SDCC Exclusive Savage Land 3 pack (Rogue, Sauron, Shanna)

My Savage land packs came in. I guess some people got huge boxes but mine was small enough it couldn’t even be taped down properly. The top set got banged up really badly but the other one was surprisingly ok given the only padding was one layer of that brown shredded stuff wrapping the two sets together.
 
Mine came in a normal box, but it wasn't really packed with any materials. Whats funny is this set was shipped FedEx, whilst Filch was sent DHL. Filch was also sent a day or so earlier, and is not here yet. Says Tuesday, not holding my breathe. I mean, I hate FedEx, but uhh, DHL isn't even on *that* level.

So, the set is... fine? I mean, Sauron came out great, the improvements help. The new color looks better. And the tail is cool. But I wasn't really wanting a new one. My old one is fine. The loinclothes are also different. The new one is smaller, has no attachments, and can't unsnap in the back like the brown one. I think I like the old one better but I don't wanna tear him apart just to get the skirt off. He's fine as is.

I get the Kidman likeness. I can see it. I don't like the hair. Its way too flowy. I wanna see about getting a different hair piece for her. But the issue is, it may not fit the head, and, it will probably permanently modify the figure. So, an alternate head could work. But then there's skin tone to match, hair color to get similar to, and gotta make sure its not someone instantly recognizable. Her clothes are too shiny? Thats probably a nitpick honestly. And that gun, ooh boy. Lemme tell you how she can't hold it in a shooting pose with her current hands the way they are. Up and down wrist hinges would've been great. I can cut trigger fingers, so that's not a must, but the hinges I can't fix. I pulled off the Marine Sniper hand from GI Joe just to see if that would let her hold the gun well, and for the most part it can. So all she needed was an up/down hinge. It would be better for all her weapons honestly. Spear and knife both look and function better with the up/down. So maybe trying to find a hand that'll match that would be good too. She needs some mods to be truly great, but the foundation is definitely there.

And Rogue suffers from the same problem as Shanna when it comes to her hair. Its way too blowy. But, in a funny way, its going the opposite direction of Shannas, so it looks dumb when they're side by side. They need to be back to back for it to make sense. This is why we either need 2 heads or alternate hair like they do in other lines. At least hers isn't as egregious as Shannas. So Rogue is probably still the standout. Other then maybe a different portrait, Rogue is close to perfect. Oh, and up/down hinges for the spear and knife she holds, still would've been nice.

Umm, last little notes, neither of the women have peg holes in their feet. So, no stands for them. I don't recall seeing any other new figures without holes, so its odd to me. And the skin tones are different, that's a nice touch to add variety. I don't think this set should be as absolutely stupid on the aftermarket as it is. But, you never know, this could be the only Shanna we get, and that would be a shame. She needs those improvements, and she could be top tier. Otherwise, its nice, but besides the Shanna, which is the weakest of the 3, I didn't *need* it.





















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I get the Kidman likeness. I can see it. I don't like the hair. Its way too flowy. I wanna see about getting a different hair piece for her. But the issue is, it may not fit the head, and, it will probably permanently modify the figure.
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I’m currently fixing mine up - done a hair swap with (among other pieces) Firestar, as I wanted some of the crazy volume classic Shanna had. The head takes alt hair fairly well, though you may need to dremel out some of the ridges depending on the piece you use.

I’ll post a pic when I’m done (spoiler alert, I’m not 100% sold it, but I’m happier than I was with the factory hair).


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I’m currently fixing mine up - done a hair swap with (among other pieces) Firestar, as I wanted some of the crazy volume classic Shanna had. The head takes alt hair fairly well, though you may need to dremel out some of the ridges depending on the piece you use.

I’ll post a pic when I’m done (spoiler alert, I’m not 100% sold it, but I’m happier than I was with the factory hair).


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Firestar! You sticking with the red?
 
A local guy posted all three split up for $65 each but that was a few days ago. If this is true about Shanna I'm guessing he either sold her or upped her price by now. I want Rogue but I couldn't go that high for just her.

If you want I could reach out, I've dealt with him before.
I appreciate it, but I’m going to hold out for the set I ordered to ship…or not. Hopefully I’ll get a shipping order this week, but to be fair, they did say 8/20. I just want to be done with it at this point. This hasn’t been a particularly enjoyable year for action figure collecting.
 
