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X-men Archangel

Mapooo stops by tonight with a review of the new Archangel from the X-men line - tell us the scoop, Mapooo!

Hey all, tonight I bring you a review of Archangel from the recently released X-Men “classics” line. I know this guy has been out in America and other places for a while now, but living in good old Blighty means we get everything later than everyone else. Plus, even when I did see the line out-there it took me an age to find him because as usual all the good figures were short packed! Finding him makes me even happier because he was originally released over two years ago in the original and short lived X-Men classics line, and that didn’t even make it over to England, well I didn’t see it any way.

Before I start, if any of you would like to get in contact with me for any reason, feel free, e-mail me here or pop over to my blog, I promise it will be interesting eventually. 

Now on with the review:






Packaging - **1/2
Toybiz went for a traditional bubble and card-back combo, but did add there own bit off flair to the design by swaying away from the normal rectangular shapes. Instead a rounder bubble is used and the card follows that basic design. It’s nice to see Toybiz trying something new, and it helps the toys stand out from the crowded shelves. On the front of the pack we get a very nice picture of five other X-Men, and the back comes with a large section depicting how to use the action feature. As an extra bonus we are also treated to a small section which tells us a little about the character. I’m especially happy to see this included in a line like X-Men because there are a tonne of different characters in this series and the upcoming ones, so a little extra feature like this gives even people new to the Marvel universe an idea of who they are buying.

Sculpting - ***
Archangels body is about as basic as they come in the super-hero world, but that’s not really a bad thing as the character doesn’t call for anything to fancy. What we get is a very simple and relatively thin man of muscle. But it’s all done very nicely so nothing to complain about here.

Paint - ***
Just like his sculpt, the paintwork on Archangel is a pretty basic affair. However again, just like the sculpt; this doesn’t take anything away from the figure. From the neck down the only really paint application is the pink detailing, for the most part it’s pretty neat but there are the odd few sections where it’s not as sharp and defined as it should be. The head is easily the stand out show of painting on this guy, what with it being the only section where any real detail is applied. It’s sharp, neat and well applied; so everything I could ask for.

Articulation - ***
Toybiz really do spoil us when it comes to articulation. I count 38 points on Archangel, and when you consider he is essentially already two years old that’s even more impressive. The winged one comes with ball joints at his neck, shoulder and hips, pin joints at his double elbows, double knees, wrists, fingers and toes and cut joints on his calves, forearms and hips. We are also treated to those special internal shoulder joints that Toybiz came up with and a bend in the stomach. This selection basically allows you to get Archangel into pretty much any pose you want. One thing I would point out though is that the joints can sometimes be a bit soft, especially on the legs. So take care if they are a little stuck when you get him out of the pack, mine were and I was sure his leg was going to come off in my hand. But after a little gentle persuasion I freed them up.

Accessories - ****
This is the reason I own this toy.

Archangel comes with a pair of silver wings, and they are awesome. They are also pretty immense, measuring up at around 18” long. The sculpt is also really good considering this is only the accessory; I know it’s a vital accessory, but it’s an accessory none the less. Each wing has a number of feathers molded on to them, and a few other small details as well.

We are also treated to 5 extra P.O.A on the wings which allow you to get Archangel into some very interesting poses. There is problem though, the sheer weight of the things means that it’s basically impossible to get him to stand unless his wings are down. I have found a way to get round this though, and that’s to use one of the clear display stand we have been getting with our Marvel Legends figures lately. There is no specific hole for it, but there are a couple of nooks and crannies that you can improvise with.

Action Feature - **
Embedded on the wings are a couple of small cannons that allow you to fire a couple of small missiles. Now instead of the traditional method of having a spring in the cannon, Toybiz have shaken things up actually made the missiles have the spring built in. It’s basically a coil of plastic metal stuff attached to a missile tip, and for a kids toy its works pretty well, and fires quite far; I’m just not sure who much battering it will take when in the hands of a child.

Overall - ***
This is one damn cool toy. I know there were a couple of issues with the paint, but nothing too much to complain about, it was just the only really problem I noticed.

Anything that is much bigger out of the pack, than it looks in the pack is all good in my books. And this guy is huge when you get to him. If you can find him, buy him!!

Score Recap- 
Packaging - **1/2
Sculpt - ***
Paint - ***
Articulation - ***
Accessories - ****
Action Feature - **
Overall - ***

Where to Buy - 
You're best bet is stores like Toys R Us, Target and Meijers right now.


Figure from the collection of Mapooo.

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