Guest reviewer VanillaBlue continues his reviews of his recent Wal-Mart toy haul with a look at the Daredevil vs. Kingpin Marvel Legends Face-Off Two-Pack.
Since I have gotten a lot of requests for it, here is the Daredevil vs Kingpin set review. It is soooo nice, trust me, you are going to want to pick this set up as soon as you see it. Same format as before…
DAREDEVIL
This is the certainly the best Daredevil released thus far and I really dig him, but he is not quite perfect. The head sculpt is great and it is not too small, a lot of nice detail for a cowled hero and the horns are just big enough. The body sculpt is great too, much more of a Daredevil-esque build than before. Nice boots and the billy club holder is on the correct side and actually has a lot of nice detail. The shoulders are the one thing that are a little off, he obviously has Iron Fist’s shoulders so if you don’t those, not a lot of luck here. Overall, the face and the build capture Matty pretty well.
Paint: ***
There is not a whole lot of paint of this guy to be honest with you. The face/head is great, painted just as it should be, simple to be sure (DD is NOT wearing lipstick). The boots and gloves are a dramatically different color than the rest of the red on this figure. Some people might take umbrage with that but it doesn’t bother me, decide for yourself. The DD tampo print is slightly crooked but that is probably just the case with mine (I don’t have anything to compare it too unfortunately) and he could use a little wash to darken up some of the detailed areas, he is a little bright for the brooding character that he is. Jesse has said that these are not final so keep that in mind, things could change.
Articulation: ***1/2
I feel like going over what a n ML figure HAS is like beating a dead horse. You know what to expect, right? So I am just gonna focus on what is not there. I hate to do that, as I don’t like focusing on what is not there, but it is just easier. And to be honest with you, the only thing that is not there that I think could be added is separate fingers. Damn, we are spoiled if we are to that point, eh?
Overall: *** ½
This DD is leaps and bounds above the rest of the ’em, a nice, natural progression in terms of advancement in ML. I do think, however that this figure will polarize the general consensus, you will like him or you won’t. I cannot put my finger on exactly why I say that but, well, judge for yourself.
KINGPIN
I think the best compliment I can give this sculpt is the it IS Kingpin, exactly how you would picture him. He is BIG, not Beetle or 1st Appearance Hulk big, but he has a considerable amount of girth. His head is nicely detailed with a very appropriate expression and it is slightly small, just how it should be. His suit is nice and he has an appropriate amount of detail for a fat (or muscle-y) man in dress clothes. A nice little detail is that he is wearing his little ring and it has a nice “F” painted on it. Oh yeah, and he does have his pimp cane, complete with a diamond head, a nice touch.
Paint: ***
Everything here is just great, with one strange exception, I’ll get to that in a minute. His face is clean, not bleed, and has nice detail. His ascot is about the most detailed thing on him and it is nice for sure. The jacket and pants are, well, a jacket and pants. They don’t lend themselves to a lot of detail. It is just a personal preference that I would like to have seen some pinstripes on the pants. Now, the strange thing, his hip/crotch area is cast in black plastic and the rest of the pants are grey. Hopefully you can tell from the picture, it is not very noticeable since his stomach over hangs the crotch and casts a shadow. This will probably be different when these hit in full force, just thought I would mention it.
Articulation: ***
He is a big fat guy, not a gymnast or a ninja. Yeah, yeah, Kingpin is not fat, he is big boned and muscle-y. Well, fine gut most of the articulation fits the appearance. Some of the things that I find missing though are double elbows and the lack of wrist twists. The latter can be a bit annoying, as with any figure missing that point. Overall though, great.
Overall: ****
I am going to go ahead and give him four stars even though he is close to losing a ½ star just because of the strange pants and missing POAs. The best thing about this figure is that it IS KINGPIN. Jesse and crew got him right on the first go around.
Finally, the “battle set up” is almost exactly the same as the Cap/Skull set with some small detail differences in the base. The backdrop is Wilson’s office with invading Hand ninjas and Bullseye.
OVERALL: *** ½
I really thought this would be my favorite of the three but there are some minor quibbles here and there, nothing to get upset about though. DD and Kingpin are both very nice, especially Fisk but neither is quite as good as the new Captain America. I really like the set though, FINALLY KINGPIN.
Up next: Hulk vs. The Leader
Discussion in this thread in the forums: http://www.thefwoosh.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=23084
about VanillaBlue
On the advice of his fellow Fwooshers, VanillaBlue cleared his schedule and took the trek to the Wal-Mart in Emporia, Kansas. He came back with early releases of some the Wal-Mart exclusive Marvel Legends, the new Face-Off 2-packs, and one of the new MasterWorks. He kindly asks everyone to stop sending him Private Messages.