Stan Winston's Blood Wolves: Vereticus action figure review

I'll mention right off the bat this figure is from 2003 so you won't find him on the shelf at Walmart. However his is available at Amazon or cheaper at EBay. (all eBay links are eBayPartnerNetwork affiliate links that help me out!) But he's worth reviewing because he's a 7" tall fully articulated medieval knight and you simply don't see those anywhere these days. Vereticus is styled with a pigface bascinet helmet. Wait, isn't he a wolf?

The sculpt of the figure is excellent for being 2003 and rightly so because NECA made them. Each rivet, chainmail link, and armor bend is simply perfect. The wolfish face underneath the movable visor is great looking as well. Even his accessories and base are well done, he could easily pass for a statue on your desk. The arrows are a nice touch tho I can't figure out where the 3rd arrow pegs into.

Articulation is paramount these days and this figure is nicely articulated, in fact more articulated than most of NECA's offerings back in 2003. Ball shoulders, elbows, neck, wrists, waist, cut hips but with swivel thighs, and knees. He's missing ankle articulation and a ball jointed head would have been great but what's here is plenty to get him into some great dragon-slaying poses.

Vereticus' paint work is also top notch, The use of different metallics, shading, and the dirtying up of his tunic looks great. He comes with two swords and can hold the larger one with both hands as the end cap comes off allowing you to slip it into his fists. However the second sword, while removable, doesn't have a removable cap and therefore can't be held unless you cut it off. He also comes with an alternate head which could have been left out because you can lift up his visor anyway. A nice shield would have been cool instead.

Regardless of the slight flaws and the fact you have to order him online somewhere, THIS IS AN ARTICULATED 7" KNIGHT. That alone makes him worth getting and you could customize him into a Marvel Select Black Knight with a little work I'm betting.

Spiderman 4" series Stretch Strike Venom action figure review

The newest 4" Spiderman series is floating around and contains what looks like the best Venom figure in years, Stretch Strike Venom. First thing you'll notice is that he isn't black like in the comics but a dark gray-brownish color with metallic purple highlights. It's not nearly as garish as it sounds in hand but that's what Testors Acryl semigloss black paint is for.

Venom's sculpting is excellent, lots of musculature and tendrily detail. Unlike most figures he's solid PVC so he has some heft and the back tendrils flex. The facial sculpt is sharp just like the teeth and the tongue isn't over the top. I really like the long arms and no-nail clawtips are sculpted. Head and hands, the most important part of a figure.

The articulation is acceptable and better than most figures in the series. Ball head, shoulders, and hips. He's missing a waist, ankle, and unfortunately wrists but that still doesn't hinder him much from getting into some awesome poses. This really surprised me. The range of motion is really good too allowing for everything to move regardless of his stocky form.

Speaking of surprises his action feature isn't all that horrible. It's a blast that attaches to his hand and resembles symbiote moray eel. It's made of a stretchy silicon and can be wrapped around, also jointed at where it attaches to the firmer plastic end that goes on his hand. The sculpt is sharp, this could have worked for an alternate head it's so nice, the gaping mouth and vicious teeth. What's the downside? Finding this guy. Right now he's being scalped by the neackbeard population for upwards of $40. Hopefully the assortment will find its way into more stores but with older Spiderman figs still clogging the pegs who knows.

Right now only Amazon has him.

Marvel Select Juggernaut action figure review

He's the Juggernaut and he's stomping into stores, well, he's already out actually. You can find him at comic shops or online...and boy is he big! Juggy stands a whopping 8 1/2" tall and weighs at least 3 pounds because he's solid plastic. It amazed me the packaging could even support him without tearing the bubble off!

Don't get me wrong, he may be solid plastic but still has plenty of articulation. Ball shoulders, torso, hips, and weird rocker ankles that are pinned through instead of across. They get the job done though. His range of articulation is pretty good considering his stocky design and the only negative is no wrist swivels so he can uppercut. The helmet doesn't come off but you can buy an 'unmasked' version.

The sculpt and paint apps are phenomenal as well, his skin and costume having a nice texture to it and just the right amount of airbrushed shading. There's great copper highlights to his helmet and metal bands as well. With Diamond Select it's usually hit or miss when it comes to paint apps. Here it's a definite hit! Check out those chompers. Every little detail on Juggernaut is there.

This is pretty much the definitive Juggernaut for your collection, fitting in with your Marvel Legends or Marvel Select. A quick repaint and you can have a Marvel vs Capcom Juggernaut too. Snag him for just $20 on Amazon or even cheaper on Ebay (all eBay links are eBayPartnerNetwork affiliate links that help me out!) and soon. This is one of those miss-this-character-and-you're-out-of-luck type thing because I don't see Hasbro making a Build-a-Figure Juggernaut that can beat this guy anytime soon.

Transformers Skyhammer Power Core Combiner action figure review

Continuing with the last wave of Power Core Combiner Transformers is Decepticon Skyhammer. It's odd because while Skyhammer is Dreadwing colored, the bot really doesn't look all that Decepticonish. In fact the Power-up Commander mode really looks like how Autobot Highbrow looks with the goggles. However he is a neat little Transformer.

Skyhammer's bot mode is pretty solid, both in design and terms of awesomeness. He has double jointed elbows/knees! This allows all sorts of great poses. The bright blue pegs are of course jarring to the eyesight especially next to the bright orange. Alley Viper Transformer maybe? He looks cool with the Commander 'goggles' pulled down in this mode too. More on that later.

Looking at SH's jet mode is easier on the eyes since most of the crazy colors are hidden underneath and two of the blue connector pegs tuck away out of sight. His Targetmaster-ish Airlift minicon can attach himself. Airlift is a great mold who's head turns when you turn his waist. No elbows but he has gun-arms.

Commander Power-up mode is way. way better than the first two PCC waves. Everything plugs in securely and SH gets additional joints in his shoulders where the fins hinge. The Commander head is literally a goggled helmet that folds over the smaller head like a clamshell and has a separate swivel underneath so you can still turn the head. This is a really, really cool feature.

Throw some drones on his limbs and you have yourself a fairly sturdy mech. Not as great as Heavytread in our last review, mainly because Skyhammer is missing the waist swivel which would have added much more play value. But the legs and shoulders work better than the usual PCC commanders and the goggled head just looks neat. You can snag Skyhammer on Amazon pretty cheap because he's not one that's usually available in retail stores. At least I've never seen any of this wave on the pegs.