Star Wars The Black Series Ahsoka Tano (The Mandalorian) review

It should come as no surprise that I am a fan of Ahsoka Tano. I did find her cool when I first saw her in The Clone Wars, contrary to the opinions Star Wars fans had of her at the time. I grew to love her even more when I saw her delve into various other adventures both exciting and dreadful. It was heartbreaking to see her both be in exile during the initial series finale of The Clone Wars and the actual finale where she went into hiding after she and Rex had to deal with both the Siege of Mandalore and the terrible event that was Order 66. We saw her return once more in Rebels as well as the Disney+ shows, making guest appearances in The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett while a spinoff dedicated to her is in the works. So far, she hasn't been reduced to a Marey Sue as is the case with the handling of some female characters under Disney. But that's a story for another day; let's check out the Black Series figure!

Here is Ahsoka Tano in-hand, representing her appearance in the shows mentioned above. The sculpt work added to her is nicely made and captures her physique very well. Ahsoka is now a grown adult in the Disney Plus shows in comparison to being a teenager in the beginning of The Clone Wars and being 31 when we first see her again in Rebels, she is now 45 years old in The Mandalorian and any subsequent shows taking place after it. She now wears a darker outfit in comparison to the previous works where she wore more brown and light gray clothing, somewhat reminiscent of her former master wearing black with dark brown in Revenge of the Sith. The pant-like attire she has seemingly makes her legs a little bulkier than the shins are, but that's how they appear in the show (plus it always isn't easy making translating clothing in plastic form). Her skin tone at least looks naturalistic and matches up with her head.

Speaking of which, the head sculpt is top notch, with a likeness that is spot-on to Rosario Dawson wearing the makeup and headset representing the montrals that are a signature part of her species. It's thankfully painted properly and looks organic without it looking too toyish, and the same goes for her face. And it's a shame we can't determine how the quality control will turn out for Hasbro  toys moving forward now that they'll use no windows. As for her articulation, Her articulation is good though limited in a few areas. Her head is on a ball joint, shoulders move front and back as well as in and out, the elbows swivel as well as bend, and one hand hinges up and down while the other hinges in and out (my copy makes it impossible for them to articulate) There is a diaphragm joint while the hips move front and back as well as in and out, the thighs swivel, the knees bend at two points, and the feet can hinge up and down as well as swivel and pivot. Her two lightsabers can be held in her only available pair of hands, which hold them decently, I might add. Much like in Rebels, the blades are meant to evoke the white unaligned designation she now possesses and are also much whiter, too. For a comparison with her Rebels appearance, she looks older than she did in that show, and it's great to have two versions of an amazing character in Star Wars history. I recommend you get her even in spite of the limited elbow and alternate hands, both of which are problems that the Black Series hasn't tackled.

 

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Transformers Studio Series 86 Sludge review

Sludge feels like he is kind of there when it comes to being in the Dinobots. Apart from continuity reboot mainstay Grimlock, you have Slag who has the Tricerahood, Snarl with his dino tail halves, and Swoop who is both an aerial bot (but not an Aerialbot) and the leanest of the team. Sludge is only described as being the dumb one, the Apatosaurus/Brontosaurus, and a potato. There isn't much else to say of his other incarnations given how he either doesn't exist (RID2001, Energon, Animated), is dead (Aligned until he somehow returned in Rescue Bots Academy), or was only as a toy (AOE); granted, he came back in Cyberverse, but he's still the dumb one while everyone else at least had tweaked personalities to fit in better with Grimlock. So will the Studio Series 86 interpretation of him make him more recognizable among the fans?

Here we have Sludge in his dinosaur mode, which is a very accurate take on the design most commonly recognized in the G1 cartoon. As is the case with all the other Dinobots, its proportions, color layout, and sculpted details are nothing too out of the ordinary. It's great to see him have the same level of dedication considering how thin the synergy between SS86 and the rest of the WFC Trilogy can be in terms of aesthetics. There isn't much else to say when it comes to his dinosaur mode apart from maybe his neck looking a little stumpier than it should be. The blaster has storage much like the other Dinobots do, though while Grimlock had him shoot sideways and Slag's was integrated with the tail, Sludge has it underneath the beast mode.

The articulation is fairly standard for a quadrupedal dinosaur in this line, with a head that can look up and down, jaw movement, a neck swivel at the gold part of the neck and a hinge that moves up and down, and the legs move front and back, in and out for the back, and slight knee movement for the legs themselves. Sludge has his own dino mode flamethrower peg for any effect pieces.

