I think the figure is too bland for it's price. And like Superman, Zod also came in four variants with the first one being the blandest. The second variant came with a shackles accessory and featured a scar on Zod's face. The third one was the armored version (reviewed here) and the final one being the one in the SDCC two pack that featured the armored Zod's head sculpt on the armor less body. The bootlegged one on the other hand is a fail as it uses Superman's body bearing Zod's head. The bootleggers must have missed Zod's insignia and thought that since the bodies are made of the same mold, they must have been one and the same. So it ends up being brilliant in a crazy kind of way as this bootlegged Zod would mean that he is a part of Jor El and Superman's family because of the House of El symbol on his chest. Also, upon closer look at the head sculpt, the bootleggers also might have made use of the head sculpt that had a scar. I'll try to verify this once I get may hands on these figures. I believe these bootlegged figures will be a great fodder for customizers. There were remarks from Marvel fans that the Movie Masters Superman action figure's head sculpt (Superman star Henry Cavill) had an uncanny resemblance to Mark Ruffalo, who played Dr Bruce Banner/Hulk in the Avengers Movie. So it's safe to expect that Bruce Banner customs will come aplenty once these bootlegged Superman action figures hits the flea markets.          

My Movie Masters Man of Steel collection thus far

Nothing still beats the originals though. But these bootleg action figures are a quirky way to explore how far a popularity of a toy line gets you.

Iron Man (Revoltech)

Revoltech Iron Man (Mark III)

Yyup, that thing lights up! That's no photoshop or camera trickery. Good thing that the instructional manual that comes with this Mark III Iron Man got some pictures in it on how to play with it especially with that "light thingy" there, or else it would probably take me awhile to figure out how to switch that on and off looking at all these words written in Japanese. This is the first Asian-based action figure I have and I actually have to purchase him online. Got some great respect for Revoltech; they did an amazing job creating this Iron Man figure- this is probably the most playable and well designed Iron Man figure I have ever seen.















Now lets start with the sculpt and paint detail. Nothing special about the surface and texture on his armour- it's just the traditional red and gold Iron Man suit. Head and body sculpt is based from the Mark III armour in the first Iron Man movie. The Mark VI version, also from Revoltech, looks neat and cool but personally I like Iron Man better with a circular arc reactor than the triangular one (like that one on Mark VI), that's why I choose this guy over it. I like that they painted those eyes white to make it look as if it's glowing. However, there is one minor issue I'd like to point out, and that is his repulsor shooters right on his palms are way too small- almost pinpoint small, and I want it just a little bigger to make it more noticeable when you look at the entire figure.

What I'm truly impressed about is the poseability on this guy. I love how this Iron Man is so flexible and can do tons of poses yet have all the important details on his armour intact and not getting in the way. Having great amount of articulations is good and I have seen some action figures that have that, but then these would likely ruin the sculpt and detail on the figure. But this Iron Man here got both; it is a pretty well designed action figure.

Almost everything on this guy is ball-jointed. The knees, elbows, shoulders, wrists and neck are ball-jointed, and so no wonder why this guy got some great "pose possibilities." He's got joints underneath his collar bone connecting to his neck so you can hyper-extend his head when you have him do the flying pose. Although this figure doesn't have the ab crunch and the waist swivel, you can't complain any further when you got a diaphragm swivel that lets you bend his torso forward and back.

The secret to that light thingy on his chest is a little tiny battery (one you use on your watch) and a little switch under his diaphragm swivel. You need to detach the chest from his abdomen for you to see and flip the switch, and gaze upon the awesomeness of this figure. One real issue I have with it is that the light flickers every time you move his torso. I guess the switch needs to be stabilized for it not to do so.

The Revoltech Iron Man comes with interchangeable hands that you can switch from either punching, shooting or flying. And most importantly, he comes with this Robert Downey Jr. head, which kinda look a bit like a Japanese anime version of him. I guess that's how they do all their toy stuff in Japan, which I don't mind... it's just that I'd rather want a more accurate face of Mr. Downey Jr. so he doesn't look odd together with my Marvel Legends. Also, he comes with this storage bin where you can put all his stuff and that name thing there for which I don't know what it's called.














I gotta say this Iron Man action figure is probably better than the Hasbro one for alot of obvious reasons. The articulation, the sculpt, and the stuff that comes with this guy just gives it the upper hand. Unfortunately, Revoltech is making only quite a few Marvel action figures but hopefully they will come up with some new ones,... and I am planning of getting their Spider-Man!

