The Hot Toys diecast Robocop figure is a great figure in its own right, but when I saw the teaser pics of the Battle Damaged version with the Peter Weller head sculpt, I knew I had to have that version too!
And now having the two-pack with Alex Murphy in hand, I am absolutely glad that I went through with the purchase because these are some of Hot Toys' best head sculpts that I've seen!
For my full video review, click the link below to head on over to the Kool Kollectibles YouTube channel and check it out :)
The packaging is the usual simple but classy Hot Toys design. Love the front pic of the two characters.
Everything comes nicely packaged, with a ton of nice accessories.
The outfit on Murphy is really nicely tailored, but of course it's the battle damage on the Robocop figure that is the true standout feature. The paint application is outstanding, showing off blood, rust, scorch marks, twisted metal etc. It's incredible the amount of detail they can put into these figures!
And of course the other feature that collectors love about this is the head sculpt. Is it an incredible likeness to Peter Weller from the movie, both for the Murphy and Robocop figures! The detailing on the Robocop head is particularly impressive.
Hot Toys just simply excels in the skin texture and paint application to give that extra bit of realism over any of their competitors right now.
If you're a fan of classic 80s action movies, I cannot recommend this figure set enough! It looks amazing up close, and has a lot of shelf presence on display. With a ton of accessories and a couple of incredibly realistic head sculpts, this is a release by Hot Toys that will be a benchmark for many years to come!
Click the link below to head on over to Sideshow Collectibles and pick up this set for yourself :)
Here's my full review of the Play Arts Kai Stormtrooper figure. It's probably my favourite out of the three that they've released so far! Click through below to the review, and head on down for some photos too :)
The overall aesthetic of this Stormtrooper is just bad ass! He actually looks like he means business and is a warrior to be reckoned with!
I found the articulation to be better than Boba Fett, with an easier range of motion especially in the torso. The white gloss paint app throughout the armour also looks amazing.
Love the weapons and their interesting take on the classic standard blaster and long rifle. Instantly recognisable, but different enough to fit in well with this variant style.
My only nitpick would be that I think the Stormtrooper is probably slightly too tall. I would've preferred the height of the trooper and Boba to be reversed. But regardless, these variant figures look amazing together. The Japanese companies are really taking Star Wars figures to another level this year! Highly recommended! :)
Here's my full video review of the Play Arts Kai Boba Fett figure. Overall, and fantastic addition to this new Star Wars line from Square Enix! Click through below to the review, and head on down for some photos too :)
Not much bad that I can say about the Play Arts Kai Boba Fett figure! The overall paint and detailing is great, which lots of options for poseability too. Perhaps the only negative thing that I could nitpick on is the relatively small size of the helmet, but that's pretty minor in the scheme of things.
The styling really does make it look bad ass in pretty much any pose! I'll stick to his standard pose like this, but the use of the flight stand and flamethrower accessory gives lots of options too.
You can still get this from Big Bad Toy Store, so click on through at the link here before it sells out!!
I got the Play Arts Kai Darth Vader figure a few months ago, and just recently got the Boba Fett and Stormtrooper figures. And they are every bit as awesome as Vader!! Here's just the box art pics, which look really classy!
Wow, it's been ages since I updated the website. Have been pretty lazy and just focused on the Facebook page and YouTube channel the past few weeks. So will post up a few news and bits and pieces that has happened with me and the collection over the last few weeks!
Here are links to some of the recent Combiner Wars figures I got in. The Leader class Starscream is pretty nice, and I found it much better than the previous Thundercracker I got. Hope you can check out the reviews :)
The Legends class Skywarp is a solid little figure, and every bit as nice as the previous Thundercracker. Hopefully they release Starscream in this size too (although they already released him in a previous line prior to the Combiner Wars).
And here's Rodimus, which is a repaint of the previous Blackjack. Another solid figure, but a few more details in the paint area would help. I guess the mold reuse is getting a bit old too in the Combiner Wars line. I hope they do more unique nolds, but it looks like the reuse is going to continue for the forseeable future.
I get all my Transformers from Robotkingdom! Great folks, so definitely check them out at the link :)
Got the new Unite Warriors UW-01 Superion set in the other day, being Takara's take on the previously released Hasbro Combiners Wars Aerialbot team. And overall, as is mostly the case with Takara, the paint app and quality is just that step up from Hasbro. Loving the colour on this, especially in combined mode!
Looks pretty damn nice in combined mode with all the rightful team members (none of this Alpha Bravo helicopter bullshit!)
For my full video review and comparison against the Hasbro version, click the link below to check out the video on the Kool Kollectibles channel - make sure to like and subscribe! :)
Stay tuned for more Combiner Wars reviews coming soon too :)
It's been a long wait, but I finally got my order in for the Sideshow Collectibles Tauntaun Deluxe statue. And man it was worth the wait! This thing is HUGE!!!
