Marvel Legends BAF: Galactus

Galactus Series: Bullseye, Nightcrawler, Hulk, Dr. Strange, War Machine, Deathlok, Professor X

The world devourer! Galactus finally assembled and here within my game room! Unlike most BAFs that I completed this year, Galactus started from scratch. I had zero of the pieces but somehow and someway, SOMEONE enticed me to get him. Personally, I had no qualms with that because Galactus had always been in my crosshairs in regards to the BAF lines. One of the 'originals' in the BAF days of Toybiz, Galactus came with some pretty respectable characters. With the exception of Deathlok, the rest are pretty well known. And in my honest opinion, with the exception of Bullseye, everyone are adequate to fill the pieces of the World Devourer(there could've been more hard hitting characters put in no doubt).

Right off the get go I'm going to mention that this is indeed my top, if not CLOSE to my top favorite BAF I have gathered this year. Admittedly, Galactus' story was far more 'out-of-this-world' at his debut. Now with him just being 'there' and him constantly and redundantly taking and keeping his promise to spare Earth from his hunger, I have to say that he has become a bit bland(story wise). But back then and partially to this day, there is something unique and intimidating about the story of Galan so does his BAF from way back when do him justice? 

The details are there with him. Aside from his chest piece that was updated with this toy, his costume design is indeed etched into this BAF with an almost infallible work. Not entirely sure WHAT a cosmic being with a hunger as grand as eating up a whole planet would be wearing, but I suppose there is something to be said about his costume design. The most intriguing part of his said costume would have to be his helmet; more so the front since it has the details. It is his signature after all and even the infamous movie that he 'appeared' in showed the silhouette of his helmet. The designs sculpted on the helmet really concurred with the paint job; speaking of which, from head to toe, the blue, purple, and bordeaux combination fares better in his plastic form than a LOT of his comic aberrations. Facial expression remains to be stoic but still somewhat of an intimidating look; the 'square' eyes also keeps the detail that he has in the comics.

Now I didn't scrutinize his articulation as well as I would with the other BAFs. He offers quite a bit more than what one would expect but not a slew of them. But unlike Rulk and Iron Monger where they are very limited, Galactus does have articulation in his hands that allows for more than just closed fist related stances. Though Galactus is hardly EVER in melee actions or the such so having him mostly standing in a supreme pose is far more adequate. Thus the reason why I kept a lot of his pose simple. Suffice to say, he does have the expected movements. For those overly into leg articulations, do take note that his 'loin cloth/skirt' does get in the way. But again, I highly doubt that Galan will be indulging in doing splits.

Next to Apocalypse BAF, Terrax BAF, and Silver Savage

Rocket Raccoon?

As expected, Galactus is a big BAF. Toybiz had the affinity for giving us the BAFs in the size(Hasbro fails to do so). He stands nearly toe to toe with Apocalypse. With his helmet, he stands slightly taller but he doesn't have the mass that Apocalypse has. Next to the 6 inches, he is for sure a force to be reckoned with! And speaking of Hasbro and their recent BAFs, that's Rocket Raccoon with the devourer of worlds! While Galactus was bigger than a planet, he did have the ability to change his size on the whim to fit the situation. Though if I was a devourer of worlds and I need not fraternize with the inhabitants of the planet I'm about to use to sate my hunger, then I won't have to dwindle my size to their liking. Better yet, don't play with one's food!

In short, Galactus has been a long time coming. I had every intention to add him as part of my collection some time ago(Sentinel and Nemesis as well) but just have put him off. Well, here he is now. Suffice to say, I'm very happy that he has become part of the number!

And considering his size, he did not fit in the typical shelf of the 'baddies'. Besides, Galan's hunger doesn't entirely make him evil; the same notion of a 'force of nature' I suppose. With that said!!!! 

Bandai Tamashii Stand (act 5)

It took a bit of time for me to give in into finally purchasing one of these. As a collector who is very fervent about displaying my collection, sometimes the dull 'standing' pose gets boring no MATTER how articulated the figures are so sometimes depending on stands is a given. So this is my VERY first purchase that is just a stand(pun) alone Display stands. From Bandai, this Tamashii display stand is more or less directed for imports. Suffice to say, there was a bit of a gambit when I decided to get it for the sake of my Marvel Legends. But that gamble paid off well enough and for the price, it comes with three so more or less the purchase is a success.

While there are a lot of characters in my collection that possess the ability to fly, certain ones can stay in the 'standing' pose because they are stable and articulated enough. For the 'flying' ones that just don't comply to the way I want them to or is just plain and ridiculous without flying(Wasp is one), then this stand came in handy! Sadly, it IS as transparent as it can get unless I have a dull white background. Suffice to say, it works well enough.

