ML U.Green Goblin BAF: Boomerang

This will probably be the last of the Ultimate Green Goblin BAF variant that I am going to get. There is one more and it's Toxin; that said figure is lame compared to Carnage, so without further adieu, let's talk about Boomerang! Who is this guy?! Last I checked he is one of the "C-List" super villains of the 'street heroes(Spider-Man, Daredevil, Luke Cage, Punisher, Elektra, Iron Fist, White Tiger, Moon Knight, etc)'. I believe he is part of the Sinister Six at one point, which makes the team's name number inadequate like the Fantastic Four. Oh well, let's talk about the figure then.

The variant of Ultimate Beetle is none other than this handsome fellow! Honestly, I like Beetle better, but this guy isn't half bad. Not at all.

To talk about Boomerang himself, I think this is accurate to one of his mundane costumes. It might just be his most recent suit since he has the Thunderbolts insignia on his belt, but I'm lost in translation in regards to the going ons of comic book nowadays. It's not bad if I am just to base it off the figure. Not much going on since his paint job is rather insipid. The sculpting isn't the pinnacle of Hasbro's work, but it does justice well enough with the things unique to Boomerang like his helmet and his.... 'boomerangs'. So now that we got that out of the way, it's time to talk about the mold for a little while. A lot of toy reviewers praise this mold, and honestly, I don't blame them. It has a lot of good in it and the articulation is one of the best(the mold was originally used for the "Bucky Captain America"). For your average male Marvel character, it does justice, but there will come a time that this will be diluted with the extreme amount of time it will be used. I hope Hasbro considers using variations in the future. Just saying.

Aside from the leg piece of Goblin that we have already seen with Beetle, Boomerang does come with FIVE accessories. Okay, I'm exaggerating since it's realistically just... not that honorable to say five. But regardless, at least we get something with this guy. I would like to extrapolate the notion that if Hasbro gives us more accessorized figures(weapons or variant heads/hands), we'd be happier collectors! But okay, Hasbro, I'll give you one pat in the back for this little gimmick!

Again, the mold offers a lot of articulation and plenty of dynamic poses! Boomerang was entertaining to pose here and there but I find the mold stale and maybe it's because the character isn't the best character out there. One thing I find rather flawed with this figure is his hands don't hold his boomerangs well, especially the small ones. Again, another bummer.

In conclusion, having Boomerang isn't something I'm doing backflips over, but he is a good addition to my rogue of villains. My advice, if you are collecting this BAF and have to pick between him and Beetle, pick Beetle. Though I do understand that Boomerang sticks with the 616 Universe and Beetle is Ultimate so... that might be a deal breaker or not. I personally think there are a lot more 'new' things to be offered with Beetle with sculpting, paint application, and just better looking to me.

By the way.... is Boomerang from Australia by chance? 

ML Ultimate Green Goblin BAF: Carnage

The final piece of the Ultimate Green Goblin BAF! Cletus Kassidy! The one and only CARNAGE! Honestly I wasn't as excited for this figure like a lot of people were. For some reason I just didn't want another Carnage figure as much as I would've preferred other characters who haven't received the light of day. But somehow… this one had a touch that I didn't expect it to have. So let's have it then.

I like how red he is and he sticks out of the box with that color. The back shows that he is another one that will get a variant named "Toxin". Not too fond of that version of Toxin so I'll just pass on that.

And Carnage is one of the other pieces of the BAF that did not get a lot of care in regards to accessories. The tendril affect is the only thing he has going for him and that is rather disappointing since Carnage can morph his hands to any weapon he sees fit. That would've been rather cool if they added that in for him like an axe or a blade for interchangeable hands! Hasbro dropped the ball on this department for Carnage. And he comes with Green Goblin's head and flame affect.

Detail wise, it's a good looking figure. The paint job isn't extraordinary but the red and the clash of the black does concur well. He is an exact replica of the Carnage I remember from Maximum Carnage(comic book saga and the game). Though I did wish that the black tendrils or the symbiotic distortion are sculpted in rather than painted in like the old Amazing Spider-Man Carnage. But I suppose the black paint does fit this one well and it's not as messy looking as the other Carnage I'm comparing this one to.

