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Marvel
Legends 4
Gambit and Beast
 
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The new Marvel
Legends are hitting Toys R Us stores all over the place this week, and
Coheteboy checks in with the first of several reviews. Take it away!
Toy
Biz continues to pump out amazing product with their most recent release of
everyone's favorite: Marvel Legends. It seems that the line just gets
better and better and Series IV is no exception!
There are five new figures in this assortment: Gambit, Beast,
Punisher, Elektra, and the chase figure Giant Man. Because each of
these figures are works of art in their own right, I felt the need (and
desire) to break these reviews down into separate reviews. So today
we'll take a look at the two X-Men of the group: Beast and Gambit.
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Sculpting
- ****
Beast: I've had my doubts originally about Beast since sculpted fur
never came out beautifully in my opinion, but seeing the figure in person
really changed all that. It is simply awe-inspiring. The fashion
in which Beast is sculpted shows not a weak creature but a ferocious....
beast! Serious time and effort went into this figure and it shows from
every angle. The face is also done brilliantly, looking great even
with the mouth open. Some might say that the sculpt is not as great
due to all the articulation, and there are a few places where it really
shows, but it doesn't bother me all that much.
Gambit: In contrast, Gambit is half the figure that the Beast is, but
that's what's great about it. There's nothing worse than to have
different sized characters be identical in height in toy form. The
sculpt for Gambit is simply awesome. There is no sleeker Legend figure
made, so fans of Gambit, rejoice! The hair, the facial expression, the
hands... all are so well defined, it's near impossible not to dig this
figure.
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Paint - ***1/2
Expect to find the same quality of paint application in Series IV as you've
found in the previous three series. Everything is as what they should
be. The colors are vibrant and applied with great attention to even
the smallest detail. Gambit's paint job is especially stellar in the
facial area. The eyebrows could have been a horrible uni-brow on a
different toy line but it's a smashing success here.
Since Beast is basically a blue character, Toy Biz could have gotten away
with giving us a painfully dull figure with one standard color. But
they take the very appreciated next step and gave us all depth where there
needs and several strokes of black to add just a little bit extra.
Even the finger/toe nails are painted! That's the type of attention I
expect from every toy line and it's great seeing that high level of detail
become a tradition with the Legends.
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Packaging - ***1/2
Series IV sticks with the trend and clam shell packages are standard issue
for the toy line. This is great for carded collectors but doesn't
guarantee its safety.
There are some new changes to the card back that is worth noting, and that
is the new "Power Grid", displaying vital stats about the
character. The grid harks back to Generation One Transformer days and
really adds to the total package. The stats provide insight on
Intelligence, Strength, Durability, Energy Protection, and Fighting Skills.
What a nifty idea! Now if a kid is using Beast to reflect the
Punisher's deadly bullets, you can show him the power grid. "See,
Beast has no Energy Protection! ....stupid."
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Articulation - ****
There are toy collectors that shoot for the perfect sculpt and don't care
much about articulation... and I'm not one of those people. I want
to see my toys armed to the teeth with articulation! I want my toys
to be able to stand, kneel, crouch, run, punch, kick, do push-ups, and a
whole lot more. Thankfully, Toy Biz delivers generously in this
department. Series IV is espesially strong with Gambit's 38 points
of articulation and Beast's whopping-huge 39 points.
Beast's legs feature a similar type of articulation as the movie Hulk
figure, being able to do the splits with ease. With 39 points, it
would take too much space to list them all, but here's a few highlights:
three points in the neck alone, jaw opens and closes, three seperate
points for the fingers in each hand, toes, double jointed knees, and more.
Simply amazing.
Gambit proves to be a powerful punch as well, with his mega 38 points.
Again, there are far too many points to list, but there's about 8 points
in each leg if you want to get a general idea. That's a lot of
movement!
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Accessories (Beast)- **
Seeing as how large Beast is (not that large but large enough), it seems
as the base should be large enough to hold the figure. Not the case
really, as Beast's exercise bar is made ONLY to hang on the wall.
This base cannot stand on its own which really is too bad, for the best
bases are those that can be used both ways. Beast also comes with
the standard 32 page comic book.
Accessories (Gambit)- *** 1/2
Gambit fares much better as his base is huge.... REALLY HUGE! Not
only is it big, but it is beautifully sculpted with awesome paint
applications as well.
THEN there's the staff, a cloth trenchcoat, and an energy effect (similar
to Star Wars' force powers). The trenchcoat here is among the best
ideas ever. It started with The Thing and really is perfected here.
Never before has an action figure fit so well into cloth threads as Gambit
is seen here. The material used is perfect for easy poseability as
well as looking great! The cloth works so well, it's a
shame that the previous lines of capes weren't done with similar
treatment.
The blast effect, however, is cool but I'm having problems getting "Remy"
here to hold it properly. Overall, Gambit boasts a nice set of stuff
that makes this a perfect package.
Let's also not forget the comic book too!
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Value - ****
These figures range from $6.99 to $7.99 retail and for that, there is no
better deal for figures with this much articulation, detailed accessories,
amazing sculpt, and a comic book!
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Overall - ****
I don't want to sound like a broken record, but wait... actually when
it comes to awesome, amazing, astonishing toys, I REALLY want to sound
like a broken record. Get these now! What are you waiting for?
Marvel Legends have been solid from the start and it's just getting
better. These are toys that can make any toy fan into the comic book
property that it represents. Yes, the Beast lacks a great base, but
it's an incredible figure regardless. Gambit is smaller but
definitely makes up for it in accessories (cloth trenchcoat, people!).
If you're a fan of the X-MEN, this is definitely your bag, baby.
Where to Buy -
These puppies have just been released at Wal-Mart stores and
Toys"R"Us stores. These two samples were found at TRU for
$7.99 a piece.
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Figure from the collection of
Coheteboy.
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