Grunt and Jersey Red
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Classic Cartoon (Neca) - Multi-Packs
Rated 4.70 stars by RMaster007
Guess this means I can finally say the gang's all here. Grunt was among Bebop and Rocksteady's gang that was only present for the first season of the original cartoon, and his name is Grunt; they didn't have to change it to avoid coming into conflict with Disney like they did with Dopey and Dumbo. Grunt looks almost like someone out of Mad Max or something similar, with nothing but a harness covering his torso, a gray belt, metal wristcuffs and (presumably) kneepads, and a big mohawk. He's also pretty muscular, but not to the degree B&R would become after being mutated. Anyways, the sculpt for Grunt's figure was provided by Eric Barnett, and stands around 6 3/4" tall. He looks accurate to the show, and almost everything with painted "outlines" are sculpted as well, so he's not a flat...[See More]

Stridor
Masters of the Universe - Origins (Mattel) - Accessories
Rated 4.25 stars by Karl T. Face
Well, it's Stridor. Never the most exciting toy, but I really wanted that base, so I jumped on it when it hit deep clearance. Did it surprise me? Read on. Right off the bat, it's got a lot on the old one. Side by side, the legs are slightly chunkier to accommodate the articulation, making it look a lot beefier despite the torso actually being a touch narrower this time around. That's 3 balljoints in the neck,3 hinges for each leg, and a spring-loaded hinge in the jaw to grip the bit. That's unexpected. I take issue with the color, though. It's got a more reddish sort of brown, and the legs, seat, and rear gun have gone from caramel to orange. Less war machine and more parade float, really. Kudos for the old-school stickers, though. Eat it, Classics version! Unlike the rather disappointing...[See More]

King Arthur
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (Diamond Select) - Series One
Rated 3.55 stars by RMaster007
I believe almost everyone has heard of and/or been exposed to Monty Python at least once. The British comedy troupe is known for a couple things, but what they're most recognized for is their film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, a tour de farce of gags set in the Middle Ages. The film's popularity has led to plenty of merchandise, but surprisingly not a lot of figures. Sideshow did a ton of characters in 1/6 scale in the early 2000s, but Diamond Select also took a shot at it with a few figures in a smaller scale. How few? Only three got released. The packaging is a big cardback with graphics related to the film, along with a cross-sell and text about the film and figures on the back. It's quite simple, really, but it looks nice, and I didn't have too much trouble getting everything out...[See More]

TMNT III Samurai 4-Pack
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - 1990 Movie (Neca) - Exclusives
Rated 4.80 stars by RMaster007
After doing plenty of figures from the first two Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies, it was inevitable NECA do the third movie next. Granted, it's considered the weakest of the New Line trilogy, and I agree, but I'd be lying if I didn't say it was a guilty pleasure. I was more than happy to hear the "samurai" turtles would be getting a four-pack, and I made sure to pre-order mine from NECA directly once the chance arrived. The packaging is much like the past movie four-packs, recreating the VHS box art with the included figures. That part's a slip cover over the open-window box underneath, and it gives you a good view of what's inside, along with neat interior art and plenty of photos on the back of both it and the cover. There's a bit of tape and plastic strips to remove, but it's all...[See More]

Megatron
Transformers (Super7) - Ultimate
Rated 3.70 stars by RMaster007
It's been a good long while since we got the first wave of Super7's Transformers Ultimates, and after waiting what seemed like forever, the second wave is finally showing, albeit through Big Bad Toy Store first. The big player of this wave is Megatron, who I picked up as soon as I saw he was in-stock. Like with wave one, the sculpt for Megatron is done by Four Horsemen, Super7's usual go-to for Ultimates. S7 doesn't bother to credit them or anyone specific for these figures, so you wouldn't know unless you looked at the Horsemen's site. Anyways, Megatron's head sculpt is spot-on to how he looked in the G1 cartoon, sporting his usual expression showing how displeased he is with you. There's two other heads sporting a sinister laughing expression, one with a weird helmet, and the other...[See More]

