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Introduction
There are lots of things to love about the One:12 Collective series of action figures. Oh, don't get me started on some of their surprise releases...but there are other things that I really love. One of the best - the breadth of their licenses. Another - how old school some of those licenses are.
Case in point - Planet of the Apes. While it was the first franchise to tap into the juggernaut of merchandising, beating Star Wars by several years, we've never gotten an ultimate action figure line. Lots of companies have given it a shot - Mego was the first, but NECA, Medicom, Hasbro, Hot Toys, Sideshow and others have given it the old college try. Hot Toys did what Hot Toys does with some many licenses, started with a few (three to be exact) and abandoned it. NECA made some really nice figures, but not nearly enough. Sideshow has easily been the leader, going far deeper into the characters than anyone else, but the quality has become dated.
Sadly, I don't expect Mezco to end up creating the ultimate series. We saw them start with Star Trek and we didn't get a bridge crew, we didn't even get a McCoy. They've dipped into Universal Monsters with a grand total of one, and while they did slightly better with Popeye by giving us two characters, I'll eat Bluto's hat if we ever see an Olive Oyl.
But hey, it's a business, not a charity, and they have to do what makes money. I have to give them a lot of credit for producing some figures for licenses they love, even when they know the odds are stacked against them.
Dr. Zaius, their first into the foray of One:12 POTA, is now shipping. He'll cost you about $85, depending on the retailer.
Packaging - ***1/2
With this license, they are going away from the stark simplicity of the Marvel and DC boxes. The cover artwork is classic original film, and looks
terrific. Inside, the figure and accessories are all safely held in place, and the trays and box are completely collector friendly.
Sculpting - ****
I generally reserve large photos for sixth scale and above. Smaller scales tend to suffer from macro photos that are too big, because they can't
hold up to the extreme inspection. This is not a flaw - it's to be expected.
But the One:12 figures are an exception. I use the same size photos for them as I do with the sixth scale Hot Toys releases, because they can measure up even in an extreme close up. Zaius is a perfect example.
Remember, he's only a hair over 6" tall, shorter than the average One:12 figure, as he should be. And yet there's all the detail in the stranding of the hair, the creases and wrinkles of the face, even the squinting of the eyes that you'd find in figures much, much larger. It's tremendously impressive work.
There are two portraits of course, as you'd expect with any One:12 release. The standard comes with his mouth closed, eyes squinted and piercing, giving you that look that shamed his lessors into submission.
With the second portrait, he's more aggravated, with an open mouth and greater creasing on the forehead. He's telling you what for, with all the conviction of his religion, backed by his sacred scrolls. Both heads are amazing work, and it will be a tough call trying to decide which to use.
That's not the end of the sculpting though. Oh, as you'd expect the work on the various accessories is great, and the hands and feet are nicely done. But it's where they went the extra mile that counts, taking the hairy sculpt up the wrists and forearms! It's this sort of attention to detail that sets the entire One:12 series apart.
Paint - ****
I mentioned that the large, macro photos are generally harsh to smaller figures, with the exception of One:12. This figure is even unique there,
because it actually gets better the closer you get.
In hand, the subtle differences in paint and sculpt can get lost to the eye. This is particularly true of the paint, where the hair and skin are both light colored. They did use a slight wash, but they didn't go nuts with it. That's a good thing, because it would have ended up less realistic.
The subtle paint is harder to discern in hand, but close up it becomes more obvious. And details like the eyes and teeth really pop, their clean lines and realism particularly impressive at this scale.
Articulation - ***
The underlying body works well enough, and it has all the articulation you'd expect. In fact, it feels like there are the double jointed elbows this
time, something you might not expect, but which prove very useful.
The head and hands swap cleanly, with no worries about damage. So why the slightly lower score? Because Zaius had a particular posture, as did all the apes in the original films, walking hunched with bent knees. The ankles and torso won't really let you get the proper stance, although you can get close.
Accessories - ****
He comes very well outfitted, with some key extras straight from the film.
