SHF Sailor Moon (1:12, Bandai)

Name: Sailor Moon

Line: Sailor Moon

Series: S.H.Figuarts

Scale: 1:12

Producer: Bandai

Year of release: 2013

After Future Trunks’ review you probably expected the next S.H.Figuarts figure here to be one of the other Dragon Ball Z characters that I have, didn’t you? Well, to be honest, so did I, but an unexpected lucky purchase brought us all a surprise. This time we are going to take a look at an uncompromising and fearless female warrior, once a queen of an ancient Moon race, now her incarnation reborn in a body of a seemingly ordinary teenage girl, bent on defeating demons threatening to conquer Earth. I present to you the skillful fighter and charismatic leader…

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA…umm…OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERALuna!SLM_03The magic cat from the Moon doesn’t feature much articulation, but it’s her wits and courage that counts, so a ball-jointed head and a swiveling tail are just enough for some serious action.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERALuna comes equipped with an SHF stand, which is a really neat means of assistance for any mid-air poses. Let me add that while I nagged about the Play Arts Kai stand accompanying Catwoman, this thing is just great. It has three tight and strong hinges, more swivel points that I can be bothered to count, a base large enough to provide perfect stability and a grip firmly grabbing the figure, with everything slickly translucent and slim. If I were to find a downside here it would be the sheer technical design of how the figure is held – I’d prefer a less visible solution.

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The stand is obviously dedicated for this particular set, featuring not only a number of decorative markings but also a heart-shaped base. It’s not like Luna needs anything else but mainly for decorative purposes she comes with yet another accessory: Usagi Tsukino, known as Sailor Moon.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAYou probably immediately noticed a slight… thing about Sailor Moon that is both an issue and an advantage. I mean the visible hip joint. Like all SHF figures she also has this ability to have her legs kind of pulled out a bit in order to expand the range of motion and believe me – it pays off big time. She is super posable, high-kicking without a problem, but the price is difficulty in covering the joint up with this ultra-short skirt of hers. I can’t really make my mind if I prefer her like that or would be willing to give up some posablity for a more consistent and elegant image. I guess it depends on the intended use: she is great as an action figure but requires a bit more fiddling while taking photos or preparing display. It’s not a really big thing, just be sure to pay extra attention to pushing her hips all the way up if you’re not using her for more dynamic shots. Or view her slightly from above to have the skirt cover the problem. Hmm, that sounded wrong for some reason…

Sigh, let’s dwell even deeper into the uncomfortable subject by showing Sailor Moon’s action pose and panties… I mean the hip joint area!!OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERASo that’s how it looks from beneath. I’d advise avoiding that kind of angle if possible…. Moving on. As you can see her pigtails can be moved sideways thanks to swivel joints in the buns. The mobile pieces are partially translucent which pretty effectively translates the idea of wisps of hair. Also, the stand works just fine, as long as you’re willing to look past the grip around her waist.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAAll the stand arm’s joints won’t budge a bit unless intentionally repositioned and let me tell you that she’s been standing in a similar pose on my shelf for few days now. This is especially helpful considering lower stability (compared to other SHF figures I have) due to thin legs and tiny high-heeled feet.SLM_09As usual, there is a number of extra hands for different gestures and this is also connected with a bit of a problem. Some of those fit very loosely in the wrist sockets and are easy to get accidentally detached while playing with the figure. Luckily others fit securely, so the issue is obviously on the palms side and the solution can be adding a layer of nail polish or super glue or other substance that would slightly thicken the pegs where needed. The imperfection of quality control can be also seen on one of the faces with nasty paint bleeding. Unless it’s a hardcore Super Tough Bring It On Sailor Moon version with actual bloody face intended…OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThere is of course a pair of palms allowing for the signature punishing in the name of the Moon pose. And where there are interchangeable palms, there must also be…OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA…a set of faces! One of them lacks the diadem and the reason for that is the initial weapon that Sailor Moon used in the first series of the show:OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThe Moon Diadem that became a kind of energy-filled demon-killing throwing disc. The accessory here is yet another palm with the disc attached to it. And speaking of weapons…OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERASailor Moon has her sicklish wand, handy both for slicing pizza and demons’ throats. In the show it was at one point upgraded, giving Usagi transforming ability and more powers.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAAnd the crystal-bearing version was also added here. I love how the crystal actually is translucent and shaped with tiny facets. Nice job!

