Action Figure #891: Mattel DC Premier Batman (Mr. Freeze three-pack)

 More Batman, more colors... more money for Mattel, I guess.

 Yet another Batman recolor. Let's get on with it.

 It's the same Batman sculpt as before, only with a utility vest instead of a utility belt. It's not very well thought-out because it has four pegs in front but there's no way it can hold four accessories due to the limited space between them. As for the recolor itself, it's black and white but with a more tactical color scheme. That's it.

 He comes with the same assortment of tools as the basic Batman figure, meaning batarangs, mines, flashbangs, etc, but in a rather neat translucent orange plastic. He also comes with orange armguards and a big blaster gun with four projectiles.

 The orange arm-guard come with spikes, and they don't go over the ones on his gloves, so they don't make sense or look very good on Batman... although they do look better on other figures.

 Articulation is the same as with the other three figures I got: He has single jointed elbows that go slightly beyond 90 degrees, double jointed knees, swivels on his thighs, boots and waist. For the price, it's not even half bad, it's comparable to their old DCUC line, considering how pathetic that diaphragm hinge was. He is a bit taller than Bucky Cap.

 I grew up in the 90's, Batman recolors were my jam. But not only is this recolor rather lame, but you are forced to buy him if you want Mr. Freeze and/or Hal Jordan, making me kinda dislike him even more. So it's not like he is a bad figure, he has the same sculpt as the other Batmen after all, but there's no reason to want to get this one other than being forced to because you want the other two figures.

5.0

Action Figure #890: Mattel DC Premier Mr. Freeze

 Mr. Freeze, not Mr. Water!

 It seems only Batman is getting villains, because Mr. Freeze just came here.... bundled with Green Lantern, for some reason. But hey, might as well start getting more villains!

 Mr. Freeze has a completely new sculpt made just for him, and much like with other figures in the line, he isn't a faithful recreation of any particular look, but rather, a very generic design that is unmistakably Mr. Freeze, albeit I think you can tell that there was quite a bit of inspiration from the Timmverse. Regardless, it is a good sculpt, with blasters sculpted onto his gauntlets, and armored details on his body and legs.

 He has a bunch of accessories, including a set of frozen overlays that are compatible with other six-inch figures as well as his Ice Gun. The overlays are fantastic, but the Ice gun...

 Or rather, the water gun. Another gimmick, this thing is super flimsy, because you can squish it under water in order to fill it with water, and then squish it to shoot water. Lame, because due to this gimmick, the blaster feels pathetic, it has no paint, no sturdiness, no thing. And the other Batmobile-compatible weapons had a handle AS WELL as a peg to connect it with the vehicle, this one only gets that tiny peg, which makes it look even sillier in Freeze's hands. No wonder they sculpted blasters on his gauntlets!

 And it being the kid's line, Freeze has no paint on his back. Lame!

 Articulation is same old, same old. Single jointed elbows with an over 90 degree bend, double jointed knees and swivels on his waist, thighs and boots. The head can only be articulated if you remove the helmet... but due to the shape of both his head AND the helmet, it will always push down his head when you put it on, which is kinda bleh. It's a competent choice that allows him to be played with just fine.

 Here he is compared to the DCUC figure. The new one is an upgrade in every way BUT the weapons and the paint apps. Still, looking at them side by side... look at how much more threatening the new one and his proportions are! Mr. Freeze is a tall figure, being closer to seven inches, which makes him taller than Bucky Cap and this line's other heroes!

 Mr. Freeze is almost a great figure. It's just that his accessory is so lame, the helmet-head is not well thought out and the paintless back is just embarrassing!

6.0

Action Figure #889: Mattel DC Premier Green Lantern (Hal Jordan)

 Doesn't matter what a scrappy TV show says, Hal ain't racist!

