MARVEL LEGENDS Build a Figure TERRAX

This Terrax BA( Build A Figure )  is from the first wave of The Return of Marvel Legends 2012. Hasbro took a break from the line for a while to improve on the quality of the figures. Terrax does not disappoint. Before you put him together you have the option of leaving both his armor and his loin piece off or on. Once you put him together however, the pieces are difficult to remove. I personally on the other hand never try to take my BAFs apart once I put them together. But for those of you that do you may not be able to accomplish this with Terrax.
As for Terrax's backstory he is a former herald of Galactus, and is a vicious arch rival for the Silver Surfer. Terrax is a tad bit out of scale height wise. Marvel lists him at 6"6, whereas the Silver Surfer is supposed to be 6"4. However as you can see in the comparison pic that the rivals have a huge gap in height, not just a mere 2 inches. Also in the other pic you can see that Terrax looks to be slightly over 7 inches. When he should have been just a little bit shorter, only if the collector wants the toy companies to stay true to the comics. However in my opinion this is just a minor flaw and is nothing major to complain about.

His weapon,the axe , has to be put together too as it is divided into two parts, the rod and the axe itself. It is very well detailed with circuitry parts. I think it would have been nice if Terrax had an extra pair of hands or articulated fingers, for those of us that love to pose figures with long weapons holding them with two hands. As you can see the close left fist makes it tough for him to even appear to hold the weapon with two hands.

Since comic books no longer come with Marvel Legend figures like they did back in the Toybiz days, I've put together a list of issues that feature Terrax at his best. Especially that issue with the New Warriors, Terrax totally dominated them and looked quite impressive against them. Using his powers and fighting skills to battle them. The issue with Morg is kind of like an origin story of how he obtained the axe, as it seems it really belonged to another Galactus herald, the villain known as Morg. 

The following are a few issues with a Terrax appearance that I highly recommend you purchase for your reading pleasure. Although Terrax is not on the cover of the Marvel Adventures Hulk issue, he is in the comic.

FINAL  THOUGHTS

(1) ARTICULATION - My only gripes about the articulation is no upward head movement, and lack of finger articulation. Other than that he is very well articulated normally everywhere else.

(2) STANDABILITY - The figure stands well with no balance issues.

(3) WHAT I LIKE BEST ABOUT TERRAX ? I love the mean angry look on his face with his gritted teeth, this expression really makes him look evil. He is very well detailed and looks as if if jumped directly out of the comic book pages. 

(4) WHAT I LIKE LEAST ABOUT TERRAX ? The weapon kinds of makes his wrist top heavy for holding it in the air, making his arm a little loose in the process. However this problem can be solved by resting the base of his axe on his upper thigh, or have him hold it below his waist if you wish to pose your Terrax figure with his weapon. 

(5) WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE TO MAKE TERRAX A BETTER FIGURE ? Articulated fingers so that he can hold his axe with two hands instead of just one. Upward head movement. 

(6) GRADING SCALE - On a scale of 1-10 I give Terrax an 8.9 . The minuses being for the non articulated fingers and for the axe making his wrist and right arm just a tad bit top heavy. The lack of upper head movement is not a big issue with me however it'd be nice to have it included.

(7) FINAL ANALYSIS - Overall I am glad to add Terrax to my collection. There was a shortage of space villains and Silver Surfer rivals. The bulkiness of the figure makes it a joy to hold in your hands and is fun to pose. Once you put him together, Terrax turns out to be a great figure despite a few minor flaws. 

Marvel X-Men Movie Storm by Toybiz

This Storm figure comes from the Women of X box-set that came out several years ago by Toybiz. This is the Halle Berry version of Storm from the movie franchise. She can also be purchased individually . She is not as articulate as the comic book version of Storm . As for Halle Berry, she's an excellent actress however I feel that lookwise she was not the right choice for Storm. She does not look like the character at all in my opinion. I think Halle makes a better Vixen from DC Comics than she does Storm. Someone like Naomi Campbell, who is tall like the Storm character plus has more physical features similar to the character such as long hair probably would have been a better choice visually. As for the figure itself , because of the limited articulation it is better of as a display piece rather than configuring it into different poses. Check out these comparison shots and you'll see how different Halle is from the actual Storm character.

