REVIEW Play Arts Kai Metal Gear Solid Snake

Posted on May 29, 2012 by Knives

INTRO

Few video game franchises are nearer and dearer to my heart than Hideo Kojima’s Metal Gear. I’ve played, if not beaten almost every game in the series including the port of the very first Metal Gear when it was out on the NES back in the 80’s (don’t do the math.. yes I’m at least that old). There’s something about Kojima’s characters and their stories that are so compelling and interesting, I found myself constantly hungry for more. A few years later I found myself scouring comic shops and books stores for the artwork of Yoji Shinkawa. Along with Yoshitaka Amano of Final Fantasy fame, his artwork kicked everything else game art wise in the teeth with how crazy energetic and magnetic it was. I still have game guides from the 90’s simply because it was chock full of his work.

Growing up, Metal Gear and Final Fantasy essentially rented time shares at my house. I’d bounce back and forth between the franchises, squeezing as much gaming juice from them as I could until the next game rolled around. Other than perhaps Final Fantasy 7, few games can compete with how much time and energy I invested into Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. I’ve played through the fantastic Snake Eater at least five times front to back.

All that was written to simply express to you that I am a fan. A big, massive, huge, gigantic (loaded to the gills with redundant adjectives) Metal Gear fan. Now that I finally have in possession my first Metal Gear action figure of one of my favorite video game characters of all time, I came to an incredibly shocking realization. This is my first Metal Gear action figure.

Egad.

PACKAGING

Akin to Play Art Kai’s other figures, Snake comes in a big box with a front panel window to give you a peak at what’s in store. This is Metal Gear’s 25th anniversary and from the decal on the lower right on the front you can see that this figure is an official part of the celebration! The classic Metal Gear Solid Logo stands out the most while the bulk of the text is written in kanji. A few pics of Snake looking dangerous decorates the back of the pack and perhaps aims to inspire you once you break him out of his plastic cage.

WHAT’S INCLUDED

Snake’s default getup has him equipped with a little thunder and a little lightning. Also known as closed clinched fists. If you want him to actually HOLD the two guns he comes with, you have to switch them out with the included extra set of hands. One hand can hold the grip of his rifle or holstered side arm, the other hand is used as.. for lack of better term, “cupping”. I think it’s a little weird that they didn’t include a tactical knife in the arsenal since it’s always been a constant companion of Snake’s since day one. It’d also would have been cool if they threw in either the classic cardboard box that Snake used for bypassing baddies or the girlie magazine he used to distract them.

THE BREAKDOWN

I can’t tell you how much I anticipated this figure to arrive. It seemed to take forever since everything I get from 3rd party sources tend to ship to LA before it gets resent back to us here in Hawaii. Things from Japan tend to scoot right past us, touch down in California, then boomerang back our direction. This sometimes adds an extra week to my wait time in getting an order in. Since my wait has been so long, I’m not going to make you wait any longer to get the overall gist of my opinion of Snake. In fact, I’m going to risk electively ruining this whole review for you and cut right to the punchline. I’m really happy and impressed by how well Play Arts Kai rocked Solid Snake.

The moment you take him out of the box you’ll notice how amazingly well sculpted and detailed he is. All the little straps and buckles are perfectly painted,the rivets in his shoulder and knee pads are neatly placed. Snake’s expression is one of thin lipped determination. He’s an impressive site, wholly true to his in game persona. I’ve heard Play Arts Kai mess around with their scales quite a bit on their figs but I have nothing to compare that to other than Batman and Joker. Snake is a pretty big fellah and measures just the tiniest bit taller than his DC buddies.

To continue the comparison of Snake to Play Arts Kai’s Joker or Batman, I’d say he feels more solid that they did. All of Play Art Kai’s figures seem to have significant heft to them, but even the thinner bits like straps and packs feel sturdier on Snake than Bats or J-money. Something else I’m learning about these figures is that they all have a floating midsection that’s not really attached to anything underneath the surface and just sort of sits to cover the tops of the hips/legs. It works pretty well and looks fine for the most part, but on this particular figure, his mid section seems to favor one side quite definitively, over the other leaving a good deal of the top of his right leg exposed. I had to adjust it every time I posed him or it would move itself to one side and look completely out of whack. (I know, I know, double entendres for DAYZ.)

