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Captain Toy/Michael's Review of the Week

Review of Indiana Jones The Adventure Series
Wave 1 Action Figures

Hasbro
Date Published: 2023-04-03
Written By: Michael Crawford
Overall Average Rating: 3.5 out of 4

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Indiana Jones Adventure Series action figures by Hasbro

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Introduction

With a new Indiana Jones film coming this summer, Hasbro is gearing up to release a ton of merchandise. In the last couple weeks, we've seen a plethora of toys hitting retailers like Target, and even Hallmark is getting in on the act with various goodies.

Hasbro has plenty of action figures in the mix, including retro 4" figures, but for me there's only one series I'll be collecting - the 6" line called the Adventure Series. Do you know Star Wars Black? Yea, it's like that, but for Indiana Jones.

The first wave is now shipping, including the standard Indy, Toht, Marion, Sallah, and Belloq. These will run you around $25 each.

Indiana Jones Adventure Series action figures by Hasbro

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Packaging - ****
I know there's a lot of collectors - especially Marvel Legends collectors - who do not like Hasbro's new zero plastic packaging. I don't have any problem with it, however.

First, doing something positive for the environment is something we all should support. If we can't handle the simple changes, we're clearly doomed. Second, most people buy online, even with a line like this. Hasbro needs to ensure the paint quality is good enough to ensure we all get decent figures, even when we can't see them. And third, the idea that you'll have two or three of these to pick from on the pegs is pretty silly, so being able to see them isn't going to alter your chances of getting a good one a whole lot.

It also helps that these boxes look fantastic. The artwork is excellent, and the quality of the cardboard means shelf wear will be at a minimum.

These are also very collector friendly, just like the boxes with Star Wars Black figures. There's NO reason not to open and enjoy these figures. Cut one piece of tape, slide out the cardboard tray, and slip the figure and accessories out of their paper bags. No damage is necessary, and you can always return them to the package if you feel the need.

Indiana Jones Adventure Series action figures by Hasbro

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Sculpting - Marion **1/2, Toht, Sallah ***; Belloq, Indy ***1/2
Of the five, my favorite is Indy himself. Since it is his story, I'm glad that's the case.

I'm sure there will be debate on this portrait, but considering the 1/12 scale, I think it's solid. There's plenty of small detail, including the beard and skin texture. If you were wondering, the hat is not removable, and that was a smart decision, ensuring the hat was properly scaled.

But it's the costume work that really impresses me. The textures and small details on the coat, pants, shirt, and boots is excellent. He stands about 6 1/2 inches tall with the hat, and if you're looking for something to compare, these do fit in perfectly with Star Wars Black.

I do have one issue with Indy that I'm not sure fits in this category, but it doesn't really fit anywhere else. Getting the small post on the whip loop to attach to the belt is impossible. In fact, I'm thinking about buying a second so I can glue the thing in place for the shelf, and have one unaffected still in hand.

My next favorite is Belloq. This version - I'm sure we'll get another - is in the Ceremonial Outfit. And that outfit looks absolutely amazing. Again, there's tons of sculpted detail, and it really makes the costume pop on the shelf. Belloq, with his funky hat, stands just a bit over 6" tall.

Indiana Jones Adventure Series action figures by Hasbro

The other three are good...just not quite as good. I think Sallah is definitely recognizable, but it's not quite as solid a portrait of the character or actor. The costume has textures and details, but it doesn't lend itself to quite as much elaborate work as the other two. He stands about 6 1/4 inches tall.

The body and costume on Toht really doesn't allow for as much detail - it's a simple suit of course. They did manage to create a coat sculpt that works well with the shoulders and stays in place though, and the removable hat is properly scaled.

I'm not loving the glasses though, which are, as is often the case in this scale, thick and over sized on his face. He's the shortest of the group, barely hitting 6" with the hat on.

Indiana Jones Adventure Series action figures by Hasbro

Finally, there's Marion. She comes in at 6 inches tall. I had two real issues here that brought down her score. One you might not notice right away, the other is pretty clear.

