Captain America The First Avenger 3.75" Super Combat Captain America

Why is this Movie Series Cap called "Super Combat"?

Because regular combat just ain't good enough!

Oh, yeah.  In order to fulfill the title, ol' Stevie Rogers here needs his toys!  And boy does he have them: spankin' space-age soft plastic Vibranium shield, groovilicious gun, and Holycow Hard Helmet!

The funny thing about this figure is that I knew I wanted it.  But when I was making the call to the specialty store to put him on reserve, I didn't actually know he correct name for him and couldn't get online to find out.  I tried telling the guy it was the movie Cap, but he wasn't sure which that was.  So I tried Heavy Duty Cap, Big Bad Combat Cap, and even Final Battle Cap. Yes, I couldn't have been further from the correct name.

But it all turned out well because when i went down to the store to pick up the Movie Cap stuff that I actually got the names right for, he was still in stock.  So a shimmy, swoop, and a tuck-and-roll later, he became part of my haul.  True, I didn't have to resort to acrobatics, but I couldn't chance someone else springing from the shadows and nicking SC Cap from me.  Sure, they did have more than one of this guy in stock, but what can I say?  Where else was I gonna show off my years of imaginary super hero combat training?  I can't do it here in cyberspace, that's for sure.  But what I can do is review the figure! ;P

Captain America The First Avenger 3.75" U.S. Agent (Comic Series )

I always wondered why there was a U.S. Agent.  I'd understand if he was a Captain America villain but he's really one of the good guys.  He did beat Cap in their first ever fight though.  Heck, he's even taken down Iron Monger.

Perhaps he stands for something in American politics, like for the Democrats to Cap's Republicans?  But if that were the case, why name him John Walker, as in after the Scotch Whiskey?  He's even got "Jack Daniels" listed as one of his aliases.  Seriously.  Someone was obviously drinking when they came up with his secret identity.

But I've always been a sucker for characters that seem like a poor man's version of the real thing.

I mean, Optimus Prime is my favorite Transformer but Ultra Magnus is so annoyingly lovable for the Wannabe he is.  I love Captain Marvel (Shazam!) out of DC, who started out as Fawcett comic's answer to Superman.  I like Captain America as much as the next guy but U.S. Agent?  There's something bootleg about him that I dig. Yeah, it's all about piracy.  GAARRRRR!!!

So uh, yeah...Yeaheaheaheah, party in the U.S.A...gent?

And Winner of Crimson Dynamo is...

Yes, the correct answer is Crimson Dynamo!

And after rolling my trusty 13-sided dice from the Chase Variant bag of odd-sided die, the winner is...

Dill!

Congratulations!  You won't see his entry on the contest page because for some reason he couldn't post on it, so he posted on the original Iron Man contest post.

I'll need you to email me your name and address at ewanmah@hotmail.com so I can ship the figure to ya! ;)

For those of you who haven't won--and that's like everyone except Dill and the Amazing Spider Wes (Grogan)--fret not!  More contests are coming up and with more chances of how to boost your entries.

Thanks for reading, all of you, and for sticking around!

It's Good to be a Dad...

This Thing is Heavy!

Naw, it's great!

Then again, it's got to be the best job in the world.

Not only do I get to see my son grow up, his smiles and the new things he learns each day, but I also get to learn a little bit more about how my own Dad had to take care of my brother and I when we were the same age.

Absolutely the best job in the world!--I can't wait until he asks me for his first action figure. ;)

And as if I weren't lucky enough just to be a Dad, the wife and the little boy got me this for Fathers Day!

Come to think of it, he kinda looks like my buy when he's hungry. Heheh.

Well, I wasn't to be outdone, no sirree.

So I picked myself up the latest loose offerings from Davetoylet at the local Sunday Flea Market:

DC Universe Wave 17's White Lantern Hal Jordan and Yellow Lantern Scarecrow!

I hope all of y'all out there, fathers, step-fathers, foster fathers, Godfathers, grandfathers, great-grandfathers, All-Fathers, and pimp daddies have a mighty fine Father's Day too! ;)

Marvel Universe 3.75" Classic Avengers 3-Pack: Avengers Assemble!

They lied when they said this was a 3-pack!...Because this is a 6-pack!

Yes, Ant Man, Wasp, and The Flying Ant (it deserves caps too) are included in this set, which boasts some newly sculpted parts, lots of great re-use, and a whole lot of whopping bang for your buck.

Just how did I get this so early, you ask?

Well, I was doing nothing one day as I am wont to, when I get a call from the mysterious Rangerlord.  He was on one of his ranging trips overseas in the Philippines blah, blah, blah, but mentions he stumbled upon this set!  He'd already picked up some of the newest Transformers from the Generations and Reveal The Shield line on the cheap for me, so I hesitated when he said he'd found this awesome 3-pack.  Can you believe it?  I hesitated!

But he snagged it all the same for moi, that good ol' buddy o' mine, and man has it turned out to be much more than I expected.  What are you waiting for?  I couldn't wait to open this despite all the Captain America, Thor and Green Lantern goodness I was neck deep in.  Click on the jump, dudes and duddettes!

And The Winner Is...

*Drumroll*

After using the trusty contest random-winner-picker, the winner of Chase Variant's 200th Post Contest Extravaganza I is.....

*Drumroll*

Wes Grogan!

Congratulations, Wes!  You were chosen by the lucky 9-sided die and win this here fancy pants figure on the right.

