Review of Warriors - One:12 Collective
Action Figures

Introduction

Back in 1979, Walter Hill directed a little film called The Warriors. He went on to make many more terrific action films, but none with the cult status of this story of a gang, wrongly credited with the murder of another gang's leader, traveling across New York to safe territory while every other gang tries to kill them.

The opening weekend saw several incidents of real gang violence, including three deaths. While the film itself is in no way an accurate portrayal of gangs, gang members did go to see it, and battles between them caused some theaters to add security and others to pull the film completely.

The violence dropped off pretty quickly though, and the film was a critical and financial success at the time. It grew into a cult classic as more time went by, and back in the day Mezco even produced some standard action figures based on the property.

They are doing it again, this time in their terrific One:12 Collective series. I'm checking out their deluxe boxed set of four figures tonight - two Warriors and two Baseball Furies. This set of four will set you back around $275, depending on the retailer. They've been shipping for awhile now, so you should have no trouble finding them.

Packaging - ****
I love the tins they use for these special releases, and this one is even better than usual.  The terrific poster/movie graphic used on the cover looks great, and the weathering and wear match the style and design of the film.  Inside, the triple layer of plastic trays hold the four figures and accessories safely, and it's all very, very collector friendly.

Sculpting - ***1/2
You normally get one extra head with every One:12 figure, but unfortunately, there's only three this time. One extra for Ajax, one extra for Swan, and one extra for the Furies leader. The poor Furies generic dude only gets the one portrait.

The sculpt work on all the heads is excellent, however. Lots of fine detail in the hair, the soft skin texture looks great, and the expressions match the characters pretty well. For example, there's a regular Ajax with a concerned look, and a second with a dynamic, fighting scowl. But for Swan, a character that was much cooler under pressure and a man of few words, there's the stoic standard look and a similar expression, this time with some battle damage. Considering his calm demeanor in the film, the choices make perfect sense, and the bruising on his face is quite screen accurate.

The Furies generic dude has a reasonable expression, not too extreme in any way, but not a zombie either. The leader has his pissed off look, and comes with a second more pissed off look, this time with gritted teeth.

I think the accuracy is decent across the board, although the best of the bunch is Swan. Ajax isn't quite as perfect, and of course the two Furies are less distinct, at least in terms of this category. They look like they did on screen, which is all that really matters.

The Warriors stand about 6 1/2" tall, while the Furies are just a smidge bigger thanks to the cleats and hats.

Paint - ***1/2
Remember the scale here - these are just 1/12, and have similar quality paint work to many sixth scale figures on the market today.

That's not to say there aren't a couple blips here and there, mostly on the Furies. The lips are a little crooked o all three portraits, and I don't love the way the black fades out toward the bottom of the neck on the generic Furies character.  The Warriors are better, but the eyes are just a bit flat to me this time. These are some really, really minor nits though, just holding them back from a perfect score slightly.

And yes, the funky skin tone on the Furies leader is intentional. They carried over a slightly different skin tone between the two Furies too, so pay attention to which hands you put on which body.

Articulation - ***
The single jointed neck has some tilt and lean, but not as much as the two piece variety. The rotating hinge shoulders are tight, but you can get them to hold decent poses. The single rotating hinge joint elbows are nobody's favorite, but I suspect they went with them for aesthetic reasons. Of course the wrists work as always, and the hands swapped easily.

The torso can crunch, tilt, lean, and turn, breaking up those awful straight torso poses. The hips, knees, and ankles work well, and even the ankle high shoes allow for decent rocker movement.

This is not the best body for articulation that Mezco has in the One:12 series, but it's reasonably good.

Accessories - ***1/2
I already mentioned the three extra portraits - one for Swan, one for Ajax, and one for the Furies leader.  They really add a ton to this score.

The Warriors are the more outfitted of the two sets. Swan has an extra seven hands to go with the two he comes wearing, all done in various grips useful for holding the other accessories.  Ajax has five more hands to go with his first set, sculpted with the fingerless gloves. All these swap easily, and all stayed firmly attached while I was working with them.

There's a baseball bat for each Warrior, identical in appearance. There's also two Molotov cocktails, one with a lit fuse and one not, a switchblade knife, and a set of handcuffs. Technically, the handcuffs go with Ajax, while the knife and bottles belong to Swan, but they both have hands that will work with any of these extras.

The Furies each have five extra hands to go with their original set, and these are done in different skin tones. They also each have a bat, but only one of these matches with the Warriors simple bat designs. The other is movie specific.

Of course, there's a display base for each, and either a foot peg or the large clear plastic support rods.  The bases are personalized to each gang.

Outfit - ***1/2
The baseball outfits match up for the Furies of course. The pinstriped uniforms look great, and the baseball socks, belt, cleats, and half length sleeve t-shirts complete the look. On the back is the 'team' logo. Can you imagine any self respecting gang dressing like this? Ah, Hollywood.

The Warriors outfits are a bit less imaginary, with leather vests with their emblem on the back. Ajax and Swan get their screen accurate looks, right down to the different - and very well sculpted - shoes. Even the belts are different, just as they should be. The tailoring is great, and the vests are particularly impressive in terms of fit and quality.

Fun Factor - ***1/2
Hey, you're getting four characters at once, two against two in an epic battle on your shelf. You'll be able to mix and match with other licenses too, something that makes the variety of the One:12 series all the more fun.

Value - ***
It might seem like $275 is a lot of money. Actually, $275 IS a lot of money, no doubt about it. But if you consider you're paying about $70 a figure, which is well under the average price for a single One:12 right now, you'll see why I gave them a slightly better than average value rating.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing. Everything is sturdy and well made, and I had no issues or concerns.

Overall - ***1/2
"Waaar...riors! Come out to plaa-aay!" I'll never forget him clicking those bottles together on his fingers - that was a classic scene. I'm not a massive fan of the film overall, but I am a massive fan of the One:12 Collective. This is a chance for fans of the movie to get some truly excellent figures from a company that clearly are fans themselves - this isn't their first time into this particular license, and it's not because it's a huge seller.

These should remain easy to pick up for awhile, but 20 years from now I suspect they'll be one of those sets that everyone is looking for to complete their collection.

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

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth has the set at $275, with free shipping.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Other recent One:12 releases include Cable, the Toy Fair Gomez, Magneto, Classic Wonder Woman, and Freddy Krueger. Talk about variety!

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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