Saturday, June 16, 2012

Thor The Mighty Avenger 3.75" Hammer Smash Thor

It's been more than a year since the Thor movie hit theatres and a good 15 months since the toys hit the shelves.  So that can only mean one thing--it's clearance time for the line! ;)

So I'm minding my own business in the toy section (sheah, right) at the local Takashimaya department store, when I chance upon a whole load of Thor The Mighty Avenger movie 3.75" figures going for clearance at 1/2 price.  Sure, it wasn't the excellent S$5 deal from another department store, OG.  But lo and behold, they had this Thor figure with the helmeted head going for S$9.90.  They also had a bunch of deluxe Blaster Armor Thor (unwanted) and Ice Attack Frost Giants at S$12 a pop.

Army builders!

A couple of Frost Giants and a Thor later, and I'm a happier man. (Does the dance of joy.)  I've been waiting to get the helmeted Thor for a long time now.  Ditto for the Frost Giant army.  And just when I wasn't really looking at all, I find them!  Both and the same time too, to boot.

Am I happy with them?  Hells yeah.  Especially since this helmeted Thor has the proportion of helmet-to-head ratio the way I like it.  You only have to look as far as the Thor 6" Thor figure to find a ridiculously small helmet, while the helmetless version has just been released in the Avengers movie line as a Walmart Exclusive!

So I'm thankful I found Hammer Smash Thor in the wild on the cheap, while not having to agonize over if/when I'd be able to have helmeted/helmetless Thor heads in 3.75" scale!

Like:  The helmet!  It's the right size for me and it's painted a bright shiny silver that matches with the feel of movie Asgardian metal.  Like any of us know what the hell that means.  Lol.  Ok, I guess we kinda all do.

Dislike: The paint on the edge of the helmet is sloppy and spills over onto his face.  It's not a matter of if you can find one that doesn't spill, but rather if you can find one that spills neatly.  I picked out a neat one, but I've seen some with horrendous spillage.

Like: That (besides the head) there are minor changes in the deco from Sword Spike Thor.  It's hard to notice without the figures side by side, but this version has washed armour on the arms and silver circles instead of pale gold on the torso.


I like that these are subtle changes because if you're not inclined towards getting both a helmeted and  helmetless Thor, then you can get one or the other and not really worry if you're missing out.  Look what I did?  I got them both so I'm really not not missing out.  Really!

Helmet Head and Ginger Spice
Like: That the cape is glued on instead of removable like it is for Sword Spike (helmetless) Thor.  This is weird, I know, because it usually means one less accessory or less ways to pose/play with the guy.  But the problem with the removable cape is that it falls off rather easily.  So if you use it to prop the other Thor up, the cape usually falls off while Thor goes crashing down.  In this instance, he stands up real well!  Besides, he'd also look pretty silly with this grand helm and no cape. Lol.

Dislike: His hip armour/panels get in the way of his legs' forward movement.  It's a pity, because the swivel/hinge ball joints they use for the movie figures have all the flexibility and none of the looseness that the Marvel Universe ball-sockets joints suffer from.  But I think what I may do here, in my new found calling as a quixotic customizer, is cut out those panels and glue them to the upper thighs.  Yeah, that job might just solve the problem while leaving his hips protected from his enemies.

Like: I think I prefer the paint decos on this guy then compared to Sword Spike Thor.  The ink-washed mail sleeves are better, for one.  And I do so prefer the way the face been painted beneath the helm.  The slightly worried/determined/perplexed look is not lost beneath all the colour.

Like: His face sculpt!  This is something I should have mentioned earlier because it was one of the reasons I got the guy--the helmet and the face sculpt.  It's the closest to Chris Hemsworth I've seen in this scale.  I have to say it's surprising that it comes with helmeted figure.  I guess I usually expect sculptors to do a better job with less clutter on the noggin'.  But hey, whadda I know? ;)

RATINGS

Aesthetics: 9/10 - Bonus points for the head!  Not just for the perfect-sized helmet, but also for the great face sculpt.  I probably have only ever seen a better one for the actor on a Hot Toys figure.  So at like 5% of the price this is a masterpiece on and of itself.

There's also the small matter of that unpainted neck hinge this line somehow has a problem with.  But I say better a neck hinge than none at all!

I've not mentioned the fantastically sculpted armour with all the intricate details, but there's hardly anywhere on him that isn't covered in some wrinkle or has some sculpted pattern.

Poseability: 7.5/10 - He would definitely benefit from not having his legs blocked by his armour.  Even then, that swivel hinge head and something like 27 PoAs on my count already make this Thor an amazing poser.  Verily.

Fun: 8/10 - I just love my superheroes and mythical characters.  That's probably why I'm liking Thor more and more.  Oh, and there's that movie that I keep watching again and again that has him team up with some mere mortals for a jaunt on Midgaard.  And there's also that older one where he actually tastes mortal-hood for a bit and learns that pet shops don't sell horses.

