Action Figure Reviews

My 3 year old was excited, at first, to get the airport tower to go along with his Jay Jay set. He was very disappointed though, and I think he only played with it 2 or 3 times. Brenda only says 2 or 3 phrases and you have to crank a really small handle in order to hear it.

great item, better than the first. like the coloring alot better on this one. a must have in your collection.

You get so caught up in the perfection that is Spawn that you could easily forget that Spawn is more than just it's title charactor and his many versions, but there are other figures, other charactors that are just as perfect in their production, and the rebirth of Warrior Lilith is one such charactor. The design work here is beautiful, I mean, just look at her face and the detail on her sword and sheath, the elegance of her stance and the detail in her garb. This is a quality piece that outshines even some of the brilliant reditions of Spawn himself. This will look nicely next to...

McFarlane's MLB Series 13 is made up of Extended Edition Figures, which includes some big name baseball players who ended up playing for new teams in 2005. That meant a third figure of Randy Johnson, now as a New York Yankee, a first figure of Moises Alou as a San Francisco Giant, and second figures of Pedro Martinez as a New York Met and Larry Walker as a St. Louis Cardinal. Now, this last one is interesting simply because after the Cardinals lost the National League Championship Series to the Houston Astros it was universally assumed that Walker was going to retire. I could say better late than never, but as I already noted, this is the second Walker figure from McFarlane toys.

This is because the Cardinal right fielder had his last two seasons shortened by injuries. He managed to get into 100 games this past season despite being on the disabled list with a herniated disc in his neck and often being day to day with other aches and pains. Walker batted .289 with 15 home runs and 52 runs batted in, but that was below par for a guy with a lifetime .318 average who has 383 career home runs. In his prime with the Colorado Rockies, Walker was a true five tool player who put up Triple Crown numbers, winning the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 1997 by batting .366, hitting 49 home runs, and driving in 130 runs while stealing 33 bases (all career highs). Walker won seven Gold Gloves in his career, although he might be best known for tossing a kid in the stands a ball and then having to go and get it back when he realized he had only caught the second out of the inning. Brought to St. Louis to help the Cardinals in their stretch drive to the World Series in 2004 Walker made the St. Louis offense only more explosive, when he was healthy.

Walker's previous McFarlane figure was in MLB Series 4 in 2003 and showed him chasing down a ball in the outfield for the Rockies. So it makes sense that this one shows the left-handed batter towards the end of his follow through as he hits the ball at Busch Stadium. I was going to say Walker was pulling the ball into right field, but given where his eyes are looking he might be going the other way (or even going deep up the middle). There is some limited articulation with this figure so you can probably adjust this one to conform to your own reading of Walker's ball placement. As always the details on the figure are quite impressive (I especially like the details on his red cleats) and the sculpt of Walker's face is above average for McFarlane. Plus the Cardinals home white jersey is one of the nicest looking in baseball.

I also see that McFarlane has already announced its figures for the 2006 pre-season, with MLB Series 14 consisting of Mark Mulder of the Cardinals, Bobby Abreu of the Philadelphia Phillies, Aramis Ramirez of the Cubs, Jeff Kent finally getting his first figure as a Los Angeles Dodger, Jason Veritek of the Boston Red Sox getting his second, and American League MVP Alex Rodriguez getting his fourth figure and second in two years as a New York Yankee. If that does not excite you then check out the lineup for the Cooperstown Series 3, which has Mickey Mantle and Don Mattingly of the Yankees, Roberto Clemente of the Pittsburgh Pirates, a second figure of Nolan Ryan as a California Angel, Carlton Fisk (not sure whether Red or White Sox), and Jackie Robinson. Both series are due for February release and I know which ones I want to get.

I was amazed as soon as I saw this. I got it, for christmas, for my brother so we could use it and I think it's great. They finally priced something right. I personally like G.I.Joes better, because they have good facial expressions and most have movable fingers, but now I finally found a World Peacekeeper who can move his fingers. He has everything you need to equip him and some friends with some heavy duty things. Also, World Peacekeepers kept themselves from falling into the same trap as Hasbro and have made it affordable for KIDS. That's the audience here, and in alot of cases, the person laying down the money. I'm not willing to lay down thirty bucks for a G.I. Joe with one gun(midnight parachutist.) All around good deal.

