Marvel Legends BAF: Sentinel

Sentinel Series: Spidey, Omega Red, Cyclops, Black Panther, Sinister, Angel

I remember the first time I saw the Sentinel! It was from the Animated Series comic book of the X-Men. I thought he was a giant version of Iron Man! Truth to be told, it's hard not to think that with the fact that the Sentinels are robotic, repulsors signature beams on their palms, and they are Marvel characters! So yeah, there was a point in my life that I was naive about Marvel. I know right? Well the majority of us are aware of the Sentinels' story: the Mutant haters' answer to a society who can shoot beams out of their eyes, morph into any form, lift light poles with their mind, and manipulate metal… etc. etc. Whatever they are programmed to do, they will do and it does take a lot to kill these guys since there is a whole army of them! Armed with advanced weaponry, almost infallible mutant detecting capabilities, restraining devices, flight, strength, durability, and a myriad of other things… well, you can surmise that the X-Men don't have the greatest times fighting these handsome guys off.

Details, details, and more details! Toybiz outdid the Sentinels in their 'true' form at that time(comic books and the X-Men animated series)! For a while the Sentinels just looked like oversized tight wearing robots, but Toybiz steered away from that look and perhaps took lead to what the more 'robotic/mechanic' aesthetic that these mutant hunters should look like! Just from a quick glance on the BAF Sentinel, one can truly spot the extensive amount of details placed on every nook and cranny! Wiring set up, robotic-like muscles, ridges and metal plating designs… then if we just go on the painting itself, it adheres to the color scheme of the comic/animated style Sentinel but truly make it look battle worn with the metal, rustic, and armor tint from front to back. The eyes have a green tint to it as well that really tries to capture a robotic stare. Not overly impressed with the 'arc reactor' and the 'repulsor' pain job, but that's just me being an Iron Man fanatic I suppose.

I swear, the Sentinels have a lot of Iron Man influence to them because of their trademark moves; also a little bit of comic fact, Iron Man did take over the Sentinel designs later on. They were even called 'War Machines' at one point with James Rhodes piloting a couple of them.

Sentinel doesn't come with a whole lot of accessories except for the trademark tentacles that are the exact same as Omega Red's. On Omega, it looks long and very dangerous, on the Sentinel, it looks a little on the short side. But the good thing is that it remains to be the same bendable material that allows for capturing and all sorts of fun things one can do with a tentacle.

He's not extremely great in regards to the articulation side. He's not horrible by ANY means but there are certain things that makes him fall short on certain pose or what not. Perhaps it's the stiffness of certain joints that makes the said flaw, but I will point out that a 'normal' stand still pose is difficult because his right leg doesn't go in all the way; his ab crunch is a bit loose at times, and his right wrist swivel is slightly loose for having used it for such a small amount of time. Now for the figure's own imperfections: no ankle pivot(understandable), fingers don't close in a way to make it look like it has a fist, and not a big deal but his wrist doesn't bend with enough trajectory to give him a 'repulsor' blast look.  Though over all its an impressive in regards to articulation. The shoulder pads being very pliable hinders no movement for the arms, and most of the joints stay firm, giving the heavy figure enough stability.

This is the comparison to the recent Habro BAF: Ultimate Green Goblin. Pretty obvious that his stature makes this hulking Green Goblin look tiny. Also, for old reference to compare it to some of the giants of Toybiz Legends:

Apocalypse

Galactus

So pretty obvious that Toybiz made a few giants in their time. The impressive thing is that none of these three are complete recycled molds; as far as I can tell, all brand new and special for each one.

So here comes the ultimate battle of Mutants versus the Sentinel! Guess who is going to win?!

Yes, Sentinel wins!

Overall, I'm really happy with this BAF. It's probably pretty high on my list now with the characters he came with and the finished production! I'd say for all you BAF collectors out there who are both Hasbro or Toybiz fanatics, he is a must. He isn't cheap by any means and one must really find good prices online to get the full piece, but all in all, he is worth it. Toybiz, I miss your quality in details! This figure makes that thought more prominent. Oh, and yes, I am moving on to a new shelf. There are some movements in the Game Room because of lack of…. space. HA! Who predicted that?!

On a final note, this is on my new camera so there is a noticeable difference in my pictures I surmise. I'll try not to use as much photo effects from now on since the pictures look great without the affects I think.

ML Sentinel BAF: Omega Red

Saving the best for last is what one can usually say, and let me just say that Omega Red is a favorite of mine in the bad guy genre! Red, Wolverine rival, cool name, and yes the bondage innuendo that goes along with him, all in all Omega Red is just a win for me! Have always wanted him in 6' version and alas, here he is in full form as a part of the Sentinel BAF. How does he hold up to expectations? Too excited to wait! He is freaking awesome!

I was slightly worried that Omega Red's right shoulder pad is bent due to the case. I was almost positive that it had remained that way for so long that when he comes out of his case he will have a permanent distorted design. Luckily, that isn't so.

I'm not sure if Wolverine being Canadian has anything to do with one of his rival's color scheme to concur with the Canadian colors but, we here we have the dangerous, tentacle whipping, and awesome villain Omega Red in his action figure version. I am very pleased with how this guy came out and he is pretty accurate to his comic book/animated series version.  He's got the red, he's got the Omega sign, he's got the tentacles, and he's got the mean face! Unlike Hasbro, there are a lot of paint details that goes along with this figure and it's really hard not to be impressed with how much effort they used to put way back when! The mold is pretty decent, a little on the skinny with the lower body but it's not a big deal really, it still does justice.

I'm really surprised that he didn't come with a Sentinel Arm instead of the hip because Sentinel comes with his own tentacles that are the exact some ones as Omega Red. Maybe that's on the lazy side, but it's not a major gripe to tally against the toy and the BAF itself. And yes, Omega Red comes with a stand also and an awesome comic book with Jim Lee's art!

Let me just say that he is flawed in some areas of articulation. First off, he has a very small ankle pivot which make some poses inadequate. He is missing the wrist or forearm swivel, his head is a bit impeded with the shoulder pads and his gorgeous locks, and lastly, his ab crunch doesn't work that great. But his tentacles has enough articulation to make up with that because…. how can you have a villain whose weapons are solely based on(aesthetically) to wrap people with their tentacles and have an action figure version of them NOT have articulation with their said tentacles?! Like Constrictor!

I believe inside these tentacles are bendable wires so it gives it the ability to be stable for certain poses or what not. It really gives him an Omega Red ambiance being able to pose with his trademark tentacles pose able like his body! Again, that's another thing that Hasbro misses the boat on these days.

Oh yes! We can't have an Omega Red without a Psylocke and Wolverine bondage, can we?! Well to my defense, during the Jim Lee days, this DID happen… well not exactly like this but something to this affect, more or less. Actually, I wish things happened like this(of course, Less Wolverine and more Psylocke in distress).

At the end of the day, Omega Red is not a perfect Legend, but given to the age of this toy and what it is still capable of, I'd say it's still one of the best out there. I don't think Hasbro has yet to make a toy that would be on par with some of the details that Toybiz paid attention to. Going through this whole set, I say it's just reaffirms just how much Toybiz was ahead in some departments compared to Hasbro. But here I am talking about the two companies when I should be delving into Omega Red… yes this figure is awesome! Honestly, it's all I truly have to say. BAF is great, the figure is great, and he is a pretty interesting villain in the comics to say the least.