Roman Reigns
Masters of the WWE Universe (Mattel) - Wave 2
Rated 4.00 stars by Karl T. Face
I know little of Roman Reigns; I've been a fairly peripheral fan since the Attitude Era or thereabouts. But this figure definitely works for me. May as well get the basics out of the way. The standard body used here is basically the vintage MOTU body, with vastly improved articulation. Swivel/hinges at the shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, ankles, and knees. Barbell joint at the neck. Movement range is about as expected for something this bulky, and the knee and elbow pads on some of them don't help. But it's enough for a number of wrestling poses, and as we've got a Fisto homage here, punching is all it needs. The sculpt here is great. The head looks okay to my eyes, and the fusion of RR's vest and Fisto's armor looks quite good. Paint is impressive by Mattel standards, with the gorgeous...[See More]

Grayskull Mania
Masters of the WWE Universe (Mattel) - Rings
Rated 4.25 stars by Karl T. Face
So, WWEternia. I've been an on-and-off wrestling fan for most of my life, and this set was actually what got me started on the line. A couple basic toys and a playset seemed pretty nice for, what, $20? And it is, mostly. Getting the ring itself out of the way, this one's solid enough. The base and ringposts are pure Grayskull, while the mat itself is pretty standard. Feels a bit hollow, but that's a result of the spring action. I never understood that, since the figures don't really weigh enough to bounce on it, but oh well. The ropes are oddly bright, but have a good spring to them. The steps are as Eternian as the base, and tab in on either of two sides. My only gripes are the mysterious clips on the sides of the steps (none of the weapons so far really fit in there), and the lack of...[See More]

Unicron with Deadend
Transformers - Armada (Hasbro) - Unicron Assortment
Rated 4.00 stars by Karl T. Face
Unicron. The centralizing threat of Transformers: The Movie. A toy that failed to happen twice. A toy we knew damn well would never be made in proper scale, but still. After decades of anticipation, it finally happened. Unfortunately, it happened during the Armada series. Now, Armada wasn't all bad. Play features marred a lot of the already-crude designs, but it was the early aughts. We took what we could get. And what we got here was...okay. I can't fault the sculpt. It's covered in greebles without looking too busy, and most of the details from the movie were carried over almost directly to the new design. The joints are plenty solid; sturdy ratchets and tight hinges, etc. I can't help but feel like the fully articulated fingers were unnecessary, but I can't think what I'd have...[See More]

Carrion Crawler
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (LJN) - Bendable
Rated 3.75 stars by Karl T. Face
The Crawler is one of those monsters that just keeps getting redesigned. We've seen everything from giant cutworms with tendrils to a lumpy, grinning caterpillar with a full-on tentacle beard. This one is just the goofy 1e art in three dimensions, which really underlines the lack of an art budget back then. Is it still fun, though? You betcha! The silly-looking cartoon caterpillar segments actually help with the poseability of the body, which would've been uselessly stiff otherwise. The funny little feet help with stability in climbing poses. A two-color airbrush job keeps things colorful and poisonous-looking, and the head is emotionless and just plain strange. I take slight issue with the face tendrils, which just kind of fan out in a rigid pose, but between the material and the molding...[See More]

Bug Bite
Go-Bots (Tonka) - Super Go-Bots
Rated 4.25 stars by Karl T. Face
It's Bumblebee's evil brother! Nah, as I've probably mentioned before, GoBots actually predates Transformers, slightly. And like its vastly more famous rival, it too borrowed the majority of its molds from various Asian toylines. And so we had two companies releasing yellow VW Beetles that turn into robots, within a year of each other. And today we look at the super-sized Bug Bite. Not having the regular version for comparison, I can only assume this one has a touch more to it, but don't quote me on that. The vehicle mode has a fair amount of metal in it, resulting in a satisfying weight. Detailing is good as far as the body is concerned- gas cap, vents, etc.- but naturally falls apart once you look in the windows. A handful of stickers are included, in case you want scrollwork on the...[See More]

