Action Figure #740: Marvel Legends Juggernaut (Gamerverse)

 Nobody stops the Juggernaut!... except maybe Spidey and cement.

 A few years ago one had to choose between Marvel Legend's articulated Juggernaut or Marvel Select's more rigid, but more imposing, counterpart. Well, Hasbro got the message and they decided to reach a happy medium with this release!

 This Juggie looks spectacular. Sure, he is not as textured as Marvel Select's, but they gave some texturing to his abdomen, and his arms have all sorts of nasty looking veins on them. The rest of the sculpt is fairly simple, which is just right for a Capcom/Comicbook look, but the muscles look great, and his pants have folds in them, which look pretty neat. There are only two issues I have with the guy, firstly, his head/helmet is fairly hollow, which leads me to believe it might warp easily. Secondly, the wraps on his arms are not sculpted, but rather hang loose which is kinda lame. He comes with two fists, a power effect for his hands, and two open hands. The bands on the open hands also hang lose, but they are pretty hard to remove, as for the effect piece... I think it's cool 'n' all, but... I could've sworn that effect appears on Jugg's HEAD when he charges forward in the game...

 The effect piece has a neat system, you can remove the bands on his fists, which are secured via holes on the sides of his fist, and then slot the little pegs from the inside of the effect into them.

 Articulation-wise, while not spectacular, completely blows Marvel Select's out of the water. He has huge butterfly joints, a very generous ball jointed ab crunch that gives him a fair amount of range, he has swivels on his thighs and biceps. His elbows and knees are single jointed, and he also gets toe-articulation.

 So... neither elbows nor knees reach a 90 degree bend, which is fairly pathetic... but even taking this into account, he has more joints and more range than Marvel Select... and he also has more height. Believe it or not, he is slightly taller than Marvel Select's! And twice as high as your normal ML.

 Believe it or not, Hasbro blew Marvel Select out of the water. The only reason I could see someone keeping MS' would be because of the grittier and more detailed look... but THIS is the Juggernaut a Juggernaut fan should get, because you get the size AND the articulation, there's no going wrong with this guy. Despite how short his elbow and knee bends are, by using his butterfly joints, the ball jointed ab crunch and the toe-bend you can get some pretty gnarly poses out of him. I love this guy!

9.0

Action Figure #739: Power Rangers Legacy Collection Psycho Blue Ranger

 Back in blue, or back with the blue, but a different shade. And brand.

 Buying a Legacy Collection figure, much less another Psycho Blue Ranger was not in my bingo card, but such is life. The seller had it listed as Lightning Collection and by the time I realized the photos didn't match title.... well, I was screwed! So here we are. Funnily enough I used to own the Legacy Collection Ninja Storm trio, but sold it alongside my four inch rangers about 10 years ago!

 Well, this is decidedly the same exact design as Lightning Collection but with different proportions. When comparing the figures I realized that Lighting's really darn short! This one is Marvel Legends' tall, but his proportions make him look a bit lanky. The blue paint is a shade lighter, and this one's plastic doesn't feel gummy at all. His only accessory is his ax. All things considered, I like the Psycho Rangers' designs, and while I prefer this one's height, Lightning's has much better proportions.

 The articulation is acceptable, but a bit outdated. Elbows and knees are double jointed, and he also has swivels on his biceps and thighs, The swivels on his thighs can't rotate all the way due to the sculpt of the legs. He also has a sort of swivel on his waist, but he can only rotate about 45 degrees to either side, which kinda sucks. Last thing worth mentioning is that his ab crunch is on a hinge, but it doesn't have much range. He's definitely playable, but Lighting Collection's just blows it out of the water, being as good on some joints and much better on others. He is slightly taller than Bucky Cap.

 Well, while I prefer this one's height, the Lightning Collection version has better proportions and articulation, which makes it a superior figure. Considering the Legacy figures are older... I'll chalk it up to age, and I bet they were fine figures for their time, but for my money... I'd stick with Hasbro's take on the character.

