Review of Moe, Poochie, Deep Space Homer,
Robot Itchy, Robot Scratchy
Simpsons Action Figures

Introduction

Those that know me know I'm a big Simpsons collector, always have been, always will be. I'm one of those crazy collectors with a complete set of World of Springfield figures loose...and a complete set carded/boxed. In these video tours of my collection, you can see they are a major portion of my overall Simpsons collection, but I have plenty of other items from all types of companies and formats.

But I haven't been buying much new stuff the last few years. I've been picking up the Figpins, and the ReAction figures aren't bad...but there's very little that has me excited for this license. Super7 promised to change that with their Ultimates series of 7" scale action figures - will they?

The first wave just started shipping, and includes Moe, Deep Space Homer, Poochie, Robot Itchy, and Robot Scratchy. These will cost you around $55 each, in line with other figures in the Ultimates series.

I usually don't review this many figures in one shot, because it requires a lot of photos. Buckle in for plenty of shots!

Packaging - ***
The package is a window box with a slip cover over one end. It's very attractive, leaning in on the standard Simpsons opening credits graphics, and it includes a couple different drawings of the characters as well as information on the first episode in which the character was featured.

It's somewhat collector friendly, but not as much as I'd like to see at this price point. The art box comes packed in a brown shipping box with the license logo and character name, and there's little chance for the figure or accessories to come loose. Still, they use plastic ties and tape to hold some things in, which require you to cut and snip to get everything out. At this price point and for this market, that's not acceptable.

Sculpting - ***1/2
Every figure includes at least one extra head, most more than that.

Deep Space Homer is one that has more, coming with three different portraits. There's a standard head he comes wearing, with a second head with pursed lips (perfect for that "oooooo" look), and a third with a wide open mouth. This one is pretty scene specific, designed to look like he's about to ingest some floating potato chips. The heads swap with a little help from a hair dryer. Homer is about 7 1/2" tall wearing the helmet.

The design of the helmet is worth noting as well. It snaps on and off easily, and remains in place while you're posing him, a big plus.

Poochie has three portraits as well. Again, there's the simple closed mouth look he comes wearing, plus a smiling head and another grinning head, this time with the teeth open as well. All three look great, with plenty of attitude. Poochie stands about 5 1/2 inches tall.

He's also wearing the fanny pack, but it can be removed. It tends to fall off on its own though, and you'll need to put it back in place while you're posing him.

Moe has three portraits, and of course he has the simple, grumpy look in the box. There's the wild grin, as well as the screaming, angry head, perfect for when Bart prank calls him.  While the standard head is very cartoon accurate, I'm really digging the goofy smile. Moe stands about 7" tall.

Robot Itchy and Scratchy only have two heads each. Both have a standard portrait, and both come with a second portrait that opens in some way to expose the underlying 'electronics'. The top of Itchy's head opens up, while the face plate on Scratchy is removable. Itchy is about 7 1/2 inches tall, while Scratchy is almost 8" at the tip of his ears.

As you go through the review, you should see all these different heads in the various photos.

Paint - ***
The paint work on these is fairly clean, although there are some blips here and there. The edges on the whites of the eyes isn't always clean, but the iris' definitely are. Some of the details are excellent, while a few others have sloppy work. Those details that were white - eyes, teeth, Poochie's shirt, etc - tend to have the most issues.

Areas where there's a lot of one color - pretty common with an animated line - are consistent in color and in finish, always important.

Articulation - ***1/2
Generally speaking, all the figures are nicely articulated. Some might not like the look, but others will appreciate the improved posability.

The basic set up is: ball jointed neck, rotating hinge elbows, wrists, shoulders, hips, and ankles, cut waist, ball joints for the tails, and a couple (Moe and Homer) with a rocker chest joint.

Some have variations on this theme - Moe has ball hips, and Itchy and Scratchy have pin knees, hips, and ankles - but overall they share the same basic pattern. Homer lacks the cut waist, but has the rocker chest joint like Moe.

You can get a lot of good poses out of these, but I did find some issues with some of the joints getting loose as I used them, especially the legs on Poochie and Itchy. Your mileage may vary.

Accessories - Moe ***; the rest ****
There's a ton of nice extras, but unfortunately it looks like Moe got shorted.

Let's start with the robots - Itchy comes with a mallet, axe, machine gun, chainsaw, drum, and drumsticks. There's also a second set of gripping hands, which allow him to hold these items. The hands swap easily, more so than the heads. I've already mentioned his second head, with removable scalp.

