Thor Review... The Good and Bad

[tllgn]

Got my Thor sets today.that classic Thor is great.reminds me the first time I saw him.sold in a box alongside the fantastic four and Conan.truly a job well done.i like the rooted hair a bit shorter then the classic.modern Thor should have had this.all in all wonderful.bring on deadpool and the much anticipated daredevil.great work emce/diamond.

[SpaceAgent]

I thought the Thor set looked good; I was pleased with it, although the retro figure is missing the black line on the wristbands, and the blue circles on the costume aren't the same shiny plastic the original had. That said, this is a very faithful reproduction. The new figures look good too. I think making 3 or 4 a year is right; next one I am interested in is Daredevil.

[william shatners toupee]

So I grew up on WGSH Megos. Loved the Marvel ones more than the DC ones, though I had both. Got rid of them before high school as a kid. I've been wanting to get the Marvel AVENGERS ones again at some point if there were ever repros Made and certainly don't mind updated figures. I really find a lot of these diamond sets to be a mish-mash of not completely thought through ideas, and find the sets really odd in one way or another.

Thor was the figure I wanted most, but find I am pretty disappointed with the set. First off, when I think repro, I think "exact". I was annoyed the blue discs on the costume weren't the same on the front as they were on the original, a little vinyl and puffy. As a kid, I always thought those looked aesthetically cool as hell. I don't understand a reason to change that.

Then, I don't get why they would choose to leave the peg off the helmet so it could actually stay on Thor's head. That was actually useful and very much needed. I also find the face painted pretty bland compares to the original, which originally had a tanned body.

Then, instead of faded red sweat arm bands, they upgraded them to bright red bands, and noticeably upgraded the material of the costume..

This all seems like very mixed directions to me. Is it meant to be a repro or is it not? I don't mind the nicer material at all, but if they were trying to improve existing things, why not paint the black on the boots beneath the yellow bands to make that more accurate as well and ad the wings to the belt and give him his more regal cape in a nicer material?

Besides the retro Thor, I also wanted the set for the new alternate hands and larger Mjolner. Except those nice hands are tan and don't look right on pale sleeveless retro Thor's arms, making him look really goofy. That also doesn't make sense as in the booklets they encourage you swapping parts around and put the new Thor head on the classic body. Which being Tan, also looks goofy on it.

The new Thor head sculpt is gorgeous and looks even more gorgeous with the classic helmet on it. Who's is why it is too bad it is so oversized and won't pop in and stay on the body anyways for the life of it.

The Modern Thor costume also looks gorgeous and they did a really fine job on it. I personally am not interested in it so much so will likely be selling it, but the new black Modern Thor boots are nice, basically newly sculpted classic boots only with the top boot flap pointing up, so all it needs to be is painted yellow for a nice alternate Classic Thor boot.

The Don Blake sculpt is also very nice. EMCE Marvel figs have all had nice new sculpts And excellent tailoring, only the head looks like it was stretched out in the molding and looks like he had a stroke, with his right side seeming lower than the other. Even my wife thought so, though the wandering eyes don't help in trying to confirm this.

So the retro Thor, the main reason I bought this, isn't an attempt as an exact repro and I am unhappy with it. I will use him for parts, and the alternate hands which are very nice are a different color and look bad with the classic Thor. Kind of a waste of money considering I didn't really care about Blake or the Modern Thor.

I also bought the Captain America set, and while I didn't care about the Steve or retro Cap so much out of that set, The original Mego Cap was so inaccurate he was my least favorite Mego even back when I was five, I really loved the costume for the updated Cap in there, boots, hands, new shield, and the new Cap head sculpt. Except the new Cap head is too big and has too long of a neck. So not wanting to use it because it doesn't have a nice head, that set was also now kind of a waste for me since I was not getting even one complete figure I wanted. I am tinkering with the idea of performing surgery and making the neck shorter, but I know my talent and don't think that will end well (laugh).

I had wanted the Spider-Man repro when first announced, more for my love of the Twisted Mego Theater Spiderman than nostalgia for the figure because Spidey was hysterical in that, but then the repro was made with the circle around the spider emblem on the chest, which Twisted Mego Theater Spidey didn't have, nor did any of the multiple Spideys I owned as a kid, so that was not the version I identified with or wanted so was an easy pass as well for me.

I personally prefer these sets having the exact repro original Mego versions and then an updated version of that classic look like the Cap and Spidey set had and wish they did that formulae with this Thor set. Like I already said, He could have had his better, more regal cape, proper belt, proper arm band with black stripe, black lined boots, and maybe they could have left the painted on discs for that version and left the retro version with his original puffy ones.

I know everyone wants different things from these sets, so opinions will vary and it must make making decisions on how to do these very hard, and I may be weird and may be the only person with these criticisms about Thor. I am just disappointed, because of the three main Avengers I wanted to have again either retro or updated, Diamonds Cap and Thor didn't satisfy my want's for basically the one figure I wanted out of each set. Shame for an $80 set.

