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Captain Toy/Michael's Review of the Week

Review of Deathstroke - PX Exclusive
One:12 Collective Action Figure

Mezco Toyz
Date Published: 2018-03-30
Written By: Michael Crawford
Overall Average Rating: 4 out of 4

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Deathstroke PX exclusive One:12 Collective action figure by Mezco

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Introduction

Mezco hasn't been cranking out the One:12 figures *quite* like they were in the first couple months of the year, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Our wallets need to come up for air once in awhile.

The flood has receded a bit, but there's still some things shipping right now, including the Previews (PX) exclusive of Deathstroke. This is different from the regular version in two key areas - colors, and number of accessories.

This guy was originally available for $80, although he's sold out most places now, and like most One:12 figures, is going to cost you extra on the secondary market.

Deathstroke PX exclusive One:12 Collective action figure by Mezco

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Packaging - ****
This is one of the 'tin can' exclusives, and I do love me a tin can.  Did I ever tell you I collected tin containers as a teenager? Yep, mostly tobacco tins - this is not a joke. I still have at least a hundred of them, mostly pocket tins...

Back on subject, this tin is really nice. The painted exterior is bright and shiny, and the character logo on the lid looks great. The lid itself is hinged, and the interior plastic trays keep things safe. It's all collector friendly of course, and even if you use the included baggy to keep the accessories long term, this is a package you'll keep forever.

Deathstroke PX exclusive One:12 Collective action figure by Mezco

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Sculpting - ****
There are two portraits, and yes, they are exactly the same portraits as the regular release Deathstroke. No surprise there, and it should also be no surprise that they are every bit as good. Lots of nice detail on the unmasked version, and even the skull-like masked head has some texture and wrinkling to give it a realistic look.

The heads swap easily, with no worries about breakage or damage. The hands do as well, which is always a plus, and they stay in place while you're posing the figure. The hand sculpts also match the original release, and work with the various accessories.

The various armored pieces have sculpted damage and wear, and the textures look great. Straps look like leather, pouches look like cloth, armor looks like steel, but all done in plastic. Contrasting this with the cloth uniform creates a really realistic looking tiny figure.

Remember, these guys are small, and Deathstroke is only about 6 1/2" tall. It would be easy to mistake them for high quality figures in a much larger scale just from photos, and in hand the level of detail and accuracy in the sculpts - portraits, accessories, and armor - is really impressive.

Deathstroke PX exclusive One:12 Collective action figure by Mezco

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Paint - ***
This is the only category where this guy scores slightly lower than his normal release cousin.

It's not the colors themselves - I suspect a lot of collectors who aren't huge comic book Deathstroke fans are going to prefer this more muted black and gold appearance. It's a little too Punisher for me, and I prefer the brighter colors of the original because it sets him apart, but this version is certainly more realistic and dangerous looking. It also is a little closer to his color scheme on the CW show.

But the masked head isn't as clean as the earlier release, or even the average One:12 release. One of the big draws with this series is the high end production paint work in such a small scale. The unmasked head is just as nice as always, with great work on the eyes, lips, and skin tone.

It looks like the masked face was first painted all gold, then the left side masked off and the right side painted black. It looks that way because the lower gold layer shows through ever so slightly on the right. It's not a major problem, and depending on the lighting it's less noticeable. But I did see it in hand, and it pulled the score in this category down slightly.

The rest of the work on the armor and accessories is the usual amaze-balls. The sculpted wear and damage is highlighted by a detailed paint job, and the final result is realistic and impressive.

Deathstroke PX exclusive One:12 Collective action figure by Mezco

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Articulation - ***1/2
The base body works terrific, and several key areas, like the neck and ankles, have an excellent range of movement.

The neck allows you to add plenty of personality to poses, even with the high collar. And the ankles have plenty of rocker movement, so they can remain flat on the ground even in deeper stances.

The rest of the joints - shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, and torso - are tight but smooth, and I had no worries about breakage. He can take flowing, fluid poses, far better than most figures in this scale.

Deathstroke PX exclusive One:12 Collective action figure by Mezco

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Accessories - ****
'Buttload' doesn't even begin to describe all the goodies you get with this release. If you thought the original had a nice set of extras, prepare to be impressed.

Of course, most all of this is re-used from some other character, but it's still great to get so many weapons, particularly if you didn't pick up those other characters.