Attack Track
He-Man - Masters of the Universe (Mattel) - Vehicles
Rated 4.50 stars by Karl T. Face
As MOTU vehicles go, the Trak is possibly the least screen-accurate thing in the series. I suppose ground transport for more than two was a necessity for the show, but oh well, the animated design was boxy, plain, and boring. This thing is what Eternia is all about! First off, to hell with any sort of neutral colors. You get Play-Doh blue and candy-apple red, with orange and yellow accents. Stickers include lightning bolts, condor heads, gargoyle heads, and exhaust pipes spewing electricity. The front end, sort of like a camper van on the show, is shaped vaguely like a nondescript sort of drake, while the usual trapezoidal control station rises up slightly behind it. The seat rests against a blocky engine compartment, with a couple of dinky cannons mounted near the top. Pretty average...[See More]

Trap Jaw
He-Man - Masters of the Universe (Mattel) - Series 2
Rated 4.25 stars by Karl T. Face
What can I say? It's Trap Jaw. This was easily the weirdest thing we'd seen so far. Animal people, sure. Cool armor, maybe a skull head. And then here comes a shirtless steampunk pirate with a prosthetic arm and a casque helm with a Zipline grommet. He has a laser rifle and a metal jaw. Comes with a GITD ring for some reason. New legs, new arms, new head. They really went all out within the confines of the medium, and it's a pretty striking color combo too. The paint is well applied as always. You all know the articulation, I'm sure, but we also get a hinged jaw, which is nice. And of course, a swivel at the "wrist". I do wish the robo-arm was bent like everyone else; it feels so stiff and awkward. Because of that bland pose, the attachments- the classic hook, a fairly fancy laser that...[See More]

Gargo
Blackstar (Galoob) - Laser Lights
Rated 3.75 stars by Karl T. Face
Ah, Blackstar. The almost-He-Man. Our hero has roughly the same origin as Queen Marlena, he's got half a legendary weapon while the villain has the other. Sorcery and science coexist. And all of this has very little to do with Gargo. What we have here is possibly the only character exclusive to the toyline: a colorful warrior with no identifying info other than the title of "Vampire Man". No fictional representation or lore. Do the rest of his people look this weird? Maybe. Is he Overlord's servant, or rival? Hell of I know. Can he sell on design alone? It worked on me. As a design, he owes a lot to medieval depictions of demons. And maybe some dime-store novel art. Piercing eyes, enormous ears, cartoonish bat-wings and a sagging posture pair with garish colors to really stand out on the...[See More]

Deadly Grell
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (LJN) - Bendable
Rated 2.50 stars by Karl T. Face
*sigh* This toy, frankly, was a mistake. Like, it shouldn't have been attempted. Gather 'round, and I'll elucidate on what happens to toys when mistakes are made. I will give credit to the paintwork. It's got a bit of airbrushing, some wavy lines to follow, and it all looks good. A little cartoonish, but that's the house style at LJN. It's the construction I take issue with. They went with "bendy" here, probably for a couple reasons: it's the only way a radially-symmetrical being can have any kind of size on a blister card, but still be able to flex the tentacles downward. The only other solution would be a separate "pillar" of tentacles, but even then, the head would have to be either vertically or laterally flattened- the latter would turn out pretty flea-shaped, which would've...[See More]

Zarak
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (LJN) - Basic Series
Rated 3.00 stars by Karl T. Face
Zarak is not at the top of anyone's list. I get that. He's also stupid cheap compared to most, so here he is. At a glance, he doesn't look like much. The gloss plastic doesn't do the sculpt any favors, but in soft light, it's alright. The clothes seem a little baggy for a rogue, and he lacks the satchel and knife sheaths shown in the art. We do get a few fun extras on the back: a bundled rope and belt pouch. And then there's the color. Oh, it's laid out well enough, no slop. The red is well integrated. And then you get to the head, with its primary blue hood and lime-green face with angry red.... warts? It's like the toy people had never seen comic art before, and thought the blue highlights were actually blue cloth. Or maybe it's because the head was gang-molded with other figures'...[See More]