Toy Review: Marvel Legends | Hulkbuster


Today’s review is the Marvel Legends Infinite Series Hulkbuster Build-a-figure. This was the figure everyone has been raving about since it was released. It’s one of the bigger BAF’s that Hasbro has released so people have been pretty excited, thinking Hasbro may be going back to the old Toy Biz days of huge Build-a-figures. Let’s take a look and see if it meets all the hype.

Figures in the Series

Figure Details

Articulation – ★★★★★

This is a really heavy and bulky figure, often proving detrimental to the articulation. The Hulkbuster figure, however, is very well articulated. I’ve had the most fun of most of my other figures posing this guy. He’s big, and yet he can get into a lot of really great action poses. Let’s take a closer look.

Total POA’s = 31

  • Arms – There are 7 joints per arm.
    • Shoulders: Ball Joint as well as a Pin/Hinge Joint which provides great movement up. You can move the arm nearly even with the shoulders. They really got the should joints right.
    • Bicep: A Peg Joint is nicely hidden and very functional. Since this is a suit of armor, the cut joint doesn’t need a lot of continuity, but they still made it look really nice.
    • Elbow: Single Pin/Hinge joint as well as a Peg Joint. The elbow is limited to less than 90 degrees, but as already noted, the bulk of the figure doesn’t require a lot of bend in the elbows. The Peg joint at the base of the bicep and elbow is functional, though not really needed considering the upper bicep joint. No big deal though as it doesn’t cause issues.
    • Wrist: Peg Joint as well as a Pin/Hinge joint. Due to the armor plate covering the top of the forearm and fist, you can’t really move the fists more than a little. You can curl the wrist a bit, but not much. This isn’t a major flaw for me, though. If his hands were such that you could wield a weapon, that might change the story.
  • Legs – There are 7 joints in each leg/hip/ankle area.
    • Hips: T-Jointed Ball Joint provides an awesome amount of forward and backward motion. Side motion is also quite good, not as good as the forward and backward, but still quite good. This is honestly a huge surprise for such a bulky figure and is a large part of why this figure is so much fun to pose.
    • Thigh: Peg Joint which is quite functional and very well hidden.
    • Knees: Double Pin/Hinge joints in the knees allows for a hair more than 90 degrees bend of the knee. Again, for a large figure, this is really quite amazing to see.
    • Ankles: Each ankle has 3 joints.  A Peg Joint where the foot attaches to the leg can be used to rotate the foot. A Pin/Hinge Joints that allow for decent backward and forward motion. There is also an ankle rocker which is really well executed.
  • Body – There is one joint in the body area. This is a Double Ball Joint. My torso joint, unfortunately is a bit stuck so I can’t swivel mine for fear of snapping that joint off. The ab crunch and back arch are really good, as is the side crunch.
  • Head: A single Ball Joint and a Pin/Hinge disc that provides great up and down, side to side, and tilt.

In lieu of a gallery, I did a quick stop motion video of me putting this BAF together. I hope you enjoy.

Mold – ★★★★★

The sculpt work on this figure is really well done. I have nearly no complaints about it. The one complaint I actually have, which is very minor, is that the neck joint is very thin, which would not make it reasonable to think Tony Stark could actually be sitting inside the suit.

The other issue is more of a Quality Control issue. The right foot on my figure is very loose, and falls off really easily.

The detail work on this figure is so incredible, I really don’t know where to begin. There are details all over this figure, they left nothing without some form of details. You’ll also feel the quality when you pick this thing up. It’s heavy, really heavy. It probably weighs about 2 lbs.

Paint – ★★★★

Hasbro did so good on this figure, but the paint wasn’t quite at the same level as everything else. The paint looks good, it just could have been so much better. That being said, however, I really can’t knock it too much, so here are the things I wish they would have done. I wish they had a slightly deeper red instead of the fire engine red they used. I wish they did a little black wash as well as some dry brushing to give the figure a little bit of weather look.

Accessories – N/A

The figure doesn’t come with any accessories, but I really didn’t expect any. There was no need for them, so I’m not providing a rating for accessories.

Packaging – ★★★★☆

Standard Marvel Legends Infinite Series packaging which is great.

Overall Rating – ★★★★★

The overall average of my ratings was 4.5, but I rounded up because this is a must have for any Marvel fans. Even if you’re not a big marvel fan, I still think you need to get this figure. It’s fun to play with, it looks great on the shelf, so what more could you want? Go get it now!

Do you have any of these figures? If so, do you have a review to share? Please share in the comments or link to your review.

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Toy Review: Marvel Legends | Thundra


Today’s review is the Marvel Legends Infinite Series Hulkbuster Series Thundra. Of the figures in this series, this was the least anticipated figure for me, solely because of the outfit. Let’s take a look and see.