Solid Snake’s face is relatively well done as they captured his in game likeness almost perfectly. He looks stern and ready for anything. However, his eyes are painted to point slightly up. I assume so he appears to be intensely peering up from under his headband. It works fine in most cases, but in some poses he can look a little unfocused. In fact, they might not be painted QUITE as aligned as they should. A bummer considering how “cool” Snake should look. Hard to look cool and cross eyed at the same time. Speaking of the headband, the straps in the back can be rotated left or right which is a cool touch to get that “wind blown” look you’re after. The frown marks sculpted on the band as well as the hair sculpt are also pretty well done.

The default fists Snake is sporting are a little odd simply because they not particularly dynamic or useful. They don’t look aggressive like the sorta fist you’d hit somebody across the jaw with nor can they hold anything. A set of more dramatic hand styles would have been appreciated. The hands also appear a little small, but that could just be my eyes playing tricks on me. The other odd thing is how the hands sit inside the forearm. They’re not centered on the wrist but are substantially offset to one side. I’m not sure why this is. I don’t get the added benefit of this other than making the joint all the more apparent.

Snake comes with a single hand that can hold a weapon. It’s capable of handling the task, though it’s not as tight as I’d like it to be on the pistol grip. It’s also kind of a pain to get him to hold his rifle given the unforgiving plastic of the weapon and the general bulk of Snake’s torso. The open or “cupping” hand is a little more interesting than the tiny fist, but it’s kind of a one trick pony. I’ll restate that I really wish Play Arts Kai would have included another set of more dramatic hand sculpts.

Moving around the figure, I’m really impressed (once again) with all the detail Play Arts Kai managed to squeeze into Solid Snake. I love the details on his boots, particularly the cleats along the sides of the toe. Most impressive of all is the sculpted detail in the various straps, pads and buckles. Even in hand, you may find yourself convinced that some of these are actual cloth and not plastic. The gun strap is a great example of this.

Getting Snake to balance, while not necessarily difficult, can be a little tricky. I’m sure there’s an industry term somewhere I could use but I’ll describe the joints as clicking/segmented joints. What this means is that there are only certain positions around each joint that will allow it to hold in place. Like the ticking of the seconds hand on a timepiece. This gives you a sturdier lock onto a pose, but the trade off is that you lose the ability to finely adjust the particular joint. You have to click the figure into a pose, and then see if he stands. If the weight is off and you need to slide a leg forward a millimeter, you most likely won’t be able to because the joint won’t lock into that increment. Long story short, when you get Snake standing make SURE he’s actually going to remain that way. Sometimes he’ll stand there for a few moments until one of those joints settle into place sending him toppling over.

The articulation on Snake is pretty darn good. I think I’m STILL discovering the seemingly random swivel joint here and there. One thing I really dig in how they handled masking Snake’s joints opposed to the way they engineered Batman and Joker’s. They ingeniously covered up the double knee and elbow joints with knee/elbow pads. It’s so much more natural looking. Even in more extreme poses, Snake doesn’t look ridiculous. Snake has a collar around his neck that, while cool looking does impede his range of movement a little. I don’t mind it too much since I haven’t put him in too many poses that stress the turning of his neck, but you might.

Another touch that puts Snake in the “win” category a little higher than Joker or Bats is that his shoulder joints are hidden from site thanks to his shoulder pads. Joker’s were just absolute eye sores that killed any sense of a cohesiveness in his suit jacket. Batman’s shoulder joints were covered by his cape, but the heavy rubber used there limited his movements pretty substantially. Snake’s solution is probably the best compromise. The shoulder pads do still hinder his movement a little bit, but they looks great and the trade off is well worth it.

I had a problem with Snake’s pistol silencer. Since it’s packed attached to the pistol and holstered at his side, pressure from the packaging caused it to deform and bend. It leans slightly to the left, so to say. I’m sure it’s a pretty easy fix, heating it up a little with a hair dryer then putting something heavy on it to straighten it out should do the trick, but we shouldn’t have to “fix” our new toys the second we get them. Packaging it by itself would have resolved the issue completely.