 Well, Lanterns has come out and... it's exactly what one could've expected, another show in which the minority replacement is actually better and more deserving than the original. Yeah, they could've easily made John and Hal equals, but nah. But alas, we are here to talk about the action figure Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) that just came out.

 Well, he is just a John Stewart head-swap. I don't think this costume is as good as John's, but it's a decent modern Hal. I dig the metallic green! The worst bit about him is... well, that his skin looks kinda pasty or greenish, and that's because he turns pale when cold. I dislike gimmicks like that. A weird thing I noticed, this figure has a sculpted ring, while John didn't. Maybe mine has excess paint blurring the sculpt? Heck if I know!

 His one accessory is a chainsaw construct that is pretty neat...

 ...whuch can extend itself into a sort of vice! Pretty cool. The handle is articulated too.

 And before you ask, since he shares the same body as John, their accessories are compatible, you can even slot the chainsaw into John's giant fist.

 Articulation is same old, same old. Single jointed elbows with an over 90 degree bend, double jointed knees and swivels on his waist, thighs and boots. It's a competent choice that allows him to be played with just fine.

 And here he is compared to the DCUC figure. The metallic green on the old one was much nicer, but... it's one of the more brittle DCUC figures, I had TWO break on me, and that one's legs are held on together with super glue, so am I glad to finally be rid of it! Sans the metallic sheen and the skin tone, this one is better on every other front. He is slightly taller than Bucky Cap.

 Hal's a good replacement for my old DCUC figure, but... He only comes with a single accessory, not even his Lantern, and his skin doesn't look quite right due to the temperature gimmick, so it's still not quite a perfect Hal figure.

6.5

Action Figure #888: Dragon Stars Cell Final Form

 Would modern day Cell carry a cellphone?

 While most of us refer to this design as Perfect Cell, for some reason Dragon Stars went with Cell Final Form instead, which isn't even accurate considering this isn't even Super Perfect Cell.

 If Bandai's budget lines have proved anything is that they are really good when it comes to non-human looking characters, so I've been meaning to get my hands on some of Dragon Balls' villains. Cell's sculpt is actually rather excellent, although as with most anime budget lines, the face is rather derpy. While some of the colors are a bit too vibrant for Cell, he's got this almost matte finish that looks really nice, and all the paint apps look very sharp. All in all, ignoring the face, it's a fantastic looking figure. 

 He comes with two fists and two energy shooting open palms.

 But for as good as the figure looks, articulation is where Cell takes a hit. Everything above the waist is pretty good. He has double jointed elbows and some exceedingly tight bicep swivels. His ab crunch and waist are ball jointed, but the range is negligible, so they might as well just be swivels. The shoulders are on double ball joints, so while doesn't have butterfly joints, he can hit decent Kamehame Ha poses.

 Below the waist is where his equipment fails. His double jointed knees barely reach 90 degrees when bent, double joints! And even though he has drop down hips, that is how much he can lift his legs to the sides, a martial artist! This severely hampers his posing, sadly.

 His wings are on tiny hinges that love to come off. Pictured above is how far he can move them. His head is a bit taller than Bucky Cap, and since Cell is supposed to be tall you can finagle him around Figuarts.

 Well, no wonder he wasn't called 'Perfect' Cell, for, as good as the sculpt is, as fantastic as the paint apps are... The articulation is far from perfect. Serviceable, sure, but with a few tweaks to the legs, thigh swivels, deeper cuts on the knees for better bends... it could've been truly great. But, for a budget Cell? He gets the job more than done.

7.0

Action Figure #887: Star Wars The Black Series RC-1207 (Sev)

 I got bamboozled!

 While a new Republic Commando buck has been revealed, and I already pre-ordered(Spoilers!), I still want the RC team filled, so it was time I got RC-1207 (Sev) which happens to be the most expensive of the lot. And I thought I had managed to find a good deal, but...