For my full video review, click the link below to head on over to the channel and check it out! Hope you can subscribe too! :)
Definitely glad I picked this up. Now it just makes me want to go back and get the Dewback!!
Late in Dec 2014, Bandai Tamashii Nations released the first in their new Star Wars Movie Realization figures. Based off the Japanese feudal style that inspired George Lucas, the Samurai Taisho Darth Vader was an amazing figure, and was my favourite Star Wars figure of 2014 in any scale!
Soon after they released teaser photos of upcoming trooper figures, including the Stormtrooper, Sandtrooper, and potentially even the Snowtrooper and Biker Scout. It's been a long 6 month wait, and they've finally released the Ashigaru Stormtrooper figure, and it was definitely worth the wait!
For my full video review, click the video link below to check it out on the Kool Kollectibles YouTube channel. For more pics and info, scroll on down for the full written review :)
The packaging style follows closely with that of the Darth Vader, and is very simple and classy. The clamshell inside is perfectly collector friendly. The set comes with a nice array of accessories, including the vintage style flint gun, katana sword and sheath, and an assortment of swap out hand sculpts.
The figure itself is every bit as amazing as the Darth Vader figure, with the details really standing out due to the white armour instead of the black on Vader. The sculpting of the helmet is incredible, with beautiful patterning that matches the line markings on the standard Stormtrooper helmet.
I love the way they did the style around the chin area of the helmet, and the hinge joint that attaches the chin flap. The flap itself has the little gold highlights that are scattered across many areas of the suit. Because it is on a flap, it's easy to move around to articulate the head more, so there's no real issue with articulation.
The rear of the helmet is similar to the layered pattern on the Darth Vader helmet, and is again a softer plastic with gaps between layers. There's a little give in the plastic so there isn't too much restriction in head movement when posing. The subtle weathering on the helmet is nice, and leaves plenty of room for more dirt and grime for the Sandtrooper version!
The body armour is of course the highlight. Some people do not like the style of the chest/torso plate, especially the visible nipples. But this is very accurate to the traditional Samurai ere Japanese armour, and I think it looks awesome. Particularly with the very nicely done dirt/weathering, I think Bandai have done another great job.
The rear of the torso piece is just as intricate as the front, with almost gill-like patterning on the back. I think that really accentuates the figure and makes it look amazing from any angle. I also love the fake ropes across the tops of the shoulders that mimic rope ties used to hold the front and rear sections together.
The shoulder pads are also a nice design touch, where they are attached to the arms via a ball joint. This allows for a lot of range of motion in the arms since the shoulder plate can be easily moved out of the way. The shoulder joints themselves are on a well-designed ball joint system that can move the shoulder up and down, out the sides almost perpendicular to the body, and straight out the front or rear.
As with the Vader, much of the detailing in the costume centres on the kama or skirt. It is all one piece that is made of softer plastic to allow for the hip articulation. The detailing with the front dagger sheath, and the fake ropes holding the various flaps is really nice, especially with all the gold/yellow highlights.
I love how they have mimicked the canister at the rear of normal Stormtrooper outfits. I'm not exactly sure what it's meant to be, but it still looks cool! :) Again the detailing in the flaps is very nicely done. On the left side that is a clips that holds the katana sheath nicely, which is just inserted and left along the hip.
Even the leg armour is nicely molded and detailed. The thighs have a white armour layer under the kama skirt, leading into black plastic representing the undersuit. It's all soft plastic that doesn't restrict hip/leg articulation too much. Going down towards the lower leg armour, that looks fantastic too. The differences in design between the legs is another nice bit of detail, and again the weathering is top-notch.
The feet are a little hard to articulate and get looking right, especially flat on the ground. The ankle joints get a little hard to manipulate without a true ankle rocker motion. I do believe that the ball joint can be rotated to allow the ankles to be tilted in the perpendicular direction, but I haven't tried it out myself yet. But other than that, all the movement is as expected, and nothing is loose so standing on its own is quite easy. The line markings on the shoes also look great.
General points of articulation include both double jointed elbows and knees. The elbows in particular look great, with a wide range of motion, and the elbow joints doesn't become too visible went bent. Similarly, the knee joints also have a great range of motion, and can all cater for some amazingly dynamic poses.
Posed together with Vader, I think the potential for something really special in the Star Wars collecting world is immediately obvious. There is just nothing else out there that is as unique but still instantly recognisable as these Bandai Movie Realization figures!
With teaser pics already posted showing variant Stormtroopers with flags, drums, and other accessories, there will be plenty of opportunity to build an incredible feudal army of Stormtroopers! Add to that the amazing pics of the Royal Guards and Boba Fett, I think this line will become a legendary line of Star Wars figures in the future.
