[Trivial Psychic]

GoTG2 Wave:

1. Gamora: Let's get the "highlight" of the wave out of the way, this is a very nice figure. It's well sculpted, as great paint work, better than average articulation as far as MCU female figures go (she has an ankle rocker this time, but it's useless thanks to the way the ankle pegs into the foot,) and it actually LOOKS like Zoe Saldana. One thing that I have been hearing a lot of lately is that it looks like Hasbro is starting to digitally "print" the faces on their MCU figures starting this wave, and it definitely looks that way with Gamora. Here's where a major issue rears it's ugly head though, up close, the faces start to get fuzzy. And it's not just with Gamora either, Nebula, Rocket, and Baby Groot also have this issue. My other issue with Gamora is that the holster for her sword doesn't do a good job of holding it. The holster is a soft plastic, and as such, the sword just kinda hangs loosely in it until the rubber reshapes and ends up pushing it out. A peg on the retracted blade would have been all that's was needed to remedy this.
   
   
2. Nebula: Nebula is easily highlight two of the wave, as she has a ridiculous amount of sculpting and paintwork for a Hasbro figure. Also, like her sister, it actually LOOKS like the actress that plays her in the film. Nebula also appears to have her face printed, although, since her details are a little more blunt than Gamora, she does not quite suffer from the same fuzziness issue up close. The articulation again is better than average, with Nebula actually having a viable ankle rocker, and the pistol fits perfectly in her hand. The claw arm pops on and off easily with no fear of breakage, and overall, she's pretty good as MCU figures go.
   
   
3. Rocket Raccoon and Baby Groot: Now this is what Rocket SHOULD have been the first time, as this version has plenty of articulation and accessories to make him a lot more fun. He's also more appropriately sized than the Rottweiler sized raccoon from the first movie wave. The Baby Groot differs from the in that he has his red jumpsuit, and he is nicely painted. Mine had some issues standing because his legs were a bit warped, but it was something that can be remedied with some hot water thanks to him being made of a softer plastic. Three issues though that I have, the first one being that printed detail again...as both of Rocket's heads look fuzzier when you begin to look at it really closely. I struggled for example to see if he actually has painted pupils, and the fuzziness is particularly bad on the snout, where I could actually see the dots up close. Second issue is that these joints on Rocket TERRIFY me, as they are really tiny and thin, ESPECIALLY on the tail, mine of which already has a stress mark, and that came from taking it out of the package. Third...the price. I bought this figure as part of a complete wave, but if I saw this in store, it would piss me off to have to pay 20+ dollars for such a tiny figure with 4 tiny accessories. I really do feel that Rocket and Baby Groot could have been featured as accessories with another figure, shrinking the wave down a bit.
   
   
4. Adam Warlock: I really don't have too much of an opinion on this one, as I don't really have one on the character himself, but it's a well painted figure that makes good use of the Bucky Cap mold. I really like the blue alternate head (I'm guessing evil version?) as it has a devilish, psychotic smile to it. Repainted, it would make an excellent head for Cletus Cassidy (Carnage). And since it's on the Bucky Cap mold, if you happen to have the current Black Panther exclusive, or even the old Adam Warlock figure, the cape will work on it. When picking one up, pay attention to the little soul patch on the default head. Mine was painted slightly off center of his chin.
   
   
5. Death's Head: So we're already seeing Hasbro taking advantage of the newer Colossus body mold here with Death's Head, and I think it's a good one, as DH is a pretty big dude, and that Hyperion body mold just wasn't going to cut it. The figure itself is rather well done, with some good sculpt work on the arm and the face (my God...his face...) He also comes with an interchangeable hand with a trigger finger, but no other weapons, so I'm just assuming it's a pull my finger hand as he's got some bad gas. Not a whole lot to complain about, but one thing that I can say is that he REALLY could have used some more paint. The top portions of his chest and hips have a shiny metallic blue dry=brushing on them, but the bottom halves of those parts is just a solid blue plastic, with no fade to blend. Also, there's no kind of barrel painted or even sculpted on his gun arm, although you can see lines where one should have been drilled. Come on...even Titus had that! I may just end up dremeling a hole into the end where it should be. Death's Head also has a little divit on the top right side of his head, just behind the horn, where the plastic from the mold was likely injected. It's not a big deal, but you will notice it.
   
   
6. Ex Nihilo: Oh wow...I didn't know Hasbro was making Darkstalkers' figures. I love Pyron! I really hope we get a Dimitri, BB Hood, Q-Bee in the upcoming waves. Jedah BAF? Sign me up!
   
   Okay figure if you know what the character is about. Some sort of blast or cosmic effects here would really helped as well, because he's really bare bones, and hard to justify 20 dollars for. There is also a MAJOR QC issue with mine, and it's one that I've seen on many other figures I've picked up as of late, which I will bring up in a bit.
   
   
7. Star-Lord: You know how when you get a Christmas card from a relative you haven't seen for a while? What do you do with it? You open it up, look for the 5 dollar bill or gift card inside, and toss the card wherever. That's exactly what I did with this new Star-Lord. Just gimme the damn BAF piece and get the **** out of my life you piece of crap.
   
   If you need more info on it though...it's the same damn figure we got in the first GoTG wave, only with a douchy new headsculpt and gloved hands, no helmeted interchangeable head, a longer trenchcoat, and a yuppie scarf. Oh, and he comes with the walkman too, only that he has no headphones to go along with it. This figures pisses me off in all kinds of ways, as we totally didn't need it.
   
   
8. Mantis BAF: Now, despite my griping about the last two figures, having Mantis in my hand made them worth the trouble. The figure is very well sculpted, has really good use of paints, and is gorgeous to boot. She also has BETTER articulation than 90 percent of the female legends, as she has a bicep swivel, viable ankle pivot, AND boot rotation. Despite having MCU Widow's heels, she stands fairly well, and the skirt doesn't really get in the way. Mantis does not have the printed face details as far as I could tell, but the sculpt is good and works very well with the minimal paint that is applied to it. I did have to do some touch ups on the eyebrows. One thing of note, when putting her together, I HIGHLY advise heating up the body parts with a hairdryer or warm water, the legs in particular. The legs on mine were very stiff when trying to get them onto the torso, and as I was pushing, I heard a really uncomfortable sounding crunching sound that had me worried that something was about to snap off in my hand. Thirty seconds of heat later, and I had no trouble getting both legs on, where they have stayed.
   
   So all in all, a good wave with some really great MCU figures, and a couple of highly requested fan favorites (I think...) but there is something that I noticed throughout this current wave, and with the Sue and MJ two pack...and that's what could be signs of some serious body mold degeneration in Hasbro's factories where these things are put together. Nearly all of my figures had little pieces of plastic jutting out of them where I had to shave them off with an exacto knife. Sue's gripping hand had plastic "flakes" all on the inside of her palm, MJ had sharp, upraised lines on the back of her fist, and Ex Nihilo was a MESS, with the discs for his ankles being completely off center, and on the left ankle, inserted at a 45 degree angle, leaving me with a golden, club footed, space demon thing. Thank goodness he has calf rotation, but even then, it breaks up the mold, making an already ugly toy even uglier.
   
   
   
   Of course, on the newer MCU figures, none of these issues are present, most likely because these are newer molds. I had these same issues with the three previous waves (Sandman, Titus, and Warlock) and they have been getting progressively worse, so I'm hoping that Hasbro has noticed this, and is working on getting some newer body molds primed for the long haul, instead of the intermittent sprinkling that we're getting now.