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Captain Toy/Michael's Review of the Week

Review of Aang, Final Battle Aang, Azula, Sokka
Avatar: The Last Airbender Action Figures

Diamond Select Toys
Date Published: 2022-01-24
Written By: Michael Crawford
Overall Average Rating: 3.5 out of 4

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Aang, Azula, Sokka, Final Battle Aang Last Airbender action figures by Diamond Select Toys

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Introduction

Every once in awhile, something truly amazing comes along. You never know what it might be. Sometimes it's something anticipated, well known, and hyped. Sometimes it's something that flies under the radar. But it's always a fantastic experience when it clicks.

Such is the case with Avatar: The Last Airbender. It combines elements from many hero stories, develops the main characters in satisfying and intriguing ways, creates a unique yet familiar world, and does it all at the perfect pitch, understandable for kids and entertaining for adults. It remains one of the greatest animated shows ever created.

Several companies have taken a swing at producing action figures based on the property. When Diamond Select Toys first released their initial wave, I reviewed the Aang figure. Since then they've produced a number of other characters, and I'm wrapping together four of them for this review - another Aang, the Final Battle Aang, Azula, and Sokka.

These guys will run you around $25, depending on the retailer, and are currently available at most online and comic book stores.

Aang, Azula, Sokka, Final Battle Aang Last Airbender action figures by Diamond Select Toys

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Packaging - ***
The hanger boxes look great, but I wish they did a little more to show the figure with its accessories in action. You'll be able to eventually work out what to do with some of the 'effects', but a simple photo on the back would go a long way to saving you some time.

The windows on the boxes are a little weak as well. They show off the figure nicely, but you can easily dislodge them from the cardboard. It is fairly collector friendly though, certainly more so than the bookshelf style boxes DST often uses.

Aang, Azula, Sokka, Final Battle Aang Last Airbender action figures by Diamond Select Toys

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Sculpting - ***1/2
These figures are in a 7" scale, with Aang coming in around 5 1/2", Azula about 6 1/2", and Sokka about 6 1/4".

The designs match the animation nicely, with an appropriate amount of detail and texture. The expressions work well for the characters, especially Aang. The final battle version is deadly serious, while the wave 2 expression is joyful and fun. Azula is evil, right to her core, gleefully grinning with arched villain eyebrows and squinting eyes. Sokka is the only one I think needs another expression, because while this serious look will work for battle poses, he could use a goofy expression as well.

Aang, Azula, Sokka, Final Battle Aang Last Airbender action figures by Diamond Select Toys

Full disclosure - these were designed by my friend and podcast partner Eamon O'Donoghue, and he paid me five bucks to tell you he's a terrific guy. He is, so he didn't need to pay me to say it, but I'm not turning down five bucks.

The sculpt and articulation work fairly well together, although the elbows on a couple can be difficult to work with - more on that in the Articulation section. There's not a ton of detail or texture work on the bodies, but that's consistent with their appearance in an animated show.

One of the nifty features is the strings on Sokka - while the scabbards for his weapons are sculpted and permanently attached to his back, the strings that would normally hold them around his body are actual strings, not sculpted. It's a nice touch that adds some realism to the look.

Aang, Azula, Sokka, Final Battle Aang Last Airbender action figures by Diamond Select Toys

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Paint - ***1/2
The paint work is sharp and clean, appropriate quality for the price point.

All the faces look great. The arrow design on Final Battle Aang is a *smidge* off center, and there's a little clumpiness to the skin tone, but these are pretty minor nits. Every one of the figures has a little blip here or a minor issue there, but overall the quality is extremely good, and these minor issues won't be something the average fan gets worked up about.

Aang, Azula, Sokka, Final Battle Aang Last Airbender action figures by Diamond Select Toys

I particularly like the translucent effects. The water color is great, and the work on the various elements emanating from Final Battle Aang is excellent.

Aang, Azula, Sokka, Final Battle Aang Last Airbender action figures by Diamond Select Toys

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Articulation - ***
These are some of the most articulated of the Last Airbender figures out there, but there's still a couple issues.

The ball jointed necks work pretty well, allowing you to add some personality to most poses. The chest and waist joints also help here, letting you break up some of the straight lines in the torso.

The shoulders are a pretty simple rotating hinge, but in combination with the elbow and wrist, you can get some fighting poses. The elbows on Azula and Sokka are a bit trickier, thanks to the sculpted sleeves, but with a little patience you can probably get the pose you're looking for.