I think the fun factor for redecoed figures like this Thor is that you can buy them on clearance and then take the best of its parts and swap 'em in on another figure that has other parts you like.  It's a bit of a mix and match but ultimately, you get the "perfect" movie Thor.  It's a page I'm taking out of the Rangerlord's book.  We both have too many action figures and, like everyone out there, are trying to get the "best" version of the characters we like.  So what better way than to do-it-yourself and have some spare parts to kitbash or better yet trade/sell off?  Better yet, you can offer them as giveaways on your site!  Giveways?  well, watch this space! ;)

Value: 7.5/10 - A new head is the only change to a previously released figure.  But it's a good one.  Hammer Smash Thor comes with the standard Mjolnir and the overly fat and nonsensical "sword" that I suppose smashes hammers.  His cape might not come off because its glued on, but if you want to make it removable you could probably try some hot water or take a hair dryer to it.

For the amount I paid for this guy on clearance (more than 50%off), he's a steal!  Of course, I denied myself the pleasure of enjoying the figure and the world of a review for a year just to save some bucks. ;P

Overall: 8/10 - It's a Keeper! - With the way The Avengers 3.75" scale figures turned out, the quality of the older movie figures are really showing through.  It's most obvious with the Thor figures because they pack a highly detailed sculpt with great articulation and the right accessories.

Also, Thor movie figures have so far been the only ones to have the actors' and actresses' likenesses used freely for the face sculpt.  You'd be hard pressed to find that Avengers unmasked Captain America variant and as far as I know, there's no Tony Stark Robert Downey Jr head.  Nick Fury out of Iron Man 2 is in a 4-pack that's also rare, while the new Avengers Fury figure is yet to come of at all.  Jeremey Renner's Hawkeye is set to be shortpacked, while the ScarJo Black Widow is even rarer. All this makes Chris Hemsworth Thor more worthwhile to have!


15 comments:

  1. Great looking Thor figure! I rather like it.

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  2. Ugh, what was I thinking getting Thunder Crusader Thor instead of this? Now all that's left is Axe Attack Thor. -_-

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    1. Thunder Crusader ain't that bad, is it? It's more or less the same, yes? A little more "blue?" I do like the lightning charged Mjolnir though...

      And Axe Attack is an easy pass...

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    2. I like the paint of Hammer Smash Thor better now. XD

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  3. Again, keepin it real on a 3.75" level!

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  4. It seems every department store toy section in Southeast Asia is clearing all the Thor, Iron Man, and Captain America movie figures of their shelves to make room for Spider-Man and Batman.

    Alas, Loki has been hard to find in Manila (I don't know about the rest of Metro Manila, though) so I have yet to carry out my plan to turn Thor's little brother into a somewhat reasonable plastic version of Solomon Kane.

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    1. Ooh, Cap Movie stuff is on clearance there? It hasn't gone that way yet here in Singapore. I'll be checkin' a major department store tomorrow though...

      And yes, they should clear the Avengers stuff too. Lol.

      Well, when you do get around to SK, let me know!--I sure like a look. :)

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  5. All the Cap/IM/Thor Movie stuff at my neighborhood mall has been edged out by Movie Spidey and Transformers Prime toys! The shelves have been picked clean of discounted Caps, Iron Mans, and Thors (although one or two still appear randomly).

    Only the six-inch Armored Avenger figures are holding steady but if they go on clearance too, I'm grabbing Crimson Dynamo and Titanium Man. If the Avengers stuff gets discounted, I'm adding Reactron Armor Iron Man to my shopping basket. Oddly enough, Reactron IM doesn't appear to have any articulation issues (from the waist up, anyway) but that could be because they reused a Movie IM sculpt to make him. If I'm not mistaken, it's the Mark VI/Vibranium Armor sculpt.

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    1. Only Thor stuff has gone on clearance here. IM2 stuff is long gone, but Cap is still holding steady at those places that have it for some reason. Like you said, no price drop on the 6-inchers too. And if they used the Mark VI sculpt for the Reactron armour then that's great news! I might have to pick one up myself...

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  6. I take back what I said about Reactron IM. The articulation points are just sculpt details. Why they didn't just go with a repainted Mark VI is beyond me.

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    1. Ah, that's too bad. I suspect they didn't go with a repaint because many small parts may be more expensive to produce compared to a giant, unmoving one? Anyway, thanks for letting all of us know! ;)

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    2. I wonder: when the next installments of the Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America movies hit the cinemas, will their action figure lines return to their pre-Avengers articulation set-up or is Hasbro set on reduced articulation for all their non-G.I. Joe figures?

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    3. Hey, they've revealed a super-articulated Iron Man Mark XII for the Avengers line. Of course what this means is that it'll probably have the IM2 range of articulation. He'll come in wave 4 along with Nick fury and a Chitauri Footsoldier.

      But you are right. Here's hoping that Hasbro won't let us down when the times are good. They seem to know both collectors and kids well enough, and so far they haven't. Fingers crossed.

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