It’s time for a size comparison with another SHF figure and a Revoltech one and I’ll use this as an excuse to introduce some plot-driven fun. It’s worth noting that Sailor Moon is strangely tall compared to Trunks – and she is supposed to be in her early teens, while he is 19! They definitely are in scale, but I think the key factor here is each show’s animation style: all female characters from Sailor Moon have these looong legs, while DBZ guys are rather squabby and thickset.

Oh, that Usagi! Always up to something. Like up to her elbows in a potential rival’s blood. Never stand between a blond blue-eyed Japanese teenager and her crush of this week!OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAAs you can see I had my share of fun while preparing this review and this says a lot about the figure. I always liked the humorous aspect of Sailor Moon best, but I could appreciate also the great music and few well animated and emotionally presented action moments (especially around each season’s finale). The S.H.Figuarts version of Usagi Tsukino follows that trend perfectly. She can be fun – with her wacky expressions and hands forming goofy gestures. And she can be cool – with her superb articulation and iconic accessories. The stand is also both awfully kawaii and very handy when jump attacks or flying kicks are involved. To put it briefly, this figure is very sailor-moonish and that also sums up her potential. Sure, I can stretch my imagination to the point of seeing a Japanese culture’s fan buying her to get a token anime character – a girl in the school uniform or an action figure collector wanting her purely as an anonymous female ass-kicker, but… not really. With so many various manga figures and statues out there this is obviously a choice for fans of the character. A really good one, the best as of now if one wants to have his Sailor Moon agile and combat-ready, but still very theme-oriented.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

Summary

Strong and weak points:

+ ultimate action-oriented representation of the character

+ very good posability

+ a sufficient set of interchangeable palms and faces

+ iconic accessories including weapons and Luna

+ highly usable articulated stand with dedicated base

+ joints in hair buns allowing for pigtails movement

– mixture of short skirt and wide ranged hip joints spoil the overall look when viewed from certain angles

– some palms fit very loosely in the wrists

– thin legs and tiny feet impair stability while standing without any support

– minor paint quality issues

– Luna could use a bit more articulation

Who will like it:

fans of Sailor Moon, especially those who want an agile action figure and/or a highly posable display piece; those few pervs who want a toy representation of an adult-looking teenage girl in a short-skirted Japanese school uniform

Who won’t like it:

non-fans of Sailor Moon, as she is rather narrowly oriented compared to a selection of more generic looking manga female action figures out there

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[EDIT: It has come to my attention that this figure is probably a bootleg. I can’t tell this for sure since the quality of this one is really good, but there are hints like the facial paint bleed which shouldn’t take place and the shoulder joints being skin-tone-colored inside instead of white (to match the sleeves). The loose palms on the other hand are a problem reported also by original (guaranteed original) figures owners, so there you go. I of course encourage you to buy the genuine thing – if you are able to find it and recognize it…]

SHF Future Trunks (1:12, Bandai)

Name: Trunks

Line: Dragon Ball Z

Series: S.H.Figuarts

Scale: 1:12

Producer: Bandai

Year of release: 2012

Ah yes, Dragon Ball Z. Worshipped by many, perceived as bafflingly absurd or even irritating by others. I personally am perfectly comfortable riding the crazy trolley of Akira Toriyama’s humor and I loved both the manga and the anime series. So today I decided to sidetrack from the recent theme of reviews depicting LCC findings and chose a previously owned figure. And what a figure it is! Since Dragon Ball Z is so popular, there have been many, MANY related toys released, both licensed and blatant knock-offs. And both have been selling pretty well, especially whenever the franchise got brought to light again (and no, I don’t recall any live-action movie being made, ever, understand?!). Hell, I myself owned few terrible, brutally carved in cheapest plastic figures, because back by that time those were the only ones available around here and I wanted anything for display while enjoying the plot for the first time. But DBZ is all about martial arts and over-the-top combat and incredibly agile and inhumanly trained characters, right? Sure is, so you’d want something really special to give you the ultimate DBZ experience (not sure what that means, but if that bs works for commercials then why not here??). And that level can be achieved by S.H.Figuarts, a line of figures by company Bandai, here in the form of Trunks, or to be exact: Future Trunks.