His articulation is pretty smooth since this mold is pretty good in this department. He has all the great movements that collectors like myself can't really complain about but Toybiz still did very well with the finger articulation that added more exuberance in posing characters! And with Carnage missing variant hands, he is pretty limited in what he can actually do! I mean how awesome would it be to have him have his trademark axe or some kind of blade protruding out of his hands?! Going back to the idea of articulation, how about jaw articulation?! That would be something that fits the symbioses of the Marvel universe!

The classic rivalry that got a bit redundant at times because it was always Carnage… Venom… Carnage… VENOM! And… it got predictable. But these two are great in scale and awesome figures individually!

Maximum Carnage(s)! These are the other two Carnages I have in my possession. Both are the same mold and practically the same figures but altered slightly. The on the left is part of the Spider-man Origins line that Hasbro came out with and I think(minus the face) it's a great update of the Carnage on the right; it needs less black though. In contrast with the new Carnage, all three have their pros and cons. I think today's Carnage has a little bit more to offer.

Overall this is a good Carnage figure. Being the last piece of the BAF, I'd say this set is an overall success. They have their ups and downs individually but I will stand firm that Hasbro has made a vast improvement and with the variants actually coming out, I'd say they actually started listening to their fans! Speaking for just Carnage now, add in some accessories and he would've been a more than fantastic figure! But all in all, I like him. He impressed me far more than I thought he would! A must for any Venom fan so that Mr. Brock would have his most dangerous rival.

Coming up of course is the Green Goblin… my first BAF of 2014!

ML Ultimate Green Goblin BAF: Black Cat

Black Cat! Felicia Hardy! The Catwoman of Marvel! While Catwoman may have been first and in more ways than one is more popular than Black Cat there is one thing that Felicia Hardy does have over Selina: She has a better and good looking figure out right now! Though this one was a bit hard to get, luckily for me I did find her and now she is a part of my Marvel Legends collection along with the others!

As the box shows, Black Cat is the other figure that has a variant to her. The alternate looks interesting enough but I don't know if Spider-Girl is enough to compel me to get her. Spider-Woman would've been the more enticing choice for me(we are in dire need of an update picture).

Forget the left arm which is Electro. It wouldn't' come out once snapped in.

She holds the biggest piece of Ultimate Green Goblin but just like a couple of figures from this set, she really lacks accessories. She has her whip/hook but other than that no alternate hands or head. Honestly, she needs a few variant accessories. This lack of is probably one of her cons as a figure.

No doubt about it! She is a great looking figure! One of the things I must compliment about her is that her face looks great! Not a lot of female figures can be in that same notion though as Hasbro has dished out some atrocious looking ladies! But Felicia is indeed a beauty! The mold of her body is enamoring! The detail that screams Black Cat! It looks like the comic book figure no doubt! The paint lacks in some areas like her black suit, but then again from my knowledge she does wear latex so the black having no shading and depending on lighting to be its detail doesn't look so bad.

Now articulation is where Felicia suffers greatly. This mold does adhere to the more voluptuous femme fatale and no doubt will be recycled by Hasbro for good reasons(Moonstone is the first use of this mold from what Shartimus Prime mentioned). However the one thing is that certain areas lack articulation. Perhaps it will only be an issue on Black Cat, but the hips don't have a wide 'spread joint'… which insinuates that PERVERTS SHAME ON YOU for trying. She has no wrist articulation for up and down movements. Then we have her biggest articulation flaw: her head movement!

It's the hair! I know. Which is why I stand firm on the idea that perhaps Hasbro should've implemented some sort of variant head with the hair in a 'dynamic' pose. But that would've taken more space than needed I suppose. Some alternate hands would've sufficed since her slashing hand doesn't really concurs to what she can do in the comics. Perhaps alternate hands with longer claws?

Felicia isn't the easiest to stand either because of her heels. She does have peg holes on the bottom of her feet so perhaps that makes up for it, but I don't have stands like that for now so I don't think it helps me out that much at all. But she's standing in display right now so I don't have that much complaint. Posing her for poses though did have its mishaps.