As I was saying earlier, it's more or less directed to imports so figures like Revoltech and such usually have a lighter frame to them. Luckily for the purpose I wanted it for, these stands came with two optional grip! That and their joints that are articulated are sturdy enough to hold the weight of the One I initially had in mind(Jean Grey). Wasp was also in mind to begin with but since I didn't really like the character or the toy THAT much I really contemplated whether or not she was going to get one of these stands... my decision came to the fact that Wasp has wings and well... she kind of needs to fly. I didn't bother trying them on a heavier ML like Iron Man or what not since I have this feeling it won't bode too well. Perhaps I should just to see though.

These are the stands that I have that help create the 'magic' in my game room. From left to right we have the Revoltech Eva Unit 2 stand, The Toybiz Stand(War Machine), the new stand, and of course the Square Enix playarts stand.

Eva unit 2,  War Machine, Spider-Woman, Mai Shiranui

While the first three stands are indeed made for flight and action, the playarts stands more or less are the best for neutral 'standing' stance and some limited flying pose; or jumping. Well, that's my comparison and my review. For my opinion, the stand does good and as long as I don't OVER use it, I believe it will hold its own. Might get more of these later; for three in a pack, NOT TOO bad. Amazon sells it for a decent price. I recommend it. 

Marvel Legends: War Machine

I'm not entirely the type of person to go in depth blog about a Marvel Legend figure unless I REALLY like it. I guess with this gesture it's me stating that I do like this Toybiz adaptation of War Machine.

The case itself is something a lot of collectors remember Toybiz for! Transparent plastic and shoplifter deterrent! This durable case is indeed friendly for Collectors who never take their decor out of their protection, which again, I will redundantly say that I used to be one, now I am in it for the sake of getting them posed and action oriented. That and BAFs are only justified if out of the case(Apocalypse is the instigator for my BAF hunger!). And so the with that said, the back of the case DOES show Galactus(*hint*).

A rather common thread with the Iron Man related toys back in Toybiz was that the 'face plate' of the helmet usually comes off to reveal the said wearer inside(this case it's Rhodes, all the rest is Stark, obviously). This face is no Don Cheadle or Terrance Howard(don't know if I spelled that right) and truth to be told, I don't even think if this is remotely resembles all of the Rhodey aberrations with the myriad of artists that have drawn this character... guess as long as he is black it's okay. Ha! So along with the removable mask, War Machine comes with a good amount of accessories! Mostly a whole lot of firepower affect and the classic Toybiz articulated stand(only found out recently that its articulated; feel rather stupid for that). This is something that Hasbro still hasn't updated by the way! Stands and affects are a must and some imports like Revoltech are doing their customers justice by adding BOTH firepower and interchangeable hands. Still on the fence about interchangeable or articulated hands... I'm digressing.

The affects and stand does add a lot of possibilities for poses. There is a lot of things someone can really focus on in regards to what s/he wants War Machine to do! In these two pictures could just really point out possibilities with the affects and the stand. Flying and firing in plastic still made easy with this guy and admittedly, it's probably one of the few affects I find rather aesthetic in all of my brigade of toys so far.

Detail wise he is pretty sharp; well sharp as one can be with the way the 'armor' look was with Iron Man and War Machine way back in the 90's. While certain parts do look like Armor, the leggings and the armor still kind of resembled too much 'tights' rather than metal platings. That and the arms.

While I appreciated the details on the guns, the nice shine to the paint, and the affect of the firepower and all that, the scale of his arms in regards to the rest of him is a bit out of proportion. Basically, his arms are a bit TOO long and not a whole lot of angles can really hide that little mistake. The legs could've used a bit more length to him as well as the torso; that could've evened things out.

Articulation is in good standings in my opinion. There's an extensive amount of them so it doesn't lack in that department, though the way the figure is molded makes certain bends and swivels a bit too awkward. Which is of course the comparison I have with Toybiz and Hasbro(now). Toybiz was articulation pleasers and the majority of their toys looked damn good and they have always been THE Marvel Legend ' makers for a lot of people. But some of their figure suffered a lot on aesthetics and proportions solely because of 'too much bend'. Hasbro now eased of in some of the articulation(the fingers! Godamnit! The fingers!!!!) but the majority of their molds and faces looks decent(speaking of females). It's a conundrum at times, though toss in Toybiz better BAFs, the stands, and the effects it gave War Machine and a lot of their characters... well Hasbro may still seem to be inferior compared to. Speaking of comparison .... let's look at things now...

Hasbro made a lot of Iron Man one armors for the sake of milking the 'hall of armor' idea. Well, this one came out of the wood work. A good beginning since this is the 'first' War Machine I came across from Hasbro(not counting the Ultimate War Machine from the Ares series). Skinny and .... skinny.

I like this War Machine armor. It was his Civil War/post Civil War armor and during his stage that he was 'Cyborg Rhodey'. It may lack in details here and there but I like the way it looks. Still a bit smaller than the original ToyBiz War Machine though.