I already mentioned the second head, which is always a big part of this score. He also has a bunch of hands, all uniquely sculpted for this character. There's 10 extra - four right and six left - to go with the set of fists he comes wearing. They swap easily, with no fears.
He was rarely seen without his cane, and it's properly scaled. In convincing Cornelius and Zira he was intelligent, Taylor folded a paper airplane, which they later offered to Zaius as proof. They've included that, as well as the talking doll they found in the caves. No, it doesn't talk - let's not get nuts here.
The belief system adhered to by Zaius and the others was laid out in their sacred scrolls, handed down by the Lawgiver. You get two of the scrolls, and guess what - they open up! Sadly, both say the same thing, warning of the humans, but it's still pretty damn cool.
He does come with one extra that's a little confusing. It's a miniature version of the Lawgiver statue. I don't remember anything like this in the films, but perhaps Zaius had one on his desk. We can always pretend.
Finally, he has his display base, which can be used with a foot peg or the clear plastic flying/jumping support rod system. I'm not sure anyone will have him in a ninja pose, but it's there if you should want it.
Outfit - ***1/2
The costume is the normal high quality materials and workmanship you've come to expect in the series. There's a couple minor accuracy issues, but
these are largely due to the scale and requirements thereof.
Zaius wore a number of different outfits, but they were all similar in style, making it easy to confuse them. For reference, here's a short clip of him in this costume, as well as this still (ignore the colors in the latter however). And here is the actual costume when it was up for sale.
The shirt is the appropriate style and color brown. The pants are sewn with the unique panel in front, and the straps from the pants go through the feet, between the foot and the sole. The tailoring on the coat, shirt, and pants is excellent, providing a perfect fit.
The color of the suit and lapels is fairly good, but the lapels are slightly too light. It's not a huge difference, but based on the photos of the actual costume, they could have been slightly darker.
The patterns on the lapels are accurate, but they did have to alter the edge somewhat. They used this edge to sew the lapels to the costume, but on the original, there was a puffy double line. They did their best to approximate it, but it's not exact.
The shoes look good, but I will say the toes on the figure are a bit too apparent. They were less obvious in the actual sandals.
Still, overall this was a unique and complex costume done extremely well.
Fun Factor - ***
While the figure itself has plenty of posing potential, thanks to the myriad of hands and two heads along with some key accessories, he's not
going to be quite as much fun without another POTA figure or two to combine him with in the display.
Value - **1/2
At $85, he's about the average price for a One:12 release right now. Considering the complexity of the costume, the uniqueness of the many hands,
and the nice assortment of extras, I'd say he's pretty much in line with the market.
Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing. Everything is sturdy and well made, and I had no worries about breakage or damage while working with the figure.
Overall - ****
While I have a few minor nits, overall this is a terrific figure, and easily my favorite Zaius produced. I was worried based on some early online
whining I read, but once I had it in hand my worries were proven unfounded.
Are we getting more than just Zaius? Well, they haven't announced any. But he did sell out through their website, and several retailers sold out on pre-order as well. That's a good sign of course, but every company also only has so many resources to devote at any one time, and they will devote them to the licenses making them the most money. I hope we get Cornelius and Zira at least, and a Taylor, Ursus, or Nova would all be instant buys for me.
Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ****
Sculpting - ****
Paint - ****
Articulation - ***
Accessories - ****
Outfit - ***1/2
Fun Factor - ***
Value - **1/2
Overall - ****
Where to Buy
He was originally available for $85 at
the Mezco site, but is now a wait list item. Online options include these site sponsors:
- Entertainment Earth has him at $85, but appears to have pre-sold out. It's worth checking back though, as they do end up with cancellations.
- or you can search ebay for a deal.
Related Links -
This is their first POTA figure, but they've done everything from DC to Marvel to Star Trek to old school horror
to old school cartoons in the One:12 series.
You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.
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This product was purchased for the review by the reviewer. Photos and text by Michael Crawford.
