Review Marvel Legends Series 12 Maestro

Our forums members "Misfit" has just posted reviews on a few of the new Marvel Legends 12 figures, X-23, Wolverine, and Maestro.

For once I actually got lucky while toy hunting today. I haven't been able to find any new toys in stores since series 9. Usually in my area I have to wait awhile before things start showing up (seems like every Wal-Mart is just sloooooooooooooow). Lately it hasn't been bad though, as series 11 has been around (though I have little to no interest in that series) and I found series 12 today at a KB. Only three figures were available to me, X-23, Wolverine, and Maestro so I picked them up.

Maestro is, of course, the future version of the Hulk. He is pure evil. The Hulk we all know and love is long gone...

Articulation

Pretty standard for a Marvel Legends figure. He has ball jointed shoulders, legs, and neck with cut biceps, elbow knee joints, wrist joints, waist articulation, knuckle articulation, ankles and the toes of each boot. His upper body is massive, while his legs are pretty stubby. This makes his legs harder to pose as they can really only be in one position that is suitable for supporting his massive upper body. Pretty much every pose I put him in has him leaning forward slightly. It is a little annoying, and as a result I was watching my figure like a hawk for the first hour or so after I placed him on my shelf to make sure he didn't fall. A joint in his abdomen would have helped to correct this some.

Sculpt

The sculpt for this figure is solid. The muscles are well detailed and the skin of this beast is full of imperfections like deep grooves and bumps. The material of his sash and pants are believable and this figure has the most striking eyes I have ever seen on a Legends figure. The weight of the figure feels nice and is satisfying to hold. On the other hand, a lot is missing from this figure. Take one look at the included comic book and you will likely notice some differences. For one, Maestro is always pictured with a cape and chains that are missing here. And his hair and face are far more sinister and untamed looking in the comic. This sculpt presents the character more as a wise, old version of the Hulk. If that is what the character was, then it would look great, but I can't help but think that this is not a truely accurate depiction of the character.

Paint

The paint app here is more good than bad. There is little to no slop in the beard and the skin has a nice blend of darker and lighter shades of green. The sash and pants look a little sloppier than the rest but overall the figure is done well, as far as the paint app goes. There isn't a whole lot that needs painting on this figure, as it is mostly green, and as a result there isn't a whole lot that needs to be said about the paint.

Accessories

Maestro comes with two accessories, Apocalypse's left arm and his helment. The helmet looks pretty cool and is an accurate enough depiction of the one present in the comic. The paint app is good and it is molded to fit his head. It doesn't click on or anything so it will fall off easily but if you just display your figures it gets the job done. There is not much to say about Apocalypse's arm, a true critique of that should be left for a review of Apocalypse himself. It is worth noting that a cable is supposed to be included with the arm that is not present. You can contact Toy Biz if you wish to receive it.

Overall

Overall, this is a difficult toy to score. On one hand, the paint app is nice and the sculpt looks great but it just isn't a perfect representation of the character. And since it is unlikely we will ever get another Maestro it is a bit dissapointing. I feel like this figure would have benefited more in an earlier series where it could have included one Hell of a base, but oh well. I would have also preferred to see the figure decked out in his collection of old fallen super hero gear (Strange's cape, Cap's shield, etc) like a lot of the customs out there. As far as "big" figures go in the Legends line, there are better (such as Juggernaut) but this figure holds its own. The articulation could have also been a little better in the legs and abdomen. Still, it looks pretty good amongst the rest of the Legends.

8 out of 10

Visit our Review forums to see more stuff from "Misfit"