NECA 1979 Alien "Big Chap" Review

NECA has been one of the best toy companies as of late, with its interaction with the fans, great figures, and even some cool licenses. I haven't picked up many of their figures, but when I saw the classic 1979 Alien I just had to pick it up.

I don't have a picture of the packaging, but it's just a standard NECA clamshell with a new "Alien" logo. But enough about that, on to the figure!

While NECA has released an Alien Warrior in Series 1, this figure is an all-new sculpt and apparently shares no parts with the Aliens version (I don't actually own the figure, so take NECA's word for it). The sculpt is fantastic, with great little details all throughout the body and especially the head, which has some great detail in the neck area. Moreover, the hands have six fingers (unlike the Aliens versions, which have talonlike fingers) and the feet are more humanlike as well. 

The paint work is simple, but it works very well. The fingertips and toes are painted silver, but there is a little bleeding on my sample. Throughout the figure there is a light grey/brown shading that brings out all the sculpted detail nicely. 

One thing of note is the dome. I've seen various samples ranging from a clear dome to a completely opaque dome for the head. I prefer it a little translucent so you can see the creepy skull underneath, but I'm sure you can find a head based on your preferred look. While we're talking about the head, you can also pull out the inner mouth, which has some sculpted detail and is painted in a cream color. Mine was stuck out of the packaging, but it's just a QC issue and it eventually worked with enough pulling. 

The articulation is good, but there are a couple flaws. First, the joints: there is a balljoint in the head, balljoints and swivels in the shoulders, hinges at the elbows, and a wrist swivel/hinge. The Alien has a great diaphragm joint with a good range of motion, balljointed and swivel thighs, double jointed knees, toe hinges, ankle swivels, and a bendy tail. Yes, ankle swivels, not rockers. This makes the figure harder to pose in wide stances and also creates balancing issues. Additionally, I wish there had been double jointed elbows. The Alien Warrior has double jointed elbows, but sadly this classic one does not. Another minor gripe is that the left knee on my sample has gotten more and more loose, but again, QC issue. You can also remove one of the back spines so that head can move farther back, but this creates a gaping hole in his upper back and you can usually just move the head around it anyway.

NECA's figures are in a 7 inch scale, so the Alien will look good next to NECA's other figures (such as the Predator), but it won't work as well with Marvel Legends. It's also worth noting that when straightened out, the Alien stands around 9 inches tall.

A classic battle with classic figures

All in all, this is a good figure. The sculpt and paint are all top notch and accurate, but the few articulation and QC issues bring down what could have otherwise been a perfect Alien figure. As is though, it is definitely worth buying at the $17-20 pricepoint, and shouldn't be that hard to find. 

LEGO Polybag 30300: The Batman Tumbler Review

 I was going to review more Marvel Legends today, but I stumbled upon this polybag at my local Target. I'm a sucker for mini-Batmobiles, and this Tumbler was no exception.

 The pieces included (which I forgot to photograph) are nothing special. Black pieces, four wheels, and some cheese slopes. The set did include an extra black cheese slope, which I attached to the front.

 This polybag is a decent representation of the Tumbler, but it definitely has its flaws. For some reason, Lego decided to include a grey bar on the back of the car (tank?) that really breaks up the black color scheme of the vehicle.

From the side, you can see there's an ugly gap between the back wheel and the side. There's not much Lego could have done at this scale, but it's still not a pretty sight.

The back has the rocket boosters that Batman used to jump over buildings in Batman Begins. It's one of the distinctive features of this Batmobile, and I'm glad it's represented accurately here.

Here's the Lego Tumbler next to Mattel's Hotwheels Tumbler. Lego's is missing a lot of details in my opinion, but I guess it's not the worst. Lego did attempt to put the gold highlights present on the Mattel Tumbler by using a 2x1 piece, but it doesn't really work.

Compared to last year's Batmobile, this polybag falls short. The one on the right is instantly recognizable, looks good, and had a decent build. The Tumbler, on the other hand, doesn't scream "Tumbler".

Overall, this is a nice little polybag, but not the best. For $3.99 you can't go wrong, and I'm a big enough fan of Nolan's Batman to like the little build. However, in terms of polybag builds this one is really restricted by the piece count and scale, and the end result isn't as good as it could be.

Click here!

