Review of Marvel Select Thor: The Dark World Thor figure!

 
 
Character Bio:
Known as the God of Thunder on Earth, Thor is an Asgardian from an alien world where magic and technology are one in the same. As a prince of Asgard, Thor's responsibilities reach across the Nine Realms, but he has a place in his heart for Midgard, or Earth, where he was briefly banished. He has fought alongside Earth's Mightiest Heroes, and considers each of them to be as fine a warrior as any Asgardian.
Scale: Roughly 7" - 7 1/2"
Price: $20.99 -$30.99










Sculpt and Paint:
This Thor is probably the only movie figure I will be picking up for Thor: The Dark World as the 3" line does not appeal to me at all, and it looks like there won't be a Legends line like there was for Iron Man 3 and the ones coming up for Captain America: The Winter Soldier and The Amazing Spider-Man 2. So for me this figure had a huge hole to fill in my collection and thankfully this Thor is more than worthy to carry that burden. This is a great Thor. A few gripes here and there, but nothing horrible, more in terms of personal taste. Now the sculpt on this Thor is incredible. The armor is amazing. All of the little separate pieces, the connectors, the uru orbs (I'm guesing they're still called that in the cinematic universe?) are all sculpted to perfection. His headsculpt this time around is fantastic. There's a really great likeness to Chris Hemsworth, but the paint on the hair throws it off. Now the hair and beard are all sculpted wonderfully and are loaded with detail, but they are painted too light I think. They almost blend with the skintone from far away, as do the eyebrows. I gave it a paint wash, and there will be a picture of that later. I think it definitely makes the likeness pop out more, but again, personal preference. The paint otherwise is stunning but one part confuses me, the gold on his armor. In the movie promo art it looks silver. In the movie and stills, it looks bronze. Here it is a really defined gold. Now I myself haven't seen the movie, so maybe he gets gold armor at the end? I honestly don't know, if that's the case, this is a great chance for the Disney Store to score an exclusive where he has the silver bits and he has the chainmail arms. That would be cool, but I'm not dissing the bare arms. Since seeing him in the very begging of The Avengers without the chain mail, I've wanted a bare arms movie Thor. It really has a classic vibe...in a new way.....yes.

Accessories and Articulation:
 For accessories, Thor comes with his trusty hammer Mjolnir. The sculpt of the hilt is a brand new sculpt but the top I think is reused from the previous Marvel Select movie Thor figure. The electricity thing doesn't come with him but I thought it looked cool and now it won't come off...so...I am sorry about that...it looks kind of cool though!

Thor also comes with half of a base, made of rocks, grass, and a dark elf mask. Now there are no actual foot pegs to peg him on so I don't know how that works. The other half comes with the upcoming Jane Foster figure, so maybe the pegs are on that half? Now if you only want Thor, I found a pretty cool display option, but more on that later. In terms of articulation, Thor has a ball jointed head which is limited to a swivel with some tight tilt action due to the hair. He has swivel-hinge shoulders, swivel biceps, hinge elbows, a really weird wrist joint, it swivels, but seems like it can also tilt like a ball joint. He has a abdomen ball joint, a swivel waist hidden under his battle skirt thing, H-joint hips, swivel thighs, double hinge knees, hinge ankles, and swivel ankles!

 

OVERALL:
This is a fantastic Thor with great articulation and an awesome sculpt and paint job. Seeing as how we won't be getting a Legends scale Thor for the movie this is the guy you'll want! I highly recommend getting him for your on collection!
10 out of 10 FOR ASGARD!!

 

Phase 2 Begins!

A little paint work makes the hair pop a bit more in my opinion.

 

Hope you guys enjoyed the review!



Update Post

Well it's Black Friday, so I'm not leaving my house at all today, which means more time for blog posts! Today we'll have a review of a brand spankin' new figure of Thor from Thor: The Dark World, which is the only Thor figure I'm getting from this movie (save for the NECA 1/4 Thor...whenever it comes out!)

 

Other than that I'll be taking pics for future reviews and various other posts so I can update more frequently. Check back tonight for a review of this kick-butt figure!



Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Geek4Life hits Instagram!

 

 

That's right everybody, now you can follow yours truly on instagram to keep up to date on new posts, recent purchases, and miscellaneous comic book art and other things that I think are pretty darn cool. Simply search "geek4lifeblog" in the user searchbar and look for what is in the pics below!

 

Review of the DC Collectibles Arkham Origins Batman figure!

Character Bio:
As a young boy Bruce Wayne saw his parents fall victim to a senseless crime. He vowed to avenge their deaths by fighting Gotham City's criminal element as Batman. Tonight the stakes are higher than ever - a bounty on his head, eight deadly assassins tailing his every move, and  a vicious new menace in town - all on Christmas Eve no less! Still a novice Batman must hone his detective prowess, combat skills, and create specialized gadgets to protect his city, and himself on this not so silent night.
Scale: 6 1/2", Price: $24.99 at my local comic shop


Sculpt and Paint:
DC Collectibles has officially blown my mind. The sculpt on this figure is as game accurate as it gets. All of the armor, the padding, the belt, everything is spot on to the in-game model. The cape sits nicely on his back, it's made from a very pliable plastic and doesn't make him back heavy. His face sculpt is incredible. I've had a lot of Batman figures over the years, but this is THE head sculpt that screams "BATMAN!" to me.  I could sing praises all day, but I'll just put up the pictures.