For a dinosaur size comparison, you can see that Sludge is surprisingly around the same size as Slag in dinosaur mode. As far as I remember, Grimlock was a pretty big guy in this mode, and Sludge wasn't severely huge, but this makes him look more like an adolescent Apatosaurus rather than the full-on adult scale he'd normally have in the show. Perhaps this was done to make a more consistent scale for these three in robot mode.

Transformation is a lot more involved than one would expect, especially given how he's more than just the trait of flipping the legs down and having the dino shell be the wings. For starters, the hing legs become the robot arms in contrast to Slag where his forelegs became the robot arms. In addition to that, he not only utilizes a waist swivel, but the robot chest is actually beneath the back of the dino mode instead of being part of the stomach. The forelegs are stowed away in the back and the tail halves are now made to flow with the rest of the design. The resulting robot mode now has the red break up the gray, black, and silver of the dino mode. You can tell this design certainly feels much simpler than the other characters, though amusingly, the dino head is permanently shoving itself up his robo ass.

Head sculpt is very much Sludge, with a helmet design that reminds me of when Joey's World Tour wore Mickey Mouse ears. It's definitely like a teddy bear head in comparison to the iconic aggression of Grimlock's head and Slag's Hellboy red head. His articulation is about the same as the others: head is on a swivel instead of a ball joint, shoulders move front and back, in and out, biceps swivel, elbows are somewhat double-jointed, wrists swivel, waist swivels, hips move front and back as well as in and out, yet they along with the knees are disgustingly loose. Turns out that using cheaper replacements for proper Ratchet joints isn't going to make the figures stable. There are also thigh swivels and ankle pivots. Oh and he has his gun which is thankfully painted with gold accents on the barrel and part of the scope.

For a robot mode size comparison, here he is with Grimlock and Slag, and he's pretty much about the same height as Slag if you discount the Tricerahood, and both of them are slightly shorter than Grimlock. I think Sludge is alright for a Leader Class figure, and while I don't really care that he doesn't have a pre-posed partner, I kind of wish he felt a little more refined in the joints to be tighter than they currently are. That and giving the other Dinobots their swords in addition to his unless Swoop's going to be a Voyager with Benefits in 2023's Studio Series 86 offerings. I think Sludge is the weakest of the three, and that may be solidified if he shelfwarms as much as Slag did because only Grimlock got hard to obtain in spite of the way the Dinobots are seen as popular among G1 fans.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Fortnite Victory Royale Series Foundation review

While I am not the biggest fan of Fortnite, I will always find a large number of IPs represented to be pretty astounding. Especially when it comes to Halo, Street Fighter, Marvel, DC, Star Wars, and many more being involved. So not my favorite game in the world, but still better than Genshit Midpact. More importantly, however, Fortnite introduced a character I was kind of fascinated by: The Foundation. He was basically The Rock if he was a sci-fi character, and while I know very little of his backstory or the other Seven, his character design always intrigued me given how it feels like a mashup of a Mandalorian, Deathstroke, and Cable. And with Hasbro Pulse releasing his toy nearly a year after the preorder, it's time to see if he is worth the wait.

Here we have the Victory Royale Series Foundation in hand. He already ticks the mark by nailing the character design from the game, from the layers of armor present to the colors associated with him. The use of gray, sand blue, black, and brown add to the somewhat gritty look of the character design. The layers of armor are also sculpted as such to resemble the appearance they'd normally have in the game. The proportions are standard for the character design, though I'm sure some may find it annoying that he does not lower his arms past their current angle. They even have the chest symbol that references the tattoo on The Rock.

His helmet sculpt is proportioned and detailed as it is in the game, but my copy somehow has the visor symbol misaligned. I know they can't sculpt it due to it being a smooth surface, but why couldn't they try to make it look as aligned as humanly possible? I feel like it's bad enough that human eyes tend to be painted in a derpy fashion, but to have a symbol with a little more space taken up from it doesn't make any more sense. As for his articulation, it's about on par with the current form of articulation that Hasbro's 6-inch figures receive. His neck has two ball joints, shoulders move front and back as well as in and out, the biceps swivel, the elbows bend at two points, the wrists swivel, and one hand can hinge in and out while the other moves up and down. There is a limited range for the diaphragm joint and the ab crunch, and IDK if it's better or worse than the range my copy of Infinite Master Chief has in the Spartan Collection. The legs move front and back, in and out, the thighs swivel, the knees bend at two points, and there is both a hinge and pivot for the ankles. To this guy's credit, his joints are pinless, which is a step forward for collector items, but why the articulation at the torso is hindered somewhat is beyond me.