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I would describe S.H.Figuarts as something between Revoltech and Play Arts Kai. So as fan of both those lines – I wholeheartedly approve. I like the Revoltech’s size better, but their stiff and often unwelcoming joints limit the supposed posability. On the other hand, PAK figures are fantastic in terms of articulation, but they are large enough to cause noticeable problems concerning displaying and storage, especially when one gathers more than 2-3 items. Now, SHF offers collectors both compact 1:12 scale and joints quality almost on par with PAK. The downside is you won’t find characters/franchise you like so easily (the choice isn’t as wide and varied as for the two other brands yet) and there is the usually not-so-low price. To give you a more appealing clue concerning the size, here’s a comparison with PAK Catwoman and two Revoltech figures: Rei Ayanami from Neo Genesis Evangelion and Alien from… Alien.

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All right, going back to Future Trunks himself. For those of you who are not too familiar with the plot, a short recap about this guy. Trunks is the son of two regular DBZ characters, Vegeta and Bulma, the first being a proud alien warrior prince and the second a human inventor, scientist and heiress to the chairperson’s position of a successful technology-producing company, Capsule Corp. In the regular plot’s timeline Trunks is being born at the beginning of the Z series and near the end of it is an eight-year-old apt and powerful fighter. Now, Future Trunks is a version of him coming from an alternate OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAfuture in a time machine constructed by his mother in order to seek help of present time’s heroes, as in his times there are none left – all slain by vicious cyborgs, including his own father.

Unlike most DBZ characters, Trunks doesn’t sport a typical combat-ready outfit (usually it’s either something martial arts themed or an armor). That’s one of the features that make him unique and so interesting – standing out from the others, yet still perfectly believable as a person inhabiting that specific Toriyama’s world of mixed superb technology and old-fashioned rural simplicity. Trunks wears a pair of dark grey pants that are baggy enough to not limit martial arts performance and fitted enough to pull off a modern look. Orange boots and belt with interesting futuristic details like Velcro straps and a gadgety buckle provide some needed color contrast. The most defining element of Future Trunks’ clothes is the dark blue jacket, again short enough to pass as close-combat-ready and stylish enough to add a pinch of rebellious teenager feel. I must say I really love this James Dean collar, even though it’s the source of noticeable limitation to Trunks’ range of head movement. The finishing touch is provided by a Capsule Corp logo on the sleeve and of course the emo hairdo, proudly worn before the world even heard of emo ‘subculture’. By the way, the hair color is, ironically, a trait inherited from his Earthling mother, while this fierce stare…

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Yeah, the proud and unapproachable Saiyan prince sure has a worthy heir. But hey, that’s just the appearance and not personality…

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA Trunks is a nice, well-mannered young man, he wouldn’t punch you through three near-by hills, Vegeta-style.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA He will slice you up with his sword!! And probably chop all the surrounding hills while on it.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAYes, Future Trunks is the only significant DBZ character that actually uses a weapon (Goku stopped using his extendable bo stick once he grew up and it’s then when the anime changed name from ‘Dragon Ball’ to ‘Dragon Ball Z’). He has this neat medieval-looking sword which of course, according to DBZ logic, he uses martial-arts-style: he begins the attack with just kicks and punches and then with one swift move unsheathes the blade and cuts what needs to be cut, for good! Of course Toriyama could’ve given him a regular katana which is designed to be used this way but where’s the fun in that??

Oh yeah, and since unsheathing moves require a sheath, Trunks has one as well, featuring more vibrant but still fitting colors. He carries it across his back, which doesn’t surprise considering the sword’s size. It is snugly attached to his torso with a long peg which ensures it staying in place even during action poses.

There’s a funny thing concerning the sheath’s design. It looks pretty regular, but when Trunks reaches for his sword… oops! For reasons unclear to me (but I’m no toy designer, mind you) Bandai decided not to go with a regular sword-holding fully hollow sheath, but they molded it as a solid piece with only a shallow place for storage. And, accordingly, they added this stump of a sword to pull off a sheathed weapon look. It could be also used as a dio piece featuring a broken sword, I guess. Let me add I really like how the chest belt’s buckle resembles the waist belt’s one.

