"Can't stop till ya get enough!" Those were the immortal words of the irreplaceable pop icon, Michael Jackson. In my case, I found myself haulin' and haulin' for the past weeks. Honestly, I was having a rather tumultuous time lately, juggling work commitments and errr...other work commitments. But fret not, as we geeks do sometime always manage to find solace in the form of 'plastic therapy'.
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For the record, I was quite a staunch supporter of the 6" action figure movement....so much so that I've even proclaimed that the 3.75" scale should only be reserved for only AND only the Star Wars and GI Joe action figure line. At one point, I find myself loathing Hasbro's move of 'downsizing' its superheroes/villains down to the 3.75" scale in the form of them Marvel Universe figures. I wasn't ready to re-collect everything again from scratch after having been a steadfast Marvel Legends (Toybiz) collector since the early days.
Read more...
For the record, I was quite a staunch supporter of the 6" action figure movement....so much so that I've even proclaimed that the 3.75" scale should only be reserved for only AND only the Star Wars and GI Joe action figure line. At one point, I find myself loathing Hasbro's move of 'downsizing' its superheroes/villains down to the 3.75" scale in the form of them Marvel Universe figures. I wasn't ready to re-collect everything again from scratch after having been a steadfast Marvel Legends (Toybiz) collector since the early days.
Then, it happened.....(LOL!)........
Recently, I've been picking up the tradepaperbacks (TPBs) for most of the Marvel events that happened after the Civil War saga (thanks to a buddy of mine who constantly provides his insights and opinion on the best Marvel stories around) and slowly find myself being drawn to the whole Avengers/Dark Avengers/Siege storyline. I've been missing out on comics as I was away working in the northern region of Malaysia during those times, so naturally I had a lot of plots, twists and drama to digest and catch up with.
Thereafter, upon a visit to one of the local TRUs, I spent quite some time in the action figure aisle just to have an internal debate with myself..."To buy or not to buy?" You see, I was really into my 'Avengers-mood' and was quite impressed with the new-attire Thor and the modern Luke Cage so much that I can safely say that these 2 were the main catalysts for my obsession towards the line. I can remember holding Wolverine and The Punisher from Series 1 of the Marvel Universe series some time back and saying..."Sheeshhh, what a rip off! Downsized figures, increased price AND most importantly...they're FUGLY!" But these Series 2 figures were like...WOW! Superb improvements! So I began buying them in pairs.....starting with the "Extremis" Iron Man & Luke Cage......
Thereafter, upon a visit to one of the local TRUs, I spent quite some time in the action figure aisle just to have an internal debate with myself..."To buy or not to buy?" You see, I was really into my 'Avengers-mood' and was quite impressed with the new-attire Thor and the modern Luke Cage so much that I can safely say that these 2 were the main catalysts for my obsession towards the line. I can remember holding Wolverine and The Punisher from Series 1 of the Marvel Universe series some time back and saying..."Sheeshhh, what a rip off! Downsized figures, increased price AND most importantly...they're FUGLY!" But these Series 2 figures were like...WOW! Superb improvements! So I began buying them in pairs.....starting with the "Extremis" Iron Man & Luke Cage......
....then Thor (Wooohooo!) & Black Widow...
.......and of course getting myself the Invaders box set (SDCC Exclusive)....at a huge discount of course! The two heavy hitters from this boxset were of course Cap and Red Skull.....
......and I kinda prefer this classic version of Namor as opposed to the modern clothed version.....
....the Human Torch figure is not too shabby too!
While a having a seemingly 'harmless' stroll over at a flagship shopping mall in the Sunway area, we stopped by at a collector toy store for our normal round of toy window shopping. My wife was quick to spot a "Brad Pitt" amongst the 1/6 figure packagings on the display shelf of the said store. It was the Lt. Aldo Raine 1/6 action figure modeled after his sterling performances in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds (2009). To be honest, I didn't preorder this figure. I had this gut feeling that the figure's gonna be around for quite some time given that not everybody is able to fully understand and appreciate the works of Quentin Tarantino. Let's face it, the film wasn't exactly The Dark Knight or Iron Man where 90% of the time, actions speak louder than words. One must be truly prepared to grasp the hidden meanings and cynical elements behind every dialogue. I still do get to hear how some people weren't too keen in Tarantino's supposedly 'flashback scenes' style of movie making. Well, first of all.........those weren't flashbacks.....it's just non-lineared. Anywayyyy, both my wife and I decided to snag Lt Aldo Raine since he'll look good beside our Hugh Jackman....LOL!
Upon first glance, the overall proportions look good!!!
Thank you Hot Toys for such 'generous' accessories. I've always felt kinda cheated when a figure comes with almost nothing as accessories....
Quick look at the headsculpt.....that's a mighty close resemblance to Brad Pitt!
He even has that 'rope' scar on his neck if you look closely.....(darn, should've focused more on that!)......
I had my reservation on this figure before, opting not to preorder since I had a tiny doubt that the final headsculpt might not be as good as the initial prototype (think Hot Toys' Mark I), but upon seeing the product live for the first time, I was proved wrong! I 'm a huge Tarantino fan so naturally I dig the 'Basterds movie.....and being a WW2 buff helps too! Suffice to say that Aldo Raine is now one of my most favourite Tarantino characters. He's up there together with Vincent Vega, Jules Winnfield and Mr Pink! Time for Hot Toys to do the characters from Pulp Fiction & Reservoir Dogs if ya' ask me!
Anyway, I'll come back to do a review on Lt Raine sometime soon. In the meantime, if any of yous Hot Toys execs are reading this, please take note and do a 1/6 figure for Col Hans Landa next!!!! For God's sake, Christoph Waltz (that's the man who portrayed him in the movie) won an Oscar for his performance in 'Basterds!
Comments
Really digg the art on the cards.
Kudos for getting (one) the Basterds.