There’s one more recent Marvel Select release from Diamond Select Toys that I’ve been dying to talk about, and with the usual weekend news drought, now seems like the perfect time to do so. The Marvel Select Drax movie figure had a multitude of features that held it back, but this other GOTG Vol. 2 two-pack is a totally different story. Is the Marvel Select Star-Lord & Rocket Raccoon two-Pack worth your 23 bucks, or are you better off sticking with the Legends versions?
The Right:
And for the most part, I feel like I was very right about that. Both figures in this Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 figure pack are way better than poor Drax…
The first big “Right”? How about the tremendous value of this two-pack? Whereas Hasbro sold Legends Rocket Raccoon as a solo $20 figure with Baby Groot (and SH Figuarts wanted $50+ for the little trash panda), DST is giving him to us a sort of free pack-in with Star-Lord! Yowza! Now that is a crazy value!
Even from Hasbro, the MSRP was $40 to get Rocket and Star-Lord–nearly twice the cost of the Diamond Select versions.
And don’t think that Diamond Select cut corners on Select Rocket just because he’s basically a freebie—he’s actually a knockout of a figure in and of himself.
While there’s no mouth joint, all the other major joints are present on DST Rocket Raccoon: ball-jointed feet, hinge knees, swivel calves, swivel-hinge hips, ball-jointed upper torso, swivel wrists, and ball-hinge elbows/shoulders/head.
…And oh yeah–there’s even a poseable tail (which is hugely useful for stability purposes)! To be frank, I was shocked how much flexibility was built into this little pack-in figure! Downright amazing.
Meanwhile, the Star-Lord Select figure is pretty sweet in its own right. While there’s a couple things missing from the figure (more on that shortly), the detailing on Star-Lord’s jacket, pants, and even his blaster is absolutely killer.
Star-Lord’s full shirt design is present under his soft plastic jacket, and I love the amount of paint deco on his blaster. The helmet is on-point, and his hair is styled perfectly.
Articulation-wise, he’s no Marvel Legends figure, but the joints are well-hidden and the essential ones are present: swivel-hinge hips, hinged ankles with rockers, swivel thighs, ball-jointed upper torso, double-hinged knees, and ball-hinge shoulders, elbows, and head. All joints are tight and work well.
Along with two well-articulated, hyper-detailed figures, we also get three accessories with this pack: three unique guns (two for Rocket, one for Star-Lord), all of which very cool and with exceptional paint deco. I’ll complain about other accessories not being included in a moment, but the three we do get? They’re pretty sweet.
The Wrong:
In Star-Lord’s case, that’s a second blaster gun and an interchangeable Peter Quill Chris Pratt head. I know that actor likenesses hold things up, but this is a case where the iconic look for Star-Lord is with the helmet off. As Peter Quill is helmetless during 95%+ of the movies, if resources had to be devoted to one head or the other, DST should have gone with an unmasked Chris Pratt head.
The second blaster not being included is also a big loss, since Star-Lord so frequently dual-wields his guns. It’s a real drag having to buy a whole other two-pack if you want to achieve that now.
In the Marvel Select Rocket Raccoon figure’s case, I’ve got just one qualm: no hinged mouth! The picture on the back of the box seems to indicate that the mouth can be closed, but I see no sign of a joint, and even after boiling the head and using an excessive amount of force–that mouth ain’t movin’.
The sculpt here is sensational, but not being able to close Rocket’s mouth, well… sucks. It’s the one drawback to what I think is otherwise an incredible pack-in figure.
Overall: Everything that Diamond Select Toys included in this Marvel Select Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 two-pack is really terrific. The problem is what’s not present: a second blaster for Star-Lord, and far more importantly, a Chris Pratt portrait. The sculpting detail and paint deco on these figures and their weapons are fantastic—the only genuine shortcoming is the disappointing limitations of missing accessories and no poseable mouth on Rocket. Otherwise, this set is golden—for $23 shipped, this Marvel Select Star-Lord & Rocket two-pack is a steal.
GRADE: B+
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How come you didn’t talk about what it says on the back of the package? It clearly states that it is supposed to come with twin element guns and a masked and unmasked head. What is DST thinking!?!
I’m gonna be honest: I never read the back of the box, so I had no idea that was on there. Oy.
Hi Dabid, just wondered if you might know if the Legends Star Lord helmetless head sculpt would look far too small on the Select version as you collect various ranges and are more likely to know. Also do you think with the mess up on the back of the package that a Disney exclusive might be on the way? And while I’m asking do you have any predictions on what Select might put out for Infinity War with so many characters to go at. Obviously just your opinion. Cheers.
Shoot, I think both my ML Starlords are in storage or I’d pop the head on him to find out. In general, I think a ML Pratt head will be too small on a Marvel Select body, though.
I actually don’t think we’re getting any unmasked movie Star-Lord from DST based on anything I’ve heard. =\
As far as Infinity War Selects go… tough to say! It’s possible we may get a Vision -or- a Scarlet Witch, but Captain America and perhaps Blonde Black Widow seem like safer bets. Thanos is a huge deal, so I suspect we’ll see a movie Thanos MS this year or next.
Wow, that was quick !!! ; ). Cheers for that. I was tempted to just buy one and hope for the best, but did think it would be too small so you’ve just saved me £20, thanks for that. Shame there won’t be an exclusive Star Lord but as they can only do so many per year they’re hopefully saving them up for Infinity !!! maybe. Think you’re right about a tough call for Infinity War as they have to be sellers. I’m thinking Thanos ( like the trailer as I think he looks badass like that) Vision (hopefully as he’s a big omission I think) after that I would have liked a Proxima or Corvus but I very much doubt it. After that like you say bearded Cap, Blond Widow or Scarlet Witch any of those would be cool. I just buy what they put out at the end of day?! Thanks for getting back to me with your views. Cheers from the UK. 👍🏻
Hi there, two things:
“The helmet is on-point, and his hair is styled perfectly.”
It should be, put them side by side and you’ll notice that the Marvel Select head is a recast of the Marvel Legends Star Lord head. Seriously,look at the hair on it and aside from the back of the head where they screwed up, the front of the hair, curl for curl is the exact same. Same goes for the rest of the helmet. Every line and curve of the helmet is the same.
As for Rocket, this will burn just a tad but the mouth joint IS there, but they glued it at the factory accidentally. I managed to take mine out and fix it so it closes now.
Just thought I’d ask. Would the legends Star Lord unmasked head be far too small to fit on my Select figure ? I know they usually are too small but every now and again one just about fits. Anyone know ? Pics would be great. Cheers.