The Joker in 4" Scale

Every Joker figure in the 1/18 scale is weird to me. The DC Multiverse Arkham was the closest and it was oddly proportioned and undersized to be on the shelf with Marvel Universe Figures. I used the Sprukits Joker head, DC Multiverse Torso and hips and GI Joe ROC Cobra Commander Legs and some Marauder Inc hands for more articulation.  The head is all I had to paint and he stands a good 4 inches tall.

Marvel Universe Venom

Another Early old custom that I recently finished. The legs are Marvel Universe Comic Sabertooth, th rest is the Spider-Man line Toxic Blast Venom. The tongue is removable and I added some green veins to it. Happy with how it came out.

CPL Hicks

I've been wanting a CPL Hicks cutstom figure for about ten years. I originally bought the McFarlane CPL Hicks without helmet to have JFAK (who no longer casts anymore as far as I know) to shrink and cast for me. I got that back then sat on it until someone, I forget who, made a Colonial Marines kit with a torso, motion tracker, light, weilder and rifle (maybe even more than that actually.) I got all those pieces then sat on everything for six or seven years because I am both kinda lazy and easily distracted.

Fast forward to the release of the Alien Anthology Blu Ray Box set followed by the Marauder
 Task Force figures. That really motivated me. So...I bought a green camo base fig, popped the torso and added some GI Joe 50th TRU Exclusie Dusty arms. I modded the armor a little to make it more like it was seen in Aliens. The base isn't exactly like the movies, but it definitely looks close. I painted some camo on the armer based on the McFarlane figure I still have. I'm pretty pleased with the result.

Some of these photos have been doctored to add effects. The Alien and facehugger are from the Hiya Toys line. They make 4" Marines too. The test tube thing is from that set that went on clearance at Toys R Us a few years ago. I got ten of them for less than ten dollars. I've only opened three. They are great for keeping the dust of my shelf.

This is in full light no effects.

Knockoff Deadpool Taco Truck Review

So, the other day I saw this little gem on eBay. A knock off of the 2013 SDCC Marvel Universe Deadpool Taco Truck! I love that set, but have never opened mine because I’m too cheap to open a figure that goes for over $50 on eBay. Someone had one in New York and the rest were from China. The pics promised some weapons, custom fodder, cool box art and at the very least, a kitschy cool knock off of some pretty expensive figures. I had to get me a set. 

 

                                                               fig. 1 - TREASURE!

SHIPPING AND HANDLING

Got them in very quickly, just six days from China to Virginia. Good packaging, not great, the box had a small dent when it arrived. (It might not matter much, but I want my 17 bucks worth!)

PACKAGING

The packaging is pretty simple. It’s a rectangle with a window on the front so you can see the figures. The deco pretty well done. Both ends feature the front of the B Arthur 2, because the fun will have no end.

                                                  fig. 2 - right end

 

                                                  fig. 3 - left end. I promise

They really love this part of the box art from the original. I can tell because they use the lights along the top ALL OVER THE OUTSIDE OF THE BOX! It looks like yellow and red Mike and Ike’s spilled every where. 

                       fig 4.- Failed Cross Promotion with Mike and Ike's Candy Company

The images are clear though and not pixelated. The used a product image on the top of the box to show you the figures you are not going to get.

                                                            fig. 5-Trickery

 

 The back of the box has both the driver’s and passenger’s sides of the truck on it,(see fig. 4) The top has the El Guero Taqueria and Deadpool Corps logos. (see fig. 5)
 

The bottom has the short blurb explaining the Deadpool Corps and a bar code, because these jokers are selling at retail?!? 

                                      fig. 6-hope as represented by a barcode

You slide out the figures and get the rest of the Taco Truck art (minus the taco shells) with the “reviews” of El Guero Taqueria. They are amusing, if you like the read, which you clearly do because you are 361 words into a toy review that hasn’t mentioned toys yet. 

                                      fig. 7-More words. Your favorite!

The last part of the packaging is the two-part plastic tray the figures come in. It is pretty nice for a knock off set. 

                                          fig. 8-Through a plastic cover, you can't see the lies.

 

FIGURES!!!

I love me some action figures, boy howdy! So many poses! So much possibility! These figures are based on some of the best articulated Marvel Universe bucks there are and from the looks of the eBay listing and the box art, these retain most of it! I could tell that the knee and elbow articulation was gone, but still, there is a lot of movement there. I am jazzed as I open the figures and realize they all have the same articulation....as Dogpool. Zip. Zero. Stingy with dinero. Depression sets in. Oh well. They still look pretty good. Let's take a look statue by statue.....

                                          fig. 9-The truth unveiled.

DOGPOOL

Pretty much like the Taco Truck Version, it's a static figure. The paint is kind of sloppy with some overspray on the teeth that makes Dogpool look rabid. Also some on the white part of the uniform. The Deadpool logo is missing from his..chest? What is that part of a dog called? Whatever. This fig is fine. I can customize it if I want and not feel bad. Not much more to say.

                                                       fig. 10-"Down Boy!"