My current favorite setup for Snake is having it swung over his shoulder while he holds his silenced pistol at the ready. I really like the straps on the assault rifle, both functionally and visually.. but had some trouble getting Snake to actually HOLD his assault rifle. Part of the reason I had such a difficult time getting the assault rifle to fit is because for whatever reason, Snake’s right arm keeps detaching at the elbow. I wouldn’t call it broken since it can be popped back in, but it certainly doesn’t hold in place like it should. This is very similar to what I experienced with The Joker with his shoulder constantly popping off. Throughout the entire photo shoot I had to work around this little issue. It’s a shame because all of the other joints on Snake hold extremely well! I’m beginning to wonder if this is just a “thing” you have to put up with if you collect Square Enix/Play Arts Kai figures or a fluke. I’m tempted to contact the shop I got him from and see what my options are for a swap as it’s become pretty darn annoying at this point.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Overall I’m impressed with what Play Arts Kai pulled off with Solid Snake. I’m extremely happy to have him on my shelf. That being said, I’m a huge Metal Gear Solid fan and this particular figure is that of my favorite video game character. It’s possible that I may turn a blind eye to some of his faults. Not to the degree in that I didn’t note them, or don’t care about them.. but that I might more easily overlook them. If you were just picking this guy up because you heard of the series or just thought he was a cool looking toy to add to your collection, you might find these or other issue with him more pressing and they may more readily rub you the wrong way. From the lack of fun or interesting accessories (smokes, box, girly mag) and unimaginative hand options to the misaligned eyes and right leaning midriff… or in my case, the freaking arm constantly popping out of socket… Snakes certainly not perfect.

But for me, Solid Snake rocks, warts and all. I love the classic MGS story and characters and really hope Play Arts Kai plans to release each and every one of them. I honestly can’t wait to have a shelf full of them. We’ve already seen a few teases of Meryl Silverburgh, Solidus Snake and Raiden. Based off what I’ve gathered so far, they’re going to be worthy additions to any fans collection!

Pros:

Faithful likeness to the in game character based off Yoji Shinkawa’s character designs
Some really impressive sculpted details
Great articulation throughout
Really nice solution to the otherwise ugly double jointed knees and elbows
The beginning of a classic line of Metal Gear figures

Cons:

Arm popped off at elbow right out the box.
Crazy bent silencer. Had to straighten it with hot water. Shouldn’t have had to do that.
Eyes are painted slightly off
Unexciting hands and accessories.. where’s the box, smokes, magazine?
Can be a little difficult to balance

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review 3A WWRp JEA Heavy Bramble

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Knives

INTRO

It’s not often that I’m able to point my finger at previous review we’ve posted and say that the one you’re currently reading (enthralled with?) will be essentially a retread of the former. Yes, it’s 3A WWRp JEA time again. The on-going saga of collecting the JEA colorway at 1/12th scale continues with the just released, retail WWRp JEA Heavy Bramble.

You might detect a few notes here from my previous review of the WWRp JEA MK3 Bertie. Many of the same things I admired and critiqued on that bot are essentially the same sort registered here. If you’ve yet to read it, I suggest you give it a gander after you’ve consumed this tasty meal. If you’ve had it before, then perhaps you’d enjoy a quick revisit.

So while there may be a few woodsy.. perhaps smokey hints that leap off the back of the palette a few moments after you’ve finished a sip. Fear not, there are differences below…

or perhaps just a few finer details.

PACKAGING

Ah yes. It’s good to see the likes of AW paints once again being the focus of a 3A toy’s boxart. WWRp Heavy Bramble features an image of the Bramble Gravedigger, I assume a few moments pre-rocket release, the icons/graphics are minimal, the painting prominent. Definitely worthy of shelf display.

On the back we get a nice quick background story about the Mk3 Bramble. While we’ve seen slivers of story here and there on various 3A packs, this is the first time I’ve seen one that features a bots proposed “specs”. Size, weight, height, it’s all here. It’s pretty cool in a geeky (aka, me) kind of way.

WHAT’S INCLUDED

Your Heavy Bramble will come packed tidy with 4 bags and a massive rocket launcher of sorts known as the Aunty Jack 4 Way RPD. I think of it as 3A’s BFG.

THE BREAKDOWN

It’d be really super crazy easy for me to go down the path of drawing comparisons between little WWRp Heavy Bramble and big WWR Heavy Bramble. I could fill this page with how amazingly close to the two are in terms of paint, weathering, articulation, presence… etc. On and on I could go until you’ve found yourself reading an exhaustive comparison of each bot’s pinky surface texture. I firmly believe that nobody wants that.

So I’m going to try not to do that gentle reader, because you deserve more. I’ll sum it up real quick and say that yes, indeed 1/6 and 1/12 HBs are practically identical twins, albeit with one wot’s been shrunken by some sort of wonderous toy shrink ray. The bags might be a shade or three lighter on the WWRp version. but beyond that… twinsies!

Instead, I’d like to focus on the WWRp Heavy Bramble and how he relates and compares to the other bots in the WWRp world. The JEA colorway and otherwise.