 You might notice that there's something different with mine. Well, it seems the previous owner was a customizer, because mine's paintjob is fairly different, mostly better to be honest, although the customizer removed the pearlescent blue effect from the visor, shame! All that aside, Sev is the same as the other Republic Commandos, but he has probably the most eye-catching design thanks to the blood-spatter paint job he has, plus, his psychotic personality! So, yeah, this guy looks great.

 He comes with a backpack and his own unique sniper blaster. The back pack stays on very firmly, unlike Scorch.

 On the articulation end, he does have butterfly joints, but they don't offer much range. He has single jointed elbows and knees, with good range on them, a ball jointed waist, and swivels on his thighs. Overall, it's really good for the poses you'll probably have him in. He is a hair shorter than Bucky Cap.

 Sev is the standout character from the Republic Commando game, so it's lovely being finally able to own him. It's not an exact representation, but it's a good one, and the customizer who owned mine did a better job with the paint apps, so it's all gucci. Just one more...!

7.0

Action Figure #886: BOZOBO Ice Cream Transforming Toy

 Can't say no to a transforming ice pop.

 So, I'm not really going to start collecting Transformers, bootleg or otherwise, but through a video I discovered this Ice Cream Transforming Toy that just seemed like it was such a fun concept... This is a brilliant toy, really, despite it's generic name.

 So, the Ice Pop form is fantastic. Sure, it has a few hinges showing here and there, but the fact that it gets the shape so fantastically well is nothing short of glorious. The plastic quality feels good enough, It's a bit harder than your typical Hasbro fig, but it doesn't feel as if it would crumble in my hands. In fact, when I was younger I always kept my transformers' instructions around, but with this one I was easily able to feel my way around the transformation engineering just find.

 The only point I'd hold against him is that some parts are a bit hard to shift, for instance, the chest overlay stays firm in place, so I have to use my nails to bring it down. His Torso, one it clicks on the waist is hard to pop back upwards too.

 Articulation is pretty good. His shoulders and hips are on ball joints that offer a great range of articulation. Elbows and knees are singe jointed, although he has no waist articulation at tall. All the joints are very smooth, but he keeps his poses very firmly, just try shaking him and look at how well he holds his poses! He is a head shorter than Bucky Cap, making him a better fit with import figures.

 This toy is fantastic. I paid about 15 bucks for him and I regret nothing! It has a fun gimmick, and considering how he is a third party, cheap figure, the quality is shockingly good. While I won't be posing him with my main collection, he is already standing guard over my books!

7.5

Action Figure #885: Star Wars The Black Series Eleventh Brother

 They are a rather large family.

 The Black Series team is firing on all cylinders as now we get the Eleventh Brother who happens to be yet ANOTHER character we've been itching to have in plastic form for a while now. All it took was him being a prominent antagonist in a new show!

 Many people, me included. were a bit apprehensive about how flat the mask inside the hood looked... well, good news, in person, it looks really, really good. For some reason, photos make it look flatter than it really is, but trust me, it looks really good. The rest of the figure seems to be an all new sculpt, and he is pretty mean looking, so I like it. He has a soft-goods cape that has this neat stitching on either side!

 His only accessory is his dual light saber.

 So, one thing worth mentioning, the cape is tied to the chest via these slim threads. I hope they are durable, because, to me, they look a bit flimsy.

 On the articulation end of things, same old, same old. Single jointed elbows and knees, with butterfly joints, useless thigh swivels and a ball-jointed ab crunch. Surprisingly, he uses the old-style hinged wrists over the ball pegs. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but I wonder why they are using the old hands with such a newer figure.

 Now then, picture above is as far as he can turn his head before it pops out of the neck. This is a HUGE issue because it kills most of the really cool poses he could strike. And it's really sad, because other than that, this figure would've been perfect. He is almost as tall as Bucky Cap.

 Man, this one hurts, because I absolutely adore everything about the figure... but the head articulation. No, really, if he could turn his head he'd be a perfect 10 because everything about him is just THAT good.

9.0