Toy News and Reviews
 Marvel
Legends
Series 5 Figures
Welcome back once again, toy fiends.
This week’s review covers Marvel Legends Series 5. This
continuation of the popular Marvel Legends line includes Blade;
Sabretooth; Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.; Mr. Fantastic;
Silver Surfer (with Howard the Duck); Colossus; and a chase figure
of the Red Skull.
Again ToyBiz presents us with super-articulated, well-executed
figures of everyone’s favorite Marvel characters. Sure, ToyBiz has made
some odd choices, but that is nothing new and nothing that is going to change
anytime soon. ToyBiz has a successful line and they show no sign of
letting up.
This is nothing you don’t know, I’m sure. (Otherwise you
wouldn’t be here.) So let's get on with the review ... .
Initial Thoughts
ToyBiz continues to give the fans what they want. Superb
articulation, adequate sculpts, and a few surprises every now and then.
Admittedly, I put off buying this series. Why? I’m
not completely sure. I hate chase figures. (I understand why ToyBiz
continues to produce them, but I don’t like them.) When the series first
appeared, Blade was absent, and that annoyed me. And since I’d mostly
picked at the previous assortments, I wasn’t sure I wanted to get completely
involved. I’m glad I did! I found Red Skull and later Blade, and
once I started I couldn’t stop. These things are addictive.
If only ToyBiz wouldn’t reuse body parts from one figure to
the next. But after years of seeing poor product cranked out by ToyBiz,
I’m just happy they’ve started producing toys that actually try to compete with
the rest of the market.
Packaging
 
 More
all-plastic clamshells have arrived. I’m starting to worry about the
future of easy-to-open figures on cardboard backer cards. Well-packaged
and sturdy, the packaging seems collector-friendly — but I have seen a
lot hanging on the pegs with dents and creases on the corners.
The figures are all nicely-presented; the inserts are sturdy.
And, as with Series 1-4, you get a comic book featuring “legendary” appearance
of the character. The book choices are usually odd, and in this case the
book that comes with Blade isn’t a comic but a poster book of stills from Blade
2.
The packaging isn’t perfect (as many MOCers will attest), and
it’s awfully hard to open, but it still earns a respectable 4 stars.
Sculpts
There's no mistaking any of these characters. All the
sculpts are great, but as with any line, there are a few stand-outs and a few
let-downs.
But I can’t be too hard on these. ToyBiz has come a long
way over the past few years, and if a little bit of the sculpt is sacrificed to
enhance the articulation and the fun factor, then that’s all right.
 Let’s
start with Sabretooth. Well-sculpted with only minor flaws,
Sabretooth falls victim to the massive ball-jointed shoulders that ToyBiz
insists on using. At least on poor Sabretooth they aren’t as noticeable
when compared to the rest of his body. His mane is well-rendered, and his
face is sculpted in the appropriate angry expression. His massive
musculature is well-defined, and he’s easily posed to take on the nearest X-Men.
Sabretooth gets 4 stars.
 Mr.
Fantastic is next, and boy, is he the let-down of the group. His
shoulders are awful! They make him look completely out of proportion.
His body is so scrawny, you almost expect his massive cranium to crush him.
And the prototype head sculpt was way better than this one. At least it
will be used on the next Reed in the Fantastic Four boxed set. His
alternate “elongated” hands are a let-down as well. They don’t match up
well when placed on his arms and just look wrong. It was a great idea, but
it could have been executed better. The bendy rubber is so heavy he can’t
support his own arms. As much as I was looking forward to Mr. Fantastic,
fantastic he is not — so he only gets 2 stars.
 Colossus!
Well-sculpted, well-represented, and just a big massive figure. Colossus was
almost the one Marvel Legend I didn’t pick up. I’ve never been a big X-Men
fan, but I’m really glad I picked up Colossus. His “skin” looks great, his
expression is perfect, and ToyBiz actually tossed in some soft rubber accents on
his shoulder pieces and his knees. For being such a pleasant surprise,
Colossus gets all 5 stars.
 Silver
Surfer is another great surprise. A simple sculpt is very well done,
which is very important in this case, since his paint job doesn’t allow much
room to hide imperfections in the sculpt. The shoulders work for him.
Maybe because they match his head so perfectly. His muscles look
believable, and the poses of both his hands are great. I almost believe
he’s trying to tell me something. (That, or he’s snapping his fingers to
the cosmic drummer in his head.) The Surfer gets the full 5 stars.
 Sir
Nicholas Fury is next. (It just sounds so right after reading 1602
that I can’t help but call him that.) I expected more from Nick Fury.
