Girl On Fire: The Dark Phoenix

One of the well-known X-men saga is The Dark Phoenix Saga. Jean Grey has evolved from being the Marvel Girl with no telepathic powers to becoming Professor X's student and eventually to being the avatar of the phoenix.

Phoenix Jean Grey has three variants: in green costume, in red, and in white (in order of the immensity of her power).

Girl On Fire

Product
Brand/Model: Pogo 219
Condition: Bought without box in a clear plastic bag

Character
Name: Jean Elaine Grey-Summers
AKA: Dark Phoenix
Comics: Marvel
Affiliation: X-men
Superpowers: telepathy, psychic blast, astral projection, telekinesis, cosmic pyrokinesis, resurrection

Dark Phoenix minifigure consists of 11 pieces – 1 head, 1 leg connector, 2 legs, 1 torso, 2 arms, 3 hands, with baseplate.

Deconstructed Dark Phoenix

While Dark Phoenix's face printings in the head are flawless, the hole used to attach to the stud or neck is quite loose. The hair piece is standard but quite soft - which felt like a hybrid of plastic and rubber. Minimal printings are required for this character due to the costume being simple. While being simple, the torso and leg printings are a bit misaligned, especially in the leg area where the printing is supposed to give the collector an illusion of thigh-high boots.

(Upper Left) Head with normal expression
(Upper Right) Red torso and yellow legs
(Lower Left) Back torso with minimal printings
(Lower Right) Alternate face print (angry version) + red hair piece
(Center) fierce Jean Grey on fire 

This one is for Jean Grey and X-men standard collectors. There are no extra parts or weapons, other than an extra yellow hand. I don't highly recommend this for people on budget (while this may be cheap, you can skip on this one); I would suggest to get the blue-and-gold version of Jean Grey if you're completing the X-men squad.

(Left) Angry Jean Grey in the dak
(Right) Calm Jean Grey in the light

I didn't think it will be complete without the fiery wing effect of the phoenix, hence I toyed with the mecha parts of one of the Ninjago dragons.

The Dark Phoenix Saga

Until the next post. :)

Ok! Doc Ock!

Doctor Octopus or Doc Ock is one of the prominent villains of Spider-man. Famed for his four mechanical tentacles that he control by will, Doc Ock fused with this contraption when a radiation leak from the lab caused explosion. This accident caused him to be insane, committing his life to criminal activities.

As you guessed, turning this character to a minifigure is quite exciting. Doc Ock minifigure will never be complete without the mechanical tentacles. I had fun playing around with these brick arms, as they are versatile, and quite creative, if you just let your imagination free.

Spiders and Octopus

Product
Brand/Model: Pogo 325
Condition: Bought without box in a clear plastic bag

Character
Name: Otto Octavius
AKA: Doctor Octopus
Comics: Marvel
Affiliation: Sinister Six
Superpowers: Technopathy, Danger Sense
Paraphernalia: Tentacle contraption

Doctor Octopus minifigure consists of 57 pieces – 1 head, 1 leg connector, 2 legs, 1 torso, 2 arms, 4 hands, 46 pieces for tentacles, with no baseplate.

Octo-bits

The suit is based on the classic look of Doctor Octopus with yellow and green color schemes. Unfortunately, while the legs are not dual-injected, the printing of the yellow boots are not done well. The print has a rubbery, rough texture and the finish is a bit shiny.

Old suit

The printing on the back torso is quite interesting as other Doc Ock minifigures. It has four pins where the mechanical arms are supposedly attached.

Attach tentacles here

The head has an alternate printing - one side has the angry face and the other has the evil-laugh face. What is cool about it is the metal-colored sunglasses and the characteristic thick brows. 

Cool shades!

The completed minifigure  and its mechanical arms are copies of the original brick set - Spider-Man: Doc Ock's Tentacle Trap, where the mecha build of Doctor Octopus has a detachable arms, that can be rebuilt to a smaller version fit to the minifigure.