Out of the box and at first rub, Mr. HB looks really good. The familiar greens, tans and icons that any JEA fan would appreciate are all here. I’m still amazed at how much detail 3A can squeeze onto their smaller figures. Especially when it’s based off a larger version and manages to remains faithful to it down to the tiny drips of “oil” running off an exhaust. I’m almost convinced that they reverse engineer everything. Simply design a robot for the small scale only to release the giant version first with the sole goal of really impressing us all later. Flecs of rust, soot and oil remind you that you’re looking at a machine.. a machine that’s been places and seen some things.

I love Heavy B’s proportions. The original bramble is one of my favorite toys out of 3A with it’s barrel chest (literally.. a barrel)and has always in my mind been the “muscle” of the squad. The HB takes that idea and runs with it. Just look at those gorilla arms. He makes poor Mk2 look absolutely anorexic by comparison. If I had one complaint with the design it’d be the extended exposed wrist joint. It functions as a tremendous boon when holding the launcher, but aesthetically it does look a little out of place.

Articulation on a Heavy Bramble is essentially the same as it was on the standard MK2 Bramble. The larger shoulders/arms do seem to have a slightly more limited allotment for shoulder movement, but I doubt it’s anything you’d notice or mind if you’re already a fan of the MK2. Other than that the head turns, waist twists, knees bend and fingers open/close. If you were able to get there with the Mk2, you shouldn’t have any issue doing so with the MK3 as well.

Of note is that all the joints (fingers included) on my Heavy Bramble were perfect. Not too tight, not too loose. Each had just the right amount of resistence so I can twist and turn him into whatever pose allowed and he’ll stay put. The fingers don’t flop around like loose erector set pieces, the arms or legs don’t feel as though they may snap in twain while bending them. It could be complete blind luck mine turned out this well, but I’ll take it. However, if by chance there’s a setting on the dremel tool or whatever piece of machinery 3A uses to engineer toy joints.. I’d like to whole heatedly request that they WRITE IT DOWN!

The addition of MK3’s thicker arms makes a lot of sense given the size of the RPD he’s equipped with.

It’s huge. Massive even. End to end, almost twice the size of HB himself. I love the design of it with it’s flaps and scope. It’s a bit limiting how Heavy B can hold the launcher. Apparently Rothchild only designed these guys as rightys. The scope is stuck firm and fast on the weapon’s left side, meaning HB has to hold it with his right hand if he wants to hit his target. It’d been cool if the scope snapped on and off so you could move things around a bit more freely, but regardless the HB + launcher is an impressive and imposing sight.

Complaint time.

The side bags are just as annoying as they’ve ever been. I’m probably alone but I’m just not a fan. I’ve always liked the idea of bots sporting bags and you may think they’re the best thing since sliced bread. Just don’t be surprised to find that once again they fly off at the smallest bump as though possessed by a silent robot sack focused banshee. At this point in the evolution of robots/warfare and the men, women and children who play with them, there HAS to be a better way to adhere these things to robots. Bring back the bertie belts! Those did the job with grande gusto! I know, I know.. adding belts at this juncture when the original 2 year old design didn’t have them would be some kind of toy design heresy. But I’d happily forgive that by chalking it up as an “upgrade”.

Also, the bag straps are all over the place. Untidy to say the least. That is all.

Throwing HB up with the rest of the JEA crew looks great. The cohesive colors and icons speckled throughout the gang looks really nice together. Heavy fits right in while not getting lost in the sea of greens. It could be that massive launcher he’s holding allowing him to stand out, but I’ll let him take the credit

HB’s design elements seem to borrow the most from the MK2 JEA Bramble and the JEA Large Martin. The general overall color scheme is basically swiped from MK2 while many of the updated icons are taken from LM. It’s a good blend I think to tie the squad in a bit more. Thankfully the tones are just right and not like the out of place (though individually cool) blue dominate JEA Armstrong. If having your bots match is important to you, the JEA Heavy Bramble shouldn’t dissapoint ya.

So other than the bags, a criticism arguably based off preference than on true unbiased observation, what other problems/errors/missteps/unforutnates did I find with Mr JEA HB? Well I’ll tell you.

I found two.

As a long time 3A collector my fondest memories go back to some if their earliest bots. These of course are the MK2 Brambles and the MK2 Berties. Not only were they brand new, never before seen highly articulated robots sporting awesome firepower and an intriguing background story, they were painted and detailed with such astonishing care and finesse. The first Bertie I held in my hands was Dirty Deeds. An all black bot with a few simple white icons on him. deceptively uncomplicated. But when you really looked at him the various layers of paint and weathering begin to pop out. As the different shades of bronze and silver rust along with the careful placement of painted wear and tear reveal themselves, you begin to realize that there’s nothing simple about this all black bot at all. In fact, it’s a masterpiece.

