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Captain Toy/Michael's Review of the Week

Review of Universal Soldier Andrew Scott and Luc Deveraux

Blitzway and Damtoys
Date Published: 2017-08-01
Written By: Ian Stefan
Overall Average Rating: 3.75 out of 4
The following is a guest review. The review and photos do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Michael Crawford, Captain Toy, or Michael's Review of the Week, and are the opinions and work of the guest author.

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Universal Soldier

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Introduction

Blitzway and Damtoys have teamed up to bring us high-end sixth-scale representations of the main protagonist and antagonist in the original Universal Soldier film from 1992. Although dismissed as a mindless action movie by critics, the film resonated well enough among the audience for its genre to spawn a series of sequels. (Spoiler Alert) Universal Soldier follows the rivalry between two US soldiers, Sargent Andrew Scott (Dolph Lundgren) and Luc Deveraux (Jean-Claude Van Damme) from the killing fields of Vietnam to a covert special force of reanimated and brainwashed super-soldiers deployed to handle crisis situations even within the US. After an unorthodox mission, Luc Deveraux begins to recover his personality traits and memories, while Andrew Scott resumes his previous role as Luc's psychotic nemesis. The well-articulated and -accessoried action figures of Andrew Scott and Luc Deveraux would allow collectors to display the two classic rivals together, perhaps even reenacting some of the conflict between them.

Although I am reviewing both figures, they were released individually, not as a set. The figures were apparently commissioned by Blitzway but manufactured by Damtoys, hence the double billing of the companies.

Universal Soldier

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Packaging - ***1/2
Each figure comes in a fairly standard box contained within a cardboard slip-on cover. The slip-on covers are identical, displaying the Damtoys and Blitzway logos, the franchise title (Universal Soldier), and a posterized image of Andrew Scott and Luc Deveraux in full operational gear that was in fact used for the posters advertising the film. The actual boxes are also identical, featuring an image of Andrew Scott and Luc Deveraux side by side posing with a raised weapon, but here their respective character names appear above the Universal Soldier logo, and while the Luc Deveraux box is tinted blue, the Andrew Scott box is tinted red. The wraparound box cover opens by unfolding from the side. Under a thick-ish black foam lid, there is a first black foam tray with the figure inside it. Below that, there is a second black foam tray, containing the action figure stand and various accessories. Everything is collector-friendly and safe. I like the design, functionality, and look of the boxes (in fact better than what we get from Hot Toys or Sideshow), and also the use of foam trays. On the other hand, while they work well as a fairly uniform set, the relative lack of individualization of the two boxes makes them less informative and less exciting. But get the job done.

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Sculpting - ****
Both sculpts are excellent, showing us a relatively youthful Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren. Of the two, Van Damme is perhaps the more instantly recognizable, but both are fairly exact likenesses, with minutely sculpted hair and appropriately textured skin. The expressions are relatively neutral, yet attentive or even slightly tense, which would be appropriate for the characters. The sculpting of the gloved hands, boot soles, and weapons or accessories is also in loving and perfect detail, for example conveying three different elements in the gloved hands--bare finger tips, textured fabric, and leather strap and cover. Faithful to the actors they are based upon, the two action figures are of different height and stature: Andrew Scott stands about 12.5 inches tall, while Luc Deveraux stands about 11.75 inches tall; this is just about right.

Universal Soldier

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Paint - ***1/2
The paint job is very good, with some minute detail and nuancing on the head sculpts. I do not notice any slop, bleed, or imperfection. Luc Deveraux's hair shows some variation in color, which contributes to its sculpted texture and realism. Andrew Scott's hair is a little flatter in color and perhaps not quite right, but this is a common problem with blond or bleached hair in head sculpts -- perhaps it should be darker, at least in part. Other than the life meters worn like a watch on the left wrists, I did not notice any weathering on any of the weapons and accessories, which limits their realism a bit.

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Articulation - ***1/2
Overall, the articulation of the underlying Dam bodies is excellent. They have double-jointed knees and elbows, and are able to achieve realistic poses at those points. The ankles and wrists are also excellent, and the outfit and boots do not hamper the poseability at these points; the figures can stand well even without the included stand. The ab-crunch is not obstructed by the soft outfit and armor, but it would be difficult to hold a crunched pose. The shoulder armor obstructs raising the upper arms up at the shoulders a little bit, but that is to be expected. A minor disappointment is the lack of articulation at the upper neck, because the neck is sculpted as part of the head. While this is an aesthetically sensible choice (especially given Luc Deveraux's hairstyle), it does limit the poseability of the head. Finally, the pants and padding do get in the way of the hip/upper thigh articulation to a degree that I found annoying, and I feel that this is the worst among these several minor problems with the otherwise very good articulation.

