Bowen Designs Web Exclusive Hydro-Man Bust Review

Bowen Designs does a number of website exclusive items each year, but their ordering system for the Bowen Exclusive Hydro-Man Bust, which I’m reviewing tonight, went one step beyond that. As well as being a web exclusive, Hyrdo-Man was made to order, meaning that only the number ordered were produced. This explains the unusual edition size of 483. As far as I’m concerned, this also means there are 483 extremely lucky people out there, as this is a truly amazing piece.

The amazingly talented Kucharek Brothers can always be counted on for a top quality sculpt and something a little bit out of the box to go with it, and it is really great to see them doing busts for Bowen as well as their excellent statue work. Hydro-Man is the Kuchareks at their best, and the end result of this piece is one I am very glad to own.

These days Morris Bench sports a more modernised costume for his crime fighting, but his iconic look was a black t-shirt and jeans long before Superboy appropriated it for himself. It’s this look that Bowen has chosen, which means he will fit nicely with the majority of Bowen’s Spider-Man Family (and Foes) collection. The design of this piece, with Hydro-Man’s water arms up behind his head ready to pounce, is genius. It does make him a bit of a space hog for collectors short on shelf space, but this piece is worth making a focal point.

Apart from the overall concept and design, the making of this piece is the use of translucent materials for the water elements of the statue. There is an incredible level of detail in Hydro-Man’s giant water arms, and the translucent material creates a stunning visual effect.
Many Bowen collectors tend to be bust only or statue only, and there continue to be many requests for a Full Size Hydro-Man Statue. While this could be done magnificently, I almost don’t see the need. There is nothing “mini” about this bust - it stands nearly as high as some statues! When you consider Hydro-Man’s power and take into account the manhole base, it’s easy to imagine this is Hydro-Man coming out of the ground and put him alongside your Full Size Spidey collection, as I have done.

The pickings have become a bit slimmer for Bowen bust collectors in recent times, but it’s some comfort to know that when the busts do come, they are complete home runs. With the move towards more oversized busts that Bowen seems to be making, even the most die hard statue-only collector really needs to give these great pieces consideration!
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Until next time!

Marvel Select's Green Goblin Glides In!

Marvel Select is becoming the little action figure line that could in my book. Their latest release, the Marvel Select Green Goblin Action Figure, is one of the most exciting figures to come out of the MS line in recent times.

I usually start with sculpt and work my way down to accessories, but I’m going to start this review with the “extras”, because they are so great!

One of the features of the Marvel Select line is some form of highly detailed pack-in base or prop, which usually end up in a storage bin in my house as I don't have the space to display them. The pack-in in this instance is the best form - a great little replica of the Goblin Glider. This is the kind of extra I'm happy to pay for, as it doesn't take up much extra space in the display and adds a great deal to the visual appeal of the figure.

Taking this particular accessory over the top is the fantastic cloud of energy and smoke it rests on and which forms a supportive base for the figure. It’s an exciting burst of colour with some translucent elements, and it’s a unusual shape that looks like it shouldn’t balance the glider, yet it does that perfectly. This is the sort of pack-in that will keep me coming back for more!

There are other accessories for this action figure - a satchel and an extra hand with a pumpkin bomb attached, which are nicely done and add a great deal to the overall package.

As for Mr Goblin himself: the articulation of this figure is outstanding. I am on record at not being the best at posing figures, but even with my limited skills there are a number of great poses that can be easily achieved with this figure. There would be nothing worse than having a great pack-in like the Goblin Glider but not being able to pose the figure properly on it - that's definitely not the case here. The ankle, knee and hip articulation of this figure makes it possible to get some great poses with the Green Goblin astride his flying machine.

The sculpting job is excellent - there is a fantastic amount of detail throughout this piece. His headsculpt, including freaky teeth, is brilliant, and the scales on his arms and legs are very nicely done. His gloves and boots are also nicely detailed.

There are two things that I have to criticise about this figure. One is an artistic choice, and one I think is a QC issue. Something that I find a bit peculiar about this figure is the lack of pupils in Green Goblin’s eyes. When think about Green Goblin’s look, his tiny pupils in the middle of his large eyes is part of what creates his unhinged, crazed look, and I think this figure ends up feeling just a tad “off” because these are missing.

