Marvel Select Apocalypse & Super Skrull

I coulc not believe these two new Marvel Select figures that dropped recently, two classic Marvel characters that aren't really in the forefront of the entertainment/movie industry currently. I was particularly amazed by this oversized Apocalypse with extra fists and three arm/weapon accessories. Sometimes Marvel Select nails it, and this is one of those instances. I had just picked up the Hasbro Marvel Legends Apocalypse, but this figure is another thing all together...

The Marvel Select has a more classic deco than the Marvel Legends Retro Card version, which was inspired by the '90s X-Men Animated show with it's purple and blue. At well over 9 inches the Marvel Select towers head and shoulders above the Marvel Legends Apocalypse. I'm mad for both of these!

Below, Apocalypse with my Marvel Select Classic Thanos, which has been in my collection for well over a decade. In my opinion, this Thanos is one of the best out there for many years now- it still holds up against newer Marvel Select figures.

This Super Skrull in Black Bolt/Inhumans outfit was a surprise- Secret Invasion was back in 2008, but Marvel Studios is currently producing a series of the storyline for Disney+. Along with a somewhat inexplicable four sets of hands, a Black Bolt head was included, with sonic effect accessory that fits into SkrullBolt's open mouth. Fantastic!

Among the array of extra hands that came with Super Skrull were a gripping pair with nothing to hold- I remembered the McFarlane Accessory Pack that arrived in February, which included the perfect sci-fi laser pistol for this figure ...!

Below, Super Skrull Vs. Marvel Select Captain Mar-Vell (Kree Variant):

Super Skrull and Apocalypse with two more recent Marvel Select figures, Red Hulk and Vision...

Marvel Select has released some fantastic new figures recently, which I have been happy with by and large. The Super Skrull has a lot going for it, in spite of some loos joints, but the Apocalypse it outstanding- I was seriously impressed with this big, beautiful figure! Recommended! 

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Marvel Select Vision & Red Hulk

 Diamond's Marvel Select line has had several new 7" figures solicited recently, including comic book versions of classic Vision and Red Hulk. While there are several such characters, Vision is one I get a little more excited for regarding action figures. I'm unsure Vision even registered on my childhood brain with so many other Marvel characters hogging the spotlight, but I took to him much later as an adult after reading Avengers: Kree-Skrull War (issues #89-97). While this newer Marvel Select does included articulation improved well beyond a lot of older figures from Diamond, it's not on the level of a Marvel Legends. It's serviceable however, and the classic look is intact, like Vision walked right off the paged of a Bronze-Age comic. 

I was pleasantly surprised with the number of accessories that came with Vision. including a blast effect hand, flattened/flight hand, blast effect for the wrist, and extra teeth-gritting head with removeable Solar Jewel (later the Mind Gem in the MCU) and forehead blast effect that mounts into the port. This all adds a lot of display value.

Below, Marvel Select Vision with my 9" ToyBiz Famous 

Covers Vision, and 6" Hasbro Marvel Legends Vision...

I kind of regretted not picking up the Marvel Legends Red Hulk Target was selling three or four years ago, so I was happy to see this new Marvel Select Red Hulk. I love the head sculpt, but we got TWO head sculpts with the recent Marvel Select Immortal Hulk, which shares 100% the rest of this figure's body- we should have got a Robert Maverick head with shades and a mustache.

While I sold most of my 3.75" Marvel Universe collection, I did keep some of the Hulks, including my Red Hulk. Ironically, I've taken to collecting Hasbro's more recent 3.75" Marvel Legends on those retro cards. So cool.

While the bare minimum was put into this Red Hulk, I did love that Immortal Hulk body, and the head sculpt is fantastic. Great figure! Diamond did throw down on the accessories for Vision, so in spite of his smaller stature, he felt a little more special. I don't buy every Marvel Select, but these are two I wanted for my humble collection. They have more updated articulation than the earlier Marvel Select and do capture the essence of both characters. Recommended!

