Feature: Diamond Select's Battle Beasts - Series 1

This is one heck of a delayed review...I must admit this was one series that I was incredibly torn about.  When I initially heard about these guys being released (like 2 years ago) I was eagerly awaiting seeing them drop on the pegs, then time passed and I lost interest, then they reared their heads at Comic Con last year and I saw human characters and that they were going to be comic shop, on-line exclusives which completely turned me off to the series and I set my sights on the Takara Beast Saga imports (which I ordered two of and was kinda disappointed in) then I saw that these guys were being released as Toys R Us exclusives minus the humans with two additional beasts with, in my opinion, better paint schemes.  I heard of a January release date and religiously searched the TRU website until one day, BOOM, the series pops up.  I packed Little Luke into the car and we headed off a few weeks back.  I snagged the entire series except for the re-pack of Vorin the Ram who I may buy again just for the new paint scheme and the pretty cool Scorpion bad guy, Scorpus (nice name, not.)

Mint on Card

 

They have your classic Minimates look but one thing you may notice is that these guys really don't look all that much like Minimates.  Art Asylum and Diamond Select did a great job creating some truly innovative unique sculpts to make these guys have very animistic qualities rather than just being straight-up anthropomorphous men painted up like animals. In the bottom left corner you see the Comic Con exclusive, Vorin vs. Zik (the fly, mosquito?)  Each box has the banner of Vorin, Gruntos and Merk (our heroes) in a Battle Stance. On the side of each character on the box is a nice cartoon style head shot of each character in true minimates fashion.

Packaging Out of the Box

Above is Merk and Spidron.  I'm fuzzy on character origins and the comic that has been released but I know Merk is the good guy and Spidron is the enemy character.  This set by far has the most extra accessories.  Your characters have a mess of holes on them to attatch weapons to their gear and/or bodies... As you can see, Spidron has detachable arms and a read stinger.  Take a look at Merk's legs though...my biggest gripe about the series is one of the nicest touches the made to the characters and that is skinny legs, that have reversed calf portions.  I'm thinking to make them look more animal accurate.  They look really good but they are not that easy to stand beyond one or two poses.  I personally think all minimates should come with nice clear, plastic stands. The weapons are made with painstaking detail and the paint applications are really spectacular.  These photos just can't do the facial detailing justice either.

Gruntos and Scalex ...(oops I meant, Scalpus, seriously doesn't "Scalex" sound way better for a snake bad guy???)  are the next guys we'll look at.  Very cook designs and you can see what I mean about detailing a little better since I was able to tighten up on the focus in this shot.  The weapons look really nice and Scalpus especially has weapons that really bring me back to the old Hasbro Battle Beasts.  These both stand really nice and are quite sturdy.  My issue here which doesn't even apply to me is that, as figures, these guys are supposed to have interchangeable parts for combinations and for kids to have fun with their minimates.  These two guys are pretty much as is.  I tried a bit to swap some parts and it's not too doable.  I don't plan on messing with these guys constructions so it doesn't bother me one bit.

Antalor and Nychirix are my favorites, hand's down.  The photos that were released of these two guys are pretty much what sparked my interest in the series again.   They were late figures beyond Gruntos, Vorin and Merk and their pictures didn't surface until about a year later. The facial detailing is amazing and Nychirix's face is great with an articulated jaw. (nice touch) The only thing that I found a problem with in this set is Nychrix's arms are very still and the first pose I tried to make in extending his wings almost broke his arms which came off really easily.  Antalor has a nice viking axe, a three way boomerang and a tusk horn.   Super cool.

Finally, here is my San Diego Comic Con Exclusive promo set of Vorin the Ram and Zik.  Vorin has had numerous paint variants and styles and this one's main difference is in his cape which is torn and windswept looking...There is also a pretty cool stealth version of him in darker blues, greys and black.  His weapons fit in his hands by far the easiest of all the beasts and the sword comes in a great looking scabbard that attaches to his back.   Zik is my least favorite of the group and doesn't really have much going on.  no weapons, pretty basic Minimate body that the just stretched and added a set of arms to.  His wings are very well made and look truly translucent though. Hats off to Art Asylum's great figures... My buddy is trying to score me an autographed copy of the amazing promo poster by Ulysses Farinas.  Now lets compare these new reinventions to the old Hasbro Battle Beasts.  Granted, these two franchises are supposed to be completely unrelated but any toy collector worth their salt would be hard pressed not to make instant comparisons.  One other thing, the Diamond Select guys even have a more BB feel to them than the Beast Saga revamps...The monochromatic pupil-less eyes say it all.