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Let’s move on to posability tests, a part where the S.H.Figuarts line really shines. Of course there’s no need for Trunks to put away his sword.

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Flexible ball-jointed wrists allow for pointing the blade any direction, even forward, which proves troublesome for many action figures.

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Trunks can pull off practically any poses wielding his sword. With it sheathed…

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…he’s even more agile! You may have noticed his legs sticking out a bit from sockets at hip joints on some pictures throughout this review, yet here they are fully flush. It’s no design flaw, on the contrary, it’s a very cool feature. His legs can be pulled out of the base placement to some extent and thus, working on additional joints placed deeper inside, allow for greater range of movement. And when you want a more static pose fully presenting Trunks’ show-accurate looks, you just align the joints back in place. The only reason for them not looking ideal on some non-action photos here is my laziness and not taking enough care while posing the figure.

Anyway, time for some action.

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First a father-vs-son practice session. And then… testing limits with one grumpy buddy.

As you can see I have two other SHF DBZ figures, Vegeta and Piccolo. Those are a real treat too, but there is one department in which they are no match for Trunks. I’ll hint you what it is with a… transformation.

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I bet all fans of the series know exactly where this is going…

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There he is! Trunks in his Super Saiyan form!

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Everybody repeat after Trunks: “Supah Saiyan-jin”.

Ok, you see where I’m going with this? To the accessories department. You probably noticed how the fingers arrangement and face expression are changing from picture to picture. This is achieved by interchangeable sets of palms and faces, which is a regular thing for SHF figures, but where Trunks gains advantage is the Super Saiyan form. It involves not only a new hairdo, but also brand new faces with blond eyebrows and green eyes. Take a look at his whole set:

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Wow, this guy can emote! The choice of palms is impressive, even for an SHF figure, I can tell you the other two I got don’t go that far. The faces have the same four expressions (meh, smile, baring teeth, shouting) for both regular and SS version and there is also the second head. It’s great that Trunks has all that, especially in light of the fact that all other Saiyans come in one chosen form only – so you have to choose whether to buy a basic or a SS Vegeta, Goku, Gohan etc. And when you buy one Future Trunks you get it all at once. Neat! Remember he also has his sword (and this stumpy version too) with a nice wearable sheath. The only thing I find lacking here is a stand. And I don’t mean a piece of plastic with pegs to support the figure because he’s perfectly stable in most poses. I mean one of them fancy stands with an adjustable grip meant for aerial poses that many Japanese figures come with, only not those I get, as it would seem. Sigh.

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This is my first review of an SHF figure, so I won’t go into details comparing him to other ones I have (I plan on reviewing them in the future), but I can share some general remarks. He luckily lacks some construction flaws that the other guys have AND has a wide selection of accessories, including SS form’s head with four faces and a sword with a sheath. His only direct disadvantage compared to Vegeta and Piccolo here is lack of a folded arms piece (check the father and son stare comparison and end of duel with Piccolo photos for details), so nothing major, really. I bought Trunks first and now, basing solely on my experience with those three figures, I can tell you that (providing you aren’t strongly biased by liking one character more) I would call him the best of them.

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From the moment I opened my first S.H.Figuarts figure I was in love and let me tell you: having more to pose them together just causes even greater craving for next additions to the collection. I of course highly recommend the line and, in particular, Future Trunks to all DBZ fans out there. Let me also add that, while I can totally understand (but not relate) lack of appreciation for manga designs, I can also imagine someone putting such feelings aside for the sake of owning at least one SHF figure – they are just so satisfying in terms of quality, posability and emoting, a real treat for fans of playing with and/or photographing action figures. And since Future Trunks is one of DBZ’s most non-defining characters in terms of outfits, I bet he could work for those liking a more generic SF/fantasy design.

