Review: Marvel Universe Death's Head

Ask anyone (well, 30-something British male) who the best comic character EVER is and they will undoubtedly say 'Death's Head'. To which, 99% of the population will likely react, in the same way someone 6 months ago would have reacted to the words 'Star-Lord', with the single word 'Who?'.

Death's Head was created back in the 80s by the genius comic writer Simon Furman and artist Geoff Senior. You know, those guys who worked on a big chunk of the Transformers comics and are largely responsible for the Transformers being as cherished as it is...in the UK, at least. Being a licensed book, any characters created for the comic immediately belonged to Hasbro and so, seeing Big Things ahead for the character, Furman was a bit sneaky and introduced him in another comic first. The rights now belonged to Marvel and thus Death's Head was able to appear in publications as diverse as Doctor Who, Fantastic Four and, of course, Transformers.

He immediately became a fan favourite, with collectors searching out his every comic book appearance. He's reappeared again and again over the years but sadly never really had the success he deserved. And he's never had an action figure...until now.

Hasbro, funnily enough, currently have the rights to make Marvel action figures and so, finally, they have produced the toy people have wanted for years. I don't (really) buy Marvel Universe figures and I've sought him out, a shared fan mindset which has resulted in getting hold of the guy being a tad difficult.

Review: Marvel Legends Iron Monger (Iron Man 3 BAF)

Once upon a time Marvel Legends toys could be found in every toy shop in the land. Then Toybiz went out of buisness, Hasbro took over and... Well, it's been a bit hard to find Marvel Legends toys ever since. At least in this land, the UK. Hasbro UK, Toys R Us, Smyths - someone decided that the UK deserved a second chance and thus, hopeful that the film release would boost sales, decided to release the Iron Man 3 Legends series.

The first 3 figures were released earlier in the year. Ranging from £15 to £20 a piece, these were annoyingly expensive, though the price wasn't entirely unexpected. At least, in addition to the figure, Hasbro added in a (reasonably) large Build A Figure piece of Iron Monger. Of course a film version of Iron Monger was released to coincide with the first Iron Man film, but this time we've got a figure based on the comic version.

Unfortunately, with only 3 figures released, Iron Monger was looking a little sad. Or he would have done if his head had been one of the pieces, which it wasn't. Until now!

Custom: Marvel Zombies

For Christmas I kindly bought my mum Knit Your Own Zombie. Obviously she was delighted at receiving such a wonderful and thoughtful gift and has spent the time since then making the zombies contained within the pages of the book.

Being a good son and knowing that my mother likes to be set challenges, about a month ago I suggested she make some Marvel Zombies, as seen in the comic series of the same name. My mum was very grateful at being handed the task, and was handed a bundle of drawings by her 6 year old grandson for her to follow.

And behold! Here are the results...

It's worth noting that since the photo session a few amendments have been made. First, since the double-bead eyes make it look like Cap (or is it Colonel in MZ?) is wearing goggles, I've removed one of those and second, the 'A' has been added to his head. His shield is currently awaiting the paint to dry and Iron Man's mask hasn't been finished yet.

I know they're not exact replicas of the designs from the comic, but they had to be livened up a bit to make them more interesting. It's Banner, for example, who has the burst stomach in the story, which is repaired once he turns back into Hulk.

The children are very pleased with their zombies and soon Grandma will be hard at work on Spider-Man (and his removable leg) and Wolverine (and removable arm).

Toyology Review: Avengers Quinjet

You have to admire Marvel. Spin-off films happen all the time, but I can't think of any other movie franchise that has had a Movie Master Plan of having a bunch of separate films all feed together into one Super Film. The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man (and its sequel), Captain America, Thor - all of them written & filmed in the knowledge (hope?) that eventually seeds planted in each one would come together to form The Avengers.

It could have been a disaster. It should have been a disaster. Having so many 'main' characters in one film shouldn't have worked. But it did.

And because of its success, Marvel are confident enough to release films about characters hardly anyone has ever heard of. Rocket Raccoon? Groot? Heck, even Ant Man.

But enough of me gushing over that. You're here for the toys.

The Quinjet is the main mode of transport for the Avengers. The toy version looks almost exactly like the one featured in the film, apart from its new gold trim. Purists may complain, but it does liven up what would otherwise have been a purely grey, dull colour scheme.

It's designed for 3 3/4" figures, and comes with Iron Man in his Mark VII armour (the stuff that attaches while he's falling from Stark Tower, if you recall from the film). Articulation is limited, with joints only at the shoulders, hips and neck. I'm undecided whether he was the right figure to include with the set. While he can clip onto the side of the jet, he's not really someone who'd drive it. But then my view may be biased since we already have an Iron Man figure and it'd have been nice to have a different one.

Transforming from stealth to attack mode is easy. Transforming back to stealth mode frequently results in the right-hand missile firing when you push the launcher back down. With the firing buttons on the side, it's quite easy to knock when it's going back inside the body of the jet.

There is a sticker sheet included. The instruction sheet is fairly useless at telling you exactly where these are supposed to go. It's not a great loss if these aren't used - besides the almost-essential giant 'A's on the wings. The cockpit doesn't hold on very well at all and always falls off when you lift it up. It clips back on easily enough, however, but it's annoying and is most often just left off when playing.

The Quinjet is around a foot long and apparently fits on the Hellicarrier. From this I can only assume that the Hellicarrier is HUGE. I therefore want one. I have no idea where we'd put it.

The boys love this toy, and since a lot of toys are now in 3 3/4" scale we've had it driven by GI Joe, Power Rangers, Star Wars... as well as various Marvel figures. While 4 year old likes playing with it on the ground, it is a little large for him to fly around the room. 6 year old copes much better in that regard. Overall, a nice addition for any Avengers fan.

Construction: Stark Tower

Pretty much exactly a week ago, I made a Batcave as a backdrop for my sons' birthday party. At the end I began to ponder whether I could make Stark Tower from the Toyology box which was due to arrive. Well, that box has been delayed until next week, but I did make another trip to Homebase, so...

I know, I know, it's missing a lot of detail and it's really bugging me that stuff like the vertical lines aren't present. However, the party is tomorrow at 10am and I really don't have time to start cutting out long strips of cardboard, sticking them on and painting them. I'm also ashamed of the inside of the tower, which looks a bit of a mess since I rushed it. Some window frames would probably cover it up, but again, time.

So it'll do. If there's ever another superhero party, or some other thing it can be used for, then I promise to finish it properly, but for now it'll serve its purpose - along with the Batcave & giant web - of adding some ambiance to the hall tomorrow.

Now to figure out how to get them there. Because as clever as I was making the cave fold into a box, I didn't think to check whether the box would fit in a car...