So Black Cat is a good catch. For sure she is a must to complete the set. As a fan of Black Cat she is a must for me since I never bought her other ML aberrations from Toybiz's days(I have the Animated series version figure and the Diamond Select; then of course the Bishoujo). So in conclusion, Black Cat is a testament of a beautiful looking figure but suffers moderately in the articulation department. There are some ways to get around the qualms I had but again, perhaps with a bit more improvement with this mold Hasbro will one day dish out a PERFECT female figure(Spider-Woman in this mold please?!). Still a great catch though. Kitty cat does look good… =P

Collectors' Strife: Toy Hunt or Online Purchase?

The true meaning of toy hunt began again!

It's been a long time since I actually went out on the field and performed what many collectors like myself call: TOY HUNT. There's no hidden meaning behind the phrase, it is as the said words imply: It's the act of hunting for toys. For us collectors, there's more to it than just that! While yes the main goal of toy hunting is indeed to acquire figures that would add more zest to one's collection display, to some it's also the 'act' of driving hours and hours to every retailer to find some rare action figure. That was me some time ago before life took all of my spare time away so here I am now collecting through the means of buying sets online or just buying anything online that I find note worthy to add to my collection. While I can pretty much access anything I want to add to my game room, there is one slight problem: prices sometimes gouge instead of save! So when the new Marvel Legends for the Amazing Spider-Man 2 movie was finally confirmed to have retail release dates(also named Infinite series; and all ML's from here on with the exception of the Jubilee BAF will concur with any major Marvel movies), I decided to jump right back to the thrill of toy hunt! Great idea? Bad? Saved some money? Lost? Well… let's scrutinize.

Shartimus Prime is a toy collector/reviewer that is VERY adept at the game and he almost always have luck in grabbing sets. He was kind enough to provide me the item number that Target uses for these figures(Thank you Shart!) so suffice to say I jumped right on that, calling target damn near everyday to see when they will be receiving these things. It was a pestering six days of calling and following up, appearing on the scene or what not, inquiring, so forth, etc. and finally on their new floor set, I found four out of the six(Amazing Spider-Man, Superior Spider-Man, Beetle, Electro). What made things even sweeter is that I got them for the 'older' MSFRP price and not for the current price that Hasbro is asking for their figures. So what about the rare Black Cat and Carnage? I decided to merely wait on them since I thought that Target would be replenishing their supplies. That and perhaps other local retail stores would be able to provide what Target(my two close targets) didn't have! Walmart and Toys R Us did very little to aid my quest for these guys, sadly. So what the heck did Target provide for the next coming weeks?

An empty peg with that clearly labels: Spider-Man 6 inch Build A Figure on the new marked up price of the said figures! For weeks this is what I have seen and I called a couple of times just to see if they would replenish it from their shipment. Turns out that it wasn't even scheduled to come in! Now I don't really give a damn if it's the old price($14.99) or the new price, the fact of the matter is that they never stocked up! Why is that? And why is it this is all I see in my local target damn near everyday:

These are the new 'Super Hero Mashers' that Hasbro seems to be going on a trend with since the Iron Man 3 assemblers. They seem to be better quality than the Iron Man 3 one, but these things are obviously for the younger audience and not for collectors like me(or you if you are one). These parade the toy section along with:

More than enough 3.75 inch Spider-Man toys that are clearly not for collectors! All of these gadget filled, function exuberant 'action figures' are great for young children! And it's not big secret that I'm no longer a huge fan of Marvel Universe and their 3.75 pint size toys but they are a collectors' favorite in many places of the world! For a while that was the only thing we go when 6 inch was out of commission! So why do they ONLY get this much attention now?