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Figures in the Series

Figure Details

  • Character: Thundra
  • Manufacturer: Hasbro
  • Series: Hulkbuster
  • Dimensions: 7″
  • Recommended: Ages 4+
  • MSRP: $19.95 Paid: $12.23
  • Part Number/SKU: 630509310890
  • Buy it on Amazon

Articulation – ★★☆

Hasbro has really been letting me down when it comes to the articulation on their female figures. Thundra is of course, no exception. There are some positives, but overall, I just don’t care for the choices they’re making.

Total POA’s = 28

  • Arms – There are 6 joints per arm.
    • Shoulders: Ball Joint as well as a Pin/Hinge Joint which is pretty good. The figures arms can raise slightly higher than the shoulders which is not as common in all the male figures not using the Bucky Cap mold.
    • Bicep: Peg Joint with no major issues. It conforms to the arm and hides the joint very well.
    • Elbow: Single Pin/Hinge joint which barely provides any bend at all. You’ll get about 65 degrees of bend. I would expect at a minimum 90 degrees for a female figure as their arms aren’t nearly as bulky.
    • Wrist: Peg Joint as well as a Pin/Hinge joint. Both operate very well and were nice and tight.
  • Legs – There are 7 joints in each leg/hip/ankle area.
    • Hips: Y-Jointed Ball Joint along with a Disc Joint provides good forward kick with some manipulation of the joint, but there is pretty much no backward motion. The outward motion is decent, but for a female figure I expect a little more here.
    • Thigh: Peg Joint with a standard cut joint. There are some continuity issues with the mold of the leg and this joint regarding the shape of the leg. There is a definite loss of shape integrity when you use this joint which causes the leg to look wrong, though the paint isn’t horribly affected, though it is affected.
    • Knees: Double Pin/Hinge joints in the knees allows for near complete bend in the knee.
    • Ankles: Each ankle has 2 joints. Pin/Hinge Joints that allow for excellent backward and forward motion. The ankle rocker is quite functional as well.
  • Body – Double Ball Joint in the torso provides good backward arch, but ab crunch is very limited. Side-to-side crunch is quite good and full 360 rotation is possible. With the lack of a waist swivel, this is a decent torso articulation point, but moving the joint too much will reveal some really strange sculpt.
  • Head: A single Ball Joint with no disc joint which would have allowed Thundra some ok articulation, but the hair sculpt limits articulation in nearly all manners. No up, down, or side-to-side motion. There is a tiny bit of tilt to the head, but not enough to be very useful.

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Mold – ★★★☆☆

I like and hate the sculpt work on this figure. I was torn giving Thundra 3 stars as she probably only deserves 2. The biggest fail on this figure is the hair sculpt. Though it is visually appealing, it limits the head articulation entirely which is always an unforgivable offense to me.

Aside from that major fail, the rest of the figure looks really nice. Since it seems several of the parts of this figure are recycled from other figures, there isn’t a lot to complain about. She’s a fairly tall figure at 7 inches, which is on par with the Valkyrie figure from this wave.

I would have loved to see a little more texture and detail throughout the figure, namely the shoes. There’s zero detail on the shoes which is just a little boring to me. I get they would have had to throw some texture throughout the figure if they were going to do something with the shoes, but why not? Give us a little definition texture wise to the suit, instead of just a paint app to define it.

Finally, I’d say the belt is one of the better points of the sculpt. Though it’s quite simple, it really gives the figure that added pop that it desperately needed. The belt is a floating piece that can move with the figure. This is good an bad, should you choose to pose the figure in anything but an upright position.

Paint – ★★★★

Paint apps on Thundra are clean, though there is little to no shading anywhere on the figure. She gets a slightly higher rating from me simply because of the cleanliness of the lines and the color consistency. The apps, though simple, really do look nice. Her face apps are really well done, and I managed to get one with eyes that look normal instead of the derpy look a lot of the Hasbro figures have been coming with. Good job on this one Hasbro.

Accessories – ★★★★☆

Thundra comes with one accessory, her ball and chain. I’m not familiar with the character or her weapons, but for all intensive purposes, this is a pretty cool accessory. The paint app on it is really well done. There’s a black wash and what seems to be a silver dry brush. It really looks nice. They would have made it five stars had they made it bendable to pose it in different ways.

Packaging – ★★★★☆

Standard Marvel Legends Infinite Series packaging which is great.

Overall Rating – ★★★☆☆

I like this figure, but I certainly don’t love it. I’m on the fence with the outfit they’ve put Thundra in. As I noted before, I don’t know much about the character so this may be the only outfit she’s worn. So be it, they had to put in the the tummy exposing outfit. It makes me a bit uncomfortable displaying it, but, if I throw her in the back then it’s not so bad I guess. As far as the figure goes, it’s average. If you’re like me, and never knew much about her, you’ll be fine passing on this one. If you need it to complete your Hulkbuster BAF, you won’t be disappointed, just not super excited either.

Do you have any of these figures? If so, do you have a review to share? Please share in the comments or link to your review.