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Summary

Strong and weak points:

+ comics/show-accurate design

+ incredible posability

+ very good paint job quality

+ comes armed with a sword accompanied by a wearable sheath

+ wide range of emoting accessories

+ alternate head with matching set of faces for the Super Saiyan form

– neck articulation significantly limited by the high collar

– lack of stand

– lack of folded arms piece

– exchanging palms frequently may cause them to fit more loosely

Who will like it:

fans of DBZ; fans of Trunks; fans of manga-themed figures; fans of high quality action figures with great articulation and moderate size

Who won’t like it:

umm… those who hate DBZ or manga designs in general? but why would they even consider a figure like that? I dunno, I’m clutching at straws here

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Land Rover Defender (1:16, Bruder)

Name: Land Rover Defender

Line: Construction

Series: Professional

Scale: 1:16

Producer: Bruder

Year of release: 2012

Those of you who heard of the company Bruder probably just thought to themselves What?! Does he mean the Bruder that makes toys for small kids, toys meant to be played with in a friggin sandbox?? Ok, I gave this Jon-Sohn dude the benefit of the doubt before but now I’m outta here! Wait up, guys! Yes, Bruder is a German company (whose name means ‘brother’, by the way) which makes toys for younger children and yes, surprisingly this thing here IS meant to be played out in the backyard, driving through sand and grass and transporting pebbles and hit’n’running Barbies strolling back from a dolls tea party. But bear in mind the company’s slogan: ‘just like the real thing’ and trust me on this one, it’s worth at least looking into.

So take a look at this sweet ride, bros, and tell me: now ain’t she a beaut?!

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Marvel at all those delicious details and tell me: did your childhood sandbox toys looked anything like that?! Coz mine sure as hell didn’t and I bet neither did yours! Bruder has this whole philosophy laid out at their website about how kids learn best by playing with things that resemble the reality as close as possible but all a collector sees is a diorama/photo-shoot eye-candy.

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And what a treat it is! Outside the SUV has every detail one would expect from a high-class model: headlights, indicators, a grill with a hint of an engine behind, even a sticker depicting the Land Rover logo in the very shape and at the exact spot where it can be found on the real life Defender. And a license plate is there too, you bet ya!

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I could gush over the silhouette of the SUV but I’d be complementing the designers of Land Rover rather than those of Bruder because this toy is almost identical to the real thing in terms of shape, details, proportions and even the trademark color. Notice how the polished plastic actually resembles a real life car’s metallic surface. Also check the cool fumes funnel raising this baby to the extreme outdoor level – just what it needs to be crossing those streams and creeks left after the last rain that flooded your backyard. Safety first!

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Thought the rear has less details? Think again! There’s another plate, taillights, indicator lights, mudflaps and even a spare tire featuring some serial number and a cleverly placed Bruder’s logo disguised as a tire producer’s name. And don’t even get me started on the side windows: larger ones being accompanied by those awesome thin stripes of transparent plastic. The back door window is missing but I think that’s intended to make opening of the door easier. You know, for clumsy tiny kids’ fingers? As opposed to clumsy large collectors’ fingers heh heh

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And on to the opening doors, then. First let’s peek inside the front seats area. There are all kinds of interior details present here that you might want (well unless you actually expect a super-expensive exclusive high-grade-class model): a steering wheel, foot pedals, a gear lever and a hint of various gauges, clocks and buttons sculpted accurately enough to provide content and perhaps guidelines for customizers.

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Here’s another shot of the interior. The seats and floor have satisfying details as well. There is also this thingie in the middle that looks like a holder for a KFC bucket, more on that later. As you can see the door can be swung wide open, wider than an actual car’s door but the purpose is again the ease of use, which also means no ‘glass’ in the front side windows. This photo reveals two more facts about the Bruder Defender. First, the mirrors are there but their reflecting surface is a mere piece of polished plastic so go, customizers, go! Second, all the transparent plastic functioning as glass is a terrible fingerprints magnet. I swear I wiped all those a number of times between shots but there you go – messy!

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A shot of the rear interior space and just like the real Defender it IS all about space. The floor begs to be cluttered with some heavy payload and the side seats, though visibly uncomfortable, offer sitting places for passengers.

Speaking of passengers… Many of you probably think Ok, all this is nice and neat but we are figures collectors. Sure, a scaled-down car can come in handy as part of a diorama or as a background detail in a photograph aimed at realism but we got Bburago, Welly, Maisto and other die-cast car models that can do the trick and have even more details. True, but if you already explored that territory then you do know what I have learned: the 1:18-scaled figures do not fit into those, even though the scale is theoretically a match.

