W.A.R. # 35 : Gears of War 2, Marcus Fenix

This is a bit off from my normal list of action figures but damn it...this figure has been taunting me ever since I first saw it a couple of months ago on the shelves at Target. So, I decided to get it simply out of curiosity plus this figure is along the same height as my other M.L. and DC figures.

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W.A.R. Contents:

• Packaging
• Detail/Sculpt
• Articulation
• Pricing
  

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Packaging

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Detail/Sculpt

Honestly I've only played this game once...so for me to really assess the sculpt is very subjective. Though I have been a fan of Neca for quite some time and this figure does not disappoint. Their sculpt has always been superb(I've said this more than once) and at the same time have always sacrificed articulation over it. But I've noticed that this figure has very decent articulation and allows for a number of reasonable poses.

Put an eye patch and you can pass him off as a pirate.

The figure comes with two accessories. His snub pistol and his fully automatic assault rifle a.k.a. The Lancer(no, this is not the car).

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Articulation

Even with the ball hinged shoulders, movement is a bit restricted due to the bulky figure and its accessories. But the joints are well hidden due to the color of his suit.
-Ball jointed neck(limited movement)
-Ball hinged shoulders
-Swivel biceps
-Hinged swivel elbows
-Ball jointed wrists
-Swivel waist
-Swivel hips
-Hinged knees
-Hinged ankles

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Pricing

I bought this for almost AUD 30. Pricey if you think about it but nonetheless almost similar to DC Direct figures and the quality is on par if not more superior.

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I find myself really drawn to this figure the more I see it. Its true I'm not a big fan of Gears of War. But I'll be the first to admit a good action figure when I see one. Yes, its not exactly one of my proudest purchases. It was more of a "stop staring at me! ok, ok...I'll buy you" moment. Now I feel compelled to get 2 or 3 more figures from the series...ARGGHH. That or I could sell this off.

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• W.A.R. # 34: Star Wars, Republic Gunship
  
• W.A.R. # 33: Kill Bill, Series 1
  
• W.A.R. # 32: DC Superheroes, Mongul
  
• W.A.R. # 31: Star Wars, Legacy Collection, Millennium Falcon

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W.A.R. # 33 : Kill Bill, Series 1

Tarantino, Uma Thurman, Sonny Chiba, Samurai swords, Hong Kong style action scenes, a spankin' soundtrack...what more can you want?It is still one of the best action movies I have seen since Pendekar Bujang Lapok...haha.

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W.A.R. Contents:

• Packaging
• Detail/Sculpt
• Articulation
• Pricing

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Packaging

The packaging from Neca is pretty standard with all its series. Just big enough for the figure and its accessories.

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Detail/Sculpt

The Series 1 is based on the sword fight at The House of Blue Leaves. Also available in this series is a Quentin Tarantino figure as one of the Crazy 88 fighters. Whilst the Bride and Go Go comes with weapons, the Crazy 88 fighters also comes with a bottle of liquid to simulate the blood gushing out of their removable limbs(nice...)

The Bride

Amazing sculpt from the face down to the yellow Asics shoes.

Go Go Yubari

Cute...sexy...and very scary.

Johnny Mo & The Crazy 88

Even though on the packaging it says Crazy 88 fighter for the bald guy, it's actually Johnny Mo. One of O-Ren's personal bodyguards.

One for the Books

Doesn't seem fair does it?

Now that's more like it...

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Articulation

Not much to talk about here. The whole concept is the sword fight and the stance. So don't expect the bride or Go Go to do splits. Unless that is, you count the fact that the Crazy 88 fighters have removable limbs(just like in the movie when the bride cuts them up).

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Pricing

Roughly between AUD 15 - 20 each but if you can find it for less(new in box) then that would be a great deal. I prefer Series 1 than the 2nd because this set it taken from my favourite battle scene from Volume 1.