The movie War Machine! This is still my favorite War Machine toy. Interchangeable hands, great details, articulation isn't as abundant as Toybiz's version but adequate, and it's very movie accurate. Just add in the effects accessories and we have a pretty good toy on the table. Honestly, these two are my favorite War Machine toys.

Come to think of it, War Machine doesn't have the variants as much as Stark does; then again, Iron Man isn't one to stick to one version of him. War Machine has had minor upgrades left and right but nothing TOO big to notice; that and it was on the artist's whim half the time. Oh well. For the sake of an Iron Man/War Machine fan, pick up this classic! Got a good deal on him but he averages between $40 - $60. He is also a part of Galactus, just to hint that out there.

Marvel Legends: Iron Man 3 wave 2

Hasbro has been the supplier for the main Marvel action figure paraphernalia for some few years now; perhaps even close to a decade I would surmise. For the most part, Hasbro has been jumping the wagon on whatever popular Marvel movie line up(or the scarce TV shows that Marvel produces) which as we all know, Iron Man is one of the main hitting ones(Iron Man Legends, Marvel Legends: Iron Man 3 wave 1) whether we are talking about comic book or movieverse. So only fitting that Hasbro decided to put out the a Marvel Legends line up for the recent movie of the Iron Avenger; the supposed 'last' of the Iron Trilogy(though rumors has it there is going to be one more; that and along with other Hollywood Drama). I've had the first wave for a while now, but putting wave 2 in my grasp was a different story. They seemed more illusive than the first bunch.

 

The Mark 42. The patent armor for Iron Man 3. Despite my feelings on the third installment of the Iron Man franchise(A Stark Plummet), I do have to say there is aesthetically pleasing with the Mark 42. Though its fighting prowess is questionable(along with the durability of all Stark's armor in the third movie), I do have to indulge on the different take of the armor. It being more dominantly gold is something; still, wish they would do something different with the helmet rather than keep it the same damn thing every damn movie.

 

A lot of people's qualms about Mark 42 is the paint job and honestly, it's not the pinnacle of action figure painting, though it's not entirely bad as other people would claim it to be. If I was to really scrutinize it, he could use a bit more shine to him; make him a bit more movie glossy so to speak. Articulation is good to an extent. There are a myriad of options for 'action' pose,  though I don't entirely have the patience to do a whole lot of them.

Though attempting to do the classic pose of Iron Man's landing doesn't entirely happen with me. I'm sure it's possible, but again, patience is sparse as of late.

 

Iron Patriot or formerly known as War Machine. Colonel James Rhodes has had some major bad luck in his armor endeavors since mostly everyone and anyone can possess his armor; well that is a Stark Irony since he did steal the armor from Tony(the MK II). Again, not trying to delve into movie politics and despite my gripe with another section of the movie, I'd say I love this toy.

 

The painting to me is a bit more vibrant than MK 42. Although both figures do a stellar job capturing the majority of the Armors' details from the movie, I do have to say there are a lot more to create with Iron Patriot and I must say Hasbro hit the note. Though the one thing I would say that brings this toy down is the canon on the back lacking colors. I's just colored in an insipid grey and awkward looking with the rest of the toy. Wonder why that extra effort was left out? Articulation wise it falls in the same caliber as MK 42. Malleable enough for a few scenes but there are still inhibitions that makes it LESS enamoring. There are also times when keeping him upright is a task since he is a bit more 'top heavy'. Though all in all, he wasn't too bad; I've had worse experience.

This is Iron Patriot next to his comic book aberration. Rhodes and Osborne so to speak. Again, more enthused with the Iron Man 3 version.

And that's him next to the Iron Man 2 merchandise, War Machine. I am a big fan of the Hasbro War Macine, but I must say Iron Patriot does a fine job as a part of my collection as well.

Can anyone spot MK 42?

Now I have three "Iron Patriots"

So, that's it for those two. There is one more component missing to properly assemble Iron Monger, Ultron. And the damn thing is the head so I'm not going to be taking pictures of Iron Monger until I find him! But there might be an alternate version of Iron Patriot; the War Machine MK II; the armor that seemed to have gotten a lot of popularity despite him NEVER wearing the damn armor.

Iron Man 3 new Trailer

Hall Of Armors. A Myriad of 'Iron Men' in classic Iron Man armor; comic book homage and such! Cannot WAIT for this movie!!!!

"The Red" Phase IV

So far, every single picture shown has been repetitive angles of my room, yes? Won't you concur?

The Iron Man shelf had a bit of work done to it. Sooner than later this red shelf will be even more vibrant than it is now.

And soon as well these shelves will be filled with more things!!! Suffice to say, I spent a lot of time today fixing this place. There will be something 'new' I am trying out with this game room since it is MINE.

More on that later!