Triple H
Masters of the WWE Universe (Mattel) - Wave 1
Rated 4.00 stars by Karl T. Face
Well, that's an improvement. The pack-in HHH was a fine wrestler toy, but not so hot for a MOTU crossover. This is more in line with his more extravagant entrance gear, which blends right in. The body is the same, but with full pants and a lot of purple. A bulky harness adds some fun spiked armor, and it's topped off with a tattered cape and skull-crown-helmet. Articulation is standard as always- above average, in fact, since nothing was stuck. The shoulder pads do restrict upward motion a bit, but he can still pose with his hammer convincingly. For a bit. The hammer is actually the chief flaw here. The gorgeous sculpt can't quite save it from the fact that it's slightly too big for the hands. It's bad enough the reused Classics sculpts barely stayed on, now they're doing it on purpose?...[See More]

Ice Giant
Witcher (McFarlane) - Megafigs
Rated 4.50 stars by Karl T. Face
So, The Witcher. I've only seen the series, and never actually finished that, but I can confirm more-or-less myth-accurate monsters (Kikimora notwithstanding), which is what I come for. So whatever version this is based on, it's looking pretty good. But does it hold up in-hand? Firstly, it's McFarlane. They know what they're doing when it comes to monsters, and this is as good a cold-weather giant as one could ask for. The pale skin, furs, and shaggy hair look great, and the pulleys on his sash add a nautical touch. I gotta say, though, the ropes holding the bones onto the legs are mostly unpainted, which is odd considering the rest. All in all, a "greatest hits" ice giant, pulling from a number of classic inspirations. I like it. Articulation is pretty typical for the last couple years:...[See More]

Flukeman (McFarlane Club)
X-Files - Fight the Future (McFarlane) - Exclusives
Rated 4.75 stars by Karl T. Face
X-Files was absolutely among the elite of 90s sci-fi. While the main storyline was (mostly) handled well, I was there for two things: the Lone Gunmen, and the monster of the week. The one-offs, the episodes where the writers really got to play around. Flukeman, here, was an early alumnus, giving us a fantastically creepy mutant, a gritty reboot of TMNT's Wyrm. A fluke, in fact, of the parasitic variety. I like their bizarre life cycles. Anyway, Mcfarlane Toys threw us a bone with their movie toyline, offering a couple show-based items before passing the torch. This was around their Movie Maniacs era, so they really brought their A game. The sculpt is superb, a mass of wrinkles, folds, and puckers. The shawl-esque portion, and the entire head, are actually rubber. This is the only real...[See More]

Detritus
Transformers - Legacy - Evolution (Hasbro) - Deluxe Class
Rated 4.00 stars by Karl T. Face
So this was a pre-paint of Hound, of course. Who is also on my list. Do I really want both? Kinda, yeah. Detritus is one of those Ehobby oddballs that have been cropping up lately, a Junkion that struck out on his own as a mercenary. Presumably he only speaks in spaghetti western quotes. Visually, he's a tan and brown jeep, plain and simple. Paint is a little bare, but at least we get hubcaps and a distinct winch. The usual Hologram Projector is present, along with a tubular pistol. Transformation is just around average thanks to a few fun twists canceled out by a few worrisome joints: the windshield is of course clear plastic, on a pin joint. The pec hinges on mine are quite stiff. The result is a tan and brown Hound. Again, it's all he's ever been, so no foul there. With that in mind,...[See More]

Rayquaza
Pokemon Select (Jazwares) - Series 1
Rated 4.75 stars by Karl T. Face
Well, I can't say too much about the character here. Never played any of the games. But I do love me some monsters, and boy howdy, does this franchise have a lot of them. Straight out of the package, dude's in his classic half-pretzel pose. Sculpting is on point, paint is near perfect all around. The clear stand holds up well, and has a hinge at the connection point. And then there's the articulation. This is my first Select; having gotten used to 5 POA on average, this thing is amazing. The neck and the first few segments are swivel/hinges, as are the shoulders, elbows, and wrists. The reminding segments are plain swivels, but the curves allow for a lot of options. My only complaint, and this may well be a rare issue, is that every joint on mine is monstrously stiff. I put small stress...[See More]

