Post by Micro on Sept 7, 2011 14:55:00 GMT -8
Last time, I opened and reviewed my ESR. It truly is the definitive WWE ring but what if you don't have the space to display it? What if you want more than just a ring? Well, Mattel provided a perfect alternative for collectors who want to be space efficient and still get a good value: The Ringside Battle Playset!
This set comes with a lot of neat accessories! Going through the inventory of things included, I decided to list them from the worst to the best. Sadly, the weakest thing in this set is the ring itself.
The ring is your standard, Basic one. Nothing special, nothing fancy but it's still a good sturdy ring. The corner posts are much stronger than the Jakks' version, which tended to warp, and the Pro-Tension spring mat has a nice bounce to it. The only distinguishing feature that separates this ring from the other Basic ones is the Extreme Rules ring apron sticker. Personally, I would've liked a Survivor Series ring but the Extreme Rules theme is more appropriate with this set.
Thankfully, this set is a lot more than an over-priced Basic ring. The real selling point to this playset is the accessories. For those who wanted some hardcore weapons, there are several items included: 2 folding steel chairs, a trash can with removable lid, a Stop sign, a ring bell with mini-hammer, and a fire extinguisher. This works for one of the three matches that are advertised, a No Disqualifications match.
The second match type is a little confusing, though, a Falls Count Anywhere match? You don't even need a ring for that type of match, so nothing from this set seems to fit that stipulation.
The third match type is a Stretcher match and Mattel made a new stretcher accessory to go with it. It's nicely detailed and the arm rests fold up and down. Best of all, it has rolling wheels to help cart away your brutally assaulted Superstar. It would've been even more authentic if the stretcher folded up and down too but I'm kinda glad they didn't do that. It tends to make the stretcher more prone to collapse.
Now it's time to look at the best features of this set, starting with the barricades. Instead of skimping out and giving us a partial barricade, we get a full system that surrounds the ring! It's made up of eleven barricade pads and four corner pieces that link together in almost any configuration you want. It's meant for Basic rings and isn't enough to surround an ESR but there are enough pieces to make it look like it goes around the ESR in pics. An added action feature is that the corner pieces collapse so you can smash people through it. I feel this is one of the best accessories that Mattel has made because it really helps build a realistic arena.
The barricades are awesome but there's still one last accessory that steals the show, the announce table! Jakks made some of these but this new one from Mattel looks perfect. It looks like it's taken directly from the show. It can be taken apart by removing the monitors and table cover to set up for destruction and complete implosion of the table. I really like how the pieces snap together securely and hold together nicely but still manage to fall apart in a cool heap when you want it to.
Again, I felt like putting together a quick show and present a mini-match between John Morrison and Kofi Kingston!
Overall, this is a great, complete playset that allows you to set up a decent arena for displays or pictures. This may be one of the pricier sets in stores but you get a lot of nice accessories that are really well done. You can tell that Mattel paid close attention to detail in order to make these pieces look as authentic as possible. If you want a good Basic ring for your figures, I recommend saving up for this set and getting a lot more bang for your buck!
This set comes with a lot of neat accessories! Going through the inventory of things included, I decided to list them from the worst to the best. Sadly, the weakest thing in this set is the ring itself.
The ring is your standard, Basic one. Nothing special, nothing fancy but it's still a good sturdy ring. The corner posts are much stronger than the Jakks' version, which tended to warp, and the Pro-Tension spring mat has a nice bounce to it. The only distinguishing feature that separates this ring from the other Basic ones is the Extreme Rules ring apron sticker. Personally, I would've liked a Survivor Series ring but the Extreme Rules theme is more appropriate with this set.
Thankfully, this set is a lot more than an over-priced Basic ring. The real selling point to this playset is the accessories. For those who wanted some hardcore weapons, there are several items included: 2 folding steel chairs, a trash can with removable lid, a Stop sign, a ring bell with mini-hammer, and a fire extinguisher. This works for one of the three matches that are advertised, a No Disqualifications match.
The second match type is a little confusing, though, a Falls Count Anywhere match? You don't even need a ring for that type of match, so nothing from this set seems to fit that stipulation.
The third match type is a Stretcher match and Mattel made a new stretcher accessory to go with it. It's nicely detailed and the arm rests fold up and down. Best of all, it has rolling wheels to help cart away your brutally assaulted Superstar. It would've been even more authentic if the stretcher folded up and down too but I'm kinda glad they didn't do that. It tends to make the stretcher more prone to collapse.
Now it's time to look at the best features of this set, starting with the barricades. Instead of skimping out and giving us a partial barricade, we get a full system that surrounds the ring! It's made up of eleven barricade pads and four corner pieces that link together in almost any configuration you want. It's meant for Basic rings and isn't enough to surround an ESR but there are enough pieces to make it look like it goes around the ESR in pics. An added action feature is that the corner pieces collapse so you can smash people through it. I feel this is one of the best accessories that Mattel has made because it really helps build a realistic arena.
The barricades are awesome but there's still one last accessory that steals the show, the announce table! Jakks made some of these but this new one from Mattel looks perfect. It looks like it's taken directly from the show. It can be taken apart by removing the monitors and table cover to set up for destruction and complete implosion of the table. I really like how the pieces snap together securely and hold together nicely but still manage to fall apart in a cool heap when you want it to.
Again, I felt like putting together a quick show and present a mini-match between John Morrison and Kofi Kingston!
Overall, this is a great, complete playset that allows you to set up a decent arena for displays or pictures. This may be one of the pricier sets in stores but you get a lot of nice accessories that are really well done. You can tell that Mattel paid close attention to detail in order to make these pieces look as authentic as possible. If you want a good Basic ring for your figures, I recommend saving up for this set and getting a lot more bang for your buck!