Month: February 2016

Action Figure Maniac Reviews: Eaglemoss: Star Trek: Future Enterprise NCC-1701-D

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Star Trek: Future Enterprise NCC-1701-D
Eaglemoss
Retail: Varied, Secondary Market

I sang the praises of Eaglemoss in my last review. So, I will only mention here that the selection of ships in their Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection has me a happy geek!

This review will cover another of their premium subscription offerings – the future Enterprise NCC-1701-D. From what I have read, this was a free item offered to subscribers in the UK only. There might be two version. I am unsure which this is.

The Future D comes in the standard OSC packaging. A blue box with a molded clear plastic cover.

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The ship itself is quite beautiful. There are some really nice details. The aztec pattern is a bit dark for my tastes, but it is a nice edition.

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The added structural details: strut fins, phaser banks, third warp nacelle, phaser canons, and phaser lance are all well done.

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My only complaint about this offering, and it could be unique to mine, is that there are gaps in the nacelles near the Bussard collectors.

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When compared to the regular Enterprise-D, you can see the darkness of the aztec pattern, but the ship looks nice next to its younger self.

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Breakdown:

  • Playability – 5 out of 5. The future Enterprise-D has good weight and feels nice in the hand as you fly it around your room.
  • Collectibility – 5 out of 5. The packaging on this one makes for an awesome display and, as it is a subscriber gift, not everyone has it.
  • Paint Applications – 4 out of 5. I really like the paint apps on this … except for the dark aztecing.
  • Standability – 5 out of 5. She comes with a stand specifically designed to hold her in place. I forgot to take photos, sorry.
  • Articulation – N/A
  • Accessories – N/A
  • Affordability – 4 out of 5. As this is, for non-UK customers, a secondary market item, the price will vary. I paid a little less for this than the Borg Cube.

Overall impression: 23 out of 25. Eaglemoss’s future Enterpise-D is a solid piece. My only complaints are the aztecing and the gaps at the nacelles. The playability and details are really nice. If you are collecting this line, or are a fan of the future D, you should pick this up!

 

** Star Trek and related characters belong to CBS and Paramount. These images are for hobby only. Also, the background images were found on the internet. If one of the images belongs to you, I will gladly give credit.

Action Figure Maniac Reviews: Eaglemoss: Star Trek: Future Enterprise NCC-1701-D

Action Figure Maniac Reviews: Eaglemoss: Star Trek: Borg Cube

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Star Trek: Borg Cube
Eaglemoss
Retail: Varied, Secondary Market

Eaglemoss has been wowing me with their Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection. The detail and selection are amazing! I never thought we’d get a collection of Star Trek ships so vast.

One of their offerings is the Borg Cube! It was offered as a premium subscription gift. There are two version: UK release and Japanese release. This review is for the UK version.

You won’t see pictures of packaging here. It was a simple white box and I couldn’t see myself taking photos of a white box. That would be ludicrous.

Out of the box, the Cube is fairly nice looking. It has grey panels with sections cut out that display white backgrounds. The white sections are a bit disappointing, but they do have a purpose.

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When the Borg Cube is turned on, it has a really cool light-up feature.

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The panels are a bit flimsy, but when I picked up the Enterprise-D for comparison photos, I was reminded that many of the ships have light, flimsy plastic sections. I was afraid to apply too much pressure when unscrewing the battery cover none-the-less.

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There is no true scale in this line, but the Cube is quite a bit larger than the Ent-D.

Breakdown:

  • Playability – 5 out of 5. This has play written all over it, despite it being a collector’s piece.
  • Collectibility – 3 out of 5. The plain, white box packaging is disappointing. The other ships come in nice display boxes. That said, this is an exclusive offering and I had to find mine on eBay.
  • Paint Applications – 3 out of 5. The grey is appropriate, but there is no shading or variation. They could have made the paint apps a little more dynamic. The white, cut-out sections are distracting when the Cube is off, but are brilliant when on.
  • Standability – 4 out of 5. It’s a cube, it stands well. Ha! A stand would have given this a boost though.
  • Articulation – N/A
  • Accessories – N/A
  • Affordability – 3 out of 5. This is, for non-UK customers, a secondary market item. I found the price I paid affordable, but you may not.

Overall impression: 18 out of 25. Eaglemoss’s Borg Cube is a nice piece. There could have been some improvements, but the lights make it a really cool display when turned on. Collectors will be pleased.

 

** Star Trek and related characters belong to CBS and Paramount. These images are for hobby only. Also, the background images were found on the internet. If one of the images belongs to you, I will gladly give credit.

Action Figure Maniac Reviews: Eaglemoss: Star Trek: Borg Cube

Action Figure Maniac Reviews: Sideshow Collectibles: Star Wars: C3PO

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Star Wars: C3PO
Sideshow Collectibles
Retail: $229.99 @ BigBadToyStore

What can I say? I love droids! My favorites are the Astromech droids, but no R2D2 is complete without his C3PO. I was super excited to see Sideshow Collectibles offering him to accompany their R2D2 release.

This C3PO figure will not disappoint!

He comes packaged in a book-end style box. His pictures are prominently displayed on all sides, except the top and bottom, and when you open the magnetically attached front cover, the box displays C3PO in all of his glory. None of his accessories are viewable, though.

