Action Figure #522: Game of Thrones Legacy Collection Jamie Lannister

 I think I'll avoid getting his sister for the time being...

 Looking to expand on my 6 inch action figure collection, I came upon the Game of Thrones Legacy Collection by Funko, and what better place to start off than with Jamie Lannister?

 I'll tell you this much, as far as sculpt goes, this figure is excellent. His armor is fully sculpted and looks incredible, and the entire figure has a blackwash giving all his tiny details a well deserved highlight. This figure was from an era BEFORE digital face paint, and yet, the likeness to the actor IS there. As far as paint and sculpt goes, he is a perfect 10.

 Well, the articulation... he has single jointed elbows, but double jointed knees. Swivels on the legs, but not on his biceps. No ab articulation, but he has a ball-jointed waist, but due to the sculpt, it works more like a swivel, so don't try to move him around too hard. And do be careful, because... there's a reason I abandoned this line immediately: Quality Check issues. Funko's line of Game of Thrones figures are infamous for their broken joints. Because they used transparent plastic for the joints, making them very brittle. Knowing that, I was careful with Jaime, and I was lucky.... with him. Spoilers. The pauldrons on his arms got a bit loose, but that means I loose no articulation when raising his arms to the sides... that said, his skirt does hamper movement on his legs.

 The first big issue, was that he had closed fists, with no way to hold his sword. I had to cut open his right hand.

 Even though I was careful with him, the paint on the clear joints was a bit of an issue. As I loosened his joints, a lot of the paint chipped. But hey, he didn't break!... Well, HE didn't. Spoilers! He is a bit shorter than Bucky Cap.

 Despite a few issues... I'm satisfied with how Jamie came out. He has a few issues, but he works really well, and he feels like a solid action figure... at least mine does. Let's just see if the transparent joints hold up after summer is over.

7.5

Action Figure #521: Marvel Legends Crystal(Crystal/Lockjaw 2-Pack)

 I'd love to get an explanation on how her hair works.

 Alright, so spoilers, I bought Crystal by herself, so there's no upcoming Lockjaw post. That aside, I've been waiting for a Crystal Marvel Legends since forever, as the 90's Fantastic Four cartoon cemented her as one of Marvel's most recognizable characters, in my mind, ever since I was young. Well, the wait is over!

 She comes with an alternate head, an alternate set of hands, and two effect pieces that go over the wrist joints. Crystal has a very simple design, so there's not much sculpt work here, beyond her belt, which was sculpted onto the abdomen piece. I love these new effect pieces, since they can work both as her holding the elements... or using them as after effects on her punches. I've got a single issue with this figure, and that's... that her face sculpt looks too old. I picture Crystal as a very juvenile character, she's Medusa's younger sister, so, while she should be built on an adult body mold, as she was, her face should look younger. Mind you, the faces look great, they ARE great faces, just not for Crystal.

 On the articulation end of things, she is built on the female Marvel Legends buck, the one with bicep swivels and double jointed elbows. She is easy to pose and fun to play with. She is a bit shorter than Bucky Cap. 

 Overall, she is a good figure, and she does fill a spot I've been waiting to fill for a long time. That said, there's room for improvement here, particularly on the face.

7.0

Action Figure #520: Game Dimensions Kazuya

 The king of daddy issues.

 Kazuya used to be my favorite character in Tekken. Then came Jim, whom I preferred, until he was revamped in 4 and I went right back to Kazuya. In other words, it was only a matter of time before I bought my main main dude in Tekken. Now, if we could only get Lars....

 Bandai's Anime Heroes line is a bit hit or miss, but Jin's figure was incredible, if only they hadn't used those rubber pants... Well, here's Kazuya, with proper plastic pants! This figure looks great. His body is very detailed, with all his scars and his pants are textured as well. As with other figures in this line, the expression on his face is a bit... empty, but it's serviceable. Sadly, only the scar on his chest was painted, so while he has the rest of his scars throughout his body... they are flesh colored. And painting the rest of his scars would've gone a looooooong way. He comes with an alternate pair of hands, an electric punch effect piece and a ROUND1 sign.