As you can see the in the height difference that Halle is much shorter than the character, which Marvel lists at 5"11. Her skin tone is not as dark as the character nor is Storm an American, she's supposed to be African. Despite the fact that the movie company did not stay 100% true to comic origins, Halle still did an excellent job bringing the character to life. Back to the figure, as you can see it is a spitting duplicate image of Halle. And Toybiz unlike some other toy companies, always did a good job of having people or characters correctly proportionately scaled at their correct height, as the above pics prove.
     Other than the figure itself, movie Storm comes with a very neat light up accessory. Just place her on the base, there's an on/off switch that allows you to create the special effect of Storm's lightning powers. A switch on the back of the accessory allows you to move Storm's right arm up and down,as if she's activating her powers.

In my opinion, this is one of the best accessories in action figure history!!! That's saying a lot. The figure itself is not bad either. It is nicely sculpted looking very much like the actress as I already mentioned, and I like the idea that everyone can pretend that the figure is either Halle Berry or Storm. If you've always wanted an action figure of Halle Berry, this is the perfect figure to customize. All you'd have to do is paint her hair black. Maybe give her a different outfit and sculpt her hair in case you like Halle's short hair styles.
                                   

                                                          FINAL  THOUGHTS
 (1) ARTICULATION - The articulation is somewhat basic and robotic. It is not of normal Marvel Legend articulated style.
(2) STANDABILITY - Sometimes you may have to lean her against a wall to make her stand, unless you pose her a certain way like I did in the above pic. She was really made to stand on the base of her accessory however and not on her own.
(3) WHAT I LIKE BEST ABOUT THIS VERSION OF STORM ? Perfect likeness of Halle Berry!!!The cape is nice too, along with the super cool light up accessory.
(4) WHAT I LIKE LEAST ABOUT THIS VERSION OF STORM ? I wish the legs and arms had just a bit more articulation.
(5) WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE TO MAKE THIS STORM FIGURE BETTER? A few more added points of articulation.
(6) GRADING SCALE - Figure only - I give it a 9.0. It is an excellent figure despite the limited articulation. If it did not look like Halle Berry I would've gave it a lower score. But the perfect likeness to Mrs. Berry skyrocketed the score. Now with the figure combined with the accessory I give them both a perfect 10. The accessory combined with the figure makes a perfect score.
(7) FINAL ANALYSIS - Despite the limited articulation, you will not be disappointed for those of you who may not own this figure. If you don't have this version of Storm already, I recommend you purchase her with the accessory rather than just the figure by itself. It makes a fantastic display piece on any shelf and the figure is perfect for customizers that want to transform Storm into Halle Berry or some of Halle's other characters from her other movies.
 actionfigureimagery.com                     actionfigureimagerystore.com

Robots Space Bot by Funtastic Toys

I purchased this fun figure at a local Citi-Trends store. The company that this figure comes from has a website at http://www.funtastictoy.com . Despite very limited articulation , this is a fun figure that fits in well with any 6" fantasy super hero toy line. You can pose these guys next to your Marvel Legends, DCU Classics, etc as they too are in 6 inch scale.
     These guys come in two colors, black and white. They kind of resemble Darth Vader a bit in my opinion. Just press the button in the middle of the Space-Bot's chest to make his sword glow with a very cool blue light just like a light saber. The eyes glow red as some nice battle sounds are made.

If you use up all of the power just in case he stops glowing, there's a compartment on his back where you can use a screw driver to open it and replace the old battery with a new one. Here's a close up shot of Space-Bot with other figures.

FINAL  THOUGHTS

(1) ARTICULATION - The arms move up and down,back and forth. No side outward movement. The legs move up and down also with no side outward movement. The rest of the figure is not articulated.

(2) STANDABILITY - The figure stands well with no balance issues.

(3) WHAT I LIKE BEST ABOUT THE SPACE-BOT FIGURES ? The glowing lights in both his sword and eyes are the real selling points of these figures, along with the sound effects. 

(4) WHAT I LIKE LEAST ABOUT THE SPACE-BOT FIGURES ? Despite the very limited articulation, there's nothing that I dislike about these figures. The positives outweigh the negatives in my opinion with this figure.

(5) WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE TO MAKE THIS FIGURE BETTER ? Although the lack of extra articulation does not bother me with this figure, extra articulation would've made it better.

(6) GRADING SCALE - On a scale of 1-10 I give the Space-Bots figure a 9.0 . Excellent figure the minus being for the very limited articulation even though it does not bother me. 

(7) FINAL  ANALYSIS - Overall this is an excellent figure if you want to add extra characters to some of your 6" scaled collections. I assume the idea for these were motivated by the Star Wars franchise. I mean if you look closely they look like a cross between Darth Vader and a Storm Trooper. Plus the glowing sword is reminiscent of a light saber. It'd be nice if Hasbro could make these glowing swords/light sabers with the real Star Wars figures, ( hint , hint ) . These guys may be hard to find in person these days, as my figure was purchased over a few years ago before writing this post. Try your luck at some local thrift stores or flea markets , you might run into a few of these bad boys. If not try your luck with the internet via E-bay or Amazon. Good luck in finding these figures if you want one!!!

