Today’s question comes from Poester TP:
Dear Poe:Â Do you know any of the sculptors for the new pieces in Marvel Legends 2012? It’s been all the gossip that this new wave of ML is really a cut above Hasbro’s old ML offerings, and I’d like to acknowledge credit where credit’s due. I’ve been collecting things by the 4 Horsemen in various lines for so long that’s it’s tough not knowing who sculpted the new Iron Man figure, for instance…
I checked with my contacts at Hasbro, and their response was, “We’re not set up for fan questions right now, unfortunately. We’re going to be relaunching the fan Q&A program soon, so keep an eye out! Sorry!”
So, I’m afraid I can’t answer your question quite yet, TP. Perhaps someone else out there already knows the answer?
DavetheBrave
DCU got ridiculous, like with the Super Friends wave or even the Martian Manhunter wave, with some lines nearly 100% composed of extremely obscure characters (wave 8, wave 11, wave 13). I do not think either of the first two ML waves have that problem. Yeah, Cap is a weird look, but he still has his shield prominently displayed. And besides, we are getting another very Cap-looking Cap in wave two, in addition to a Wolverine and 2 Spider Men. I think that is a very fair blend of A-list characters with some B-listers and a few fan-pleasers (Fantomex, Drax, Terrax, Zola).
I also have a feeling that Extremis Iron Man has been sitting in the hopper with Thor for a while. The sculpt and articulation just feels very Nemesis/Ares-era Hasbro.
TP-bone
Well, I'll admit Wave 2 looks very, very different in quality & selection from this wave. Iron Man is definitely someone moms might be able to pick out of a crowd, but Ghost Rider looks very different from his typical duds (and are there moms out there who'd know GR w/o the current movie?), and if I'm not mistaken, Cap in this wave is in a pretty fan-service-specific look (S.H.I.E.L.D director) and is sold as Steve Rogers… That said, I'm a big fan of this Iron Man (my favorite ML Iron Man, Hasbro or otherwise) and the Thor is tops. But people with a beef against the Bullseye body et al are right — they kind of clash with newer sculpts.
FakeEyes22
Mine just shipped early this morning. Or Shadow Weaver did? I have no idea.
Darren
Hasbro is making the same mistake that DC made with DCUC. They a pushing out obscure characters that only a small minority of collectors want. I'm still waiting for Hasbro to announce some Marvel Legend's that I'm excited for. Wave one and two were pretty bland.
Barbecue17
I'm definitely not much of a Marvel guy, but I knew who all of these characters are with the exception of Terrax. I recognize him, (wasn't he a Toybiz Fantastic 4 figure years ago?) but couldn't tell you much about him.
This line seemed to have a pretty nice mix of A-list, B-list, and C-list characters. Heck, one wave had three of the Avengers in it and one character who has a movie out at the moment (Ghostrider). Seems like a pretty decent line up to me.
Minezeye
Terrax is one of the most fan customized and created figures out there and pretty much silver surfers polar opposite.
Iron man is a strong A list that must be included, as well as Thor and Steve Rodgers new cap uniform complete Hasbro's Trinity and Further promote the bread and butter Mom impulse buy for kids.
1or more of the 3 avengers and or spider-man or wolverine will always be in every wave.
This is an industry standard for all MOM's to relate to when looking for a superhero toy for little billy.
The wreckers are a long time coming for us secret wars era fans. I could go on and on, but I love this mix of characters they are using.
Darren, may I ask what characters you feel were left out and would like to see in future waves of legends?
FakeEyes22
From quick memory, I think only Iron Man is 100% new, not counting the BAF.
Bullseye body was nice during ToyBiz years, at first but they and Hasbro way overused it for a while. I do like that it’s got much better ankles that the type that Klaw’s got, which are from a Hasbro body from towards the end of the last run. I do really like the new ankles Hasbro has come up with that are on Terrax and have been used a few times in their 3 3/4″ lines.
The extra pectoral shoulder joints work well for Constictor since he’s got to pose like he’s swinging those whips around, but I found the body a bit cluttered looking when it was overused on characters who didn’t need it.
dayraven
and thor…
FakeEyes22
Thor’s not really all new, since he was used first at SDCC, although I’d consider that one more or a prepaint rather than calling the retail release a repaint. He was new to me, but I imagine someone has passed him up that had the SDCC version.
Dark Angel
The Thor figure (that also served as the SDCC Marvel Legends relaunch exclusive) was commisioned by Hasbro from a gentleman named Paul Harding over 3 years ago, according to him. He is quite happy to see it finally released: http://hardingstudios.blogspot.com/search?q=thor
Dead Man Walking
There is still a lot of reuse though. That crappy "Bullseye" body is in full effect. I really don't care for a lot of the skinny bodies ML produced, or some of the unattractive joints, like the pec joints and the super-square knee joints on the Bullseye body.
FakeEyes22
This doesn’t help at all, since I don’t know who did the work, but I do know that digital sculpting is used for many or all of the new parts used in this wave that aren’t recycled from earlier.
Hasbro seems to be getting really good at it lately, by some magic combination of software advances and artists. I’ve got a feeling that early attempts at going contributed to some of Hasbro’s early mixed ML efforts. The idea of digital sculpts is something I haven’t been fond of.
I look at the new Iron Man and a couple of recent droids in Star Wars, and I realize that software and some great talent can produce some phenomenal results. That Iron Man has such clean lines and symmetry. I’ll never like this technique for organic sculpts, though.
Oh wait…Terrax was done digitally too by the looks of him, even his face, and he is one of the best looking Legends ever. I don’t know what to think. This may be a good article sometime.
I know McFarlane went digital far earlier than they may like you to think.
Mecha-Shiva
The new 6 iron man is cool but a bit too thin to be a guy in a suit compared to the steve rogers figure,in sculting,I still don't like the bodies but the faces are wonderful,hasbro's better than toybiz in making female faces,Hope summers is a cutie redhead.