Basilisk Attack Playset
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Mattel) - Playsets
Rated 3.75 stars by Karl T. Face
Well, better late than never. Honestly, I could take or leave Harry Potter as a franchise. Good stories, but still pretty low on my fantasy totem pole. And so I mostly avoided merchandise, apart from a Dementor I wanted to fix up just for kicks. This turned up for cheap, though, and I smelled diorama material. We'll start with the titular Basilisk, and Mattel has certainly delivered an intimidatingly chunky snake monster here. Credit where it's due, bendy was out due to the action feature, but they kept the articulation sparse enough not to muck up the sculpt. Said sculpt is oddly shallow compared to screenshots, giving it more of an eel-like vibe. Probably based on early renders, but I appreciate the look. The colors help. It's a nice gold plastic, no swirls or flaws, with a two-tone...[See More]

Warbow
Marvel Legends - Infinite Series (Hasbro) - Executioner Series
Rated 4.75 stars by Karl T. Face
Lightning has struck twice! I knew Marvel Legends was leaning into the obscurities lately- Death's Head, Frog, Sleepwalker- but new Saga of Crystar merchandise was a real surprise. I suppose a retool was in order (where else are they gonna reuse those molds?), and this one made the most sense. Captain Warbow is obviously a crossbowman- and, in fact, the reason the evil wizard Zardeth only has one eye. Warbow lost his a moment later, because Zardeth is petty. Dude's also got a crush on Crystar's gal. Poor guy can't catch a break. At least he gets a few new parts. The head is new, obviously, and looks quite nice with the strong jaw and unusual eyepatch- more of a sling, really. The belt is simpler this time around, and the hands are bare. A bandolier (or perhaps sash, since they look...[See More]

Thundertron / Nightstrike / Calcitron
Transformers - Legacy - United (Hasbro) - Multi-Packs
Rated 4.50 stars by Karl T. Face
Yo ho ho! Ah, the Star Raiders. Essentially an excuse to work in characters from diverse continuities, they're good old-fashioned space pirates the nerds can geek out over. And here's the captain now! Hailing from Transformers Prime, 'tron is a straight-up pirate. Tall hat, big ol' beard, massive shoulders, hook hand, peg leg (optional), and armor that mimics coattails. The shoulders rise high enough to give the impression of a tall collar, but the head ends up looking oddly narrow. The usual lion face stares out from the chest. Articulation is fairly standard, apart from the right ankle. The wrist swivels are rather stubborn, but at least they're sturdy. Accessories include his cutlass (thankfully without an integral action feature this time) and a foot for the peg leg. Said foot can be...[See More]

Venin
Transformers - Age of the Primes (Hasbro) - Deluxe Class
Rated 3.75 stars by Karl T. Face
Not gonna lie, this one bugs me a little. So, Venin (nee Venom*) is the leader of the Insecticons; they were kind of an autonomous collective at first, until HasTak got their hands on some Beetras molds and decided more bugs were in order. This guy is so paranoid about his position, in fact, that he self-sabotages constantly trying to defend it. This guy hasn't had a proper toy since the original, really. Which this toy is trying it's damnedest to ape. The proportions are nearly spot on, just the old toy with more greebles and good articulation. Green and orange with grey are quite a choice, but it works here. The massive helmet moves fairly well this time around, looking a bit less like a heatproof suit. For the most part, it's the usual Deluxe spread of joints, including a waist (not...[See More]

The Thing (Blair Monster)
Movie Maniacs (McFarlane Toys) - Series 3
Rated 3.50 stars by Karl T. Face
So here's The Thing. If you clicked on this, you know the drill: Rampant paranoia ensues while a shapeshifting alien runs amok. What we have here is one of a pair of monsters from McFarlane's Movie Maniacs line, which was kind of a crapshoot in terms of articulation, but generally looked good. The Final Form here takes fewer creative liberties than the Norris Monster, more or less nailing the on-screen beast. The sculptors were absolutely on fire here, lovingly crafting squirming tentacles and ambiguous nodules alike. While a few small aspects are cheated, it hits all the major notes. I even fancy I can see a bit of Wilford Brimley in the face there. Good times. I like the way they used the tentacles to balance out the crooked lower half, too. Not even a hole in the foot; there's already...[See More]

