The Avengers: Original Avengers 3.75" 4-Pack! (Concept Series)

As a result of a massive backlog of reviews I want to take on, I realize that not only do I have tons of unopened toys, I have tons of them in boxes.  Which ones, you ask?  Well, I have too many to name, so let's just call 'em a surprise for now.  (Yeah, ok.  I don't know myself.  Lol.)  For now, I'm determined to rid my collection of needless cardboard, so I'm hereby declaring October The Month of the Box right here on Chase Variant!  (I'm sure you wouldn't mind if the occasional carded or loose figure review slips in.  Right?  Or am I right?  Right, I'm wasting time...)

So to kick it all off, I'm gonna start with my newest boxed acquisition: The Avengers: Original Avengers 3.75" Toys R Us Exclusive 4-Pack!

I walked into one of my local TRUs last Sunday and I see this very set that I'd never seen, heard or read about it before.  So it was a very pleasant surprise when I find one of them, face down amid some non-movie Marvel Universe figure 4-packs.  Then the wife points out that that's not the only one there, because right above us on the shelf are about six or seven of them.  You can imagine my amazement when I had a good look at Loki--I'd never thought I'd see them re-use the Thor movie sculpt again!

Then I saw Iron Man--a brand new figure!--or at least a new armour.  I couldn't tell right off if it was made from older parts but it looked like a new sculpt and I dig bulky armour, so I was at least 50% in.

As for Captain America and Thor, I already have these very sculpts when they were originally released.  Both are great figures from their respective lines, so I didn't mind taking home some repaints...for now.

Yes, they look great in the box, but I hear you ask if they're just as good outside.  Well, let's find out! ;)

The Amazing Spiderman Movie Series 6" Lizard

First up, apologies to the Rangerlord!--I saw this figure for the first time when I was on vacation in Malacca and had never seen before in Singapore.  There was one him and Ultimate (Miles Morales) Spiderman for S$28 each, so I grabbed them both!  At that price, I was thinking it was a steal compared to the Marvel Legends retail price of S$39.90 back home.

The Rangerlord was game for Miles and I was so-so, so I handed it off to him for what I had paid.

But of course, I then start seeing these everywhere retailing for S$24.90 in Singapore.  I felt really bad that he had to pay a few extra bucks for them, but the price was too good to resist.

So I picked up Miles.

I also picked up movie series Spidey for just under S$20 at a Metro department store sale a few days later.

The moral of the story?  For every good deal you find, you're likely to make a bad one too.  Of course, it's not entirely terrible paying a few more dollars in this case, but it was for someone else.  I guess on my part it pays to be patient.  Then again, you can end up being too patient and miss the boat altogether. (Memories of Marvel Universe Vision come to mind...)

On to the subject in question:  The Lizard!

The Singapore Toys Games and Comic Convention 2012

**First up, I have to apologize for this post going up so late, what with work, this Con, gaming and a family vacation all taking place, three quick weeks have just flown by.  But no, I'm still alive, thanks for asking.  And thanks for your patience too.  Other things in life may be happening but, dare I say it, the toys do too!  So from having cleared some backlog of Marvel Universe figures, I suddenly find myself with a whole bigger pile of stuff I want to open and review.  It all started with this Con that took place on September 1st, that's some two and a half weeks ago now!**

Come to STGCC or Hulk will grab ya and drag ya there anyway!

I was really looking forward to this years STGCC as it came right after a busy period at work for me and also because it was the first year it was going to be held at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre.  for those of you who are unfamiliar with this neck of the Woods, MBS = luxury.  It's not to say the previous location of Suntec City wasn't awesome, but kinda signalled that STGCC was moving on up.

Day 1 was a doozy, because we'd planned to dress the son up as his fave Captain America and were looking forward to not having to carry him around since he can walk now.  But we had a friend's wedding lunch to attend first.  As it turned out, after we were done, Lil Cap was more than happy to carry around his shield, which I had tied to his backpack (which he loves carrying around for some reason.)  So he looked awesome!

"I hope they like my costume!"...says Daddy

After quite a few photo request for Cutie Cap, the lil' guy pretty much ran out of gas.  Oh, he did last about 45 minutes or so before he had to take a nap.  A long one, at that.

I forgot to mention that we were going to meet the Rangerlord and was bringing along the Justice League: Supergirl, Batgirl, and (later on) Green Lantern. Rangerlord was just the guy collecting the money for the photos. I kid.  By the time Green Lantern arrived, Cap was so deep in sleep there wasn't any way for a female Justice league/Baby Cap team-up, so sorry there's no pic of them all together kickin' a$$ and taking names.  Ah, well. We'll dress them up again soon...