Perhaps that’s comparing apples to oranges. A bit too abstract. I’ll go another route. The obvious one. Bramble to Bramble. While they look great together, putting them side by side will no doubt show you very clearly why your brand new MK3 Heavy Bramble is and will always be inferior to your old, dusty, out of date MK2 Bramble. Big arms be damned.

Just look at the scratches of silver metal peaking through on the various ridges and edges on the MK2. Places where the Bramble had obviously scratched itself against something heavy, which took paint as it’s prize. It catches the light and breaks up the muck of oil and drab. To me it’s the one last crucial piece of the puzzle that sells the idea that this is a “metal” robot I’m looking at. The Heavy Bramble doesn’t have that. Without that small touch, the little breaks to his specular profile, he’s plastic. Really cool looking plastic, but plastic all the same.

I’ve noticed this on the last several 3A bots I’ve collected and I can’t understand why they felt it no longer necessary to apply that level of detail to their new bots. It’s as though 3A ran out of silver paint.

I understand they’re getting bigger as a company and the demand for 3A toys is unfathomably greater than it was when the MK2 was released, but hire another detail guy (gal) or two and please bring it back 3A!

My only other quibble with this miniaturized robotic giant isn’t a fault of him being WWRp, but fault of the original’s execution which this scale happens to mirror.

Those blasted launcher flaps.

If by some miracle 3A could have found it in their collective hearts to update the launcher to include HINGED launcher flaps, singing birds would have herald their greatness to the heavens, the sky would have turned a pure Bob Ross blue and Apollo would have lifted his skirt.

I might have even cried giant man tears of joy.

But alas, they did not so I did not. None of that stuff happened because they decided to leave them sticking out, thin and gorilla glued. Once more you will have to worry about how you lay the launcher down, placing it hanging over a ledge or if you fancy yourself a brave sou,l standing up right and balanced on end. You must examine daily the very grip of your Heavy Bramble to ensure that it be firm and true so the launcher does not fall foul from it’s fickle grasp.

Because if it DOES, you will without the slightest hint of question have a broken, busted, shattered launcher on your hands. You might as well buy a small tube of super glue the next time your at Walgreens just in case.

Oh, and keep it close.

FINAL SUMMARY

The MK3 WWRp Heavy Bramble is another fine addition to my JEA Squad. I was actually a bit more excited about getting him than I was my MK3 Bertie a few months ago. I just love that classic ol’ Bramble design. If you collect JEA or one of the other WWRp colorways offered by this retail run, I’d recommend scooping up one or two. Even if you don’t, their a steal right now and some great designs to choose from. There’s even some region specific variants for UK, USA and Asia that are only available if you live in the respective area.. or have that thing called internet and can type the word “ebay”. They’re available now at just about all the sexy cool online toy stores. Grab them while you can!

A few 3A purist may discount my claim that the paint on the HB lacks the refinement of the original MK2’s and assume that I’m simply trying to find something to complain about or critique. On the other hand, those who gather speed off 3A’s missteps will probably applaud and take my comments about the paint app to mean the Heavy MK3 “sucks”. Neither are true. Despite my lust for a return of 3A perfection and the few wanted improvements I’ve noted, these guys are really great toys.

I firmly believe that 3A is still delivering above and beyond 99% of anything else out there.. I’d just like to see them nudged back to 100%.

Pros:

Another great addition to the JEA squad or the WWRp collector’s shelf in general
Great articulation and perfect (at least on mine) joints.
Very nice paint that practically mirrors his big brother
Colors match the JEA squad flawlessly
Huge launcher is BA

Cons:

When side by side with MK2 Bramble, the lack of some of the finer attention to details in the paint application on the Heavy are really noticeable
Flaps on the launcher are still glued on and fragile.

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REVIEW 3A JUNGLE VET

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Knives

INTRO

It”s been ages, but finally the dreary dull period of nothingness has come to a sharp and abrupt end. Today, the long cold chain of having exactly zero boxes labeled “3A” sitting at my doorstep has finally been broken. Jungle Vet from 3A’s retail assortment of Adventure Kartel toys has arrived.