You see, I was looking for a realistic automobile design that could hold four modern G.I. Joe figures for the sake of dio-photography. I explored a number of gorgeous models that even had cute tiny gauges, speedometers and car radio displays. But so what if an average Hasbro’s Joe can’t even fit into hard top ones and convertibles at best offer very limited space for an awkward crouching pose which in no way can add quality to the scene in a picture. Sure, I did manage to get a hold of a BBI’s Hummer and as far as Hummers go I also have the Steel Crusher, a really nice Cobra SUV which I think is the most realistic non-military vehicle design done by Hasbro up to this day. At least on the outside. You know what I mean, right? Yeah, the infamous back space… or lack of thereof. And there goes a four-figure-holding car idea!

Anyway, I finally stumbled upon Bruder’s toys. Having seen the pictures and videos I was ecstatic in terms of the looks but what about the scale? The data clearly says ‘1:16’ so even the modern G.I. Joe that are slightly taller than your average 1:18 figures are bound to have Bruder cars towering over them, right? Well… yes and no. The thing is Bruder, even though so great in translating real life details and designs into toy form, sometimes fails when it comes down to size. I was considering getting a Jeep Wrangler aiming at a versatile use or a Mercedes Benz Sprinter to turn it into a stick-up van but those tuned out to be just… huge! On the other hand I found online pictures depicting a Bruder Man truck that looked great with a team of Joes inside (try googling ‘Bruder G.I. Joe’ under Images or search for ‘Bruder’ at Hiss Tank to find the images yourselves). So the scale is a tad different when comparing various models of the same toy line. You can’t really estimate it looking at photos or the promo clips that don’t show figures you know next to a certain vehicle. I recommend taking a Joe figure with you to the store and doing a size comparison yourself. That is, if Bruder toys can be found around your place – I read those are hard to come by in retail stateside. In such a case – you’ve always got me! Well at least as long as I manage to succeed myself since I haven’t been able to for example locate one of the gorgeous Mack trucks anywhere around. [UPDATE: Me and rehael checked the local TRU’s stock of Bruder vehicles and had the opportunity to compare the size of a MAN truck (that we know is suitable for modern G.I. Joe figures) and a Scania truck. Unfortunately the Scania mold, even though similar in overall shape of cab, is visually larger than MAN, so it will be significantly overscaled for you Joes. That means another Bruder model that doesn’t match Hasbro’s 1:18 scale.]

Ok, so you already know which two Bruder vehicle models to avoid if you want your 1:18-ers to go along with them. And how about the Defender? To properly establish this we’re going to need some help from professionals.

I proudly present to you members of the Multi Objective OverKill Squad, a team of high-class specialists that only Cobra can afford to employ and dare to deploy for action! The M.O.O.K.S are: Steve Kubowski, Marvin Jones and Lee Hochenbauer.

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Steve is the explosives specialist and the specialist title means that he can make it go boom, no matter what it is.

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Marvin is the bad-ass marksmanship expert who makes sure that this time the black guy does not go down first.

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Lee is the fearless military stunt driver, always there to provide means of transport or pre-planned retreat for the squad.

 

 

 

All right, let’s get down to business…

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The figures look… not bad next to the Defender. You don’t get the feeling that they are seriously underscaled, yet there is an odd discomfort here, hard to pinpoint at the moment.

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The feeling is gone once we start putting figures inside. Lee fits in there perfectly, sitting in a natural position, with both hands on the wheel holding it firmly if you so choose. Which is cool considering turning the wheel makes the SUV’s wheels turn.

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His feet rest on the floor – to be honest I couldn’t be bothered to place them on the pedals but I think it could be done if someone wants THAT level of accuracy. Time to add some ebony coolness to the equation.

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The passenger also fits in comfortably in no way bothering or being bothered by the driver.

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You can place two modern Joes in this 80s-cop-buddies-movie pose to have them exchange smart-ass remarks or, like Marvin and Lee, being the real MEN they are, sit there enjoying tough manly silence.

That looks pretty natural, doesn’t it? And it doesn’t seem like they have too much space inside. If the car was two scales smaller so to speak (so 1:18 instead of 1:16) it would surely at least make them uncomfortably crammed inside or most probably they wouldn’t fit in at all. So what’s the deal here? Why did we get this feeling of slightly mismatched scales at the beginning and it looks just fine now?