Toy Review: Marvel Legends | Valkyrie


Today’s review is the Marvel Legends Infinite Series Hulkbuster Series Valkyrie. At a glance, this figure looks really nice. I usually have to cringe when I see a female action figure simply because I feel they’re inappropriate, but this figure meets my appropriate meter. Let’s take closer look.

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Figures in the Series

Figure Details

  • Character: Valkyrie
  • Manufacturer: Hasbro
  • Series: Hulkbuster
  • Dimensions: 7″
  • Recommended: Ages 4+
  • MSRP: $19.95 Paid: $12.23
  • Part Number/SKU: 630509310906
  • Buy it on Amazon

Articulation – ★★★

I find I’m disappointed in the articulation on a lot of the female figures from Hasbro and I’m not entirely happy with the Valkyrie articulation. It’s not horrible, but there are the typical issues that I have with the articulation that Hasbro just hasn’t addressed. I’ve also had a really tough time getting Valkyrie to stay standing. The joints have been a bit loose in her knees and she winds up falling down unless I just stand her straight up. She’s a little too top heavy.

Total POA’s = 28

  • Arms – There are 6 joints per arm.
    • Shoulders: Ball Joint as well as a Pin/Hinge Joint that provides a really good amount of outward motion. You can get her arms up above her shoulders without the need to spin the ball joint if you just want her raising her arms out. This is great. Standard swing motion.
    • Bicep: Peg Joint which is nicely molded to follow the natural bicep look. There are no issues with this joint as it has full rotation capabilities.
    • Elbow: Single Pin/Hinge joint in the elbow that provides less than 90 degrees of bend. This is my first issue with the Hasbro female action figures. There’s enough plastic there that they could do double jointed elbows, so why don’t they? It just makes all the female figures somewhat less desirable and that to me is not good. Wake up Hasbro!
    • Wrist: Peg Joint as well as a Pin/Hinge joint. Both operate very well and were nice and tight.
  • Legs – There are 7 joints in each leg/hip/ankle area.
    • Hips: Y-Jointed Ball Joint as well as a Pin/Hinge joint. Forward and backward motion is pretty good if you combine the thigh cut joint and do some maneuvering.
    • Thigh: Peg Joint with a standard cut joint. There are no paint match up issues with this joint, though the sculpt does look a little off when you use this joint. In the end, this joint serves a lot of function so I can’t worry too much about the look of this joint.
    • Knees: Double Pin/Hinge joints allow the knees to bend pretty much all the way in half which is awesome. Most of the male figures don’t have this capability because of their bulk. I’ve come to expect this in the female figures so good job Hasbro.
    • Ankles: Each ankle has 2 joints. Pin/Hinge Joints that allow for excellent backward motion and forward motion. The ankle rocker is a nice addition as well, though a peg joint would have been nice as well to allow for a some side to side since there was no shin joint. This figure is very tall and a little top heavy so the extra capability to move the foot to get just the right balance would have helped.
  • Body – There is one joint in the torso. This seems to be a double ball joint just below the breast. They actually did a good job with this joint. Normally on the smaller figures I don’t like the double ball torso, but this one has a decent enough ab crunch and good back arch. Even the side-to-side crunch is pretty good. Full swivel also.
  • Head: A single Ball Joint which gives you a pretty limited amount of motion. This is the other area that really bugs me. Why can’t the female characters have the Pin/Hinge joint as well. I get they’re running out of plastic for a female character, but I be you could do it, or try a double ball peg then. Anyway, you get ok side-to-side action, though the hair will cause you a little issues. Practically no looking up without pulling the head nearly off and ok downward motion. Again, tilting the head will likely require the head to start popping off the joint. Not horrible, but I’m just getting tired of this lack of articulation in my lady figures.

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Mold – ★★★☆☆

Overall, the sculpt of this figure was really well done. She’s a little tall for the Legends scale at nearly 7 inches. That would put her at 7 feet tall. The bio on her says she’s not quite that tall so Hasbro got a little overzealous. I’m ok with that, but it got a little hard to look past at first.

Aside from the odd height, the rest of the figure is sculpted very nicely. There’s good detail, though I would have preferred a little more texture to the figure. I get these lady superheros are usually wearing spandex of some sort, but maybe her shoes or boots could have been a little rougher.

Her hair is probably the highlight of the figure. Those long braids should look great and they don’t hinder the head articulation too much to make a big deal of it.

It would have been nice if her wrist gauntlets were sculpted instead of just painted on, but the sculpted belt is really nice.

My biggest complaint with the figure is not with the look of the sculpt, but the top heavy aspect of it. It’s really tough to get her into any good action poses because I’m constantly battling her penchant for tipping over. Of all my figures, she’s fallen off my shelf the most. I may wind up just throwing her on a flight stand and calling it good if I can’t get her to stay.

Paint – ★★

This figure looks nice, but there just isn’t a lot of paint detail. The paint app on mine is clean enough, but there’s just nothing much going on in her costume. It’s a gloss black top to bottom aside from her flesh toned arms and the things on her chest and just below. The highlight of an otherwise boring paint job is the belt and her head. They did a really nice job with the paint detail in her hair to give her some shading and the belt was done clean with some nice silver highlights of the buckle and buttons.