The other issue is about colour choices. The green of Green Goblin’s skin on his face doesn’t match the green on his arms and legs. I’m not sure if it’s just because the limbs have a metallic edge to them, or because the greens are just different, but they are not the same. I have to say this didn’t really strike me until I was processing the photos of this figure, so it’s not jarring at first sight, but it does seem odd.

There is so much “right” about this figure that neither of these are fatal flaws in my book. I love the articulation, the ease of posing this figure and the excellent, excellent Goblin Glider With Included Energy And Smoke Cloud. This is a must buy in my book!

You can see more pics at Facebook, discuss this at the AFB Forum, and comment on this post to enter the May AFB Comment of the Month Contest!

Until next time!

Captain Action Deluxe Action Figure and Spider-Man Costume Set Reviews

Tonight I'm starting off the first of my reviews of the latest look at Captain Action. This review will cover the Captain Action Deluxe Action Figure and the Captain Action Deluxe Spider-Man Costume Set.

I have to start off this review by saying that I don't have a personal nostalgia for Captain Action. His original heyday was before my time, and the previous attempt at reviving this line was before my collecting years. If not for the impressive photos of the Marvel Costume sets attached to this particular revival of the line, I most likely wouldn't have given this a second look. All I can say is, I'm glad I did!

This is the third time around for 12" Captain Action toys. The first line was produced by Ideal starting in 1966 and ended up covering a wide range of characters from a number of properties before ceasing production. The line was revived in 1998 by the now -defunct Playing Mantis.  This incarnation lasted only two years but delivered some great revisits and never-before done characters like sidekicks Kato and Kabai Singh.

This new revisit is by Captain Action Enterprises and Round 2, and once you do your research on the original toys, you can see clearly that the creators of these toys have a great love for the property and it's history. They've brought a great deal of passion to these new toys and have been promoting them with gusto.

To fully appreciate these items, you need to have a sound understanding of the history of Captain Action and the original offerings from the line, and of what Captain Action is all about. Most of the criticisms I've read about these modern products can be answered by looking in to the vintage line and its products.

The idea behind Captain Action's costume sets is that Captain Action is a master of disguise and takes on these different roles. This is where the costume sets come from - this isn't simply a 12" cloth costume Spider-man, it's Captain Action AS Spider-man, and has to be looked at as such.

This answers the main complaints I've heard about these new sets - firstly that  the costume sets do not come with an actual figure, and secondly that the character heads are masks instead of a swappable head. While having to buy extra Captain Action figures to display your costume sets is somewhat of a drawback, this line is ultimately about Captain Action himself - having him under the mask is an essential part of spirit of the line.

As I said, I don't have a personal history with Captain Action, so I'm firmly in this for the Marvel Characters. Still, I'll start with the good Captain himself, since as I said this is really all about him!

To me, Captain Action seems to be all about that late 1960s sci-fi hokeyness, and the producers of this new line have made a very sensible decision to embody this spirit rather than attempting to modernize the character.

While this is a loving and faithful recreation of the original toy, some sensible updates have been made. The biggest and best change is to the Captain Action head sculpt. The original Captain Action had a rather odd head, both in shape and facial expression, and this new version has been given a much needed update.

The Captain's outfit is very well constructed, and includes a removable cap and boots on top of his bodysuit. The workmanship on all of these pieces is excellent, and the bodysuit is easy to remove and put back on when the need for a costume change arises.

Captain Action comes with several accessories, the main items being very faithful recreations of his original gear. He has his sword and ray gun and each comes with a holster which fits on his belt. His belt is a bit of a challenge to keep together - it come unsnapped and the snap is so small that I had quite a time getting it reconnected.

The first Captain Action Costume set I'm reviewing is Captain Action as Spider-Man.

The packaging of these sets is so outstanding that I really felt it was a shame to open them. The boxes are colourful and the pieces are arranged beautifully. Thankfully this has all been designed so that you can put your sets together, and while it will take up more space to store them his way, I definitely plan to keep the boxes as they just look fantastic.

The Deluxe set comes with a swag of options and accessories. There is a regular Spider-man mask and a Peter Parker mask, two options for arms (which come in the form of hands with long gloves that you replace Captain Action's hand with) and a great set of boots. There are spiderweb shooters and a belt if you want a classic version of Spidey, or you can leave those in the box to keep your Spider-man modern as I have done here. There are other bits and pieces such as a camera and a copy of the Daily Bugle which, with my well publicised apathy to accessories, aren't my cup of tea, don't necessarily get me buzzing but are sure to excite accessories enthusiasts.