You can switch the back panel with the cape to complete his look, which is a pretty signature trait of the character design. It's amusing when armored characters still wear capes for a more dynamic look to them. But apart from that and the gripping hands, you have the same flight stand that Hasbro Pulse normally sells, but with the Fortnite logo printed on it, and it functions the same as with the normal Hasbro Pulse stands. The first three I own are perfectly fine, but I swear his own stand has a little bit of a wobbliness to it. Maybe it's from the way it's molded, IDK. I like that it has some peg holes, but the weight of the figure combined with the inability to clasp it properly does make it problematic. And sure he has his metal umbrella to better take advantage of the stand, but then we come to a conclusion: I'm mixed on this guy as a set. While it's cool to own a piece of merch from a series I normally don't have as much interest in, I have to admit that the price is straight up not worth it. I can forgive some of the slight articulation hindrances as well as the lack of accessories, and maybe the misaligned visor details, if the figure was priced at the normal price range they go for, but this is nearly $50, and while The Foundation may be Fortnite's attempt at being more than just a meme game, that price could have gone for more than just another pair of hands, the flight stand, and the umbrella. I would say wait for a sale, but who knows if Hasbro Pulse would keep him around in stock! So unless you're a much bigger Fortnite fan than I am, then The Foundation may not be the definitive option as a one-off. At least he isn't garbo like my copy of Tracer from Overwatch Ultimates.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Power Rangers Dino Fury Mosa Razor & Ptera Freeze Zord review

While the Beast Racer Zord was already an improvement over the CB-01 Ace mecha in terms of articulation and capturing the sleekness better, the T-Rex Champion Zord was a much stronger toy in terms of being show-accurate yet having even better articulation thanks to the ball-jointed neck and ankles in addition to the wrist swivels and even the superior leg articulation that doesn't feel T-jointed. It's even great that the articulation remains intact when going to the multiple combinations, which is somewhat of the opposite for the Beast-X Ultrazord as it still had the articulation yet felt impractical due to the added weight and small stability issues. The Warrior Formation may be the best bet at having all of the Zords at once without the Auxiliaries, but perhaps the Mosa Razor and Ptera Freeze offerings may help in the meantime. Let's see how they both turned out!

Here are the keys in hand. In the middle is the basic key that came with the figure, and it's quite simplified compared to the Zord key, both in sculpt work and paint apps. It also lacks the ball-jointed neck that helps it articulate like Megazords these days can. The Ptera Freeze key is made of clear plastic yet doesn't seem too brittle (yet). Of note, the keys for the Zords play sounds are already associated with the Red Key and the Demo Key, with MR having the fire sounds and PF having the dino sounds.

The backs of the keys removable for the Zord versions, and while the sticker is nicer to look at given how it's painted up and resembles the Ranger, the sculpted details are always preferrable, and I really like how the backs have the removable piece where the Gold Ranger and the egg of the Ptera Freeze Zord control the mecha.

And here we have the Mosa Razor Zord. This guy generally looks the part as far as capturing the way it appears in the show as well as replicating the appearance of the toy Japan has. Honestly, this is the weakest of the three Deluxe-sized Zords in terms of its dinosaur mode. It's the robot with the fists removed, its arms pointing forward, the dino head replacing the robot head, and a tail attached to the feet. Im some ways, it's almost like you can make a mid transformation for the robot and make it into a mermaid. Hell, I find it amusing that the beast arms are small and seem of little significance in comparison to the robot arms. And as for the fists, they're apparently supposed to represent  the Ammonite Zords, but they feel more of a case of making a specific part used for either a mode or some kind of weapon. You know, typical Megazord gimmickry. Also the head not only opens up but it also has this latch that raises up and I'm not too sure what the purpose is.

Next up, here we have the Ptera Freeze Zord in its egg mode. It's adorable, and the bean akd feet are peeking out which is a nice little charm. I like that it looks like a balance between badass and adorable, which is more in-line with something like the Lightzord from Samurai and not something from Zyuohger. As for transforming it, you have to cracp the shell open via the wings, then the lid on top, swivel the lower body around, relocate the arms from the shins to the wings, and rotate the tail. The Pteradactyl mode is very unique amongst the previous versions for that additional mode alone, but what I like is that while it continues a similar role of being an independent Megazord from the others a la Ptera Charge, it's functionally different and is an icy blue instead off gold and black. This guy's wings are also curved so you can at least display him with a bit of a dynamic look from the wings alone without them being stiff like on other flying beasts. Oh and the beak opens, too.

