Kool Kollectibles content

7 Apr 2018

New Kool Kollectibles YouTube channel trailer

Here's the new Kool Kollectibles YouTube channel trailer showing some of the photos over the past few months. Hope you can check it out, give the video a like, and subscribe to the channel! :)



Hot Toys MMS433 Grand Moff Tarkin

I'm surprised it's taken so long for Hot Toys, or any other 1/6th scale company, to release a new Grand Moff Tarkin. With huge improvements in the detail and realism of 1/6th scale figures over the past 5-7 years, and the ongoing popularity of Star Wars, it's great that Hot Toys finally stepped up to the plate with their Grand Moff Tarkin.

And what a beautiful figure it is! Click through below to check out my full review on the Kool Kollectibles YouTube channel. Hope you can give the video a like and subscribe to the channel! :)



The packaging is the usual style, and the contents don't have too much in the way of accessories. The chair is a decent addition, but it does take a bit of work to manipulate the body to sit in the chair in a natural manner. The articulation does have an ab-crunch, but I found the front of the costume a little restrictive. The hips and legs articulate OK, but it will take a while to get him leaning naturally with at least his thighs and bottom properly in the chair. I want him standing next to Vader, so the chair will stay in the box for me.

The included hands are nicely sculpted and painted as usual for Hot Toys. However, the hands are a little oversized, especially the specially molded left hand used to support the elbow in his iconic chin-to-hand pose. The fingers are too elongated and make it look like he's turning into a werewolf! Luckily most of it can be hidden behind the right elbow.



The costume is fantastic in its tailoring and use of materials. The prototype used a thicker more traditional cotton type weave. The final production costume uses a thin material that has a nice smoother texture. It works really well to give the outfit a natural lay on the body.

I do wish the sleeves were just a tad longer so that the wrist joints weren't so obvious in his iconic pose. But it's a pretty minor nit when overall the figure pulls the pose off extremely well. The boots are a nice leather type material, with the ankles being filled out much better than the similar Han Solo boots. The pants fit into the boots nicely, and flare out at the thighs in a nicely tailored way.



The head sculpt is pretty much perfect for me. It does lose a bit of the wrinkling in the final sculpt from the prototype, but the paint application is amazing. The wrinkles are still visible, and the likeness is uncanny. The glassiness in the eyes also accentuates the realism.

Perhaps the only thing I could complain about would be the final colour of the hair. It suffers the same issue as the old Han Solo figure, where the hair should have more grey or silver. Instead, the hair has a slight bronzy colour to it, which makes him look a little younger than he should.

But in the scheme of things, considering the total package with the outfit, accessories, and poseability, this is a fantastic figure from Hot Toys. It's comparatively simple compared to other figures in their Iron Man or DX series, but it's just done so well. For fans of Star Wars, I highly recommend this figure, particularly if you have or plan to get their Darth Vader figure.


2 Apr 2018

Transformers Masterpiece MP-40 Targetmaster Hot Rod

It feels like a long time since Takara announced a new G1 mold in their Masterpiece series. The last major unique release was Sunstreaker, and despite rumours of characters such as Trailbreaker and Hoist, there's been no announcement of late.

But Takara will always continue to do one thing that they've done for years, and that's release repaints on existing molds. This new MP-40 Targetmaster Hot Rod is no different, and there's nothing too much to write home about on this release.

Click through below to check out my review on the Kool Kollectibles YouTube channel. Hope you can click that like button and subscribe to the channel too! :)



Packaging and contents are pretty similar to the previous Hot Rod release, but misses out on the various cartoon movie accessories such as the fishing rod. I did notice that the card stock on the collector card looks and feels cheaper than previous figures, and does not have the same gloss or thickness. Hopefully this is just a once-off for this repaint and isn't an ongoing change.



The paint app changes are decent overall. There are some aspects I like, such as the chest flame decal, but on the whole I prefer the lighter shade of red/pink on the original version. The cartoon accuracy of the original speaks more to my nostalgia than the new repaint, which I hear comes from a colour way shown in some later episodes of Season 3 or 4.



I display all my repaints in their alt modes, so this is how mine will be in the cabinet. It still looks pretty nice in that classic car design. The Targetmaster is just an extra to have, but doesn't really do anything for me. I hear it's a reuse of the Targetmaster from the original Hasbro MP-9 Rodimus release. I would've preferred that they reduce the cost and not even bother including it!

Either way, I just hope they make a major G1 announcement this year. It would be a massive disappointment if noone else from the original G1 Season 1 or 2 cast is announced in 2018.


Bandai Star Wars Movie Realization Onmitsu Shadowtrooper

I've loved this series of Star Wars figures by Bandai because they are such unique representations of the classic characters. I am getting a little tired of the various troopers though, but caved in getting the recent Shadowtrooper variant.

Click through below to watch my full review over on the Kool Kollectibles YouTube channel! Make sure if give the video a like and subscribe to the channel :)



Packaging is the usual style in this series, with some nice cover art photography. The "onmitsu" designation refers to the highly trained ninja used as secret agents or spies in feudal Japan, which is an appropriate designation for this character. It comes with the usual array of accessories, and I particularly like the black blaster with silver and blue highlights.



I was actually expecting a black body overall, but they've given the armour accents using a bit of white wash to highlight the grooved and details in the mask and body. It works fairly well, but the white wash scratches away very easily so be careful where you rub your fingers.

I thought the mask was identical to the regular Stormtrooper, but similarly with the body armour, there are some minor differences. These changes make the mask appear more skull-like, and the torso armour loses the nipples from the trooper. Either variant looks pretty good.



Displayed together as an army, this series of figures simply looks amazing. The variants give enough differences to the troops to still be interesting. The next figure to come will be the Yari spearman, but it looks very similar to the previous flag bearer and archer.

I'm glad they've teased the new Snowtrooper with E-Web cannon. There are enough changes there to make it a great variant to add to the army. I really hope they do something amazing such as a new Scout Trooper on a horse. That would definitely take this series to another level! Hope to see more announcement soon in this series!