Over 30,000 collectors around the world are anxiously awaiting the arrival of one of Hasbro’s most successful HasLab’s ever, Galactus. We’ve discussed HasLabs in previous Figure Friday columns, but for those unfamiliar, think Kickstarter. Hasbro offers a product for preorder and if a predetermined number of backers agree to purchase that product, it moves into production and you get your item roughly a year later. The HasLab Galactus offering closed on August 31 of last year and The Devourer of Worlds has now started showing up on doorsteps everywhere.
Galactus checks in at 32 inches tall, or roughly the size of a toddler. He features over 70 points of articulation (20 in each hand!), 3 swappable faceplates and LEDs in his head, chest and back. Additionally, he comes with an alternate Dr Doom head, which doesn’t add much unless you’re familiar with that one issue of Marvel 2-In-One where Doom became Galactus. It’s cool, but I can’t imagine many people are going to display Big G with the Doom head. I’d have preferred to have had them put the money into vac-metalizing the unlocked Silver Surfer, or including an additional figure instead.
The previously funded Marvel Legends HasLab Sentinel figure was plagued with loose knee joints. This time around, Hasbro ratcheted everything up a notch, literally. Nearly every joint on the arms and legs are ratcheted, providing some excellent stability once you lock in a pose. The size of Galactus really effects his posability from a balance perspective. You can get him into a lot of great poses, but you may need to provide him some additional support to keep him upright. While the ratcheted joints are welcome, it does make posing The Big Guy a bit of a process. I’ll confess some anxious moments while confirming what I just heard was supposed to happen and not my $400 action figure breaking in my hands. One thing to take note of is the hard plastic shoulder pads. If you’re not careful while posing his arms, you may get some unwanted rub marks on them.
The LEDs shine in bright blue. The eyes have sculpted pupils that catch the light really well and the vents on the side of the headpiece filter the light for a nice effect. The chest piece also acts as the “On” button for the LEDs. There seems to be only one mode for the lights, which pulse and blink for a couple minutes before switching off. The addition of the lights are a nice touch and truly make this feel like more of a premium offering, and that’s exactly what you’re getting. Nearly every inch of this figure is filled with texture or detail work. With over 300 pieces, Galactus is one of the most intricate Legends ever produced. All those individual pieces, means you can mold in color and use less paint creating an extremely clean presentation. The metallic purple on the hands might be one of my favorite details on the entire piece.
If a 32-inch behemoth of a Legends figure wasn’t enough, those 30,000 collectors also unlocked 3 other figures: Silver Surfer, Frankie Raye (Nova) and Morg. Silver Surfer receives a bit of an update with a slightly different paint application, a different head and a stand that ports into Galactus’ hand. I prefer the previously released Walgreen’s exclusive from a few years ago, but if you missed out on that release this is a worthy replacement. Vac-metallized would have been the better choice here, in my opinion, but I imagine there’s more potential for Hasbro to sell that at mass retail at some point down the road. Frankie Raye and Morg are both first time in the line Legends. Frankie Raye is beauty in its simplicity. An all-gold body and a fiery explosion of hair. Nova also receives a stand that ports onto Galactus hand, appropriately engulfed in flames. She’s absolutely stunning, and while she may be limited in terms of poses, she more than makes up for it in appearance. If she’s in the same static pose for the rest of her existence, a beautiful existence it will have been. Morg is a big imposing bruiser. I had zero knowledge of this character prior to this offering, but he is a welcome addition to the collection. He looks like a heavy metal song captured in figure form. Amber eyes, a menacing grin and a flowing skullet with an axe worthy of a rock God or an executioner. Morg is a sneaky good Legend that has earned his place in the collection for years to come.
Overall, this was a tremendous offering from the Legends Team. I was critical of the project last year, even going so far as to cancel my order due to my frustration with the rollout of the tiers, but I’m glad I got back on board. He’s already selling for nearly twice the cost on the secondary market and the additional figures and Doom head are all being piecemealed off for healthy sums as well. Not all HasLabs are created equal, as we’ve seen, but Galactus and all that came with him were worth the price. It took Hasbro 20 years to learn how to build a figure of this quality and they used this figure to showcase everything they’re capable of. One can only imagine the quality of figures we’ll be getting in another 20 years. Assuming of course, the planet hasn’t been wiped out by a rogue asteroid or the Devourer of Worlds himself.