For the record, there were 9 entries, all of which had the correct answer.  And if you look at how Hasbro names the figure, I'd have accepted "Iron Man" as an answer.  But thanks to al of you who entered this site's first ever contest and commented.

Oh yes, Wes--you also have one brand new but loose flimsy cardboard crate heading your way! ;)  I'll just need your mailing address, which you can either email or Facebook me.

Since we had so much fun doing this contest, let's keep the ball rolling and head straight into the second contest ever right here on Chase Variant! It shall henceforth be dubbed:

200th Post Contest Extravaganza II!

Ground Rules

1) If you win the contest and you're overseas (i.e: anywhere else in the world but in Singapore), you'll still receive the figure for free!  I'll cover the shipping cost, including shipping materials.  I may opt to open the toy (something I'm very good at) and remove the bubble, especially if shipping gets too steep.  But I'll ship everything else from the card to the inserts if you like. ;)

2) If you live in Singapore, there's no definitely shipping charge--we'll arrange for a meet up so I can shake your hand, hand you the prize, and let the media (aka me) take a few snap shots. (Just kidding, no photos necessary.  Lol.)

Contest Rules

There's a couple of things you have to do in order to enter.

Firstly, identify the toy in the pic on the left!  Yes, it is your prize. And yes, this one's tougher than the previous giveaway.  ;)  Here's a clue: I reviewed this 3.75" villain on the old Articulated Discussion site.  He's not been ported over to the new site but Wes and Dr Nightmare are working overtime to get the old stuff to the new location (among a hundred other things. ;P)  I actually have two of this figure because the first one I got, I ended up boiling away some of the color on his legs and then screwing up his hips by mucking up the super glue trick.  So that's your other clue. ;)

Secondly, once you've identified the prize in question, reply to this post and tell me what the toy is!  Each correct answer will receive one chance to win.  But that's not all--you can double your chances if you recommend someone else to Chase Variant and get them to follow it.  (You'll have to let me know who you recommended in your post and I'll double your entry once they've followed!  It's that easy.  For you, that is!  For me it might turn out to be a mathematical nightmare. ;P)

Well all that's left now is a closing date!  Let's call it a week and a bit from the time of this post, that's 2am Singapore time on Monday the 20th of June.  (That's GMT +8.)

So without further ado, let the games begin!

DC Universe Classics Green Lantern Wave 2: Medphyll and Naut Kei Loi

It's only 8 days to go till the Green Lantern Movie hits the screens over in this part of the world!  And that means I'm about to fail my objective of reviewing all my DCUC Green Lantern Wave figures. Hah!  But look!--I got one more of 'em done over at Articulated Discussion.

So head on over there to check out what the Green Lantern Corps is offering on ts lunch menu--that's right, raw Broccoli and boiled fish!  Bleargh!  But I'm sure it's safe to say that this is one instance where the toy might taste better than the actual...uh...characters. What the hell am I talking about?  I don't know either!  So scoot!!! ;P

Captain America The First Avenger 3.75" Ultimate Captain America

 (**Just a short message for you loyal readers: if you missed it, I'm running the first ever contest on Chase Variant to commemorate my 200th post.  Mosey on over to join in the fun if you haven't already!  If you have, then on to the Ultimate Cap review!  ;])

Comic Series, of course!

The Captain America First Avenger Movie Line continues the tradition started with Iron Man 2 figures with sub-series categories: Movie Series, Comic Series, and Concept Series.

I personally love these because you can tell whether you're getting something from the movie (especially if the flick hasn't hit the cinemas yet), or you're getting something that's been in the comics and has now come to (plastic) life.  It's also especially cool when they label a figure a "concept" because that means the toy makers took it upon themselves to imagine something beyond both film and print and deliver it to us.

It's just like when we were kids and we would imagine something up, whether it's a new hidden laser on Iron Man's armor or Green Hulk with Banner's intellect, or Spiderman not needing web cartridges and growing four more arms (since the 80s the latter two have happened, of course! ;P)

Ultimate Captain America is far from being just a concept figure.  In fact, he probably single-handedly revived the original Cap's reputation by being as kickass as he is in the Ultimates Comic book series when Mark Millar and artist Bryan Hitch started the ball rolling.  How cool is he?  He's actually taken down the Hulk in one one one combat (more or less)!

He's also so cool that he's got his awesome theme song.

Needless to say, the Ultimates Cap character is my favourite Cap!  Will he be capable of becoming my fave figure as well?  Let's see! ;)

200th Post Contest Extravaganza!

Well, it's taken me 2 whole years and a bit to get to this mark!  To be honest, I never expected I'd last this long or review this many toys.  But here I am!

In order to celebrate this momentous occasion, Chase Variant is having its first ever contest!  Yes, it's not a trick nor a hoax. Yes, the can-never-hold-a-contest-to-save-my-life SirDragonBane is finally giving away free stuff.  What a stingy bastard I've been, eh? :P

Let's just lay down a little ground rules before we start:

1) If you win the contest and you're overseas (i.e: anywhere else in the world but in Singapore), you'll still receive the figure for free!  I'll cover the shipping cost, including shipping materials.  I may opt to open the toy (something I'm very good at) and remove the bubble, especially if shipping gets too steep.  But I'll ship everything else from the card to the inserts if you like. ;)

2) If you live in Singapore, there's no definitely shipping charge--we'll arrange for a meet up so I can shake your hand, hand you the prize, and let the media (aka me) take a few snap shots. (Just kidding, no photos necessary.  Lol.)

Ok, so let's begin!