Once again, the fabric costume is very nicely constructed and fits on to the figure rather easily. The costume seems durable and the colours used are fabulous. The little spiderwebs that make up Spidey’s “wings” are a nice touch. The plastic pieces are very high quality and seem designed to last the test of time.

The Spider-Man mask is a challenge to put on, but worth persisting with as the result is great. The end result is a very slightly over-sized head, but when you keep in mind that you're disguising Captain Action as Spider-man the concerns go away for me.

The main issue I had with Spidey's assembly was keeping his arms attached. The gloves and hands replace Captain Actions hands and are meant to lock in, but I found challenging to get the right arm to click together. I did manage to accomplish this with persistence and would expect it to be easier to do on future attempts.There are two choices for Spidey’s hands, including one set in web-shooting mode.

The figure has a very good range of movement and is easy to pose in a number of different arrangements. I’m not always very successful at getting poses to work, and I found this figure very easy to work with and pose, which is especially important for a character like Spider-Man.

 

All up, I feel that all of my excitement as I anticipated the relaunch of this line has been worth it. The more I look at these pieces and assemble the different options, the more I love them. If Round 2 can reach someone like me who isn’t really into this type of figure, I can only imagine how Captain Action enthusiasts are responding to these loving, faithful updates.

The Marvel Costumes come with a “build a costume” theme - pieces for a Hawkeye costume which I can’t wait to assemble. I’m definitely in for this first set! We know that Loki and Thor sets are coming up and that Loki will fit on Captain Action's nemesis, Dr Evil, who is also on the way. No word yet on whether or not Captain Action's kid sidekick, Action Boy, will be making an appearance.

In my next review for this series, I’ll be covering the Captain America Deluxe Costume set - and I think we’re in for another treat!

These are apparently going to appear at Toys R Us in Australia, but no sign as yet. I got mine from AFB Sponsor Big Bad Toy Store, and they still have both sets in stock - worth checking out!

You can see more pics at Facebook, discuss this at the AFB Forum, and comment on this post to enter the April AFB Comment of the Month Contest!

Until next time!

Bowen Designs Sandman stands above the crowd - on a strong shelf, please!

As I said in my last post, I have been spending more of my collecting budget on statues of late, and not many of my recent purchases have excited me as much as tonight’s review subject. The Bowen Designs Sandman Full-Sized Statue is a truly impressive piece!

If I had to choose my favourite Rogue’s Gallery of any superhero, I’d have to go with Spider-Man’s. Batman and Flash’s archenemies come a close second and third, but there’s something about Spider-Man’s baddies, especially the Sinister Six, that really thrill me as a reader. Any classic story involving the Six or any of its individual members is guaranteed to be a winner.

My favourite of all of the Spidey villains is Sandman. He has an Avengers connection which would automatically make me partial to him, but I was a fan long before that. As a comic reading kid I was very taken by his powers, and his ability to be a very serious threat when written well. I also love his classic look of the green striped shirt and the brown trousers. Don’t ask me why on that one!

The Bowen Designs version of Sandman is nothing short of spectacular. This is a Kucharek Brothers sculpt, and as usual they’ve given it the deluxe treatment. We get a great display of Sandman’s powers in this design. His right hand has been transformed into a large sand fist, while his left hand is in block-style hammer form. Meanwhile, his legs are transforming to large pillars of sand with sand dripping off the base. Sandman is lunging forward in attack, making this a very dynamic statue that looks fantastic from every angle.

The textures in this piece are amazing. I know very little about the sculpting process, but I can’t imagine that designing something to look and feel like sand is terribly easy. There are different colours, textures and sheens within the sand areas, from the very rough sand of his right hand to the smoothed surface of his mallet fist to the wet, sloppy look of the sand that is dripping off the base. The result is breathtaking.

I haven’t been 100% satisfied with all of the paint work coming out of Bowen lately, so it was a big relief to see that the paint job on this piece doesn’t let the amazing sculpt work down at all. There is a nice sheen to Sandman’s clothing, which provides an excellent contrast to the sections that have turned to sand. The colours are classic Sandman colours, making him look as though he’s leaping right of the page of a classic Spider-Man comic. His face is very nicely painted, with those ever-tricky pupils the same size and smack dab in the right place.

