Topic: Catchall Thread For 1/18 Scale Compatible Odds And Ends.

[Tamer]

Nice Dan. Time to get that review to the front pages.

[The Spectre]

"Astro Venture Mars Mission" Mars Base review:

This playset comes with a nice sized habitat, a botanical pod with "growing" plants (gimmick works EXTREMELY poorly), 2 figures and a bunch of accessories.

The habitat is scaled to the included 3" figures but works quite well for standard 3.75" figures like "Star Wars", but is less compatible with 4" figures like "Fortnite". 3.75" figures fit well at the chair and can stand inside the habitat with the lid closed, although the chair has a protusion in the front that works better with ball jointed hips than with swivel hips. 4" figures fit at the chair but cannot stand in the habitat with the lid closed without stooping a bit. There are electronic lights in the interior that are EXTREMELY bright and a small turning wheel on the underside that raises and lowers the comm antennae on the top of the habitat.

The interior has a control panel with an adjustable chair, removeable toolbox, storage spots for the included tools and places for the specimin containers to plug into the console, a food preparation station with removeable foodstuffs and an adjustable rack for the sleep chamber (which I will not be using as it is too small).

The botanical pod is kind of a waste as the gimmick is pretty badly done, but I can take it apart and use it for a custom project so it is not a total loss.

The accessories include handheld metal detector, drill, grinder and a gas analyzer. The set also has some terrain pieces including a rockpile, a crater and 2 rocks that pop apart to reveal trilobite-like fossils inside. The grinder's handle is too thick for most figures, but can be customized to work. The metal detector is really short for 3.75" figures but can be modified to work.

The robot figure is kind of cool, but the waist joint on mine snapped when I tried to turn it so it will need to be repaired. I want to use it as a labor droid but will be swapping the lower arms for something less cartoonish.

The astronaut figure is way too kidish for my needs but the backpack is great and I am going to try and modify the head/helmet for a custom figure.

This set is worth the $29.99 I paid for it and I will be grabbing more if/when they hit clearance.

[The Spectre]

"Astro Venture Mars Mission" Mars Base review:

This playset comes with a nice sized habitat, a botanical pod with "growing" plants (gimmick works EXTREMELY poorly), 2 figures and a bunch of accessories.

The habitat is scaled to the included 3" figures but works quite well for standard 3.75" figures like "Star Wars", but is less compatible with 4" figures like "Fortnite". 3.75" figures fit well at the chair and can stand inside the habitat with the lid closed, although the chair has a protusion in the front that works better with ball jointed hips than with swivel hips. 4" figures fit at the chair but cannot stand in the habitat with the lid closed without stooping a bit. There are electronic lights in the interior that are EXTREMELY bright and a small turning wheel on the underside that raises and lowers the comm antennae on the top of the habitat.

The interior has a control panel with an adjustable chair, removeable toolbox, storage spots for the included tools and places for the specimin containers to plug into the console, a food preparation station with removeable foodstuffs and an adjustable rack for the sleep chamber (which I will not be using as it is too small).

The botanical pod is kind of a waste as the gimmick is pretty badly done, but I can take it apart and use it for a custom project so it is not a total loss.

The accessories include handheld metal detector, drill, grinder and a gas analyzer. The set also has some terrain pieces including a rockpile, a crater and 2 rocks that pop apart to reveal trilobite-like fossils inside. The grinder's handle is too thick for most figures, but can be customized to work. The metal detector is really short for 3.75" figures but can be modified to work.

The robot figure is kind of cool, but the waist joint on mine snapped when I tried to turn it so it will need to be repaired. I want to use it as a labor droid but will be swapping the lower arms for something less cartoonish.

The astronaut figure is way too kidish for my needs but the backpack is great and I am going to try and modify the head/helmet for a custom figure.

This set is worth the $29.99 I paid for it and I will be grabbing more if/when they hit clearance.

[The Spectre]

"Astro Venture Mars Mission" Mars Base review:

This playset comes with a nice sized habitat, a botanical pod with "growing" plants (gimmick works EXTREMELY poorly), 2 figures and a bunch of accessories.

The habitat is scaled to the included 3" figures but works quite well for standard 3.75" figures like "Star Wars", but is less compatible with 4" figures like "Fortnite". 3.75" figures fit well at the chair and can stand inside the habitat with the lid closed, although the chair has a protusion in the front that works better with ball jointed hips than with swivel hips. 4" figures fit at the chair but cannot stand in the habitat with the lid closed without stooping a bit. There are electronic lights in the interior that are EXTREMELY bright and a small turning wheel on the underside that raises and lowers the comm antennae on the top of the habitat.

The interior has a control panel with an adjustable chair, removeable toolbox, storage spots for the included tools and places for the specimin containers to plug into the console, a food preparation station with removeable foodstuffs and an adjustable rack for the sleep chamber (which I will not be using as it is too small).

The botanical pod is kind of a waste as the gimmick is pretty badly done, but I can take it apart and use it for a custom project so it is not a total loss.

