Box's Book/Toy Review: Triceratops Gets Lost

Today we've got something of a double feature- a book AND a toy. Two great tastes that taste great together, like Shreddies and grape juice. And both of these items give me  a chance to finally write about one of my favorite things- dinosaurs! Dinosaurs were awesome, and for years my favorite has been Triceratops. And so my parents, in their wisdom, brought me back this boxed set of cool on a trip.
According to the box, Triceratops Gets Lost was "Carefully reviewed by the Smithsonian Institution", so I'll accept that it's largely accurate, even for having been written in 2003. I know there's been this big kerfuffle as of late about Triceratops having been a juvenile Torosaurus or some such, but I'm not going to touch on that here. The box is nice enough, it's got good colours and info, etc., shows off the product well, you know. I don't even know why i review the boxes at all, unless there's something notable about them. But I digress.
First, let's read the story, so as to get acquainted with our protagonist, Triceratops. The cover features the title, over an image of a young Triceratops walking in a forest. It is apparently also part of a line called "Smithsonian's Prehistoric Pals", which sounds awesome. The inside flap (odd, considering the book doesn't have a dust jacket) gives a brief summary of the story (spoilers!) and some more info on the series.
The book opens on a beautiful Cretaceous morning in a gingko forest. Young Triceratops and his herd are looking for their favorite plants for breakfast. It's not long, however, before he's distracted by two Pachycephalosaurs, fighting for territory. As he watches, he munches on some delicious ferns and the book explains how he is well adapted to do so. But by the time he finishes his meal, he realizes his herd has already moved on without him! Damn, that is COLD. Shouldn't one of the older Triceratops have been keeping an eye on him, considering that he's apparently the ONLY juvenile in the herd? Ah well. In search of the his ingrate family, Triceratops heads into a clearing only to be harassed by some jackass Quetzalcoatlus. Triceratops runs away and the pterosaurs are distracted by something on the ground. What is it? We'll never know, it just says... something they see on the ground. That's it. It was probably the concern that Triceratops' parents apparently no longer have for him.
Triceratops, in his travels, comes across a stream, from which is drinking an apathetic Parasaurolophus, as well as some snakes, frogs and turtles. But no herd yet. Dang. Keep looking, Triceratops!
But walking for this long is tiring for any young dinosaur, and Triceratops finds a shady spot to fall asleep. But just as he's dozing off, a loud thumping sends the local wildlife into a panic. Triceratops looks up and sees... Tyrannosaurus rex! A predator so fearsome I'm not even going to link to Wikipedia for you because you should already know who he is. As the T. rex stares down at Triceratops, the book explains how she is able to balance her huge head with her long tail. She decides that Triceratops would make a fine snack. All hope seems lost. And it is.
Hahaha, no. This isn't Age of Reptiles, after all. Triceratops, like the junior badass he is, prepares to fight the T. rex. That's just plain impressive; the book even points out that Triceratops is way smaller that the T. rex. But then another great rumbling interupts what would surely have been an awesome fight scene. Out of the dust clouds emerges Triceratops' herd, apparently noticing that their hope for the future had been missing for a while. T. rex accepts defeat and stomps off to menace other young unloved dinosaurs.
Triceratops feels safe again with his herd, but all this business has made him hungry! The herd returns to the forest in search of more food. The book ends with a page of basic information about Triceratops and a "Pictorial Glossary"- basically, pictures of all the animals which appeared in the book. The back inside flap details the author, Dawn Bentley, and the illustrator, Karen Carr.
So that's Triceratops Gets Lost. Is it good? Hell yeah! Maybe I'm just overly childlike, but I actually enjoyed reading, and not even in the usual teenager-snickering-at-childrens-literature kind of way. I can only imagine, then, that REAL young dinosaur fans would love this book. It's not very long, but it's entertaining and even a bit educational. The illustrations are bright and colourful without being unrealistic, and look pretty good. All in all, a good book for budding palaeontologists.
But this is a double feature, isn't it? You see, Triceratops Gets Lost also includes a beanbag toy of the book's radical protagonist, Triceratops. It's pretty small, at a little over 20 cm (8 in) from tail to snout. He's got big dark brown eyes and a little round horn... d'awww. It helps that he's covered in that really soft fur they use on some stuffed animals- the kind that's really easy to smooth down or fluff up and it's so damn soft OH MY GOD. You know the stuff I mean. He's got sturdy little legs and he's got just the right amount of pellets in him, not overstuffed but not so few as to be limp. The only problem is that his frill goes wonky really easily, which seems to be a common problem among plush ceratopsians. Nevertheless, it's a well made toy and should definitely appeal to kids through cuteness alone. He's even got a tag with some more facts about Triceratops in it, so the learning NEVER has to stop! I really like this guy. He's little and soft and adorable and he's my new buddy.
Overall, Triceratops Gets Lost is a pretty solid book for young dinosaur fans, and the toy only adds to the appeal. Older dinosaur fans will probably find the book a bit lacking unless they're manchildren like myself, but for it's target audience, this is a well-written book with a well-made toy to go with it.