Crasher
Transformers - Legacy - Velocitron Speedia 500 Collection (Hasbro) - Deluxe Class
Rated 4.75 stars by Karl T. Face
Fittingly, the packaging on mine was damaged. I love the recent trend of in-house crossovers. Between this, Bug Bite and those M.A.S.K. vehicles they snuck into the Micromasters, it's a nice low-key sprinkling of fun that I don't have to go all-in on a series for. Anyhoo, Crasher snuck into the Bayverse toyline as a Walmart exclusive, a redeco of Mirage. This update takes the same route, but comes out a lot better. The altmode is fairly nice, sporting clean lines and a smattering of fine detail. No obvious kibble. The guns blend in well, plugging into the predominantly black central section. A misaligned paint app leaves the 01 on the hood a bit crooked, but it kind of fits the character. Transformation is of average complexity, with a few fun twists and some seriously finicky leg...[See More]

Rob Zombie (Hellbilly Deluxe)
Asylum Ultimate Series (Art Asylum) - 18" Deluxe Figures
Rated 4.75 stars by Karl T. Face
Art Asylum lives up to both halves of their name! I became a fan of Rob Zombie in my early 20s, around the time I discovered C-list horror. Grindhouse flicks. They're written with the same weird imagery and gritty tone as his music, and that comes through in his movies as well. I was gifted this figure (doll, really) many years ago by a good friend, and it's been prominently displayed ever since. The doll itself is built on a rather generic 18" body, likely with an eye for reuse. Only the feet, hands, and head are unique. The boots are nice and clunky, the hands are good for clutching any number of things, and the head has a penetrating stare and very impressive rooted dreads with a grey dry-brushing. Between the pale skin, facial hair and cold expression, it comes off looking a lot like...[See More]

Stone Wing
Rock Lords (Tonka) - Vehicles
Rated 4.50 stars by Karl T. Face
It's not what it looks like. I liked Rock Lords as a kid. Tom Hanks can eat it, I had a lot of toys that turned into rocks, and they were awesome. But I never found the vehicles, except a freak sighting of the Rock Pot at a KB in the mid 90s, and I stupidly passed on that. But then this came along, and I had to pounce. Though officially a vehicle for the villains, the Stone Wing was originally designed for the heroes. It just so happened that none of the first-wave heroes could sit down, while all the villains could. Which makes me wonder if there was just a typo on the ledger somewhere to begin with. Anyway, this thing is made out of "a mysterious space rock monopole stone", which has antigravity properties. Which is ironic, since it weighs just over a pound and a half. There's a lot of...[See More]

Neo-Otyugh
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (LJN) - Bendable
Rated 4.50 stars by Karl T. Face
For what often amounts to a sentient waste processor, this is a pretty cool monster. Otyughs are a staple of D&D, a nice mid-level monster that slots in pretty easily wherever large monsters or large towns exist: any big enough concentration of filth can attract one. And what a sight they are! These things have a roundish body, dominated by a puckered, lamprey-esque mouth and supported by three stumpy, shaggy-looking legs. Two large, vicious-looking tentacles and a vaguely leaf-shaped eyestalk add to the strangeness of the design. The sculpting here is as good as any in the line: everything is textured, whether it's the leathery skin, thorny-looking arms, matted fringes/fleshy folds, or the rivulets of thick fluid all over. Eewww. Now, I will say they made the right call going the bendy...[See More]

Mighty Morphin Pudgy Pig
Power Rangers Lightning Collection (Hasbro) - Mighty Morphin
Rated 5.00 stars by Karl T. Face
Animal heads where they don't belong have always been creepy. Artists have been milking it since Bosch at least. And that's why I own this. I somehow missed out on Power Rangers as a kid, despite a love of fun Kaiju. I'd never seen tokusatsu before, and it seemed silly and overblown. Which was the point, of course. Anyway, the livestock legionnaire here was created to devour all the world's food in the US version, while the original series had Witch Bandora specifically starving out one family with a bespoke pig head creature. She was cranky on account of her new diet, you see. None of that matters to me, as this thing looks to have crawled right out of a Breugel print. The pig head is exactly a normal one, with good skin texture and slightly overgrown tusks. The arms (which,...[See More]