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Captain Toy/Michael's Review of the Week

Review of Carl Grimes - Walking Dead
Deluxe Sixth Scale Action Figure

Threezero
Date Published: 2020-07-27
Written By: Michael Crawford
Overall Average Rating: 3 out of 4

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Carl Grimes Walking Dead sixth scale action figure by Threezero

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Introduction

While this week was the virtual Comic-Con, there was some things happening outside that world as well. Threezero put their latest Walking Dead sixth scale figure up for pre-order - Ezekiel - and their last pre-order, Carl Grimes, hit my porch.

Carl came in a regular and deluxe version. I'm checking out the deluxe tonight, but the only difference is in a couple accessories, which I'll point out when we get there.  The regular will run you around $160 while the deluxe is closer to $190, depending on the retailer.

Carl Grimes Walking Dead sixth scale action figure by Threezero

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Packaging - ***
The tall skinny boxes work great, and the photo of the actual actor/character on the cover is a great way to compare their work.  There's a large 'deluxe version' sticker, a brief instruction sheet, and everything is packed in a collector friendly way. Even the plastic bags on the hands and feet are easy to remove!

Carl Grimes Walking Dead sixth scale action figure by Threezero

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Sculpting - ***1/2
Kids - including teens - are tough to translate into a sixth scale figure without it looking like a 'doll'. You can't go nuts with skin texture, because it ages them too much. But if you make the faces baby smooth, you're going to get the doll comments.

I'm very pleased with the portrait here. They managed to get enough texture to create a realistic face, yet he doesn't look like he's forty. It's also a very accurate face, especially in the nose, lips, and one good eye.  If you look at the box photo, you'll see how close they came to capturing these aspects, and even the expression is spot on.

The jawline is a smidge off, but it's a pretty minor nit. I also don't love the hair, but I'm cutting them some slack because they had to manage to serve three purposes. First, the hair has to be removable so you can put the bandages in place. Second, it has to be flat enough to allow the hat to work well. And three, it still has to look good without the hat.

It's tough to get all three right. The removable hair works fine, but that does mean there's a bit more of a gap around the lower face than I like.  There's enough fine detailing in the strands, and the waves work to allow the hat to rest on the head properly, and yet the visible hair still looks good.

You'll be using the hat with him, and in that context the hair looks the best.  If you were wondering, yes the damaged eye is sculpted in great detail, and I included a shot near the end of the review.

The boot sculpt is great as well, and the hands are properly scaled, a big plus. I do wish the boots allowed for more ankle mobility, but the sculpt itself is quite realistic.

He stands about 11 1/2" tall, pretty much in line with the scale of the rest of the series.

Carl Grimes Walking Dead sixth scale action figure by Threezero

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Paint - ***
While I'm quite pleased with the accuracy of the portrait, Threezero still has a way to go on their production paints.

There's no slop here, and the quality is in line with the price point. The skin tone is a little flat, I'm not a huge fan of the black 'lip line' used to add depth, and the good eye is a little flat as well. Still, the skin tone is consistent, the work on the damaged eye is very cool, and the variation in the hair works.

While it's not perfect, it is appropriate quality for the price point, and I'm not disappointed.

Carl Grimes Walking Dead sixth scale action figure by Threezero

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Articulation - ***
The underlying body works well, with the usual neck, shoulder, elbow, wrist, waist, torso, hip, knee, and ankle articulation. Most of the joints allow for natural poses, and as I work on 'the Institute', I'm finding the ability for natural poses far more important than dynamic ones.

You can manage two handed rifle stances, you can tilt and lean his head a bit (even with the sculpted hair) to add some personality, and you can get some tilt or crunch out of the torso to break up any straight lines.

The big drawback is the hard, sculpted boots. You won't get much rocker or bend out of the ankles, which makes deeper stances less realistic.

Carl Grimes Walking Dead sixth scale action figure by Threezero

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Accessories - ***1/2
Here's the one area where the deluxe out does the regular, although the two extras he has are more Outfit than Accessory.

Carl comes with three extra sets of hands (and a couple wrist pegs) to go with the relaxed pair he comes wearing. There's a set of tight fists. a set of tight grips, and a set of gun grips. Swapping was easy.