MARVEL SELECT - Black Cat

Marvel Select's first Black Cat figure comes with some very cool accessories, and a nice diorama piece. With it you get a diamond necklace, a plastic necklace, a bank safe, and fake money. The figure is nice itself with limited articulation. However I a more of a fan of 6" scaled figures. As you can see in the pics Marvel Select's Black Cat is a bit more detailed in the face than the Marvel Legend version from Toybiz.

The figure itself is great for display purposes only. You can not put her in fight poses like you can with the Toybiz version. So it all depends on your style or taste for figures. If you love figures that look fantastic than Marvel Select Black Cat is definitely for you. If your looking for around 20 or so points of articulation than you'll be somewhat disappointed. 

Now on to the accessories. Of all the accessories she comes with, the diamond necklace,the diorama and the safe are my three favorites. The diamond is super cool and really does look real. As you can see from the pic, the flash from the camera is reflected upon it, giving it a shining glimmering like effect. Very cool. I love the fact that the safe opens and closes. The regular necklace is okay and does kind of look real from a distance, but it is nothing compared to the diamond necklace in my opinion. As for the money piece, I feel that a different shade of green might have made it look more realistic. I think it looks cool from a distance but up close it does not look too impressive once you see the plastic sheets of dollar bills stuck together.

The diorama is excellent even though it's only half of a wall and floor. As you can see in the following pics, you can pose your 6" figures with it and have them act out scenes. Here I was pretending having Spider-Man/Peter Parker visiting Mary Jane at her new apartment. I love how the window easily opens and closes. This is the back of the diorama piece. I am showing you two different versions of the same picture, one uncropped and one cropped picture. 

The following pic is the inside of the diorama piece. This is what you'll see when you purchase Marvel Select Black Cat mint in package. 

FINAL  THOUGHTS

(1) ARTICULATION - This category is not a high point for this figure.Very limited articulation. However it does not take away from the great sculpt of this figure.

(2) STANDABILITY - Black Cat has no trouble standing if you pose her correctly.

(3) WHAT I LIKE BEST ABOUT MARVEL SELECT BLACK CAT ? - I want just judge the figure here, but everything that came with it. What I like best about the whole package are the safe, the diamond necklace, and the diorama piece.

(4) WHAT I LIKE LEAST ABOUT MARVEL SELECT BLACK CAT ? - Nothing. There are no complaints from me about this figure or the accessories it came with.

(5) WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE TO MAKE MARVEL SELECT BLACK CAT BETTER? - It would have been nice if the safe was die-cast metal instead of plastic. The die-cast would make it look like a real safe. However I'm not bothered by this though, it still looks neat in plastic but I just feel it'd look better as die-cast.

(6)  GRADING  SCALE - If judging only the Black Cat figure itself, I give it a 9.0. The minus is for the very limited articulation, however I think it looks way better than the Marvel Legend Toybiz version. But judging the figure plus the accessories she comes with, I give the whole entire package a perfect 10. Cool figure and even cooler accessories. 

(7) FINAL  ANALYSIS - Overall the Marvel Select Black Cat is a great action figure for display purposes, it is the accessories themselves that steal the show. When I purchased this figure at a local comic book store, I was more excited about the accessories than I was the figure itself. As I proved with the diorama piece, you can make scenes with both the front and back of the piece as the above pics illustrate. The diamond necklace is so cool to look at and very young kids might enjoy playing with the safe. It too is also a great display piece for your action figures.

Tarantula from Spider-Man line by Hasbro

Although this figure is not officially a Marvel Legend by name, it was supposed to be at least in the same scale as Marvel Legends. And scale-wise is where the huge disappointment is with this figure. Although it is not a bad figure, but his height was a major letdown for me. In the comics he is listed at 6"1 whereas Spider-Man is listed at 5"10. But you can't tell the difference by looking at the following pics. Here I'm comparing the height and size of a Toybiz Spider-Man figure with the Hasbro Tarantula figure.

As you can see Spider-Man is stands right exactly at 6 inches , whereas Tarantula is barely slightly over 5 inches tall. He is supposed to be 3 inches taller than Spider-Man. For those of you that purchased this figure and are also disappointed in the height like I am, we could always pay a customizer to make him taller. 

