World of Nintendo Gravity Suit Samus

I can't believe how nice this figure turned out.

For some reason, I've always preferred Samus in her Gravity Suit. I guess purple seems more appropriate for a bounty hunter than orange. (And don't get me started about Zero Suit Samus!)

Taking the figure, I applied metallic purple and gold paint over the more plain purple and yellow that the figure was sporting. You can see what the original figure looked like here.

This picture doesn't do the figure justice but oh, well…

(I also did the morph ball.)

Microman Supergirl

It's been over a year since I last posted something. A lot has happened since then and not much either. I'm really happy that the CW picked up Supergirl for a second season.


Speaking of Supergirl, here is a custom paint job that i have been meaning to do for a while. This is the Microman version of Supergirl. It's basically a Japanese figure of Superman's famous cousin with a very anime looking face.  Both Batman and Superman were made in this line, and you can check out the figures more here.


Unfortunately, the figure is based on Supergirl's 200X design where there is less costume than there should be. Also, what I didn't like about the figure was that the shoulder ball joints were flesh colored instead of metallic blue. (The one thing i really liked was the articulated hair.)

So, with some metallic blue of my own, I painted her mid-drift and shoulder sockets. Now, I'm not sure how long the paint will stay on her shoulder sockets, but it looks good at the moment. Being a fan of Supergirl in the 80s, I had to paint her skirt red though I don't think it turned out as well as her mid-drift.

Ultraman Nexus Junis Mode Spark Doll

Not long ago, I talked about the original Ultraman Nexus Anphans Mode Spark Doll.

Not as long ago, Bandai released a Junis Mode to go with the Anphans Mode.



The Nexus design is pretty elaborate making painting a test of anyone's patience. But I didn't have much of a choice given how much was missing on the Spark Doll. Like the Anphans Mode, there is a great looking metallic red used on the v-shaped color timer thingy.

The Anphans figure is the same one pictured in my previous entry, but now I've added a lot of missing paint.  It didn't turn out as well as the Junis one.

The figure looks fantastic now. I wish Bandai had at least completed most of the paint apps on the front of the figure. They did a really good job on the Ultraman Cosmos (Eclipse Mode) that came out at the same time.  Everything on the front of the Cosmos figure was painted correctly. It was only the back that was left unpainted.

But what do you want with a 500 yen figure?

Big Chief 11th Doctor with Stetson

I'm surprised that there was enough demand for this to happen. Not that I'm complaining. I love the stetson used in Series 6, and the 1/6 scale 11th Doctor looks a lot better with the new head. The Matt likeness is right on, though there's a slight blank stare look on his face.

Personal tastes vary, but it's well worth it if you like the look.

Ultraman Ginga Victory

So, Ultraman Ginga and Ultraman Victory combine to form Ultraman Ginga Victory.  Not the most original of names, but the design is definitely unique. Pictured are the spark doll and Ultra Change versions of the character.  The spark doll looks more accurate, but the Ultra Change has more articulation.

What's funny is that my two favorite elements of Ultraman Ginga Victory weren't painted on either of the figures: the silver lining on his collar and red lightning designs on the feet. The silver I used isn't as bright as that used by Bandai, but I'm happy with the results.

Painting the crystals on the spark doll's face was not fun. You can see what the spark doll originally looked like here.

Marvel Legends Wasp

If you ever told me there'd be a wave of figures focusing on Hank Pym / Ant-Man, I'd say you're crazy. While the Ultron wave of Marvel Legends isn't exclusively all Ant-Man related, it's as close as us Ant-Man fans will probably get.



Today, we're focusing on the winsome Wasp. Instead of doing a new costume (which might require actual tooling on the body), Hasbro decided on the black and gold costume from the 2000s. Some people complain about the buck they used for this figure, but it's much nicer than some female bodies I've been on the shelves. (Like Toy Biz's Xtreme Rogue and its toothpick thin arms.) Unfortunately, my figure, purchased online, has a bad eye painted on, ruining the nice sculpt.



At first, I thought about re-painting the eye, but then, I found out the Captain Marvel head fits on the head socket. It actually looks nice on the Wasp body, Especially with the tossed hair giving the illusion of movement. So, I painted the hair brown and my sister applied some black highlights.

I'm rather pleased with the results.

Marvel Legends Hellcat

Hellcat is on my list of superheroes I didn't expect Hasbro to make.  She is in good company with characters like The Black Knight, US Agent, 90s Armored Daredevil, and so on. Why? Because they're all characters that Hasbro has made, much to my surprise.