These figures are definitely gaining in popularity, and are selling out fast at most retailers. Click the link here to get yourself the Ashigaru Stormtrooper from BBTS! Do NOT miss out!! :)
As most of you know, I grew up in the 80s, so have a love of most things classic action / sci-fi that came out of that awesome decade. Back to the Future ranks right up there with my favourite movies, and so it was a given that I would get the figure as soon as Hot Toys announced their 1/6th scale Marty McFly and Delorean collectibles.
Marty went up for preorder at Sideshow Collectibles in late July 2014 (click the link here for the order details!), so it's been a long wait for its final release. But I can wholeheartedly say that it was well worth the wait, and Hot Toys have really done this iconic character justice!
Click through below for my full video review over on the Kool Kollectibles YouTube channel. More pics and my thoughts further below too :)
The packaging is pretty simple, going back to the basic shoe box style and cardboard insert of previous figures. I like the simplicity and the classic BTTF logo and fiery Delorean tracks into the distance really makes me look forward to early next year when the Delorean is released!
Since I ordered the exclusive version from Sideshow, it comes with the additional guitar from the audition scene in the movie. There was a lot of discussion on the accuracy of the guitar to the actual model used in the movie. I'm not that hardcore a guitar fan to really know the difference, so it doesn't really mean too much to me. I just think it's a cool additional extra for them to have thrown in lol!!
Regardless of whether you got the exclusive or just the regular, there are a heap of accessories anyway. I just wish Hot Toys provided so much with all of their figures in this price range!
It comes with a nicely sculpted and painted skateboard, very nicely detailed and padded backpack, the walkman and headphones, camcorder, sunglasses, calculator wrist watch, and the array of hands. And that's all in addition to the amazing layered costume and figure itself!
The costume has been really nicely tailored, and nothing feels overly big or too tight. There are a number of layers to the costume, with the red outer jacket, inner denim jacket, his checkered shirt, and then the red t-shirt underneath!
The red jacket is the most delicate, with the silver and black buttons being only glued on with the tiniest amount of glue. Any sort of pressure on them will dislodge them, so be VERY careful! They do provide spares, but losing them will be very easy if you don't immediately see them when they fall off.
But other than that, the outfit is awesome with a lot of detail. The denim material used is very nice and doesn't feel too delicate. The subtle weathering on the jeans is especially well done.
The shoes are also nicely sculpted, albeit without the classic Nike logo. I guess they didn't want to go the extra mile and obtain the Nike license, but overall I'm OK with that. There are lots of customisers out there selling decals that can be stuck on the shoes, and also the manufacturer logos on the camcorder and walkman.
The head sculpt and facial paint app are again the very high Hot Toys standard (if only Sideshow figures could match that paint app and skin texture on their head sculpts!). The only nitpick would be that the head sculpt really only applies to some poses, such as the one where he's taking off the sunnies to look at his watch.
Talking about poses, the articulation overall is great, except in the shoulder areas where care was needed for mine. The shoulders could easily be moved out to the sides, but trying to rotate them forward was difficult. I was actually afraid that I was going to snap something.
In the end, it seemed the clothing underneath might have been restricting the movement. After a bit of futzing and slow movement and adjustment of the clothes, the shoulders could be rotated forward. So at least I could achieve the pose I really wanted, shown above and below. Now all I need is for the Delorean to release so I can have his right foot inside the car! Oh, and a Doc Brown would just top it off even more :)
All in all, if you're a fan of the movie, then this is a must-have figure! The attention to detail in most parts of the figure is excellent, the accessories are numerous and perfect for many scenes in the movie, and the head sculpt is great and instantly recognisable. Highly recommended!!
Finally received my TNC-01 Ryu statue set!! Ever since I saw teaser pics of this new line on the BigBoysToysHK Facebook page, I knew I had to have it, and it was definitely worth the wait!
There's more info and pics further down, but click the link below to watch the full video review over on the Kool Kollectibles YouTube channel:
To get one for yourself (with my highest recommendation!) click the link below to head on over to Big Bad Toy Store!
But onto the statue set itself! The packaging is quite nicely done, and I love the artwork. The comic, semi-deformed art style just works with Street Fighter characters! I like how the front fold-away lid has the face of Ryu, and then the inside of the flap has the rear view in silhouette. Great box design overall!
The rear gives the usual photos of the item inside, and all colourfully done. This was the first I noticed that it actually included a collector card, which was a nice extra touch.
The sides are pretty simple with a closeup on one side and Chinese characters on the other. And I really like how the box folds open to review a visible space to view the statue if you want to store it in the box. Not a bad feature if you're short on space.