The drum is particularly cool, and you can put it around his neck when swapping heads. Remember, use some heat to get the heads to pop on a little easier and put less pressure on the neck post.

Next up, his nemesis, Scratchy. Unfortunately, you get some re-use here, although I have to admit it makes sense. The axe, mallet, chainsaw, and machine gun are all included with him as well. He gets a new weapon - a knife - and there's a second axe, this time with robot legs. It's not articulated, and getting it to stand required some Quake Putty.

He also has a second set of hands, same sitch as with Itchy, and he also comes with the nifty 'Bort' license plate.

Let's talk Homer next. He has the two additional heads I mentioned earlier, as well as four more hands in gripping poses. He has a unopened bag of chips, as well as seven loose chips, perfect for use with the open mouth sculpt. I just wish I could come up with a way to suspend them in the air in front of him...

Perhaps his greatest foe, Homer also comes with the inanimate carbon rod, because In Rod We Trust! And finally, since the chips weren't enough to muck up the space voyage, he has the experimental ant farm.

Now let's look at Poochie. I'm sounding like a broken record, but there's the two extra heads we discussed earlier, and swapping them requires a little heat. He comes with six extra hands though, tied with Moe for the most of the group, including a couple giving a peace sign gesture. Be more careful swapping hands on Poochie, as the sleeves can get in the way. A little heat goes a long way here as well.

Poochie is the dog with an attitude, and he comes with those extras that were so clearly indicative of having an attitude - a guitar, skateboard, and surf board. The hands can hold the guitar, albeit awkwardly.

Finally, there's Moe. Ironically, he has so much that I needed two photos to cover it, and yet he's getting the lower score.

As with most of the characters, he has two extra heads, which we've already discussed. Like Poochie, he has six extra hands, which are pretty easy to swap thanks to no sleeves getting in the way.

For his bar duties, he has his phone, pickled eggs, rag, and a Flaming Moe. I wish the rag fit in any one of the hands properly. You can get it to work if you put in some effort, but it still tends to fall out of the grips, a situation that was easy for them to correct.

He also has the largest accessories of this wave, coming with panda and crate. You remember, Moe smuggles pandas...although you could also use this panda as a stand in for Ping-Ping if we got a Homer in panda suit!

So why the lower score? You might notice one key accessory that he was marketed with is now missing - his soft goods apron. It's a pretty critical aspect to the character, certainly more so than the panda and crate for example, and mine is missing it. I've heard from other folks that have also received Moe, and none of them have it either. It appears to be a production/packing issue, and hopefully Super7 will address it soon.

I told you this was going to be photo heavy - here's some additional shots to get in all the various portraits.

And here's another shot, just because I like the ant farm so much...

Fun Factor - ****
These guys are a lot of fun, thanks to the articulation and the accessories. They put a lot of thought into the extras, and even included the 'text' on the back of Homer's head. I like episode specific characters in particular, and I'm hoping that's what we see Super7 focus on predominately.

Value - *1/2
Ah, but here's where things get sticky. These figures are $55 each. That's the usual price for the Ultimates line, so it's not a surprise. But it's still a whole lot of money. Remember, NECA does 7" scale figures, has nice accessories and excellent sculpts and paint, and does it for $30. I'm sure the Simpsons license isn't cheap, but it's going to be a tough sell for them nonetheless.

Things to Watch Out For -
You'll need a heat source like a hair dryer to swap the heads - heat the head, not the neck post of course - as well as the hands on Poochie and Homer. Take your time, use a little patience, and you should be good.

Overall - ***
In hand, the quality on these is obvious. They are also nicely articulated, and have a great set of accessories. The 7" scale makes them fairly imposing on the shelf as well.

But Simpsons anything is best collected as a whole. Whether it's WoS figures, or Figpins, or God forbid, Pop figures, having a bunch together to highlight the breadth and depth of the characters on the show is really the point. And at $55 a piece, it's going to be tough for anyone to do that with this series.

The upcoming waves 2 and 3 have some interesting choices. I'm particularly thrilled to see Kang and Kodos, but Hank Scorpio? It's an odd mix. I'll also be watching to see how long it takes for those waves to arrive, as it was quite a long time for this first series to hit after pre-order. I'm torn between wanting them soon, and hoping for my wallet's sake that it takes quite awhile.

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

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth has them for $55 each. Use my link and get an additional 10% off, plus free shipping!

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
I've looked at almost all the WoS figures and playsets, and you can find a listing of my older Simpsons related reviews here.

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!