Sunday, December 16, 2012

Marvel Legends MADAME MASQUE & HYDRA!

Marvel's Madames -  Marvel Legends: Arnim Zola Series - Hasbro 2012

Hasbro's relaunched Marvel Legends line has been pretty great so far.  We've seen some unique characters that I'm shocked to have made in plastic.  There has also been a fantastic use of variant slots in each wave.  A great example of this is the Marvel's Madames figure(s) in this wave.  With just a different paintjob and a retooled head, Hasbro managed to provide collector's with two wonderfully B-List characters: Madame Masque and Madame Hydra.  I feel like Mattel would have milked that retooled head for all it was worth and would make us wait years for it, but Hasbro just throws them both out there like it's no big whoop.  The current wave on the shelves has an "X-Mutants" slot with both Mystique and Moonstar.  And the first wave in 2013 has a slot with Red She-Hulk and Savage She-Hulk (Lyra):  I am overjoyed!  Marvel's Madames are a bit hot-and-cold for me.  Madame Masque is amazing.  She looks great all-around.  Madame Hydra, however, might just be the homeliest villianess I've ever seen.. and she's not supposed to be.  On the the review!



 

 
 
I will start with Madame Masque (and maybe end with her too so I don't leave a bad taste in your mouth)
 

 




I think this figure is great.  She has some of that overjointed scrawniness that plagues a lot of Marvel Legends females, but overall it's a fantastic execution on a really unexpected character.


 
 
Both Madames came with the same accessories, just painted different colors.  And their Build-A-Figure piece (Arnim Zola's Torso) came with different faces on his chest screen - see the in-package shots above.
 
 
 
Okay, now on to Madame Hydra... ughh.
 




 
 

 
 I'm trying to make sense of her face sculpt.  It seems really warped from what it should be, like a soft rubber mould actually got misshapen in the casting process.  It's amazing because the Mystique figure has the exact same face but actually look really good.. check out my previous Mystique Review.









 
 
I'm officially challenging myself to customize her and make her look as good as I possibly can by the end of... hmm.. let's say January.  I think I discovered an interesting trick recently to which she will be a fantastic guinea pig.
 
 
Okay, as promised, I'll end with another Madame Masque, whew!
 
 
 
 
 
Time for a Comparison Shot!



 Cheers!

2 comments:

  1. Hydra had such a beautiful prototype too. Apparently Hasbro said the face was 'pinched' in production...perhaps this was corrected for Mystique.

    Bought all 3 ladies within the last 3 months. Masque & Mystique are really nice. The re-used hair doesn't bother me as much as I'd thought as it is a great hair sculpt. But I'd be happpy if they burned that hair mould now! :-D

    You probably saw, but a new beefier female body is on the way in ML with Moonstone.

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    1. I'm very excited about the new ML Moonstone body. I kind of hope that they hold off on Moonstar until the new buck rolls out. Wishful thinking I know, she's bound to pop up on the shelves any day now. Hasbro faces get pinched a lot. First time I really noticed it was with Quicksilver. It really just comes down to cutting corners in the mould-making process, and it's a shame. I totally fixed up Madame Hydra and she looks pretty good. Deciding now if I want to alter her hair or not, but as soon as I'm done I'll post it!

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