The clear issue is the likeness. I'm not feeling it, at all. I suppose if you squint from just the right angle you'll see a slight resemblance, but for me it's not there. If you popped this head off the body and asked someone who it was, they'd never get Marion Ravenwood. It's realistic enough, just not particularly accurate.

My other issue is with the weird, chunky ankles. They were trying to get similar articulation with her, but it ended up giving her these weirdly shaped ankles that I can't un-see.

Indiana Jones Adventure Series action figures by Hasbro

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Paint - Toht, Sallah ***; Marion, Indy, Belloq ***1/2
I've heard some horror stories about the paint work on these, but my set all came out great.

Again, Indy is a highlight. The beard looks good, the skin tone is slightly translucent, and the eyes are straight and clean. At this scale, it's very nice work. Of course, his costume is slightly weathered and worn, especially the jacket. It's not excessive, and it works for me.

Marion might not be super accurate, but the paint work is quite clean. Again, the eyes are very sharp, and the lips and eyebrows are spot on. The smaller details on the blouse look great as well.

Belloq comes out in the top group again, thanks to both a nice job on the face as well as the excellent work on the very intricate costume. They didn't skimp on the operations here, and it really makes a difference.

Indiana Jones Adventure Series action figures by Hasbro

Then there's Toht and Sallah. There's not as much detail with Toht, but the glasses are really what holds him back. The extra head actually gives him a boost, and the paint work on the melting effect is great.

Sallah has the only slop when it comes to the faces, with a bit around the beard and mustache. It's not terrible, but it's not quite as clean as the work on the top three. There's some staining and wear on the outfit, but visually it isn't quite as good. I get what they were going for, but it just ends up looking like paint.

Indiana Jones Adventure Series action figures by Hasbro

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Articulation - Sallah, Belloq ***; Marion, Toht, Indy ***1/2
All the figures have very good articulation designs, engineering the joints around the sculpts and vice versa.

Indy wins again, as it should be in this category. There's a very good ball jointed neck, with mobility at both the top and bottom of the neck. The rotating hinge shoulders, elbows, and wrists can give you great arm poses, and the elbows bend well past 90 degrees. While there's no chest joint - thank goodness - the rolling waist joint will give you lots of lean and tilt, and is less encumbered by the jacket than a chest joint would be.

Indiana Jones Adventure Series action figures by Hasbro

The legs include ball hips, cut thighs, and rotating hinge knees and ankles. The ankles could be better - the pant sculpt tends to interfere - but you can get good deep stances, and he takes very natural shallow stances as well.

They went for a similar design with Marion, but her hair makes the neck joint less useful, as you'd expect. She also has those funky ankles, which is less of an issue here than in the Sculpting category.

Toht also has a similar set up, but of course the suit takes away the waist articulation. He has a unique neck, where there's a joint actually in the shirt itself, since the bottom of the neck would have been buried in the sculpt. This gives him a neck joint at the top and bottom, similar to the others.

He also has the very bendable elbows, which is particularly useful for him with the extra burned hand. The coat can stay over his shoulders even with one arm posed outside of it, something I was worried about. Of course, the weight of the coat can be tricky, and require leaning him forward...or using a little Quake Putty on the bottom of a foot.

Both Sallah and Belloq try to mirror the others, but of course they are wearing long skirts which makes the leg articulation much less useful. It's all there, but the thicker costume makes anything other than a shallow pose impossible.

Indiana Jones Adventure Series action figures by Hasbro

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Accessories - Belloq ***; Marion, Sallah ***1/2; Toht, Indy ****
This first wave has a 'build an artifact', allowing you to collect the pieces and assemble the Ark of the Covenant.

Regular readers know that if you get a BAF (or in this case BAA) part with a figure, that's an automatic **1/2 here. So each of these figures is working off that spot.

Belloq has the least number of extras, only adding one - his ceremonial staff - to the mix. It looks great, and it will definitely be something you use on the shelf, but it's a touch light in total.