I’m not disappointed, but I’m a little under whelmed.

Accessories – ★★★☆☆

Valkyrie comes with her sword Dragonfang (awesome name). From a distance, this thing is really cool. It fits her hands really well, she can hold it in both if need be, but there’s no real paint detail. There’s no washes or discernible dry brushing. It’s pretty much, gold hilt, silver blade. They did it clean, but it could have been a little better.

Packaging – ★★★★☆

Standard Marvel Legends Infinite Series packaging which is great.

Overall Rating – ★★★☆☆

I wouldn’t say Valkyrie was a disappointment, but she also wasn’t a big wow factor for me. She looks great, but in the end, she just doesn’t have as much of what I was looking for. She turned out to be pretty average. I don’t know if I could say she’s a must have for your collection, but you won’t be disappointed if you do get her. Just don’t get your hopes up that she’s going to wow you in any way.

Do you have any of these figures? If so, do you have a review to share? Please share in the comments or link to your review.

Toy Review: Marvel Legends | Blizzard


Today’s review is the Marvel Legends Infinite Series Hulkbuster Series Blizzard. Initially I thought this was going to be one of my favorite figures in this wave, but now I’m not entirely sure. Let’s take a closer look.

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Figures in the Series

Figure Details

  • Character: Blizzard
  • Manufacturer: Hasbro
  • Series: Hulkbuster
  • Dimensions: 6.25
  • Recommended: Ages 4+
  • MSRP: $19.95 Paid: $12.23
  • Part Number/SKU: 630509310913
  • Buy it on Amazon

Articulation – ★★★

Blizzard reuses the Bucky Cap mold so the articulation is really good.

Total POA’s = 32

  • Arms – There are 7 joints per arm.
    • Shoulders: Ball Joint as well as a Pin/Hinge Joint which allows for a wide range of motion. There is very little getting in the way of the articulation of the shoulders.
    • Bicep: Peg Joint which is nicely molded to follow the natural bicep look.
    • Elbow: Double Pin/Hinge joints provide a good amount of bend well beyond 90 degrees.
    • Wrist: Peg Joint as well as a Pin/Hinge joint. Both operate very well and were nice and tight.
  • Legs – There are 7 joints in each leg/hip/ankle area.
    • Hips: T-Jointed Ball Joint provides great forward and backward motion. You’ll also find Blizzard can nearly do the splits, though the range of motion does stop before a full split is accomplished which I like should the joint ever become loose you won’t have to worry about him not being able to stand.
    • Thigh: Peg Joint with a standard cut joint. This is a well concealed joint and there are no major paint issues with the joint being utilized.
    • Knees: Double Pin/Hinge joints in the knees which provide awesome bend capabilities.
    • Shin: Peg Joint with a standard cut joint just below the knee. This is a functional joint, but many don’t feel a joint here is anatomically correct or necessary. I’d lean that way as well, at least, if you have the Thigh and/or ankle pivot which this figure has both.
    • Ankles: Each ankle has 2 joints. Pin/Hinge Joints that allow for excellent backward motion and decent forward motion. The ankle rocker is perfectly executed as well.
  • Body – There are two joints in the body/torso
    • .Torso – Pin/Hinge joint provides a really good ab crunch though the backward motion is pretty well non-existent, but also not needed too much with this figure.
    • Waist – Standard Peg Joint provides a good waist swivel. This is a cut joint and there is no hiding the joint when you twist the waist so know that it’ll look a little off when you do so.
  • Head: A single Ball Joint and a Pin/Hinge disc that provides great up and down, side to side, though the tilt is nearly nothing because of the head sculpt. Not a big deal though.

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Mold – ★★★★☆

I really like the Bucky Cap mold and this figure seems to be a good fit for this mold. I do think a little bit of extra could have helped this figure be more than just a fodder figure. Perhaps some molded pliable plastic to match some of the comic versions of this character might have been nice to make this more than just a Bucky Cap repaint.

In the end, there aren’t any major issues with the sculpt, just a lack of creativity.

Paint – ★★

Unlike many others, I really like the paint on this figure, though there are problems. The biggest issue is simply a lack of creativity in the figure. I really like the metallic blues used. They even did a good job with most of the white, though there are places in which it was a little sloppy. I knocked a couple stars off just because I felt the figure lacks a creative edge in the paint, and since it’s simply a repaint, I would have hoped for a little more from Hasbro.

Accessories – ☆☆☆☆

Blizzard comes with zero accessories. Zero, really? Come on Hasbro, how lazy do you have to be. The fact that this character is completely random for this series, you then choose to give us zero accessories. How about you use some of your flame accessories you’ve provided us with a bunch of your other figures and simply make it into an ice blast. One or two of those would have actually made this figure relevant. Instead, we get nothing. For that, you lose all your stars.

