Review of Scarecrow - Batman the Animated Series
Action Figure

Introduction

There have been many great Batman: The Animated Series collectibles over the years. The original series of action figure from Kenner were a turning point in my collecting, driving me from an occasional buyer and opener to a compulsive completist and MOCer. In the many intervening years, I've swung back and forth on the spectrum, but the old series was the start of my real addiction.

While I love that line, the new(er) line from DC Collectibles is better in several ways. Unfortunately, it hasn't had quite the same success in terms of sales, and the releases have been few in the past couple years. But we did get a wave just recently, made up of Two-Face, Hardac, the Grey Ghost, and tonight's review - Scarecrow.

This guy will run you around $20 - $25, depending on the retailer, and is currently in stock at most places.

Packaging - ***
The card back has some nice graphic work, and the reverse shows the line up and has some reasonable character specific text. It's not collector friendly in any way, and you'll have to destroy it to retrieve the figure and accessories, but that's not surprising with a toy like this.

Sculpting - ****
The Scarecrow - the alternate evil ego of Dr. Jonathan Crane - went through several design changes during the course of the show. He appeared in seven episodes, and the look they went with here most closely matches the third and final version of the character.

I'm glad they went this route, rather than the original design. While I love every BTAS character, the wilder look worked better with the maniacal personality of Crane.

Animated characters tend to have less detail work in three dimensional sculpts, but they did a terrific job here working with what the show gave them. Stitching around the shoulders and thigh is a sculpted detail rather than simply paint, and the insane expression on the masked head is well defined and looks truly scary.

The alternate Crane head has a petulant, spoiled expression, so commonly worn by the good doctor. Again, there's nice detail work with sculpted eyebrows and sharp lines to the various aspects of his face. It matches his appearance on the show, and was a great addition.

The brim on the hat is a soft material, which means you could warm it, repose, and cool it to adjust the shape. I liked the look right out of the package, but being able to make a tweak or two is a plus.

The figure stands about 6 1/2" tall on his spindly legs, and the internal scale is quite good. I had no trouble keeping him upright, even with the tiny feet.

Paint - ***1/2
This isn't a super expensive figure, and the paint quality is well above average.

The work on the simple costume is clean, an the smaller details - like the stitches - are quite good. The Crane head is particularly nice, with excellent work on the eyes and hairline. However, the masked head is a smidge sloppier. It's not terrible, but the work on the weird teeth and dark lips could be a little less clumpy.

Articulation - ***
One of the difficulties with the thin legs and arms on a character like this is articulation. The old Kenner line simply skimped, usually giving you five points. And those five points weren't always useful.

You get a much greater number of joints with these. The ball jointed neck allows for plenty of lean and tilt movement, and you can add a ton of creepy personality to any body pose. The shoulders are simple rotating hinges, as are the elbows and wrists, but they allow for some very fluid, natural arm poses.

There's not much you can do with the torso, but it does mean there's clean sculpt lines along the body. The rotating hinge hips, double pin knees, and rotating hinge ankles work well with short to medium stances. He can also sit pretty well, not something possible with every action figure.

Still, some of the joints are a little loose, like the hips, and you will need to be patient to get the perfect center of gravity at times.

Accessories - ***1/2
He comes with the alternate unmasked head - a huge plus in my book. As I already mentioned, the Crane likeness is great, and the heads swap easily.

There's also a second set of hands. He comes wearing a gripping right and fisted left, and there's a second open right and left included. These also swap pretty easily, and I had no trouble working with them.

Finally, he has his deadly scythe. The gripping hand can hold it in a number of ways, although the open left isn't particularly useful for two handed poses.

Fun Factor - ***1/2
These figures are a ton of fun when displayed together. The articulation means plenty of possible poses and lots of re-posing, and the two heads gives this figure a particular leg up.

Value - **1/2
Most mass market figures in this scale are running $20 these days, so paying a few extra bucks for a specialty market, low production run character like this keeps him in the average value range.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not much. Be a little careful popping the heads off and on, because the neck post looks a little thin to me. I didn't have any issues, but take some care to ensure you don't.

Overall - ***1/2
This is another great looking figure in the series, and one of my favorites so far. It's a pity to see this series winding down, but we've gotten the majority of the must haves, as well as some really terrific minor characters.

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

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth comes in at $24 as well.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
It's been awhile since I looked at this line of figures, but I covered the Superman/Lois Lane, the Etrigan/Klarion two pack, the terrific Roxy Rocket, the super sweet Batmobile, the Creeper, Robin, the Joker, Man-Bat, Batman and Catwoman, and Two Face and Mr. Freeze.

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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