Weapons are a must. He has his knife, already in the sheath on his belt, his pistol, also already in the holster on his left hip, and an assault rifle.  The sculpts and paint work on all of these is quite good, and Threezero generally does a nice job with accessories like this.

I was also able to pop the back clip of the rifle strap in and out of the stock. I suspect this is on purpose, as it makes putting the strap around his shoulder much easier.

The regular release also has his dad's hat, pretty much the most important extra he can have. It's a little oversized, but not terrible. I think the biggest scale issue is the brim, but remember, this was his dad's hat, so it should be a little big on his head, even as a teen.

There's an elastic bandage as well as a square of stained cheesecloth to go over his eye. You pop off the hair, and arrange the bandage however you think it looks best. Although I was worried it was going to be a pain to get it just the way I wanted, it turned out to be a pretty simple thing to do.

Carl Grimes Walking Dead sixth scale action figure by Threezero

The deluxe adds in two more extras. One is a second shirt, this time a basic gray.  I personally prefer the plaid he comes wearing, but it's nice to have the option.

There's also his poncho. It's worn and tattered, and includes bloody gore sculpted as plastic bits.  I'm not loving these sculpted bits, as they stand out too much, and are too obviously plastic. I probably would have been happier with just the usual dirt, blood, and general wear and tear that Threezero adds - they do it quite well - but I'll get into that more in the Outfit section.

Carl Grimes Walking Dead sixth scale action figure by Threezero

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Outfit - ***
I've already discussed some of these bits, but let's go back through the highlights. The outfit consists of his boots, pants, belt, t-shirt, plaid or gray shirt, hat, and poncho.  There's also the knife sheath and gun holster already attached to the belt and legs. If you've picked up the regular release, you'll miss out on the gray shirt and poncho.

The tactical holster and sheath look great, and work quite well. I wouldn't take the knife in and out of the sheath too often, because the elastic that holds it in, wrapped around the handle, has to be stretched to get it in or out.  I worry that doing that too many times is a recipe for damage.

As I mentioned earlier, the boot sculpt is quite realistic, but the single piece hard design does restrict the ankles quite a bit. The pants and shirts look great, with the usual weathering that Threezero is well known for. No one does it quite as well as they do.

I mentioned my issues with both the poncho and hat earlier. The sculpted gore bits on the poncho are a bit too obvious, and the hat (the brim in particular) is slightly oversized. These are far from deal breakers, but they did pull the score down slightly in this category.

Carl Grimes Walking Dead sixth scale action figure by Threezero

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Fun Factor - ***
Pop this guy on the shelf with his dad, and add in a plethora of zombies, and you'll have a ton of fun posing and re-posing. I just recently came across my Michael Jackson Thriller figure, and have all sorts of ideas of how to incorporate him, along with the Sideshow Shawn of the Dead figures, with the Walking Dead display.

Carl Grimes Walking Dead sixth scale action figure by Threezero

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Value - ***
While there's a few issues here, this is another sub-$200 figure that is fighting above its weight class. I'm much, much happier paying $180 for something like this than the $280 Blitzway was charging for their recent Zorro.

Carl Grimes Walking Dead sixth scale action figure by Threezero

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Things to Watch Out For -
I'd be careful with the elastic band on the sheath that holds in the knife, but other than that you should be good to go.

Overall - ***
Unfortunately, the only remaining Walking Dead figure they've announced is Ezekiel. I'm hoping that won't be the end of the line, because there's still a ton of potentially great additions, with a main cast that's close to 50. I'd personally like to see Carol, Herschel, Shane, Andrea, Maggie, and Tyreese, and I bet you can come up with another half dozen that would be on your list.

These are never going to be at quite the quality level of Hot Toys. But if I can get three of these for the price of two Hot Toys, I'm perfectly fine with that.

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

Carl Grimes Walking Dead sixth scale action figure by Threezero

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Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- has the deluxe for $185, and the regular for $160.

- Entertainment Earth has the regular for $190.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
It's been awhile since we last had a Walking Dead figure from Threezero. I believe Glenn was the last, and before that there was Daryl Dixon, Negan, Michonne, Merle, Rick Grimes, and the two pet walkers.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

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

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