Packaging – ★★★★☆

Standard Marvel Legends Infinite Series packaging which is great.

Overall Rating – ★★★☆☆

Overall, this figure is a bit of a disappointment. He looks good enough on the shelf, and is unique enough that he doesn’t blend into all the other figures I have at least. I like the paint colors, but there’s just a lack of passion in this figure. No accessories killed it for me really, also the fact that Blizzard really doesn’t fit in well with the rest of the figures in this series. It just didn’t make that much sense. And to think, I thought this was going to be one of my favorite figures. Oh well.

Do you have any of these figures? If so, do you have a review to share? Please share in the comments or link to your review.

Toy Review: Marvel Legends | War Machine


Today’s review is the Marvel Legends Infinite Series Hulkbuster Series War Machine. I managed to get a great deal on nearly the entire Hulkbuster wave, this figure included. Thank goodness for price matching at Walmart. Let’s take a look and see how this figure rates.

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Figures in the Series

Figure Details

Articulation – ★★★

The articulation on this figure is not that great. It’s a repaint of the Iron Patriot figure from the Iron Monger series, which I do not have and would love to get. Let’s take a closer look at the articulation to see why I’m giving this figure only 3 stars.

Total POA’s = 29

  • Arms – There are 7 joints per arm.
    • Shoulders: Ball Joint as well as a Pin/Hinge Joint. The shoulder joints are actually some of the best articulated shoulders I’ve seen on some of the Hasbro Marvel Legends figures thus far. You can very nearly raise the arms all the way up which is great for those flying poses. The shoulder pads even articulate (I don’t count those towards the POA’s of a figure) and when the articulation of the shoulder pads stops, they flex enough to allow for the remaining motion. This is a huge win.
    • Bicep: Peg Joint which is nicely molded to follow the natural bicep look. No standard cut joint and this makes it look much more realistic.
    • Elbow: Double Pin/Hinge joints that allow for the arms to nearly bend all the way in half.
    • Wrist: Peg Joint as well as a Pin/Hinge joint. The swivel is pretty standard and works well. The hinge will allow you to curl the wrist in but there is no motion out. War Machine’s hands are in fists anyway so you’re not going to do any booster shots of him flying that way. I’m on the fence with this. The reason for the lack of articulation is the armor plate on the top of the hand. It may be possible to pop those off as they may be glued on and you could either sand/file them down and reattach or simply leave them off. I’m going to leave them as-is since he’s just got fists anyway.
  • Legs – There are 6 joints in each leg/hip/ankle area.
    • Hips: T-Jointed Ball Joint provides decent forward and back motion. Where these joints really perform is on the outward motion. He can pretty much do the splits, though I don’t know when doing the splits is ever really something War Machine would be doing. Better forward and backward motion would have been more appreciated here.
    • Thigh: Peg Joint with a similar structure to the bicep joint. This joint is nicely sculpted to mask the ball joint in the hip area and has good range of motion.
    • Knees: Double Pin/Hinge joints in the knees allows for a nice, better than 90 degree bend in the knee.
    • Ankles: Each ankle has 2 joints but they might as well have put none. The sculpt of the armor that covers the sides of the feet and back essentially nullify any articulation in the ankles. This then nullifies or makes the great knee, thigh, and hip joints somewhat less desirable and is the basis for War Machine losing 2 full stars. They could have easily changed the sculpt to accomodate the articulation without losing the ascetics, but they chose not to for some reason. Major fail.
  • Body – There is one joint in the body area. This is a what I can only assume to be a double ball joint. This provides a wide range of swivel and good backwards arch capability. The breast/sternum plate does hinder the ab crunch considerably, but the other range of motion more than makes up for it.
  • Head: A single Ball Joint and a Pin/Hinge disc that provides for good downward motion, but he can’t look up much, which is a bit disappointing for flight poses. There’s good side-to-side and even a little bit of tilt too.

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Mold – ★★★☆☆

I really like the sculpt of this figure, though I had to shave 2 stars off the rating simply because Hasbro chose to destroy the leg articulation by nullifying all ankle articulation with the armor. Had they not done that, this figure would have easily been a 4 or maybe even 5 stars for me. I love all the detail work they did with this figure. I’m usually not a tough critic of the sculpt work of a figure unless it directly affects articulation. In the end, the additional armor on the ankles looks dumb to me, which makes it even worse.

On the bright side, this is a really nicely sculpted figure otherwise. I’m simply being critical. I really like how this figure looks and would recommend it if you’re an Iron Man/War Machine fan.

The best part of this figure is the alternate unmasked head. The likeness to Don Cheadle is amazing. Hasbro really knocked this one out of the park.

Paint – ★★

There’s really not a lot to the paint job on this figure. It’s black plastic with some sparkle and grey with a little bit of red highlights in the eyes and power source in the chest, but they did a good job with it. Now, I did have to sort through about 6 at my local Walmart to get the best paint job I could find. Most of the figures had some paint splotches on the unmasked head or the eyes were a little “derpy” as they say, but I managed to find one to my liking that was done very clean.