 Articulation is pretty good as per usual with the line. Double jointed elbows and knees, swivels on his biceps, a hinged ab crunch and a ball jointed waist. He is also outfitted with those drop-down hips I'm not a big fan of. He is very stable, to pull off kicks, and you can get some pretty great poses out of him. He is a bit taller than Bucky Cap.

 As with the greatest of Anime Heroes figures... They always fall short of making truly great figures. Almost always, it has to do with the pain apps. Just having every scar painted on Kazuya would've made him a fantastic figure. Everything else on him is just perfect, the sculpt, the details, the articulation, the accessories... just get him better paint apps, including on the face, and you would've gotten a top-notch Tekken figure... and one much sturdier than Figuarts'.

8.5

Action Figure #519: DC Direct Earth II Robin

  Dick's most garish look.

 I've never cared much about Earth 2 Robin until Batman: Brave and the Bold brought it back and I learned to love it. Being a fan of Dick Grayson, I had to get a figure of this outfit, and one that fit my six inch collection.

 Well, this is a DC Direct figure, so the sculpt is pretty nice. I might paint black Dick's gray hairs, because I like him better that way. My only issue with the sculpt is that he was given a pointing finger on one hand. He should've had two fists! The greens and yellows are a bit glossy, but the red is matte, giving him a distinctive look.

 Same articulation as usual with these figures. Single jointed elbows and knees with mediocre range, ball jointed elbows, but legs that only go up and down. No waist or ab articulation whatsoever. As I've noticed with other figures of this line, the knees feel a bit flimsy, might be due to their age. He is as tall as Bucky Cap.

 Well, this Robin figure is what it is. Nothing new from the DC direct line or worth writing about.

5.5

Actin Figure #518: Star Wars The Black Series Kanan Jarrus

  Which goes to show that Luke wasn't the last of the Jedi.

 And now we've got Kanan Jarrus... another character I know little about... for the time being, anyways.

 This is the older Kanan figure, before digitally printed faces, but his' looks alright if ya ask me. The rest of the sculpt is pretty nice, his clothes are textured, so a lot of work went into him. And it's the little things, like the underside, clear green, of his shirt being textured, but the upper part being smooth, since it's different fabric. He comes with a saber and a blaster.

 Being an older Black Series figure he gets the legendary double jointed knees and swivels on his thighs, although the elbows are single jointed and reach a 90 degree bend, but not any further. He has no waist swivel, but his ab crunch does have a swivel. While he has no butterfly joints, due to the length of his arms and hilt... he can land double-handed wielding poses pretty easily.

 While I know little about him, I suspected he might not be left handed, and true enough, promo pictures have him wielding the saber on the right hand and the blaster on the left... so why is his left trigger finger not separated from the rest of the fingers? I cut it free myself.

 His saber can be split into two, and then allotted on two separate slots on his belt. He is as tall as Bucky Cap.

 While far from the most impressive Black Series Jedi, Kanan is still a pretty good figure.

6.0

Action Figure #517: Marvel Legends Iron Fist(Iron Fist/Luke Cage 2-Pack)

  Who better to pair up with MODERN Luke Cage than CLASSIC Iron Fist?

 In what was one of Hasbro's weirdest decisions, they decided to sell MODERN Luke Cage with... CLASSIC Iron Fist. These two designs of the Heroes of Hire do not match up... but here we are.

 This Iron Fist is built on the Renew Your Vows' Spidey buck... and it fits him. Whatever build works for Spidey, works for Randy. The only thing I dislike is... well, the design. I mean, Iron Fist has always been a favorite of mine, I always pick him in the Marvel Ultimate Alliance games... but I'll always go for his modern looks. The moccasins, the long collar, the cleavage... Iron Fist's design has only gotten better with time. Other than that, this is a great buck, and a great look for Danny.