Spidron and Web Slinger Spider

Nychirix and Blitzkrieg Bat

 

Merk and Harrier Hawk

Zik

Gruntos and Wolfgang Walrus

Scalpus and Triple Threat Snake

Antalor and Major Moose

BS05 Eredoramu and BS06 Long Tsurafu Takara Beast Saga Figure Impressions and more related Battle Beasts news

 

Got home yesterday from work to the lovely sight of  a Bigbadtoystore box sitting on the porch.  I went in on a joint order with my buddy (whose G1 and He-man collection I featured in my Skywarp review) who got the commemorative Seacon reissue set, I grabbed two of the new Beast Saga figures and a used G1 Onslaught Figure.  I had my eye on the Takara edition of revitalizing the Battle Beast line.  It's actually been a good year for these little guys as numerous companies have been throwing their hats in the ring; be it Takara, Diamond Select or Glyos. I picked out the two current releases who by far looked the most appealing.

 

 

 The elephant  (BS05 - Eredoramu) and giraffe (BS06 - Long Tsurafu) were my two favorites so they were the ones I went with. These look like the contemporary upgrades to the original Battle Beasts "Sledgehammer Elephant" and "Rubber-neck Giraffe" respectively.   I have been seeing less than enthralling reviews of this new line over the past few weeks and I just don't see what the issue is. I really like everything about these guys from the realistic sculpts to the intricate artwork on the packaging. They come with a super detailed card and a pair of red and blue dice which can be launched from their chests to play into the more gaming side of the figures and franchise.   They have expertly designed little bone-like animal icons on the dice along with a set of number values to play the card game. Not my cup of tea but I think the chest piece designs work in lieu of the original hologram elemental rub-signs as there is translucence and luminescence which results giving a cool effect.   They come included with a edged weapon and shield (a bit too small in my taste) but it was refreshing to see the weapons received individual unique sculpts.

The paint detailing on the specific parts of these figures is a major part where the care shows through.  You can really see this on the skin patterns of the giraffe and on the elephant tusks and the cannons on his armor however I would have liked to see a more weathered look them.  One thing many reviewers and fans alike pointed out beyond the lack of rub signs was the lack of the monochromatic eyes as these figures have pupiled eyes.  This doesn't seem like all that big a deal for me although I noticed the Diamond Select Battle Beasts stayed true on the eyes.  Nothing makes an anthropomorphic animal warrior look ten times more badass than white slit eyes...I mean compare the Eastman Ninja Turtles to the animates...no question, right?  Another difference is the size because compared to the originals, they are bigger and bulkier with the added armor and newly articulated (and interchangeable) legs.  This makes little difference in pose-ability because they pretty much can just stand up straight. Overall: They are sweet new editions to an awesome 80's franchise and I cannot wait to grab the Alligator, Turtle, Kangaroo and Rabbit (to name a few) when theyroll out.

Speaking of the Diamond Select figures due out in what I'm hearing now is January of 2013.  I just saw some pretty impressive shots from the Battle Beasts facebook page and boy do they look a lot nicer than the SDCC peeks.   A shot of a new bat figure made it out and it is told he will be a TRU exclusive paired with a moose figure as yet unseen.  I know I made some less than flattering early impressions on this line but I gotta say, I'm throwing my hat behind them again.  The walrus, scorpion, snake, and hawk look pretty cool too especially not next to the human figures.   Also for anyone heading to NYCC for Saturday Sunday this weekend, Ulysses Farinas will be there to sign some Battle Beasts comic prints should anyone be interested.  (I went on his website and saw a cool as hell Cobra troopers print he's working on...love that fine, detailed, Geof Darrow style for any Rusty and Big Guy fans out there)  My buddy is heading there and (praying to God) might be able to snag me a signed print.

Could this be Diamon Select's answer to "Blitzkrieg Bat"?

Weekly reviews! 2012 TMNT figures and Avengers Minimates!

I made a couple quality purchases this week that didn't require checking my mail, tirelessly browsing Ebay or having to access my Paypal account!  These last 2 weeks actually had me going to a Toys R Us and finding something worth buying twice!  Actually, there was a third time as I actually had a Fall of Cybertron Shockwave in my hand and I put it down...big regret there since that line seems like it's going to be rare as hell.  Additionally, I finally broke down and ordered two of my long overdue Star Wars Vintage Collection figures. (got them both for 20 bucks with shipping included...score!)   Very soon, a Luke in Hoth Gear and Wedge Antilles will be getting their 7 month late reviews! 

Do the new Tutles measure up??? Let's find out.

But as for the two things I DID get, they were some nice ones.  I got what appeared to be the last set of Minimates Avengers that any local TRU seems to be carrying and the 2 pack was of Hawkeye and Black Widow, the two lesser popularly known members of the Avengers Initiative from the blockbuster summer film.  I also managed to find two of my favorite Ninjas, Leonardo and Donatello, from the quickly selling Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line by Playmates.  They will get a bit more attention in this post as seeing an honest to God TMNT display with proper attention paid to it instantly rocketed me back to 1989 and it's been a long, long while since I was so excited to buy a toy.

