Review of The Classic Punisher action figure
One:12 Collective

Introduction

Mezco's One:12 Collective series of action figures has been a hit - no doubt about it. Sales are brisk, and if you don't pre-order...let's just say you better pre-order.

The latest to ship is their 'classic' Punisher.  They've already done a Toy Fair exclusive version, a regular version, and a deluxe (with lots of extra accessories). All of those were based on a more modern look, and while I (and many others) really loved them, plenty of collectors were looking for a more classic design.

Mezco came through with this release, and it's a VERY different figure from the other releases, much more so than most 'exclusives'. And yes, this one was an exclusive to the Mezco online store, where he cost $85. I'm using past tense words here for a very good reason - he's long gone. They only produced 400 of him, and they blew out in a heart beat.

As I said, these guys just started shipping from Mezco, and if you were one of the lucky 400, should be popping up on your doorstep any minute.

Packaging - ***1/2
The box mirrors the earlier releases, with the outer slip cover and five panel package inside. The outer cover does include the 'classic variant' name. The package is nice and sturdy, made from heavy stock, and the interior plastic trays hold the figure and accessories safe and sound. It's all done in a very collector friendly manner too, but if you decide to toss the package, they always provide a small, ziplock bag with the One:12 logo on it to store your accessories.

Sculpting - ****
For those that picked up the earlier releases, there's no surprises here. He comes with the same three head sculpts - determined, screaming, and battered.

The determined portrait is the next photo, and it's the one he comes wearing in the package. The slicked back hair looks great, and the subtle skin texture is pretty amazing - and realistic - considering this guy stands just 6 1/2" tall.

The screaming head sculpt is full battle yell, the perfect expression for a guns a-blazin' pose. The detail work on the mouth and teeth is extraordinary, and the extreme, dynamic expression is properly carried over to the eyes and wrinkles around the nose and forehead.

Finally, there's the battered portrait, with disheveled hair and a band-aid across the bridge of the nose. The right eye is swollen, and he has a couple new cuts and scars. The mouth is posed in a snarl though, one good eye glaring with defiance. I think this is my favorite of the three, and likely to be the one I use most often. Then again, with four different figures out there, you can have every portrait at least once on display.

The hands are sculpted to work nicely with the various accessories, and they swap easily. The heads swap easily as well, but everything stays in place with normal handling and posing.

Paint - ****
While the portraits are the same, the paint work does seem to be *slightly* different. That's not too surprising, since getting it exactly the same would be the exception, not the rule.

The scars and cuts are a little darker this time, a little more obvious. The five o'clock shadow seems a little more obvious to me too, but it's a subtle thing.  Overall, the quality remains amazing, with a slightly translucent look to the skin, super clean eyes, and perfect work on the open mouth and teeth. There's just the right amount of gloss on the eyes, tongue, teeth, and lips to give the impression of wetness. It's special when you find work this good at twice the scale - considering the size of these heads, it's really impressive.

The harness, gloves, and boots are a traditional Punisher white, but they've added a nice wash to give depth to the detailed sculpt.  There's also some excellent small detail work, like on the tiny silver rivets in the belt.

Articulation - ***1/2
Nothing new here - all the joints are present, all work great.

It starts with the ball neck.  The joint below the jaw line has plenty of tilt and lean movement, perfect for adding a ton of attitude to any body stance. The rotating hinge shoulders, rotating hinge elbows, and rotating hinge wrists work great, and pretty much any arm pose is possible, including any sort of double handed gun pose.

There's the rocker ab of course, as well as the ball hips, pin knees, cut calf (at the top of the boot), and pin/rocker ankles. All this leg articulation works well, although I do have the same complaint as before around the rocker movement - the ankles could go side to side a tad more. A little more movement in the ankles and this guy would get the full four stars, but you should still have no problem coming up with excellent poses.

Accessories -****
While he isn't quite as packed as the deluxe version, and all of this is re-used from one figure or another, it's still a terrific group of extras.

Of course, there's the three portraits. I love them, obviously, and if you give me three head sculpts with a figure you're going to go a long way towards four stars in this category right out of the gate.

There are eight hands - four sets - as well, and these swap cleanly and smoothly. He comes wearing a set of fists, there's a set of gun grips, a set of open, clutching hands, and a unmatched set with a karate chop right and a gun stock (front stock) grip for the left.

