Review of the Avengers Hammer Smash (Ultimate) Thor

The Basics:
Scale: 3 3/4"
Price: $10.99-$12.99

First Impressions:
History lesson time kiddies. This Thor depicts the character of Ultimate Thor. That doesnt mean he is "THE GREATEST THOR EVER!!!!" (Although i think he is), no, it means he is from Marvel's Ultimate universe. See around 2000 things got complicated and Marvel decided to make a new universe called The Ultimate Universe where it was a parallel versionn of the regular Marvel Universe, called Earth 616 in the Ultimate-verse. Complicated? Theres more. The Ultimate-verse has all the heroes and villains the regular earth has but it simply takes a different spin on them, Thoe more so than others. Rather than have a human host in Donald Blake, Thor IS Donald Blake, or vice-versa, Marvel never made it clear which is part of the fun. Thor came to earrth with no powers, no mjolnir, no nothing. When he told people he was a "Thunder God who lost his way" they obviously figured hes a nut, and turned him over to the authorities. Tony Stark had other plans. He believed him, and even gave him powers. The blue harness and silver belt you'll see in the pictures is what gave him his powers but it wasnt until Tony gave him Mjolnir until he truly was Thor, it gave him flight and the ability to summon lightning. However a few storylines later and Thor ditches the belt because now he has his real powers and the real Mjolnir back. However....Marvel Still never revealed if he is the true Thor or Donald Blake, and I wouldnt have it any other way.
That being said i was so excited to find this guy but got very dissapointed when i opened it....

Sculpt:This is one area where i can actually praise the figure because despite its flaws, you cannot deny that this is one of the best 3 3/4" sculpts ever. The face is dead-on to the Ultimate Thor, the hair is intricately sculpted, the Armor on his chest and the belt are amazing. The Side of his pants have ab unch of straps and buttons going down the side that are wonderfully executed and the boots look amazing. His hammer is scuplted well and his gimmicky weapon even got a great sculpt (as unescessary as it is but more on that mini rant in accessories).

Paint:The only other area i can praise this figure in. The paint job is flawless except for two areas. On his back you can see where the skin meets the armor, it can sometimes bleed onto the skin. The bad part is there is no way to check as you cant see his back in packaging. Secondly his hammer is molded in all gray plastic with no paint except for the little rope on the end..........thats it......... dissapointing.

Articulation:Ball jointed head
swivel-hinge shoulders
swivel-hinge elbows
swivel-hinge hips
swivel thighs
swivel-hinge knees
he has no wrist, ankle, or waist movement at all restricting most poses and limiting playability for younger kids.

Accessories:Okay, time for a little rant.
Now Thor comes with two accessories. His main hammer Mjolnir as seen above, which although sculpted well has no paint except the rope and was severely deformed out of packaging. See how straight it looks in the above pic? It took me 2 hours just to get it straight!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now for the worst part, he comes with a gimmicky weapon where the "hammer" becomes an even bigger "hammer". REALLY HASBRO?!?!?!?!? The money you put into these gimicky weapons could have been put into adding wrist, ankle,and waist movement, something NONE OF THE AVENGERS FIGURES HAVE!!!! They put in the gimimicky weapons for kids but lets be honest, no kid is going to buy this because of the lame weapon, they want it because its Thor! Or theyll want others because they want an Iron Man and Captain America figure!!!! I've witnessed a kid (my nephew) open up a Thor figure, take everything out of the package, play with the figure and the gimmicky weapon was thrown into the deep bowels of his toybox never to be seeen again....and hes 6 years old...... I mean come on Hasbro, its not rocket science!!!

Overall:
While i mostly am dissapointed with this figure its sculpt and paint are things to be praised. Im really torn but i can only recommend this figure to fans of The Ultimates and Ultimate Thor. It's just not what it should have been which is a real shame.
6 out of 10

Review of Return of Marvel Legends Thor figure!!!!!!!!

