This is most likely going to be the last BAF catch of 2014 and I must say, Groot and the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise surely surprised me this year! What I mean to say is both the movie and this BAF are just amazing pieces added in to the already growing Marvel Universe! So with that said, let's going ahead and dive right in to Groot and the amazing quality this figure provides!
The face may not be my favorite part of this BAF because it's so one dimensional and so stoic that when trying to do an action pose, he just seems bored. Though that's not saying I don't like it because if we are to say that it looks like Groot from the movie, there is hardly anything to say to refute that statement. It looks like Vin Diesel's Groot and despite it being forever bored looking, one can truly remember the movie when looking at his face. The big black and '
ignorant' eyes, the tree/ent looking head, then I'm not even going into detail with what is shown with the shoulders and chest... it's an amazing testament that Hasbro has the capability to make a truly detailed figure. So speaking of details, let's just to that now.
So
Jubilee was the last BAF I acquired and while I don't completely dislike the mutant turned Vampire young lady, I do say that she was a poor choice for a BAF. Now to put aside the idea of size and choice of character, Groot has far more to offer in terms of details. Yes he towers over Jubilee as he should and yes he has more details, but to truly scrutinize the details...
The sculpt on Groot is new and every carved rivets, makeshift tree, twigs, and even the paint(while minor, still appreciated) details given are something new that Hasbro has to offer! This is a brand new mold from what I can tell and as it should be. Groot is a unique and peculiar character as it is so to bring him on the Legends scale with a brand new body mold is a prudent! Honestly,
highly appreciated!
Articulation wise, I don't have any real major complaints since he does move pretty well for someone with a peculiar body mold. He has the abdominal swivel that is surprisingly intact despite the sculpting job. The arms are pretty articulated despite the branches sticking out of the shoulders; folds right in the gap between the shoulder joints! The legs have a bit of a -joint that actually works really well and I have no gripes over it. Ankle pivots remains to be the same complaint I have, which again, all well and good since in the end, he stands as he should and posing isn't difficult. At some angles, the stoic facial expression actually does quite well now that I look at it closely. Though the open hands does lack some things... fists and such would be nice. Perhaps alternate hands would do well.
As always, the lack of accessories does hinder the credibility of this BAF. Groot did a myriad of things that would definitely require some accessories like some long variant arm, perhaps some sharp twigs coming out of is back, close fists, and some variant faces. Again, Hasbro's major flaw is providing some extra paraphernalia to make things a bit more... fun.
I have a Marvel Cinematic Universe shelf that ... might stay or might not. In the mean time, Groot stays there. All in all, it's a great figure. Definitely one of the most innovative BAF Hasbro pulled off this year. As for the whole set, it's not my favorite, but definitely not the worse. With the movie being as cool as it was, the addition of the whole team in my collection is definitely got me hooked on a feeling!
While the BAF as Rocket Raccoon isn't exactly the most exalting thing to talk about, it is a better figure than the one that comes for the Groot piece. First and foremost, it has more articulation! Not much but it can move its mouth! Its head swivels quite smoothly too with no awkward look, also the firearm is easy to fit! Rocket's for the movie was just awkward to put on and it hinders a lot of poses. In fact, it ha minimal pose-ability. While we are at it, I might as well talk about the articulation .... it sucks. Legs can't move, head has that awkward swivel, lacking the mouth articulation, and he can't stand on his own without the tail being down. Oh and what's up with that sad face?!
So a question... Who is the BAF in this picture? I mean, it does say "Rocket Raccoon" but, it seems that Wrecker is the most fitting one of the bunch! Since the return of Marvel Legends under Hasbro, the figure to be built has lost a tremendous amount of 'stature'. Now don't get me wrong, Terrax was a great BAF in my opinion, but with waves like Hit Monkey and now Rocket Raccoon? Suffice it to say, I think we are going for the smaller characters to be built. That and I'm not going into the 'drama' of Marvel Legends ending only to adhere to Movie releases for their BAFs; though Jubilee? Hm. But anyways, moving on to this little guy over here!
But who is Rocket Raccoon without a gun that has a ... rocket in it? That's correct! He does have an accessory in the form of a gun! His tiny hands are molded so that he can be ambidextrous! And he is also given the perk of holding this gun with both hands. Gives him a few more postures to adhere to, I suppose. Though I would prefer if they at least gave him two guns so that dual wielding would make him a bit more dangerous looking. I don't know too much about this guy nor am I familiar with his trademark guns(if any), though I would assume battling up in space, two guns would be a bit prudent in certain scenarios. Just guessing again.
