The great thing about Fortnite is the seemingly endless supply of interesting skins you can acquire (purchase) to play as different avatars. The first character type to attract me to the Fortnite franchise was the pink teddy bear character, Cuddle Team Leader. It was such a wonderful contradiction to see a playful and adorable costume suited up with tactical accessories and big guns and axes. But that's the whole aesthetic unique to Fortnite and the reason I will always pay attention to this brand. Ragsy is the third figure I have featuring a decayed or zombified version of Cuddle Team Leader (Spooky Squad Leader and Skull Squad Leader). While zombie-type versions of toys are my second least favorite gimmick (after "bloody" variants) for some reason I don't mind it when the disarray is mostly made up of popped stitched and leaking stuffing. It's actually pretty adorable. I'm always looking forward to what will come next in Hasbro's Fortnite line. There's an endless supply of cool characters. Let's check out Ragsy below!
UNITING ALL WOMEN OF PLASTIC
Showing posts with label Fortnite. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fortnite. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 1, 2023
Monday, January 9, 2023
Fortnite - LEXA (MECHAFUSION)!
When I think of Fortnite, my mind immediately goes to quirky tongue-in-cheek murderous pajama-party-type characters. That is the aesthetic that sucked me in (to buying the toys at least). And I still adore that for its unique place in pop culture. So when this Lexa (Mechafusion) figure was released I was pleasantly surprised. To my mind, this is a departure from previous character styles, but I am thrilled with it because I am equally intrigued by robotic-type characters. Lexa originally appears as an unarmored anime-style girl with silver hair and large metal gauntlets. In her Mechafusion form she appears like a futuristic/robotic onna-bugeisha (female samurai) and I am obsessed with her. She reminds me of the M-66 Battle androids from Black Magic M-66, an anime movie I was obsessed with in high school. She is a really fun addition to my collection and it's a shame her windowless box illustrations don't do her justice. She looks a little cartoonish and boring on the boxart. Let's check out Lexa (Mechafusion form) below!
Saturday, January 7, 2023
Fortnite - LYNX (RED)!
I don't often pick up a figure that a straight-up repaint of an existing toy, especially if it's a recent one, but something about this Red Lynx from Hasbro's Fortnite Victory Royale Series just spoke to me. Felinoid characters have a core-level draw for me. If I were alive in ancient Egyptian times I would 2000% have been an acolyte of Bastet. Cat-themed characters in any genre intrigue me. As an adult, that mostly means that I buy any comics and toys where the character has ears and a tail - I'm pretty predictable. Red Lynx is one of the many Lynx skins available in Fortnite. The base levels are a young woman with cat-eared hoodie, but after a few tiers, she dons this armored cat outfit and the remaining upgrades are color variations of that suit. She must be a popular character since I already have four figures of her in three different skins. I think I want to limit myself, but if the blue version were made I would find it hard to resist. But for now I find this multi-toned red quite striking. Let's check out Lynx below!
Wednesday, October 26, 2022
Fortnite - SKULL SQUAD!
As long as I can remember I've had an obsession with skeletons. My favorite special effects movie growing up was Jason and the Argonauts. My favorite arcade game was Golden Axe. My favorite toy was the Pocket Power Glow Bones. I loved the skeleton costumes in Karate Kid. And in high school my big comic obsession was Andi Watson's Skeleton Key. All feature skeletons heavily. And on an amusing note, I never recognized this pattern until a few years ago when someone pointed out how many skeletons I have in my house (year round). Fortnite has always had a good track record with skeleton-themed characters. From the very beginning, Skull Ranger was a major player. And thankfully all the other characters are slowly getting skeleton repaints. This Skull Squad 4-Pack is my favorite multipack so far. The uniform deco is super appealing to me and make another great addition to my Halloween series. Let's check out Skull Squad Leader and Bone Ravage below!
Saturday, April 9, 2022
Fortnite - TNTINA!
Okay. As much as I've been really enjoying the various Fortnite toys coming out over the past few years, there seems to be a trend that might turn me off the property. Moreso than any other property I can think of, the Fortnite females seem to consistently come in large, expensive deluxe sets. It's not that these sets are a ripoff or that you aren't getting your money's worth, but currently it will set you back roughly 40 bucks to get a 6" female figure from Fortnite. It adds up real fast. In the recent case of Siona and Deo, I didn't mind at all since you were getting two connected characters that look cool together. But to get this TNTina figure, you are essentially forced to buy a $20 glider (that doesn't even fit on any of my shelves). The occasional deluxe figure is great, but lately it's been every one. And as someone who isn't really into vehicles or industrial-looking accessories, I find this trend to be rather off-putting. That said TNTina looks awesome and has a hilariously awesome name. Let's check her out below!