Firestar! You sticking with the red?

Not as strong as that, no. If nothing else, I’ve got some odds and ends of different colours too, so I’ll be repainting.

I was hoping to secure an X-Factor Jean head, and would have left the hair of that the same colour, but I didn’t want to pay full figure cost for just one piece.


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Do you guys think there's any chance Rogue gets re-released in the X-Men '97 line?

x-men-97-rogue-magneto-savage-land-edited-1-1024x576.jpg


The outfit is a bit different, though. So maybe not.
 
So, the set is... fine?

That’s the punchline. All of this drama, and the figures themselves are kind of mid. If it wasn’t for the “This may be the only Shanna/Savage Land Rogue we get” FOMO, this set would probably still be in stock. If I knew for a fact that a single carded Shanna was coming somewhere down the road, I certainly wouldn’t have bothered.

With the Psylocke/Thanos set, there was still plenty of drama, but at least Psylocke really stood out. (Even though I’m personally disappointed in the poor paint coverage on her torso.)
 
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I like Shanna and Rogue more than Psylocke. Mid. That was my reaction to her. Maybe it was all the circumstances I went through to get that two pack. I missed the initial preorder, had to preorder at a store in another country, refreshed Target.com from 1am to 4am, and experienced the high of getting one out of the backroom at 8am. After all that, I thought she was just okay.
 
I was looking up hair ideas for her and I really like the red hair and leopard print. Is it odd that both her and Red Sonja share the she devil moniker? And she was originally a red head. I think I wanna maybe try to find a good head, or at least hair, and do a red head version lol.

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Received my second set today, so finally got to choose which to open. The first box was dinged up a bit more (from being delivered in the biggest shipper with the Mustafar set), so that got opened.

I'd say all the figures are above average to average. When I hear "mid", as my students say, I consider that below average for some reason. Much more negative than right down the middle. There aren't really many more surprises we can hope for with the Marvel Legends format anymore. The ladies have nice range in their torso joints. Square pegs in the boot cuffs (ridiculous). The grip hands are a step down with no up/down motion for the things they are meant to hold. But boy does Shanna look great with Ka-Zar and Zabu, and Rogue looks excellent as well. Sauron is also solid, with minor upgrades of the tail and hips. The hypnosis effect clips securely into his nostrils. Better than Dragon Man's spectacles. I've gotten a lot of figures lately (DM, Archangel, now Sauron) whose massive wings take up so much real estate. I still haven't found room for them in my displays.

The second set may just stay in my collection as a MIB piece. I saw the previous offers for Rogue and Shanna, but if no one was going to ask for Sauron, I wasn't going to break up the set and get stuck with one. At least one of those offers found what they were looking for elsewhere, so I'm just going to keep it.
 
Mid is Average, but in the current currency, Average is not desirable, and thus Below Average and not up to standard.

Because everyone deserves a 10/10 experience and they'd never slum with Average, which means Average sucks anyway. Certainly with attractive looks.

"Ana de Armas is mid" means they think they can pull more attractive, when they're really skinny T-Rex armed broccoli heads who couldn't pull a wet paper bag out of a ditch.

See also: gaming where 7/10 score on reviews and Metacritic means a game is trash , when a 7/10 is by definition Above Average.
 
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This is interesting, because I do consider the set to be mid, but I don’t disagree with Norm’s assessment of “above average to average”. Without having it in hand, I’d give the set a 7/10…which proves altcunningham’s point.

I’m not like that in other aspects of my life, but after over 25 years as an adult collector, I suppose I have become a bit…difficult?
 
If I was rating the set, it would be 8.5/10. They are all solid figures, just familiar. The overlays and wraps on all three do a great job making the figures look unique (even Sauron) to what came before. There’s a lot of nice detailing. Rogue really looks like she’s sweating in a rainforest. Her powers are lost in this story arc, and she looks appropriately rough. But it’s such a specific look that doesn’t offer much in terms of versatility of display. Shanna and Sauron aren’t even featured in this arc, but their obvious Savage Land ties make sense to include them here. Shanna really completes the set of her, Ka-Zar and Zabu. And Sauron was always a great BAF, made better. Definitely above average, but nothing new or mind blowing.
 
I definitely prefer this new Sauron over the old. The purple just feels more classic to me so it made having to buy him again a little bit of an easier pill to swallow.
 
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