Now, there isn't a lot of appeal with Hellcat. She looks like another cat-themed martial artist super hero and/or villain.  A lot of her appeal (to me) is her personality (especially when written by Kathryn Immonen) and her history.

Her alter ego, Patsy Walker, started out as a character in a line of romance comics in the 40s & 50s and was revived in 1975 as a the superhero Hellcat by Steve Englehart.

I really love the head sculpt for the figure. Head sculpts seem to be the one thing Hasbro won't reuse a lot, except, of course, for the Age of Ultron Captain America. My one issue was the thin yellow pain on her shins, where the blue plastic is bleeding through.

Using a darker yellow paint, I tried to apply a layer to better hide this.  Here are the before and after photos.

Ultra Monster 500 Series Birdon

In honor of Birdon's appearance in the second episode of the new Ultraman X series, here is my custom paint work on the recent Birdon Spark Doll. The sculpt was really nice, but I really wish Bandai had put more effort into using more paint apps.

The gold paint is a little garish, but the alternative is a sickly yellow-greenish color for Birdon's fur. At least all of the chest torso is complete now, and the beak is completely black now.

12th Doctor 3-3/4" Figure Photos

I found the new Twelfth Doctor figure at a random Walgreens about the tail end of December. Here are some random pictures I took. The Capaldi likeness is decent for the scale. The profile is stronger than the front view.  Kudos for using navy plastic/paint for the Doctor's outfit. (It's not black!) His arms are a bit thin, and the one shin piece looks crooked (?!), but overall, I'm happy with it.

One big happy family.

No cracks about the Clara figure, okay?

3.75" Doctor Who Wave 3 Photos & Review

Here are some photos of the new wave 3 Doctor Who figures that came out within the last month:

The Tenth Doctor with Trenchcoat: The sculpt looks like it's based on Tennant's appearance in "Day of the Doctor." The sculpting around the collar and tie look a little underwhelming. I think that's partially because there's not enough paint on the tie's knot, and there should be paint on the part of the tie going around his neck.

The 11th Doctor in Tweed (revised): The one on the left is from wave 2 and the one on the right is from wave 3.  Besides the different jacket opening in the front, I noticed that the newer version's jacket is a lighter color that is a little closer to the actual jacket color.  Also, the face on the newer one is a lot nicer, maybe by luck, and the skin tone is a lot more flesh tone and a lot less yellowish.    

What I did in the end was pop off the hands and head from the new figure, and swapped them for the Purple Coat 11, and now I have a much nicer Purple Coat figure.

And then there's the Gold Supreme Dalek. He's , um, gold.

TMNT Puzzle Erasers - Leo & Raph

I recently found these at my local Target.  I didn't notice that they were erasers, or I probably wouldn't have got them. Available in little poly bags, these are not so much puzzles as they are just rubber models that need assembled.  Each bag is labelled so you know which figure you are buying.

I bought Leo and Raph.  Each figure has their own stance, and their weapons are made of plastic not rubber. So, if you really did use them as erasers, then you'd have their weapons leftover to remember them by. Leo and Raph also have different skin tones, similar to what Playmates does with the regular figures.






Now for the bad.  The overall detailing and paint are pretty generic.  There is a separate piece for Leo's scabbards, so they're not totally lacking.  The paint, though, is pretty sloppy and look like they were applied by, well, me.

But these are erasers after all, and only $2 a piece. For what they are, they aren't bad. I certainly had fun putting them together.

Ultra Hero 500 Series Ultraman Nexus Anphans Mode Review

I was very happy to see Ultraman return to television, albeit briefly, in the form of Ultraman Ginga.  A follow-up series is already on the way, along with yet another new Ultraman. Ginga introduced the toyetic gimmick of Spark Dolls, basically all the Ultramen and Ultra Monsters have been turned into action figures that you can collect. The Ultra Hero and Ultra Kaiju series are Spark Dolls that you can buy.

Before we begin, there are a few things you need to know about the Ultra Hero 500 series:

1. It's made in a 5" scale, smaller than the previous 6" scale that Bandai's been using since, well, ever.

2. This is an economical series, possibly one of the reasons for the scale down, and painting apps are sparse. In Japan, you can buy one of these for the equivalent of $5.00, half of what the 6" figures would cost.  In USA, they are sold up to $12.99, but I won't recommend spending that much unless you're really desperate.

