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Captain Toy/Michael's Review of the Week

Review of Penny Robinson - Lost in Space
Sixth Scale Action Figure

Executive Replicas
Date Published: 2018-08-13
Written By: Michael Crawford
Overall Average Rating: 2.5 out of 4

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Lost in Space Penny Robinson sixth scale action figure by Executive Replicas

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Introduction

One of the new reboots/remakes that I'm quite pleased with is Lost in Space. Netflix still has a few kinks to work out, but that's not uncommon with the first season of any show. And I'm pleased with the characters, the overall plot, and the improvements across the board. And the Robot is sweet!

This is coming from a kid that loved watching the original show on television. The first season was pretty dark and the best overall, but the goofy following seasons were a lot of fun, if utter nonsense. And of course, I had a crush on Penny.

Executive Replicas has been working on sixth scale figures for the old license for many years. They jump started it again awhile back after quite the hiatus, and decided to focus on the Season 3 look of the characters. They've released Will, as well as Verda, and they have a John with jet pack coming soon.

And now we have Penny, as played by Angela Cartwright. The figure has just started shipping, and will run you around $180 at most retailers.

Click on the image below for a Life Size version
Lost in Space Penny Robinson sixth scale action figure by Executive Replicas

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Packaging - ***
They went all out with the packaging, using a very heavy stock cardboard, and a cover that wraps around on both sides, held in place with strong magnets. Inside are foam trays, not plastic, that cradle the figure and accessories safely.

If it were collector friendly, I'd go the whole four stars, but because the lid is not actually attached to the box (other than with the magnets), they had to also shrink wrap the whole package. You'll need to destroy this wrapping to get it open.

Lost in Space Penny Robinson sixth scale action figure by Executive Replicas

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Sculpting - **
This is a season 3 Penny, who was in her late teens at this point.

That's important, because that's not the Penny most folks will remember. The Penny most fans will recall had bangs - always had bangs. It was part of her trademark look, and her hair style (along with the black color) helped set her apart. She was a very pretty girl, and like most pretty people, didn't have much in the way of 'character' in her face for the sculptor to latch on to.

The work on the face is reasonable if generic. The thin nose is close enough, the eyes are set about right, and the lips look good. The shape of the face is a little too round, and there's too much forehead, but they did what they could with the facial likeness.  There's not a ton of skin texture, but you wouldn't expect a lot with a 17 year old.

Their best shot at getting a Penny that fans would recognize was the hair, and they missed that boat, fell into the lake, and drowned. They opted for a straight, rooted hairstyle, with a head band. These things were not incongruent with the character, even if she was better known for the bangs of the earlier seasons. You can see in this stock marketing photo of the whole family that yes, there are examples of her from season 3 with the long hair - but it wasn't the look I remember best from that season. The look that I remember is the short style, which also included a head band.

This is one of those choices that confounds me. If they were going with season 3, why not go with the short hair and sculpt it? It would have given them the chance to nail the overall portrait, and the hair would have gone a long, long way to creating a much more recognizable figure.

BTW, you can use the hair band to expose the ears, but I wouldn't recommend it. Because the hair line is so high, it gives her a serious moon face when the hair is drawn back that far.

She stands about 11" tall, and comes on a Phicen TBLeague body.

Lost in Space Penny Robinson sixth scale action figure by Executive Replicas

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Paint - ***
There's not a ton of paint operations, and what's here isn't going to scare the best companies on the market, but it's clean and neat with very little slop.

The skin tone isn't super realistic because it's so consistent and even, but too much mottling, freckling, or spotting would look wrong on such a young character. The eyes are sharp and clean, and have enough gloss to create their own natural catch lights. The eyelashes look good in hand, and the eyebrows and lips are clean. The lips are a little too glossy, and the lip line inside is a little too obvious, but these are minor nits.

Lost in Space Penny Robinson sixth scale action figure by Executive Replicas

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Articulation - ***1/2
They used a Phicen TBLeague body, with the rubber covered torso. It's about the right size and sports fairly accurate anatomy, standing 11" tall.

You have to attach the head - it comes as a separate piece in the box - but it is quite easy. The hands swap easily as well.

The joints all have a good range of movement, and you should have no trouble getting fluid, natural poses. My only real nit is the knees, which look wonky in the tights.