The top is rounded off with Ryu's name in the old Street Fighter styled font. So all in all, really nicely packaged for collectors.
The statue itself is just AMAZING!!! If you're a Street Fighter fan, especially one that played Street Fighter 2 in the arcades, you are going to love this as much as I do!
The mold is great in the semi-deformed style, but it's the paint app that was the real pleasant surprise for me. Everything is clean and sharp, and the outfit is nicely weathered with a dirt wash that doesn't make his outfit too clean (he is the wandering warrior after all!)
The head sculpt is just perfect with that angry fireball face, and the stance is pure iconic Hadoken style from the original Street Fighter 2 game.
The lighting effect is cleverly done, and I still haven't figured out how they get the electronics in to the fireball to light it up. But either way, placing him on the base and pushing the button at the front will make all Street Fighter fans smile.
The Hadoken sound effect is quite loud, and the light effect automatically dims after a second or two. With the high gloss background and base, the whole set just captures that iconic Street Fighter 2 stage perfectly!
They've already teased the next statue in the line with TNC-02 Ken, and that looks every bit as awesome as this Ryu. If they can continue with this level of quality, BigBoysToys will have a fantastic line of Street Fighter statues that will be sought after by fans for years to come! Highly recommended!
I'm a huge Star Wars fan, and I think 2015 and early 2016 will be a great time for 1/6th scale fans. Ever since I started collecting this larger scale, I've always wanted the core cast of the original Star Wars movie, and Hot Toys is now finally going to deliver! And they all look pretty spectacular!
The Stormtroopers have been out for a while now, but I have yet to receive my preorder here in Australia. The exclusive version is now on waitlist, but the regular version is widely available still I think. With the different heights, I'm sure they'll do a Luke/Han in disguise set once they get the core cast out the way. I love the little mouse droid, and the glossy finish on the armour is pure win for me :)
The Shadow Trooper was released not long after the Stormtrooper two-pack, and I was definitely glad to be able to get my hands on one. It's a fantastic figure! Again, the glossy finish adds a really nice premium feel to it, and the subtle weathering is nice too. It's sold out now, so your chances are limited I think unless you pay crazy prices in the aftermarket.
The next set to be released will be Han and Chewbacca, which can be ordered separately or as a combined two-pack. As with the Stormtrooper set, the two-pack is definitely the way to go since it gives additional accessories not provided if you order them separately. With Chewie being a full synthetic fur body, I reckon it will be the figure of the year! If they tweak the Han sculpt to look more like him, it'll be the perfect start to the core hero cast!
Next up is then Darth Vader, which is different to the Sideshow Deluxe figure in that it's the Ep4 costume not the Return of the Jedi costume. It also comes with the nice little Interrogator Droid accessory. I think this time Hot Toys will include a light up feature on the lightsaber, which I actually prefer to do without! I don't like little electronic gimmicks that I rarely use and tend to break! But still, definitely looking forward to posing this with the Obi-wan figure!
Before Obi-wan is released however, it looks like Hot Toys plans to release another trooper with their Spacetrooper. These troops were seen for only a few seconds in the scene where the Millenium Falcon is being brought into the Death Star. The external shot of the Falcon caught in the tractor beam is pretty iconic, but many miss the tiny little troopers in the foreground with their space gear.
Up next is Old Obi-wan, which to me looks absolutely fantastic! The head sculpt and detailing in the costume looks incredible, despite many collectors saying the sculpt is off. It looks like Alec Guiness to me, and the robe seems to fit and flow beautifully. Having this displayed in the cabinet with their Darth Vader will be perfect iconic awesomeness!
Hot Toys has just officially announced the Sandtrooper as well for an early release in 2016. I still think the old Sideshow Deluxe Sandtrooper holds up extremely well to this, and in fact has more accessories I think. Either way, having both side by side will be a great comparison, and will look awesome displayed together.
And finally, some teaser pics were posted recently from Japanese toy magazines showing the Death Star Leia and Tatooine Luke figures that we've all been waiting to see! The Leia figure even looks to have rooted hair for her buns, which hopefully they do well. I don't have too much experience with rooted hair so hopefully it doesn't need to much maintenance! The Luke figure looks nice and simplistic, but it'll all come down to the head sculpt on that one too.
The preorder for Luke and Leia isn't up yet, but hopefully official prototype pictures and preorder details will be up soon. For me, I'm just glad to finally get the chance to have the entire core cast from the original movie at Hot Toys quality! It'll be a day long remembered when they're all home :)
EDIT: I almost forgot about the 1/4 scale figures they're doing too, with ROTJ Boba Fett and ROTS Darth Vader. For me, I just can't afford these much larger figures, and the size and space they need to be displayed well. So I'll stick to the 1/6th scale figures :)
