Kevin Eastman (Garbage Man)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - 1990 Movie (Neca) - Exclusives
Rated 4.45 stars by RMaster007
As we all know, last year was TMNT's 40th anniversary, and more than a few companies were celebrating. NECA knew just how to honor the milestone, and while they put out a SDCC-exclusive two-pack of the initial Turtle designs, followed by a redeco for mass retail, NYCC saw them going a step further and making a figure of co-creator Kevin Eastman. This figure apparently comes from a deleted scene from the 1990 movie that was reduced to, I believe, a blink-and-you-miss-it cameo. Now that's a deep cut! Since Eastman worked as a garbage man in the film, it's only fitting that his box art be modeled after a dumpster. It's designed to have some age on it, with plenty of rust, stains, and graffiti, and the motif in general is really nice and unique. This is a window box with a fifth-panel flap,...[See More]

Alasondro Alegre as the Chief
Beastie Boys (Super7) - Ultimate
Rated 4.50 stars by RMaster007
In the midst of all the nostalgic characters, Super7 has put out some pretty impressive music-themed figures in their Ultimates line. I've gotten a couple of them, including Notorious B.I.G., Lemmy Kilmister, Cliff Burton, Czarface, and the Slayer Minotaur, and they all turned out surprisingly good. One of the latest music releases is the Beastie Boys, in their outfits from the Sabotage music video, having shipped out just as 2024 ended. They've done a few ReActions, but these are the first Ultimates of the band, and I believe the first "wave" of music figures that has more than one. Since Super7's (mostly) stopped doing slip covers for Ultimates, it allowed them to change up the packaging a bit. The Ultimates logo is right on the front of the box, rather than on the top, and the...[See More]

Buzz-Off
Masters of the Universe - Classics (Mattel) - Basic Series
Rated 4.40 stars by RMaster007
I've already covered a figure from Mattel's MOTU Classics line, but it was from the cartoon-accurate "Club Grayskull" line, and it was by Super7. Not long after getting that one did I get a proper Mattel one in Buzz-Off. He was one of the few my local toy store had, and the one with the best price during their Thanksgiving sale, so hey, why not? Having been sold directly through Mattel online, the Classics figures came in somewhat unique mailer boxes. It's very simple, being white with a grayscale logo and the character's name, and not much else. Inside the box is a plastic bag placed over a cardback for the figure itself. The graphics are nice, including a character bio and cross-sell on the back, and I had no issues getting everything out. Much of Classics' designs were meant to be...[See More]

Sludge
Transformers - Studio Series (Hasbro) - Movie
Rated 4.45 stars by RMaster007
It's been a long time since I last talked about one of the Dinobots from Hasbro's Transformers Studio Series, but now that they've released the last one needed, and I now have all five in the Leader format, it's time to finish up these reviews. Sludge was the third one released, so he'll be the third one I talk about. Sludge came after Hasbro decided to try out plastic-free packaging, so his box is a lot different from Grimlock and Slug/Slag. It isn't a window box, but rather a big illustration on the front, depicting the Dinobots' rescue of the other heroes from the Quintessons and Sharkticons. We still have the movie-themed backdrop on the inside, and it's meant to be for the figure rather than just part of the box. Inside of a plastic tray, we have a cardboard one that everything is...[See More]

Slithe
ThunderCats (Super7) - Ultimates
Rated 4.75 stars by RMaster007
Getting into a line late has its drawbacks, Super7's Thundercats Ultimates line being a good example. It wasn't until around when wave 10 or 11 got revealed that I started getting the figures, missing out on some of the long sold-out figures and exclusives, including Slithe. He was $45 at release, before the Ultimates price hike, and he's now worth up to $150 on eBay. The thought of getting him was priced out for me, but guess who happened to be one of last year's Christmas gifts? The Reptilian leader of the mutants isn't a pretty face, but we all know how good Rankin-Bass was at designing all sorts of strange creatures. Slithe has a great portrait, done by Four Horsemen Studios, in one of the first Thundercats figures they did for Super7 and not Mattel. He has big, fin-like ears, making...[See More]