Marvel Legends Infinite Series: Amazing Spider-Man Review

With great power comes great responsibility. Although this movie Spider-Man might not be familiar with those words, it still deserves a new suit (and figure). Today we'll be looking at the first entry in the Spider-Man Marvel Legends Infinite Series: Peter Parker himself!

No matter what evil rises, the Amazing Spider-Man will summon the courage to defeat it; for with great power comes great responsibility.

This new Spidey comes in the same Marvel Legends packaging as the Captain America Marvel Legends Infinite Series (That's a mouthful). It's very nice packaging and is becoming the new standard for ML (the next Guardians of the Galaxy wave also uses it as well). Because this is a movie figure the top of the box has the movie's title instead of the generic "Spider-Man" we get on the comic figures. 

If you look closely, you can see the plastic case is upside-down. My mistake. 

But who cares about the (soon to be overused) packaging? Is the figure inside any good?

Short answer: Yes. When the Amazing Spider-Man 2 suit was first revealed, fans were ecstatic at the comic-inspired design in favor of the weird, yellow-eyed suit of the original. Because the suit is very comic-based, it is easy to fudge this movie figure as a classic Spider-Man. This is great news for newer ML fans who don't want to pay ridiculous prices for the old McFarlane Spider-Man from Toybiz. 

Furthermore, this is an all-new sculpt from Hasbro. It has very nice details included sculpted lines for the suit and sculpted musculature in the legs (not very present in the arms, however). The figure also features paint shading in the red areas that complements the sculpt very well, even though some of it is misapplied on the eyes. Another gripe with the paint is that the elbow joints (which are molded in red) are not painted blue to match the arms. This isn't a big deal for me, but it is sure to bug some people, especially at a $20 price point. 

The real flaws with this figure are in the articulation. In print it sounds great: Spidey features balljointed shoulders, hips, and head as well as swivel hinge wrists, double jointed elbows/knees, swivels at the waist, thighs, and calves as well as rocker ankles and new shoulder joints. Oh, the shoulder joints...

Blegh. 

This is the main flaw with this figure. Hasbro decided to experiment with a new shoulder joint (for forward and backwards movement), and while it works fine, it looks very strange when pulled all the way forward (or backward) as seen in the picture above. Additionally, while the inside of the joint has sculpted detail, it's still red and breaks up the blue on Spidey's back. 

Peter needs to fatten up

The figure continues to sacrifice sculpt for articulation in the hips, which come out looking too bulky for the skinny Spider-Man body. Speaking of skinny Spider-Man bodies, this figure's torso is very flat and thin. I wouldn't mind very much, but it prevents the ab crunch from going down very far, resulting in "crouching" poses that look like this: 

I can't touch my toes...

In the accessories department, Spidey comes with two different sets of hands (thwipping and fisted) for various poses. These are great and allow for some variety, since Hasbro generally doesn't put finger articulation on their ML figures.  The figure also comes packed with the BAF piece of Green Goblin. While I have no intention of completing this BAF, the flame effect should prove useful for some displays. 

Need a hand?

Spidey is on the shorter side at about 6 inches tall. That's a good height if you keep in mind Peter is only a teenager and shouldn't tower over full grown-men (or cyborgs). 

The Karate Spider

Overall, this figure is a good addition to any ML collection. This is a great classic Spider-Man, despite it being a movie figure and a great alternative to the McFarlane Spidey. While it has its flaws, I haven't been able to put it down for the past week, the sign of any good figure. 

Guess who's next up to be reviewed...

The LEGO Movie Collectible Minifigures: Bad Cop and Larry the Barista Review

While Marvel Legends have been scarce, I saw the new LEGO Movie CMF's at Target the other day and couldn't help but pick up a few.

This is the closest to "Mint in Box" I could get

The new LEGO Movie figures come in very nice blue bags that show off some of the figures in the series. Interestingly, this is the second time a LEGO Collectible Minifigures series has been themed (the first was the Olympic-themed CMF's) and supposedly LEGO is planning a Simpsons-themed series of minifigures as well.

 Out of the two packs I bought, I was able to get Larry the Barista and the Scribble Faced Bad Cop. I did use the "bag feeling" technique for these, but I never intended to get the Bad Cop (more on that later).

Larry the Barista

 Clearly the star of The LEGO Movie, Larry the Barista was featured in the first trailer giving overpriced AWESOME overpriced coffee to everyone. Larry has a new hairpiece which I like a lot, and he has a printed apron with his nametag saying "LARRY".

