Hasbro Marvel Legends Retro 375 Waves 1-6 and the Exclusive Phoenix/Wolverine two pack

Admittedly, it took me awhile to warm up to this line but once I did, I was all in. Wow, these toys are great. They may not be super articulated or come with great accessories but these look and feel like actual toys. That might seem like a silly statement, but think about it. In modern years, we have moved ever forward into the adult collectible genre. Everything is hyper detailed, hyper articulated, hyper accurate, and hyper expensive. Excluding price, that is all really cool but as the pendulum swung ever more toward that direction, the other side, the toy side, seemed to be left in the past.

That has been a huge bummer for me. I don't know about anyone else, but as a kid, I always wished I was an adult with a job so that I can buy all the figures, vehicles, and playsets I wanted. Having adult money promised to remove the boundaries set on me by Christmas lists, Birthday surprises, and gift certificates. Then when I became an adult, toys shot up in price. Not all at once, mind you, but it's to the point now that finding 5 figures for $20 is a distant memory. In fact, finding 1 figure for $20 is now a stroke of luck. I know I have been kind of on a rant here, but these 3 3/4 figures from Hasbro not only look and feel like toys, they can be purchased like toys! I was able to get most of these figures for $9.99 each! That is definitely not 1995 Kenner Star Wars prices ($4.95) but it definitely feels like it and I absolutely love it!. The prices are so great that I was able to completely catch up on the line in less than a month with my adult money. I love that. But even more, I love the way these figures look.

These toys seem to jump right out of the comic books that I grew up reading and they evoke memories of finding Secret Wars and Toy Biz Marvel Super Heroes figures in stores. I love the imagery of the blister cards and I love the era being showcased with the figure designs. If I could have one main gripe, it would be the pose of the figures. Every figure has that 1978 Kenner Chewbacca pose. The 'waiting for the bus' pose. It is so static and boring. I don't mind the lower articulation but if these toys had the hunched, battle ready poses of Secret Wars or even some of the poses of the POTF2 figures, it would help bring just a little more life to these super heroes. Another complaint I have is that the female figures all share a high heeled boot sculpt. That is fine when appropriate, like Storm and Jean Grey but figures like Elektra and Sue Storm would have definitely benefited from a separate sculpt. However, if it keeps the prices at toy prices, I can totally look past it.

Okay, enough words for awhile, here are the toys!

The X-Men

Fantastic Four

The Avengers

Marvel Super Heroes

Anti Heroes and Villains

Whew! That's a lot of toys! And I bought them all with my adult money without having to miss a meal. This is what I want as a toy collector. More toys and at toy prices. And this line seems to be far from over. We already have the next wave teased along with a deluxe figure! Excelsior!

Comments

GoBots Leader 1, Fitor, Cy-Kill, Transformers Generations Optimus Prime, and Power Warrior Courageous

It was a busy mail day as I add on to my GoBots collection. Today I was able to add Leader 1, Cy-Kill, and Fitor. Pretty neat to get three heavy hitters in one day. They are all in pretty good condition too. Cy-Kill's wheels are a little loose but beyond that they seem great! Leader 1 He came with a hologram sticker of Turbo from the Animated Series Jet mode comparison with one of the Aerialbots. Taking charge in the Command Center Fitor This picture doesn't do his vehicle mode justice. He's a cool ship. Cy-Kill Cy-Kill is a ridiculously expensive figure but I was lucky to find him at a reasonable price. I hope others are able to do the same because he's pretty cool. A much more harmonious relationship than Megatron and Starscream. The big three. Just need Coptur to complete the top level of the Renegades. Comparison with G2 Decepticons. Forever foes. -------...

Wayne Manor/X-Mansion

Batman and the X-Men were the two biggest and best superhero cartoons of the 90's. They were also the two biggest action figure brands of the 90's. While the X-Men did have some cool playsets, they never really had a Mansion playset. Batman, on the other hand, did. Starting with Batman Returns, this playset would be reused many times and with many different color schemes. Unfortunately, it wasn't until my days as an adult collector that I would realize how perfect it would be for an X Mansion. 5 years ago I was lucky enough to find one on Ebay in pretty good condition for under $30. A great deal, if you ask me! As a teacher, I used to hold a Comic Book Club after school and I used this as a display in my room. Later on, I switched grades to Kindergarten. I didn't really think it fair to keep toys in my room that children that age couldn't play with, so I brought it home and sold off most of my X-Men. Recently, I decided to get back into the X-Men game...

Kre-O G.I. Joe Forces/ USS Flagg

Seeing this boxed set a few years ago is what got me back into collecting G.I. Joe. I had passed on the joy of G.I. Joe to my younger brothers, and to its credit, its one of the few franchises that has stuck with them. I don't feel bad about giving them my collection because most of my collections began when my cousins passed them on to me. Plus, with all of the vehicles and playsets, they are a little much to have up and displayed. Finding the Kre-O sets allowed me to keep showing my love for G.I. Joe on a smaller scale. The fact that it was a Slaughter's Marauders set is was truly sold me. Love the Sarge. So anyways, here are my current Joes. I've already posted a blog about my Cobra collection, which you can find here, Cobra Forces . After this, I'll make a post on my Iron Grenadiers and the rest of my Vehicles/Playsets. USS Flagg Not an official set. I found this Chinese knock off and modified the cabin so that it could hold figures. Also added...

Star Wars Power of the Force Shadows of the Empire Vehicles Outrider and Slave One

Shadows the Empire was an amazing period in Star Wars history. It's sad that the overall story was just tossed to the side like it was meaningless. I could understand a reworking of certain story elements but just treating it like it never existed was such a blow for me. Thankfully, I will always have the memories and, for now, I have the toys. I didn't have either of these vehicles growing up. I've mentioned in previous blogs how I favored getting multiple figures over a single vehicle when visiting the toy store but that did not mean that I did not want them. Being able to have them now as an adult is still pretty cool. Slave One We are all well aware of how cool this ship is and the toy is pretty sweet as well. I think my favorite feature is the open up cargo area that helps this ship tread the line between vehicle and playset. Toy Polloi has even designed an insert that you can stick in this area that gives Boba some things to fiddle with. I also love that it...

Star Wars Vintage The Mandalorian Wave 1

I don't need to tell anyone reading this anything about the Mandalorian, so let's get to the toys. As a fan of the Vintage and Power of the Force 2 era style of toys, I was pretty excited to find out about the Retro style figures being made. Wave 1 is pretty great, I only wish that we had more characters. Wave 2 will be here soon but it also is focusing on big names. As a fan of B list Star Wars characters, I'm slightly nervous that some figures won't make it into this line. Despite that, I plan on getting everyone that I can. I have spoken. Greef Karga Carl Weathers was a great bit of casting. Not only because he is such a great actor but because many of us know him from the late 70's and 80's, the same era that gave us Star Wars. In a show that is trying to bring us back to the Original Trilogy timeline, Weathers becomes a bridge of nostalgia. Cara Dune Cara was my favorite secondary character in this series. As someone who always identified more with the caus...

Ubernerd, Beyond Loserdome

Search This Blog