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Marvel Minimates Wave 57’s tie-in with Guardians of the Galaxy gave us the whole main team, in one small, concise package… mostly.  In order to aid with this, one of the sets gave us not just two members of the the team, but three.  Three Minimates in one set?  How does that work?  Well, it’s kind of iffy…let’s just get to the review of Drax, Groot, and Rocket, shall we?

The Packaging

Wave 57 used the standard modern Marvel Minimates packaging, but with the official Guardians-branding placed over it.  As with a lot of the MCU-mates, it’s a little weird to see the actual non-minimate characters at the top of the box, and the packaging has a tendency to get lost in the sea of similarly packaged items from the same film, but it’s not a terrible design.  For pictures, head on over to the set’s Database entry.

The Figures

Drax

Unlike most of the team, this actually wasn’t Drax’s first time as a Minimate.  There was a classic comic version of the character released in the Infinity Gauntlet set, but it’s safe to say that was a fairly different take on the character. This version of Drax is based on the movie version, which is in turn based on the character’s more recent design. Drax is more specifically meant to represent Drax from the middle point of the film, after they escape from the Kyln, but before they get matching uniforms.

Drax is built on the standard Minimate body, and features 4 sculpted add-ons: a bulked up torso, a waist cover, and a pair of big stompy boots. The torso has previously been used on figures such as the Best-Of version of Venom and the waist piece has been used on more figures than I can count. The waist piece works, as Drax is definitely meant to be a thick guy, but I’m not sure about the chest piece. On its own, it’s alright, but coupled with the really skinny arms, it looks very out of place. As far as I can tell, the big stompy boots are new. They’re well sculpted, so that’s good.

Drax’s paint work is good from a technical stand point. Everything is clean and there’s no real slop or bleed over. I do wish that his skin were a brighter green and the tattoos were a bit bolder, just so he wasn’t quite so muddled, but it doesn’t look bad, per say, just a bit drab. I guess he’s a Drab Drax… heh heh.

Drax comes armed with twin knives and a clear display stand.

Drax is one of those figures that isn’t a bad figure by any stretch, but isn’t exactly a game changer, or anything.  The torso cap doesn’t work quite so well, but at least he got a few ‘mates without the piece later down the line.

MMC Score — 6 out of 10

Groot & Rocket Raccoon

If there’s one thing everyone can agree on about Guardians of the Galaxy, it’s that these two stole the whole movie. I think Groot in particular surprised a lot of audiences. So, you’re probably thinking “Why are you reviewing both Groot and Rocket at the same time?” Quite simply, it’s because only one of them’s a Minimate.

I’ll start with Groot, because he’s actually the figure here.  He uses the basic Minimate body, with unique pieces for his head, hands, and feet, as well as a torso extender add-on that’s seen use a few times. The new pieces are all pretty great. My only complaint is that the head has two tabs on the back to allow for Rocket to be propped on Groot’s shoulder. It’s an okay idea in theory, but it’s difficult to get Rocket to stay in place, and it leaves Groot with two rather noticeable tabs sticking out of his head.

The paintwork on Groot is really great, and superbly detailed. His bark detailing even continues around the sides of his torso, which is certainly impressive.

Groot comes with a clear display stand and Rocket. Rocket is about 1 ½ inches tall and is unarticulated. He has been sculpted to appear as though he has the same 14 points as the typical Minimate. He is sculpted holding a gun in one hand, with his arm outstretched. He’s well sculpted, and his paint isn’t too sloppy. It’d be nice if he could move, but I guess it was good to have him at least, and there are of course better versions of the character now.

Groot’s probably the best ‘mate to come out of this assortment, with sharp paintwork and a really solid recreation of the film design.  Rocket’s just an accessory, and is much less disappointing if that’s all you look at him as.

MMC Score —  8 out of 10

Agree? Disagree? Why not vote for yourself below, or comment further over at the Minimate Multiverse MMC Review Forum.

Review and pictures by Glantern.

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