The Basics:
Price: $15.99 (Target) - $20.99 (ToysRUs)
Scale: 7 1/2"

First Impressions:

 Ok, for a little history lesson. This is not how Thor has always looked. This came into play back in 2006 when Thor was brought back from "the dead",  due to the catacylsmic events of Ragnarok that brought about the destruction of Asgard and all the Asgardians. After a pep talk from his human host Dr.Donald Blake he reawakens and is back with new armor, and more powerful than before as he brings back all the asgardians and creates a new Asgard that floats about 5 feet over a barren area of Oklahoma. That ladies and gentlemen is a tale only J.Micheal Straczynski could weave and make cool. That being said this figure looks stunning!!

Sculpt:
The Sculpt here is truly top notch. Thor looks like he was ripped right from the comic with the headsculpt being absolutely perfect. The chain mail is fantastic,  and the boots and tunic are great. The little "button" thongs that connect the cape and the tunic are nice and have scratches. The lower half of the tunic and belt are sepoerate pieces and not removable. The cape even has little scratches on it and overall has a nice texture to it, even the hands have veins and battle marks on them. Mjolnir, Thors hammer is absolutely stunning with so much detail like battle scars and Asgardian engravings.

Paint:I want to start off by saying the flesh tone on this figure is absolutely fantastic. All the other paint apps, the gold lines on the tunic, the silver chainmail with black wash, the silver on the tunic, and the brown on the boots is wonderful. The only paint apps to watch when picking yours off the shelf is the gold on the tunic as it can bleed onto the black or just have a very light application making it barely visible.

Articulation:Ball jointed neck
Swivel-hinge shoulders
Swivel biceps
Swivel-hinge elbows
Swivel-hinge wrists
Ball jointed abs
Swivel-hinge hips
Swivel thighs
Double-hinge knees
Swivel-hinge ankles

Accessories:Thor comes with the "Mighty Hammer Mjolnir"!!! Its wonderfully detailed and painted and as a bonus, if ur sick of having him hold it, there is a strap on the bottom, if you unhook Thors belt, you can slide it right in and have it rest at his side.

Overall:
For the third figure in a row Marvel Legends and Hasbro has impressed me. This is only wave 1 and i have nothing but praises. With new sculpts, and added articulation coming, all i can say is welcome back old friend, we missed you

10 OUT OF 10!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Review of The Return of Marvel Legends Steve Rogers Super Soldier!!!

The Basics:
Price: $15.99 (Target) - $20.99 (ToysRUs)
Scale: 6"

First Impressions:
Okay, before i begin time for a little history lesson for those who dont know or never followed the Steve Rogers: Super Soldier storyline. Essentially after Steve Rogers, better known as Captain America was "killed" his partner Bucky Barnes took up the mantle of Captain America. Now as everyone in comics who dies comes back to life within a year (except for poor old Uncle Ben) Steve returned but let Bucky keep the mantle of Captain America and Steve became the head of S.H.I.E.L.D and was known as Steve Rogers Super Soldier during Marvel's "Heroic Age" back in '10.
Okay now as for my first impression: it looks amazing in packaging and it literallt killed me having to wait to open him until i got home.




Sculpt:Mr. Rogers here has a re-used body of  a S.H.I.E.L.D agent from back when Hasbro was getting death threats due to their terrible Marvel Legends. But thats not a bad thing here. The comic suit was never anything more than a jumpsuit with puckes, and belts added on anyway. The boots are sculpted on and the detail on them is fantastic. The shoulder straps are glued on and look great. The Sheild and guns are insanely awesome and the belt is fantastic, and removable!(more on that in accessories) The hands are amazing and the head is great, the detail put into the face sculpt is fantastic. People initially complained that he looked too much like Duke from G.I. Joe and honestly, OF COURSE HE DOES!!! Take away the shield and costume, stick him in the military and HE IS DUKE!!!!! But i digress, an amazing sculpt all around.

