A Blob (of hollow plastic)!

Wolverine: Origins movie Wave 2 Sabertooth and Blob with throwing action may look like you're getting a 2 pack of Marvel Universe goodness but sadly, you're not.

Not that the set is bad or anything, but for the price of S$31 I thought I would have been getting 2 fully articulated figures. So while Sabertooth is a simply awesome repaint of Back Road Brawl Sabby Cat, Blob is, literally, a tool. Yup, he's an accessory you can use to launch Sabertooth or any of the other Evil Mutants who are willing to be launched at the good guys.

Well, Mel got me this toy when she went up to Bangkok for a work trip--the 2nd wave of the movie toys didn't make it to Singapore so I was delighted to get this. Thanks, Dear!

Blob's got swivel/hinge shoulders and a swivel hinge neck and that's it. He's also got a spring loaded dual arm throwing action but the rest of him is immovable. The irony. Maybe Hasbro meant for it to be a cruel, cruel joke. Ha, I see the funny side but somehow can't bring myself to laugh.

The paint and detail on the "figure" is great, though, and if it was a full action figure, it'd be the biggest girth-wise, bigger than even the Hulk.

Sabretooth, on the other hand maybe a repaint, but this version has longer hair and red eye shadow that's more in line with the comic books. His costume also has a duller, matte finish, and his mane and hair are not as well washed as the BRB version. So go for this guy is you prefer comic book Sabertooth. :)













Ratings!

Aesthetics

Blob: 9/10 - He's actually very nicely done. His hair and eyes and that really gruesome smile. Something that both figures in the pack share.

Sabretooth: 9/10 - Gotta love the changeup in the hair. I may prefer BRB Sabertooth, but I can appreciate the lighter tone of the costume to go with the lighter tone of the hair/fur and even the red eyeshadow. His colour tine may be lighter, be this Sabby is no less sinister.





Poseability

Blob: 3/10 - 3 points for Blob's only 3 joints; two shoulders and a head.

Sabretooth: 9.5/10 - How can I give him less than BRB Sabretooth? I can't, I can't! But I did. ;P

Fun

Blob: 8/10 - Most of the points lost here come from not being poseable at all. His gimmick of throwing Sabretooth I'm not too taken with either as he needs both hand to do this (they're connected in his torso). If you want one arm up you have to straighten the other shoulder parallel to the ground to prevent the raised arm from moving. (The muscle sculpting jams the thrwoing motion somehow).
Sabretooth: 9/10 - Bears most of the fun points for this pack. Lots of fun posing him with brown and yellow Wolvie. :)

Value: 8/10 - combined for this pack. A regular singles figure retails for S$ 18. So 2 figures for $30 or thereabouts would be awesome. But Blob's not a figure, not really. So $18 for Sabertooth is fine, but $12 for an accessory (cos that's what Blob is) is not.

Overall: Blob - 7/10, Sabertooth - 9/10 - I suppose I may be judging The Blob by actioan figure standards when clearly, he's not one. But I'm sure Hasbro could have taken the trouble to do away with the gimmick and give the guy some better articulation. As is is the comic 2-packs cost the same price. Why deny us a potentially great figure?

This "2-pack" still hasn't been seen in retail here, but the others in the wave have--Deadpool with BFG, Wolverine with blue bike (repaint of Back Road Brawl Wolvie), and Weapon X in Adamantium Fusing Chamber. So if you're a Blob fan, maybe you'll enjoy this. Definitely if you're a Sabertooth fan, but if so then I'd say get the Back Road Brawl (esp if you're in Singapore--only S$12 bucks at TRU!!!). But I think I'd now recommend the Wolvie with Bike as the one to get from this wave. nice Wolvie with hat and metal claws, nice blue bike which your Captain America/Hawkeye/Cyclops/Punisher/Deadpool can also ride.

Back Road Brawls 3.75" style

Well, after finally getting past the fun of the (cardboard) forest from the Toys 'R' Us Back Road Brawl Wolverine and Sabertooth 3.75 inch 2-pack, I managed to snap some photos of the figures!

I guess what really appeals to me about this line is the size of the figures and how easy it is to take them all out and pose 'em together in a mass brawl or in single combat. Usually what works best is if you have one or 2 big guys like Hulk or a tight-jointed Thing that can be the dude everyone is beating up on (or trying to) so that all the other little guys can balance on/hang on to/be held up by him/her. And a big figure is always good for breaking up the uniform-ness of figs being the same size.

Well, Back Road Brawl give you not one but two of these figures!

You get a tall, comic book costume Sabertooth and a short Logan of correct height when side by side with other figures from this line.

Now I don't own any other Wolvies (except brown and orange comic costume Logan) so I can't speak from first hand experience, but I hear that some of the Wolverine figures from the movie line are too tall. Could be an error on Hasbro's part, or it could just be that they wanted to make a movie accurate and hence Hugh Jackman height Wolverine (Mr H. Jackman is of course over 6' tall). And as any Wolvie fan would know, Logan in the comics towers over hobbits, gnomes, and other such woodland folk at over 5 feet and a bit or thereabouts.

Anyhow, this Marlboro Man Wolverine and the one I already own are (fortunately for me) of the same height and in proportion with the rest of our little heroes and villains!

His hat makes him a little taller as you can see here and unfortunately, it can't be removed. Also his hair and chops are cool, but they restrict him to looking down mostly, though he's ok looking side to side.

