Monday, July 2, 2012

The Avengers 3.75" Grapple Firing Black Widow

The story of how I managed to find this extremely rare figure some 2 weeks back can be read here.


Amazingly, I've been accused of being a scalper for finding and buying a couple of this figure (one for the Rangerlord) and the others I picked up that day.  Well guess what?  I've opened and reviewed the figure like I do for all my stuff, so there!

I do have to concede I was very lucky to find Black Widow.  And I hope all of you hoping to find one manage to hunt one down at retail.  On to the review! ;)





Like: The head sculpt and paint.  It's so good it was the first thing I noticed!  They got her hair right, her face is great, and the flesh tone is smooth and clean too.  Her eyebrows, eyes and lips are all done very sharply and I have to say I certainly wasn't expecting these sorts of standards on a figure, let alone a 3.75" female figure of an actress rendered for the first time in this scale.  great job, Hasbro!

Like: The super articulation.  She's got 25 points of articulation even without a chest joint.  Still, would it have been that tough to give us a waist swivel?  It's kinda bitter sweet that they went to all the trouble to give her legs with seven PoAs but a torso with zero!


Dislike: Despite the fantastic articulation, she's missing one important PoA: the chest hinge/pivot/waist swivel.  Also, her head ball-joint is reduced to a swivel.  Without these two what-I-like-to-call "central" joints, her poses end up being a lot less dramatic than they could be, whatever flexibility in her limbs.  But maybe with my new-found status as Padawan customizer, I'll have to remedy this...imbalance to the Force...

Like: The usable dual hip holsters!  Both are attached to a simple belt that hangs on her hips but sits nicely on them.  I'm glad they didn't glue this down because sometimes it ends up getting in the way of leg articulation.  This way, you can pose Black Widow first, then push the belt down nicely into place. :)

Like: That she comes with two handguns.  It's nice to see some accessories on an Avengers figure--sure, they've all got their BFGs, but those are just for kids to increase the risk of shooting each other in the eye after buying the figure.  Lol.  I ignore these completely and ScarJo's "Grapple" here is no different.  But just for your info, it's the same spring loaded BFG that comes with Fandral out of the Thor line from last year.  And it ain't no grapple, it's a missile! ;P

Dislike: That while her right hand is molded to hold a gun properly with the trigger finger able to fit in the trigger guard, the left isn't.  I really hate it when this happens.  It makes her look like she doesn't know how to shoot with her left hand.  And it's not like they gave her anything else to hold in it. :(

Dislike: That the guns are cast in really soft rubber!  Safety standard?  Perhaps.  But if you're gonna swallow it, it won't matter how hard it is, right?  If you're gonna toss it in someone's eye, it'll still hurt as much unless it's made of sponge or something, right?

Like: The tampographs of S.H.I.E.L.D logos on her shoulders, belt buckle, and zipper are really clear and bold!  They're so tiny, they are easy to miss.  But up close you can see how clean they've been done.  Awesome!

RATINGS



Aesthetics: 9.5/10 - Truly amazing ScarJo likeness.  Even if it wasn't, it would be one heckuva knockout of a female figure.  What's awesome is that the figure achieves this by not needing to have crazy comic proportions--Widow has a real ScarJo-like figure!  Whodathunk the best Avengers movie figure would turn out to be a girl, and one with womanly proportions, at that? :P

Poseability: 8.5/10 - Would easily be 9+ if she had some sort of torso swivel/pivot/crunch joint.  As is, she's still super flexible and can even squat!  Hooray for the double-jointed knees, thigh cuts and hinge/swivel ankle combo!

Sir Mixalot is proud!
These new ankles that Hasbro have developed are a real revelation.  What they've done is reversed the joint: the hinge goes on the lower leg, while the swivel is in the foot.  They've also designed for the post to be inserted into the foot at an angle, so the post goes into the foot like a foot would go into a shoe. So now we have the same turning and pivoting, and the added ability to rotate the ankle, all with the same number of joints!

