Review of Jesse Pinkman - Breaking Bad
Sixth Scale Action Figure

Introduction

We live in an era of great television. With lots of alternative methods to obtain programming, lots of alternative types of programming have blossomed. Sure, we still have lowest common denominator trash reality shows like Cops and the Kardashians, but the number of exceptional shows is overwhelming.

Once such show was Breaking Bad, and you know the story of Walter White. Everyone does - you'd have to be living pretty deep under several rocks not to know it. The high school chemistry teacher turned meth master might have been the star of the show, but Jesse Pinkman, his right hand man, was every bit as critical to the story. He was Lewis to Walter's Martin, Gilligan to Walt's Skipper, a never ending source of frustration and problems, yet somehow Walter never just shoots him in the head.

ThreeZero produced Walter awhile back in sixth scale, and they've followed it up - finally - with Jesse.  He's currently shipping directly from them, and I suspect those who ordered through other retailers should have him very soon. He'll run you around $135 - $150, depending on the retailer.

Packaging - ****
I'm digging the translucent slip cover with the character artwork quite a bit.  I like the colors, I like the design, and the entire thing is just as collector friendly as you'd expect.  You also don't have to remove the slip cover to open the box, since it opens from the ends.

Sculpting - ***
Regular readers know I consider three aspects of a human portrait like this when grading.  Accuracy, realism, and life-like.  Perhaps I'll change that last one to 'emotive' to make it less confusing.

When it comes to accuracy, this is a solid portrait but not perfect. From the right angle and in the right light, it looks very much like Aaron Paul, particularly when he had the shorter hair. From other angles, it's not quite as accurate, and I think that comes down to one problem - the neck. The head rests on a thin, smooth neck, that makes the head look odd.  When you compensate for that, the overall look improves considerably. For example, he always looks better with the hood up rather than the hood down, which hides the thin neck. Even with the hood down, you can correct for it to some degree.  In the very first photo, I've pulled the hood up a little around the shoulders, adding some bulk around the neck. In the LifeSizer photo, it's pulled down by the outer leather jacket, making the thin neck more obvious.

Realism is becoming less and less of an issue across the market, and ThreeZero is creating very realistic head sculpts thanks to skin texture and detail. Jess has a light texture on the skin, and the soft beard and mustache look great.  There's just the right amount of wrinkling, proper for the character's age and look.

That skin texture is part of the issue with the neck, however.  In the photo below you can easily see the distinction between the realistic skin on the face, and the smooth, toy-like skin on the neck.

I'm also not completely sold on the hair sculpt, which lacks some of the detail it really needed to sell it.  This is likely another reason why the figure looks better with the hood up, a pose that accentuates the positive (face portrait) and hides the weaknesses (neck, hair).

The best aspect of this sculpt is the emotive (aka life-like) expression.  Rather than producing a very realistic, accurate mannequin, they've given the figure a very Jesse expression, adding life with tautness in the muscles and a squint in the eyes.

The hands are a bit oversized, a common problem with these standardized bodies, but they work quite well with the various accessories. Jesse fits right in with other sixth scale figures, coming in just a hair shy of 12".

Paint - ***1/2
ThreeZero continues to improve on production paint, and the work on Jesse is a very good example.

The eyes are sharp, straight and clear with very little bleed. I think the blue but slightly greenish color of the eyes works great, and the gloss finish allows them to grab natural catch lights. The facial hair is nicely shaded, and the eyebrows are clean.  The hair line might be a bit too clean, but it's not a major issue.

The left hand has the tattoo as well, which starts on the forearm, spans the wrist ball joint, and runs onto the back of the hand. Of course, you'll need to keep the three parts lined up properly for it to look correct, but they've done a nice job matching the on screen look.

Articulation - ***1/2
The body isn't super fancy, but it does have all the appropriate sixth scale articulation that you'll expect, and it's all very tight and clean.  He can take plenty of realistic, flowing, natural poses, and critical joints, like the double ball neck or rotating hinge/rocker ankles, have a fantastic range of movement.

The chest and waist joints unsure that no pose is too stiff looking, and the legs allow for perfect sitting poses. Jesse doesn't need to take extreme ninja poses (although this body can), but it's critical for him to look natural.  This body can handle that, no problem.

Accessories - **1/2
There's not a ton here, and some of it you've seen before.

There's a ski mask, perfect for hitting the slopes of Vail or robbing the local 7-11. I don't expect to use it a lot, but it's a sensible add for the character.

He has a much more useful gun, with an opening cylinder.  The revolver is unloaded however... It fits perfectly in his sculpted right hand.

Speaking of hands, he does have two extras. He comes with the relaxed pair, and there's an extra tight grip right and gun grip right.  The hands swap easily, and a big plus is the inclusion of a wrist post already attached to each extra hand, similar to what Sideshow does. Excellent!

His last extra is four stacks of Benjamins, printed on both sides. That's important, because some stacks of bills I've seen in the past leave the interior bills blank.  Not so here.  You have seen these before however, since Walt came with the exact same accessory.

That's pretty light for a sixth scale figure, but it does translate into a lower price point, a trade that many buyers will be happy to make. There's no stand either, but that's another cost cutting measure.

Outfit - ***
The outfit consists of his 'lightning' t-shirt, hoodie, leather jacket, jeans, and shoes.

The tailoring on the jeans is a little iffy, but the quality is solid.  The shoe sculpts look great, but I'm not sure I'm buying the paint job. I suppose they were going for a dirty look, but instead it looks like sloppy paint.  The sculpt makes up for a lot of that, however.

The t-shirt looks great, and is one way he can go.  I prefer him with the hoodie over top the shirt, but you can also go with both the hoodie and the jacket, or just the jacket.  This gives you plenty of options in his costume.

He can put his hands in the hoodie pockets, which is a great look for him.  The outer leather jacket looks terrific, with a ton of stitching and embroidery detail. Again, I'm not completely sold on the tailoring, and the fit seems a little sloppy, but the detailing is super impressive.

The soft, cotton hoodie is my favorite look, thanks to a quality job and its ability to make the hair and neck issues far less obvious. Nothing wrong with hiding your flaws!

Fun Factor - ***
This is a very fun figure, if you're a fan of the show.  Of course, you'll have to pair him up with Walt, and it might be a good idea to pick up a third party chemical outfit for even more posing potential. But he's the perfect twisted Robin to Walt's weird Batman, and while it would be great to get a few more characters (*cough*Saul*cough*), I can die happy with the pair together on the shelf.

Value - ***
I'm grading this at the suggested $150, and while that's much better than the average $220 we are seeing these days, it's clear that cutting back on accessories is how they did it.  Even with fewer extras - and not really that many less than some of the recent Hot Toys characters - he's a better than average value.  If you can pick him up for $135 or less, you can add another half star to this score.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing.  This is a sturdy figure, and I had no worries working with him over the course of the shoot.

Overall - ***
It's unlikely anyone will buy Jesse without Walt. He's the side kick, an important character, but not the headliner.  However, if you have Walt you just don't have the team without Jesse. The pair together on the display is better than either one by themselves.

I was worried about Jesse, because I wasn't particularly happy with the prototype figure we'd seen at several cons in the past. But ThreeZero created a much better production figure, and one that fits in perfectly with Walt in terms of quality and looks.

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

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth has him at full retail of $150.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Obviously, you'll want to check out Walt, but if you're into tv based sixth scale, the new Sons of Anarchy Jax and Clay might be just your thing.

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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