Starting Right From the Top!

How else better than to kick off the toy reviews of 2010 here on Chese Variant other than with the first letter of the alphabet?  That right, "A" is for ...

Abomination! (Raarrrrggghhhh!)

This 2008 movie line version of Hulk's nemesis is a beauty to say the least.  What a toy and what a steal at only S$5 (about US$3.60)! I only picked him up on Pre-Christmas clearance because I'd heard (or seen somewhere online) that he was sought after.  The amount of plastic used for this guy...let's just say this fella was heavier than expected in packaging, much heavier.

It's funny how they've treated this (I assume) dead Hulk toy line--we get 4 or 5 different Hulks (Mega Kick Hulk, Power Punch Hulk, Transformation Hulk, Mega Clap Hulk...I think those are the names. Or close to 'em....) But we get only one Abomination!  And he isn't even in scale with the Hulk!  The others clearly are meant to go with 3.75" figures, as evidenced from the Hulkbuster that comes with Mega-Kick Hulkand the Hulkbuster Hummers, which is right at home with GI Joes in it. Abomination is definitely in the 6" scale.

It also boggles the mind that A-Bomb here has 28 points of friggin' articulation, while the Hulks I mentioned above are lucky to even have half of what this guy has.  The only movie Hulk figure that matches up in terms of articulation is the Target Exclusive 2008 Movie Line Hulk (I think he's a 40th anniversary special edition too?). But as far as looks go (yes, I'm comparing the looks of the Hulk and the Abomination. Go figure.) A-Bomb here turns out to be the more movie accurate and proportionate.  Unfortunately, that Hulk has really long arms!





So click on the link to check out more pics as we talk Hu....er...Abomination!

Like: The awesome look accurately translated into plastic.  I just saw the movie again last week after getting one of my cousins the blu-ray (or should we say green-ray? Heheh.) For the first time I saw every detail of each of the two Big Green Behemoths clear as day on high-def and began to appreaciate the design for Tim Roth's Abomination.  This figure captures the hard boney spine and othe skeletal protrusions so well.  I mean, just look at his big toes in the pic above.  No, they're not individually articulated.  But don't they look charmingly awesome? :P

Like: Check out that face that only a mother could love.

Like: How about that Sexy Back?

Like: Poseability! This guy is as good as I've seen in the 6-7" range.  He's even got swivel/hinge wrists, meaning he can use the martial moves he likely learned in the special forces even when in his mutated Abomination form. The balance of Abomination is also very, very good. Good enough to do a side-kick, with or without hands!

Dislike: That he really doesn't have a decent enough Hulk from the same line to match, though I think Marvel Legends Face Off Hulk (with Leader in 2-pack) might measure up in height (and definitely in looks. Hah.)

RATINGS

Aesthetics: 9.5/10 - Hasbro've done a great job with the paint, especially on the eyes and the spiney protrusions. The details of the sculpt are awesome, and you can see how thay made every inch of his hide look leathery and tough--all this is in the sculpting! He does lose a little bit of points in the expression department. He'd look better with more of a sneer rather than the uneasy half-grimace he has.

Poseability: 9.5/10 - Perfect for a 6" scale figure, except that the rough tough hide of the shoulders prevents Abomination from raising his arms more than 90 degrees at best.  With 7 points of articulation in each arm, this shortcoming is made up for somewhat--but while you can pose him so his arms are raised way up above his head, he's still missing the motion between arms parallel to the ground and the fully raised position.



Fun: 9/10 - I only just go the idea to pose him together with the Marvel Legends Face Off Hulk but before that I was scarthcing my head and wondering how he'd fit in with the rest of my figs.  He doesn't go with  the rest of the movie figs stuff size-wise, and he ceratianly will not look right alongside my DC Universe Classics despite being in them. But with a figure as poseable as he is and with the crushed steel pipe accessory he comes with, I can see him in a knockdown, dragout battle-royale with the Jelly Green Giant (Hulk).  The problem here is finding the right one, in stature and poseability, and also detail.  Now I don't collect Marvel Legends but thankfully I do collect Hulks (even the Marvel Legends. Lol.

Value: 10/10 - Definitely full marks for this guy since he only cost me less than a cup of coffee at Starbucks.  (Yeah, those guys.) But even then, I'd say he's worth his weight in plastic (I think one of him equals 3 movie Hulks in weight) and he comes with a breakable crushed steel pipe. An accessory that really adds value to him despite being only a pipe. Did I mention it was breakable?

Overall: 9.5/10 - I got this guy for a few reasons, the chief of which was because he cost almost next to nothing. He's also harder to find since he's a villain (somehow the villains seemed short-packed compared to the heroes in movie lines) and he's heavy! He's also a 6-incher that comes with an accessory. And if you're a Hulk fan like me, then you'd also wanna find some playmates guys he can bash up for him.  2008 Movie Abomination fits the bill pretty damn well.