[Trivial Psychic]

So with Toy Fair upon us...I figured I'd get some quick thoughts out on the Guardians wave before it gets buried in all of the posts of excitement and disappointment what's coming in the new year...I've already talked about Starlord and Titus, so here's some thoughts on the rest in order from favorite to least favorite in the new wave, starting with...



Yondu: An addition to the MCU team that I was surprised to see, Yondu is a pretty strong MCU figure, with a good likeness, and some nice sculptwork. His articulation is somewhat hampered a bit by the jacket, but he wasn't doing all sorts of cartwheels and flips in the film, relying on his trusty arrow of death, which in itself is a neat accessory. Both headsculpts are really well done, with the mohawked version in a whistling expression to emulate the film. My gripes are minor, being that it would have been nice to have just the arrow accessory without the weird trail behind it, and I wish the accessory itself would have came with a bendy wire, as opposed to the static pose it is already in. In addition, it doesn't sit well in the holster, and the red "trail" portion of it is rather flimsy. Finally, two open and relaxed hands that you really can't do much with hurt the figure a bit...but it's still a really good MCU figure regardless.

Speaking of MCU...



Drax: This is nothing more than a repaint with a new headsculpt, as outside the color of his pants, the headsculpt is really the only thing that is different. Hasbro did a better time with it this time around, as it actually looks a lot more like Dave Batista than the previous one did. Not much else to say about it, other than if you had the first one, you know exactly what you will be getting. The figure does seem to be made out of the cheaper type plastic that Starlord was made out of, but despite that, I actually prefer this one over the original. The headsculpt does it for me. The rocket launcher accessory he comes with also works perfectly with the recent Nuke, Punisher, and Cable figures as well.



Kid Nova: Another figure I can't really comment on too much, as he's really middle of the road for me. He does boast some nice sculpting and paints, and makes good use of the new male teen body I suppose, but other than that, I really cannot say a whole lot to praise the figure. He's just there. He also comes with what looks to be a stuffed animal or something....I have no idea what the hell that little star looking guy is supposed to be...



Angela: I know I'm gonna tick some people off...but Angela is a hot mess and a lot of "could have beens." The figure is really busy, with long hair that falls down her back and is wide on her shoulders (making it nearly impossible to get any use out of the head articulation) which also just so happens to interfere with her arm and shoulder movement. The armor pieces on her arms is similar to that of the Rogue boot cuffs from last year, as they sit loosely on the arms and are figgedy. She also has a rather oversized belt that holds both her waist sash and her sword sheath, and that too gets in the way of her articulation, making her something of a ***** to pose and stand nicely. On the positive though, Angela does have some really nice sculpting, looks like she's utilizing new female parts, is well painted, comes with a few accessories, and has roll of the dice wrist movement on her left hand, allowing her to strike some awesome poses (once you've spent ten or so minutes trying to get her out of the way of herself.)



Darkhawk: This is a neat figure that would have rated higher if I knew a bit more about him. There's not much to complain about, it's just what looks like another Bucky Cap mold with the newer Spider-UK feet, and some shimmery black paint. The feet look a little oversized, but they do well to help the figure stand despite the large wings on his arms. Those wings are done well by the way, I can only imagine a bunch of customizers out there are staring at them and are thinking "Classic Falcon" in the back of their minds. The wings and claws are of a softer type plastic, and while mine were a little warped coming out of the package, it's nothing a little hot water couldn't fix. The head articulation is good as well, allowing him to strike some flying poses thanks to the movement.

Vance Astro:

The only figure I don't have pics of, because he is the only one I intend to get rid of. The figure feels like an excuse to get another character out there with a Cap shield to me, and this figure will end up becoming the pegwarmer of the wave if the dozens of MU versions of him still clogging up pegs along with Falcon Cap are any indication. The figure is alright I suppose, although it would have been better had they used white plastic to make him as opposed to blue, as the white paint Hasbro used doesn't really come off that well on him. The paints are kinda hit or miss on him. Cool beans if he was a character you were looking forward to, but I really think that Hasbro could have done better than him with this wave.

And with that out of the way, back to Toy Fair talk!