And here we have all 7 of the Zords in-hand. It appears that much like the Beast-X King Zord, we won't be getting all of the Zords from Dino Fury in this line, by which I refer to the Auxiliaries that we normally see replace the core 4 Zords around the T-Rex Champion Zord. I'm mixed on that if I'm being honest; on one hand I don't really care for the other Zords for how insignificant and lackluster they are compared to their Thunder and Charge predecessors from their own Dino seasons, yet I can see why people would wish we got them for completion sake. At least we got these two extra dudes and not an MMPR Megazord replacing it. Imagine a Thunder Megazord in 2022! Oh wait, I forgot we usually milk MMPR Season 1 unless it's Lightning Collection.

You can make one of the modes with the T-Rex Champion and Ptera Freeze Zords, known as the Ptera Rex Zord. It's essentially the T-Rex with some of the Ptera body replacing it, which makes for a crossbreed result of a Zord. It's a little reminiscent of the Carnozord from Dino Thunder's Blizzard Force Megazord if I'm being honest.

Back to the Mosa Razor Zord, its transformation is pretty simple, much more than a lot of single-unit Zords. Flip the back fins up, attach the fists and swivel the arms down, swivel the dino head and open the jaw to have the robot head revealed. That's pretty much it. As for the robot mode, well it looks good in terms of design, and the color scheme fits well for a sea captain a la Cap'n Crunch. I don't think the design is at fault apart from the transformation considering that it's already there albeit tweaked somewhat. He does look flat from the sides, though. My favorite part has to be the collar being the Mosasaurus head's wide open state. 

The articulation is consistent with the T-Rex Champion Zord, with ball jointed neck and ankles, shoulder rotation, outward arm movement, except no bicep swivels but the elbows bend and the forearms swivel, the hips move front and back, in and out, though my copy's left hip doesn't ratchet properly given how the plastic ratchet method these toys use are inferior compared to other Hasbro toys. Oh and the thighs swivel and the knees bend. His sword can be held in either hand though it needs a bit of force to go in. As for a comparison to his Japanese counterpart, uh, the chest has fewer paint apps, more articulation, and the proportions are slightly different thanks to the articulation. Oh and the loincloth armor is supposed to be split in half because of the articulation on the hips.

And now the Ptera Freeze Zord, which is a much more striking design in comparison. Apart from the icy color scheme, the robot design feels very regal, the wings look dynamic on the back, and the Ptera head on the chest looks like it can stab someone if they're not careful. He can have the right arm with his shield/gauntlet, which adds to the knight vibe present on his look. I think the white plastic has a pearlescent look to it which hopefully won't lead to yellowing compared to other white Hasbro toys.

The articulation is also good and is the same as what we have with the other two, but he has wrist swivels and can sort of rotate the waist like the T-Rex. There are no bicep swivels, though, and I think the lower legs swiveling is not part of the articulation but to make room on the transformation scheme. The right one's looser than it should be. Next to the Bandai version, the proportions and head sculpt are different, and I think the clear plastic is darker on the Hasbro version.

And here we have all 3 of the main Dino Fury Zords in one shot. I think of the T-Rex Champion as the best release in the line, Mosa Razor as the weakest of the trio, and the Ptera Freeze as in-between them. It's certainly making me wish we still got the Beast-X King Zord, Hasbro...

And finally, the Primal Ultrazord. If you thought the Beast-X Ultrazord is the first of its kind ot use the smallest number of components, you haven't seen anything with this. It's a pretty unusual approach if you ask me, considering that it feels more like a half-way point than a full-on Ultrazord. I find the approach ambitious considering how it usually involves a humanoid design and smaller Zords than three Megazords of equal height. It's not my favorite combination but I like the way it attempts to balance out the part count of each Zord. We have the legs, legs, and weapons of the T-Rex, the arms, legs, and dino head of the Mosa Razor, and the upper body, shield, and mask of the Ptera Freeze Zord.

Head sculpt is the same but with a new mask added on. Originally, the shield held the mask yet now it's a separate piece to go with the new articulation. And said articulation is the same as before, though you may need to plan with the leg articulation given how things work for the feet.

And what about the other pieces? You can make your own secondary Megazord and probably use the other Zords if you want. Nothing's stopping you!And you can tell the height difference between the two with the foot extensions. So overall, the Mosa Razor and Ptera Freeze Zords are both good additions to the line, yet I feel the former has more issues than the latter that I wish Hasbro would fix before the final release. If Hasbro wants to release the other Zords the same way we did with Black/Blue and Green/Pink, that'd be appreciative. But we're not sure even though they showed more attention to the Dino Fury Zords in the Fan First Fridays than they did with the Beast Morphers stuff.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Mosa Razor), ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Ptera Freeze)