Action Figure Review: Lizard Man from Masters of the Universe Classics by Mattel

     I really enjoy the Filmation Masters of the Universe cartoon but it's definitely not my favorite incarnation of MOTU, thus some of the characters with one or two appearances have not always been on my most wanted list. Lizard Man (like Fang Man) is one of those Filmation characters with a limited amount of appearances (three if you count He-Man and She-Ra: A Christmas Special) and an overly cartoonish look that always feels like he should have been part of the vintage line. He's a rather unique looking character (and that's saying something in MOTU) and ends up making a great figure. Lizard Man was the January 2015 Club Eternia subscription figure and he's been a constant companion to me at my desk at work over the past few weeks. He's just so much fun to fiddle around with! Learn more about Lizard Man after the break...

The Facts:
Height: 6 7/8ths inches tall

Articulation: Hinged ankles, swivel/hinge knees, swivel thighs, swivel/hinge hips, a swivel waist, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel biceps, hinged elbows, swivel wrists, and a ball jointed neck.

Accessories: Skeletor's Filmaton sword and the Diamond Ray of Disappearance.

Non Scalper-Price: $28

The Positives:

*Lizard Man is one of those figures that is just insanely fun to play with! He feels very solid and you can get some great poses out of him. I love his colorful appearance and his piercing yellow eyes. As seen in he picture above, Lizard Man's hands are molded in a translucent plastic which gives them a cool webbed appearance. Lizard Man will definitely stand out in a positive way in your MOTUC collection!

* The Diamond Ray of Disappearance is a really cool accessory to get. I love getting these story-based artifacts from the series as they look awesome in dioramas or scattered about Castle Grayskull. This is a simple piece, but one that should be easily recognizable to most fans. The diamond part of the piece glows in the dark. It's not too bright, but it looks cool.

*Skeletor's Filmation sword is another neat extra. While I wish this piece had some paint on it (it's left with just the silverish gray plastic it's molded in) it still looks good. It's a great sword: Nicely sculpted, properly sword-like, and molded in a nice, solid plastic. I honestly just want to keep this weapon with Lizard Man as he needs something to fight with and he looks stellar holding it.

*Here's a very happy Skeletor with his new toys (well, I am taking the sword away from him after the shoot). The Diamond of Disappearance actually has little grooves sculpted in the bottom that allow Skeletor to properly hold the accessory. That's some slick thinking on someone's part!

* Looks like Lizard Man got the sword back! As I mentioned earlier, this figure is quite fun to pose. Lizard Man looks great in a number of poses. I'm particularly impressed by how many new parts he features. Other than a few parts of his limbs shared with Modulok he's a completely new sculpt. I love the sculpting on his simple outfit. He reminds me of some sort of monk. Interestingly, Lizard Man has swivel/hinge knees which is rather unique for this line.

The Negatives:

*The only real complaints about this figure I have are the lack of a hinged abdomen joint and his stiff ankles. Due to his swivel/hinged knees the limited ankles (with no lateral rockers) become less of an issue, but the missing hinged chest would have given Lizard Man the opportunity for more expression in posing. Since Lizard Man is portrayed as being much shorter than most other characters in the Filmation cartoon, anything allowing him to walk with more of a slouch would be welcomed.

     Other than some articulation concerns (and the lack of paint on the sword), I think Lizard Man is another excellent release. While he wasn't a character I was clamoring for I'm certainly glad I own him now. He's certainly a fun release and even though he looks very much like his animated counterpart, I don't think he actually looks too out of place when placed next to most other figures in the line. Maybe right up against someone like Fisto, Jitsu, or Vikor, but mixed in with the crowd? Lizard Man looks just fine. He's quite great, and I'll give him a Great ranking.


I've reviewed a ton of MOTU figures on this site as well as picked my 10 favorite figures of 2014 here!

Arrow
Battle Lion
Batros
Blade
Castaspella
Castle Grayskull
Clamp Champ
End of Wars Weapon Pak
Extendar
Fang Man
The Fighting Foe Men
Flutterina
Galactic Protector He-Man
Galactic Protector She-Ra
Geldor
Glimmer
Goat Man
Gwildor
Horde Prime
Horde Troopers
Hydron
Icer
Karatti
King He-Man
Loo-Kee and Kowl
Lord Dactus
Mantenna
Mermista
Modulok
Nepthu
Octavia
Plundor
Procrustus
Ram-Man
Rokkon & Stonedar
Scorpia
Sea Hawk
Shokoti
Sir Laser-Lot
Sky High with Jet Sled
Snake Face
Spinnerella
Spirit of Hordak
Strobo
Strong-or/ Strongarm
Tung Lashor
Two Bad
The Unnamed One