6.0

Action Figure #738: Power Rangers Lightning Collection Dino Charge Black Ranger

 Unlike the mastodon, this one is a proper dinosaur!

 With the Dino Charge Black Ranger I've finally completed the Dino Charge team! And this was by no ways cheap, since this Black Ranger was probably the most expensive of the bunch.

 Well, this is pretty much like the other rangers of his type but in Black. And, honestly, I think the sculpt looks great in black, and the yellow accents of his costume contrast even better with black. Luckily, it seems only the Red Ranger came with the gummy arms, as this one is inline with the other ones. Not that I didn't have to use a bit of oil, but still. He comes with an alternate unmasked head, two gripping hands, a fist and an open palm, his sword, his blaster pistol and an effect for the gun.

 You know the deal about this, so let me copy paste a bit. Articulation follows everything this line has, with double jointed elbows and knees, butterfly joints, swivels on his biceps, thighs and boots, with a hinged waist a ball jointed diaphragm. Luckily, no drop-down hips. He is a bit shorter than Bucky Cap.

 Well, this is another fine figure. The issue with Lightning Collection is that so many figures have the same uniform that eventually they all end up being, well, more of the same. So, yeah, he is alright.

7.0

Action Figure #737: Power Rangers Lightning Collection Turbo Red Ranger

 Nobody told me he was a dual blade wielder! HE IS A DUAL BLADE WIELDER!

 Time for another TJ, or Tommy depending on how you see it, with the Turbo Red Ranger in tow.

 I'll have you know... I didn't remember this guy being a dual sword wielder, but that makes him so cool! I've never been much of a fan of the Turbo Rangers' designs, but he is alright, just nothing spectacular. I do feel like his helmet is a bit too big for the body, however. The guy comes with TJ's unmasked head, no Tommy sadly, two fists, two trigger finger hands, a pistol, two different swords and an energy effect. The grip on the katana-like blade is a bit looser than what I would've liked, but other than that, he is just peachy.

 Articulation follows suit with the rest of the line. Double jointed elbows and knees, with swivels on the biceps, thighs and boots. He also has butterfly joints, a hinged waist and a ball jointed ab crunch. He has drop down hips, and the hips were a bit tight.... knowing Hasbro and their gummy plastic, I put some oil on the legs, where they connect with the hips, and he seems to be doing fine. His big head makes him as tall as Bucky Cap.

 Well... I'll tell you this much, I think he is a rather run of the mill figure, but, him being a dual blade wielder makes him kinda cool in my book.

7.0

Action Figure #736: Marvel Legends Spider-Man (Hellfire Gala)

 First Spidey of 2026 came all dressed up and dandy!

 And here comes Spider-Man (Hellfire Gala) which was yet another figure that was a pain in the butt to get because retailer exclusives suck and nothing good ever comes out of them.

 So, the Hellfire Gala was something that Marvel tried so hard to get it to stick that they did it twice and it failed to catch on. Most of the redesigns were tacky or just plain dumb, but Spider-Man's was OK. It certainly translated well to plastic, with a caveat. Y'see, I think the design looks nice, but, all the red paint should glow, and they could've definitely tried harder to use different shades of red, as well as some fading, to simulate the glow. To be fair, they pulled it off relatively well on the boots, but the eyes are just dull. Still, I must insist, I really like the look, it's just that it's not 1:1 to the source material. He comes with a pair of fists, a pair of web shooting hands and a pair of open hands.

 Now, then, I have another gripe with the figure: It's on the Amazing Fantasy buck. That buck is perfect for a younger Peter, because it's shorter than Bucky Cap, but Peter wore this costume in the mid 2020s, this is an adult Peter, so this buck is not a good fit for this costume. On another nite, the figure is not as gummy as most current Marvel Legends, so it has that going for him.

 Articulation on this guy is excellent, as expected of the buck. Double jointed elbows and knees, butterfly joints, swivels on his biceps, thighs and boots, a hinged waist and a ball jointed ab crunch. As mentioned before, he is a bit shorter than Bucky Cap... which he shouldn't.

