Hey there fellow Galaxians, Raccoonatics, and whoever else may be reading this! My name is Kat and this is a Guardians of the Galaxy toy review, though you probably gathered that much from the title. Today we'll be taking a look at the recently released Marvel Legends: Infinite Series figures. Before we get onto the Guardians, however, we should talk about the two other figures in the set. Nova and Iron Man.
Iron Man:
To be quite frank here this is the weakest figure of the bunch. I knew the second it was revealed it would be the one I dislike, but it comes with Groot's right leg so I had to get it. The figure is based off of Iron-Man's cosmic suit, seen in the first few issues of the new Guardians of the Galaxy comics.
Getting right down to it, this figure just feels wrong. What I mean is the plastic feels cheap and brittle. I don't get why either, it should be the same kind in the other figures.
The joints feel very loose or much too tight, no middle ground. I feel like if I pose this guy he's going to break.
The articulation is serviceable, though I am very disappointed that there is not joint in the wrist of his left hand to extend the arm in a shooting pose.
The paint application is alright, it's mostly just red plastic with a few bits of gold on it.
The sculpt is possibly the only good thing here. Lots of nice details and little touches. In fact, every figure from this line has some superb sculpting.
Overall I give this a 6/10. This figure is not something I enjoy, and the quality of it is dubious at best. I would have much preferred that Deep Space suit from Iron-Man 3 than this. Only get it if you are a hardcore Iron-Man fan, or if you really want to build Groot.
Buy at Amazon or Hasbro Shop
Nova (Richard Rider):
I believe this is the first time Nova has been a 6-inch figure. The figure is obviously based on fan favorite Richard Rider and not Sam Alexander. This figure is a mixed bag. It has a ton of great things and more than a few lame things.
The figure feels very solid and of standard Hasbro quality, which is cheap but not too cheap.
The joints are either decent feeling or far too loose.
The articulation is standard stuff, nothing to write home about but nothing to really complain about either. The only part of note is that the shoulder parts are movable so his arms can actually bend upward.
The paint application leaves a bit to be desired. While it looks good on the front torso, the back and the sides of the legs have some issues. Not enough paint was put on, it bleeds out from where it was supposed to be, and is generally just kind of a mess.
The sculpt is just fantastic. It oozes detail and quality. Most of the yellow armor bits (seriously what are those) are actually a rubberized plastic. That adds a nice effect and a quality feel to the figure. The head is just great, it really does look like Nova, they even got the lines on the part of his face you can see comic accurate.
Overall this guy gets an 7/10. It's great to have a 6-inch Nova figure. Such a shame that the paint aps are as off as they are, but maybe I just got a bad one.
Buy at Amazon or Hasbro Shop
Drax:
Drax is probably the best figure in the bunch quality wise. I seriously have no complaints here.
It feels ultra solid and really well built.
The joints are great all across the board. Not too tight, and not too loose.
The articulation isn't incredible but it's not bad either. Completely serviceable and he can pull off some complex poses.
The paint application is just damn good. Tons of great detail in his tattoos. No bleeding into other areas, and just generally no issues what so ever.
The sculpt is just incredible on Drax. The tattoos aren't just painted on they're also sculpted on. The head actually looks like Dave Bautista, which is surprising seeing as how most figures totally screw up the face. The boots have a spot that his two daggers can fit snugly into. There are various other small details all over this figure.
Overall, Drax is a 9/10. This one just has fantastic quality and craftsmanship. Can't really say much more.
Buy at Amazon or Hasbro Shop
Gamora:
Like the Nova figure, Gamora is all over the place in terms of quality. I wouldn't call it bad, but it's not great either.
The joints are fairly good. The elbows feel a tad flimsy, but the rest are totally fine.
Like the majority of the figures in this line, her articulation is standard and not too incredible. It gets the job done and she can pull of pretty much any pose you want her to do.
