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Bandai Ben 10 Alien Force Humungosaur
by pmcds
Ben 10 is a kids' cartoon phenomenon that seems to be most popular with 5-6 year old kids. Ben is a kid who finds a magic watch that allows him to turn into any one of 10 different aliens, and Ben 10 Alien Force is the subsequent cartoon series that takes up the story as Ben and his cousin Gen are in their mid to late ... teens.
Humungosaur is perhaps my favourite character (yes, grown ups are allowed favourites too!!). Essentially, he doesn't do anything special in the cartoon series, but I was impressed with his feats of strength and his ability to say his own name in a terrifying way. As a result of the character not really doing much, the figurine follows suit. He has a huge brown torso that is solid plastic, and although the limbs move, they are quite limited, too.
Whereas characters such as Spider Monkey have a bit more flexibility in their arms, I found that Humungosaur has less movement. His arms just about go all the way round, but the legs have very minimal movement, which is disappointing. The head also dislodges. I'm not sure as to the point of this, as it can get lost quite easily. My son does like to try and swap heads with Spider Monkey, which looks quite funny, but ultimately, it could be seen as a potential choking hazard for younger kids. The box does explain this.
As well as the large figurine, you also get a smaller, see through figurine on a plastic disc that has lugs in it. These lugs allow the disc to be slotted into the top of the Omnitrix (Ben's watch) which you can buy as a separate toy. Each figurine will come with a different small see through addition, and you can use these in the watch to produce a sound saying the character's name from the watch. The lugs for each one are in different places, which makes it possible for the watch to recognise which one has been inserted.
Really, this and the other Ben 10 figurines are nothing other than gimmicky ways to make some more money for the franchise. It has already been a really lucrative series, and as long as kids love the characters, they will want to have an actual one in their hands to make their own stories up. My 6 year old son uses mainly the larger figurines and doesn't necessarily bother with the smaller see through ones and the watch. It comes out every now and then but the larger ones are incorporated into a mass toy sessions every now and then, with Humungosaur often pitted against Lion-O! Go figure!
I do recommend this toy, as you get two well packaged and on the whole well made Humungosaur toys. It can cost anywhere between £5 and £10, and this is reasonable for a very popular toy. No doubt as the Ben 10 phenomenon diminishes, toys will be available for somewhat less, but even at the current prices, it's worth it. Recommended.
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Bandai Ben 10 Alien Force Spider Monkey
by pmcds
The advent of Ben 10 as a kid who finds a watch allowing him to change into different aliens to fight off bad guys was a bit of a revelation a few years ago. More recently, there has been a further development, picking up the characters' stories a few years later, with Ben and his cousin Gwen now in their mid to late teens. Naturally, ... along with this comes new aliens, and this time they've been given a bit more detail.
One such alien is Spidermonkey, and this figurine represents the character as you see him on screen. As the character is pretty much a cross between the two animals in its name, it's an intriguing figurine as opposed to another generic humoid one with two legs and two arms. Spider Monkey has six limbs, and I hesitate to label which are arms and which are legs. Essentially, the stance is one of a monkey, and I suppose the upper limbs are the arms, the lower the legs, and the middle ones a cross between the two.
As you rotate the limbs, they are slightly flexible, so can do a full 360 movement and manage to get past any other limbs that might be in the way. It's hard plastic though, and there isn't a great deal of flexibility in the rest of the figurine. I like the fact that his head comes off, and the tail as well, although I will say that the tail comes off far too easily. The limbs are also removable, although putting them back on is rather limited due to the holes.
Playability is quite high, and the main focus for this figurine is going to be more about the interaction with the other characters available than how individual a toy it is to play with on its own. It's probably about 4 inches long, although hard to tell as the hunched over monkey stance doesn't allow full stretching. The detail is as good as it can be really, and is very closely done with regards to the character on screen.
The other thing you get with the figurine (in some cases) is a smaller, see through plastic model of Spider Monkey, on a see through base. This has lugs on the bottom, and is for use solely with a special watch you can buy. This watch allows you to slot the lugs into the top of the watch, and based on where the lugs go in, it recognises which character it is and the watch makes an appropriate noise, announcing the alien's name.
This is a nice addition to the main figurine, and the price of around £10 or so for the two in a well packaged box is a fair price. My 6 year old son enjoys both, although he uses the watch less and the characters more, often in combination with a bunch of other toys he has. It's well designed on the whole, and I recommend it for any Ben 10 fan.
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Bandai Ben 10 Collectable Figurine - Petrosapien
by benlepensive
If you are an action figure collector like myself, then you will lust after the bulky figures. I don't know what it is about the sheer girth of the fatter figures, but they just look so much more appealing on shelves, than the thin spindly figures. Bandai's Ben 10 action figure range is expansive enough to keep collectors busy and one of ... the most sastisfying entries in the series is the bounty hunter Petrosapien. With a name which sounds like it has been lifted from Harry Potter, he is a great figure.
Moulded from plastic and fully poseable, you will be able to lift his mammoth arms and bend the legs to create new poses. The shiny armour he wears is superb and there is a glossy finish to his suit which makes him catch the sunlight. Petrosapien is quite unlike any action I have come across before. His head is titchy in comparison to the body and this makes him all the more fascinating. The facial detail is pleasing, but could have been better articulated, as it looks quite basic.
He comes with some blasters strapped to his legs and these will be used to hunt down Ben. He sports huge boots to give him support and these are fixed. You can however remove the helmet which is a nice touch. The figure is suitable for kids to play with and also comes with a collector's card and animation disc; two neat add-ons in the package. He stands at 10cm in height and is broad enough to require plenty of shelf room. A robust toy that will withstand being thrown around and visually striking. I approve of the colour work and the moulding here and if you like your bounty hunters then he is a must purchase! Expect to pay about five to seven pounds for him.
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