Who doesn’t love toys? Well it’s time for my first toy review for Major Spoilers as I check out the new Marvel Legends wave of Avengers figures. In this first part I’ll be taking a look at Valkyrie, Thundra, Dr. Strange and Blizzard Here we go!
For each figure I’ll be reviewing quality, articulation, paint application, accessories and overall fun factor of the toy. Granted, some will vary for each person’s individual toy but this should give you an all around idea of the line. Lets get to it!
VALKYRIE: This is the figure I was most looking forward to out of the wave and I’m happy to say that she’s one of the best. Her mold is one used many times before, with the slender build and torso swivel just below the breasts. I prefer this articulation as I find it allows for more dynamic poses and gives more clearance. She has all the usual articulation that the Legends toys are famous for: double jointed knees, wrists, elbow and ankle pivot among others. Her hair has the classic double braids and allows for her head to move more freely, something that lots of other female figures don’t have due to the hair restricting movement. The toy poses very well and stands better than many other female Legends toys I have. Valkyrie comes with a sword which is cool but I would have also liked a shield as well. Strangely her belt is part of her body mold and not loose like Thundra’s. All the paint on looks good except for a couple of splotches of blue on her breastplate and one of her eye’s pupils is off, giving her a “wandering eye”. Of course, she’s only two colors but everything is well done. I’m overjoyed to finally start my team of Fearless Defenders (if you didn’t know I’m a huge Fearless Defenders fan you’re not reading enough Major Spoilers articles) and it’s about time some lesser known characters get their due.
THUNDRA: Not content with giving me just one female figure this wave, Hasbro kindly supplies another and she’s a Fearless Defender as well! Thundra’s got a more muscular tone than the Valkyrie mold but has the same swivel below the breasts as opposed to the waist. All the other articulation works well, but her head has almost none due to the hair. If you want her to look anywhere other than straight on or very, very slightly to the left, you’re out of luck. It’s one of the toy’s biggest flaws and is really unfortunate. Poses available are pretty good albeit somewhat limited. Her proportions seem off and I think it may be that her legs are too slim which could be the cause of the pose limitations. Thundra comes equipped with her signature ball and chain. Her belt is loose, which I don’t like and would have preferred molded like Valkyrie’s as I find it gets in the way. The paint on my figure looks very well done with some great straight lines and solid colors. Another one of the top figures of the wave.
DR. STRANGE: Doc Strange is a great looking toy and I like that they used his newer costume. His hands are shaped in the classic Strange “metal” look and he comes with two green magic rings that can attach to his wrists, just like Scarlett Witch from a previous wave. This lends for some really cool and dynamic posing options though his lower half is a bit limited by his robe pieces. Unfortunately the head on my toy is extremely loose and flops about, but that can be fixed (though shouldn’t need to be). All the paint looks great and there is some fine detail and I particularly like the flowing look of his robes. I’m not a fan of Dr Strange but I quite enjoy this toy and anyone looking for a new and different take on the character in 6″ scale should check this one out.
BLIZZARD: Ugh. I’m going to be blunt: this toy is horrible. The minute I picked it up my heart sank. There is nothing to him, so much so that just by holding him you can feel how light he is compared to other Legends figures. Looking at the paint it’s clear that they just grabbed the generic mold from the assembly line and threw a couple of shades of blue over the white plastic. Even the paint that’s there is spotty at best with white showing through. He comes with no accessories unless you count the build-a-figure piece, which I don’t. His articulation is all there but he mainly just strikes a “tough guy with two clenched fists” poses. For a $20 – $25 toy, this doesn’t cut it and is a true disappointment. No care went into this and he was clearly an afterthought, which is a bummer because I’d like to get more characters like Blizzard in toy form rather than another Iron Man. There is no reason to buy this other than for the Hulkbuster piece. Oh well…
BOTTOM LINE: ONLY ONE LET DOWN SO FAR
Of these four figures from this Avengers series, only Blizzard is the true letdown. Valkyrie and Thundra are standouts, not just in quality but because Hasbro and Marvel went out of their way to actually make toys of them. Not only that, I’m amazed that we’re given two female toys in a wave considering companies have stated “Female toys and villains don’t sell.” The articulation of the toys continues to live up to Legends standards and the paint on the three are well done, something this line can suffer from sometimes. Stay tuned for part two, where I’ll take a look at Vision, Iron Man, War Machine and Hulkbuster Iron Man! Feel free to leave comments below and let me know if you liked/disliked this article, thoughts on the wave, ideas for other toy reviews or general musings on life. Until then: Transform and roll out!
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3 Comments
I’ll agree that Blizzard is unimpressive, but you know if they hadn’t created the figure that some collectors would complain. Some people want EVERY character. Just look at some of the past Star Wars action figures based on characters who only had a split second of screen time as part of a crowd.
I totally agree. I love the fact that there is a Blizzard toy, I just wished they put more care into him. He deserves better.
I wonder if they were rushed or trying to cut costs. It just seems lacking compared to the other figures of not just this line but others in recent years.