Fun: 9/10 - Like all highly poseable figures, Black Widow plays well on her own and especially with other figures.  Beating up on Haweye?  Easily done.  Taking on the Hulk?  No problem.  She's highly skilled in hand-to-hand combat, so being able to pull off poses with her PoAs is especially rewarding. Giving her two guns and usable holsters adds to the playability and as a result, the fun factor.  Also, the fact that she looks so much like Scarlett Johansen is a real treat.  I always find it fun when they get actors' and actress' likenesses spot on.  It's just fun to own!



Value: 8.5/10 - Two guns, a dual holster/belt combo, a "grapple" and an excellent head sculpt and paint-job--so good value there.  They didn't skimp on articulation (except for the torso) so that checks out too.  But what makes her worth getting is that she's a chase figure and can only be found one out of every twelve in case.  So yeah, grab her at retail if you see her!

Overall: 8.9/10 - It's a keeper for sure! - The Avengers Black Widow and Hawkeye from the same wave complete the all-star lineup for the summer blockbuster.  That she's been given a great sculpt and paint on top of some brilliant articulation says a lot for the line--they actually bothered to please us collectors!  ;P  Also, any future version of her for this movie will probably use this figure as a base, so that will be a nice way to get her if you can't find her.  But here's hoping that they include more of this version in future waves because that would mean more Black Widow for everyone, and it would also mean more (hopefully new) Avengers movie figures!



28 comments:

  1. I just managed to score Hawkeye myself(after waffled back and forth should i use my limited funds to do so)he was well worth it. And it is not scalping if you are buying for a friend period so the haters need to calm down. Great review and i want this figure now because of it. : )

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    1. Nice! Hawkeye's pretty good, isn't he? Despite the reduced articulation, I have to say the sculpt is excellent. The Renner likeness is also spot on. Glad you got him.

      Oh, and thanks for the support. Here's to good hunting! ;)

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    2. Yeah i dig him alot but i have one gripe with my figure of him that his right leg is very loose compared to the left one but beyond that he is pretty good.

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    3. Oh really? Damn, that's strange considering that the legs are connected through the crotch area--if one is loose, the other should be as well, and vice versa! Would the superglue trick work, perhaps?

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  2. I woild buy Hawkeye & Black Widow if i saw them, totally! All in all, I'm disappointed with the 3 3/4" Avengers line though, with it's reduced articulation. They do look great though

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    1. Yeah, for sure. And the reduced articulation gave me a huge itch to scratch. So I suppose I have to be thankful in some way. Haha.

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  3. Nice review! The likeness on BW is so good, I'm surprised my girlfriend lets me keep the figure on my nightstand! Just kidding.... maybe...

    That last comic was great!

    Have you picked up the Quinjet? It's really nice. Not awesome, but quite decent, IMHO. All I need now is the Super Helicarrier!

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    1. Haha thanks! Is it because you let her keep Hawkeye on her nightstand? ...and Thor...and Cap...and Iron Man...Lol. ;)

      No, I haven't picked up the Quinjet. I'm not too keen, seeing as how it takes up so much space and is pretty costly. Ah, but the Super Helicarrier with Maria Hill, that's something worth a good look!

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  4. Still can't see her or Hawkeye in any of the near toy stores. But in Manila, they have a lot of stocks, I've heard. :((

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    1. Don't worry, hang in there. She'll show up I'm sure. ;)

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    2. Or she already did and the scalpers beat me to it. :O But I asked the sales lady, she said they still didn't have deliveries of the newer waves of the Avengers toy line, so fingers crossed. :)) They're currently full of The Amazing Spider-man toys, and I'm not picking anything more of the toy line. I'm happy with just the Ultra Posable Spidey. :D How about you, did you pick something from the new Spider-man toy line?

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    3. Actually no, not yet. I had a Superposeable Spidey in hand but decided last minute not to get it. And after watching the movie, which I liked greatly, I'm more convinced not to get it because it isn't movie accurate! well, the colours aren't, anyway. ;)

      And cool, fingers crossed you'll get Black Widow. If not, she's due in the next wave with Nick Fury and Hawkeye as well. But again, she'll be one-per-case...