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There are two factors at work here, at least I see it that way. First, plastic figures are… made of plastic (you can quote me there!) and not flesh, which makes them much less posable – not in terms of articulation but in terms of adjusting the whole body’s shape to the immediate surroundings. What I mean by that is that a human body ‘fills gaps’ to an extent, sits comfortably, relaxing and thus taking less space, especially in terms of height. Plastic figures are condemned to unnatural upright poses, even if you work those chest joints of modern Joes. They won’t loosen up their muscle tension – always ready for action, just as action figures should be. So if you took a tiny 31/4” human and put him inside this toy he would probably seem a bit too small for it. Not much though, as the Defender seems to be in fact more of 1:17 scale than of 1:16 one. The result is the Bruder’s SUV is a bit overscaled here, but it works to the advantage of not-so-flexible plastic people.

The second thing is… the wheels. As long as you keep your figures inside they look ok. But when you take them out and stand next to the car they seem to fall a bit short. I browsed through a number of real life Defender pictures and I came to the conclusion that, even apart from the scale, Bruder’s model’s wheels are too large. And I get it why they did it that way: larger wheels mean easier maneuvering and better offroad performance when the vehicle is pushed using a far-from-sophisticated child’s hand. That is also the reason why both axes have working suspension – pure play value. Yes, remember this is still a TOY, a young kid’s toy – keep that in mind while speed-browsing through this review already planning e-bay shopping-spree when your wife goes to sleep, all fellow mature collectors! But back to the wheels. Is it very bad that they are that way? Naah, it can be easily dealt with if you’re willing to lower your realism-based standards a notch: establish your Defender as a heavy-duty offroad custom version of the SUV if you use it for a dio-story or cover up parts of the wheels with mud, sand, bushes or whatever your diorama set has in store if their size bothers you too much. Other than that – this is THE most perfect 1:18-ish representation of a Land Rover Defender which can comfortably hold figures inside that you’re gonna get, so I say: let it go, stop over-analyzing and just enjoy what you get.

With that out of the way we can continue the review. Moving on to more practical uses of the SUV. Remember the back area?

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Let’s explore the load out capabilities with a little help from Steve.

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The figure can fit in there but there is again the factor of plastic body flexibility. Yes, you can bend his knees 90 degrees or more so that his feet won’t take so much space and maybe, MAYBE you could fit three or even four non-armored figures inside, as the benches are long enough, but it’s a pain. I decided to give it a rest after a number of frustrating attempts, especially seeing how natural and relaxed Steve looks sitting there like that.

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For the sake of this review the M.O.O.K.S have been assigned a special advisor, no other than the best of the best among Cobra lines: the spectacular white ninja himself, Storm Shadow! He will help us assess the amount of room in the back with TWO passengers on board.

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And again, I am a fan of the resting your feet comfortably solution here. It looks fine and doesn’t really require much fiddling to get both the figures seated.

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That way you can also have both figures visible even from a longer distance in your dio-pictures. Of course I could’ve made this shot better plot-wise by seating the figures facing the same side but…

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…this one should make up for it. Moving on to some extra features now.

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You may have noticed the sunroof in previous photos. Yes, it’s there and it provides, well, sun or more important: LIGHT around the front seats area inside but it sadly doesn’t do much more. It does slide open but only to form a tiny opening with extra pieces of clear plastic blocking the rest. So it’s up to customizers again to provide means for emergency abandoning the vehicle or action-packed emptying your uzi while half-sitting inside. The reason for that is…OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

…an extra steering wheel on a column?? Yes, it’s a play feature (a kid’s toy, remember?) that enables you to turn the wheels comfortably from up here instead of having to stick your fingers inside via the driver’s door and working it from there. You put the column through the sun roof and insert it into the ‘KFC bucket holder’ between the front seats. Not much use for collectors who are not into ‘driving’ their scaled cars around the table so we can easily discard that object. Or put it back in place.

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Which is here, underneath the Defender. See it stuck in the middle? Notice also the quite not bad set of details in this area which allows for some workshop-repairs-seen-from-underneath photo themes if that’s your thing. And in such a case you might also wanna consider…

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…popping the hood open to take a look at…

 

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…the engine. It is not an accurate representation of all the mechanisms there but it’s far from a bland block of plastic either – some paint applications here and there should work wonders. Notice a functional holder that swings out and latches onto the hood to keep it open. Safety first, remember?