The hands are yellow, which complete the color scheme. The hair piece is a must have. The round, straight-line hair simulates the classic Doctor Octopus, giving him the mad scientist look.

Ugh! The hair!

Once you attach the mechanical arms, you'd be compelled to pull out all your Spider-man stuff to shoot a scene or two. While it takes time to set them to behave, as you try to balance the position, you'd be thinking that the arms are quite useful for other moc stuff - i.e. studio lights.

Those tentacles look like studio lighting

Like a dead spider!

Until then!

Cat in a Purple Suit

Catwoman is, perhaps, the second-most celebrated female DC character, with Wonder Woman in the lead. Her hero-villain personality makes her a solid character - a thief and a crime fighter, a sinner and a saint.

Born in a tragedy-filled family, she ended up in a juvenile facility. Going back to the streets of Gotham, she became a prostitute and a petty thief. Inspired by Batman, she wandered the streets in costume, after learning how to fight in a ninja academy. In a different world, like Halle Berry's movies, she was revived by the ancient cats with traces back in Egypt, giving her the power of feline empathy.

On occasions, she is presented to have a love-hate affair with Batman, becoming the blur of truth and lie, good and evil, in Batman's life.

Fast and the Feline

Blazing in her purple glory
(Motorcycle from Shengyuan 201C)

Product
Brand/Model: Pogo 106
Condition: Bought without box in a clear plastic bag

Character
Name: Selina Kyle
AKA: Catwoman
Comics: DC
Affiliation: Injustice League, Bat-family, Birds of Prey
Superpowers and abilities: feline empathy, stealth, martial arts, acrobatics
Paraphernalia: motorcycle, claws, whip

Cat in pieces

Now, the cat is out of the bag!

Catwoman minifigure consists of 12 pieces – 1 mask, 1 head, 1 leg connector, 2 legs, 1 torso, 2 arms, 2 hands, 1 whip, and 1 belt. No baseplate.

Purple jumpsuit

Back torso

The level of details in the torso printings are great. The silver and black outlines create an expensive look to the costume, which is an upgraded and modernized version of the tight purple or black plastic-looking ala The Matrix costume we often see in comics and movies. The curved lines are similar to other female minifigures, which make it distinguishable from the male form. The cat head in the zipper detail is a fun addition.

The selling point of this minifigure lies in the much-coveted piece - an added attraction similar to the new batman minifigures - the utility belt. Although unable to latch any other brick piece or weapon, it saves afol's and mocers time and effort to produce the piece to create an enhanced effect of superheroes or military minifigures. I am quite confused though as to which goes to the front - the one with ridges or the one that has a sort of a buckle.

An arm for an arm

The side printings in the arm are as beautiful as the torso's. They follow the same silver-black on monochromatic purple scheme. I think side printings are a thing with minifigures these days.

Alien eyes (leering face)

Alien eyes (tight-lipped)

The head has an alternate face. Both sides have printings of large, green swirling, almond eyes, which create an effect of eerie glow of the goggles (the eyewear a trademark of the 21st century Catwoman). It is not obvious (and I don't have a close up shot), but there is another unique detail in the printing - a mole in the left cheek. I thought at first that it might be a scratch but the alternate face has it as well. The only deal breaker is the quality of the printing. It looks like one of those rubber prints in t-shirts, which come off easily.

The round mask is a beauty. To match the green eyes, the same shape forms in the holes. Of course the trademark cat ears are also molded in this headpiece. The eyes have silver outlines to match the color scheme.

Watch me whip

The purple Catwoman minifigure comes with a whip, similar to her other minifigure versions. I have not seen the latest brick flick but it seems that this version of Catwoman came from The Lego Batman Movie.

Overall, I am satisfied with this buy. Collectors who enjoy mix and match building will have this handy, probably for its cool jacket, belt, and mask.

Until the next blog! ;)

Happy Haul-y Day!