The highlight of the paint job is on the unmasked head we get. As noted in the Mold/Sculpt section, they really got the likeness of Don Cheadle down.

Accessories – ★★★★☆

War Machine comes with his signature machine gun that mounts on his back shoulder. This is a cool accessory except for two gripes. First, the gun is articulated in two (three if you count the peg mount) places which is awesome, except it really needs to be articulated in three (or four if you count the peg mount). The lack of this additional articulation means you can only mount this gun on his left shoulder, even though he has peg holes on both shoulders. The second gripe is the articulation on mine is extremely loose. So the gun just flops around. I’m pretty confident this can be fixed, but it’s never fun opening a brand new figure just to find you have to fix it right out of the box.

As noted before, he also comes with an alternate unmasked head that is sculpted and painted to resemble actor Don Cheadle. This is the highlight of the figure. They really did a great job on this accessory.

I would have given 5 stars had it not been for the QA issues on the machine gun.

Packaging – ★★★★☆

Standard Marvel Legends Infinite Series packaging which is great.

Overall Rating – ★★★☆☆

Overall, I’m giving this figure 3 of 5 stars. Namely because of the articulation debacle. Aside from that I would have easily given War Machine 4 stars, but I just cannot do it, also knowing there was a Toy Biz War Machine that really just looks so much cooler and has better accessories I couldn’t give this reboot too high of a rating. I don’t have that older War Machine, but if I had the choice between the two, I’d go with the Toy Biz one. Anybody wanna do a trade?

Do you have any of these figures? If so, do you have a review to share? Please share in the comments or link to your review.

Toy Review: Marvel Legends | Vision


Whoops! I’m a day late, but better late than never right? Today’s review is the Marvel Legends Infinite Series Hulkbuster Series Vision. I was pretty excited when I saw these went on sale at Target. I was able to price match this guy at my Walmart who actually had them in stock. Let’s take a look and see if this figure is as awesome as he looks.

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Figures in the Series

Figure Details

  • Character: Vision
  • Manufacturer: Hasbro
  • Series: Hulkbuster
  • Dimensions: 6.25
  • Recommended: Ages 4+
  • MSRP: $19.95 Paid: $12.23
  • Part Number/SKU: 630509310920
  • Buy it on Amazon

Articulation – ★★★

Vision is built nearly entirely off the Bucky Cap mold, which I’ve noted before, I am definitely a fan of this mold. The articulation is really good and Vision gets to take advantage of all those positives. Let’s get right in and see.

Total POA’s = 32

  • Arms – There are 7 joints per arm.
    • Shoulders: Ball Joint as well as a Pin/Hinge Joint which allows for a wide range of motion. There is very little getting in the way of the articulation of the shoulders.
    • Bicep: Peg Joint which is nicely molded to follow the natural bicep look.
    • Elbow: Double Pin/Hinge joints provide a good amount of bend beyond 90 degrees. It’d be nice to get a little more bend, but in the end, it’s not a huge issue.
    • Wrist: Peg Joint as well as a Pin/Hinge joint. Both operate very well and were nice and tight.
  • Legs – There are 7 joints in each leg/hip/ankle area.
    • Hips: T-Jointed Ball Joint provides great forward and backward motion. You’ll also find Vision can nearly do the splits, though the range of motion does stop before a full split is accomplished which I like should the joint ever become loose you won’t have a Vision who looks more like a gymnast in the middle of a floor exercise.
    • Thigh: Peg Joint with a standard cut joint. This is a well concealed joint and there are no major paint issues with the joint being utilized.
    • Knees: Double Pin/Hinge joints in the knees which provide awesome bend capabilities.
    • Shin: Peg Joint with a standard cut joint just below the knee. This is a functional joint, but many don’t feel a joint here is anatomically correct or necessary. I’d lean that way as well, at least, if you have the Thigh and/or ankle pivot which this figure has both.
    • Ankles: Each ankle has 2 joints. Pin/Hinge Joints that allow for excellent backward motion and decent forward motion. The ankle rocker is perfectly executed as well.
  • Body – There are two joints in the body/torso
    • .Torso – Pin/Hinge joint provides a really good ab crunch though the backward motion is a little hindered by the cape, but this isn’t a big deal.
    • Waist – Standard Peg Joint provides a good waist swivel. This is a cut joint and there is no hiding the joint when you twist the waist so know that it’ll look a little off when you do so.
  • Head: A single Ball Joint and a Pin/Hinge disc that provides great up and down, side to side, as well as a good amount of tilt.

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Mold – ★★★★☆

I really like the sculpt of the Bucky Cap mold, thus this Vision figure is also a really good figure sculpt wise. Now I haven’t read a lot of the Marvel comics yet with Vision, but as far as the likeness, it seems to be pretty close, so I’m ok with it.