Radiation Ranger
Toxic Crusaders (Super7) - Ultimate
Rated 4.75 stars by RMaster007
Every villain needs henchmen, nameless mooks who do all the dirty work for you. It's especially good if they're robots, since they can create tons of them to send out and get thrashed. Shredder had his Foot Soldiers, COBRA had their B.A.T.s, and Dr. Killemoff had these guys. As with any good robotic hench, the Radiation Ranger's face is never shown, and if it was, it'd be all metal and circuitry. Super7 chose to recreate the Ranger's toy design, rather than its cartoon design like Toxie. They're wearing a gas mask connected to a life support backpack and whatever that thing on their chest is. The connecting wires are made out of a soft, rubbery material, and pop in and out easily. The backpack is separate from them in the box, but it pops into the two holes on the shoulders easily....[See More]

Toxie (Blue Pants)
Toxic Crusaders (Super7) - Ultimate
Rated 4.40 stars by RMaster007
Turning a gore-filled, non-family-friendly B-movie into a goofy children's cartoon? It sounds weird, but they did it, and it worked. Toxic Crusaders is arguably as recognizable as the original Toxic Avenger movie, assisted by a line of figures by Playmates. Years later, Super7 grabbed the license and started off with ReAction and a couple versions of an Ultimate Toxie, but now they're going all-in with the denizens of Tromaville in the Ultimates world, including their fourth Toxie Ultimate. The packaging is simple, but uses colorful graphics, and shows off the figure well. The colors of the box underneath the slip cover are unique to each figure, with Toxie's being orange and green. There's no character bio on the back unfortunately, just a mock warning symbol. It's easy to get...[See More]

Alf (Cosmic Con)
ALF (Neca) - Ultimate
Rated 4.90 stars by RMaster007
As we all know, San Diego Comic Con came and went, and with it were plenty of exclusives. The companies made sure to include online options for those who couldn't make it, such as NECA, who was smart enough to put up pre-orders for theirs before the show. One of which is a convention-themed variant of ALF, ready for "Cosmic Con." The packaging is similar in execution to the regular ALF, albeit with more of a space theme. It's simple, but has nice shots of the figure, along with some of ALF's wit. It's also easy to get everything opened up, with just some tape and plastic strips to remove. ALF's sculpt is the same here, done by Thomas Gwyn and standing 5 3/4" tall, but with two differences to his overall appearance. One is the paint, as his fur's more of a lighter tan color than the...[See More]

Michelangelo
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Mondo) - 1/6 Scale
Rated 4.00 stars by RMaster007
Nowadays, 1:6 scale figures are becoming pretty popular. A lot of companies are making 12-inch tall figures from a variety of licenses, though most of them are really expensive. Some are more on the cheap side, however, such as Mondo, who has done a couple of reasonably-priced figures. One of the first licenses they put into that scale is the ever popular Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. Michelangelo comes in a simple, and rather large, fifth-panel box. The front shows artwork of the turtle himself and the back is art of all four of them. The front flap shows concept art of the figure itself, which is a nice touch. The box is nice and collector friendly, and everything is easy to take out and put back in later. His sculpt is based off of the original Mirage comics, with the...[See More]

Ace Duck
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Super7) - Ultimates!
Rated 4.50 stars by RMaster007
While I enjoy Super7's Ultimates, I'll admit they're overpriced. At $55 each for most figures, the inconsistent quality and occasional lack of accessories make it hard to justify the price. It looks like retailers such as Entertainment Earth realized this, and began marking them down. Ace Duck is one of those, and he's only around $24 there. I didn't get mine through them, but rather during a sale at my local comic store for only $30. Now why can't every Ultimate be that cheap? Ace Duck has a pretty weird expression, wide-eyed with gritted teeth. Is he supposed to be eager or nervous? It's what the original figure had, though, and Four Horsemen did a good job with him. The pilot's cap is a separate piece, and it fits snugly on his head. They went ahead and gave him an extra head, and...[See More]