Marion adds two extras, and they are both great. She has the frying pan she used to defend herself, as well as the monkey that she thought was a friend, but was actually a spy. The sculpt on the monkey allows him to stand on his own, or rest on her arm.

Indiana Jones Adventure Series action figures by Hasbro

Sallah also has two extras. Since he's in his desert outfit, he comes with the shovel and rope (sculpted rolled up) that he used at this point in the movie.

Indy really picks things up, including several hands. They swap easily, and they are sculpted to work with the various other extras, including the pistol, extended whip, rolled whip, and fertility idol. The gun fits in the holster on the belt, and the rolled whip should also go on the belt, but I can't get the snap to hold. A wire in the extended whip would have been nice, but it's no biggie.

I'm also really happy with the Toht extras. The second head goes a long way to getting a great score here, and it's good enough to tempt me to buy a second figure just to have both on display.

Indiana Jones Adventure Series action figures by Hasbro

He also has the burned hand, another extra I really want to have displayed, as well as his gun, hat, and coat. They are all really done well, and deserve to be on the shelf as well.

Then you put together the Ark, and you get the to see the big extra. There could be a few more paint operations, particularly on the handles, but that's a minor nit. It's about the right size, and the top opens to show a swirly looking bottom. It's a great extra, and I'm hoping we see them do this again in the future...although the options for additional big items might be limited. Maybe a horse for Indy?

Indiana Jones Adventure Series action figures by Hasbro

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Indiana Jones Adventure Series action figures by Hasbro

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Fun Factor - ****
Where this series really shines is here, where posing and playing are key. These are a lot of fun to work with, and even with the skirts on Sallah and Belloq, you'll find plenty of ways to pose and re-pose them on the shelf. It's also a line that gets better as we get more figures to go with them, expanding the collection.

Indiana Jones Adventure Series action figures by Hasbro

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Value - ***
At $25, these are pretty much in line with Marvel Legends and Star Wars Black. They also have more accessories - so far - than most SWB releases, making them a slightly better deal. We'll see if that trend continues.

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Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing. I didn't have any breakage fears, and the only problem area - getting those tiny posts on the whip holder and holster to work - is more of an annoyance than a worry.

Indiana Jones Adventure Series action figures by Hasbro

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Overall - Sallah, Marion ***; Toht, Belloq, Indy ***1/2
This line turned out exactly as I expected - Star Wars Black for Indiana Jones. The quality is similar, the articulation is similar, and the style is similar. And I'm very happy. I don't expect Mafex or One:12 quality at $25.

I can see us getting a couple dozen figures at least, with the potential for double that depending on how well the series sells. I've cleared out space in the Institute for about 30 figures right now - let's see if I need to find more room.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ****
Sculpting - Marion **1/2, Toht, Sallah ***; Belloq, Indy ***1/2
Paint - Toht, Sallah ***; Marion, Indy, Belloq ***1/2
Articulation - Sallah, Belloq ***; Marion, Toht, Indy ***1/2
Accessories - Belloq ***; Marion, Sallah ***1/2; Toht, Indy ****
Fun Factor - ****
Value - ***
Overall - Sallah, Marion ***; Toht, Belloq, Indy ***1/2

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Where to Buy 
These are hitting local retailers, like Target, as we speak. Expect to pay about $25 each. Online options include these site sponsors:

- has these for $26 each, as well as the first two of the next wave on preorder.

- Entertainment Earth has them for $25, or a case of 8 for $200. Use my link and get an additional 10% off, plus free shipping!

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
I've covered a lot of Indy goodies over the years, but these are the first of the new 6" figures from Hasbro. If you're looking for something on the high end side, there's always the Hot Toys Indy, or the Sideshow Premium Format figure. And before this series, the Disney 7" version was about the only figure we had close to this size.

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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Indiana Jones Adventure Series action figures by Hasbro

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This product was purchased for the review by the reviewer. Photos and text by Michael Crawford.

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