BOB SHARE

Id like to begin with a standing ovation, a standing ovation and three cheers for fella who plays Loki in Thor and of course, The Avengers.  Thats right, Tom Hiddlestone.  There was only one of you and yet you more than held your own against the Mighty Avengers ensemble.  Aw heck, in fact Robert Downey Jr, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansen, Sam L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner--all of you deserve a long, long round of applause.

What can I say? Its been 9 days since I first caught the movie, and 5 days since I saw it a second time and Im still buzzing.  And as I write this, Im plotting a 3rd and possibly a 4th viewing. (One of these schemes involves sneaking in on free tickets to What to expect When You Are Expecting and then peeling away to catch The Avengers.  Heheh.)

Hes no coward all right-he called the Hulk a "Dull Creature."

So why review this older Thor figure when there are other, newer figures from the Avengers line?  Well, because most of the 3.75 range is under articulated (See Ultimate Thor, Gamma Punch Hulk) and because Joss Whedon is a god in the movie heaven that is Hollywood.

Hes made me wanna go back and review every single Marvel Universe, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America and and Marvel action figure I havent put in front of the camera and blabbered about.  And I just might.  So who better to start with than with Loki, the ultimate deceiver, played by a man who just steals the scene when hes in it?

When Secret Strike Loki was originally released a year back, there were already pictures of a King Loki to come, so I held back, thinking that Id be able to easily pick this figure up on clearance.  And its turned out to be true!  I got Loki here for S$10!--only for the price to be slashed to almost half that a week later. -__-

But heres no regrets, because after all the lack of PoAs from the Avengers line, this Thor movie figure has turned out to be quite a gem!

Like: That this is Loki before he fashioned himself king of Asgard.  Reminds me very much of the rogue in a Dungeons & Dragons party, which Im sure was a idea for Loki in the beginning.

Like: That though the likeness of Tom Hiddlestone isnt spot on, it does capture the spirit of him.  Slicked back hair, deviously sharp and thin eyebrows, pointed chin, and sneaky eyes, sharp nose, and just a hint of a smirk in his mouth.

Dislike: That the neck hinge is left an unpainted dark green.  It makes him look like he has a soul patch from certain angles.  Ive seen other Hasbro 3.75" figures use beige hinges, so they dont get away with this at all. :(

Like: The articulation.  Hindsight is always 20/20 and at this point where it looks that Avengers toy line wont be as spry as most Hasbro 3.75" brands, I fully appreciate the PoAs this guy has.

The head especially deserves special mention for its ball-hinge assembly and flexibility.


Like: The throwing daggers.  hes got of them and they fit nice and tight in both of his gripping hands.

Each is a different design!

Like: The paint on his face.  The eyes are soooo deviously scheming! As mentioned above, the eyebrows are very well done, neat and sharp.  But heres the clincher for me--the painted mouth!  Its just a hint of beige on the lower lip.  Its a little detail but one that just grabs you, just like Hiddlestones on screen wide-eyed intense look to eerie laugh.  Gosh, it just send shivers down my spine!

Like: The detail on his clothes theyve picked out in paint. Theres the gold on his belt and coat buckle just above it, the buckles on the back, the shoulder and waist trimmings, and a lighter gold under his collar.


Theres a lighter green theyve used for his sleeves, collar and parts of the upper torso, and theres the lighter brown of his shin guards.  Im glad they made the effort to paint these parts.  It shows what a little paint can do to bring out the best in a sculpt!

RATINGS

Told you he was a great actor!

Aesthetics: 8/10 - Not a spitting image of Hiddlestones Loki but close enough.  I think the outfit has been translated well from silver screen to plastic.  All they needed to add on top of the tooling on the base body was his coat tails.  And he sure rides on them to look good!

Poseability: 8.5/10 - Hes got everything you need in a 3.75" figure minus the frills, like rocker ankles, an extra waist swivel, and additional wrist hinges.  But yes, those are bonus PoAs and hence more on the "wants list" rather than the "needs."

Also, the coat tail piece on my Loki isnt glued on or has come loose.  The downside is that Ive got to reposition it every time I pose him.  The upside?  He doesnt get in the way of me posing him first, then repositioning it to fit the pose. ;)

Night at the opera, anyone?

Fun: 9/10 - You could pop the head off this guy and put him on a body with a suit, creating Loki in "disguise" or King Loki without helmet or even Loki as any other hero in the Marvel Universe!

All this even before you actually get down to playing/posing him.  Being highly articulated, Loki can handle the "scheming" posing easily.  But if youre looking for a scrap, be it in an ill-advised foray into Jotunheim or a toe-to-toe with his half/adopted brother, Loki can handle it.  Well, at least until he runs out of trickery and ends up getting pounded like a pancake.

Loki magics himself to look like Thor. Really.

Value: 8/10 - Even though I missed out on getting him on deeper clearance, I still think hes very value-for-money.

Great tooling, great articulation, very few unpainted/bare parts, and the right amount of the right accessories (daggers) means great value.  He even comes with a dud "triple bladed" sword with a split-blade gimmick.


Theres very few figures in the Thor movie line that arent great value, big friggin weapons or no.  Its a pity they stopped at three waves. :(

Overall: 8.4/10 -

With Ultimate Thors "spear" and Heimdalls Sword

Just like the movie has re-ignited my desire for all Marvel figures 3.75", this figure has reminded me of how good the Thor figures are and rekindled my hope that the next few new waves of Avengers figures will be better articulated, even if its just one or two characters. (Oh please, please, please let be true.  Better yet if its more than just a select few.)

