BOB SHARE

I was at the local weekly toy "flea" market last week and guess what had hit the streets?  All right, so its in the title of this review but hey, I had to set the stage somehow, right? ;P

Well, Dave from Davestoylet had his usual table/booth set up at China Square Central and besides the whole host of the latest loose DC Universe figures, packaged GI Joes and MOTU Classics figures, he had his newest offerings: Toys R Us Exclusive Green Lantern Movie Masters 6" figures of Hal Jordan, Rot Lop Fan (gotta love that name) and Tomar Re!

But instead of trying to sell me the figures, he tosses me one of the Hals and asks me to review it--I jump at the chance because these havent been released.  So here it is, my first ever "sponsored" review, a loose but exclusive movie Hal Jordan!



Like: The Ryan Reynolds likeness.  This is not to say I like Deadpool/Hannibal King/Van Wilder as Hollywood Hal Jordan (that remains to be seen), but rather that theyve done a good job of making the figure look like the actor.

Like: The way they painted his eyes.  It looks like they do the green of his mask first, then apply a black coat in his eye sockets, before painting the eyes white. And as those of you who customize figures/paint models/miniatures know, his makes the eyes really stand out.

Like: His Leg/Hip Articulation.  Its similar to the DC Universe Swivel/H-hinge joints but tighter and more seamless.

Thats about as high as his shoulders go

Dislike: That his swivel/hinge elbows have 70-80 degrees of hinge bend at most.  Obstructed by the upper arm sculpt.

Dislike: That his shoulders can only be raised to less than 90 degrees.  But like his elbows, they swivel all the way around but are prevented from being raised by sculpt, this time of the torso.

Like: That his ankles can point very well, almost 90 degrees from their "neutral" positions.

Like: The texture of the figure.  Theres not a surface that doesnt have some sort of pattern on it.  I like it because it sets the movie Hal apart from the comic Hal.  And Id say judging from the pictures of Hal from the movie stills, the sculpt is pretty spot on!
Like: The shiny paint. Its a good shade and not too bright, which wouldve just hurt your eyes looking at Hal.  As it is, the suit has an excellent sheen.

Dislike: That the paint is not entirely movie poster accurate.  Hal seems to have a matte finish on his whole suit in the posters and in the trailers.  Only the "lines" on his suit are lit up by bright green light. So while the shiny green paint for the lighter parts of his suit are great to look at, it isnt supposed to look that way.  They shouldve painted these areas a flat green and then done the grooves in shiny green. Oh well, perhaps it didnt cost out.

Dislike: That like the Batman Movie Master figures, hes made in 6" scale but is smaller than the 6" DCUC figures.  No mixing and matching for you!  :(

RATINGS
Aesthetics: 8/10 - Looks like the movie Hal Jordan, but Im not quite sure I like the suit with its weird alien grooves.  In the movie poster these appear "lighted up" but on the toy its sculpted on and not highlighted by paint at all.  Still, while it doesnt look like what most fans want Jordans movie suit to look like, it does look pretty unique.  Perhaps theres a chance for a custom here to turn this guy into another alien Green Lantern to go with DCUC figures, one similar to humans but more compact...

Poseability: 7/10 - His points of articulation are plenty but most are severely hindered.  Besides the shoulders and elbows mentioned above, his knee bend is also limited, but not as much as the aforementioned arm joints.
Fun: 7/10 - On his own, theres only so many ways you can pose him because of his hindered PoAs.  The arms are especially important because Green Lanterns need to be able to point their rings anywhere they want.  But in this case, its all below the belt for Movie Masters Hal.  Perhaps if you had the rest of the movie line to go with him hed be more playable.

Value: 6/10 - While he hasnt officially been released to stores yet, hes out on the street.  It looks like hell be part of a at least two 2-packs, one with Abin Sur, and one with Tomar Re.  But it looks like hell only come with a Lantern--no constructs.  It remains to be seen what Abin (looks like he has an ab crunch) and Tomar will be like, so its hard to judge the value of half a 2-pack, but on his own Jordan looks like hell be as vanilla as they come.