4-Pack Action Figure & Dracula's Coffin
Universal Monsters (Neca) - Loot Crate Crypt Club
Rated 4.55 stars by RMaster007
NECA's done a wide variety of Universal Monsters figures, the number made large by all the different variants. Almost everyone's each gotten a color version, a grayscale version, and a Remco-inspired GITD version. Four of them - Frankenstein's monster, Dracula, the Wolf Man, and the Mummy - received Loot Crate-exclusive versions based off the 90s Burger King toys, and as cool as they looked, the problems suffered with the TMNT crate series made me hold off. Fortunately, NECA gave fans another way to get them in the form of a direct-exclusive four-pack. One of those times where holding off is actually a good thing! As opposed to plastic baggies like the LC releases, the "Crypt Club" figures are packaged here in a huge box, one of the biggest NECA's done. The motif is pretty nice, with art...[See More]

Reptile
Mortal Kombat (Jazwares) - Series 3 - Shaolin Monks
Rated 3.25 stars by RMaster007
Mortal Kombat is one of those licenses that seemed tailor-made for action figures, given that it's an uber-violent fighting game with a wide cast of characters sporting unique designs and weaponry. Jazwares is one of the many companies who took on the license, having quite a long run with it. The MK9 figures were the ones I most knew, but they started with Deception and Shaolin Monks, and the figure I got here comes from the latter in their first Reptile. The cardback doesn't have too much to it, as it just has the logo, character and game name, and a cross-sell on the back. The graphics fit the license well, and the green motif is pretty nice, and somehow fits Reptile for obvious reasons. It's also easy to open, with no ties to worry about, and just a single piece of tape needed to hold...[See More]

Ken Kaneki
Total Anime (Jazwares) - Tokyo Ghoul
Rated 4.85 stars by RMaster007
While most anime collectibles come from their home in Japan, there's been plenty of western toy companies who have tried their hand at figures, with varying results. Nowadays, Bandai and McFarlane are doing a few anime icons, and while they could look much better (with some looking worse than others), they serve as good alternatives for those who don't want to pay import prices. Jazwares announced last year they're getting into the anime figure game with their "Total Anime" line, and they're tackling today's most popular series first, alongside a less popular series in Tokyo Ghoul, with Ken Kaneki being their first work with the license. All of the packaging across the figures is the same, with official artwork and a cross-sell and figure photo on the back, but the colors vary between...[See More]

Mario (Super Mario)
World of Nintendo (Jakks Pacific) - Series 1-1
Rated 3.80 stars by RMaster007
In addition to Sonic, Jakks Pacific has been putting out a good Super Mario line, with great sculpts in two different scales, and plenty of accessories. The line started off as a general "World of Nintendo" line, focusing on various series, until Jakks realized Mario was the biggest seller and prioritized that. The figures drew me and my brother in from day one, and we got a few of them in its first year or so, and we've held onto most of them. The World of Nintendo line followed a mostly uniform motif, but with different colors and stock art for each property. Mario had a red cardback motif, but the back was the same across figures, showing off the figure and articulation, alongside the figure's height (something we don't see on post-WoN release). The figure is easy to open and out, and...[See More]

Shadow (with Rings)
Sonic the Hedgehog (Jakks Pacific) - Basic Series
Rated 3.90 stars by RMaster007
Anyone remember Sonic Heroes? I've played a bit of it, and reviewing these Jakks figures has made me want to pick it up again. I've already talked about Team Sonic, and next is Team Dark: Shadow, Rouge, and E-123 Omega. Shadow is meant to be the "dark" counterpart to Sonic, except it didn't take long for him to go from bad to good, and the only dark part about him is his appearance. He has a more stern expression, with a frown that looks like a thin smile from some angles. The paint for the face is fine, but there's some bleed from the muzzle onto the eyes, and it's quite noticeable. The quills on the sides curve up rather than down, and there's also various red highlights on the head, all of which sports clean edges. At the usual height of 4" tall, Shadow's black fur is complemented by...[See More]