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I typed the above review two weeks ago. It turns out that David Carradine was found dead on 3rd June in Bangkok. No witty remarks...so we'll just leave it at that.

Till next time. Keep on collecting guys.

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• W.A.R. # 31: Star Wars, Legacy Collection, Millennium Falcon
  
• W.A.R. # 30: Marvel Select, Spider-Woman
  
• A.R.Ms # 29: Marvel Select, Captain America<

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W.A.R. # 30 : Marvel Select, Spider-Woman

"Her genetic code accidentally combined with that of a rare breed of spider, Jessica Drew was duped into serving evil as a Hydra assasin. As Arachne, Jessica attacked S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury, who revealed Hydra's true nature and won her to the side of justice. Adopting the codename Spider-Woman, she subsequently embarked on a career as a costumed heroine. Jessica now wields her superhuman strength and bioelectric blasts as a member of the Avengers, Earth's Mightiest Heroes."

Spider-Woman(Jessica Drew) comes with a short hair variant. This was released in 2006 and sculpted by Sam Greenwell.

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W.A.R. Contents:

• Packaging
• Detail/Sculpt
• Articulation
• Pricing

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Packaging

As usual with the Marvel Select line, the blister packaging is huge. Enough to showcase the figure and its accessories. But I must admit the packages do look cool if you can find enough space to display them on the shelves like books.

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Detail/Sculpt

As far as female superheroes goes in the Marvel Universe, Spider-Woman had her own show back in the late 70's. I vaguely remember watching the show on either R.T.B or R.T.M. network. For those of you who can't recall about that show(like yours truly), there's always youtube.

Now lets get on with the show...the sculpt. You will always expect the best sculpt when it comes to Diamond Select Toys. The expression on Jessica's face is of determination(well, it is if you think about it...what else could it be?). The hair is not so much of a nuisance that it constricts movement of the head. The height is in accordance to Marvel Select figures. Which is just slightly above the height of Marvel Legends figures. So still no chance of mixing the two lines on the shelves.

The paint is nicely applied with very minimum smears...VERY. They have also added a sort of metallic look into the red color of her costume. The sculpt of the body is decent from the front and very distracting...from behind. I'm not trying to come off sounding like a perv so you judge it by yourself.

The figure came with two accessories. A detachable 'venom blast' and a base with 3 hydra agents. Make that 3 halves of hydra agents. I reaaalllyyyyyyyy don't know what they were thinking of. I mean, the hydra agents was a great idea...but just making half of their body? I'd rather they made one complete figure.

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Articulation

This is one of the earlier figures that Diamond Select Toys made with decent articulation. Not really in the Marvel Legends category, but hopefully its getting there.

• Ball-jointed neck
• Hinged elbows
• Hinged wrists
• Ball-jointed & swivel hips
• Hinged knees
• Hinged ankles

Swivel waist??? What happened to a basic swivel waist??

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Pricing

I haven't quite seen this figure sold online. It is still available on Amazon for around USD 19. Besides the variation of this figure with short hair, there is another variation of Spider-Woman in the black costume. That figure was a Comic Con exclusive. It had the same useless base and word is they are making another variant. This time around its Arachne with her modern Omega Flight suit. The figure looks nice in the pics but its just a different paint app of the original figure.

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Overall if you're looking to complete to your existing Marvel Legends collection, this figure is a definite no-no. The difference in height will just be off-putting. I'm really not sure what the people at Diamond Select goes through when they are selecting(no pun intended) which figures to produce or how the figures should be articulated. Don't get me wrong, I'll still buy the figures because at the rate they are going I'm sure they will improve in the articulation area. They've already done so with Captain America and Iron Man to name a few. In addition, ever since Hasbro took over producing the Marvel Legends line, its not really that great.

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• A.R.Ms # 28: DC Direct, Black Canary
  
• A.R.Ms # 27: Star Wars, Clone Army, Ep. III
  
• A.R.Ms # 26: Iron Man, Mark III, 12" Repulsor Blast

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