But even if my wish doesnt come true, at least theres this guy on clearance--and hell be useful in multiples because thats Loki 101: mirror images FTW! (At least initially till he gets roasted by Thor or blasted by Iron Man.)

Suddenly I have an itch to go clear out those last few Lokis I saw on clearance...

Oh and guys, go watch The Avengers if you havent!  You have?  Then watch it again!!! :)

Like I said, watch The Avengers already! ;)

The airport.  Thats where you find some of the best toys.  I figure its because the planes reach there first (genius at work, I am) and because though so many people pass through, they dont always think to stop and look for a toy store there. Theyre just passing through.

I know a guy who uses airports a lot (though hell claim he travels by horseback or Pegasus) but he doesnt just pass through.  He surveys.  He stalks.  (He texts me.)  He swoops.

And Heimdall is his latest quarry The Rangerlord found for me at the Kuala Lumpur airport in Malaysia.  Hes such a great guy.  He also found me three other figures of a certain Asgardian ilk that Ill be reviewing soon, hopefully.

But in order to get into Asgard we have to pass the gatekeeper.  And the gatekeepers name be Heimdall!  So Haimdall, may we pass?  Heimdall?



Like: Great overall sculpt.  I love the movie armors and the figure accurately captures that movie likeness.

Also, theyve done a great job with the excellent Idris Elba likeness.   His great helm, the "cloth" folds of his sleeves and the "leather" folds of his boots are all also very well sculpted.  (Yes, hes actually wearing pants.)

Like: His greatsword!  Its a very detailed sculpt, with all the intricate etchings carved out of the hilt and a fuller (groove) running down the centre of the blade.

Like: His Bifrost unit and detachable rainbow stand!  I cant believed I just said that.  Rainbow stand.  But I did!  Look at all that colorful translucent goodness!  I love it! ;P

Dislike: The very poor/lack of paint apps.  Hes entirely sculpted in brown, with his armor, helm, bracers, belt, and other metallic bits painted gold.  And the back of his shoulder plates and breast plate only have a thinly applied layer that shows through to his brown plastic.

Sexy back? Not quite...

The other thing about the gold paint is that it doesnt go well with his browns.  Its kinda one shade of unspectacular flatness.  It doesnt help that his brown bits also look plastic.  Also, the gold on the hilt of his sword, which is thankfully a brighter shade, shows paint wear, while the blade itself has a huge chunk that has flaked off near the hilt.
Like:  That theres a fleck of gold in his eyes!  I missed it at first, thinking his eyes were painted the standard black/brown.  But after taking closeup shots of him, they are there, just like in the movie.  Would you look at that? :)


Like: That his face is well painted.  even though the eyes are the wrong color, theyre neat beneath the brim of his great helm.  His beard is also done sharply in black.

Like: His detachable skirt piece.  It pegs into itself in the front and can probably fit any figure youd want it to.  But in order to make sure it fits Haimdall the best, theyve actually sculpted a recess on his left pelvis so it doesnt fall off--hes less easily "pants-ed" that way.

Dislike:  That hes missing wrist, chest/waist and ankle articulation.  With almost all figures in this scale having these PoAs, its become a no-no to not have them.  How is he ever going to wield that sword to Frost Giant-slaying effect?  This also means he cant hold his sword in both hands resting o the hilt in his famous "guardian" pose. (link?)  That saddens me.

The other PoA he loses is the one extra joint in the knees.  Heimdalls only got a single hinges instead of the usual the double hinges there, which is something of a rarity for Hasbros 3.75-inch figures these days.

RATINGS

Aesthetics: 6/10 - His shoddy paint really ruins a great sculpt.  Hopefully they re-release him with better (but no necessarily different) paint!

Poseability: 6/10 - Hes missing several key PoAs.   And I forgot to mention, his head is a ball-joint but limited to a swivel because of the thickness of his neck.

Fun: 8/10 - I think its mainly the movie that sold me on this guy.  Hes so sombre but yet humorous, so by-the-book yet witty,  so menacing yet lovable.  He also comes with a mini-playset which turns out to be a vital location in the film.  True, they toy may be a glorified stand that can shoot plastic lightning bolts out of it, but at least theyre relevant to the character.  AND he can also stand on it.  Menacingly too.  Garrrgh.
Value: 7/10 - I paid in the region of S$25 (US$19) for Heimdall, which is about standard retail in these parts.  Heimdall comes with the aforementioned greatsword, Bifrost unit, rainbow stand, and a couple of yellow lighting bolts.  Strangely enough, he also comes with an instruction sheet to show you how to insert the bolts and fire them by plunging his sword into the unit.  For the kids, I guess, so they dont shoot themselves in the eye trying to figure it out. Heh.

Overall: 6.75/10 - The only things wrong with Heimdall are his paint and articulation.  Even with just better paint apps Id bump him up into the mid to low 7s.  But to have reduced articulation and poor paint?  Its a double whammy that Heimdall cant recover from.  But make no mistake: this guy is a figure that couldve really been very, very good. To bad Hasbro didnt think him important enough to warrant more articulation and better paint.  Oh well, I guess Ill just have to try and repaint him, wont I? ;)