On to the Con itself, true believers!

Marvel Universe 3.75" Series 4 Beta Ray Bill (010)

Weeks after I get this guy, can you believe he's become a peg-warmer?  In these parts, there's so much of ol' BRB on the racks that the 5 Kraven, 3 Astonishing Beast, 2 Hulk and numerous Jubilee look like they are hot items.  Well, I guess they are, depending on where you live, but I jumped at the chance to get him at full retail thinking that he'd be hard to find.

Given that he's a cult favourite and that he has a working jaw makes him hard to resist.  But never did I think the cases that came over to Singapore would have so many Beta Rays that he'd be left on the shelves like an unwanted knockoff.

Clearly, he isn't.  I was always curious about the character.

Well, after I got over my "meh, this guy is  horse dude in Thor's armour" phase, anyway. (I was just 6 year-old or something.)  I'd did find out from the time I got BRB that his story is fleshed out in "The Ballad of Beta Ray Bill" but I have yet to locate a physical copy so I'll still have to wait to find out more about him.  The action figure though?  I can tell you about him right now! ;)

The Avengers 3.75" Hawkeye

Ya know, what is it with guys with a bow?  It's like they hit a target and everyone thinks they're cool.  Seriously, they're not!

Just look at those guys in that whatchamacallit Games going on right now in London...That's right, the Olympics!  Ya don't see taught, tight, muscular bods, cool shades, pointy ears, or designer haircuts.  You see (some) overweight, bespectacled, ordinary-looking dudes shooting at stationary targets.  Stationary targets, fer cryin' out loud!  This guy is even legally blind in one eye.  And he won a gold medal by beating his own world record!

Really, he's legally blind!

But in all honesty, those guys (and gals) are marksmen through and through.

And I'm delighted to say ol' Clinty Barton here is from the same stock as a former Olympian himself!  (Or at least at the Olympian level.)  Sure, those guys at the London Games aren't gonna be shooting into the wind at Chitauri from the edge of a building, but what they do is about just as hard, I reckon.  And I even bet if you asked them to try a no look shot they could hit the target too!

Avengers Movie Hawkeye, though, is on another level.  He's gotta be--dashing, cool as a cucumber, nicely muscled, has all that super spy training, a cool superhero name, and can shoot and hit gods, even if it was just Loki.  And yeah, he's also got a hot superhero wife in Mockingbird.  What's not to like?

So I expected his action figure to be disappointing, especially since this movie line lacks a lot of articulation.  But I was so happy to find him that I had to grab it, since I have a thing for 3.75" actor-likenesses.  And I think I can safely say I was somewhat surprised.  Somewhat.

The Haul!

3 for $20?  Thank you very much!

Hello, true believers!

It's been a while since I last had a decent haul.  I think the last time I had anything good enough to be considered a good bargain was way back in December at the Singapore Toys Games and Comics Convention 2011.  Yeah, that's long enough back.

So when I read over at Open The Toy that there was a sale at local department store Takashimaya, I jumped at the chance to go!

This particular store usually is stocked with the latest from all the lines like Marvel Universe, DC Universe, Star Wars, Lego, Thundercats, etc.  But it almost never puts stuff on clearance--except in these particular 3 weeks in the year.  And when stuff goes on clearance, it really goes on clearance!

So I'd been working without a break since the last week of July so I really needed to cut loose.  And that I certainly did...

Marvel Universe 3.75" Series 4 Blastaar (024 Variant)

I was just thinking about it while playing around with Blastaar and realized that the really badass villains in both the Marvel and DC Universe come from somewhere other than Earth.

Sure, the craziest ones still come from our neck of the universe--Magneto, Dr. Doom, Apocalypse, the Joker and Lex Luthor--but the really powerful ones usually come from somewhere else.

In the Marvel universe, Blastaar is one of those villains that has the raw power to take over the world single-handedly.  Like Annihilus, Thanos, and Galactus, he's seemingly powerful enough that he could very well take over the universe.

So despite not having read much about him in the comics or seen him much in any other medium, I knew of him.  I can't say for sure where I'd heard of him but he's always been there, hovering like some nightmare Carebear.  And now he's gotten his own Marvel Universe figure!  Yay!  Enough talk, more review!--Okay!