3.  There have been a lot of different Ultramen and Ultra Kaijus released, and despite the scale difference, it's a cheap and easy way to fill in the gaps in your collection.

That being said, we are looking at the new Ultra Hero series version of Ultraman Nexus (Anphanis Mode). Looking at the sculpt, there are a lot of details here.  It's possible that it is actually the older, larger model from 2003, but scaled down. Unfortunately, there is a lot of paint missing to bring out those details. To go over all the missing paint would take much too long, so the pictures are all comparison shots to the older vinyl figure.



The one thing I like about this figure over the old one is that Bandai used a wonderful metallic red paint for Nexus's v-shaped color timer. It looks so beautiful, and my picture did not do it justice.

You can move the arms and the waist, just enough articulation to keep the five-year-old who's playing with it happy. There's isn't much else to talk about.

So, in review, if you're looking for a smaller inexpensive version of Nexus, here it is. If you're wanting a larger, better painted figure, search eBay for the 6" version. If you want one with articulation, contact your local Bandai representative and tell them that their Ultra-Act series needs to get their, er, act together.

S.H. MonsterArts Heisei Mothra Review and Gallery

Even though I'm a big fan of Bandai's S.H. Figuarts and Ultra-Act sub-line, I haven't gotten too excited about their MonsterArts line that focuses on kaiju mainly from the Godzilla movies.  Part of it is the price tag on these suckers, and the other is that currently most of the figures are from the Heisei era of Godzilla films, including this one.

Mothra ("Mosura") was introduced to Japanese audiences in 1961 in the eponymous Toho movie.  When King Kong Vs Godzilla became a huge success, Toho decided to face Godzilla off against one of their own creations, spawning 1964's Mothra Vs Godzilla, a personal favorite of mine. Since then, Mothra has been in many of Godzilla's films, including a brief nod in the newest American one.

This figure is based off the design from 1992's Godzilla Vs Mothra, apparently my sister's favorite Mothra movie. The detailing on this figure is nothing short of breathtaking.  Bandai did a very good job with capturing the color and look of Mothra's body and wings.



The main thing I tried to capture in my photos was the immense size of the figure, even comparing it to the 2011 Revoltech Mothra, which was based on the original 1961 design.  I suppose I was expecting the figure to be closer in size to the Revoltech figure, but its wingspan matches the length of the box it comes in. In other words, it's huge!


On the plus side, there is a lot of articulation.  Mothra's head has a lot of movement. The wings have hinges for you to move them up and down.  Almost everything on Mothra's face is poseable to a certain extent, including the antenna and mandibles.  The legs have multiple joints, and you can even curl Mothra's abdomen, i.e. its butt.  Unfortunately, all of it feels very fragile, and you should handle the figure with utmost care.  The figure does come with a stand.



I had seen pictures of the figure online, but it was only when I broke down and got it, did I realize how great this figure is. Part of me wished I held out in case they make one based on an older design, but it's probably the best representation of Heisei Mothra you'll find available.

Hey! Where's Mothra? I'm supposed to get my picture with her!

To further give you an idea of scale, here are some pictures of the queens of Japanese tokusatsu: Mothra and Mother of Ultra!

Sayonara, Mosura-chan!

Natalie Merchant: Better Late Than Never

In many ways, it's like Natalie Merchant never took a seven year absence.  In her new album, she still produces intelligent lyrics with lush instrumentation coupled with her elegant voice that just seems to get better with time. Her new album feels like the natural successor to 2001's "Motherland" despite the long gulf of years between the two albums.

The self-titled album's main theme shares much in common with her old song "Life Is Sweet."  Many of the songs point to the hardships of life and the importance of enjoying what little happiness we can find and ignoring the bitterness. As things stand now, our hardships seem evident and increasing, and there is nothing that will alleviate it anytime soon.  "It's A-Coming" promises change but only after much suffering and upheaval.

Among my favorites are the glorious "Go Down Moses" and the bold "Giving Up Everything."  This album is very dense, layers upon layers, and it will not likely win you over at first listen, but it is a very rewarding experience for repeat listenings.  It will at least lend you some comfort and, perhaps, a little hope.

Ultraman Taro Warrior of Light (Hikari no Ultra Senshi) Review

With the new Ultraman television series, "Ultraman Ginga," there's no surprise that there is a flood of new merchandise. Besides Ultraman Ginga, I was surprised to find out that Ultraman Taro had a supporting role in the series (as a talking toy, don't ask) and was included in said landfill of new toys.

