ML Groot BAF: Nova Prime

The other figure that drew me to this BAF to begin with is none other than Nova Prime himself! The Groot BAF wave still strikes ambiguousness in me... not sure if I will be completing it, but I own the two that I really wanted out of the wave. So how does this guy deliver since I had my crosshair on him? Let's see.

The box is all too familiar. I'm not too keen on the Nova artwork on the side, but I suppose that part doesn't matter all that much. The pose for Nova in the back is pretty lame too since I'm not sure if he is flying, or doing some kind of odd pose or something. On to the details of the figure then.

If I was to judge this figure on paint application, mold, and likeness of Nova Prime, I'd say this figure is high on the list! Hasbro once made a Nova figure some time back and it was awful to say the least. I won't go in depth on that figure(I don't have him) but let's just say that this one has all the fine details on his armor, the belt, the 'nova' chest piece, and the helmet... all had great attention put into it. The star on his back is also amazing, though I had one minor blemish on him:

It's a quite a shame, but It's not that much of a damper since it's a beautiful looking figure. The metallic blue fits perfectly with the gold armor plates. His red star on his helmet complements the gold, and his triad 'arc rays' have enough fine details to make it look like what they intended to be. Minus the little paint distortion on the star on his back, I'm really happy how it all came out aesthetically!

So Nova does have Groot's left arm. Again just by the shape of his arm, this guy is pretty massive I think. Lacking accessories like flight stands, and alternate hands, or anything! I'll give this corner more depth when after the articulation.

Nova comes with the standard and expected articulation from the modern day Legends. An impressive(and minor) thing too is that his shoulder pads are equipped with articulation themselves so they don't hinder any arm movements for flight pose, or just merely lifting his arm up. So while we are in the department of articulation, might as well let it all out here. I have some qualms with the ankle pivot since ti's very 'peculiar' from how Toybiz used to do it. It's been a long time coming but I'm not the biggest fan of the way they 'turn'. The old toy biz way they just pivoted side to side but Hasbro makes them do a 180 turn which deters some good posture. There are thigh swivels that helps out with that, but I still prefer the side to side ankle pivot. Something about the Toybiz Pyro for example did the job for me.

Another thing is that Nova's head seems slightly loose. That's not the figure as a product or the feature but quality control that Hasbro seems to be getting some heat for. His build seems a bit flimsy as well. Unlike Winter Soldier Cap that seems to have this durable build to him, Nova seems 'fragile'. Finally with my last major qualms with Hasbro and their Legends is the lack of accessories. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 wave did some things right with the interchangeable hands and the flame affect, but this wave seems to lack. With the exception of Starlord(which I am not sure if I'll be buying or not), NONE of these figures have any interchangeable anything or lack accessories! I mean how much better would it be if Nova and Iron Man(ones I have) if they had fire affects? Or flight stands? Or something? But again... The obstinate side of me wanting the old days of Toybiz back I suppose.

When all is said and done, I do like this figure. I do enjoy the majority of Hasbro ML products and I am just having one of those nostalgic 'want/need' in regards to these figures. When the Jubilee wave comes out, I am more than certain that it won't abate the complaint I have since in this day and age, we pay more and get less. That's just something I had to come to terms with as a collector. So Nova, I apologize if you were the scapegoat of this but I do appreciate you in my collection! Great paint! Great sculpt! What a redemption from the previous Nova! But again, it's not the perfect figure that I long for with the price range.