Overall: 7/10 - Hal Jordan ends up being a good toy but only just.  While the tooling and detail theyve put into this figure is enough to make him a superb buy, youll find that hindered joints and a lack of accessories hold him back.  Itll probably be about two more months before this figure is officially released, but Dave from Davestoylet managed to get his hands on some loose figures.  So if you like what you see here or if youre a die-hard Hal Jordan fan and have to get this as soon as you can, contact Dave at (daves.toylet@gmail.com), or if you live in Singapore, you can even call him or drop him a message on his cell: +65 96941973.

Not so fearless after all...

Seriously, how many DCUC figure come with big swords?  None.  None, except Kyle Rayner here.  But whats truly impressive is the amount of work thats gone into making sure a top notch accessory came out right.  And I guess thats all we as fans ask for: quality.  We dont need a bunch of crude constructs packed in with figures (though that would beat no constructs at all), we just need one; one with quality and that will excite our imaginations.  And thats just what (wrong as it sounds) Kyles big sword does--Excite us!

Kyle is Figure 1 in Wave 1 of the DCUC Green Lantern Series.  I hear that the series will last all of 2 waves, but I have a feeling Mattel has more planned for our Emeral heroes and their enemies in upcoming DCUC spin-off waves. DCUC GL 1 is the first wave I pre-ordered in its entirety--I liked the characters, I liked the new articualtion, and I liked the Collect and Connect figure.  How could I pass it up?

Unfortunately, its also the first wave Im paying the new higher retail price for, having cherry picked in past waves and/or holding back till I found the figures I wanted for reasonable prices. This wave cost me S$35 (US$25) a figure, bringing the total to S$210 ($150).  But thanks to Vincent at Toyrealm, I managed to get em at S$30 (US$21.40) a piece!

So how did Kyle do as the first figure of the series? Well lets see!

Like: The great sword accessory, of course!  Just look at the detail they put on it.  Runes on the blade, hilt etchings, decorated gauntlet.  Just the right size too--huge!

Like: That hes got a different costume from the other Green Lanterns. Yet the differences are only slight--hes a shade darker green and his Green Lantern insignia is off center.  Along with a slightly more matte finish than the other GLs, the suit sets him apart from the rest of the GLs without being wildly different, and makes for less for a uniform and more of a costume.

Like: That even his Lantern insignia is different from the standard fare of green on white of most other GLs.  Its also Rayners own unique design of it, with green on black with a white border.  Hes also had a lot of costume changes and insignia changes to go along with them, but like the current costume itself, I think this Lantern badge makes him look like part of the Corp without being completely different.

Like: That what little paint he has on him is sharp, with especially crisp lines for his mask and hairline.

Like: That they used the old school sculpt for him.  I love the articulation on some of the newer figures like Black Hand and Wave 16s Robin, both of whom have double-jointed knees and elbows.  But these two do take a hit in the looks department as far as those joints go.  The double-joints just look too glaringly obvious on lighter tones like skin.  Theyd probably be more hidden on a costume that has black parts like Kyles, but Im glad that he doesnt have those joints to spoil the overall aesthetics of the figure.  In this instance, I feel he doesnt really need the articulation.  That being said, I wished theyd fix the existing PoAs so that theyd work as intended, for example, the head...

 
Dislike: That the head ball joint has gone back to not being able to look up much.  The problem crept in when Wave 8 was released and heads were reduced to swivel-only movement.  In his case Kyle can look down and around without any problem, but cant look up at all.  Its a problem because the head is an especial articulation point for characters who can fly.  Even then, not being able to look up in shock as the entire Sinetro Corps swoops down an ya is kind of a bummer.  The poor guy wouldnt even know what hit him.