Iron Man - Mark 42: Iron Man 3 (Marvel Select)

Marvel Select Iron Man - Mark XLII

Upon purchasing this Marvel Select Iron Man Mark XLII (Mk 42) at my local comic bookstore, I say I have officially got an Iron Man action figure based from the Iron Man 3 movie. I never really bothered ordering the one from Hasbro, although that one is more articulated, but the 7-inch scale with all its great amount of details feels just right for a movie-based action figure. In this case, aesthetics outweighs functionality. Then again, I would still get into everything that are nice and nasty about this figure.















The overwhelming gold colour of the Mk 42 armour makes it one of my least favourite Iron Man suit, let alone how crappy the suit was in the movie. But somehow in my view, I think that movie would probably give the producers and screenwriters some thought on how the character, Tony Stark, is prepared to face yet another otherworldly beings in the Avengers 2. It's like a stepping stone to Thanos.

Anyways, enough of that movie. The colour scheme of the Mk 42 is like a reverse polarity of the Mk 3, Mk 6, Mk 7 or any standard red and gold Iron Man suit you've seen in the comics and the movies. You would not notice any shading or special paint effects (like little sparkles) around the suit, just the colours- yellow, red and gray intertwining together. The external parts are mostly covered in yellows and reds, while gray colours are applied mostly in its interior parts and joints. One thing I also notice is that the red areas are glossier than the yellow ones as you've seen on these photos. So this isn't your knight in shinning titanium alloy suit as you've probably seen in most Iron Man figures. But even without the gloss, I still think this armour looks pretty neat once on the shelf. Moreover, I like that Diamond Select painted the eyes white and not screwing it up like what they did on the MS Mark VI.

What truly impressed me with this figure is the body mold and the sculpt. Standing at 7.4 inches tall, this is the only Marvel Select Iron Man figure I've seen that has the perfect body shape. Arm and leg lengths, and torso are in the right anatomical measurements. The overall girth, specifically the chest is not too wide nor too skinny to feel and look at. Mk 42 has some robotic designs on these ball-hinged shoulders under the shoulder guards as well as the entire armour is covered with designs of "iron platings", wirings, gears and a bunch of robotic stuff.

The Mk 42 comes with interchangeable parts. Both arms can have either fisting hands or shooting hands, or both at the same time. Just by popping its head off, you can replace it with an unmasked version and reveal the man behind this great invention. And if you're ready to get him back into action, you can always put that armoured head back to its place.

Not surprisingly, this Iron Man cannot do a more pronounced flying pose. It is a Marvel Select; it is what it is. However, the articulation on this one is not as bad as its predecessors. In fact, this is one of the most articulated Marvel Select figures along with MS Ultron and MS Captain America.

The Mk 42 got ball-jointed neck that lets you turn its head 360. It got ball-hinged shoulders that lets you turn and move his arms up and down with two of these shoulder guards that are ball-socketed that moves along with the arms but limits it as you move further upwards. And so the only way for you raise it higher is to get these removable shoulder guards out of the way. It got swivel to the biceps, single-jointed elbows and ball-hinged wrists. One thing I like about the hands is that it have these soft pliable plastic wrist guards that bend as you try pose it shooting its repulsor rays, but I'm a bit worried about the wear and tear of these plastics and so I better not use it constantly. Moving on, Mk 42 got diaphragm swivel that can rock front and back, and side to side. No waist swivel, but it has this T-joint, ball-hinged hips and thigh cuts around this area. It got double-jointed knees that kinda reminds of those Play Arts Kai figures. Both toes can point up and down, ankles can swivel and turn 360 as well as do the pivot!

At the bottom of its feet, there are peg holes which suppose to latch on to a base stand. But unfortunately for this guy, its base stand does not have any pegs (which made me wonder), and so you just have to get him to stand on the right position to get it to stay there in place. The design of the prop really look awesome even with its plain metallic gray colour.

MS Iron Man Mk XLII vs. MS Iron Man Mk VI (size comparison)

Next to the Marvel Select Iron Man - Mk 6, the Mk 42 stand probably half an inch taller and it is much leaner compared to it. I definitely recommend this figure for its richness in detail and better articulation. Marvel Select figures comes cheap ranging between $20 to $26 bucks, so its not much of an acid burn in your wallet.