 

Let’s go back to the rear section for a while. We already tested the personnel transport capability but how about goods? Steve, could you please demonstrate?

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Looks promising…

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I’m afraid we’re going to run out of crates and Steve’s stamina before we run out of Defender’s loading space.

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The benches can be removed to make even more room for whatever you wanna put in there. And you can put there a lot.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERABut if even that doesn’t exhaust your hunger for mobile storage…

 

 

…using this hook you can attach a trailer of your choice from the wide range of Bruder’s accessories, many of them coming in sets and combinations with specific vehicles. I don’t have anything to attach here yet but due to choosing the right Defender set I got…

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…a roof rack. And sure, you can stack up your figures’ luggage here or even more boxes and crates but wouldn’t it be more fun to use it in a creative way?

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Just think of the possibilities! The M.O.O.K.S. return from a recon trip to Joes base unaware of a little souvenir that they are bringing back home…

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Now only the special advisor can rescue out team from the terrible fate of not having enough storage space up on their roof!

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The duel rages on! Ok, this shot doesn’t add anything useful to the roof rack subject but you gotta admit it’s distantly cool so just imagine where you can go with your own Defender roof experience.

Anyway, to further elaborate on the size matter a comparison shot or two.

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Defender next to a 1:18-scaled bike model made by one of the major companies (Welly, I believe). As a person who had the opportunity to actually ride this very bike (Yamaha Virago) in real life I confirm that it has a really low construction so this comparison works pretty good in my opinion.

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Ok, this is worse. The large truck comes from Indiana Jones line (with extra customization done by my friend, rehael) and yeah… look at what I wrote just now: ‘large’. It should be larger than an SUV, even one fitted with super-outdoor-bump-munching wheels but here it’s the other way around.

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The Indy truck is an old WWII design so it’s no huge Mack but it’s obvious that the Defender shouldn’t overshadow it with size like that.

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On the other hand the guys look just perfect inside and I can hardly imagine a smaller scale vehicle that would fit modern Joes so comfortably inside – without any need for customizations, cutting off pieces to gain additional space or figures pressing tops of their heads against the car’s inner ceiling.

And I think this is going to be my final conclusion: you have to decide what’s your priority. You can choose a Hasbro vehicle that was designed as a toy to carry that type of figures – which usually involves some cleverly shaped inside to accommodate just the amount of room needed, but is seriously lacking in terms of realism and details and usually doesn’t look like anything you might actually encounter in the streets. You can go with the very opposite and get an incredibly accurate beautiful model that oozes sweet tiny details and resembles the original as close as it gets in such scale – but you just won’t fit your figures there any way that doesn’t look extremely awkward (and in most cases you won’t do even that). So if you are looking for a realistically designed vehicle for your Joes that is nicely detailed but remains a toy and can easily fit figures but is slightly over-scaled – look into Bruder. I am not saying there are no other toy lines like that out there but I myself found none (I mean a non-military design, mind you, as BBI delivers quite nicely in the army transport department). Also be aware of the randomly varying scale inside Bruder’s own assortment – and always make sure prior to purchase that the specific Bruder vehicle matches your figures’ size as good as the Defender does.

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Summary

Strong and weak points:

+ incredibly accurate outside design, details and paintjob

+ decent inside detailing viewable via opening doors and accessible engine compartment

+ comfortably fits 4 figures with a number of accessories or a truckful of payload inside

+ sturdy and solid construction, designed to be played with by kids in an outdoor environment

+ play features: turning front wheels, working suspension on both axes

+ can be upgraded using other Bruder accessories (trailers or the roof rack)

– slightly overscaled for 31/4” figures

– wheels are a bit too big, even for the SUV’s own scale

– inside details are not at high-class 1:18 scale models’ level of design

Who will like it:

practically everybody who wants both a realistic-looking and fully usable non-military vehicle for their modern Joes and can look past (or find a way to justify) the slight scale mismatch

Who won’t like it:

I’d say either those who expect insane expensive-die-cast-model-class level of details inside or those bent on strictly matching the scale willing to sacrifice the ability to actually have their figures use the vehicle

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