Sleepwalker
Marvel Legends - Infinite Series (Hasbro) - Rintrah Series
Rated 4.75 stars by Karl T. Face
Ironically (appropriately?), I'm pretty tired as I write this. Sleepwalker is an odd character. One of a whole race of such beings, he alone managed to get stuck in a human mind while patrolling the Dreamscape for ne'er-do-wells. Able to enter the physical realm so long as his college-student host remains asleep, he mostly inadvertently scared the hell out of the populace, but still got the job done with his reality-warping powers. His series relied somewhat heavily on guest stars, which is exactly the bad sign it sounds like. I dunno, I loved him. Just a weird monster-hero weirding it up in the corner of the Marvel U. The art in particular was interesting, playing as it did with the dreamlike nature of his powers. And amid the sounds of Hasbro finally scraping clean through the bottom...[See More]

Devcon
Transformers - Legacy - Evolution (Hasbro) - Deluxe Class
Rated 4.70 stars by Karl T. Face
So, Devcon. This guy appeared exactly once on the old cartoon, and got passed over for a convention-exclusive toy twice. Somehow, he left enough of an impression to finally make it out this year. His badass bounty-hunter personality apparently left enough of an impression, because he sold out so fast they reissued him. Which is the only reason I found one. Starting with the robot, this is pretty much a somewhat more greebly recreation of the animation model. Which is fine, it was a solid look. Very rounded, for the most part. A few corners here and there. The colors are bright without feeling toyish. We get the usual swivel-hinges at the shoulders, elbows, and hips. Swivel waist, tilt/rocker ankles, and a ball joint neck. No wrists, but that's not too surprising given the transformation....[See More]

Beetlejuice (Shish Kebab)
Beetlejuice (Kenner) - Series 1
Rated 3.00 stars by Karl T. Face
Let's see if I can get through this without saying it three times. Beetlejuice was a huge part of my childhood. The movie, the cartoon, the toys. I adored all three aesthetics, each with their own charm. The toyline (outside of role-playing toys) was the most simplified of the bunch. Shish Kebab Beetlejuice is one of several variations on the Ghost with the Most, most of which corresponded to the film somewhat. This particular outfit, with the cap and long coat, is his "tour guide" look, from the scene where he stabs Barbara with several spikes and then dances into a brothel. Y'know, for the kids to play with. It's all been smoothed over, of course. No badge on the hat, a rather bland sculpt. The face is decently Keaton-ish for the era, smiling with his tongue waggling about. Looks real...[See More]

Mantor and Raplor
Sectaurs - Warriors Of Symbion (Coleco) - Beasts
Rated 4.00 stars by Karl T. Face
It's that time again: old c-list toys for the win! Mantor is the designated lore repository of the story, a master of both martial arts and infodumping. Former advisor to the king, he's gone rogue along with the rest of the main cast, in hopes of heading off a war the authorities refuse to address. As a Keeper, he also knows how to operate the Hyves, should they find any; given that the last time they were activated, they turned everything into bugs, I'm not sure how far to trust hundreds of years' worth of oral history in regards to super-science instructions. I can see why the Keepers have to operate in secret. Having said all that, this guy stands out for a few reasons: nobody else is rocking a half-monotone color palette, nor a full beard. The exoskeleton is a delightful metallic...[See More]

Geocron (Infernac Universe)
Transformers - Legacy - United (Hasbro) - Core Class
Rated 4.00 stars by Karl T. Face
Haha, geological cycle. I wasn't into the Infernac figures when they started out- and, frankly, they didn't grow on me much. This was a cheap impulse buy, though, so here we are. Starting with 'bot mode as packaged, we have a pretty decent little rock duder. The smattering of robot bits among the stone are mostly a metallic purple, while the upper limbs, wheels, collar and "tail" are a somewhat darker, more metallic brown. The head is a delightfully simple rock face, like a minimalist Jack o' Lantern sculpture come to life. Or an animation cel, since it's based directly on a rock monster from the Headmasters series. Apart from the backpack, kibble is limited to some Arcee-esque shin wheels. Said backpack is my main gripe here. The front wheel fork (and half the cowling) hang off quite a...[See More]