I will say, I’m not 100% on board with the sculpt of his left hand. It’s great in that it gives you some nice posing options of him using his powers, but the hand seems a bit too large for the scale of the figure. That may just be due to the paint, but it seems too big.

There’s one other issue I have and it seems my figure is a bit lop sided. He seems to lean to his left when you stand him straight up. Not sure if that’s a defect or not, but it’s a little odd.

Aside from that, I really like the way this figure turned out.

Paint – ★★

I really like the paint application Hasbro did on this figure. Not only do I really like the color choices, but I also think they executed the paint apps really well. The paint is well applied on my figure. There’s really nothing I can ask more of for this.

Accessories – ★★★

Vision comes with a thin yellow cape that pegs in on the back of the figure and also mounts just over the shoulders a little. The cape is made of a somewhat pliable plastic and has some nice sculpt detail, though there is no paint on it whatsoever. I know yellow can be hard to work with, but I feel a little shading might have made this cape really pop. I also wish the cape was a little less rigid. Otherwise this accessory is really cool looking.

Packaging – ★★★★☆

Standard Marvel Legends Infinite Series packaging which is great.

Overall Rating – ★★★★☆

Overall this is a really nice figure. There’s not a lot that is unique to the figure itself as I think even the cape is a repurposed mold, but still, Hasbro did a really nice job on it and I’m glad I have him in my collection. I definitely recommend getting this figure.

Do you have any of these figures? If so, do you have a review to share? Please share in the comments or link to your review.

Toy Review: Marvel Legends | Marvel Now Iron Man


Today’s review is the Marvel Legends Infinite Series Hulkbuster Marvel Now Iron Man. Let’s take a closer look.

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Figures in the Series

Figure Details

  • Character: Marvel Now Iron Man
  • Manufacturer: Hasbro
  • Series: Hulkbuster
  • Dimensions: 6.125″
  • Recommended: Ages 4+
  • MSRP: $19.95 Paid: $16.99
  • Part Number/SKU: 630509310944
  • Buy it on Amazon

Articulation – ★★

The articulation on this figure is not very good. This is a repaint of the Mark 43 Iron Man figure which I’ve not had the chance to review, but it makes me not want it at all. Let’s see why it’s just not very good.

Total POA’s = 29

  • Arms – There are 7 joints per arm.
    • Shoulders: Ball Joint as well as a Pin/Hinge Joint that provides good motion of the shoulder. You can actually move the arms above the shoulders which is quite nice for those flying poses.
    • Bicep: Peg Joint provides standard rotation.
    • Elbow: Double Pin/Hinge joints allow for somewhat limited bend, but since this is an Iron Man figure I wouldn’t expect that much flexibility.
    • Wrist: Peg Joint as well as a Pin/Hinge joint. Due to the sculpt of the blaster plate on the top of the hands, the wrists cannot move up that much which is disappointing.
  • Legs – There are 6 joints in each leg/hip/ankle area.
    • Hips: Y-Joint allows a decent amount of forward motion and backward motion, but it’s all quite awkward looking in my opinion.
    • Thigh: Peg Joint at the ball joint which allows for full 360 rotation.
    • Knees: Double Pin/Hinge joints in the knees which have a good amount of bend. Mine are quite loose, however, and the knee cap armor is attached to the top of the shin which makes the figure look odd when bent.
    • Ankles: Each ankle has a single Ball Joint. The sculpt limits the motion considerably in this joint which is a huge disappointment.
  • Body – There is one joint in the body area. I believe this is a double ball joint in the torso just below the breast line of the figure. It’s very well hidden and quite effective. You get more backward motion than you do ab crunch. I would have preferred a little more ab crunch. The side to side is nice. I waist joint is sorely needed on this figure.
  • Head: A single Ball Joint allows for decent forward motion of the head up and down. There is also a disc Pin/Hinge joint that assists in this motion.

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Mold – ★★★☆☆

The sculpt of this figure is nice, but there are some sculpt issues that cause major articulation issues which is why only 3 stars for this figure. I like the shoulder plates a lot, though they do fall off pretty easily so beware of that so you don’t lose them.

Paint – ★★★★

Overall the paint is solid. It’s a simple application of mostly gold with black plastic, but they did a clean job which is much appreciated. I’m not sure what more they could or should have done for paint on this figure, though his back is completely missing any paint which seems kindof cheap of Hasbro. Oh well.

Accessories – ★★☆☆

The Marvel Now Iron Man comes with zero accessories. None. I would have appreciated an alternate head or hands. Considering this is just a repaint of an existing figure, something extra would have been nice. Granted, the box is pretty darn full with the giant leg of the Hulkbuster, but an extra head wouldn’t take up much space. So, I’m pretty disappointed there.

Packaging – ★★★★☆

Standard Marvel Legends Infinite Series packaging which is great.

Overall Rating – ★★★☆☆

Overall I give this figure a 3 of 5 stars. It was a close call to going down to 2 stars, but some of the positives still outweighed the negatives. If you’re a huge Iron Man fan, then yes, you’ll need to pick this up. I am not a huge Iron Man fan, but I do really want the Hulkbuster BAF that is in this wave, so I’ll be picking up all the figures in this wave at some point. I managed to get this one with a few bucks shaved off (thank you Kmart).