I will still eye each upcoming release with interest, but an probably out unless another Avenger or interesting villain comes along. Whether I want every character announced, All of thier character choices have been smart ones, though I am kind of mystified by Spiderman 2099 as a choice so early on. That seems too esoteric and I hope for sales sake the other costumes are other Spidey costumes like Ben Rielly and Superior Spidey or something to help it sell (I have no interest in it). I like Esoteric Characters like Longshot and Deaths head, but would not expect them to show up ever, and understandably so.

I also hope they make more pack in power effect accessories, like if they ever made an Iron Fist.

Wow this ended up long. I pity the fool who actually read all that!

[Teemu]

Messing around with the Classic Thor I permanently glued the helmet to fit correct.No more poof! I added stripes to the wrist bands and boots wrapped too....Much better!

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[LonnieFisher]

Messing around with the Classic Thor I permanently glued the helmet to fit correct.No more poof! I added stripes to the wrist bands and boots wrapped too....Much better!

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That looks way better!!!

[TrekStar]

Now that's a great looking Thor, very nicely done. I think a nice repro cardback would be the icing on the cake.

[ovenmitt]

Thor is best set released so far imo. I never had Mego Thor as a kid. Saw him at TG&Y in 1976 when I was 6 and it took 40 years to acquire him. I am pleased with all 3 figures in the set- Mego Thor is a great repro, Dr. Blake a cool Secret ID (love his cane!) and Modern Thor is beautiful I've always liked chain mail armor since Mego Knights! The only problem with the set is Modern Thor head will not completely pop in body like everyone else has said. Displays ok. EMCE is learning from its mistakes and Daredevil set looks perfect! I hope another set like Punisher is at Toy Fair next week!

[LonnieFisher]

In my opinion, there is no excuse for the Thor head not fitting into the body! That is such a let down. The molded hair was a total FAIL!! It should have been scrapped and two of the rooted hair heads included. It is shameful that Emce can't get the sets perfect before shipping. Altering the molded hair would have solved the problem, but that wasn't done. Why? Why not fix it before manufacturing takes place? And the head is two pieces, not a single casting. Why not act like a more professional company and make it work right before making and selling it? Where is the pride in one's product? It's not like it's a new format that needs the kinks worked out. This scale is almost half a century old!! If it doesn't fit, fix it! Back to the drawing board! Send it back to the sculptor! Rework it til it works right. Every set has had issues that could have been corrected before being released.
Or am I just too picky?

[tllgn]

^^no i dont think your to picky ,i dont really care for the modern thor head ,i dont like painted heads .but its better then nothing ,love the classic thor .

[Teemu]

Now that's a great looking Thor, very nicely done. I think a nice repro cardback would be the icing on the cake.

I have a classic new design Box for him from Toyroom

[Teemu]

In my opinion, there is no excuse for the Thor head not fitting into the body! That is such a let down. The molded hair was a total FAIL!! It should have been scrapped and two of the rooted hair heads included. It is shameful that Emce can't get the sets perfect before shipping. Altering the molded hair would have solved the problem, but that wasn't done. Why? Why not fix it before manufacturing takes place? And the head is two pieces, not a single casting. Why not act like a more professional company and make it work right before making and selling it? Where is the pride in one's product? It's not like it's a new format that needs the kinks worked out. This scale is almost half a century old!! If it doesn't fit, fix it! Back to the drawing board! Send it back to the sculptor! Rework it til it works right. Every set has had issues that could have been corrected before being released.
Or am I just too picky?

It's no different than FTC using those shameful bodies and charging $30 for a figure.....no plans to fix that anytime soon

[Bronxboykev]

I agree with Teemu... These sets aren't perfect but neither is anything that FTC is producing especially their bodies.

[LonnieFisher]

I agree with Teemu... These sets aren't perfect but neither is anything that FTC is producing especiall

That's the way to raise the bar.
There is no excuse to put out a head that won't fit in the body. I won't compare them with FTC quality because I don't buy their figures.

[william shatners toupee]

That's the way to raise the bar.
There is no excuse to put out a head that won't fit in the body. I won't compare them with FTC quality because I don't buy their figures.

Ha ha. Too True, particularly about FTC. I don't get how companies now can't do what Mego did all the back in the 70s with head sizing. IT is not a lost art. Don't even get me started with Bif Bang Pow. I wish More 8" figure companies had it together like Zica.

[thunderbolt]

Ha ha. Too True, particularly about FTC. I don't get how companies now can't do what Mego did all the back in the 70s with head sizing. IT is not a lost art. Don't even get me started with Bif Bang Pow. I wish More 8" figure companies had it together like Zica.

Mego was not perfect, Chips were oversized in the head department, a lot of the Star Trek aliens were off model, Captain America cut more than a few corners. FTC is getting it more right than Diamond is, all the Diamond/EMCE sets have issues so far. The FTC bodies have improved(despite what Teemu goes on and on about) and it seems like they are getting the head size issue under control. Unfortunately they continue to increase prices and are at least forcing me to cut figures that I may have bought at 5- 7 dollars less a pop.