thevondoom62

[thevondoom62]

Or you were expecting maybe, uhhhh, the Ninja Turtles?

#batman #bruce wayne #leonardo #raphael #michelangelo #donatello #shredder #oroku saki #casey jones #krang #bebop #rocksteady #bebop and rocksteady #shiva shredder #toy photography #toy photoshoot #tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles

[thevondoom62]

I always bring this up when I take pics of one, but I simply do not have many DC figures. Plenty of other comic figures, though! If I only had a Joker, then I could recreate the actual comic crossover between Batman and Spider-Man.

#batman #bruce wayne #spider-man #peter parker #doctor doom #victor von doom #venom #eddie brock #green goblin #norman osborn #shocker #herman schultz #mysterio #quentin beck #kingpin #wilson fisk #baron zemo #helmut zemo #deadpool #wade wilson #carnage #cletus kasady #toy photography #toy photoshoot

[thevondoom62]

I believe it's on record that my preferred color scheme for Batman is either blue and gray or all black. Well, there is something to be said for the combo of black and gray. It's what the character started with and has become the sort of, modern default. So, MAFEX repainting this figure in those colors is kind of a no-brainer.

Alright, my blue and gray Bats is in rough shape, mostly due to my own hands. Trying to glue the cowl down led to staining the cape and trying to fix that just caused more problems. Replacing that cape led to major paint damage on the cowl that bothered me a lot. I could have just bought another if it bothered me that bad (or try to repaint but lol), but I really hate just buying the same figure again. So, might as well get the variant. Found one for a solid price and got it.

It's the same figure, in different colors. With a few improvements here or there. The cowl still feels like it sits high, buuuuut it's better overall. The cape is also easier to manipulate, the wires are placed better than the blue one. I hear these improvements are on the reissued blue ones, alongside a few other changes like the cowl now sits better. Also worth noting, he doesn't have a Bruce Wayne head, but does come with a sweet grotesque base.

I'm very prone to figure bias, so this is already making me like this color combo a lot. Regardless, I suppose I could have waited for the upcoming Knightfall Batman if I wanted another blue & gray Bats, but I'm not really into the headsculpts on those. The defined human ears feel wrong for that era's art. It's like they took the Jim Lee sculpts and just extended the ears. Still, decent chance I end up with that when they release it.

I'm two Batmans in on this line and I hardly have any others DC characters. Just a Harley. Once Bane, Riddler, and Scarecrow show up, though? Well, those three right there are already my faves. Now let's get a Penguin and a better Joker too. It's strange how it seems like Medicom almost consciously aimed for the most divisive Joker variants. Maybe I'll pick up the Golden Age one Mezco is doing, that honestly looks like the best one so far to me.

#batman #bruce wayne #mafex #toy photography #toy photoshoot #dc comics

[thevondoom62]

Miscellaneous fun pics of Shao Kahn doing what he does best: konquering.

#shao kahn #chun li #leonardo #michelangelo #donatello #raphael #shredder #super shredder #oroku saki #meta knight #cloud strife #doctor doom #victor von doom #skeletor #darth vader #anakin skywalker #dormammu #toy photography #toy photoshoot

[thevondoom62]

To challenge Shao Kahn is to challenge death itself.

#shao kahn #reptile #syzoth #scorpion #hanzo hasashi #sub-zero #bi-han #kuai liang #toy photography #toy photoshoot #mortal kombat

[thevondoom62]

I think one of my biggest collecting regrets was passing up the first Storm Collectibles Shao Kahn. After being let down by their original Scorpion and Sub-Zero figures, I swore off the line entirely. After buckling and getting back into it, that remorse hit full force.

I'm finally putting it to rest with their new Mortal Kombat 9 Shao Kahn. This figure actually comes in two flavors. One with the throne and the other without. The throne makes for a VERY impressive display piece no doubt, but one that eats up way too much space. I'd have nowhere to put it or the box it came in for that matter.

Maybe I'll come to regret that too in time, but until then I'm pretty satisfied with the normal version. I think more than the throne, I miss the bonus accessories like the screaming head and green energy spear. Though, I'm not sure how much I need that alternate head since you can hardly see his mouth from many positions with the helmet on.

I was really taken aback by the sheer size here. Storm's figures already hew larger, but this guy is MASSIVE. To the extent he even feels a little too big for the rest of the line. Maybe. Shao's height varies a lot, so it's acceptable and maybe even fudgeable in a slightly smaller scale depending on how monstrous you think he should be.

All in all, it's a really great Shao Kahn toy. One of my favorite villains, I'm more than happy to add this to my collection.

