No actual Japanese toys these past couple of weeks, but I did get...
Hasbro's 6-inch scale Amazing Spider-Man (which is pretty much the 3.75" figure with accurate colors,) Mattel's New 52 Superman & Batman, and LIAM FUGGIN' NEESON! Cock sold seperately.
I was hoping Spidey would have an ab crunch, or at least a waist swivel, and feet that could bend forward at a tighter angle, so that's a disappointment. As it is, he's a good, detailed sculpt that represents the lean teenager he's supposed to be. And he looks better when you add the weblines in.
Superman & Batman are also good for the most part, but Mattel's cutting some corners by molding the body (minus the head) all one color and then painting everything else. One thing I really liked about Mattel's DC line was that they made an effort to keep the extremities unpainted so there was no chance of paint wearing off of corners & edges. Batman used to be molded in grey, and then the forearms, head, and boots would be molded in black, with the smaller part that forms the joint painted in grey. I miss that. I do very much like that their chest emblems are now fully sculpted and no longer a simple tampograph. I'd recommend them through Amazon, where they were $15.99 each with no tax & free shipping.
LIAM NEESON! He kinda sucks. I could overlook the Nth use of the business suit body if only the face sculpt had been kickass. And... it's more like Ass-Kick. It's really pretty fucking goofy. At least he comes with the gas mask he wore in Batman Begins, and that helps cover up the derp factor. If you're a big Hollywood Babble-on fan, I'd recommend keeping him after you've assembled the Bat-Signal. If not, I'd eBay him loose.
BETA-RAY BILL! HULK! NICK "BAD MUTHA FUCKER" FURY! I love the first two, and not disliking the third. Beta-Ray Bill is a must buy, SHUT UP. YOU GO BUY NOW. His JAW moves! RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAARRRRR!!!!11!
Hulk is a quantum improvement over all previous Marvel Universe Hulks. He's actually the base sculpt used for the World War Hulk figure before adding all those straps & armor. The upper torso & right arm are exactly the same, and you can see aspects & details in the feet, head, and legs that are identical in both figures. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that this was the "original" sculpt & then Hasbro added on all the armor pieces before casting the WWH mold.
Nick Fury mostly seems like an improvement over the one from that Iron Man 2 TRU-exclusive 4-pack. While that figure's trenchcoat was a rare example of soft goods actually
working, the collar always bothered me, and I'll always have a marked disdain for soft goods on anything smaller than a 1/6 scale figure. Using the Winter Solider body from last year's Captain America line, he's already got more articulation than most of the Avengers movie figures, and the head sculpt's also an improvement. I gave him Ultimate Hawkeye's pistol and a rocket launcher from a Cobra Viper, since that's closer to what he used in the Avengers movie.
Finally, the Return Of Darth Maul battle pack. I fall in and out of Star Wars fandom, but there's always room for mo' Maul! Savage Oppress is the same figure that's available separately (but no lightsaber!?) so the real draw is Maul and the Nightsister. And since it's $18 at Target, Savage is just a free bonus. I really like this version of Maul, his mechanical legs are actually really poseable. And they even made a weapon accessory that's ACTUALLY COOL. His double-ended lightsaber can be split in half, and each half plugs into that round energy whirl that Maul holds... and then you can spin the whole thing while he's holding it!
Nightsister's a cool figure to have since we now finally have that Sith Witch design that was originally intended for Episode 1. She's got a great sculpt, and all the universal joint articulation that most Star Wars figures have nowadays... but STILL has that damned T-crotch! Savage has it too, and he's even got a soft goods skirt to allow for hip movement! WTF Hasbro? The funny thing is, nearly all Hasbro figures that use T-crotches also have universal joint knees, which are rendered nearly useless by hips that can't move outward. Craziness! Good figure, but just misses the "great" mark.
Haha, whoops! Almost forgot this!
Costco has an exclusive deco Quinjet that looks better than the original, and comes with two repaint figures to boot! Out the rear hatch! I'd already bought the retail Quinjet months ago, but the addition of red highlights and a red canopy just called out to me. The included figures are repaints of Cap and the Mark VI armor from the Avengers line, and they're a nice bonus. And it's even a buck cheaper than retail!