One annoying thing about the printing is that the torso print doesn't extend all the way so there's a white line between the bottom of the apron and the top. Another flaw that Larry has is that his crotch piece is lighter than the actual brown of the apron, so it stands out. However, these are just nitpicks and don't bother me TOO much, and I still love the figure. 

 My favorite part about Larry is his lone accessory: the new coffee cup! It's a new mold that has a printed coffee mug on it. This is a great little piece, and I can see people buying multiple Larry's to fill their LEGO cities with Baristas selling these neat coffee cups.

Emmet decided to try a new hairstyle

Scribble-Faced Bad Cop
*I'm not actually sure if this figure is called "Scribble-Faced", but I'll call it that to distinguish it from the other Bad Cop figure.

Bad Cop is the Liam Neeson-voiced character that apparently has split personalities. I never intended to get this figure; in fact, I wanted the Hardhat Emmet. Since both figures have helmets and come with 1x2 flat bricks, it's easy to get them mixed up when feeling packs, and that's how I ended up with Bad Cop instead of a happy Emmet. And I have to say, I'm not disappointed at all!

 Bad Cop doesn't have the most interesting torso printing (he has no leg printing!), but he does come with a very cool alternate face. Unlike the minifigure in the Bad Cop's Pursuit set (which has a smiling, "Good Cop" face), this CMF version has a creepy scribbled face. I haven't seen the movie yet, so I don't know how relevant this is but it's a very interesting print, to say the least.

While Bad Cop has no back printing, he does have a new helmet piece that is unique to his minifigure. It's a nice piece, but if you have a lot of LEGO cops lying around you won't necessarily NEED this one. 

The figure has two accessories: a printed smartphone piece and a pair of handcuffs. The handcuffs are nothing special, just standard LEGO handcuffs, but the smartphone piece is very nice. Maybe Bad Cop has Flappy Bird installed (it would explain his bad mood).

"Take him to the Melting Chamber!"

Overall, Bad Cop is a nice figure of a relatively important character in the LEGO Movie, but if you aren't a fan of the movie then he's a generic cop with a new helmet and a smartphone.

Overall, these figures are pretty good. They continue the LEGO Collectible Minifigure trend of having good printing and sweet new parts. Even if you aren't a fan of the movie, these are worth picking up. Just be careful when you're feeling for the ones you want!

Marvel Legends Infinite Series: Marvel NOW! Captain America Review

The new Marvel Legends Infinite series has finally hit stores around my area, and the first of the two that I found is this modern, Marvel NOW! Cap. Is it a good representation of good ol' Steve? Read on to find out!

No matter how often Arnim Zola's twisted creations beat him down, Steve Rogers will always stand up!

The new Marvel Legends from Hasbro come in very nice packaging reminiscent of the Star Wars Black Series. There is no tape involved, so it is collector-friendly and is also good for storing accessories.

On the side of the package there is a nice sketch of movie Cap throwing his shield. 

When you open Marvel Legends NOW! Cap, you'll notice that there is no paint shading. This is an ongoing trend with Hasbro's recent Marvel Legends, but Steve's sculpt is so nice that it really begs for a light blackwash to bring out the details. His headsculpt is similar to the Commander Rogers figure in ML1, but the NOW! Cap's head is smaller. The shade of red used on the suit is a smidge too bright, but not enough to make the figure look terrible.

What does bring the figure down is the quality control. There are numerous accounts of the eyes being misaligned or the arms missing grey detail, so look before you buy. The worst of these paint issues is in the abdomen area. The type of paint used is glossy, and it scratches off VERY easily. Moving the ab crunch and posing the figure left an unattractive blue gap in the middle of Cap's torso, so be very careful when handling this figure.

Be careful with your figures!

Paint issues aside, this figure's articulation is wonderful. Cap has a balljointed head on a hinge, balljointed shoulders, a bicep swivel, double jointed elbows (but only the bottom hinge is really functional, the top one barely moves), swivel-hinge wrists, the aforementioned ab crunch, a waist swivel (which was stuck when I got the figure out of the package), T-jointed hips, an upper thigh swivel, double-jointed knees, a calf swivel, and ankle rockers. All in all, an amazing articulation scheme that really makes the figure fun to pose (and makes the paint issues that much worse).

Cap stands about 6 inches tall and works in scale with other Marvel Legends. He is a little too tall for SWB and too short to fight NECA's Predator.

