Action Figure Review: Kurnn Ray from Cosmic Legions by Four Horsemen Studios

 

   It's been well over a year since I last reviewed a Cosmic Legions figure from Four Horsemen Studios though, to be fair, there haven't been many released until this fall (just a few convention exclusives) when OxKrewe, Book One: Thraxxon dropped. Ever since these were first revealed well over a year ago (PowerCon 2023!), I knew that Kurnn Ray was going to be my first purchase. What can I say? I love the characters like this who appear like scavengers, bounty hunters, or just space drifters. There is a loose story in Cosmic Legions and the most recent series centers on the OxKrewe, a team of six survivors of the Qorgonox, a ship that has crashed on the planet Thraxxon. Kurnn Ray isn't a member of the OxKrewe, though; she's a member of the mysterious Scapehaven, apparently a crew of bandits and scavengers operating in the wastelands of Thraxxon. We know little about the group but it seems they're the villains of this series of releases. Ready to check out Kurnn Ray? Then join me after the break...

Action Figure Review: Sgt. Slaughter & Felix "Mercer" Stratton from G.I. Joe: Classified Series by Hasbro

 

   Are you maggots ready for another G.I. Joe: Classified Series double feature? Then hop to it because we've got Sgt. Slaughter and one of his Renegades today! Yes, while Sgt. Slaughter commanded the Renegades in the 1987 G.I. Joe animated movie, Hasbro sold them (Red Dog, Taurus, and Mercer) in a 3-pack in 1987. In the Classified Series Mercer has been packaged alongside a new version of Sgt. Slaughter sporting a more combat worthy outfit that's oddly reminiscent of Slaughter's 1991 WWE (then WWF) heel turn where he became an Iraqi sympathizer, praised Saddam Hussein, and allied with General Adnan. I'm sure the Joe team kind of had that in mind, right? This version of Sgt. Slaughter never turns his back on the US of A, though. Now Mercer? Mercer is interesting because he's a former Viper who has defected from Cobra and now serves as part of the top secret Renegades, a group paid under a budget line for the Pentagon labeled "Pest Control." This is a really cool set and I was definitely anticipating it, though I figured we'd get the three Renegades as a set. I'm guessing Red Dog and Taurus will be packaged together in the future. For now, let's check out Sgt. Slaughter and Mercer after the break...

Action Figure Review: Bag of Heads from Dr. Malgam's Body Bags by ToadFrog

 

   I reviewed four of the regular bagged figures from this line in late October and early November and while I had a couple more, I decided to skip ahead to the Bag of Heads. Have you ever purchased a bag of heads? Well, what you order is what you get here: A body bag filled with heads that can swap onto the various figures in the line. Since I last reviewed one of these sets, ToadFrog has come out and announced that they are partnering with Thin Air Brands to get Dr. Malgam's Body bags to retail shelves sometime in 2026. That's great news and it's nice to see the line having a future. I really like these figures though I wish we had more fully complete figures in the first series. This bag doesn't fully solve that problem but it does allow you to complete the Skeleton. This was sold as an add on for $25 during the Kickstarter campaign or as part of the Full Moon Special pledge level. Ready to check out this crazy mix of noggins for your buildable monsters? Then join me after the break...


   

Action Figure Review: Jubilee from Marvel Legends Series: X-Men '97 by Hasbro

 

   I told you more X-Men '97 reviews were coming, didn't I? Today I'm looking at Jubilee from the latest series of Marvel Legends Series X-Men '97 releases and, interestingly, this isn't Jubilee's standard costume from the series. Sure, she's got the yellow jacket but this isn't her Jim Lee era and animated series standard blue denim shorts and pink shirt with blue gloves and boots. Instead, this is the costume that she wears during the series finale when every character gets a costume change! For most of the main crew, their costume changes are more classic costumes. Jubilee, however, wears this costume based on her 2011 Wolverine & Jubilee look from after she became a vampire and started wearing black leather. Interestingly, Hasbro has released a version of Jubilee in this costume before, though she was a Build a Figure from a 2014 Toys 'R Us exclusive series, so her price has been pretty high for a few years. Jubilee in her "classic" outfit from X-Men '97 have been been released at least twice in recent years (once in the Caliban BAF series and once in the Hasbro Pulse VHS series) so this is a more unique version for folks who missed out on the original. As a kid I was so frustrated that we never had Jubilee (or Jean Grey) in the Toy Biz line until long after I was actively collecting them, so the fact that we're getting plenty of versions of the core characters just thrills me these days. Ready to check out one of the only three characters name checked in the theme song for the original animated series? Then join me after the break...

Barbecue's Bonfire: Toys I Collected in 1992!- Livesttream on 8:30 PM EST 12/8/2025

Action Figure Review: Cobra Ninjas Slice & Dice from G.I. Joe: Classified Series by Hasbro

 

   Ready for some Ninja Force action? I hope so because today I've got a giant sized review that's packed with so ninja goodness that you'll likely exclaim "Everybody was Kung Fu fighting!" G.I. Joe's Ninja Force was a subset of the A Real American Hero line that was began in 1992, a year when the G.I. Joe brand was still trying to find it's place in the early 1990s toy market that tended to feature figures that were brighter and bolder than the 1980s. Subsets galore tried to court popular themes, color schemes, and social issues and Ninja Force featured brightly colored ninjas with built-in action features (a new step for the G.I. Joe line) that sought to capitalize on the still growing popularity of ninjas (now of the Teenage Mutant Turtle variety). If I go back and look at my toy interests in 1992, this was a year that I didn't pay as much attention to G.I. Joe as I did in others. The only figure I originally has was Destro v3 (though 4 years later, in middle school, I obtained the DEF Shockwave v3 through a trade and that guy has since been one of my favorites) as I was more focused on Toy Biz's Marvel Superheroes and X-Men, Kenner's Terminator 2, Aliens, and Batman Returns, Tiger's Land of the Lost, Mattel's Key Force, Mighty Max, and King Arthur and the Knights of Justice, Galoob's Micro Machines, and Playmates' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Oh, and Snailiens from JPI. Yes, I'm shocked that I purchased more Snailiens in 1992 than I did G.I. Joe. Crazy! I'm making up for that with the Classified Series, though, aren't I? Slice and Dice were both released in the first series of Ninja Force figures and have been a popular Cobra duo ever since. Let's check out this pair of ninjas after the break...

Action Figure Review: Doom Slayer from Doom: The Dark Ages by McFarlane Toys

 

   I'm a pretty big fan of Doom but it's been around 6 years since I last reviewed anything related to Doom. I blame that on there just not being a lot of merchandise based on the games. This year Doom: The Dark Ages released and I absolutely loved it. With the mixture of the traditional Doom aesthetic with a world that felt like a swords and sorcery locale mixed with advanced technology (kind of like Eternia, now that I think about it), Doom: The Dark Ages really mixed things up in a fun way, resulting in a game that felt like you were inside of a heavy metal album cover. McFarlane has released a few Doom figures over the years but this is the first based on Doom: The Dark Ages (they've also released the giant mech suit, the Atlan) and it was the inaugural figure in McFarlane Toys' new Elite Edition line of figures. What's elite about them? They do come with a nice amount of accessories and they're touted as having "an incredibly detailed sculpt with premium paint applications." OK. What else does it mean that these are part of the Elite Edition series? They cost around $50 to $60 dollars. That seems a bit steep for a McFarlane Toys mass market release but this guy sold out crazy fast and is selling on the secondary market for two to three times the original price, so I guess there are plenty of Doom fans desperate for Doom Slayers in their collection. Ready to check out the Elite Edition of the Doom Slayer? Then join me after the break...