 Articulation is the same as RVY's, so double jointed elbows and knees, butterfly joints, hinged waist and ball-jointed ab crunch, swivels on the thighs, shins and biceps and hinges on the toes, the whole 9 yards. Sadly, this also means the drop-down hips. Scarlet Spider has been fine so far, so I'll see if I need to glue them down later down the line. This is a ton of articulation, which is fantastic for Iron Fist.

 All that said, he came with a broken butterfly joint out of the box. Bummer!

 But what's worse... the gummy plastic and slightly longer arm peg means the arm is getting stressed. The same issue most modern Marvel Legends have and the reason I'm scaling down on Marvel Legends. Cheap Hasbro, get better plastic already.

 Yeah... the same issue with the arm as other ML's due to the gummy plastic. Add to that that I don't care about this design... Yeah, he's just alright. But Hasbro NEEDS better plastic, this is ridiculous.

6.0

Action Figure #516: Marvel Legends Luke Cage(Iron Fist/Luke Cage 2-Pack)

 The other man of steel, not Steel, the other one!

 I used to like Luke Cage as part of Iron Fist. They were the Heroes for Hire, and I loved Iron Fist's friendship with Luke. Then I started reading every Spider-man-and-Spider-Man-appearance comic book ever which led me to the New Avengers and it gave me a whole new appreciation for Luke. And I've been LONGING to fill his spot in my collection. But the older figures were too expensive, and the newest one had his Blaxploitation original look I didn't like too much... until this figure was announced!

 And boy, oh boy, do I like this guy in a shirt. No, really, Luke's modern look is very simple, but what can you do, he is nigh invulnerable, he doesn't need a secret identity. But they did fantastic work with what they had. I love the little CAGE on his belt buckle, and the gold knuckle dusters with LUKE and CAGE sculpted on them are hella fly. He comes with an alternate head and an alternate pair of hands.

 He has all the modern ML articulation points you'd expect, including butterfly joints. As with modern MLs, he is a bit gummy, but not to the point of annoyance, and posing him around has been a lot of fun. Due to the sculpt, it's so easy to get him in battle poses or tough guy poses, which I adore. He is a bit taller than Bucky Cap.

 The ML team finally made the definitive Luke Cage figure. I don't know what more you could do with the figure, besides using better plastic.

8.5

Action Figure #515: Marvel Legends Ghost Rider(Danny Ketch)

  Now, this IS my Ghost Rider!

 I've been waiting for a Ghost Rider, Danny Ketch figure ever since I first started collecting. Up until now, I had to do with the Johnny Blaze figure that was painted in Danny's black and grey, but now we get Danny, his bike and his 90's spikes!

 Well, he is everything I could've expected. Danny is on a new buck, so he doesn't share Star Lord's sculpt anymore. He is also a bit shorter than Johnny, which works for me since he is his younger brother. The new buck is beautiful, he has spikes where he should, and even the belt and the chain on his chest are different. The head and neck pieces seem to be the same, but he skull has a brownish wash that makes it look like bones, which makes him better than the previous GR figures. He comes with the same fiery chain accessory, as well as two alternate hands. His bike looks exactly like I remembered it, and unlike other modern MLs, it feels sturdy. The plastic on GR is sturdier than the other figures from this wave too. The bike comes with three fire stands, which it needs not to fall to its side. One of them helps him pop a wheelie!

 The articulation on Danny hits all the ML marks: Double jointed elbows and knees, swivels on the waist, thighs, boots and biceps, and his ab crunch is on a hinge. Much like other GR figures, you can open and close his mouth.

 The only problem with the new buck is that the shoulder-pads do restrict how close his arms can be once he lifts them. Other than that, he is great. Now that he is on a shorter buck, he is as tall as Bucky Cap.

 Easily the best figure from this wave alongside Superior Spider-man, and unlike Superior, I doubt he'll be breaking any time soon. Well, what can I say, he is the Ghost Rider I've been wanting since I started collecting!

