Toy review roundup

Michael Crawford reviews the DC Direct World of Warcraft series 1 Valeera Sanguinar, Thargas Anvilmar, Rehgar Earthfury and Meryl Felstorm figures. Excerpt: “All of these figures show an extreme attention to detail and realism that matches anything put out by any other company today.”

CS Toy International does a video review of the Bandai Gekiranger DX Saidaioh figure. Excerpt: “Finding out the message the creators hide in the their names is one of the joys for Sentai Hero fans to discover.”

Dave Van Domelen reviews the Hasbro Star Wars Transformers Darth Vader Death Star figure. In an internet exclusive, he reveals just how many twisty-ties and rubber bands secure the figure in the packaging.

Adam Pawlus reviews the Hasbro G.I. Joe 25th Anniversary Flint figure. Excerpt: “This is a fine example of Hasbro getting the most out of its molds and making a good figure in the process.”

yo go re reviews the Hasbro Wal-Mart exclusive Marvel Legends Cable and Marvel Girl set. Excerpt: “Cable and Marvel Girl may not be the most obvious pair to throw in a box together, but they still make a good set.”

yo go re also reviews the NECA Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix series 2 Death Eaters figures. Excerpt: “They’re both worth getting, thanks to a lot of small changes that add up to a decent set of differences.”

Swftoys reviews the Medicom Toy Real Action Hero Boba Fett figure. Excerpt: “Medicom seems to have gotten just about everything right with this Boba Fett figure.”

Thomas Wheeler reviews the Mattel Justice League Unlimited Batman, Black Canary and Joker three-pack. Excerpt: “This is a different and somewhat more classic version of Black Canary, and The Joker is certainly a good reason to grab this set.”

Travis reviews the 2005 Medicom Toy Real Action Heroes Jack Bauer figure from the 24 television series. Excerpt: “The following review takes place between 4:00 PM and 5:00 PM.”

Josh Bernard reviews the 2004 Yamato Macross GBP-1S Armored Parts for 1/60 scale VF-1. Excerpt: “Yamato has made great strides since this toy came out, but I can’t recommend this armor set to anyone.”

WIKD does retro reviews of the 1989 Tomy Zoids King Liger and the Wing Glider Grade Up Unit kits. Excerpt: “It’s elegantly designed, and perhaps it’s the minimal use of weapons combined with the white and gold color scheme that contribute to its highly majestic appearance.”

Silverbolt does a retro video review of the 1986 Hasbro Transformers Predaking figure. Excerpt: “He really is an awesome, awesome toy if you can get past the very garish bright orange colour scheme.” Bonus fact: the toy was designed by Akitaka Mika, resulted in Takara getting sued and him getting a job with Bandai.

Toy links

Saint Seiya Gallery.
A gallery of Saint Seiya action figures past and present. The site is primarily in Spanish but there are a lot of English translations throughout the site. Don’t miss the Da Vinci Myth Code section where efforts are undertaken to decode the hidden meaning of the Greek text on the Myth Cloth packaging.

Toy production: painting and shipping. [via]
Part two of Symbiote Studios’ look at the figure production process. (Part one.)

Polywen’s Lego Mecha.
Check out the BatMecha.

Transformers Minerva custom.
A repaint of the Transformers Movie Deluxe figure Arcee by pisuwo.

Joy of toys.
We have exactly the same look on our faces when we have an action figure in our hands.

Prowl.
It’s nice to see Transformers characters other than Optimus Prime get the cosplay treatment. More: 1, 2, 3.

Japan beefs up the SDF.
Okay, not really. But there are signs this will come true one day.

Gargamel Microman
A photo by khunter.

Messrs. Rotten, Vicious, Jones and Cook.
Kubrick figures due March 2008.