Friday, November 7, 2014

Out of the Box: Rictor (Toy Biz X-Men/X-Force)

It's been a while since I've talked about a '90s action figure, so it's time to remedy that and unbox this 1994 Toy Biz figure of X-men spin-off character Julio Rictor (specifically an X-Force character at the time this toy's production, although I always think of the character as part of either the earlier New Mutants or the more recent X-Factor).

The figure has that classic early '90s superhero look, with the muscle-heavy body, an oversized weapon and a  ridiculous outfit (the character hasn't looked like this in the comics for a long time now).  The figure takes a final step into the completely absurd with the action feature which is called "Power Vibes" - you wind it up and he moves slightly.  The motion is supposed to recall the character's seismic/shockwave powers but it actually just looks like wiggling.

In the box.

Still, the ridiculous costume is well-painted, and while the lack of neck gives the face a certain oddness, it's not a terrible likeness of the then-current art style (although he's not so fair-skinned in the comics).  Strangely, the boots are a softer vinyl than the rest of the body and seem to have degraded over time, so they're now a bit greasy, which is unfortunate.

The figure has 8 points of articulation - shoulders, elbows, hips, knees.  The lack of neck articulation is a shame, but not a surprise given the lack of neck in general.

The lone accessory is the gun, which is decently sculpted and fits perfectly in the figure's hand.  Most impressively to me (given some toys of this age), he's able to balance easily with the gun in hand.
Side view: the wind-up knob is very conspicuous here.

Overall, I'm in love with the complete ridiculousness of this figure - it's not particular good, but I'm entertained, and that's the most important part, right? ;)

More of the same line.
What absurd features do they have? 
And do I need to hunt them down to find out?

9 comments:

  1. As strange as is sounds I have always really liked this figure mainly just because of the colors of his costume.

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    1. That makes sense - the colours are the best part, I think.

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  2. I think he's charming in a nostalgic way, it's a feeling I usually have with older toys. And I would love to see him do the wiggling :-)! Maybe all these figures wiggle or do other moves?

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    1. PS: I forgot this, sorry: the drawing of the figure doing his "Power Vibes" on the package is great!

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    2. Ha! It is, isn't it? :D

      I've actually been thinking that I should record some videos of the some of the "action" toys - maybe I should give that a go sometime soon.

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  3. He just looks so 80's fabulous. Like he could give Fabio a run for his money.

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    1. Heh, he does have those same flowing locks, doesn't he?

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  4. Nice! I have a couple ToyBiz Cable figures in this scale, and a bunch of the 10" Deluxe figures as well- they certainly have their charm :)

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    1. Nice! I don't own any of the 10" ones, but I've been tempted!

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