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    4. Hey kimoz17 i live here in the philippines too i went to SM North Edsa and found 1 hawkeye but i guess it's gone now

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    5. @Ewan Oh, hahaha :)) It's sad that all of the toys in the Amazing Spider-man toy line except for the Ultra Posable are for kids. Now Nick Fury's another figure to worry about. If Hawkeye and Black Widow are hard to find, Fury's gonna be a lot harder. XD

      @Anon: Hmmm I'll just wait, he'll come around someday. :))

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    6. @Ewan Btw, any news on a new 3.75" Avengers Hulk? And are you going to make a review on the Avengers Captain America? :D

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    7. Yes, there is! I got Hulk! He showed up two weeks back around these parts. It'll be next up for review most likely.

      Yes, Movie Cap is on the way. So many figures, so little time! ;)

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  5. Hey Ewan when will you do a review of hawkeye??

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    1. Soon! Within the next 5 reviews? Ya sorry, i know I promised to review him sooner. But there are things afoot! :)

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  6. Black Widow's reduced articulation makes me wish that Hasbro would have just used one of the female character sculpts from G.I. Joe. I wonder if they're worried that it would water down the Joes' value if they standardized the sculpts for all their 3.75-in. figures?

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    1. Yeah, the thing is that she's just missing chest joint. If they were gonna make her with double knees and super ankles, why stop there?

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    2. Would the body for the Movie Sif figure (with the necessary modifications, of course) have served as a better sculpt for Black Widow or are they much too different in size and proportions?

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    3. Hm, actually I can't say since I don't have the Sif. I'm still looking to get her though...and it looks increasingly likely I'll have to wit till Thor 2 comes around late next year.

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    4. No more Sifs, Fandralls, Volstaggs, or Hoguns in this part of Southeast Asia (or at least this part of Manila, anyway). All the Thor stuff either got snapped up quick or were severely limited in release at the neighborhood mall since it's not considered a major distribution point. Do you have that same problem in Singapore, Sir Dragonbane?

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    5. Yes, we do. There was still zounds of Battle Hammer and Sword Spike Thor for real cheap (S$5.90) the last time I checked. But I've never seen any of those 4 you mentioned at clearance.

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    6. I saw exactly one each of those four characters when they were still selling at full price during THOR's theatrical run. I doubt if I'll see them at clearance prices unless the malls are holding them in storage for a major sale or something like that.

      It bugs me that the smaller shopping malls either don't get the full complement of figures that come with a certain toy line or don't get them at all. Of course, when the IM2 figures started going on clearance, I did spot two or three Hulkbuster IM's and Comic Series Iron Mongers hanging together on the shelves. So maybe, just maybe the hard-to-find figures might eventually trickle down this way.

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    7. Nah, I doubt the Thor stuff will show up again in department stores. better chance of them in specialty stores, though that usually means inflated prices. The Rangerlord has been to stores in both Manila and Malaysia nd found bargains, though. However I don't know which stores because I've never been myself. :/

      The Iron Man 2 stuff was just awesome because it lasted sooo long. And I think thanks to the popularity of the movie among kids, we got to see lots of waves hit the bigger stores. Even they knew they could still sell IM2!

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  7. I can't believe that I walked into my local toy shop today (in the uk) to get as many figures as I could to get my son a full set. I saw at least 5 or 6 of these black widow figures. They also had several gamma smash hulks and a couple of the loki figures, both have been hard to find over here. All of them reduced to £5.99 (about $9) I obviously got one of each so just need to find hawkeye and fury and decide which of the other movie figures to get!

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    1. Superb! Glad you managed to find them and at a reduced price, no less! If you need an Iron Man, you'd be better off with the Iron Man 2 line figures. Just about anyone of the red and gold armours are better than the Avengers ones. But if you really want the Avengers versions, go for the Fusion Armor Mark VII armour--that's the movie accurate one. ;)

      Skrull Soldier is maybe the only other standout for me, and there's of course the vehicles, of which I like Captain America's Goliath Assault Tank the best. Happy Hunting!

      http://chasevariant.blogspot.sg/2012/04/avengers-captain-america-goliath.html

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