 Chasm thought me that Spider-Man figs look great in purple, and this is no exception, the figure looks very sleek, and he has been so much fun to pose. I have been fidgeting with him regularly ever since I first got him and haven't put him down yet! I just wish he had been made on a taller buck.

9.5

Action Figure #735: Star Wars The Black Series Jedi Temple Guard

 They are definitely not guarding my wallet.

 I'm the yellow lightsaber guy, so I've always loved the Jedi Temple Guard and the Jedi Consular classes, so believe me when I say that I've waited for this guy for a long, LONG time. And now, he is finally here... so I should be happy, right?

 Well... the good news is that the sculpt is beautiful. The golden accents on his gorgeously sculpted robes look great, the detail on his mask, or all the little gold and silver keys hanging from his belt... not to mention the good use of soft-goods for his inner skirt. The armored gloves and boots look fantastic, and I love the gold-white-cream color scheme going for him. And I didn't even mention how great the Lightsaber Pike came out, not only is the handle gold, but they kept in mind that this isn't a Double Lightsaber, but a Pike, so the light blades are appropriately shorter. Everything that concerns this guy's looks gets full marks.

 But then, it's all brought down by the articulation. The hood, it's been lovingly sculpted with natural-looking folds and what not... but it can't turn, so while you can turn the head inside it, he won't be able to look to the sides because the hood is in the way. This has been an issue with other figures such as Palpatine, so this is inexcusable. I'd take a less detailed hood if it means he can look to the side. The robes on his chest are deceptively hard, so you can't use the butterfly joints, and he'll never be able to lift his arms straight up. His knees and elbows are single jointed, with deep cuts each, and, thankfully, even the soft plastic skirt can be moved out of the way, so his legs work perfectly well. His waist is ball jointed, and he is as tall as Bucky Cap.

 I'm a bit sad that this figure is a bit of a disappointment. Like 80% of the figure is pure fire, the sculpt is just perfect, and so lovingly made, but not being able to look to the sides kills some of the coolest posing you could get out of him. So, yeah, he is good, he is decent, but some very small tweaks to the chest and hood would've brought him to the next level.

6.0

Action Figure #734: Star Wars The Black Series The Stranger (Qimir)

 I wonder if he'll discover he is in the bad place this time.

 The Acolyte had a lot of issues, like, A LOT, but it did have one thing: Bombastic character designs, and The Stranger (Qimir) is no exception. I had been hoping that despite how bad the show was, and how poorly the figures sold, that he'd get made. And he did!

 And for such a garbage series, a lot of love went into making Qimir. He has a soft plastic robe on top that you can remove, and below it, you have a soft-good robe that you can also remove to reveal a very nicely sculpted pseudo-kimono robes, so that gives you a lot of options on how you want him to look, and while his pants are made of soft goods, beneath them, there are fully sculpted pants and boots. And the cherry on top is that he comes with a helmeted head and an unmasked head, both with their own neck pieces so as not to look weird. The one issue is that the unmasked head really doesn't look like the actor. At all. Which is a bit surprising since lately Black Series has gotten really good with their plastic likeness. Moving aside from that, his helmet and his arm guard are beautiful detailed, and the paint apps on both makes them look worn, and grimy... heck, the grime extends to the pain on his arms! Great job altogether with everything, the sculpt, the paint, the accessories... everything! He comes with his light saber and lightsaber shoto. He is one of the coolest figures to have come out of the series next to the Ronin, Anakin and Obi-Wan.

 Articulation follows suit. Single jointed elbows and knees with very deep cuts, swivels on his thighs and boots, for some reason, and a ball jointed waist. His hands are built on the new ball-peg wrists too. You've got everything you need to make this fellow look badass. He is a bit shorter than Bucky Cap.

 Man, the Black Series team has hit a groove, and I love it. Ignoring the Dash Rendar issues, I hope they keep going full throttle, because their figures have become really friggin' good, which, while not as articulated as, say, Marvel Legends, make up for it in detail, and a much sleeker sculpt.

10