Mavel Legends Infinite Guardians of the Galaxy action figure review (Groot build a figure wave)

According to fans everywhere the big summer movie expectation lies with Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, a rag-tag team of galactic misfits that are out to save the...galaxy.  This week's review has the Marvel Legends Infinite series in the spotlight again with the complete GotG set under scrutiny. Starlord, Drax the Destroyer, Gamora, Rocket Raccoon, comic Nova, and the build-a-figure Groot make up this very unique set. Packaging is no surprise and is the same collector friendly Marvel Legends Infinite style we've seen in the Spider-Man and Captain America 2 reviews earlier. It allows you to replace the figure for resale or storage at any time and I hope all action figures move towards this style.

Sculpting for the whole line is amazing with extra detail paid to just about every aspect of these figures. Starlord's jacket has all sorts of tech paneling on it, Drax's tattos are raised on his skin, you can make out each hole in Gamora's fishnet body stocking, and even each individual claw on Rocket's tiny paws. Starlord's mask is really well done and the hair coming out from the edges looks sharply defined as do his boot rockets.

Nova is the one you've all been waiting for in his 'Annihilation' comic costume. His helmet is a three-piece design and looks perfect, all his gold armor sections separate as well with detailed costume lines. Rocket Raccoon is a cute little figure with plenty of facial detail, fur, and his tiny flightsuit detail showing. Iron Man is in his cosmic comic armor and is a remold of the Bleeding Edge version with a new head and arms.

Groot is the big winner here with so much wooden detail it's incredible they managed to get it all down. Twisted gnarled branches make up his limbs with mossy texture to them as well as the wood grain look. Tiny twigs sprout from his head and arms. The whole sculpt is a work of art. Gamora is quite pretty for a female Legends sculpt and has a great body design. There's tons of detail on her as well including tiny bootstraps and excellent flowing hair. The facesculpt really does look like the actress where as Starlord's alternate head sculpt isn't spot on to his.

Now it's time for articulation. First off everyone but Gamora and Rocket have side-swivel ankles. Poor Rocket doesn't get any lower body articulation either, the same as his comic build-a-figure version was shorted. He does sport fully articulated arms, a ball head, waist, and tail however. Gamora's hips don't move out to the side more than a couple millimeters making her hips more like a T-crotch design. That's the bad. The good is that everyone else has articulation that's well designed.

Drax can literally do the splits and actually has the most range of motion out of all the figures for such a buff guy! Nova can get into some amazing flying poses and his flexible shoulderpads swivel up out of the way very well. Starlord's coat doesn't get in the way at all and can be posed flipped up in the back with a little patience. Iron Man has the same great movement as his previous mold leaving Groot. He's tall and lanky with great range of motion, and tho he has single jointed knees they work great. His hips are 45 deg angles but don't look odd when bent to the side given his tree-trunk anatomy. A great ball jointed neck gives hims plenty of personality too.

Now for the paint applications. I'm happy to say everyone is fairly cleanly painted with very little slop. The eyes on Starlord's unmasked head are a little odd with thick pupils and eyelashes much like a GI Joe has. Drax has some amazing looking eyes with red iris rings and reflective dots. His tattoo paint is applied on top of the sculpt correctly for the most part with only a couple areas shifted. Rocket's fur has a great wash and his Raccoon coloration is really great looking with different shades of fur. Gamora's metallic blue sections shine as does the amazing metallic gradient of her hair.

Both Iron Man and Nova are cast in metallic plastic that give off a great shine. Nova's chest ports are bright and Iron Man's arc reactor has fading color tones. The wash on Starlord's coat really brings out the detail inside and out. I'm impressed with his mask too, it's very well done. Groot sports paint highlights and mossy green detail over a primarily light brown plastic and looks great, though a wash may have been a better choice to bring out detail.

Accessories for this line are great on some and lacking with others but balance out, Starlord taking top marks. He comes with an alternate head, orb, two blasters, a tape deck, and headphones he can wear. The tape deck really threw me for a loop with all the tiny detail. Gamora comes with an odd looking sword, Drax with two daggers that fit into his boots. Nova and Iron Man have zip unless you count the Groot parts. Rocket comes with one of the best looking guns I've seen with tons of tech detail and a paint wash. He also comes with the giant cannon Starlord wields in the movie and it fits against his chest.

So what's the verdict on these Guardians of the Galaxy? You're going to want Nova and Starlord even if you're not keen on his movie look because of all the awesome stuff he comes with. Drax is surprisingly great, Gamora looks sleek, and you're going to need the rest of the figures regardless to build Groot. He's so very worth it, tall, poseable, and unique looking. Our sponsor Big Bad Toy Store has them all with sets and a few singles. You can get some great deals on the figures at Amazon right now as they dip below retail some days or hover at normal price. Unfortunately Nova is one per case as is Rocket and the two are getting bought out. Don't forget to see the movie and look for Nathan Fillion as Nova, back in a sci-fi role once more!