Ultraman Taro first had his own television series in 1973, but has made several appearances since then, namely 2006's "Ultraman Mebius and Ultra Borthers." He's been one of my favorite due to his unique design.


So, let's take a look at this 6" figure. There is a rubbery feel to Taro, not unlike the rubber suits that make up the Ultraman costumes. The legs feel solid and shouldn't warp over time.  Due to the electronics in its chest, the toy does have a bit of a heft to it.


Now there's virtually no articulation. Okay, the arms move up and down, but they feel a little wobbly, like I could just pull them out of their sockets if I wanted to. But what it lacks in articulation, it makes up in a very solid sculpt.


Taro has a very strong stance. The sculpt captures a lot of the details from the actual suit, including the boots, gloves, and the wrinkles in certain areas.  The head and chest look very "on-model." In other words, Taro is a great looking statue.


A great looking statue that lights up, of course. The whole concept behind the "Warrior of Light" series is that the Ultraman's eyes and color timer light up at a press of a button.  I would have preferred that it be a switch so that I could leave Taro on, but it's minor at best. My only other complaint is that the color timer seems really bright, laser pointer bright.

Overall, it's a great, but immobile, version of Taro. I'm so happy that they even cut out the area in Taro's fin. A lot of companies are too lazy to do that.

Playmates TMNT Stealth Tech Raph & Mikey Review

Okay, so my review for Leo turned into a kiss-up to Playmates.  That's why I've decided to review two more of the Stealth Tech line of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Raphael and Michelangelo.  As stated before, both of the turtles have unique suit and headgear designs.  Playmates even kept the individual scaling the same with Mikey shorter than the others.

For the Stealth Tech line, each Turtle has their signature weapon along with an unique spy-themed device or weapon. Raph, true to his nature, comes with a battering ram to fit his raging temper, while Mikey has a portable listening device, which can hook into his belt. (Either that or Mikey's just listening to his favorite tunes...)

Mikey's design is a little plain with his front armor resembles stereo speakers.  On Raph's back is a portable generator-thingy, possibly for his night vision googles.  His sai(s) rest in his back strap, which is a little snug against the generator-thingy. I wish they'd take the time to list the accessories and give them wacky names like in the original toy line.  Then, at least, people would know what some items the figures came with actually were supposed to be. (I'm talking to you, Donny.)

The only accessory they all share is the zip line.  Clipping it to the back of the character, they can fulfill your darkest Mission: Impossible desires, or just zip them across sofas and other handy furniture. The articulation is close to the original ones, but their front shells aren't softened, so the forward leg movement is limited.

Mikey's design is a little lacking, in my opinion, but they are all fun toys that both adults and kids will enjoy.

Playmates TMNT Stealth Tech Leonardo Review

A lot of the toy companies have been tightening their belts in the last year or so, cutting down on paint apps and articulation.  Playmates, which has been cranking out Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle figures since 1988, has been impressing collectors with its latest line of Ninja Turtles toys based on the recent animated show.

Each of the original, "generic" Turtle figures had their own unique body design and an impressive number of joints.  Unfortunately, the supporting characters suffer more from less articulation and plainer  paint apps to make up for this, but it is nevertheless still quite a feat.

Now, there are two sub-lines of Turtles, basically Turtles with a gimmick. Ooze Launchers and Stealth Tech.  The Ooze Launchers is pretty obvious, and the Stealth Tech series features the Turtles in spy gear. Even in these lines, Playmates goes the extra mile in making sure each Turtle has their own unique outfit and gear.  That brings us, at long last, to our buddy, Leo.

Oh, you're finally going to talk about me, eh?

Leo, like each Turtle in the line, is dressed in black with a harness cast in his specific color, which is blue, of course.  He also has a specific visor which can come up.  The face is based on the animated look and might be the only thing recycled from the previous line.

Leo comes with a new pair of katanas, their sheath, a crossbow with projectile, and a zip-line. All of the accessories are new, and Playmates can afford it, because they cut costs by casting it all in black along with most of Leo's body. Less people are going to complain, because it works aesthetically.



I picked Leo, because he's always my favorite Turtle, and his spy design was the best.  My only complaint is that the sheath piece doesn't fit as tight in the back as I'd like, but it's adequate.

Basically, I like seeing Playmates using their brains to get around these hurdles instead of just dumping quality out the window.

Oh, and this is a really fun toy, too.

Sleath Tech Ninja? Isn't that redundant?