Some fine packaging houses these two great figures.

Black widow comes packed with functioning holsters

Hawkeye's got an alternate face and working quiver

The Minimates were super cool.  The pair came packaged in a Toys R Us exclusive box with nice illustrations of the Avengers team on the peg flap and two Minimate illustrations of the individual characters on the bottom corners.  The flip side of the box has a nice shot of the entire Avengers Collection. (Wish I could find the Iron Man, Hulk, Captain and Thor sets) They were very well produced figures with super detailed costume art on their body parts with nice hair attachments.  Black Widow comes with a twin set of handguns and Hawkeye comes with 3 arrows and a bow.  Whats really cool about his weapons is that his arrows can fit in his quiver and the one he's holding has a slot to fit into his bow to make some nice poses.  He also comes with two interchangeable heads; one with goggles, one without.  My only gripe is that with most Minimates and it pertains to their ability to stand.  I wish they all either had bigger feet (a la the Sentinel) or got clear plastic stands (a la Ryu) since most of these will be sold to a collectors market.  Overall, nice purchase.  If  you like comics, get 'em.  If you like the Avengers, get 'em.  If you like toys, get 'em!

 Ahhh... so nice to see Playmates has still got the touch!

I did like the packaging a lot more on the old figures though with the triptych of our hero or villain springing across the cardback.

They even have a nice little fold out "collection guide"...totally threw me back to the old Kenner Books you would get in a vehicles or playset!

Onto the star of the show today. That's right, my reboot Ninja Turtles! Thanks to Shezcrafti for posting that new theme song footage which I thought of the entire ride to TRU on Thursday. I already stopped at one location to find the shelves swept clean. I was pissed off but a little happy that these guys are getting an enthusiastic response. I saw that they had all four turtles, Splinter, April and Kraang. Kraang looks bad ass btw. April and Splinter don't thrill me. I didn't want to go hog wild so I paced myself and grabbed Leo and Don. Got em home, admired the packaging for a while and opened them up the next day. The packaging has nice artwork supporting the up and coming series with your rank and file stat card on the back and your "Collect em all" display of the series 1 Turtles figures. I tell you, this whole thing is just great. I'll say again, it had Birthday, Christmas morning, and trips to K-Mart with my mom memories pouring into my consciousness. (and really, it was just a great feeling to finally have a toy line available in stores to be psyched about again)

Lookin bad ass as per usual!

Weapons fit nicely into place.

These figures are actually really well made.  They are finely detailed with little battle scars on their undersides and shells.  Their bodies are made of a softer plastic while their shells are hard. They have 11 points of articulation and have balljointed necks, shoulders, elbows, groins and knees. There are fine paint detailing on their leg, knew and elbow wraps as well as little gold touches on their buckles on their weapon harnesses which fit snugly into place.  Their weapon kits are beautifully sculpted with actually variance to their weapons instead of the same set each figure got on the Gen 1 Playmates figures.  (Don get a Naginata,  San Setsu Kon Nunchaku and two large disk shaped Shuriken...Leo gets three 8-pointed Shuriken's  pointed, a tang dagger, an additional katana and a set of 3 kunai knives.  I like how the weapon kits match the skill set of the specific turtle as well.

You get some amazingly detailed and varied weapons here next to the 80's set on the left

                

                     I Always wanted Leonardo to be able to do that!

              

Both editions have their strong points but I'm really liking these new guys a lot

I love that they kept the original look of the faces on the turtles with the opaque white eyes following the original toys and the Laird/Eastman comics.  Never liked the pupils on the Toon Turtles...it just made them look goofy. (Wish they made red bandanna variants)  They are very stylized with big, sturdy feet (3 toes this time!) over large calves and forearms in a caricatured manner.  Their faces are badass but I did notice two griping points.  The first being that they are nowhere near as detailed or dark as their prototypes are on the leaked production photos. Also, I was under the impression that their weapons were going to be in color (detailed on the bo grip, the sword grips, the chain on Mikey's nunchucks, etc.) Here they are only solid plastic in their mold color.  All in all they are tiny gripes and the positives way outshine the negatives.  I like the variant in each turtles skin (although not nearly as dark as the classic G1 Turtles as you can see in the compare shot)  Also, you cannot remove their belts unlike their earlier versions. I never liked that about the old ones so that works for me.  Gone are the "L", "D", "M" and "R" buckles as well.  Again, works for me.  They are super textured with muscles flexed, grit on their hides and folds in their wrappings.  All in all, totally worth the buy and I cannot wait to get the other two and a Foot Soldier!