The paint aps is where this figure shines. Lots of little details were given attention. Her hair and face has a lot of little paint touch ups which really help make the figure look like Zoe Saldana.
The sculpt is standard stuff. Not ultra detailed but not crappy. I do have a complaint about the hands, they can't hold the sword she comes with at all. No matter what I do, the figure just cannot grip it tight enough. I've had to have the sword tucked in her belt if I want to display this figure with it.
Overall I give Gamora a 7/10. An average figure with an above average paint job.
Buy at Amazon or Hasbro Shop
Rocket Raccoon:
I have wanted a really good Rocket figure for such a long time, and I'm sad to say this is not that. While it does make me happy and do the character justice, it isn't the high quality figure I was hoping for.
The joints are nice. They feel good to bend and aren't too stiff or too loose.
The articulation is what just kills this figure. Every single Rocket Raccoon figure, all of them, have this problem. No leg articulation. Why? That isn't hard to do at all. Hasbro has certainly done smaller joints, why can't they just use that technology on a Roket figure? They use some very tiny joints for his arms, they can certainly do the same for the legs.
The paint aps are very standard. No paint bleed and no sloppiness. Nothing great, but nothing bad.
The sculpt is pretty above average. His arms and head look great. Lots of little details for the fur and such. Very nice. The body itself is just ok. Nothing crazy, nothing terrible. I'm surprised at how well the hands can hold his big ass gun. The tail is ultra lame unfortunately. It's just totally straight and has a bend at the top where it connects to the body with a peg. I mean it's easy to remove, so if you know how to do custom stuff, you could probably make something better.
Overall I give Rocket a 7/10. The lack of leg articulation is disappointing as hell, and they certainly could have done much better than this. However, if you're a hardcore Rocket fan, I'm sure you'll find that this figure will fulfill those raccoon related needs until something better comes along.
Buy at Amazon or Hasbro Shop
Star-Lord:
Oh my god is this figure great. I'm not just talkin' out of bias for Star-Lord here, this figure is just plain awesome. Not only does it have interchangeable heads for a masked/unmasked head, it also has accessories galore. Two blasters, a walkman and a headset, and that orb thingy.
The joints are just perfect. Straight up no complaints at all.
The articulation, like most others in this line, is very standard and can do pretty much any pose. The only problem I have is that his coat prevents the legs from moving very far.
The paint application is well done. Nothing too special, but it does it's job with no major issues. The largest issues I have is that the stubble on the unmasked head is just one solid shade. It looks lazy.
The sculpt is just damn good here. The attention to detail on almost every little thing is far above what is expected from Marvel Legends figures. This thing is just covered in all these little touches, from the zipper on the coat to the straps on the boots. The one major problem I have here is that the unmasked head looks nothing like Chris Pratt. I just don't see a resemblance at all here.
Overall Star-Lord gets a 9/10. Issues with this one are few and far between. If you want to buy just one figure from this line, make it this one. You will not be disappointed.
Buy at Amazon or Hasbro Shop
Groot (Build-a-Figure):
Sadly Groot is only accessible if you buy all of the above figures. Even the craptastic Iron-Man figure. Because of that, I'll keep this short. Groot is huge, he dwarfs all my other figures on my shelf.
The paint ap is meh, he's just a solid brown unpainted plastic with some green airbrushed on in a few spots, save the eyes which have a darker brown around them and black for the actual eyes.
The joints and articulation are fine, except one of the legs on mine is just straight up stuck. I can't try to bend it without fear of breaking it.
The sculpting is rather nice. Lots of details and I really enjoy the little sticks and such poking out of his head.
Overall it's a pretty good figure, just a shame I can't get Rocket to ride on his shoulder.
Well, that does it for this review. I'd say this is a really decent line. With the exception of the Iron-Man figure, I'm rather happy with all of these. They look great displayed together and I certainly don't regret buying them. If you're just as hyped for the movie as I am and are willing to drop around 120 to 140 bucks on some action figures, I say you should totally pick these up.