Guest Review – Alpha Flight part 2 by Mini-Myte
Alpha Flight review #2
MINI-MYTE here again with a few follow up reviews of the complementing Alpha Flight boxed sets. Specifically, the TRU exclusive Box and Vindicator 2-pack from Marvel wave 14 and the second Alpha Flight 4-pack, exclusive to Action Figure Xpress (NYCC 2012) featuring Sasquatch, Snowbird, Aurora and Shaman.
Packaging: First up is the Box and Vindicator exclusive 2-pack from TRU wave 14. The packaging is the standard Marvel window boxed format. The main cardboard color is green and features a star burst pattern on the front along with headshot control art of the two minimates contained within. The Minimate 10th anniversary logo is also featured near the top left of the window. The backside of the box also has the star burst pattern behind pics of the other minimates featured in wave 14 along with brief descriptions of Box and Vindicator.
Box: This minimate represents the second version of the robot named Box. He features a metallic red and silver paint job on his removable armor. Underneath Box's helmet is a clear yellow plastic head (that of Madison Jeffries). Not totally sure of the reasoning behind a holographic head / hairpiece for Madison Jeffries. Box also comes packed with a box shaped hand blaster and a flaming rocket blast accessory.
Vindicator: Clad in red and white and prominently displaying the maple leaf, Vindicator is the spitting image of her husband Guardian (James Hudson). Along with her patriotic costume, Vindicator comes with not one, but two removable masks. Both masks feature ponytails and one has a blue visor while the other has an alternate red one. One downside to the red visored mask is that white paint used on the accessory did not hide the red plastic all that well and the mask itself appears pink in hand. Take the mask off and pop on the bonus hairpiece included to reveal Vindicator secret identity of Heather Hudson. Also included with Vindicator is a standard clear flight base.
Packaging: The second AFX exclusive Alpha Flight minimates come packaged in the typical 4-pack box. Each minimate contained within can be seen through their respective window. The team’s name is splashed across the front of the box in brightly coloured, bold lettering emphasized with a star burst pattern behind it. Near the top of the box is art work depicting Sasquatch, the Minimate 10th anniversary logo as well as the New York Comic Con logo. The back side of the box feature a group shot of the team along with the team’s name, star burst pattern and a brief description of the minimates included in the set. Also shown is a picture of the first Alpha Flight boxed set depicted near the bottom of the packaging. Shown are Guardian, Northstar, Puck and Marrina.
Sasquatch: Up first in this set is the furry orange powerhouse Sasquatch. He comes clad in a bevy of tailor made parts. Sasquatch feature exclusive feet, hands / arms and a massive one piece head / chest / crotch piece. While the minimate is beautiful to look at, Sasquatch's articulation / pose-ability suffers because of his massive parts. I'm not even sure if DST could have created a more maneuverable Sasquatch without compromising the look of the character.
Aurora: Aurora is twin sister of the mutant known as Northstar. Adorned with strategically placed star decals, this mate captures the look of Aurora’s original costume perfectly. Pop on the cool "hand holding" accessory and you can pose Aurora along with her brother to recreate them manifesting their light making power. For all you Alpha Flight purists out there, Aurora comes with not one, but two hairpieces (one black and one white). Over the years, Aurora has been depicted in the comic book world with black hair, but has popped up with a whiter look a few times. Kudos again to DST for paying homage to this little known fact. Like her brother, Aurora comes packed with the slimmer flight base.
Shaman: The mystic warrior of Alpha Flight is featured in his original green and orange costume. He comes equipped with flared boots and belt / medicine pouch accessory. Shaman also comes with an original headband / hairpiece specific to him as well as a blue energy accessory to replicate his mystical powers. The one accessory that would have made this mate 100% perfect would have been a sculpted pair of crossed legs to recreate Shaman in one of his meditative states. Thanks to a little Photoshopping, I was able to achieve that look.
Snowbird: The half human half goddess known as Snowbird comes adorned in her character specific cape and headgear/ hairpiece. Personally I found that Snowbird's cape limits her poseability, but with a little dunking in some boiling water, you can reshape it ever so effectively to give her arms and legs a little more maneuverability. She also comes equipped with a flight base and a blue lightning accessory. Yet another "wish" accessory of mine would have been the inclusion of a flying snowy owl accessory to better represent Snowbird animal shape shifting powers.
Overview / Final word: Both of these sets were perfect additions to the Alpha Flight minimate family last year. With the exception of Talisman, all us Marvel collectors were able to amass the entire AF roster in the same year. Not bad considering there are still a lot of character gaps in other existing Marvel teams.
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