Box's Toy Review: Nerf N-Strike Barricade RV-10

Tonight we're gonna look at my Nerf gun, and see if such an impusle purchase was really worth it.

The box of the Barricade RV-10 is nice. It's mostly orange and yellow, which seems to suggest action and excitement. It advertises itself as a "Semi-Auto Blaster" which is pretty epic sounding. The back of the box reveals some more of the gun's features; a tactical rail, a stock attachment (stock not included), and a 10-dart revolving barrel (10 darts included). It also advertises the Recon C5-6 and the Raider C5-35 (although those might not be the proper names, as in the typeface they uses, 5 and S look exactly alike). But we're not here for the box, are we?

The gun itself is great. It, seemingly like most Nerf products, is predominantly orange and yellow, and it features silver highlights and a black handle. There's a black Nerf logo near the muzzle, and a black N-Strike logo on the battery cover. Yes folks, this gun is battery powered, something which very much disappointed me on that first night at the playground near the store- Derek Fro and a couple of other friends had fun with their non-electric guns while I messed around on the jungle gym (actually that was pretty fun too). Inside the barrel are two wheels which propel the darts forward with considerable force. The thing's pretty big, too- it's a little over a foot long  yet is apparently meant to be fired one-handed. It CAN be fired with two hands, but the revolving barrel makes it difficult. According to the Nerf Wiki, it has a range of about 35 feet, which I have not tested because I do not go outside very often.
All this awesomeness isn't without drawbacks, however. The motor makes enough noise to render the Barricade useless in stealth situations. Also according to the Nerf Wiki, the whistler darts included with the gun can decrease accuracy at longer ranges.Overall, however, these are minor problems when a Nerf fight consists of four guys in a small room firing wildly at each other and laughing, trying not to hit the tv. Hell, even the loud noise can be good in a straight up fight, being part annoying, and part menacing.
The N-Strike Barricade RV-10 is a great gun. It's got good range, looks cool, sounds cool, and fires fast. This is one impulse purchase that was definately worth it.

Archive: Box's Action Figure Review: Marvel Superhero Squad/Hulk & Colossus

I've been too lazy and preoccupied with school to update lately, and for that I apologize. I'm planning on writing something new on the weekend, so for now here's a couple more of my old action figure reviews.

2. Wolverine and Sabretooth
   Next up are two from Hasbro's more child-oriented Marvel Superhero Squad, Wolverine and Sabretooth. These two came together, and let me just say that they're adorable. They're not 3 3/4 scale, but I use them with figures of that scale. We'll start with Wolverine.
   Li'l Wolverine, as I've come to call him, looks like a scrappy little guy. He leans forward eagerly with his arms out and his claws popped, ready to attack, and has a determined scowl on his face. He wears the classic yellow and blue costume.
   The paint job is quite sloppy in places, but only in places. For the most part it's good. He has three points of articulation- shoulders and neck. It doesn't seem like much, but he's quite small (5 1/2 cm tall) and aimed at small children, so it's forgivable.
  