RATINGS

Aesthetics: 7.5/10 - Unique uniform that will make him stand out among the Corp, but side by side with other heroes, he seems a little dull.  the standard GL uniform sticks out better among the groups outside the Corps.  But all in all, a well painted figure, a great looking sword and lantern.

Poseability: 8/10 - Hes just your regular DCUC figure with standard articulation. What makes the difference for him is the sword, and a real difference it is.

I also like that hes got nice and tight joints, especially in his legs and ankles.  Some of the figures from previous waves like The Joker I got have very weak leg and ankle joints.  If Mattel made an effort to correct this, then I say bravo.  And this certainly looks to be the case because I got the entire DCUC GL 1 wave and the joints of all the figures are consistently tight.
Fun: 8/10 - Swords are always fun.  That the sword also fits on any standard DCUC male fist is a big plus.  They couldve just made it a big-ass sword but they came up with the idea of a gauntlet to hold it securely as well--this sure adds to the fun of posing ol Kyle over here: who needs a shield when you can block with the same construct youre fighting with? ;)

Value: 8/10 - Great accessory, unique lantern, and Arkillos big ass Right Leg.  Simple additions to go along with a new head with some new tooling for the mask and hair.  Again, the focus on quality (the sword, the new lantern) to go with what already works in the standard buck ad youve got yourself a decent deal for retail price.

Overall: 7.9/10 - Sure, he may not be everybodys favourite Green Lantern of Sector 2814, but he still ranks pretty high up there in the Green lantern Corps.  Hes a must have to go along with Hall, Guy, and John.  The Four Musketeers of the Corp!

While theres not much to gush over about him except maybe his sword, theres not much they did wrong with him (the head movement) either.   If Mattel continues to produce this sort of quality as a baseline for future figures (like the Riddler), wed have a very little to complain about.  That being said, Matty, please dont let it stop you from producing winners like Black Hand and Wave 16s Robin!

Get it? Get it?

(Hit the jump if you dont! Heh. ;])

For my first post ever, I present to you...The one and only Marvel Universe Incredible Hulk! (In 3 3/4" size.)

I got him off a local seller who brought a bunch of these Marvel Universe green and grey Hulk figures in, which is a good thing cuz theyre rather hard to find here in Singapore.

The fan favourites of this line were snapped up fast from local Toy R Uss--Spidey, Captain America, and of course Iron Man.

But I never saw the Hulk on local shelves. So I got this baby (and the grey variant) from Singtoys off ebay.sg. Props to you, man, for being a nice guy and giving me a great deal.

Funny thing is, the grey hulk is a variant, but Ive seen more of him here than the green version. And Hulks cost more than the usual 3 3/4" dudes cuz of his weight, making his shipping higher than your Iron Man, Human Torch or Punisher.

Id actually thought that hed be a lot less flexible than he is, being Hulk and all with all those huge (plastic) muscles in the way. But I was pleasantly surprised at not only his flexibility but also his poseability. His hands both rotate 360 degrees, as does his head and torso (which also bends forward and back) as you can see from the first pic. His thighs rotate at the hip as well. Hes got good knee-bend for a Hulk figure, and his ankles can make him pivot or point his feet. And he balances well too.

But what takes the cake is his paint apps. Boy, just look at those eyes: black pupils with green irises!!! Check out the detailing on his back in this pic:

Yup, and thats right. He poses real well with the X-Men Wolverine Origins brown and yellow variant figure!

I found Wolvie and his buddies at Robinsons for $15 and change. So if youre looking for Gambit, Sabertooth, and all the other versions of Wolverine, you know where to find em. :) I picked myself up a comic version Deadpool as well. But hell feature in another entry with some other friends. ;)

But for now, Im having fun re-enacting the 1st Hulk vs Wolverine meeting in the comics. So ok, Hulk was grey when the two first went toe to toe, but green somehow works better with the yellow on Wolvie. And who doesnt just love the Big Green Goliath? Just gotta love it when the Savage Hulk sics it on his fellow super heroes!

Hulk Smash!!!