Where’s his cigar, for crying out loud? His mouth is sculpted to hold it,
but it’s nowhere to be found. And compared to the rest of the line, he
seems a little plain. Honestly, should Reed Richards be more built than
Nick? Fury gets only 3 stars.
 And
the final regular figure is Blade. Everyone’s been begging for a
decent Blade since the original movie Blade came and went years ago. While
this is that Blade, he’s far from perfect. He sort of looks like Wesley
Snipes, and I’m sure he could kick a few plastic vampires butts, but he’s not
the radical improvement I was hoping for. The sculpt is hidden by his
coat, and he looks better without it. Blade gets only 4 stars. He
could be worse, but he’s not perfect, either.
 Then
there's the chase piece for this wave, the Red Skull. Finally,
someone to fight Cap! And what do we get? A modified movie Daredevil
(easily one of the worst Marvel Legends figures) with a repainted Captain
America base. The head sculpt is new and looks great. If only he
could have been sculpted in his full uniform. I give Red 3½ stars.
For being so hard to find, he should be a better figure. It’s pretty
anticlimactic to hunt and hunt for a figure that’s not all that great.
Articulation
These are Marvel Legends figures; need I say any
more? They are some of the most articulated toys available — and for the
most part, it’s actually useful articulation. They all get 5 stars.
Paint
 The
whole line is well painted. This is a hit-or-miss topic with ToyBiz, and
it usually helps to wait a little while before picking any up. The first
shipment or two is usually the worst, with subsequent cases getting better and
better.
Sabretooth could use a little more detail.
I’ve heard complaints about paint scraping off the joints on the Surfer.
And Red Skull's jacket has some sloppy line work.
As a whole, the line receives 4 stars in the
paint department.
Accessories
Every figure in Marvel Legends Series 5 has at
least one accessory, its base.
Sabretooth comes with another chunck of a
destroyed Sentinel, this time a foot. He looks great displayed on it, and
it’s great to have another chunk of Sentinel.
 Reed
comes with part of the Fantasticar, which is well-detailed, has a folding seat,
and looks just as it should — like a flying bathtub.
Colossus has the chest piece of a Sentinel, but
it looks too small compared to all the other Sentinel pieces. If you were
hoping to piece together a complete Sentinel, you had better start looking
elsewhere.
Fury
comes with his jetpack and a trail of smoke that suspends him in mid-flight.
He looks much better that way.
Silver Surfer comes with his cosmic surfboard and
attaches to it via magnets in his feet. This means that, just like last
year’s magnetic Spiderman, Surfer can hang out on your fridge! And as a
special bonus, Surfer comes with a figure of Howard the Duck. What
more do you want? He’s a well-sculpted and painted representation of
everybody’s favorite wise-cracking duck.
 Blade
has the most accessories. His base is his motorcycle. While not as
impressive as Ghost Rider’s bike, it still serves its purpose. Blade also
has a faux leather coat, sword, gun, sunglasses, and a throwing weapon.
The Red Skull has a repainted base from the
Series 1 Captain America but also comes with hand gun and his hat.
Marvel Legends Series 5 earns another perfect
score for the accessories: 5 stars out of 5.
Price
With a suggested retail price between $8 and $10,
Marvel Legends are a great buy. You get a lot for your money, and compared
to some other super-hero toys. they seem like a steal.
Overall Playability
 This
is a line of super-hero toys you can actually play with. They can pass any
Articulation test you toss at them: They can sit in chairs, lay on
operating tables, do a split, and look great mid-stride. If there was ever
a line that took playing with your toys to a new level, it would be Marvel
Legends. The whole line deserves a high score, but due to a few
inconsistencies here and there, they get a respectable 4½ stars as a whole.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to break up a
fight between Silver Surfer and Silent Bob!
And in this week's news:
DC Direct Solicitations have been announced for
April, including Hush Series 2 (Superman, Catwoman, Harley Quinn, Riddler,
and Catwoman) and a second Artist Signature Set (Kingdom Come
Superman). For all the details, see this week's issue of Previews.
McFarlane Monsters Series 3 is finally and fully revealed at
Spawn.com. And there will be
a Collectors' Club piece for the line. Whether it will be an accessory set or
another figure is still unknown.
Wizard World L.A. was a huge success as a new convention. Palisades showed a
lot of new product, including new Muppets and Army of Darkness
figures. Gentle Giant quickly sold out of their exclusive Clone Trooper
bust.
Marvel Minimates Series 6 & 7 revealed:
http://www.toymania.com/news/messages/4763.shtml
Until next week, toy fans, you know where to find me if you need me!
Feel free to ask questions, suggest a
review, or share toy news with the Toyman!
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