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Marvel Select Immortal Hulk

I bit the bullet a little late on the Marvel Select Immortal Hulk, but he's a huge Hulk action figure, which I have a hard time passing by, the character a childhood favorite of mine. The Mego World's Greatest Superheroes 8" Hulk was one of my favorite childhood toys, usurped by their 12" release in the years following. And when CBS debuted the TV series in 1977, starring Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno, we were hooked. Check out the video:
 

The unexpected additional mecha head sculpt was a welcome accessory to this Marvel Select. Mecha Hulk is a concept that has been floating in and out of comics and action figures for years, this alternate head appearing to have been influenced by Cosmic Hulk. According to Marvel Fandom, this robotic construct was a misguided experiment by two MIT students, awoken with disastrous results by exposure to the power cosmic from the Eternals' Uni-Mind.

There have obviously been many comparisons weighed within the action figure community between this Marvel Select Immortal Hulk and Hasbro's 80th Anniversary Hulk. While Immortal Hulk has size over Hasbro's Hulk, the Marvel Legends Hulk has slightly better articulation. I really like the torn shirt accessory included with the Legends Hulk, and his clenched teeth that can be neutral or enraged depending on his setting. The Select has really good articulation however, the alternate mecha head sculpt is fantastic, and the torn pants at the knees really set him apart. Both are great figures I'd recommend to any Hulk fan.

Marvel Select Vs. Marvel Legends! Below, Marvel Select Immortal Hulk and Marvel Legends 80th Anniversary Hulk face off with my Marvel Select Thanos and Marvel Legends Infinity Gauntlet Thanos...

Of course, I had to throw in a shot of Immortal Hulk with my new Marvel Legends She-Hulk ...

And finally, Immortal Hulk with some of the other Hulks in my collection: ToyBiz Marvel Legends 1st Appearance Hulk, Marvel Select Incredible Hulk, Hasbro Marvel Legends 80th Anniversary Hulk, 3.75" Hasbro Marvel Universe Avengers Hulk, 6" Hasbro Marvel Avengers Hulk, Marvel Select Avengers Hulk, ToyBiz Famous Covers Hulk, and 14.5" Hasbro Marvel Legends Hulk...

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Marvel Select Destroyer

I had to circle back for this one after discovering it for a reasonable price on the secondary market, the price skyrocketing a couple years here after it's release. The Marvel Select figures I prefer tend to be their larger characters, though I don't have many- they outsize their Marvel Legends counterparts, and usually have better paint. Marvel Select figures have improved articulation the last few years, and this 9" Destroyer is a good example of this with 18 points, which include hinge/swivel wrists, ankle rockers, and ball-jointed shoulder pads. Check out the video:

While accessories are few, they are the ones that count in a highly 

detailed alternate All-Father Odin headsculpt and 7" Odinsword.

Below, Destroyer with Marvel Select Hulk and Thanos, a couple of

favorite big figs that have been in my collection for years!

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Want! Diamond Select Marvel Gallery Iron Man Retro Statue...

I wasn't that wild about Diamond Select's recent Marvel Gallery Spider-Man statue- the standing model with one foot dangling off the top of a pole. I was floored by this retro Iron Man spotted in TRU on Saturday however, with his metallic sheen and classic good looks! Not taking away from the 2008 modernization of the character for his silver screen debut, his is what pops into my head when I think of Iron Man. Sculpted by Mat Brouillard, this diorama measures approximately 11" tall, and the paint apps looked really good for the price of $39.99. I'm currently in the process of reorganizing and downsizing my collection, so I'm unsure I want to pick him up, but among these Diamond Select Gallery Statues, he'd be the one I get! I don't have a lot in the way of statues among my collection, but it's nice to see some below $50.00. See my Pinterest of Boyish Interest: Toys I Want page to see more of what I like!