There is a spot I visited for my knockoff haul this weekend, a tip from a fellow blogger (downtheblocks)  - Angelomarcus in Greenhills, San Juan.  The place is heaven for cheapskate collectors!

I bought the minifigs by Xinh and Pogo, and a 12-piece set by Dargo, which the seller insisted them to be a real good buy. Sadly, they don't have Professor X,  Cable and Enchantress anymore; but the white Statue of Liberty lady and bicycles are quite interesting.

I wish I get the time to shoot and post each minifig.

Until the next post.

Haul-ogram for the King

Photo Test - The Flash (err...  not the camera flash) 

Logan's Archenemy

Recently, new brands of knockoff bricks have been making waves in the Asian market, flaunting pretty and unreleased characters of the superhero world. Two of which are Pogo and Xinh; both, Chinese brands.

Powered by my collector's thirst and economist's instincts, I scoured Divisoria (Manila's famed flea market) for these brands. It is difficult to hop from one mall to the other, with the throng of shoppers in pre-Christmas month. Luckily, I was able to spot one shop (yes, just one shop!) selling these babies.

Here goes my first post and first minifigure review - Victor Creed aka Sabretooth.

Product
Brand/Model: Xinh 290
Condition: Bought without box, but sealed in a clear plastic bag
Price: Php 35 (0.78 USD)

 Character
Name: Victor Creed
AKA: Sabretooth
Comics: Marvel
Affiliations: Marauders, Magneto's X-men, etc.
Superpowers: adamantium skeleton, superhuman strength, regenerative healing factor, psionic resistance, canine fangs and 20 retractable talons

Savage Sabretooth attacks in mid-air amidst thunderstorm

From the no-box bag, there are 15 parts - 1 head, 1 hairpiece, 2 arms, 1 torso, 4 hands, 1 leg connector, 2 legs, 2 claws, and 1 baseplate. The baseplate has 4 studs.

Dissected Sabretooth

The Sabretooth head has tan-colored bushy eyebrows and facial hair on both cheeks, open mouth that reveals fangs, white eyes, and reddish brown cover. The Sabretooth torso has tan-colored printed furs in the shoulders, reddish brown chest and abdomen, bordered by yellow, which make up the color scheme of the minifigure.


The second image has a more accurate representation of the product colors.

Armless, legless beast

The back of the Sabretooth head has no printing, while the torso has the extension of the tan-colored fur and reddish brown scheme.

A claypot over a stove?

The legs have the extension of the reddish brown scheme ending in the middle; small triangles are weirdly printed in the feet (but in my research, these details are actually from the comics version), which add personality to Sabretooth's rather pointy and sharp character. Otherwise, the legs are but yellow plain bricks.

Walking dead?

Sabretooth's side arms have reddish brown printing which look like thorns.The hands are brown, which complement the yellow and reddish brown scheme. The hair is of the spiky blonde type.

Got tattoo!?

The completed form with the same Wolverine minifigure claws, is the classic version of Sabretooth in the comics.

Sabretooth - all fangs and claws

Classic Sabertooth in Marvel comics

Overall, the fit of the parts are good, the printing is good, and the details are faithful to the original comics. As a bonus, I didn't think Lego has ever made a Sabretooth minifigure, which saves us from building our own from scratch. The closest thing we have for an official Sabretooth is the one found in Lego Marvel video game.

Lego Marvel game

The Lego Sabretooth claws are far more appropriate than the long, straight ones that are Wolverine's trademark. It would be cool to have these short, talon-like (or bear paws to my imagination) claws. Also, the detachable plastic shoulder fur is better than the printed one. The Lego Sabretooth version has the Wolverine V-hair, which in comics, Sabretooth is adorned with as well.

Sabretooth attacks straight out of the wall, as the set rains fire

Well, it's too much to wish for a perfect Sabretooth minifigure for such a cheap price.

Jubilee sparks distracting Sabretooth (at least that's how I imagined it when I shoot this)

Until the next post. ;)