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Has an amazing 43 points of articulation thanks to is articulating fingers:

  • Ball-and-socket at the neck (x1)
  • Swivel joints at each shoulder (x2)
  • Hinges at each elbow (x2)
  • Swivel joints at each wrist (x2)
  • Finger hinges on each hand (x28)
  • Ball-and-socket at mid-torso (x1)
  • Ball-and-socket at waist (x1)
  • Ball-and-socket at each hip (x2)
  • Hinges at knees (x2)
  • Ball-and-socket at each ankle (x2)

The great thing about this figure is the crazy amount of detail Sideshow put into him. The dents, rust, and weather add a bit of realism. All the little gears, pistons, wires, and sensors look really nice. My favorite feature though … his light up eyes.

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There aren’t many accessories here. He comes with a comm device, two restraining bolts, and a stand. There is, according to the instruction manual, an exclusive version of the figure that has a damaged arm. I didn’t know about him, or I would have sprung for him. The restraining bolts are magnetic and will attach to 3PO’s chest. Getting him to hold the comm device is difficult, but with a little patience, you can make it happen.

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Breakdown:

  • Playability – 4 out of 5. C3PO offers a lot of nice play features, but he is meant for adult collectors. The tiny pistons and some of the senors seem a bit fragile.
  • Collectibility – 4 out of 5. I like the book-end packaging on collector’s figures, and this one is nice. The magnetic feature is cool, but I would have liked to see the accessories displayed better.
  • Paint Applications – 4 out of 5. Beautiful! As I said above, the weather and rust effects are so cool. I was a little disappointed that there was some packaging wear on his back end. The paint had rubbed off just slightly.
  • Standability – 5 out of 5. He stands well. The ball-and-socket joints at his ankles makes standing him easy, but the inclusion of the stand was a good choice.
  • Articulation – 5 out of 5. 43 points! Whoop! How often do you get articulated fingers?
  • Accessories – 2 out of 5. I was really disappointed here. 3 accessories (0ne of which is a duplicate) and a stand do not make for a happy figure collector. He could have come with a ton of other accessories. Plus, finding out I missed out on the exclusive bummed me out.
  • Affordability – 2 out of 5. $229.99 is steep. Note that this category is affordability, not worth – he is worth every penny. Hardcore collectors expect to pay these prices, but the tag is hefty for casual fans.

Overall impression: 26 out of 35. C3PO is a solid, well done collector’s figure. He stands nicely next to R2D2 and hardcore collector’s will be glad to have him.

C3PO017

** Star Wars and related characters belong to Disney. These images are for hobby only. Also, the background images were found on the internet. If one of the images belongs to you, I will gladly give credit.

 

 

Action Figure Maniac Reviews: Sideshow Collectibles: Star Wars: C3PO

Action Figure Maniac Review: Diamond Select Toys: iZombie: Liv Moore

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iZombie: Liv Moore
Diamond Select Toys
Retail: $17.99 @ BigBadToyStore

I have never read the comic, but I am definitely digging the show. If you haven’t seen it, iZombie is about an up-and-coming young doctor turned zombie named Liv Moore. She isn’t your typical zombie though. She is smart, she works in a morgue for cover, eats the brains of the cadavers, and absorbs the memories and personality traits of those whose brains she eats. Its a lot of fun!

The Liv Moore figure from Diamond Select Toys is pretty nice!

She is nicely displayed on blister card packaging with all of her accessories prominently visible. The back of the card gives a great character description and photo of the figure itself.

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She is a fairly detailed figure and has 20 points of articulation:

  • Ball-and-socket at the neck (x1)
  • Rotating hinges at each shoulder (x2)
  • Rotating hinges at each elbow (x2)
  • Rotating hinges at each wrist (x2)
  • Rotating waist (x1)
  • Hinges at hips (x4)
  • Rotating thighs (x2)
  • Hinges at knees (x4)
  • Rotating hinges at each ankle (x2)

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Her face is beautiful and painted in her pale skin tones, the hair allows for amazing head positioning, and there is some great detail on her shirt and jacket.

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She comes equipped with two extra sets of hands, a hand holding chopsticks, a cup of pricey coffee, a bottle of hot sauce (its the only way she can taste her food), an emesis basin full of brains and ramen, a lead pipe, and a base.

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Breakdown:

  • Playability – 5 out of 5. She is pretty awesome. Her articulation and accessories make for a very playable figure.
  • Collectibility – 5 out of 5. The packaging is highly displayable. The colors are a little subdued, but it fits the character.
  • Paint Applications – 4 out of 5. Overall, the paint apps are really good. There was a bit of clumping at the face and the lines on the clothing could be cleaner. Also, there was paint wear at the elbow when I articulated the arm.
  • Standability – 5 out of 5. Static and action poses are totally do-able, especially with her base.
  • Articulation – 5 out of 5. 20 points makes for a solid, highly poseable action figure.
  • Accessories – 5 out of 5. DST surprised me on this one. She is chock-full of fun accessories.
  • Affordability – 5 out of 5. $17.99 is pretty affordable in the collector realm these days. No complaints.

Overall impression: 34 out of 35. She is pretty impressive overall. She could easily be a display piece or a fun action toy for the more imaginative.

iZombie007

 

Action Figure Maniac Review: Diamond Select Toys: iZombie: Liv Moore