Although the figure's height is a letdown the figure itself is ok. Although some of you may find some weird things about this figure, such as the hunched over neck and his left wrist being articulated whereas his right wrist is not. 

You can also pull off some excellent fight poses with him. His wrists are made for karate chop poses and as you can see in the following pic he can use his poisonous boot tips to puncture the opposition. Here Captain America defends himself with his shield from Tarantula's attack 

Tarantula came with two cool accessories of the same product. Two crates with removable lids. You can really put something small inside these crates. This is very Marvel-like because a lot of villains had abandoned warehouse hideouts that contained crates and boxes. Just browse through some of the old Amazing Spider-Man issues with Norman Osborn as the Green Goblin and you'll see what I mean.

The packaging itself has some nice artwork on both the front and back. Also on the back you get to see what other figures are available in this series.

                                                             FINAL  THOUGHTS
(1) ARTICULATION - I'm okay with his right wrist not being articulated it does not bother me, however others may feel differently. I am a little bothered about his limited head movement though, as it is almost impossible to get him to look up and down.
(2) STANDABILITY - You may have to bend his knees just a little to keep him standing without falling. Balance issues may occur if you stand him up with his knees in a 100% straight line.
(3) WHAT DO I LIKE BEST ABOUT TARANTULA ? I love the fact that his fight poses are easy to demonstrate. The figures face sculpt is done very well with the pencil thin mustache and the gritted teeth.
(4) WHAT DO I LIKE LEAST ABOUT TARANTULA ? Lack of his proper height. He is definitely out of scale . He is supposed to be in the 6" scale but is more closer to 5 inches.
(5) WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE TO MAKE TARANTULA BETTER ? Longer legs I think would've solved the height problem. I think his legs are too short and this error contributed to his height being out of scale.
(6) GRADING SCALE - On a scale of 1 to 10 I give Tarantula either a 7.9 or 8.0 . The minuses being for being out of scale height wise and and the limited articulation with his head.
(7) FINAL  ANALYSIS - Overall this is NOT a bad action figure by a long shot, but it could have been so much better. Although the height is out of scale, if posed a certain way he can look as if he's in scale with 6 inch figures, as proof shows in the above pic I have of him attacking Captain America. Even though Cap is taller than the Spider-Man figure shown, the height difference between Cap and Tarantula is barely noticeable, this being because Tarantula is slightly closer to the camera than Captain America. If customized correctly, Tarantula makes a great addition to your collection of Spider-Man villains.

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE CLASSICS - Sy-Klone

Sy-Klone was one of my favorite characters and action figures as a kid. The vintage 1980's version was known for its spin feature. This updated MOTUC Sy-Klone does NOT spin, which kind of takes away the nostalgic feel from the eighties. When I opened him up I was disappointed that the spin feature was gone, but grew to like the figure anyway. I'm assuming the reason the spin feature was not available is because Maybe Mattel figured that action features are for kids, not for adult collectors. They figure most adults display their figures rather than play with them. As you can see in the pic, Sy-Klone comes with two accessories. His yellow shield and the circular red piece that fits on an attachment on his lower back. This red piece pays homage to the redesigned MOTU Sy-Klone figure from the early 2000's .

Sy-Klone's sticker is more secure this time. It will not peel off like the one on the old 80's vintage figure. Also if you pay close attention to Sy-Klone's chest you'll notice a radar beam that moves across his chest when you move the figure around. This is a very cool special effect and kind of makes up for the missing spinning action .
                 Even though Sy-Klone can't spin anymore, ( at least this figure,not the character) , you can still put him in spinning poses just like the following four pics.

As for his bio, Mattel went with his Mike Young Productions origin instead of the old Golden Books origin where he was a circus acrobat and was some kind of way given his tornado powers to him by Spydor. I like that origin better than I do the Mike Young one because the Golden Books origin is proof that Sy-Klone had some athleticism before he got his powers. I like the idea of him being somewhat of an athlete with acrobatic skill better than I do of him being just a regular guy.
 One thing I do like about this new bio however is that it states that Sy-Klone added the radar himself, not anyone else. So at least this tidbit of information shows that Sy-Klone has advanced intelligence, rather than just being a normal guy with no special skills whatsoever.