The legs are the best, with their hinge hips, double pin knees, cut thighs, and rocker/pin ankles. Sokka doesn't fair quite as well here, since the boot design alters the knees, but overall they can all take deep stances and maintain them nicely. It's also great that the sculpt isn't damaged by the articulation, yet you can get them into fighting stances pretty easily.

Aang, Azula, Sokka, Final Battle Aang Last Airbender action figures by Diamond Select Toys

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Accessories - ***1/2
Everyone is well outfitted, with some useful extras.

They all have plenty of extra hands. These come in pairs, and are designed to hold the accessories or for various battle poses. They swap easily, even with the tiny pegs. I had no worries about breaking anything, and they stayed in place when I was posing them.

Every figure comes with a clear stand and support rod, designed for jumping and flying poses. This stand is also intended to be used with some of the effects - more on that in a minute. A couple of the figures also have a basic black stand with a foot peg.

Aang comes with his early glider, as well as the folded staff version of it. He can hang onto the glider, and there is a special attachment for the stand support rod that will hold the glider up. He also comes with the best accessory - Momo.

Aang, Azula, Sokka, Final Battle Aang Last Airbender action figures by Diamond Select Toys

Final Battle Aang comes with his later glider, as well as the staff version. The elemental attachment on his back is removable as well. Again, his glider can be supported by the display stand.

Aang, Azula, Sokka, Final Battle Aang Last Airbender action figures by Diamond Select Toys

Azula has a couple water effects. One is already attached to a hand, and while it's heavy, she can pose with it fairly well. I suspect her arm will wilt over time with this much weight, but it looks good short term.

She also has the swirling blue water effect we saw with the first series Aang. This can be attached to the display stand, thanks to a peg hole about mid-way.

Aang, Azula, Sokka, Final Battle Aang Last Airbender action figures by Diamond Select Toys

Finally, there's Sokka. He has two weapons, his boomerang and his knife. There are scabbards on his back for both of these. He also has two 'boomerang effects', and as with the other effects, these can be attached to the display stand support rod for a variety of poses.

Aang, Azula, Sokka, Final Battle Aang Last Airbender action figures by Diamond Select Toys

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Aang, Azula, Sokka, Final Battle Aang Last Airbender action figures by Diamond Select Toys

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Aang, Azula, Sokka, Final Battle Aang Last Airbender action figures by Diamond Select Toys

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Fun Factor - ****
Thanks to solid articulation and some nifty extras, these are a lot of fun. You should be able to get some cool action poses, and they look terrific together. They also fit in nicely with other 7" scale figures, particularly those from DST.

Aang, Azula, Sokka, Final Battle Aang Last Airbender action figures by Diamond Select Toys

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Value - ***
Regular readers know that an average score here - **1/2 - means the cost of the figure is about right, and has no effect on my personal overall either up or down. However, these get a slight boost at the $25 price point. We're seeing a lot of six to seven inch mass market figures, from Star Wars Black to Marvel Legends to all the McFarlane stuff, edge up in the $25 range. They rarely have this much articulation or this many extras, giving these a bump at the same price.

Aang, Azula, Sokka, Final Battle Aang Last Airbender action figures by Diamond Select Toys

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Things to Watch Out For -
Not much. If you have issues getting the various effects to pose on the stands, I'd recommend tightening the screws on the support rod connectors, but don't go crazy since you could over tighten and break the plastic. Otherwise you should be good to go!

Aang, Azula, Sokka, Final Battle Aang Last Airbender action figures by Diamond Select Toys

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Overall - ***1/2
This has been a solid line, with the most major players covered (we got Zuko and Katara in the first wave along with Aang). There are two more waves of two already announced, including Ozai and Toph (already shipping) and Zuko as the Blue Spirit and Iroh.

I'm hoping we see the line continue for quite awhile, considering all the excellent characters available for them to do. I suspect the Appa produced by McFarlane is too small to fit with these, but I'll be checking it out just in case.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - ***1/2
Paint - ***1/2
Articulation - ***
Accessories - ***1/2
Fun Factor - ****
Value - ***
Overall - ***1/2

Aang, Azula, Sokka, Final Battle Aang Last Airbender action figures by Diamond Select Toys

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Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- has them in stock for around $25 each.

- Entertainment Earth has them for about $23 each.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
I reviewed the first Aang that Diamond Select Toys produced about 18 months ago. I've also looked at the Spinmaster Aang and Appa, and their Ultimate Battle Aang.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

Enjoyed this review? Be sure to head back to the main page to find thousands more just like it!

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Aang, Azula, Sokka, Final Battle Aang Last Airbender action figures by Diamond Select Toys

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This product was provided for the review by the manufacturer. Photos and text by Michael Crawford.

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