Captain America comes with two accessories: his mighty shield and the BAF piece. The shield is the same shield from all other Hasbro Cap figures (which I don't have) and has a clip so it can attach onto his arm.

The shield can also peg into Cap's back, but it sits a little too high for my liking.

The Mandroid head is an all-new sculpt made of the "swirly" plastic like Iron Monger. I didn't intend on building Mandroid, but the great lineup of figures definitely has me tempted.

All in all, Cap is a good figure. His articulation makes him very fun to play around with and pose, but watch out for that ab crunch!

Steve and Tony

The Marvel Legends Infinite Series is hitting stores right now. At Target, these figures are $14.99, but they are $20 at TRU and Wal-Mart. NOW! Cap is packed two per case, so he probably won't be hard to find. For $15 I'd say this figure is a definite buy, but it's questionable at $20 if you already have a good Cap. Leave your thoughts in the comments below!

The LEGO Movie 70801: The Melting Room Review

What better way to start off a new year than with new sets from the LEGO Movie? Today we'll be looking at one of the two smallest sets in the line:

Melting Room (70801)
122 pieces
SRP: $12.99 USD

This set comes in a fairly small box. On the front we see a photoshopped picture of the set with Wyldstyle kicking over a poor Robot SWAT guard. The box's back is adorned with another picture of the set and showcases some of the play features.

When we open the set, we get a 35-page instruction manual and 122 pieces. I won't go over the booklet, but some interesting pieces (excluding minifigures) include:

• Two shorter chain pieces
• A black triangular piece from the Cars line
• A clear disk piece
• A new "pipe" piece
• Two printed plates
• A white piece that holds a minifigures' legs without studs. This originated in the Friends line. 

 Now, the main draw of the set: the minifigures! We get Emmet, Wyldstyle, and a Robo SWAT.

The Special has arisen.

Emmet is the exact same minifigure as you'll get in most of the LEGO Movie sets. He has a new hairpiece with two tufts of hair in the back. He has nice printing on his torso and legs as well as decent back printing.

A mouthful of hair

Emmet has two expressions: a scared print and a determined one. However, if you want to use the determined side, be aware that the hair piece does not cover the scared face on the back completely. 

Emmet also comes with the Piece of Resistance, which is a new piece in red that can attach to his back. I'm not a fan the neck piece, and it makes his neck seem too long. In fact, the trailers show Emmet without the grey piece and the Piece of Resistance glued to his back. 

This version of Wyldstyle is exclusive to this set because of the new hood piece. It is slightly rubbery and comes in a separate little baggy.

There isn't much reuse potential with the hood because Wyldstyle's hair is painted on and it features side printing that is pretty much exclusive to Wyldstyle. Wyldstyle has some nice printing as well, and even has arm and foot printing! 

Yes, this is a different expression

She has two expressions, one normal and one slightly more determined. 

The final figure is the Robo SWAT. He has a nice cap with a printed logo on it, which may be exclusive to this set. 

His head is shared with some of the other Robo SWAT figures, but he has cool torso printing that can be reused for police minifigures if desired. He has a gun with a clip from the Dino line, but it looks empty without anything in the clip. All in all, the minifigures are great, but may be redundant if you plan to buy some of the larger sets in the line. 

While some may buy the set solely for the minifigures, it also has a small playset build of the Melting Room (or Chamber). The build didn't take very long, but it had some interesting techniques for the table that Emmet is chained to. The set consists of three main parts: The weapons rack with handcuffs and an axe, the rotating table, and the Melting Laser. The play set has some pretty cool features for a small set.

This play feature is GEARED towards kids. I'm terrible, I know. 

 If you turn the gear on the bottom, you can move the table up and down. Emmet will stay securely thanks to the chains and the leg-holding piece. 

The laser (which I assume is to melt off the Piece of Resistance) is on a pin, so it can swivel back and forth. It can also hinge forward and backwards due to its construction. While the playset is drab in its colorscheme, it is very versatile. It can be an Extremis testing facility, Oscorp's lab, or even Lex Luthor's Krytonite laser (if you replace the red bar with a green one). The possibilities are endless!

In conclusion, the Melting Room is a good set. If you plan on buying the other sets in the line, then you can probably pass. But if you want hooded Wylstyle or simply a taste of the new LEGO Movie line, you won't be disappointed by this little one.