The accessories include handheld metal detector, drill, grinder and a gas analyzer. The set also has some terrain pieces including a rockpile, a crater and 2 rocks that pop apart to reveal trilobite-like fossils inside. The grinder's handle is too thick for most figures, but can be customized to work. The metal detector is really short for 3.75" figures but can be modified to work.

The robot figure is kind of cool, but the waist joint on mine snapped when I tried to turn it so it will need to be repaired. I want to use it as a labor droid but will be swapping the lower arms for something less cartoonish.

The astronaut figure is way too kidish for my needs but the backpack is great and I am going to try and modify the head/helmet for a custom figure.

This set is worth the $29.99 I paid for it and I will be grabbing more if/when they hit clearance.

[The Spectre]

"Astro Venture Mars Mission" Mars Base review:

This playset comes with a nice sized habitat, a botanical pod with "growing" plants (gimmick works EXTREMELY poorly), 2 figures and a bunch of accessories.

The habitat is scaled to the included 3" figures but works quite well for standard 3.75" figures like "Star Wars", but is less compatible with 4" figures like "Fortnite". 3.75" figures fit well at the chair and can stand inside the habitat with the lid closed, although the chair has a protusion in the front that works better with ball jointed hips than with swivel hips. 4" figures fit at the chair but cannot stand in the habitat with the lid closed without stooping a bit. There are electronic lights in the interior that are EXTREMELY bright and a small turning wheel on the underside that raises and lowers the comm antennae on the top of the habitat.

The interior has a control panel with an adjustable chair, removeable toolbox, storage spots for the included tools and places for the specimin containers to plug into the console, a food preparation station with removeable foodstuffs and an adjustable rack for the sleep chamber (which I will not be using as it is too small).

The botanical pod is kind of a waste as the gimmick is pretty badly done, but I can take it apart and use it for a custom project so it is not a total loss.

The accessories include handheld metal detector, drill, grinder and a gas analyzer. The set also has some terrain pieces including a rockpile, a crater and 2 rocks that pop apart to reveal trilobite-like fossils inside. The grinder's handle is too thick for most figures, but can be customized to work. The metal detector is really short for 3.75" figures but can be modified to work.

The robot figure is kind of cool, but the waist joint on mine snapped when I tried to turn it so it will need to be repaired. I want to use it as a labor droid but will be swapping the lower arms for something less cartoonish.

The astronaut figure is way too kidish for my needs but the backpack is great and I am going to try and modify the head/helmet for a custom figure.

This set is worth the $29.99 I paid for it and I will be grabbing more if/when they hit clearance.

[Starchaser]

That's pretty cool. Where did you find it? I think there are some decent applications for our little universes Thanks for the very thorough review of the parts of this set and its compatibility with different sizes of figures.

[Tamer]

This looks awesome. Thanks for the review Dan.

Off to share it on the front pages.

[The Spectre]

Halloween clearance diorama fodder.

These skeletal pumpkins open up at the bottom via several really tiny screws. A 4" figure can comfortably stand in the center so it can be used as a fantasy styled jail cell (additional figures can fit but would require further disassembly to properly pose them inside as the opening is very narrow.

The skeletons, while larger than 4" figures can still be useful as diorama terrain scatter once the bones are cut into separate pieces.

[Starchaser]

That skeleton cage is great. We can capture Ewoks for our Gorax

[Tamer]

The skeletal pumpkins are interesting.

[The Spectre]

For my fellow diorama builders:

These stickers are at Five Below and have replicas of several of the various park signs from "Jurassic World".

[Tamer]

Thanks for the news Dan.

On the front page.

[The Spectre]

McFarlane Toys "Avatar: The Last Airbender" Fire Nation Komodo-Rhino review:

I have never watched "Avatar: The Last Airbender" so I know nothing about this creature save that it is really cool looking. It is essentially a mix of a rhino and a komodo dragon.

The toy is a huge, solid and heavy chunk of vinyl. The sculpt is really good with a nice leathery hide, sharp nails and horns and some cool armor. The figure only sports 2 points of articulation- a ball hinge head and a wired, flexible rubber/vinyl tail. I know many people are sticklers for lots of articulation, but as I do not play with my toys, a lack of articulation is not a deal breaker for me. The figure's stance is highly aggressive, even moreso when the head is posed in a downward attack stance. What little paint is present (armored helmet, saddle straps, etc.) is neat and cleanly applied with no bleed or slop.

The figure is meant for a 5" or 6" scale line (the characters are teens so I am not sure of the actual scale) but smaller figures like my preferred 3.75"/4" work with it as well. My only real quibble is the lack of reigns for the rider to control the beast, but I will be adding a custom set to it soon-ish, along with some saddlebags and maybe a bedroll.

For the retail price of $20.48, this is a great figure since most other companies offer similarly sized items for twice the price or more.

[Tamer]

Nice review. Off to share.

Man, wonder if anyone will try to make a Mudhorn out of this one?

[The Spectre]

Interesting customizing item found at Dollar Tree:

These 7-Day Pill Organizer packs have 7 small, 3 section cases that could work well for cargo crates or even cabinets in dioramas.

The last photo shows one of them with a 4" "Fortnite" figure for scale.