#my lord is the artwork gorgeous. i know chris painted the cover art but not sure if he did the rest as well

[wrongcreature]

The art of Thornstar

Morgana

Loreley

Zagon

Katali

Naxxar

[englishmansdcc]

The Funko Collector Corps subscription boxes are on a hiding to themselves: with only a few exceptions, the standard, quality and appeal of these bi-monthly ‘pressies to oneself’ have been staggeringly high. The recent DOCTOR STRANGE box set the bar way above standard (I still love the floating Astral Plane POP!, and the POP Home mug provided the unique experience of drinking tea out of Bendy Cucumberwitch’s head) – here, however, they aim above and beyond… to the farthest reaches of the galaxy, indeed.

We are only one week away from the UK release of GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 (not to rub it in, Yanks, but… ya boo sucks to be you! Tee hee!) and this timely release of this months box, filled with lovely exclusive #GotGVol2 goodies, has only got me more stoked for seeing the film. Without further more to do, let’s crack open this bad boy, check out what’s inside, and see if it passes muster…

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  Actually, before we get to that, let’s once again admire the lovely artwork that the Collector Corps team have put together for this release, especially the interior art. Yes, GUARDIANS favourite Baby Groot may be front and centre on the outer art but it’s good to see the rest of the team at least represented inside, too – as they also are when you open the top flap.

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As is the by now standard entries to the boxes, we get our regular woven fabric patch, here showcasing hero-of-the-day Star-Lord, aka Peter Jason Quill. We don’t get the gaze on the lovely visage of Chris Pratt but we do get the signature S-L helmet; thankfully, no such cumbersome headgear on Zoe Saldana’s Gamora, looking all wind-swept and dynamic on the obligatory enamel pin. Excellent rendering of Zoe here, and the pin is its traditional mighty metal molding. Make sure this goes on a jacket because if you put it on a tee, you’ll know about it as, as usual, it weighs a ton.

Lifting the top flap out of the way, we get the next exclusive on the pile: a Ben Butcher (Funko V-P of Creative) drawn Variant Cover comic for the first chapter in Marvel’s summer event, SECRET EMPIRE. This controversial Nick Spencer / Daniel Acuna issue hit shelves last week, with #1 out due in a few weeks, so you’ll at least be ahead of the pack if you haven’t picked up this issue yet. And while the cover isn’t Funko-fied (or even relevant to the story inside – the Guardians barely make an appearance), it’s still a gorgeous piece of art and worthy for any collection.

Next up is a nicely printed t-shirt, featuring the new GUARDIANS VOL. 2 line-up in dynamic, neon-rendered pose: this is a Funko-fied image and features all of our heroes on a red and purple tee that’ll certainly make an impression, bathed in UV light. These things are always beautifully printed and regularly one of the strongest elements of the Collector Corps boxes – this tee is no exception. It’s bold and it’s brash and t’Missus is going to love rockin’ this shirt at next week’s screening.

We go for the biggest item in the box, next: the first Dorbs Pop Ride to be featured in a Collector Corps box, that of Star-Lord and his ship, the Milano. I’m not a huge appreciator of the Dorbs line, it’s just a personal choice, but I do like the detail that’s gone into this model. The ship itself is very impressive with cracking detailing on the Milano, set on a transparent plinth And it’s quite large, too – when taken out the packaging, the tip of the right-hand wing is a separate piece that slots into place, and quite permanently too, looking at it. In other words, if you want to put this on display on your shelf, don’t be expecting to be able to put it back into the box afterwards.

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I will say this is where the model-making quality takes a little bit of a knock, especially on the Star-Lord Dorb which has some ugly moulding around the ear and hairline, and some harsh edge flashes left over on the molding on the Milano. But it’s made up with a nice paintjob on the figure body, featuring the galactic munchies-adorned graphic on the tee, and it makes for a colourful addition when placed on the shelf of any Guardians fan. Which unfortunately can’t be said too much for the vinyl POP! Funko figure that is the last item in the box.

It’s not the colours that let this figure down, actually: it’s just putting it on the shelf in the first place! I must say, when I first looked this figure, I was grinning like a loon: a bobble-head POP!, perched on top of another bobble-head POP! – how cute is that?? Baby Groot strikes an adorable pose atop a tooled-up Rocket Raccoon and it’s a brilliant concept to put to a POP!… And that’s where the appeal stops.

On closer inspection, I guarantee, the weight distribution for this figure has been attempted so it will free-stand outside of the POP! packaging but it just doesn’t come off. I angled the lid of the Collector Corps lid a little forward for my pics so it would stand unassisted – just standing this up on a shelf is an impossibility and will mean some subtle blu-tak’ing down if you’re one of those that likes to show off your POP!’s, outside of the boxes. (…you monsters!! #funkosunopened4life)

The paint job quality is also something that takes a dip, which is understandable considering the detail of the POP!, especially on the main body of Rocket – the brown bleeds over his jacket from the shoulder pads are sloppy and there’s some untidy artifacts on the one I was issued with around his, ahem, nether regions. But, seeing as the only way you can have this figure placed on display is in the box anyway, you won’t be too distracted by these flaws too often. A shame. Close… but just no cigar, I’m afraid.

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Still, I may be nitpicking a little as the whole box does what it’s supposed to do: get you all wound up for the film and the characters. And, while I would’ve liked to have seen Drax and Gamora – the unsung members of the Guardians – represented more inside (or at all), or any of the newer members of the team, this is another cracking addition to the Collector Corps family.

The next box is going to be featuring SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING and that I can’t wait to see what they come up with for this edition – I’m hoping upon hope that we’ll get that Jacob ‘Ned’ Batalon POP! figure that we all know deep down that we want… but what are the odds, right? You can find out more, and sign up for subscription to the service, at www.collectorcorps.com – check it out today!

What are your thoughts on this box? Does it get your dance-off moves all revved up or does it make you wish for an Infinity Gauntlet to wish some more items into existence for this edition? Comments, as always, below, please…

Full disclosure: AEISD was provided with a complementary press issue of the above Collector Corps box for purposes of review – many thanks to Funko and Marvel for this opportunity.

Review: @OriginalFunko @CollectorCorps @GUARDIANS #GotGVol2 Subscription Box (April 2017) The Funko Collector Corps subscription boxes are on a hiding to themselves: with only a few exceptions, the standard, quality and appeal of these bi-monthly 'pressies to oneself' have been staggeringly high.