Friday, April 8, 2022
Fortnite - SIONA!
There's something special about astronaut action figures. When I was a kid, there were certain toy archetypes that were always present: The soldier, the farmer, the fireman, the policeman, the ninja, and of course, the astronaut. And of all these, the astronaut is the only one that doesn't imply labor or violence. As a nerdy curious kid who eschewed chores and fighting, there was only one choice for me. Unfortunately there have been very few female astronaut toys over the years. That's why when I saw this Fortnite Deo and Siona 2-pack I just had to have it. These figures combine a lot of the traditional astronaut visual cues: domed helmet, white bulky body suit, and a series of tubes or harnesses wrapping around them. But then they have the Fortnite twist with bright green hair and orange costumes details. The fact that they are both Indian in origin only adds to the appeal. As infrequent as female astronauts are, women of color as astronauts are exponentially more rare. Let's check out Siona below!
Tuesday, April 5, 2022
Fortnite - JULES!
Fortnite toys continue to impress me. Despite having no connection to the actual games (or concepts even), the pure fun aesthetic of the character design has pulled me in and made me a fan for life. I enjoy thinking about the younger generations today and the toys that will fuel their adult nostalgia someday. Do I think it will be all the modern He-Man, Power Rangers, DC, and Marvel toys piggybacking off the parents' fond memories? No, I can admit that those brands likely won't be as potent as we wish they would be. But then I see the Fortnite section in the toy aisle and it falls into place. Where we had cartoons and comics to further our action figure narrative, today's kids have video games. (And the Fortnite brand seems far more toyetic than Minecraft or Roblox). The characters are fun, diverse, well made, and plentiful. I really enjoyed the 3.75" version of Jules from last year, but this 6" Amazon exclusive figure is even better. She looks tough, beautiful, and intriguing. Let's check out Jules below!
Thursday, January 20, 2022
Fortnite - LYNX!
I wasn't sure how I felt about Hasbro taking over the license for 6" Fortnite figures. We had two similarly-scaled lines from McFarlane Toys and Jazwares that had petered out rather quickly. Is third time really a charm? I had my doubts. But I must admit I have been converted. Purely going by quantity of female figures, the Hasbro line has already blown the previous two out of the water. I now own four females in the Victory Royale series and it's only been two months on the shelves. In several years of producions, the McFarlane line only had three female sculpts, and the Jazwares line only had two. And this inaugural figure, Lynx, is really stunning. She looks sleek and mysterious with a futuristic sci-fi vibe. Plus I'm a sucker for any cat-themed characters. She's very different from the other Fortnite figures I've purchased. My Fortnite collection is mostly colorful and quirky, but Lynx has a dark serious aura. I think she's great and she makes me excited to see who's next. Let's check out Lynx below!
Wednesday, January 19, 2022
Fortnite - LYNX!
2021 was a very slow year for me as far as Fortnite toys purchases went. Previous years had a steady flow of 3.75 Fortnite ladies, but this Lynx figure is only the second I am reviewing (after Jules last January) in the whole year. Granted I bought a few more in multipacks that I haven't photographed yet, but even so it was a significant slowdown. But for the last figure purchase in a slow year, this Lynx is one of my favorites of the whole line. I typically fawn over the quirky onesie/plushie-type characters like Prickly Patroller or Cuddle Team Leader, but this lynx looks like a sinister futuristic Catwoman and I'm obsessed. I had been seeing this character design in print ads and random game images for a while, so I was excited to see her included in the line. And I was especially happy to see a version of her with some really colorful details added to her limbs. Her standard design appears to be solid black, and there is already a 6" version in that deco, so I'm glad this one is unique. Let's check out Lynx below!
Saturday, November 27, 2021
Fortnite - SKYE & OLLIE!
Hasbro's new Fortnite: Victory Royale Series seems to be starting off with a bang. With only a handful of figures on the shelves, there are already three female figures out there (Skye and Lynx in stores, and Jules on Amazon). I tend to groan a bit when a relatively new license changes hands too often. In a few short years we've seen similarly-scaled Fortnite figures from McFarlane Toys, Jazwares, and now Hasbro. But the figures themselves have been so interesting and unique that I don't mind the shifting production. Especially when it means more figures and more gender diversity. In three years, McFarlane only had three unique female sculpts and Jazwares only had two (in the Legendary series). So Hasbro already seems ready to blow those companies out of the water. Without personally knowing much about Fortnite, I judge these figures purely on aesthetics. Skye is colorful, quirky, very well sculpted and articulated, and a lot of fun. I can't wait see what's next. Let's check out Skye and Ollie below!