9.0

Action Figure #514: Marvel Legends Wolverine(85 Years)

 Snikt all the way, bub.

 I wasn't meaning to get so many figures of Wolverine, but here we are.

 Well, this one looks almost exactly the same as my Heat Claws Wolverine, but he has a new, more muscular torso. There are other differences, like seams on his costume and other tiny differences, but what really made all the difference for me... was the vibrant yellow and blues they used for this figure, making him my new main Wolverine. Like with other modern ML figures, he feels a bit gummy.

 He covers ML basics, double jointed elbows and knees, swivels on the biceps and thighs. Surprisingly, his boots don't have swivels, which is not a huge deal, but could've helped him hit more poses. His waist is on a hinge, but his ab crunch on a ball joint, and he gets butterfly joints. Due to the softness of the new figures, his claws feel a bit loose on his hands. The shoulder pads are connected to the shoulders via a soft-plastic piece, so you can rotate them freely alongside his arm. He is a bit shorter than Bucky Cap.

 He's a fantastic little figure, definitely my new go-to display Wolverine. Now, if Hasbro would start making these new figures less gummy...

8.0

Action Figure #513: Marvel Legends Skaar, Son of Hulk

 Don't make him angry, he gets gummy when he gets angry!

 Look, I want Marvel Legends to be good. I do. Growing up I was a DC kid, but you wouldn't know that looking at my collection, I like Marvel Legends THAT much. I never really liked Skaar too much, but I figure he could work well as an Orc, so I went ahead and got him.

 I think I've said it before, but I'll say it again... Marvel Legends is the best and worst they have ever been. The best? I mean, look at this guy's sculpt! He is very highly detailed, and his armor pieces are asymmetrical. He comes with a sword, a knife, two pair of hands and an alternate head. He looks incredible and imposing.

 On the articulation end, he has single jointed elbows, which barely reach 90 degrees, double jointed knees, bicep, waist, thigh and boot swivels as well. He has butterfly joints and a hinged ab crunch. So far, so good, right? Well, for starters, his legs are very gummy, so getting him to stand is a bit tough. But even worse, you have to finagle the loin cloth. Too low? You can't raise his legs. Too high? He can't use the waist swivel

 And even then, this is as high as his legs go. Due to the asymmetry of the loin cloth, the right leg won't go as high... but do be careful, because...

 His legs pop off incredibly easily. Look, I prefer American figures because, unlike import figures, they don't come apart on your hands. So what the hell is this? He is quite a bit taller than Bucky Cap, but slightly shorter than his father.

 I wanted to like him... but the legs are almost a deal breaker. The sad thing is, with a few tweaks beneath the waist, he could've been amazing.

6.0

Action Figure #512: Jada Toys Cammy

 Float like a butterfly and sting like a killer bee.

 My dark, dirty secret... is that I never cared for Chnn-Li, oh no, but Cammy was my girl. Unlike Chun-Li, Cammy looked tough, and her special attacks were fun to use, so whenever I wasn't playing as Ken I was playing as Cammy!

 Same deal as usual, two heads, two pair of hands and a special effect accessory. Cammy's sculpt came out beautifully, some people were a bit worried that hear head sculpts looked off... but Jada Toys fixed it in time, and both heads look fantastic. As with most SF II designs, she is fairly simple, but she looks really cool.

 She has almost as much articulation as Jada's male figures, only missing the butterfly joints. Other than that, she's got everything, the ball jointed ab crunch and waist, swivels on the biceps, thighs and boots and double jointed elbows and knees. Both heads have removable pig tails, in case you want to switch the around, and they go on a peg, so you can spin them around. She is a bit shorter than Bucky Cap.

 Well, my friends... this is as close to a perfect Cammy action figure as it gets. Excellent sculpt, excellent artciulation, excellent paint job and very cheap price, what more could you want?

10