Review of Jubilee - X-Men Animated
Limited Edition Sixth Scale Action Figure

Introduction

If you're a fan of sixth scale, and a fan of animated shows, you're probably aware that Mondo has been doing some amazing work. They've hit up licenses like Batman the Animated Series (a personal favorite), as well as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Masters of the Universe. They bring high quality and exceptional design to cartoon style characters, all in a massive 12" format.

They are also working on another classic 90's superhero cartoon - X-Men The Animated Series. Debuting in 1992, it lasted five seasons and produced some terrific episodes. Mondo is producing a line of figures for the show, and have quite a few already up for pre-order, including Wolverine, Magneto, Gambit, and today's review - Jubilee.

They've also done both a regular and limited edition with most of these, and for Jubilee, there's two potential ways to pick her up. The regular of course, which costs around $195, and the limited edition (with a few extra accessories), which is about $205. I'll be checking out the latter today, but I'll point out the differences when we get to the Accessory section.

Packaging - ****
The box art is very attractive, combining a comic feel and the animated designs. Since this is the 'limited edition', it includes a sticker on the front proclaiming its status.

The boxes are heavy duty, and the figure and accessories are packed in trays with no ties or bands. Everything is very collector friendly, and there's absolutely no reason to leave these trapped in their packages.

Sculpting - ***1/2
This figure includes six - SIX - portraits. Yea, that's insane. Every one of them has some excellent detail work in the hair - remember, this is an animated character - and beautiful work on the proportions.

The standard portrait has a slightly open mouth and a relaxed appearance. It works for a variety of poses, but isn't very dynamic. They call it their 'neutral' portrait. In the photo below, it's fourth from the left.

There's also the 'smiling' portrait, which is quite similar but has a smile, as advertised. They didn't just slap it on either - the happiness extends to the eyes and shape of the jawline as well.

The 'bubblegum' portrait is blowing a big pink bubble. It's hard to capture the look in this style, and I have a quibble with the final result but it's more of a paint issue, and I'll cover it in the next section.

All three of these have her funky glasses up on her forehead. The fourth regular release portrait - yes, you get all four with the standard figure - has the sunglasses over her eyes, and her mouth is shaped in a more battle ready expression.

The limited edition version includes two more portraits - Fairytale Theater, and Skater. The Skater head has the glasses down and a helmet on, and makes sense when we get to the other accessories. The Fairytale Theater head is pretty unique, and very episode specific. In the season 5 episode "Jubilee's Fairytale Theater", she tells a tale that involves LOTR or D&D style characters, including herself. This portrait is how she was animated in her tale.

The work on all six heads is excellent, and really gives you a wide range of looks for the character. Chillin' or fightin', they've got it covered.

She stands about 9 1/4" tall, and I do think she's too small. The cartoon version was supposedly 5', which would be 10" in sixth scale. I've included a photo with Magneto - I'll be reviewing him and Wolverine soon - for comparison. It's not a deal breaker for me, but I did drop a half star in this category from an otherwise four star sculpt.

Paint - ****
The colors on the animated show were bright, big, and bold. They've matched that here, and used some smart shading to create shadows and depth to the otherwise flat animated look.

Some of this shading is shadowing - like on the hands, legs, or arms - and it works extremely well adding depth. Other shading, like on the hair, is used to highlight and match a more comic book colorization. It's all very clean, and every effective.

Where there are smaller details, like the eyes or lips, the edges are very clean and the coverage consistent. The skin tones are even, and the broad colors, like the blue or yellow, are consistent in both coverage and finish.

Overall, it's a fantastic paint job done with a lot of care and attention. My only issue is around the bubble being blown on the one portrait, and it's not a matter of quality, but rather of choice. They decided to go with an opaque, solid color, where I think a translucent pink would have given us a much better effect. Again, it's a minor nit on just one of the six heads, so it's not enough for me to reduce the perfect score.

Articulation - ***
The body sports the same sort of articulation you see in smaller action figures based on cartoons.

The ball jointed neck works quite well, and with the short hair, she is able to get a lot of twist and tilt in every pose. The heads swap easily, but remain in place while posing.

The arms include rotating hinge shoulders, cut biceps, pin elbows, and rotating hinge wrists. The wrist pegs are unique - they are square going into the arm, not round. That means you have to pay attention to how you are inserting them, but they are much sturdier.

The torso can turn and crunch, although the long coat does restrict it somewhat. With the rolling joint just below her chest, you can add some tilt and lean, which breaks up those unnatural upper body lines.

The legs have a ball hip, double pin knee, and pin ankles. You can get some very natural stances, and there's enough rocker movement in the ankle to manage deeper stances with the feet flat on the ground, but they really need a cut joint on the thigh at the pant leg. This would have added the leg rotation that's missing.

Accessories - ****
There's a ton with the limited edition and the regular.

Both include seven hands - a pair of fists, relaxed hands, gripping hands, and an extra single pointing finger with the 'spark' on the tip. These swap easily, and the square pegs work great.

There's two more sets of hands, attached to large dazzle energy effects. One is called 'fireworks', the other simply 'the works'. You can use them to create battle poses, or use the fireworks set to recreate the fun pose on the box art. They are a little heavy, but I didn't have too much trouble posing her with them extended and still standing up.

Like most teenagers, she likes to eat junk food, and there's a plate of chili fries and a large soda she can hold in the provided hands.

Finally, they both come with a display stand and crotch support.

I mentioned the six heads earlier - four with the standard release, and the two additional for the limited edition. They take this score up to the full four stars on their own, and everything else is just gravy.

The limited edition also includes a couple extras that go with the skateboarder head. There's the knee pads, made from a soft rubber, and there's the skateboard of course. These look great, and make for a nice, complete set up.

Fun Factor - ****
All figures are more fun in a group than by themselves, and have no fear - I'll be checking out Magneto and Wolverine soon, giving Jubilee some friends (and enemies) on the shelf. But this is a figure that is great all on it's own, with plenty of useful articulation, some great accessories, and a ton of ways to alter her look over time so you never get tired of reposing.

Value - **
At $200, you're spending a similar amount to the excellent EXO-6 Star Trek, or Asmus LOTR. If you're not a fan of actual action figures, then these might not be for you. But for those of us that collect toys and action figures, and love the older animated superhero shows, Mondo is doing something amazing at a price that's not too inconsistent with the market.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing. It's all very sturdy and well made, with no worries about damage or breakage. Remember that the wrist pegs are square though, and don't force them into the hole without paying attention.

Overall - ****
I'm really happy to see Mondo producing a wider range of animated characters, as this bodes well for all the lines. I've got a bunch of the BTAS characters I'm hoping they get to, and if animated figures are selling well, it increases the chances.

With X-Men, we're getting the key players right up front, and while they do have limited edition versions, the regular versions are still packed out with a ton of great extras. If you can still get the limited edition, I'd go for it, since it's only ten more bucks and you're getting two more heads, the skateboard, and the knee pads. I don't think I've ever seen that much additional for such a low extra cost.

I'll cover Wolverine and Magneto as well, over the next coupld weeks or so.

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

Where to Buy 
The version I'm reviewing is the exclusive, only available at the Mondo store for $205. Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth has the regular release for $195, and once it's in stock you can use my link and get an additional 10% off, plus free shipping!

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
This is my first (of several) Mondo X-Men reviews, but I have covered several of their other animated license releases, like BTAS, TMNT, and MOTU.

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!