Tuesday, February 16, 2021
Fortnite - BLAZE!
One thing that is really impressing me about Fortnite toys are the inventive color palettes of the figures. It's seems like a silly detail to be obsessed with, but I love outlandish costume designs and I definitely notice when something is breaking new territory. Back in November, I was waxing on about how Singularity's turquoise, dark teal, and maroon blew my mind. And now this Blaze figure mixing bronze, lavender, and yellow. It looks so good, and I'm mostly impressed because I would never have come up with that combination on my own. Kudos to the Fortnite designers. I'm always excited to see what they'll do next. Blaze seems to be a fire-wielding character (who unfortunately comes with a boring gun instead of a flame accessory). She also comes with the giant 17" light-up Choppa Helicopter. I personally never buy toy vehicles unless I have to. In fact, they are usually a major deterrent for me, so that should tell you how impressed I was with Blaze. Let's check her out below!
Tuesday, January 26, 2021
Fortnite - JULES!
When I first started this blog I loved doing themed months of reviews. Mostly it would be silly, like bumblebee-themed characters or Halloween, but sometimes it took on some social significance like reviews for Black History Month. I've always been drawn to diverse representation in action figures. Since my collecting focus is female characters, we're already swimming in underdog territory. So finding additional dimensions of diversity is exponentially harder. Then came the fateful attempt to do Native American characters. I quickly discovered there were almost no figures of Native American females outside of vintage wild-west toys. Characters were present: Dawnstar, Talisman, Rainmaker, Dani Moonstar, etc, but toys were simply absent (at the time). So now whenever I see a figure that even eludes to a Native American origin, I get really excited. This Fortnite Jules character has no officially defined heritage, but I interpret her design as Native American and gladly add her to my collection.
Sunday, December 27, 2020
Fortnite Legendary Series - GHOUL TROOPER!
I was truly planning on skipping this figure all-together. Decomposing bodies, even when done in a cartoony way, just turn me off. So as excited as I was to see the second female character in the Jazwares Legendary series, she was a pass for me. But then right before Christmas I found myself in Kohl's and saw her in person. I still had the same feelings about the zombie aesthetic, but I was really intrigued by her backpack accessory. It is a zombified Cuddle Team Leader head. Of course, I thought it was an alternate head not a backpack. Being the weekend before Christmas, the checkout lines reached literally to the back of the store (to the toy section in fact). I left without a purchase and googled to find a pic of this "alternate head." I quickly learned my mistake, but then spent a few days thinking about how simple it would be to kitbash that backpack into a head. I soon drove back to Kohl's to get her and give my backpack experiment a shot (pics at the bottom). Let's check out Ghoul Trooper below!
Friday, November 27, 2020
Fortnite - SINGULARITY!
If you asked me to describe the qualities of a character that would cause me to overlook a toy, this Singularity figure from Jazwares 3.75" Fortnite line would hit all the benchmarks: A helmeted face; A nondescript armored body; A generic repurposed accessory; And from a video game property. I've skipped more action figures like this than I can count. But there's one quality about Singularity that overrides all my scruples: her color palette. I don't know what it is about these colors, but I am inexplicably drawn to them. Her base color is a dark teal overlaid with bright turquoise armor and maroon details. It's a color combination I have never seen before, but that I am nothing short of obsessed with. And once I had her in hand, I began to appreciate other details that I might have overlooked; especially her helmet shape. There's something almost dragon-like about it and the more I see it the cooler I think it is. Hell, I would even buy toys of the (less impressive) alt mode colors. Let's check out Singularity below!
Saturday, September 5, 2020
Even More Ladies of FORTNITE!
A few years ago I was pretty uncertain about the future momentum of Fortnite toys. As someone who doesn't play video games, I don't have much insight into popularity or longevity of certain games. I just see toys I like and get excited. But all too often these lines get canceled after one promising wave. This has happened so many times in recent years: Overwatch, Evolve, Assassin's Creed (Jazwares), League of Legends, etc. So when Fortnite product launched back in 2018, I had the same trepidation, but the presence in the toy aisles has been consistent and impressive, and constantly improving. Especially in this 4" scale. The eye paint alone is leaps and bounds above their first wave. And the character selection seems to be getting more playful as well. My favorite thing about Fortnite is the innate silliness of the property, like a big morbid pajama party, and some of the recent additions certainly fit the bill. Let's check out Spooky Team Leader, Prickly Patroller, Ravage, Elite Agent, and Fable!
Wednesday, March 18, 2020
Fortnite - SKULLY!