I mean…. come on! If we are truly going for the whole what kids love and what is cheaper for parents to buy, aren't these guys fit that description? Or wait! There's no functions or gadgets right? Three dollars isn't worth to cough up for more details and more characters? No. Here's the bottom line that I see: retailers like Target doesn't seem to cater much to collectors. The shipment of the Amazing Spider-Man BAF only came in eight pieces(yes, I was told the number of what they are receiving), and since that time I bought those four, I never once saw them again in my local target. I DID find Black Cat at another target an hour or two away from my location. So what does that say? Do some Target order more than others because of demographics? Demand? Management calls? Or perhaps the true shipment will arrive during the release of the Amazing Spider-Man 2 movie? I don't know the answer to that right now but I do know is that I did spend quite a bit of time and gas searching for the set when in the end I ended up depending on eBay to finish my set.

So what does that really say? What is the better option as a toy collector? Speaking for myself, I don't have the patience(or the time) as I used to for toy hunting. Hell, I don't have patience, PERIOD. So will I get my next BAF set on sites like Amazon and BigBadToystore? Probably. Is that a better option for everyone out there? If someone has the money up front to SPEND THAT much all at once, then I personally feel that it is the more viable option. Driving around is tedious, takes up a lot of time and never a guarantee(unless you call in advance and hold, but even then). One always has to factor in gas money and again TIME! But there are some things about online shopping that makes it fallible like perhaps you get a defected item, or the delivery takes too long, or perhaps you end up buying into a not so legit seller…. who knows?! Personally I will always go the route of online buying. 

I'm loving this set of BAF don't get me wrong but… it was a freaking headache finishing it. And still is(yes I'm done with it but… yeah.) Anyways, hopefully some reviews coming up soon here!

So fellow collectors, what route is better? There are a lot of factors that will decide which is more adequate for you.

ML Ultimate Green Goblin BAF: Electro

The third line up of my Amazing Spider-Man 2 Ultimate Green Goblin BAF is none other than the movie version of Electro(played by Jamie Fox)! Again, not that keen on this look and the first time I saw this figure I was underwhelmed but having the figure, I say it's a lot higher on the scaling points than I originally thought! Why is that?

The box! Yes! Pushing all sarcasm aside, it is a really good new look for the Marvel Legends. If I buy enough I'll get sick of them too.

Compared to the other two I have opened, Elector has the most accessories with an alternate pair of hands AND a variant head! Again I'm impressed that Hasbro is taking some advice from the imports with these variant heads and hands! Of course this one comes with the flame affect and the left arm of Ultimate Green Goblin.

Now although well sculpted, Electro has very little to offer in the pain department. He is wearing pretty much all black leather so the only paint shading one gets are the 'electricity' affects on him. His head is bright blue, signifying that he is made up of entirely energy. Then of course the insipidness of all black as one can see! Surely makes his head stick out like a candle light.

The hand variations can be easily seen but the head variations are a little harder to see. So here's a bad close up picture/s. One head is calm and bright blue while the other one is emanating energy while still being bright blue.

Articulation is pretty standard along with the other figures. Every single joint complies to get him to an adequate posture that would mimic all the classic Elector poses I remember from comic books. Though how he would be in the movie, I think he flies a lot and phases in electricity form far too often or something like that.

Again the electric variants for hands does add more presence of Electro! Great job on that Hasbro! I'm really impressed with the thought on that!

While he is a figure lacking some better style of outfit and devoid of colors, his accessories makes up for it enough! Again he stood above my expectation of him and with a very standard and compliant articulation, there isn't much to hate on this figure. Amazing? No. Mundane, not really! At the very least if one is interested in building Ultimate Green Goblin, Electro here has a piece so one has to get him! 

ML Ultimate Green Goblin BAF: Beetle

The second character I opened up for the Ultimate Green Goblin BAF which is the Ultimate Beetle. Okay it's time to say that I know almost close to NOTHING about Beetle in the 616 Universe of Marvel. To top that off, I know EVEN less about the Ultimate adaptation of this said character. But I will say is that his design is a bit more to my liking. Maybe the Silver Centurion colors? who knows.

Yes, the box, great! There is a variant figure to Beetle which is Boomerang. He looks okay enough but I probably will pass on him since Beetle is the one I really want and got.