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Iron Man 3 MiniMates

I got these Iron Man 3 Minimates months ago, and while currently on a MiniMate kick here at the Super-DuperToyBox, I decided to go ahead and photograph them. I've said before that Iron Man is a character that lends himself well to action figure variants, of many in four and six inch scale I've already amassed- these two packs significantly filled out my Iron Man armory in MiniMate scale! Four MiniMate 2-packs is a lot for one post, so I'll try to keep the verbiage brief and let my pictures do the talking   :)

It seems appropriate to start off with the Mark 42 armor,  Tony Stark's new tech in Iron Man 3, the look of which I liked a lot. This is the TRU version in yellow, the regular release metallic gold, which I actually prefer. He looks good however, and comes with an extra helmet with removable face plate- it's a bit tight, so I'll keep the regular one on. The combination of extra arm and torso slip-overs restrict this figure's range of motion unfortunately, but he remains one of the most elaborately sculpted/painted MiniMates I've ever seen.

Mark 42 Iron Man with Marvel NOW! Iron Man...

Enter the Mandarin... !

Mark 42 Iron Man was packed with the Mandarin, a character whose comics continuity was radically altered in the film. With no real emotional attachment to the villain, I found the treatment a surprise, but cleverly done. Diamond does a great job with a lot of their facial caricatures, and this rendering of actor Ben Kingsley, who did a great job with his part. That said, if you want to read a great graphic novel, check out Enter the Mandarin (Marvel, 2007). Joe Casey and Eric Canete's treatment of the character evoked a certain mid-century/atomic age feel that fit well onto their reimagining of Tony Stark's first tangle with the villain.

I think this is a cool MiniMate! His rings are sculpted onto the hands, as are the cuff and lapel detailing on the coat. I wish the coat overlay was shorter as it restricts his leg positioning, but it looks great. The gun and extra bearded hair piece really top it off- he's rad!

Iron Patriot was another armor I was keen to adding to my MiniMates collection- a really decked out Iron Man like the Mark 42, but with the addition of shoulder mounted artillery. The gun doesn't pivot horizontally, but can be "disengaged" to the side with a twist. I'm pretty sure I prefer this figure, due in part to his slightly better range of motion in the shoulders.

I liked the patriotic treatment of Iron Man armor before I knew the origins of the character.Lt. Col. James Rhodes wears the armor in Iron Man 3, but we are given what I assume is an extra Norman Osborn head. There's some great detail on the body if you want to strip the overlay off it or the Mark 42.

Iron Patriot with Fighting Chance Capt. America...

Mark 42 Iron Man and Iron Patriot take off...!

Iron Patriot was packed with an Extremis Soldier, which I had little interest in, although the flak jacket and blonde hair piece included did make him a little more interesting. He also came with a pistol that can be holstered, if with some difficulty, at the thigh.

The Silver Centurion and Skeleton Armor share the third Iron Man 3 MiniMates 2-pack we'll look at in this post. I understand there are some reuse of parts here, but these are unique among my armory. They could have been made better with a different/more paint treatment on the plain white chest repulsors, but are otherwise nicely detailed sculpts.

Unlike the Iron Patriot and Mark 42, the Silver Centurion and "Bones" have no painted detail under their shoulder overlay. They look better with the armor on however, which is less restrictive than the Mark 42. One fun aspect of collecting all these Iron Man MiniMates is the array of Tony Stark expressions Diamond put under the helmets...

'85 Silver Centurion with Iron Man 3 Silver Centurion and Rescue Armor Pepper Potts...

I was glad to get extra civilian hands and feet with this Iron Man 3 Tony Stark- the armored gauntlets and boots were a movie accurate touch, but it's nice to have him without as well. I'm sure I could assemble a civilian Pepper from my other female MiniMates if I wanted them to go on a picnic or something   :)

Tony with Age of Ultron Iron Man...

Tony Stark was packed with the Heartbreaker armor, created for the film as an artillery-level suit with an oversized chest repulsor for heavier firepower. Though his color scheme is conventional red and gold, he's unique to my MiniMate armory. 

The last MiniMate to star in this post, the Heartbreaker is certainly not the least interesting. This figure has a ton of great detailing in the sculpt and paint, and a great scowling Tony Stark face under the helmet. There's no detailing under the torso armor, but no reason to display this figure without- it looks killer, and not nearly as restrictive as the Mark 42.

My entire Iron Man MiniMate Armory...

See all the cinematic Iron Man armors at IronMan.Wikia!

Visit the MiniMates Database! 

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