Purchasing the full retail run of these guys would be a great start to just about anyone’s 3A collection, however Rad Toy Review was only able to snag one. We’ve been holding our breath since then in hopes our choice was indeed a wise one.

Early opinions from other collectors seemed extremely polarizing as well as fairly consistent. Of the the AK gang, the overwhelmingly positive praise seems predominantly aimed towards Jungle Vet (whew!) and Pneumbra. The lukewarm, comfy room temperature praise to Tommy Red, Lil Shadow and Johnson. While an apparent and almost unanimous negative panning has marred the arrival of the otherwise beloved Hooded Zombs.

Alas, this is NOT a review about Zombs or anything else other than Jungle Vet. So lets get to that.

First let me say that the photos that accompany this review were taken on the first official RtR “field trip”. A field trip to Pearl Harbor. While it’s not the jungle, the seemingly military background of JV lent itself to what we hoped would be an fun and interesting shoot.

It turned out to be both those things as well as a little… surprising.

PACKAGING

Ed’s note: My Jungle Vet came from Sideshow Collectibles in a brown Sideshow shipping box. The JV box itself was not shrink wrapped. Don’t be alarmed if your’s shows up the same way as apparently that’s how most of these were shipped out from 3A. It’s normal.

Much like the retail release figure’s afore mentioned opinion polarization, the packaging for them shares the same mark. Unlike the epic paintings that usually grace 3A boxes, we’re left with a simple graphic depicting Jungle Vet. Astute observers might notice that all 3A did was take the initial preview photos of the various AK figures and then toss some vector artwork over it. I think it fits pretty well with this line. It’s lends itself to animation, it’s playful, clean and gets the job done. I’m cool with a little variety in my boxes, but I also know for a fact there are those who feel a little shortchanged with the lack of a true Ashley Wood painting.

On the back you get a little preview of the rest of the collection you can hunt down at your favorite retailer (providing they sell 3A toys) and the Adventure Kartel slogan, “The Adventure continues with you!”

WHAT’S INCLUDED

The Adventure Kartel series proper has always come with a poster with a comic on the back giving us a tiny slice of the AK story. Sadly, the retail gang did not get the same treatment. Tis a small thing, but given Adventure Kartel’s track record for including one, I feel the absence is note worthy. It’s also little odd to me because paying retail for these figures is a good deal more expensive than what a similar offering that included posters in the past go for on 3A’s own Bambaland website.

So what do you get? Well, really what you paid for. Jungle Vet himself sporting a gaggle of bags and his (or rather Bleak’s) trusty side arm.

THE BREAKDOWN

As mentioned above, for this shoot we decided to take Jungle Vet to Pearl Harbor and see what sort of trouble he could get into. A grown man with a group of camera wielding ladies carrying a doll (cough* action figure!) around a historical site which also happens to be a functioning military base, garners more than the occasional stare and sideways glance.

Pearl Harbor has some pretty strict rules about what you are allowed to bring in with you. Bags of any kind are on the list. So how does one smuggle a 1:6 scale action figure into such a locked down establishment?

Like so. Shhhhhh…

So we waltz into the memorial and then take a bus over to the Battleship Missouri Memorial. For those that don’t know, it’s a massive battleship, the last one built by the United States. She was used heavily during World War II and provided fire support during Desert Storm back in ’91. She’s a beauty and a beast.

Once we got on deck and I started to play around with JV, the first thing I notice is probably the first thing you’ll notice. His hands rock! They’re so much fun to pose. The fingers are firm but not tight and I didn’t once worry about any of them snapping off. I know, I know.. they’re basically ripped off an 1:12 armstrong and shoved onto an Ankou body, but fun is fun I say.

I also love the fact that the hands are different colors. It’s as though Ol’ Jungle Vet has seen a few scraps in his time and has required some maintenance over the years. I’ve always had a soft spot for robots that look hobbled together from various tossed away bits. I’m not sure if an Ankou is 100% robot or a man-bot.. or whatever.. but the fond leaning remains.

The paint and weathering on JV are nicely done. His dome is overly rusty with pops of crusty blue paint peaking through. The yellow ring around his eye ties in nicely with his left yellow hand. His right red fist has three black fingers further supporting the “hobbled” together patch work he might have had while on the battlefield.

I’m definitely a fan of the new hooded boiler suit as it just about doubles the different looks you can go for when setting him up on your shelf. The hood itself has an underwire around the brim so you can shape it some, though the suit rests fairly high overall and despite my efforts he always seemed to wind up with one form or another of pointy hat syndrome.