                                           FINAL  THOUGHTS
(1) ARTICULATION - The basic/standard MOTUC articulation. In homage to the vintage figure, there's a spin dial on the back of his belt but it does not move.
(2) STANDABILITY - Sy-Klone has no trouble standing up. Thankfully the added accessories to his back ( the blue backpack like attachment and the red ring ) does not make him top heavy.
(3) WHAT I LIKE BEST ABOUT SY-KLONE ? His radar sticker with the moving radar sticker as I mentioned earlier is a nice special effect. The sculpting is nice and I like the fact that he can still be placed in spinning poses .
(4) WHAT I LIKE LEAST ABOUT SY-KLONE ? The spinning feature is gone. What was his trademark as a toy in his previous toy versions is no longer there. My only complaint about this figure.
(5) WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE TO MAKE THIS FIGURE BETTER ? Add the spinning feature. As they use to say in some Marvel Comics "Nuff said".
(6) GRADING SCALE - On a scale of 1-10 I give Sy-Klone a 9.0 . Would've given him a perfect 10 if the spinning feature was back.
(7) FINAL ANALYSIS - Overall this is a great figure despite missing his classic action feature. Fans have the option of leaving the red ring on or off, depending on rather you prefer his 1980's look or the early 2000's look. The radar is extremely cool and I've always liked his yellow shield. I also think that Sy-Klone is one of the most colorful characters in MOTU, with some very nice shades of blue. I'm also glad the 4 Horsemen kept his lean physique and not make him overly buff. After all he is a character based on speed and quickness, therefore these type of characters should always be lean in stature. If you don't have him already, Sy-Klone is still worth adding to your collection despite the missing spinning action.

TransFormers -Dark of the Moon MECHTECH WEAPONS SYSTEM - Cyberfire Bumblebee

This particular version of Bumblebee is a variant , a neat looking one at that. Plus I purchased him at a very good price, only five dollars from a local Family Dollar. Here are two pics of the front packaging.

The reason I took two pics is because I want you to see all the details of the packaging. I hate how the flash in my camera blurs out some details. Anyway, back to the toy itself. As you can see it was only 5 dollars as I mentioned earlier, a great deal for a great toy. The packaging itself looks cool. I love the pic of the Earth and the space background.
   When removing Bumblebee out of the package, you can easily open and close his car doors as you can see in the following pics. All of his windows have a nice translucent orange tint to them.

And as with every Transformer, you always get their physical stat chart, along with a brief bio and sometimes pictures of other figures in the line as these pictures prove.

Bumblebee's gun has a mechanism that you can press with your index finger, allowing the gun to extend and contract. I think however, that this feature was made to please kids and not us adult collectors. After all, it is an action feature. Also, the gun securely fits into both front holes on both of his arms.

One of the things I love most about these particular TransFormer figures is that I love how the eyes glow on these figures when they are placed under very good lighting . Take a look at Bumblebee's glowing eyes in the following pic, just like in the movies. This in my opinion is a very cool effect.

Here are a couple of comparison shots. I have Bumblebee standing next to Arcee from the TransFormers Prime Series.

And here are the instructions, in order, on transforming Bumblebee into vehicle mode.

And here are the instructions on how to transform him from vehicle to robot. 

FINAL  THOUGHTS

(1) ARTICULATION - My only complaint about the articulation is that his head does not look upward. Other than that the articulation is perfect. You can move his waist, hands, etc. with ease.

(2) STANDABILITY - Bumblebee stands very well with no trouble of falling over.

(3) WHAT I LIKE BEST ABOUT CYBERFIRE BUMBLEBEE ? - When in car mode, I love the tinted orange windows and that he can be rolled across a smooth surface just like a regular toy car. The doors are fun to pose when you open and close them. The design itself is also pretty neat. As for the robot mode, I love the glowing eyes when placed under good light, and how firmly his gun fits into the sockets on his forearms. Plus he has no trouble standing and he just downright looks cool in both modes,vehicle and robot. 

(4) WHAT I LIKE LEAST ABOUT CYBERFIRE BUMBLEBEE ? - My only complaint about this figure is his head articulation in robot mode, that he can not look upward. Despite this small negative he is still a great figure.

(5) WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE TO MAKE THIS FIGURE BETTER? - A larger size scale would have been nice, maybe like 10 or 12 inches. However, a bigger Bumblebee would equal a bigger price tag. So maybe this scale is okay if you want to save money. But if you don't mind spending the extra dough for a bigger figure, you have that right too.

(6) GRADING SCALE - On a scale of 1-10 I give Cyberfire Bumblebee a 9.9. The minus is for the lack of upward head movement when in robot mode. 

(7) FINAL ANALYSIS - Overall I love Cyberfire Bumblebee. He has a cool design with the yellow and black trim, and he is a perfect mixture of die-cast metal and plastic. If you love die-cast metal toys mixed with plastic, than I suggest you pick this one up.