{"id":29137,"date":"2014-08-06T15:08:47","date_gmt":"2014-08-06T20:08:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=29137"},"modified":"2014-08-06T15:08:47","modified_gmt":"2014-08-06T20:08:47","slug":"marvel-legends-guardians-of-the-galaxy-rocket-gamora-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=29137","title":{"rendered":"Marvel Legends Guardians
of the Galaxy Rocket & Gamora Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> I should just learn the lesson that a theme week invokes bad luck. You’re perfectly healthy, things are going well, you had a good birthday, you think “let’s do a theme week”. Next thing you know, you’re sick as a dog, shivering under covers in-between trips to the bathroom. I love Theme Weeks, but Theme Weeks… yeah, they don’t love me. <\/p>\n

To speed things up a bit, I’m going to pair off the remaining reviews and that mean’s we’ve got Rocket & Gamora today. I don’t really have a good reason for pairing these two up other than that they’re more or less the two weakest figures in the set. As I’ll go over, they’re not terrible, but the figures for the guys in this wave just came out far better than either these of two. However, it could be said that these are still light years ahead of where Hasbro\/Marvel was just a couple years ago and that would also be true. <\/p>\n

Again, this review will be largely spoiler-free. I will say that both of these characters were well represented in the movie. Enough so that they’re easy characters to enjoy following and enough to get me to buy these MLs even though I’m also likely to pick up the Hot Toys (don’t tell my wife!).<\/p>\n

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Of the group, Gamora seemed a little flatter for the others, but I think that was largely due to her just not needing as much growth as the others. Star-Lord, Drax, & Rocket all had things to come to grips with. Gamora had undergone a change, but it was largely off-screen before the film started – which was totally awesome. It made sure her motivations were pure and not directly tied into meeting Star-Lord. I liked her a lot in the film and I’m hopeful GOTG2 will give her more room to shine. <\/p>\n

Rocket was made to be loved. That’s probably been true since he was created by Bill Mantlo & Keith Giffen back in 1976. His movie portrayal was fantastic – Bradley Cooper didn’t just lend his voice, he delivered Rocket as a character and nailed it. He’s the guy that says what you’re thinking, the way you want to say it. The movie actually made me love Rocket more than I already did. <\/p>\n

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In terms of sculpt, these two are on par with the rest of the wave. Hasbro has improved in just about every area since they first started making Marvel Legends seven years ago and that is still reflected here. We’ve got two 100% original sculpts and the attention to detail on both is phenomenal. I could probably spot one or two little differences from the film characters if I looked, but from the ribbing on Rocket’s jumpsuit or the tassels on Gamora’s pants, a lot of the detail has been carried over giving both figures a great look. <\/p>\n

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One area on the sculpt where I wasn’t as impressed is the two head sculpts. They’re both good, but I don’t know that either conveys their character. On Gamora, I simply don’t think it looks a lot like Zoe Saldana. There are some angles where you can catch a glimpse of her – it may just be that the facial expression is so placid. The figure’s not angry, happy, determined; she’s just zoned out. I think a little something here would’ve helped the figure. <\/p>\n

Rocket is kinda the same thing. On the technical side of things, it works. It’s a great raccoon head. I think I could probably pop it on a Schliech raccoon and no one would notice – but that doesn’t make it Rocket. This is another head sculpt that needed something, a snarl, gritted teeth, just a little change to make it more unique to the character. The comic version was spot on, so it’s a shame to not see that here. Continue to Page 2…<\/a><\/p>\n

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The paintwork was similarly well done on both figures. I have a few chips and scratches on my Rocket, but nothing terrible. The costume details are well represented. I think Gamora is missing an app on her belt, but the blue sheen on her outfit is done well as are the fishnet covered areas and the ombre look to her hair. Good marks on paint overall. <\/p>\n

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Articulation though, is where it largely falls apart. As is to be expected, Rocket is very limited. I do and don’t mind. On the one hand, I get it, but on the other, there are Star Wars figures this small with tiny hinge-jointed limbs. Why can’t we do that here? The head, waist, tail, and wrists swivel and we’ve got ball-jointed shoulders & elbows, so it would be nice to get a little something more in the legs. Particularly because, if he didn’t have a tail to lean on, he wouldn’t be able to stand. <\/p>\n

Gamora is better articulated, but ends in the same boat. Mine falls over constantly. There’s a lot of good artic: ball-joints at the neck (limited by hair), shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, & ankles; double-hinge knees, and a limited ball-joint in the torso. All of that should make the figure good to go, but the hips, strangely, have very little range and the ankle joints are hard to use with the small feet. Mine falls over in a vanilla position and it’s difficult to find a balance for her in deeper poses too. <\/p>\n

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In addition to the Groot pieces (Rocket\/Torso, Gamora\/Left Leg), these two had three accessories split across them. Gamora included her sword from the film. It probably won’t get much display at my house. I’m glad that it was included, but she didn’t use it a ton in the movie and the piece itself is kinda flimsy and hard for her to hold. Also, no scabbard for it. Boo. <\/p>\n

Rocket came with two guns from the movie. The basic rifle that he carried personally and then the big chest-mounted gun used towards the film’s climax. Both look great. The sculpt detail and light paint work on both look sharp. The plastic is still a little flimsier then I would like here too, but they’re nicely done, Rocket can hold his gun and either Drax or Star-Lord (or just about any ML I imagine) can carry the big gun. <\/p>\n

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Overall, both of these figures are decent. The sculpt work is solid – I would like to see more expression on the movie-based MLs; they need to be a little more realistic, but the overall sculpt for both is good. Paintwork is sharp and I enjoyed the accessories even if they’re a little too soft. Articulation does drag the score down – having to always balance Rocket on his tail and steadying Gamora up to another figure kinda blows, but not enough to distract me from the rest of the figure.<\/p>\n

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For all our Marvel Reviews, check out our Review Index<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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