 

The paint work is fantastic as well, There's a small chip on the back of his right boot that was from getting him out of the package and the twist tie scraping against it. So the paint on mine WAS perfect, but the damn twist tie....damn... Oh and be careful getting him out of the package. His cape is through the plastic tray as most are nowadays, but his ears are also through it as well, I don't know how breakable they are, but I didn't risk it , I just pulled it out very slowly.

 

Articulation and Accessories:
Now I'll tell you right of the bat he has no accessories but this is one of those instances where the figure as a whole is just so damn good that I can overlook it. Now for articulation....oh this is going to be so sweet. Now when you read this, keep in mind this is a DC Collectibles figure. He has a ball jointed head, swivel-hinge shoulders, swivel-hinge elbows, swivel-hinge wrists, ab crunch, swivel waist, H-joint hips, swivel at the upper knee, double-hinge knees, swivel at the top of the ankle, ankle hinge, and a rocker at the lower ankle. It is so well executed as most of the joints are hidden beneath the armored bits of the batsuit.

 



OVERALL:
This figure, is hands down the best Batman figure I have ever owned, yes it can be argued that Batman uses gadgets and should have at least one open hand and a batarang, but I think he does just as well with out it, when it comes down to it, Batman is trained in so many different types of martial arts, and he is a fighter, so I think it's fine that he has two fists. I would love to have more pictures but this is the only Arkham Origins figure I have as of now. If and when I get Bane though, then we'll have some serious fun. Overall Batman is one of the most satisfying figure purchases I have made this year and deserves a spot in every Bat-fans home. DC Collectibles, you have created what is in my opinion the definitive Batman figure, and I applaud you.
10 OUT OF 10!!!!!!!

Had some fun with photoshop!

Review of the SDCC 2013 Exclusive DC Signature Collection New 52 Shazam!

 

Character Bio:

Magically transported from a subway car to the mystical Rock of Eternity, troubled foster kid Billy Batson met an immortal wizard, who granted him magical powers and responsibilities. By uttering the  word "Shazam!," Billy is magically transformed from a boy into the adult hero Shazam!, the World's Mightiest Mortal. With the power of living lightning, the strength of a demigod, as well as superhuman speed and flight, Shazam! is the only thing standing between our world and the mystical threats out to destroy it.
Scale: 6", Price: Ranges from $20.00-$79.00 online


Sculpt and Paint:

Shazam here is a brand new figure from DC Signature Collection and is mostly kitbash. His head, lower legs, lower arms, belt, upper torso, and cape are all new, while the rest is a standard DCUC Figure buck. The new parts are sculpted incredibly well and perfectly capture the New 52 Shazam design, one of my favorite designs for him. Now one thing I found weird is that, like the other New 52 figures to come from Mattel, he has panel lines in his suit, but unlike them, they aren't sculpted on, they're painted on....weird choice from Mattel...especially for a convention exclusive figure. Take a look:

 

Paint wise, he is okay. Again, for a Convention Exclusive, you would think they'd pull out all the stops, and yes the sculpt is great, but it won't matter without equally great paint. He does have that for the most part, but when I first got him there were so many paint chips on his face, so I had to repaint it. That sucked, but I do still love the figure overall.

Articulation and Accessories:
Let's just get this right out of the way. Accessories: Bupkis.(Unless you count the hood, which I don't as it is part of the costume.)Ugh. I mean, for a convention exclusive, could we not have gotten something?? Hell the lightning accessories on his wrists, I pulled from one of my Superman Blue figures. I would have given him a flight stand with a button, and when you press it, it glows neon blue and the sound "SHAZAM!!" followed by lightning would play. That would have been sick! But...didn't happen.
Articulation wise Shazam is your standard DCUC. Ball-jointed head (limited to a swivel here), swivel-hinge shoulders, swivel biceps, hinge elbows, swivel wrists, ab-crunch, swivel waist (limited due to belt), H-joint hips, swivel thighs, hinge knees that barely move 90 degrees, and hinge ankles. Not bad, but again, for a convention..freaking...exclusive, you'd think there would be something to add to the EXCLUSIVITY VALUE.......


 

OVERALL:
So, this figure had me torn, I have to give two separate scores, because he is damn pricey online.
I wouldn't spend over $35 on him unless you are a die hard Shazam! fan.
As an Exclusive: 7 Out of 10
As a figure without the insane price point: 8 Out of 10

I do like him a lot and am glad to have him in my collection, but the fact that I had to partially repaint the head keeps me from giving him a 10

 

Today, aside from comics I picked up a new DC Collectibles figure (I know, I said I tend to stray from them but the articulation on this guy is unbelievable. It is the Batman Arkham Origins Batman figure. Now I will be doing a review soon but I will just say for now, if you had any reservations about getting this figure. Forget them. Go. Now. Run. Fly. Walk. Get this figure, he is without a doubt the best Batman figure I have ever owned. Hell when I got him back home even Joker was dying to break him out of the packaging!