Lost in Space Penny Robinson sixth scale action figure by Executive Replicas

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Accessories - ***
There's not a ton, but there is one which elevates this score quite a bit.

She has three sets of hands - the relaxed set she comes wearing, a gun grip set, and a tighter grip set. They swap easily, and stay in place when posing her.

While I honestly don't ever remember Penny packing heat, she does come with a belt, holster, and blaster.  I loved the guns on the show, but I hated the stupid holster design. I doubt too many people will be using these three items with Penny, but since they already had them for Will, adding them in was a cheap alternative.

I mentioned she has a head band, which can be placed on her head in whatever way looks best to you.

Lost in Space Penny Robinson sixth scale action figure by Executive Replicas

She also has a basic, silver display stand and support.  They clearly screwed up with the initial shipments, because in the box is a base labeled 'Will Robinson'. However, they figured this out after the packing, but before the shipping, because I received the correct 'Penny Robinson' base as a separate item in a plastic baggie.

All that would have gotten her **1/2 at best. The head band is the only real Penny extra...until we get to Debbie.

You remember Debbie, the Bloop? I guess the writers figured a teenage girl needed some sort of cutesy pet, so Penny found Debbie, a chimp with huge ears.  They called her a Bloop because that's what she said - "bloop, bloop". Yea, that's like early man calling a dog 'woof' or a cow 'moo', but they weren't all that creative on the show. Ms. Cartwright later said that she loved working with the chimp, but it didn't particularly like wearing the goofy hat with the big ears attached.

Debbie is a solid, unarticulated statue. The sculpt is good, although she seems a tad large, standing 7 inches tall. The paint work is solid too, and both the paint and sculpt on Debbie are better than on dear Penny. Still, they missed the boat again with the Bloop.

Rather than sculpt her standing upright, looking at you like she's about to charge, they should have sculpted her in a pose to ride on Penny's hip. Penny carried the Bloop a lot, and it would have been a great look on the shelf. Had they done that, I would have gone with a higher score here.

Lost in Space Penny Robinson sixth scale action figure by Executive Replicas

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Outfit - ***
The overall quality of the materials and construction is very good, but the final design isn't as accurate as it should be.

The turtle neck shirt looks good, even if it's a bit too fuzzy, and the green leggings look fine. But the outer, short dress looks like someone glanced at the photo on the front of the box, and then went to work. There's a large diamond on the front, but the cutout diamond in the middle is much, much too small.

In fact, it looks bad enough that I almost dropped another half star...but then I got to the boots. They did a terrific job here, with a soft material that allows the ankles full movement and still look fantastic. The boots save the outfit, at least for me.

Lost in Space Penny Robinson sixth scale action figure by Executive Replicas

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Fun Factor - ***
This isn't a figure you'll pose and re-pose - once you get your Lost In Space Family complete, they'll all hang out together on the shelf with very little future interaction. That's assuming we ever get the whole family - right now we just have Will, Penny, and a potential John, and without at least Dr. Smith (not to mention Maureen, Don, and Judy) in a season 3 outfit, the brother and sister duo are going to be pretty lonely.

Lost in Space Penny Robinson sixth scale action figure by Executive Replicas

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Value - **
Thankfully, Penny is under $200. At $180 or so, she's in line with most of the other smaller company releases, and the quality of the accessories and the figure - minus the head - is about right for the price. Had they given us a sculpted short hair portrait, I would have gone the extra half star here.

Lost in Space Penny Robinson sixth scale action figure by Executive Replicas

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Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing.

Overall - **1/2
The outfit has some problems - that diamond pattern is obviously off. The accessories are decent, but Debbie could have been so much more useful in a different pose. And while I think the face itself is fairly accurate, the long rooted hair throws everything off. This is one of those examples where, with just a little more consideration and planning, they could have pulled off a winner.

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

Lost in Space Penny Robinson sixth scale action figure by Executive Replicas

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Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- has her in stock for $190.

- Entertainment Earth is at $205.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
I've looked at the Will Robinson, the recent Verda, as well as the Maureen Robinson from years ago. And many more years ago, there was a series of 9" figures produced as well.

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

Discussion:
Want to chat about this review?  Try out one of these terrific forums where I'll be discussing it!

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

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