                                         fig. 11-"You worked up a fine lather there."

CHAMPIONPOOL

This dude is a freaking nightmare. Not only is he arguably the lamest figure in the set. Not only does the box make fun of him. Whoever made these also tried as hard as they could to make sure that I knew they had run out of craps to give. Look at the paint on the Deadpool logo. Wow. Not only did they manage to get silver all over the place around the buckle there, they also managed to screw up a line with two dots on either side in a most spectacular way! 

                                         fig. 12- crocked "x" marks the spot of failure

Also, look at those pouches. Those silver blobs are supposed to be buttons. The silver dollars that Championpool's mom gave him so he could get a"special boy" treat.

 

I realize at this point I'm being a a little hard on the ol' knock off figures here but let's try something. You need short sleeves. Look at the picture below. Now look at your upper arms. Notice anything odd? They managed to take the original mold and put the freaking upper arms on backwards before they recast a mold to make these figures! You can also see more sloppy paint work here. 

                                     fig. 13- "With these giant eyes, I should have seen this coming."

The face isn't too bad, but the lines for the sleeves and gloves are a sign of the apocalypse. These people are beyond not caring and are now trying to let me know that I wronged them in a past life.

                                                   fig. 14-shown here....extreme finger painting

As for the quality of construction, I was pleasantly surprised! It is pretty study and heavy. The figure has a had time standing because a). he is top heavy and b). he can't move his legs at all. I did pull one of the legs out. You can see how it is put together below. The leg slid right back in. The whole figure is built like this minus the head, which is glued/melted on. I am going to try and boil and pop the heads off for customs maybe. The casting is really well done for the most part.

                                          fig. 15-"ouchy!"

                          fig. 16-Championpool shows that he can cross his arms behind his back.

                                          fig. 17-The best of a bad situation

Lady Deadpool

The most wanted figure from the SDCC set was Lady Deadpool. I'm super glad we are getting her in a single pack release in the next year (with Squirelpool!) This figure is not that figure. The best thing about the figure is that there is a working sheath for her sword on her back. The worst thing is that she exists. 

            fig. 18-"Lady in red, is dancing with...no one because she has ZERO articulation"

The paint aps are really bad on my figure here. The Deadpool logo is drawn as an upside down “V” with a turd on either side, just like in the comics! 

                                          fig. 19-JJ Abrams Star Trek symbol w/ lens flare

Her eyes are so over painted it looks like she is meant to express surprise that anyone paid money for these.There is brown where the white should be, white where red should be, the ankle lines are different sizes....

                                     fig. 20-"You stay inside the lines. I'm an AR-TEEST."

oh and her hair is orange. That's not a lighting problem, or the resolution on your screen. Her hair is the color of an orange crayon. I do like the weapons here though. They are pretty sturdy and the gun is white, which is something Hasbro hasn't done yet with that pistol. Here that Hasbro? Guns aren't light blue like with Men Deadpool. That's just the way Rob Liefeld made someone color them because it looks kinda metallic in early nineties comics flat newsprint paper. Also, the gun has a cool green barrel tip which has been painted with a giant paint brush by a drunk toddler.

Deadpool

The man of the hour. The character so great China erected hundreds of four inch plastic statuses of him to sell on eBay! 

                                                       fig. 21-Statue of Johnny Handsome

I didn't mention this in the Lady Deadpool portion , but this is the biggest disappointment about this set. Deadpool's harness and all other webgear/belts/pouch sets are sculpted on. Also, those swords are permanently in the scabbard. AND his arm is up, like that, using his pinky to point at the good toys I have. Forever. 

                                     fig. 22-"Tea time, Gov'na!"

The paint aps on my Deadpool are actually pretty good. Unfortunately, they used up all the effort on good painting and didn't paint the right leg. Oh well....

                                         fig. 23-crotch shot

Overall I really like this set. I know I said some things that are mean, but those same things are what I love about knock off stuff! The errors, like the backwards arms, are laughable. The way the set looks articulated because of the way they had to cast the stuff is awesome. The whole thing is endearing to me. Don't believe me? I spent like two hours writing this review, uploading and editing the pictures for it. The set really does look good as a display piece on a shelf. It don't think it would replace a real Taco Truck set, but if you can afford $20 and not $120 this is a great set for you. I am also thinking of getting another to get the weapons and heads for customs.

Sgt. Slaughter

This is the basic Retaliation Roadblock torso that everyone else has used. I used ROC Heavy Duty legs to give him more articulation and a more old school feel.

 

Batman

This is based on a DC Multiverse Arkham Batman figure. I thought all the male figures in that line were a little short and the also needed a little more articulation. I gave him new lower legs and knees from a black/blue MU Iron Man as well as the forearms from the same figure. I hollowed out the gauntlets and lower legs from the original figure  and slid them over the lower legs and forearms.  Boots are from a Retaliation Roadblock.The head is a modified Super Hero Showdown Wolverine head. I sanded down the ears and remolded to make a bat-cowl using Pro-Create putty. The cape is the original cape from the figure.