He has hands of course, with a grand total of six. He comes wearing fists, and there is a tighter grip set for the sword and a grip set for the guns. They swap cleanly, with no trouble or issue.

Deathstroke PX exclusive One:12 Collective action figure by Mezco

He has five different guns, including the handgun and rifle the first Deathstroke came with. There's also a grenade launcher (with two grenades, and yes, it can be loaded), a sniper rifle, and a smaller machine gun. The handgun and rifle only have the magazine that come inserted, but the other three guns all have extra ammo.

The sniper rifle has a tiny bipod on the front, but this is VERY fragile. I popped mine off almost immediately, and found it could be popped back on. But the second time it came off, I just put it back in the box and moved on, rather than risk damaging it.

He also has his sword, with a belt and scabbard that fits neatly around his chest and on his back. The blade is done in a carbon color, and I really, really prefer this look over the usual silver. It has a very modern military feel to it, even for a sword.

Finally, he has the small round display base (with logo) and clear plastic support rod that can work with jumping and leaping poses. You won't require it - he stands great on his own - but it's nice for consistency sake.

Deathstroke PX exclusive One:12 Collective action figure by Mezco

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Outfit - ****
This is the same outfit we got with the standard release, but in the new, less gaudy colors. There's no way to not draw comparisons to the Punisher, but I think there's enough here that's unique and different to make him a visual draw.

I mentioned in earlier sections how great the sculpt and paint work on the various armor pieces and straps/belts/pouches is. Everything fits tightly too, with no issues with pieces riding too high on the hips or shoulders.

The underlying cloth shirt and pants are very well tailored, and create a much more realistic look than an all sculpted figure. They also hide the various critical joints, another big factor in improving the realism.

Deathstroke PX exclusive One:12 Collective action figure by Mezco

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Fun Factor - ****
Lots of accessories - lots - and some great articulation make for a very fun figure. You should have no trouble finding a dozen different poses, and changing it all up again in a week. This is the sort of figure that's never the same in your display, because you're constantly picking him up and creating new looks.

Deathstroke PX exclusive One:12 Collective action figure by Mezco

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Value - **1/2
I'm assuming you were smart and bought this guy for $80 when he went up for pre-order. And that's the average price for any of the One:12 exclusives. Even with a lot of re-use, you're getting a lot for your money with this release, making it an average value for me.

Deathstroke PX exclusive One:12 Collective action figure by Mezco

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Things to Watch Out For -
The guns have a few small bits and pieces, so handle them with a little care. Otherwise, you should be good to go.

Deathstroke PX exclusive One:12 Collective action figure by Mezco

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Overall - ****
I'm not a huge Deathstroke fan overall, but it's a toss up between this guy and the Ascending Knight Batman for the 'punisher' of 2018. Getting exclusive versions of these characters in different colors and with different accessories is great - it provides far more options for the non-completist collector. Some folks may prefer the more comic book style look of the original Deathstroke, while others will certainly like this more realistic color scheme. Finding a way to produce both is a good thing, although I'm sure some people will complain about how hard it was to get.  Of course, it wasn't hard at all - you just had to pre-order it when it was put up for sale. Expecting it to be still available weeks or months later when it ships? Yea, that's not going to happen.

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

Deathstroke PX exclusive One:12 Collective action figure by Mezco

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Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- still has a few, but they're $135 now.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Other One:12 reviews include Knightmare Batman, the Toy Fair Ascending Knight Batman, and the regular Spider-Man. Earlier figures include the PX Exclusive Deadpool, the Mezco exclusive Deadpool, the One:12 X-Men Deadpool that was a 'summer' exclusive, as well as the recent Deathstroke, Suicide Squad Harley, the regular Red Skull, classic Superman, and the Morales Spider-Man. I've also covered the the exceptional classic Punisher, the regular release Punisher the Toy Fair exclusive version, Shazam, the classic Daredevil, the Flash and Reverse Flash, the BvS Superman, the comic based Joker, Green Arrow, the Frankenstein Monster Diorama, Frankenstein Monster, the BvS Batman, the Bvs Armored Batman, Captain America, Star Trek Kirk, the Mirror, Mirror and Cage variants of Spock, Sulu, the Toy Fair exclusive Spock, and the regular release Spock as well. Other One:12 Collective figures released so far include Dredd and his Lawmaster, the NYCC exclusive Judge Dredd, the DKR Batman and Mutant two pack, the Batman exclusives, and the initial DKR Batman.

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.

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