The camouflage on his boiler is the best 3A have done so far. Unlike the more hand painted flecks that appear on Jung De Plume, Pathfinder Ono Oya or the Jungle Grunt, Jungle Vet’s seems to be an actual camo pattern that’s simply part of the fabric. Across JV’s chest is two white “v” marks that call back to military badges and symbolism. The weathering for the boiler suit is what we’ve all seen before, faded and mostly dusty with a few heavier stained touches here and there.

Of course underneath it all is a standard issue white 3A shirt. I understand branding is important, but I really would like to understand how everyone from all walks of 3A toy life has managed to score one of these Ts. Are they the GAP of 3A land? Also, if all the toys have them, why can’t we? Where’s our 3A logo T-shirts? Anyway, it’s there in case you need it, but I preferred the look of keeping his suit zipped.

Again, the hands are just so much fun. I never really warmed to the original Ankou. I’ve had several in the past and have long since sold or traded them off. The mono eye is cool/funny, but I found the clamps too be somewhat restrictive to the character overall. I had a few laughs displaying my old creepy grinning Ankou using his clamps to try and lift Cherry Shadow’s skirt.. but beyond that I never really found a use for them that resonated with me. Others may have had much greater success and wouldn’t trade off their old Ankous for anything but take my word on it.

Jungle Vet is waaaay better than they are.

Jungle Vet as character feels more sneaky than dangerous. There’s something goofy about the Ankou design that keeps you from taking one seriously. I really like that about them. JV continues the feeling of playfulness and in fact might enhance it with the added (and personally much applauded) digits.

So yes, the hands are awesome and the gun JV comes with is awesome. Unfortunately for us, they weren’t made for each other and that’s less than awesome. JV’s gun is originally from Bleak Mission who’s hands are sculpted to fit the hand cannon. Despite JV’s awesome dexterous digits, he’s not as fortunate. He can hold the weapon, but he can’t fire it. As is often times the case when things are retrofitted after the fact.. they don’t technically work together.

Jungle V’s fingers are simply too fat for the trigger gaurd, or the trigger gaurd is too small for Jungle V’s fingers. It’s a small thing but it does add a little more fuel to my one criticism of Jungle Vet and that is the fact that he’s basically the result of company level kit bashing.

Even if you take into consideration the added hood on the boiler suit, there’s really nothing “new” about him. The body is the same old 3A body, the head and boots are from an Ankou, the boiler suit is from Zombs, and his hands are from either a 1:12th Armstrong or a Bramble. The bags and t-shirt are from countless other 3A figs and the gun is from Bleak.

I can’t decide if the fact that so many existing parts were used to build this guy should bother me, or if I should just marvel at how well it all works together.. AGAIN to create a seemingly unique new figure to play with.

This is about the part of the photo shoot where we were interrupted.. or rather, we interrupt others. As we move down the deck of the Missouri, we suddenly and unexpectedly ran into..

Rihanna. “Heyaaah.”

Without thinking it through I waved at her with a toy in my hand. She politely smiled and waved back.

It turns out, the day we chose to do our photoshoot also happen to be the day that some of the stars of the movie “Battleship” would be aboard to do some interviews and DVD extra’s shooting. We continued our own shoot and made a quick pit stop by where they were setting up to film to see what we could see.

As they walked pass, I don’t think anyone “got” why a grown man was holding a toy, posing and taking pictures of it. I can’t blame them.

Taylor Kitsch didn’t get it.

Brooklyn Decker gave us the stink eye…

Alexander Skarsgard kept looking over at as with an almost visible “?” above his head.

(editors note: Alex turns out to be a really nice guy. He came over later, shook our hands and took some pictures. I should have had him hold Jungle Vet for one.. but that’d been a little “Dance monkey! Dance!” I think.)

Anyway.. back to the review.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Jungle Vet is a bunch of different bits and pieces of 3A toys cobbled together and sold to us like something brand new. I’d call it snake oil if it didn’t work so totally well together. 3A is already known for putting out high quality, dynamic and highly articulated toys. What we have here is one of the best elements of the WWRp line of bots combined with the flexibility and articulation of the 1:6 human figure line. You’ll be able to squeeze more poses and gestures out of JV than any other figure currently in your collection. That in itself, makes him feel all new. Yes, his gun SHOULD have fit his hand. Though honestly, this is something I’ve learned to accept from 3A. My WWRp Warbots fingers can’t fit his guns and they were MADE for each other. Blind Cowboy’s hands are sculpted to fit his yet they’re a tad big and his grip is a little fickle. I’m not sure why this is, but for whatever reason, 3A’s “gun to fit hand perfectly” ratio is just not very good. Yet I can almost promise you it won’t detract from your enjoyment of this guy.