The one thing we know this morning is that trading Randy Moss to the Oakland Raiders will not be the worst trade in the history of the Minnesota Vikings franchise. The honor is reserved for what happened on October 12, 1989, when the Vikings acquired running back Herschel Walker from the Dallas Cowboys and their new owner Jerry Jones (and new coach Jimmy Johnson) for five roster players (linebacker Jesse Solomon, defensive back Isaac Holt, running back Darrin Nelson, linebacker David Howard, and defensive end Alex Stewart), and six assorted draft picks. The Viking also got some draft picks which produced All-Pro wide receiver Jake Reed, but by wheeling and dealing its draft picks the Cowboys ended up with defensive tackle Russell Maryland, cornerbacks Kevin Smith and Clayton Holmes, safety Darren Woodson, and running back Emmit Smith who just retired as the NFL's all-time leading rusher. So if they had just released Randy Moss, the Vikings could not have made a worst move than "The Trade."

The deal for Moss has been agreed to in principle, which is a way of saying that all the phone calls and sports columns in the world to the Vikings telling them (a) they are stupid to trade Moss or (b) they are not getting enough in return, is not going to do any good. This trade is going down (The deal cannot become official until March 2, which is the start of the NFL's fiscal year). The reports are that the Vikings will get linebacker Napoleon Harris, a third year player out of Northwestern, and the seventh overall pick and a late round pick in the upcoming draft. That first round pick is key, because if the Vikings do not get wide receiver Mike Williams from USC (Michigan's Braylon Edwards should be gone by the seventh pick), the immediate reaction will be the trade is already a bust. Then again, Plaxico Burress is a free agent and it is also possible that someone like Muhsin Muhammad, Isaac Bruce, or Derrick Mason could be a casualty of the salary cap (the Vikings save nearly $2 million against their cap by trading Moss).

Moss leaves the Vikings as the only receiver in NFL history to start his career with six straight 1,000-yard seasons. Last year he had 49 catches for 767 yards and 13 touchdowns while battling a hamstring injury. In his seven years Moss has 574 catches for 9142 yards (15.9 average) and 90 touchdowns in 109 games. But more often when they talk about Randy Moss highlights they talk about being fined $10,000 for yelling at an official in November 1999, $25,000 for squirting an official with water in January 2000, $25,000 for touching an official in November 2000, $10,000 for taunting the New York Giants and $15,000 for yelling at sponsors on the team bus in November 2001 and then $10,000 for the "Moon Over Green Bay" pantomime this last January. The three year gap might seem significant to you and me, but not to sports reporters for whom the line remains unbroken. Besides, we have the bit of trying to run down the meter maid to toss in there as well. But the last blow was when Moss walked over the field in the final seconds of the Viking's final regular season loss to the Washington Redskins (I was not upset by that: we walked out of the Metrodome before the game was over two weeks early when the Packers were about to kick the winning field goal upset that the offense could not even get a first down in the final two minutes and the defense could not stop Brett Farve, so I could appreciate being that disgusted by what was happening).

This is the Randy Moss 2 figure from McFarlane toys, released in November 2004, showing the wide receiver making a typical one-handed circus catch. The 6-inch figure is shown wearing the Vikings purple home jersey (how long before the next Viking wears #84?). I was thinking it was strange that Moss is wearing a purple sweatshirt under his jersey since home games are played at the Metrodome and not out on frozen tundra in Green Bay, but Moss did dress that way for most home games. Now he can do the same thing, but dressed in the black and silver of the Raiders. Will McFarlane repaint this figure and give us an update version next season? Good question: they certainly do for baseball figures like Roger Clemens, so stay tuned.

My grandson has caught my collector bug... I collect basketball figures, he collects football. He got this one (and many others) for rewards when his citizenship/academic grades improved. He loves them. For an older child, they are great. For younger children, I think they are probably not durable enough. I'm amazed at the detail in the player's faces, bodies and uniforms. Some even have grass stains and dirt smudges on their uniforms. Eyes are detailed and the dolls actually look like the real players. He is very happy with these; so much so that he makes a list for me of the next one to buy and it motivates him to keep his grades/behavior as it should be.