Paint:The paintwork has definitly improved EXCEPT (come on, its Hasbro, did you really expect a figure with no problems?) the shoulders are supposed to have stars on them..........there are no stars. Now me being the inquisitive little geek i am decided to look into this. According to the fine folks at Hasbro, they didnt paint the stars to avoid paint chipping......ok ill admit thats a fair decision, and it bothers me less knowing they did it out of consideration than laziness. Everything else is great but when picking yours off the shelf watch for the paint apps on the shield and where the neck meets the shirt.

Articulation:
Ball and hinge neck
Swivel-hinge shoulders
Swivel biceps
Double hinge elbows
Swivel forearms
Ab crunch
Swivel waist 
Swivel-hinge hips
Swivel  thighs
Double hinge knees
Swivel-hinge ankles

Accessories:
Steve comes with four accessories. His classic Shield which features a peg that is used to store it on his back, and a cilp to put it on his wrist. Two amazingly detailed silver pistols (one was a grappling hook in the comics i believe), and his belt which i did not know was removeable until i accidentally removed it thinking i broke it. Panic does not begin to describe my reaction. There is a little plug on the right pouch that clips into the belt that isnt noticeable at all. Nifty Hasbro....very nifty.

OVERALL:
This figure, despite minor flaws, is amazing. Hasbro continues to win me over and Marvel Legends is making quite the comeback. Out of the new ML's this figure is one of the rarest, and with good reason! If you see him, grab him! I cannot praise it enough!!
10 OUT OF 10!!!!!!

The Return of Marvel Legends: Ghost Rider Figure Review

The Basics:Price: $15.99 (Target) - $20.99 (ToysRUs)
Scale: 6"

First Impressions:
It was a cold wendsday night in february as i return from the comic book store. Something told me to go into the ToysRUs nearby. I did, and i found this figure...nay........this work of art!! (Motorcycle not included) more on that in accessories) Needless to say i grabbed it, payed, and returned home to examine my spoils of the day. This figure looked like a work of art in the package...it truly is a masterpiece.

Sculpt:My God the detail is amazing. If Hasbro keeps up with this ammount of detail and quality control the Marvel Legends will once a again rule Toy shelves and my wallet. The Jacket and shoulder pads are one piece that is removable although tough to get on and off, it uses a tab system similair to the G.I. Joe vests. The belt is a seperate piece although not removable. It wasnt glued down to prevent leg articulation, but its not loose enough so that it flops around the figure. The arm guards look fantastic and the kneepads are beautifuly executed. The Shin Guards are wonderful with the front design sculpted fantasticlly, the spikes on the sides, and the belts connecting them sculpted onto the calfon the back. The shoes are regular except for the spikes on them. One thing that i am very happy about is that the spikes arent a soft rubbery plastic buta tough, firm one! Now the only gripe that i do have is that the jacket piece tends to flop around and limit arm articualtion, that said i think it would have been better if it was sculpted onto the body, but thats just me.

Paint: Paint is fantastic. Granted there isnt much but where it is applied its wonderful. The flames area  a translucent plastic but along the shoulder pads and top of the jecket, collar, and under shirt they have applied hues of orange giving off the effect of the flames light reflecting off the clothes. Orange highlights were also aplied to the face to give it the look that the flames are in the skull and the eyes....eyeholes are painted red. The rest is the gauntlets and shin guards and knee pads, given a metallic gunmetal grey color.

Articulation:Swivel-hinge shoulders (slightly limited by shoulder pads)
Ball jointed head
Swivel biceps and thighs
Swivel - hinge ankles, wrists, and hips
Ab crunch
swivel waist
double jointed knees and elbows
its a shame theres no rockers in the ankles but well see those in wave 2!

Accessories:Bupkis, unless you count the B.A.F. pieces (geek speek: B.A.F. = Build A Figure) I wish he came with a chain at least! The jacket is removable but i dont count that as an accessory. Regardless here are some pics of GR without his jacket.

OVERALL:I Cannot praise this figure enough. The grupes i made above can easily be overlooked because of all the GR figures ive owned this may just be my favorite! The Sculpt is great, paint is stellar, articulation is wonderful. The only thing hurting it is the lack of accessories. Other than that a fantastic figure!
9 OUT OF 10!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!