I enjoyed taking Jungle Vet to the Pearl Harbor memorial and posing him in various locations while snapping pictures like a fiend in front of various tourist and sailors. Despite wagging him raggedly like a goon at Rihanna as she walked by I think the shoot went really well and may be our best yet!

Opinions may be scattered on the quality of the Retail Adventure Kartel collection. Some have said it’s left a bad taste in their mouth and are even questioning whether or not they’ll continue to collect 3A. (Suuuure.. ) But I can assure you that Jungle Vet will live up and perhaps even surpass your expectations. It’s the most fun I’ve had with a toy this year hands down. Seek him out, try not to pay the flipper price and add him to your collection. Should you buy? Yes!

Pros:

The hands make the man/machine. Adds a ton to your poses and to his overall character.
The paint and weathering is up to snuff and sure to please.
New camouflage is better quality than in the past. Looks to be an ACTUAL pattern instead of a haphazardly painted one.
My favorite take away from the original Ankou the googley eye, is still fun to play with and good for a laugh
He’s a near perfect 3A kitbash

Cons:

He’s a near perfect 3A kitbash
Boxart might turn purist off
Unlike bambaland released Adventure Kartel Figures, no poster or extras are included with the retail released AK

Yeah.. Rihanna didn’t get it either..

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NEWS and MUSINGS #2

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Knives

This and that and other things..

SUPREME NOM COMMANDER

Coming up this weekend (April 30th @ 9:00am HK time) 3A will release their long anticipated Supreme NOM Commander figure. Available in two variants, black (standard) and white (3AA exclusive) at $120 before 3AA discount. Early rumblings have been pretty polarizing with quite a few expressing their disappointment in her design while others love it so much they plan on purchasing both versions to join the ranks of their collection.

My wife saw these pics and said, “The scuba gear looks cool but what’s up with her feet?” To me, the feet are really interesting. I’ve heard them referred to as “ballerina slippers” and I suppose the resemblance is there. It’s my favorite part of the figure, if only because it’s so different than what we’ve seen from 3A before. The dangling tank looks a little odd to me. I’d rather it be on the side.. on her hip perhaps. I’m guessing it’s some sort of phallic this or that.. but that neither interest or shocks me. You may differ! I also wish 3A did a little more to push the overall design. I was hoping for something with a lot of layers.. various points of interest.. something DIFFERENT. Instead, the immediate first impression is “Scuba gear chic in ballerina pointe shoes who can neither sit down or easily walk.”

For now, my interest in her is fairly low. Lady Sham was teased earlier this month and shares a similar body suite, the same hands and a great new head sculpt. For me, it makes sense to pass on Supreme NOM and toss that money at Sham when she eventually drops.

What’s your take?

SOLID GOLD DEATHMASK BY RUFUS DAYGLOW

Rufus Dayglow is making his 3A debut with a wicked looking Faux Bronz statue from his Shiny Gold Deathmask series. No price or release info as of yet! Actoin figures based off of a quirky series about a violence inclined girl sauntering through various sorts of ancient Aztec-esque adventures? Frilly toothpicks? I’m for it!

Can’t wait to see what Rufus and 3A conjure up next!

Kotobukiya

Kotobukiya has teased a few of their awesome new Zone of Enders model kits on their facebook page. Being a big Hideo Kojima fan, Z.O.E along with Metal Gear Solid have a near and dear place in my video game laden heart. We hope to have a chance to do an early preview/review of their Jehuty Zone of the Enders HD Version before they hit retail in August. I’ll post more info as it comes!

Another kit/series I’m excited to jump into is Kotobukiya’s Frame Arms. I don’t know much about them other than the few pictures I’ve seen online.. but I just love the look of this bot and can’t wait to see more!

Hot Toys

Keeping in line with my “must talk about anything Metal Gear Solid Related” personal mantra, Hot Toys has just released the first pics AND opened up preorders for their first to MGS offerings. Naked Snake and Boss. I’m actually a little let down from what I’m seeing in the pics. Boss looks like a man, both their suits look rather cheap and plasticky and I’m just not loving Snakes headsculpt. Too much emphasis on the creepstache. Plus, is it just me or are their heads to big for their bodies?

Snakes looks the better of the two, but even he feels a little uninspired. Still, I can’t help but want to pick these up.. if only a little.