Monday, January 2, 2017

Sky-rider of the Spaceways

Sacrificing himself for the good of planet Zenn-La, Norrin Radd became Galactus's herald to search for new worlds, in exchange for sparing his world from Galactus's consumption. Reborn from the power cosmic, he assumed a silvery form (patterned from his memories). He controls a surfboard from which he travels, out of the same cosmic material he's made of. It is telepathically connected to him. Thus, the Silver Surfer was born.

This is the interesting fiction he was born with, that I've read in a wiki page. I remember Silver Surfer hazily from childhood in a film/tv. But I remember him mostly from the Fantastic Four movie in 2007, where Captain America is still Human Torch (played by actor Chris Evans).

The most interesting fact, specially for Netflix fans waiting for Marvel's Defenders, is that Silver Surfer is one of its founding members.

While wandering the earth, Silver Surfer formed Titans Three with Namor and Hulk.  They were joined by Doctor Strange later on, forming the Defenders. None of them will appear (at least, principally; they may be guesting) in the series.

While surfing for Silver Surfer logo (pun not intended!), I found out that his battle with Thor in the comic series has avid followers. I'm saving the reading for later,  maybe in February.

My version of 1969 cover of The Silver Surfer comics, featuring Thor against the Sky-rider


Product
Brand/Model: Shengyuan 167
Condition: Bought without box in a clear plastic bag, inside a red emoji cannister
Price: ~0.50 USD

Character
Name: Norrin Radd
AKA: Silver Surfer
Comics: Marvel
Affiliation: Defenders, Titans Three, Heralds of Galactus
Superpowers: Holds Power Cosmic
Paraphernalia: Surfboard

One of my exciting finds in Shengyuan's a-dozen-a-box emoji cannisters - Silver Surfer! 

The yellow box containing the cannisters has pictures of various minifigures, from Marvel and DC Comics to Ninjago and Chima.  The effect is to give easter egg surprise to the customers. For collectors of knockoff bricks though, Shengyuan is employing a marketing strategy of cleaning up their closets with these blind packs. The minifigures are probably excess production which cannot be combined with standard models or sets.

You'll never be happy with all the cannisters as a few of the minifigures are duplicates or already in your collection.  Fortunately, Silver Surfer is in my "for acquisition" list.

Silver surfer minifigure consists of 25 pieces – 1 red head cannister with 1 red cover, 1 head, 1 leg connector, 2 legs, 1 torso, 2 arms, 3 hands, 1 surfboard, a surfboard holder with 7 various bricks, 4 individual studs, and 1 6x4 basic baseplate.

The baseplate has the Shengyuan logo with the words "WORLD MINIFIGURES Collect Them All".

The red-faced cannister has a weird, funny expression, looking like it's ready for a duck face selfie. 🐣

Duck-faced Red Hood? 
The head and torso (back and front) sport body and facial lines, owing to Silver Surfer's non-costumed entity. The head has no dual face printing, perhaps due to his singular emotionless expression.

Armless Surfer
There are no prints in the arms, legs, and waist.  The bluish dark gray is lacking the brilliance of silver, but I realized I wouldn't opt for a chrome-plated Silver Surfer. It will give him the quality of being metallic with facial and bodily lines like a mirror-man or a shiny tin-man. In my opinion, the chrome finish better suits Colossus or the arm of Bucky the Winter Soldier.

Silverado
There is no official Silver Surfer minifigure but most custom build of him has silver chrome finish. Shengyuan's non-chrome model is close to the video game version so I settle for this.

He's got smile and a surfboard booster! 
The surfboard is the piece that defines Silver Surfer. In Shengyuan's model, the board is of the same bluish dark gray color.  The only thing I don't like about it is the loose connection of the bottom section to other parts like the baseplate.

The extra parts for surfboard holder, though standard to most knockoff models to provide scenery parts, are unnecessary. The non-chrome golden studs are also unnecessary, appropriate for Iron Man models only.  Nonetheless, these extra parts are useful for scene set designs and moc's.

Gasoline stop
In the next review, perhaps I should take on Hulk or Doctor Strange to complete the original Defenders. 😹 (See previous post for Namor.)

Hall of Silver Surfer in Marvel Museum
No flash please. I mean no bike in the room, Flash,  please. 
Until the next issue!

Sunday, January 1, 2017

The Sub-Mariner

One of the underrated Marvel superheroes, Namor, has a minifigure produced by Xinh. Hurrah to the bootlegger community! I'm fortunate to have bought one from my Divisoria brickhunting.

Unleash the Kragle! errr, Kraken! 

No official minifigure has ever been released (as far as wiki sites are concerned). I'm not also aware if Namor appears in any official video games.

I got re-acquainted with this character when I read Avengers versus X-men, where Namor turned into one of the Phoenix Five.  Yep, waterman on fire!

Rumor has it that the film rights were bought and returned to Marvel, but no film has ever been produced. It would be cool to see him in the big screen along with his fellow X-men.

The Atlantean

Product

Brand/Model: Xinh 285
Condition: Bought without box in a clear plastic bag
Price: ~0.75 USD

Character
Name: Namor McKenzie
AKA: Namor (the Sub-Mariner)
Comics: Marvel
Affiliation: X-men, Illuminati, Phoenix Five
Superpowers: Superhuman strength, aquatic adaptation, telepathic control over sea creatures, longevity
Weapon: Trident of Neptune

Namor minifigure consists of 13 pieces – 1 head, 1 hairpiece, 1 leg connector, 2 legs, 1 torso, 2 arms, 3 hands, 1 trident, and 1 basic baseplate with 4 studs.

Butchered Sea Creature
The printed face captures Namor's signature eyebrows. Unfortunately, he has the angered expression only. The head has no dual face.

As Namor constantly appears naked, as opposed to his DC Comics counterpart Aquaman, the front torso has printed chest and abs outlines only. The back torso has outlines of muscles only.

Oh! The brows! 

What to make of this? 
The waist has nice belt prints from front to back, with a shell detail as in the classic version. The only piece of apparel he wears (his swimming trunks) is printed nicely in its scaly green design.

The three scary printings are seen on the legs - one, the knees, which, in my opinion, present Namor with too much body lines from face to legs; two, the troll feet with four toes in each!; and three, the green underwear does not go all the way to the back, which makes Namor look like he's a stripper making money after saving the world!

Troll feet? 👿

@$$?!
The hairpiece is standard, making the face appear heart-shaped, similar to minifigure like Zod I think (at least in knockoff bricks).

Modeled after the classic and original version, I'm missing his pointed ears and wings on his feet. The wings I could do without, as I am not certain how it will be incorporated into the standard elements.

Overall, it is better to have this average minifigure rather than having none in your collection. Perhaps, the manufacturers have not seen any fine moc's online to copy.

Fish out of water

Classic Namor
(photo not mine) 
I'd love to see and have a Namor minifigure modeled after the Phoenix Five. It would be cool!

Namor as one of the Phoenix Five
(photo not mine) 
The final form of Namor minifigure and a photo with the Kraken.

Where's the knife? 

Attack the Kraken! 
Happy 2017!