It's a shame in regards to accessories that he doesn't get alternate hands like some of the other figures do. He gets the detachable wings and of course the left foot BAF piece of Ultimate Green Goblin. Kind of a 'meh' if you ask me.

Detail wise? I like the color a lot! I mean the work added on his mold does add the feel of it being armor. Of course with his wings he looks so much better!

Side profile conveys more of the details. Again wings adds more look to him.

And the back for sure NEEDS the wings on!

Articulation is almost as good as the details with this guy. I mean it does have the basics and posing him is lots of fun! Standing him is even easier because his feet provides enough stability. There are certain things about his costume designs that hinders a few of his movements which does add a minor bummer affect here and there. Shoulder bumps and his wings are the major culprits for articulation hinderance but again, it's not that big of a deal since there will be ways to get around it! I mean getting him to flying or "I'll blast you bzzzzzzz!" poses is a cake! Having alternate hands would've came in very handy(punnnn!) but it's not super important I think. Still got a pretty versatile figure.

Got a good figure and another piece to Ultimate Green Goblin, I'd say not bad. Again I wasn't expecting Ultimate Beetle to deliver as much as he did but he did! Again lacking accessories and some articulation hinderance, but overall I am elated to have him! 

ML Ultimate Green Goblin BAF: Amazing Spider-Man

Four pieces out of six in my grasp! Amazing Spider-Man is going to lead the charge on my review. But let me just say right now before I continue, I am absolutely surprised with how good this figure is!

Again I think this will be the new trend with Hasbro's Marvel Legends boxes. Just like the Captain America Mandroid BAF piece I reviewed, the new box is indeed something to fancy over. It's open friends, the embossed pictures and logos are quite nice and one is able to see the figure and the piece that comes with him rather easily.

Speaking of the piece, Spidey comes with Ultimate Green Goblin's right arm and the flame affect. the accessories are two alternate hands: fists and web hands. This is where I will praise Hasbro for their efforts on getting some influence from import toys! With Hasbro not being very keen with finger articulation like Toybiz was, it would be behoove of them to have alternate hands to go along with their toys! I mean just with the few Figmas and Playarts Kai toy reviews I did, having alternates adds more fun factor to the action figure! More pose options equals more fun factor! I mean it might not be as much as what the imports supply but for the price I paid for these figures, it's something to praise! That and the flame affects makes the entire piece a bit more enamoring! So good job on that Hasbro! Keep it up!

So I'm going to be honest when we move on towards the details: I don't like this new costume. Okay so it's classic Spider-Man! It looks like the comic book counterpart so what's there to not like? Well, truth to be told I stopped being a huge fan of Spidey's outfit a long time ago. I appreciate the nostalgia, but it's just not my favorite so with that said, I like the first suit in Amazing Spider-Man a whole lot better! It was a new take on the suit and separates him from McGuire Spider-Man. Apparently there was a backlash from fans so we get a more classic look for the new movie. The symbol is the only thing 'distinct' about it. As a figure, it's good. Lines are sculpted in there as well as the Spider-Man insignia on the front and the back. It's a good sculpted figure, again the suit is what irks me.

Now the articulation is what we are all going for right now and let me just say, this figure is FUN to pose! There are a lot of things this figure offers! A LOT! It is a definitive of a good(not expensive) Spider-Man figure! Minus the finger articulation, this figure basically took what Toybiz Spidey's were mostly good for in the articulation department and then put the fancier paint and voila! We have this Spider-Man! I mean…

That's just a warmer up too.

And I barely scratched the surface with what this figure can do. I don't have the proper accessories like the webbing to make more Spidey famous poses, but hell, just with what I have it does well enough. This Spider-Man is also joint friendly so suffice to say, it's easy to pose him around with whatever one can think of.

Yes, that is an old Toybiz Spider-Man action figure for the Spider-Man 2 line.

So in conclusion, while I'm not the biggest fan of this 'new' suit, the action figure offers a lot. While just being the first, I just want to say that there is high hopes for this BAF. With above mediocre painting, a new mold, alternate hands, and great and friendly articulation, it's definitely a huge improvement from the last few Spider-Man related action figures that Hasbro has been dishing out.