Character Illustrations

Here are few character illustrations of my character, Helena Strange.

2014
Click here to see same image unaltered (by Blogger).

2013

2006

Review: Mastermind Creations R-08 Azalea The Avenger

Azalea is Mastermind Creations' homage to Transformers G2 Arcee. The aesthetic is reminiscent of IDW Comic's take on the character which depicts her as a fierce combatant and assassin. In short, total badass. And so is this action figure.

Articulation:

This figure has tons of articulation for dynamic posing. The joints on my figure were either tight or just right (not loose, not tight).

Head - Ball joint. A little restricted from back kibble if you want the head facing up.

Arms - Shoulders on ball joints. Double jointed elbows. Wrist swivel

Upper torso - Chest on ball joint. Waist on ball joint which can only swivel unless you pull that portion up. Then you can rotate a bit and have some ab crunch.

Legs - Ball joint thighs. Double jointed knees. Front of feet can swivel down. And there's ankle tilt.  

Aesthetics:
Really like the look of this figure. Avoids the kibble issues most Arcee toy iterations have had. I'm glad they didn't try to make her cute. You can pose her as such if you're inclined, but I prefer her being a badass bot. Her weapons include 2 foldable blades that can be stored on her thighs and back, and two foldable blasters that can be stored on her back skirt/guard. Both sets are nicely molded and colored giving her more pose and display options.

Transformation:

A little tricky for me at first. I just had to come to the conclusion that I was not going to be able to have certain parts tabbed in perfectly (wrist to legs). At least you can change her look in alt mode.

Alternate mode:

Really cool looking hover vehicle that can be changed around to suit your preference. I like that it's not so restrictive. There's also a small stand that can be tabbed in at the bottom to make it look as if it's hovering. This piece can also be used to help balance the figure in bot mode when place on either foot. 

Here are a few more shots:

Behind the scene set up shot:

Mastermind Creations R-08 Azalea The Avenger

The articulation on Azalea is pretty amazing. I'll do a small review at a later date.
"You fools didn't corner me, you just fell into my trap." -Azalea

Divide and Conquer

ToyWorld - TW-D01 Roar

Roar is ToyWorld's take on the Dinobots' Snarl. There are a lot of 3rd party companies out there jumping on the Dinobot bandwagon and each is trying to change things up to stay competitive in this market. Whether it's Masterpiece Class size or more cybertronian look, there's something for different tastes. Toyworld is going with a Voyager sized modern classic feel with an edge: they will combine into one big bad ass combiner!

Alternate Mode: 

The stegosaurus mode looks very classic. I like that I can move the head a bit and open it's jaw. I usually don't get into alt modes, but I really enjoy this one. Looks great on shelf and even better with a diorama.

Articulation:
While the dino mode has limited articulation it's still playable and well... I can't imagine a stegosaurus having that much mobility anyway so it's ok. It's a different ball game in robot mode. Here's the breakdown:

Head - Ball joint. 

Arms- Shoulders on rotating hinge joint that can be pulled out. Super tight ratcheting elbows. Wrist swivel with hands that open and close.

Waist - Swivel

Legs - Tight rotating swivel joint. Knee rotation. Super tight knees with good bending degree. Feet bend up, down, and side to side (Awesome!!). 

Aesthetics: 

The modern classic look looks really good in both modes, but could use a little more paint apps on the red torso (for the robot mode). The weapons don't look all that great compared to the competition, but it works, and he looks badass holding them. It would seem they are meant to combine (with the other figures' weapons) to form a bigger weapon for the combined mode. His sword by the way may be stored in the tail in alt mode.

Transformation:

Simple and intuitive. Didn't need instructions for it. Which is always a plus in my book.

Notes: 

Roar comes in a nice and simple package. I used the styrofoam cover as a jungle(ish) diorama base. It came out okay. Still needs a little work. Works really good with the figure I think.  

Black Background Photography

I haven't tried working on pure black backgrounds in years and although I'm better at it, I still don't like working with this style. I guess it's good to try anyway to get more familiar technical aspects of photography I'm not used to.

Here is Optimus Prime being captain obvious while Mirage is feeling a bit unsure about this "easy mission."

Igear's Patrol Specialist (not Ironhide) had to show up to show his big cannons. :-D