Universal Soldier

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Accessories - ****
In this category, all the more so if you get both action figures, we have an excellent and extensive selection. Let us cover first what is common to both figures: each figure comes with a standard action figure stand (with name plates specific to the character), a second left hand, a communication headset, a life meter, a police baton, a small pistol (M1911A1?) with two extra mags, a larger Desert Eagle Mark I pistol with a detachable suppressor and one extra mag, and two M26 grenades (not shown in accessories photos, as they were in the harnesses on the figures). Luc Deveraux comes with the (faux) MP5K submachine gun (actually a modified Heckler & Koch SP89), while Andrew Scott comes with the M60 machine gun with an unfoldable stand, 7.62 mm linked (real metal) ammo, 7.62 mm linked (plastic) ammo belt, and cloth machine gun sling. The linked metal machine gun ammo is detachable, and the several mags can be taken in and out of the pistols; all the guns are articulated. Overall, the selection of accessories is appropriate to the characters (especially given their specific attire) and extensive (one might even be tempted to say exhaustive). As a minor nit, the submachine gun was also seen with the Andrew Scott character in the film, although it is not included among the accessories for the Andrew Scott action figure. I am rather surprised at the small number of extra hands (just one, apart from the two that come already attached on each figure), although one expects the characters to keep busy with weapons in hand.

Universal Soldier

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Outfit - ****
The outfit appears to be completely film-accurate for both figures. It is made mostly of cloth, velcro, and padding. Both figures come wearing uniform camouflage fatigues made up of long-sleeved shirts and pants, and have identical upper body and thighs harnesses. The first harness includes suspenders with mag pouches, grenade holders, and small pistol holster, belts, while the second holds a larger pistol holster on the side of the right leg, and a police baton holster on the side of the left leg. The figures come with combat boots made of fabric (allowing for good ankle articulation) and close with velcro over the lower leg (although the hold is not always perfect). Both figures also have shoulder armor, which appears to be made of plastic lined with fabric over the top, and cushioned with padding underneath; the shoulder armor bells are decorated with special forces and sniper badges. Finally, the two figures come wearing different upper body camouflage armor. Luc Deveraux has what appears to be a lighter, softer version of the armor, with quilted padding and a lace-up back; there are badges over the upper chest (including an American flag) and the labels U.S.S.F. 44 and U.S. Army. Andrew Scott wears a heavier, molded upper-body armor, with rather geometric stylized approximations of upper-body musculature. I should note that Andrew Scott appears with both types of upper-body armor in the film, but I suppose they ended up with this more distinctive look for the same reason as their choice of his main weapon accessory.

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Fun Factor - ****
I suppose this depends in part on what you find to be fun, but if you want slightly futuristic special forces military types, these are the guys for you; they are also excellent likenesses of the actors who played these characters. It helps that each figure comes with plenty of accessories, and that there are two figures from the film, representing two rivals who came into frequent (and violent) contact. Thus, there is excellent fun potential. It also helps that the articulation is (on the whole) very good. As usual with high-end sixth-scale action figures, these are not recommended to be used for children's toys, and some of the accessories are especially small and/or fragile.

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Value - ***1/2
Released in 2016 and retailing at about $200 each, these figures were pricey but certainly not excessively so for high-end sixth-scale action figures, especially considering the plethora of accessories packed with each figure. At the time of writing, both figures could still be found for that price in standard retailers like Big Bad Toy Store. They have sold out in many venues, but you should still be able to find them easily enough on Ebay.

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Things to Watch Out For -
The joints are not very stiff, yet not loose enough to be a problem. The communication headset with targeting laser fits well over the head, but some of its parts are very thin and fragile; while they seem to be flexible enough to be futzed with, you should be careful with them. Similarly, the machine gun that comes with Andrew Scott is a little masterpiece of articulation, but be gentle with its unfoldable stand and other small movable parts. You'd also want to take care to not misplace any of the many tiny accessories.

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Overall - ***3/4
Despite the few minor imperfections touched upon above, Blitzway and Damtoys have provided excellent sixth-scale representations of Luc Deveraux and Andrew Scott from Universal Soldier. The two figures are executed in loving and minute detail, and provided with an extensive and fairly complete set of the appropriate weapons and accessories. It is difficult to imagine how any of this could have been done significantly better. So if you are a fan of the film, or of the actors, or of slightly futuristic kickass special forces military types, you would probably be well served with either or both of these figures. Getting both is certainly even better (except for your wallet), as you would be able to pose the two rivals in relation to each other, and you would get a more complete set of accessories (I can't help but note that for some reason the commercial jingle "double your pleasure, double your fun" is playing in my head).

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***1/2
Sculpting - ****
Paint - ***1/2
Articulation - ***1/2
Accessories - ****
Sound Feature - n/a
Light Feature - n/a
Outfit - ****
Fun Factor - ****
Value - ***1/2
Overall - ***3/4

Universal Soldier

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Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- has them for $200 each.

- also has them for $200 each.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Among other futuristic bad ass military types, Michael Crawford has reviewed Hot Toys' Robocop.

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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Universal Soldier

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This product was purchased for the review by the reviewer. Photos and text by Ian Stefan.

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