Do you have any of these figures? If so, do you have a review to share? Please share in the comments or link to your review.

Toy Review: Marvel Legends | Doctor Strange


Today’s review is the Marvel Legends Infinite Series Hulkbuster Series Doctor Strange. This updated version of Strange was one of my must haves when I saw this wave initially. Let’s take a look and see if it lives up to my expectations.

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Figures in the Series

Figure Details

Articulation – ★★★

Hasbro likes the Bucky Cap mold, and I can’t say I blame them. Certainly the look can get a little old over time, but if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The Dr. Strange figure uses quite a bit of the Bucky Cap mold and this is a big help in the articulation department.

Total POA’s = 32

  • Arms – There are 7 joints per arm.
    • Shoulders: Ball Joint as well as a Pin/Hinge Joint with really good up and out motion. Strange can raise his arms above his shoulders nicely.
    • Bicep: Peg Joint which is nicely molded to follow the natural bicep look. No complaints here.
    • Elbow: Double Pin/Hinge joints provide about 90 degrees of bend. The sculpt of the gloves as well as the biceps hinder the articulation here. It would have been nice to get a little more bend here.
    • Wrist: Peg Joint as well as a Pin/Hinge joint. Both operate very well and were nice and tight.
  • Legs – There are 7 joints in each leg/hip/ankle area.
    • Hips: T-Jointed Ball Joint provides a good forward kick motion, though backwards is hindered by the skirt piece. In this respect, the look of the skirt piece is really nice, so I can live with the articulation issue here. The right leg is hindered a little less so it’s not too bad.
    • Thigh: Peg Joint with a standard cut joint. No major issues with this joint, or the look.
    • Knees: Double Pin/Hinge joints in the knees provides the expected bend capability. You’ll get nearly 145 degrees rotation.
    • Shin: Peg Joint with a standard cut joint at the top of the boot. This is a functional joint, though probably not necessary as the other joints in the lower body all work. I’m not going to complain though.
    • Ankles: Each ankle has 2 joints. Pin/Hinge Joints that allow for excellent backward motion and quite good forward motion. The ankle rocker is a nice addition as well.
  • Body – There are two joints in the torso. The Hinge Joint in the torso/abdomen works very well. The Peg Joint in the waist provides standard rotation.
  • Head: A single Ball Joint and a Pin/Hinge disc that provides great up and down, side to side, and even good tilt action. Based on what I’ve been seeing online and with my figure as well, the disc joint in the neck is quite loose.

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Mold – ★★★★☆

We already know how the Bucky Cap mold looks. They did a really good job of it, so let’s just focus on the pieces that are unique to this figure. First, the head sculpt is a really great likeness to the version of Dr. Strange I prefer. The detail work was really well done.

Highlights of this figure are the head sculpt and the skirt piece. Both were well executed. I’m not sure if they re-used the forearms from any other figure or not, but they look really nice. They do hinder the elbow articulation, but not enough to bug me a lot.

Paint – ★★★

There is zero shading/dry brushing on this figure. That doesn’t mean the figure wasn’t painted well, it just doesn’t have as real a look as it could. There’s two primary colors, black and red that make up the paint app on Dr. Strange. Overall, they did a good job with the paint apps. They continued the chest/abdomen paint into the joint some which is nice when you arch the figures back. They didn’t go all the way so you wouldn’t see the design break, but enough. The lines are clean throughout the figure.

A few more details would have been great in the boots but otherwise most of the paint is sufficient. The paint work they did on Strange’s head was very well done and supports the sculpt very well. His hair could have used a little bit of that dry brushing, though not dry brushing the entire figure would put the head/hair look off a bit. The grey sides look a little cruddy up close, but at a short distance it looks good.

Accessories – ★★★☆☆

Strange comes with two magic circle bursts in a neon green. These are recycled bursts that I believe we’ve seen with at least the Scarlet Witch (I don’t have her yet). They look nice and attach to Strange’s arms relatively well. I don’t find them overly appealing, but it is nice to have something. Perhaps we could have gotten the Eye of Agamotto or the Book of the VishantiBoth of which would have been a little more fun.

It would have been great to have an extra set of hands as well. You’re pretty much forced to pose your figure casting a spell with the hands he has. This could have easily come with fists or gripping hands.

Packaging – ★★★★☆

Standard Marvel Legends Infinite Series packaging which is great.

Overall Rating – ★★★★☆

In all, this figure is a welcome addition to my collection. If you’re lucky to grab the Astral (clear) version of this figure in one of the way over priced exclusive sets then you’re bound to have a lot of fun taking pics of the two figures together. This is a must have for any Marvel fans so don’t pass this guy up.

Do you have any of these figures? If so, do you have a review to share? Please share in the comments or link to your review.