He has a nice smattering of weapons too, and several slip neatly into his belt and rigging. There's the large knife, which goes into a sheath on the back of the belt, the handgun that slips into the holster on his right hip, and the revolver that pops into the shoulder holster under his left arm. These all sport amazing sculpts and paint jobs, again considering the scale, and there's some moving parts, like the spinning cylinder on the revolver.

There's an extra magazine for the handgun as well as the tactical rifle. This rifle looks terrific, and can be used in two handed poses...or even lying down, thanks to the small folding bi-pod.  I did have trouble keeping the bi-pod attached, as it pops off pretty easily. It pops back on again as well, but I ended up just leaving it off for most of the photos.

To finish out the guns there's a sawed off shotgun. The detail here is a *little* lighter than the other weapons, but it looks great in his hands. 

There's a flame/blast effect as well, which only attaches to the handguns. I was a little bummed, because I wanted to put it on the shotgun, but that's a minor nit. You can grab this same effect from one of the other Punishers to have a dual action blasting shot.

I almost forgot to mention the stand. Similar to the other releases, it has the Punisher logo on the round base. You can use the larger clear plastic support to hold him up (and it's long enough for jumping/elevated poses) or just use the included foot peg. Or just skip it all together - he can stand great on his own indefinitely.

Outfit - ***1/2
Let's face it - this is the whole reason you bought this figure!  Sure, great head sculpts, excellent accessories, yadda, yadda, yadda. They're terrific, but we've already got all that three times over. But this 'classic' figure is all about the costume.

When I first bought him, and even when I received him, I though to myself 'yea, but it's just another Punisher'. I almost didn't review him...until I opened him up and feasted my peepers on his magnificence.

The boots and gloves are the same of course, but done in the white with a wash to bring out the details.  They look great, but it's the body suit, belt, and rigging that makes this guy truly pop.

The body suit is form fitting, and unlike the shirt worn by the previous versions, it's a true spandex type nylon material.  The Punisher emblem is printed right on this fabric, super straight, super clean.

The chest rigging and belt fit tightly over it, and the wide shoulder straps make the rounder shoulders far less noticeable. This rig also fits better than the armor plate we got with the others, sitting down tighter on the top of the shoulders.  It can still ride up a little when posing the figure, particularly on the right side, but in hand it's a much better looking fit overall.

The two holsters are properly sized for the weapons, and the straps even fit down perfectly and snap shut. The strap on the knife sheath also pops open to allow you to slip it into place, and then snaps shut once again.

This new outfit meshes with all those re-used parts and creates not just a brand new, very classic looking Punisher, but perhaps the best of the four.

Fun Factor - ****
This guy is all sorts of fun, from swapping the heads to alternating the various accessories.  He poses great, is solid and well made, and you'll have no fear when working with him. That means plenty of time posing and re-posing, looking for that perfect display!

Value - **1/2
He's $85, which is pretty much 'exclusive' pricing for the One:12 series. Sure, there's lots of re-use, but less here than with many of the other exclusives, and this costume is well worth the extra cash. Of course, the problem now is that he's long gone, and ebay prices are no where near $85...

Things to Watch Out For -
Be careful with the tinier features of the tactical rifle, especially that bi-pod. It pops off pretty easy and could be lost in a heartbeat. Otherwise you should be good to go, with an overall solid build quality and little chance for breakage or damage.

Overall - ****
I almost didn't review this guy - c'mon, I already reviewed two of the others, how many more times could I talk about essentially the same figure? But once I opened him up, I fully appreciated how very different he is, and how fantastic this new costume is. This guy is now my favorite out of the four releases, and considering how amazing the other three were, that's saying a lot.

But that's a double edged sword. He's the best...he's the classic look so many fans love...and they only made 400 of him. Ebay sellers are already asking ridiculous money for him, and while I think that will drop off slightly now that he's officially shipping, I don't expect prices to ever get reasonable unless Mezco can come up with a way to release some more under some other exclusive variation, perhaps with different accessories. As fast as this guy sold out, I'm sure they are doing everything they can to come up with a creative solution to the unmet demand.

Next up should be Space Ghost, another perfect character for this scale and style!

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

Where to Buy 
The only place you could pick up this version was direct from Mezco's online store, where he was $85 plus shipping. You can still search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
You'll want to check out the review of the regular release Punisher as well as their Toy Fair exclusive version of course. Other One:12 Collective reviews include 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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