Li'l Sabretooth, although I use him less, arguably looks better. His paint job is much better, his sculpt is really quite good, and his is posed running, with one hand on the ground, the other ready to attack. However, he's a bit less stable. He's got two points of articulation, just his shoulders. His neck might be articulated, but his mane prevents any movement.
   All in all, Li'l Logan and Li'l Victor are best suited for small children and collectors, although I would recommend the line in general to anyone. It's surprisingly fun to have them fight each other, and if you're willing to bend reality a bit, they go well with 3 3/4 figures. They're going for cuteness and fun and for that, I give them 10/10.

3. Hulk and Colossus
   Two of Marvel's strongest characters are out next review. We'll start with the Incredible Hulk.
   Hulk is from the toyline for 2008's The Incredible Hulk flim, which was a vast improvement over 2003's odd Hulk, one of two Marvel films I can remember not enjoying (damn you, X3!). But I digress.
   Hulk had three figures that I know of: one with a sonic clap action feature, one with a punching action and half a car on his hand (Steel Fists!) and one with no action feature. Never one for unnecessary gimmicks, I went for the non-action feature one. And he's huge. Let's take Deadpool, who's about the regular height for a figure this scale, at about 10 cm. Hulk is 15 cm tall, with 7 1/2 cm shoulders. He's got 16 points of articulation- ankles, knees, hips, waist, wrists, elbows, upper arms, shoulders, and neck. His bulk can make posing him a little awkward, but it's not hard to make him look good. His scult is impressive, with bulging muscles and veins. His shorts are well textured to look like blue jeans. His right hand is clenched into a fist, while his left is molded to allow him to hold his accessory (we'll get to that), although it's possible to put other figures in there as well. The accessory is a crushed, bent I-beam, which can split in half or fit into Hulk's hand.
   Hulk's paint job is good- green, with light patches of what looks like brown or grey, presumably bruises, that aren't really noticable. His shorts are a solid navy blue, close enough to the classic purple (remember, Banner rejected the purple shorts in the movie). My only complaint, which probably applies only to my figure, is that his left eye is slightly off. It's not really noticable, but when you examine it, it becomes a glaring, hideous error until you look at the figure as a whole.
   All in all, this Jolly Mean Giant could have maybe used a little more articulation, but he's a really good figure. I would recommend him, especially because stores seem to be putting them on sale- I got mine for $5.99 CAN, half of what I paid for other figures half his size. Hulk is well-worth six bucks.  9/10

   Colossus come to us from the toyline of Wolverine and the X-Men. His inclusion in the first wave is baffling- so far in the show, he appeared in a flashback, then as a picture on a computer as Beast explained that he didn't want to rejoin the X-Men, and Mystique breifly transformed into him in one episode, but that's it. Still, he has a good and design this figure is a welcome addition to the line.
   He's about 11 1/2 cm tall, so he still towers over most other figures. He's got a good sculpt, chunky and stylized, with a small head and an enormous torso with bulging, muscley, metal arms. His seems to look slightly down, thanks to the way his head attaches to his 'neck', but that's actually rather useful- because of his height, he has to look down at the other characters.
   Colossus has ten points of articulation- knees, hips, waist, wrists, shoulders, and neck. It's not a lot for his scale, but again, these figures are for kids and they can't be as delicate as Spider-Man. Colossus looks like he could take a lot of punishment.
   He's got an action feature, though. When you raise one arm, they both move, and when you let go, they swing back down. It makes posing a challenge, but I'm sure little kids will enjoy it. Another posing problem is his legs. No, it's not the same as Deadpool- it's worse. His legs can only move to the sides. If you want him to run, you've got to turn his whole lower body sideways. And finally, his arms are permanently bent at 90 degree angles. He comes with a rubber I-beam, so you can pose him bending metal. It's actually rather clever.
   Colossus is far from perfect. His lack of articulation, action feature, and other issues affect what you can do with him. Still, if you're willing to overlook this, if you like the show or the character, then go for it. 6/10