Two things to note: first off, this statue is extremely heavy. It needs a very secure shelf to rest on - I’d never risk putting it on glass. The second point to be aware of is that this statue is a shelf space hog. The base is very deep and really only just fits into a Detolf - bottom shelf only thanks to the weight. It’s not as wide, so there will still be room on the shelf for a small base Full-Sized statue and perhaps a bust. I have Sandman’s Sinister Six colleagues Electro (FS) and Vulture (Mini-Bust) keeping him company, and they fit fine, but there’s no room for more.

I’m not pointing this out because I have any complaints about the space this statue takes up - it really is quite a beauty and deserves all the space that it can get in your display. It’s simply that buyers do need to be committed to the character as he’s not going to be a wallflower (shelfflower?) in your display - he’s going to be a dominant force!

I hope that Randy Bowen can keep the Kucharek Brothers busy with lots of Marvel projects - they consistently produce some of the most interesting and complex work out there - I’m very much looking forward to reviewing their Bowen M.O.D.O.K. shortly! In the meantime, I’ll be very content to look at their outstanding effort with Sandman sitting safely on a secure bottom display shelf!

You can see more pics at Facebook, discuss this at the AFB Forum, and you can comment on this post to enter the June AFB Comment of the Month Contest!

Also - don’t forget to cast your vote for the overall winner of the Toy Lines! Caption Contest! 

Until next time!

Select Indeed!

Perhaps it's just withdrawal from what was once a steady flow of Marvel Legends, but I am really getting into enjoying Marvel Select and its' offerings. I've gone from picking up the occasional release to pretty much buying everything Marvel Select is producing in recent times. I've collected a few lately without reviewing them, so here is a catch-up which includes the Marvel Select Hulk (recently re-issued), Daredevil and Spider-Man.

Hulk was part of a "Best of" release in recent times, and I was pleased to have a second chance to pick him up. This is an absolutely massive figure, and a great centrepiece for a Marvel Select collection. With the massive shoulders in the way, there's not a lot of room for movement of the head, but the head is surprisingly loose. My one quibble would be the way that the black wash that's been used to define his muscles has worked on the roughish green paint. It doesn't bear for a very close inspection. Still, this giant sized Hulk is great fun, and it's inspired me to give up my futile quest for the Marvel Legends Red Hulk BAF and go for the Marvel Select Rulk instead as a companion to this big fella.

I really can't say I've ever seen a brilliant Daredevil figure, and while I don't think this is it, it's a very workable Matt Murdoch for the Select line. It seems that giving Daredevil's mono-colour mask definition in action figure form is difficult, and that's the case here as well. Daredevil also suffers from a the same kind of unsubtle wash that Hulk has. Oddly, he comes with numchucks instead of his signature billy club. Daredevil has the odd sort of shape that plagued the Bucky Captain America figure - the ball jointed hips (which really don't belong on any action figure) make him look a bit, well, hippy. That seems like a lot of negatives! This is a good figure, but one more worth having for the Marvel Select collection than for the figure itself.

Finally, there's Spider-Man. The first thing you notice about everybody's favourite webslinger is that his head is a slightly odd, oversized shape. His white eyes are slightly oversized and run quite a distance up the sides of his head. It's a shame, because otherwise this is a great figure. The body sculpt is excellent, without the strange proportions that bring some of the male Select figures down, and the detailing on his costume is excellent. He is a bit more poseable than some of the Select figures. A winner overall, but I have to wonder if the strangeish head was design or a production issue.

One of the features of the Marvel Select figures is a detailed base, and this is the case with all three of these figures. Hulk, being a much bigger figure, has a more perfunctory metallic looking base, while the other two figures have a more substantial inclusion. Daredevil has a church spire to hang from, and Spidey has a smashed car to stand astride. For collectors who have the display space to use these bases, they are great touches, but for me, they end up in storage, and in some cases I'd much prefer a pack of two figures than a detailed base for the price.

Ball-jointed hips and potentially over-priced bases aside, one of the concerns I've had with committing to the Select line is the hodgepodge nature of previous releases, and concerns with scale, etc, but in recent times, Marvel's "big guns" have been being released in very short order and they look great together. With more on the way like the upcoming Thing, Deadpool, Cyclops and Magneto releases, a sense of a developing Select-scale Marvel Universe doesn't seem far away.

You can see more pics (including in-package shots) at Facebook, discuss this at the AFB Forum, and comment on this post to enter the April AFB Comment of the Month Contest!

Until next time!