I would've also preferred if he had metal claws instead of bone ones. But that'll be easily remedied with some mithril silver paint. His jacket is removeable, but his armes have the sleeves molded on, so he looks quite silly with it off: black sleeves, wife-beater singlet, and jeans. Oh yeah and his jeans are nice, but the hems prevent him from pivoting his feet.

Sabertooth, while tall, is nicely proportionate to large figures like Hulk. And while he's bigger than the likes of any other 3.75" guys, is not overly bulky.















What I really love about him is the slightly shiny paint they used on this guy--makes his costume a little more unique and breaks the flat colours of most of the other figures. And just how awesome is his mane and face? Check out the detailed the washing of his hair and chops as well!












Oh, and there's also one other item they come with--the X-Cycle/X-Bike/X-cessory vehicle! Wolvie would be none too pleased if I didn't feature him posing with his prized steal from Cyclops in X-Men 3.


(Yes, more Marlboro Man imagery)

The bike does have some manoeuverability in the front wheels and handle bars that 3.75" figures can hold onto nicely. It also has a stand, which is really important when you need to stand it up wihout a rider (Duh, what else would it be for. Lol). It's also got a really nicely detailed engine and a great silvery paint job.

The down side is the X-men logos that are painted on it. Not so much the tiny ones on the rear, but rather the large one on the body that thakfully is hard to see from any angle but the top, and that mostly when there's no rider.










Well then, let's rate Back Road Sabby and Wolvie!

Aesthetics: Sabertooth is too darn pretty! Well, if you get by the snarl-iness and ferocity of his evil predatory grin. The paint on him is also simply excellent and Hasbro could've painted and washed his hair the same shade but they didn't! And just look at those eyes and teeth! All the better to eat you with. ;P -- 9.8 for Sabby!




I'm less impressed with Wolverine. His body, legs, and feet are the same as the singlet and jeans movie version of him. But he's got a nicely molded new head, with brilliantly painted eyes, and arms with rolled up jacket sleeves. The removeable jacket/vest is nice and the gaps at the armpits/shoulders are not too obvious. -- 9 for Wolvie.




Poseability: Sabbycat has a ball-jointed head, ball-jointed chest, ball-swivel shoulders, elbows, wrists; ball-hinge legs/hips, double-joint knees, and pin-swivel ankles.

That's 22 points of ariculation in all. I always like greater articulation in the legs because they're vital to a figure looking action packed or stiif as board. Sabby is awesome in this department. -- 9.8.

Wolvie's got the same number of POAs, but he can't look up. His ankles too are such a waste considering how flexible the rest of his leg is. -- Still, a solid 9.


Fun: Boy are these guys fun when they come together! They've got a nice bike to toss around and a lush, tranquil background to pose/play against.

Too bad Logan's hat isn't removeable and they didn't throw in acouple of logs. Hey, they gave single packed Sabertooh not one but 2, yes TWO logs! :P -- 9.5

Value: Right now, a big, fat 10! At S$12 a pop at TRU you can't go wrong. That works out to S$6 a figure AND you get a large X-cessory in the X-Cycle, AND you get lush, green forest (smells not included)!!! 10/10! I can't say it enough: 10!!!!!!!!!!

Overall: Sabbytooth Kitty -- 9.78, Wolfie-reen -- 9.38. Get it now while you can! TRUs here in Singapore may be overstocked with them, but there's no telling when the scalpers might come along and buy em out, only to sell 'em at China Square Central for a boosted price.

Fun with Backgounds!

It's lucky I didn't realize how amazing a good background from the Marvel Universe Back Road Brawl 2 pack can be. Because if I did, I would have bought this Toys 'R' Us exclusive set at it's retail price of S$39.90. I then wouldn't have snagged it at the low, low price I did of S$12. And if you're a Marvel Universe fan, what in the world would stop you from getting this 2-pack that also comes with a nifty X-cycle (that all your MU 3.75" guys of all shapes and sizes can ride :P) at that price?

Well, I was going to review the exclusive comic book costume Sabertooth and Cowboy hat Wolverine from this set, but I guess I got distracted by the wonderful Back Road Background. The forest background insert was one thing, but the plastic packaging mold that holds these guys up in the box was quite another.

You see, they weren't glued to the background but rather tabbed into slots, making them removeable without damaging the beautful scenery. And you could re-insert them anytime. What's the big deal about plastic packaging, you say? Well, the molds fit pretty much any two 3.75" guys and the bike if you so choose.














Here's a taste. ;)

Wolvie with no Back Road X-Bike!














Wolvie catching Sabertooth's scent in the wind and tossing the bike in anticipation of the fight!













Wolvie jumps Cap on bike! Why? Cos Cap must've stole it from Xavier's Mansion! (Why else? :P)













Or maybe Wolvie jumps Cap, who stashed the bike earlier and doesn't have it on him (or under him. ;])













Or Cap jumps Wolvie for even thinking that ol' Stevie boy would even consider stealing!













Or Wolvie, after changing into different duds and a hat, jumps Hulk by mistake thinking that Hulk is Cap who pinched the X-Bike?












Or maybe Hulk stole X-Bike.














And Hulk mad bike don't start!

So Hulk toss Bike...RAARGH!!!! Bike only for sissies and Cyclopses anyway!!