#shao kahn #mortal kombat #toy photography #toy photoshoot #storm collectibles

[thevondoom62]

Being Spider-Man sure isn't easy when you've got to deal with mad doctors, aliens, clones, and goblins, among others.

#ben reilly #spider-man #peter parker #venom #eddie brock #carnage #cletus kasady #doctor doom #victor von doom #lizard #curt connors #mysterio #quentin beck #shocker #herman schultz #jackal #miles warren #scarlet spider #doctor octopus #doc ock #otto octavius #green goblin #norman osborn #marvel #marvel comics

[thevondoom62]

Oh, man, ANOTHER MAFEX Spider-Man? Don't you just know it. I've got an infestation of the things at this point. What can I say? I love a good Spider-Man. This is the Ben Reilly Spidey, the current rerelease of it. Normally, my preferred attire for Ben is the Scarlet Spider costume, but this figure just looked so CLEAN. It's just hard to say no.

What can I say? I've talked about so many similar figures in the past and will continue to do so in the future. It's really fun. I've heard reports of easily damaged paint on the chest logo on this reissue. My reissue Carnage suffered some major issues that were a pain to clean up, but so far Ben Reilly is holding up.

In general, paint continues to be my one consistent issue with Medicom's offerings. I can be rough with my toys, so I expect some wear but this one's alternate head came with some strange paint blotching on one of the lenses right out the box. My Venom had some cracked paint on one of his eyes as well. Classic Spidey's blue paint feels easily worn even compared to others. The spider on Scarlet Spider's hoodie is fading with posing. Carnage, as I mentioned, had a whole lot of easily damaged black paint on his lower abdomen and pelvis. There's more I could list, but just about all of my comic MAFEX have had some problems in the paint department.

Still, I continue to be a big fan of this line. The fun outweighs the problems. I think I even prefer this figure over Scarlet Spider. Recency bias being what it is plays a factor, but again: this figure just looks fantastic. It poses just as well too, maybe even the best of all my MAFEX Spideys. Feels like you get a bit more out of that torso. Overall, I'm totally happy with this.

#ben reilly #spider-man #mafex #toy photography #scarlet spider #toy photoshoot #marvel #marvel comics

[thevondoom62]

Carnage unleashed!

#carnage #cletus kasady #batman #bruce wayne #harley quinn #teenage mutant ninja turtles #leonardo #michelangelo #donatello #raphael #shredder #oroku saki #michael myers #the shape #freddy krueger #ash williams #jason voorhees

[thevondoom62]

Don't these fools know that CARNAGE RULES?

#carnage #cletus kasady #spider-man #peter parker #venom #eddie brock #scarlet spider #ben reilly #shriek #frances barrison #mania #andi benton #green goblin #norman osborn #toy photography #toy photoshoot #marvel #marvel comics

[thevondoom62]

MAFEX Carnage time. When the news dropped that Carnage was getting a rerelease, I was pumped. So much so, I turned to eBay when preorders on every website went out of stock in mere minutes. I'm sure it'll become more available when it actually drops, but I didn't want to risk it. Thankfully, this new release completely tanked the aftermarket and it's much cheaper to get one now if you decide to go that route.

I've been upgrading a lot of my figures to higher end variations lately. Carnage was a character where I wasn't sure if I needed to, but the main thing that finally pulled me in were all those weapon hands. Getting this shows how sorely missed those options really were. They're the highlight of the figure.

Well, either that or just how comic accurate it looks. I think that, of all the MAFEX Spider-Man figures, this one feels the most like it was pulled straight from the pages. Stunningly accurate to Mark Bagley's artwork. This includes that open mouth head, which was something I was VERY iffy on when this figure was first revealed way back when. Sometimes his mouth is drawn like that, sometimes it's not. I've gotten used to it, but it's still a little off putting depending on the angle.

The articulation is really great, the torso and hips being the things that really help him hit some nice poses. Be wary, though, mine has some easily damaged black paint on the pelvis, lower abdomen, and upper thighs. Those being such high traffic areas, this is what it is. Carnage has the kind of design where paint damage isn't quite as noticeable at it would be on say, Spider-Man, and black paint is easy enough to patch up. Still worth noting. I'll also admit that I don't handle my figures with the gentlest touch, so that likely plays a factor in it too.

Overall, I'm still quite happy with this figure. It's really fun!