Just when I think I might give up on one of the various Fortnite lines, a new product comes out that sucks me right back in. So far, I think that McFarlane Toys Fortnite figures have been the least inspiring. This is mostly due to the high cost and slow release schedule. Plus comparatively, the Cuddle Team Leader seemed awkwardly proportioned and too tall and Dark Bomber's face, although technically not bad at all, looked like it was stamped on cheaply. So, yeah, I was ready to give the whole line the axe. But then this character named Skully was revealed who I had never heard of before. At first glance I was unimpressed. She looked like another forgettable militant character that I've seen a thousand times before. But upon further inspection I really dig her design. The maroon and teal colors really pop with the rainbow details and her bright blonde hair. Plus the candy-skull details on her hip, backpack, and axe combine to create that quirky vs deadly that I love about Fortnite. She's amazing. Let's check out Skully below!
Monday, February 17, 2020
Fortnite - FIREWORKS TEAM LEADER(S)!
Life, Liberty, and the Bear Suit of Happiness. I've wanted to post the McFarlane Toys Fireworks Team Leader figure for months, but I didn't get around to it until the 3.75" Jazwares version came out and Presidents' Day rolled around. I don't even know if stars and stripes are typical for this holiday, but it's as good an excuse as any to get my butt in gear. Fireworks Team Leader is yet another variation of the pink Cuddle Team Leader. I know of at least six version of this design. We have already seen toys of Cuddle, Fireworks, Panda, and Spooky Teams Leaders. But there are also versions named Bundles and Ragsy that I'm sure we'll see in some form eventually as well. As much as I get bored with re-use of a mold, there's something so zany about these bears that I'm eager to get them all. It should be interesting to see what McFarlane and Jazwares unveil at Toy Fair next week. It's really fun to have a whole new property to look forward to. Especially one with such limitless potential. Let's check out Fireworks below!
Wednesday, December 25, 2019
3.75" Fortnite - GINGER GUNNER!
Merry Christmas! I was holding out on posting this review because it's the only holiday-themed toy I think I've bought this year. There is something about this Target-exclusive Fortnite Gingerbread Set that thrills me. Gingerbread men are such an iconic Christmas theme, but I almost never see them used in fun ways. So when I see two gun-toting murderous action figures with this wholesome holiday decor, I am just hooked. I kind of want to pack them away with my ornaments and give them a spotlight in my annual trimmings (along with my Funko Miser Brothers!) Fortnite is known for combining cute and savage characteristics, and I think that's one of the reasons the brand is so popular. I really hope we see Ginger Gunner in different formats. A 12" and 6" version would be amazing additions to the line. And the best part about it is that new figures usually just show up on the shelves with little or no advance notice to us collectors - so there is always hope for the unexpected. Let's check out this festive little freak below!
Tuesday, December 17, 2019
Fortnite Legendary Series - VALKYRIE!
I'm very excited for this first female character in the 6" Fortnite Legendary Series from Jazwares. We've seen a lot of high-quality product from Jazwares over the years, but this is the first time we've seen a Marvel-Legends-type line from them (if you exclude that Hanna-Barbera Space Ghost from 2012). Fortnite shows a ton of potential and will hopefully earn Jazwares all kinds of new licenses in the coming years. I'm generally just excited to see a new big player in the action figure aisles. I don't know much at all about Fortnite except that I find the toys very exciting and quirky. That's why I'm so intrigued by this Valkyrie figure. She's quite possibly the least quirky character I've seen in the line, but she's absolutely gorgeous. I'll probably end up displaying her with my Magic the Gathering or other sci-fi fantasy figures. The pajama party aesthetic of the property is absent in this one. Also, in researching Valkyrie I kept seeing images of a fire variant. I certainly hope we see that in plastic. Let's check out Valkyrie below!
Friday, December 13, 2019
12" Fortnite - PANDA TEAM LEADER!
Surprisingly there aren't many panda-themed action figures out there. As one of the most universally recognizable animals, they somehow never get the same anthropomorphic-action-figure attention as the big cats, reptiles, and birds. Besides the obvious Kung Fu Panda product, I can't think of any. This Fortnite Victory Series 4-pack appears to be exclusive to Sam's Club exclusive (I don't believe they have been found anywhere else), and at first glance you might think they are all simple repaints of the single-pack figures. However, this Panda Team Leader has several sculptural differences from Cuddle Team Leader. The most obvious change to me is the chest piece: Cuddle Team Leader has armor while Panda Team Leader has sculpted fur. Also, Panda is now missing Cuddle's trademark facial scar. I feel like every day I'm hearing about new Legendary or 3.75" figures, but the 12" Victory Series isn't getting much press. I would love to see more. Let's check out Panda Team Leader below!
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