#carnage #cletus kasady #marvel #toy photography #toy photoshoot #mafex

[thevondoom62]

Vader's Apprentice

#starkiller #galen marek #darth vader #anakin skywalker #obi-wan kenobi #darth maul #although technically i guess those two are actually proxy #proxy #boba fett #luke skywalker #ahsoka tano #darth nihilus #darth revan #emperor palpatine #darth sidious #star wars #toy photography #toy photoshoot

[thevondoom62]

Managed to find a Star Wars Black Series Starkiller out in the wild recently. I've had a bit of a turbulent relationship with The Force Unleashed. I was all-in as a kid when it first came out. I had the graphic novel, the game on Wii, and of course, the toys. I remember finding that Evolutions three-pack at Toys R Us, I was just so excited. TFU hit me at just the right time to seem like the coolest thing ever.

As I grew older, I became much more critical. A lot of the elements in the story started to irk me more and more. It's only recently that I grew to accept a lot of these elements. After all, it's a power fantasy game and a lot of it is deliberately exaggerated, as noted by the devs themselves. Starkiller might seem like a force god, but so is literally everybody else. There's still parts of it I'm not crazy about, but you take the good with the bad. It's still a fun time.

All this without talking about the actual toy. It's pretty good. Regardless of how anybody feels about the game, there's no denying that Sam Witwer gave an excellent performance as always and this figure captures his likeness pretty well. It's not a perfect match, but far better than the Starkiller from that aforementioned Evolutions set. Even back then I thought that figure had one of the worst likenesses I had ever seen, looked nothing like him.

Articulation is solid, but it's a shame that Hasbro is removing thigh cuts from their Black Series figures. Obviously, the knees swivel just as well, but it looks just a bit less natural that way.

Lack of accessories stings, especially knowing there was a (very overpriced) deluxe release that had a ton more. I don't need this to come with everything that one did, but c'mon. No lightning hands at least? The one accessory he does come with, the lightsaber, he can't hold too well if you try to have him hold it upside down like he usually did in the game.

The price point is another point of contention, in part due to said lack of accessories. If I knew this guy was likely to dip in price, I might have waited. I know Starkiller is a very in-demand character so I figured it'd be best to get him while I can for retail price. Overall, much like the game, this figure has definitely its flaws but I do like quite a bit all the same.

#starkiller #galen marek #toy photography #toy photoshoot #star wars #star wars the force unleashed

[thevondoom62]

Green Goblin fighting a whole bunch of other comic characters.

#green goblin #norman osborn #venom #eddie brock #doctor doom #victor von doom #batman #bruce wayne #harley quinn #harleen quinzel #shredder #oroku saki #casey jones #leonardo #michelangelo #raphael #donatello #doc nocturnal #toy photography #toy photoshoot

[thevondoom62]

Green Goblin vs Spider-Man(s)

#green goblin #norman osborn #spider-man #peter parker #scarlet spider #ben reilly #toy photography #toy photoshoot #marvel #marvel comics

[thevondoom62]

Now taking a look at the Mezco One:12 Green Goblin, I've been VERY excited for this to release. Green Goblin's my favorite Marvel villain, and maybe even my favorite villain in general, so I've been wanting a higher quality figure of him for awhile now. The previous Legends ones, as much as I've loved them before, are showing their flaws more and more. Does this live up to the personal hype I was feeling?

For the most part, yes! It definitely turned out much nicer than the promo pics would lead you to believe. I knew that was gonna be the case, though. There's a lot to talk about here. So I'll just try to quickly list off the things I like. Great headsculpts, all of them comic accurate and full of personality. Very good articulation, all of it functions well with only a minor quibble or two I'll mention later. The costume is fantastic, the raised scales look very nice. I wasn't sure if they'd be able to pull that off. Accessories are all fantastic, love that they included some of the Goblin's more off kilter weapons like the frog and the ghost asphyxiation grenade. Glider is also really good.

Now, for the negatives. Heads seem a little big, unmasked ones especially feel kinda large. Not a huge deal, though. The calm Norman Osborn head is a bit off. I think the lips are too pouty. Ab crunch isn't the best, but being buried beneath two layers of cloth will do that so minor quibble. You still get a good amount of range. Wish the glider had support for a ball jointed stand like the Retro ML one. Only thing that one has over this Mezco figure.

Overall, I'm pumped to have this. Hasbro's slacking when it comes to giving us a proper Green Goblin and I'm honestly having a hard time seeing a MAFEX one come to fruition so this seemed like the best option for the foreseeable future. Glad I went for it. Wouldn't mind seeing a Hobgoblin next. Knowing Mezco, we might get one within the next decade. Maybe.

#green goblin #norman osborn #marvel #toy photography #toy photoshoot #marvel comics #mezco

[thevondoom62]

Villains unite!

#spider-man #peter parker #venom #eddie brock #green goblin #norman osborn #carnage #cletus kasady #doctor octopus #doc ock #otto octavius #mysterio #quentin beck #toy photography #toy photoshoot #marvel