Review of Alex DeLarge - Clockwork Orange
One:12 Collective Action Figure

Introduction

Some collectors love to buy many, many figures of their favorite character.  I am no stranger to this particular affliction, and I have plenty of Batman figures. But some of us like the odd, the unique, the unusual as well. For me, when I can get a figure of a classic character from film history, especially one I never expected to see, I'm a very happy camper.

This describes the release of the One:12 Collective Alex Delarge. A Clockwork Orange is one of Stanley Kubrick's best films, but is not the sort of movie that generally drives 'collectibles'.  A violent, dark tale even by today's standards, the movie was the first major role for Malcolm McDowell, who played the main character, Alex DeLarge.

Mezco has just released their One:12 Collective figure of Alex, and there are no exclusives or special editions. This guy will run you around $80, depending on the retailer.

Packaging - ***1/2
The bright orange package has the funky 70's logo and graphics. It's all collector friendly, and it keeps everything safe and sound inside the plastic trays. There's nothing particularly unique here, but they did do a good job of blending the film designs with the simplistic styling of the One:12 series packaging.

Sculpting - ***1/2
The figure comes with three portraits, always a big plus.  He comes wearing the basic head sculpt, with a smirk on his lips and slightly hooded eyes. The second portrait is wearing the 'dildo' mask (non-removable) with a big grin, and the third portrait is after he was beaten. While the first two heads have the hat permanently attached, the third is bare.

As you'd expect, the best of the three is the standard head. It looks very much like the character, and considering the scale - remember, he's only about 6 1/2" tall - the detailing is great. The emotion comes through without creating an extreme expression, and it works for a ton of poses.

The masked head looks great as well, although it's a little less utilitarian. There's a mold line along the edge that you won't see in hand, but is pretty noticeable in macro photos.

The beaten face is the least accurate, but he was swelled up and misshapen even in the movie. It's the hair here that throws things a big, with a thick stranding that simply doesn't look as good as the marketing photos.  The hat helps hide this issue with the hair on those two, but the hat-less portrait has no such luck.

Paint - ***
The basic quality of the paint work is great - clean edges, consistent coverage, very, very little slop. Considering the scale, this sort of clean work is always impressive.

But this time, the marketing photos hurt them. The hand painted version is so good, it makes the weakness of the production paint all too obvious.  The difference in color between the highlights and wash in the hair is too extreme, making the strands all the more obvious. The face is too washed out, making the detailed freckling harder to see. And the eyes are flatter, less lively, even while they are even and straight.

I'm pretty much positive that these are the exact same sculpts that we see in the early marketing photos. The difference is entirely the paint work.

Articulation - ***1/2
Regular buyers of the series won't find any surprises here. The ball jointed neck works well, and the heads swap easily.  The rotating hinge shoulders are a little tight, but you can get some decent arm poses when combined with the rotating hinge elbows and wrists. The hands swap cleanly, and stay in place while posing.

The torso and waist turn, tilt and lean, and the hips, knees, and ankles work well together. The two piece boots allow for decent rocker movement, although I would like a little more forward and backward movement in the foot.

Accessories - ****
I already mentioned the two extra heads, and that's a huge plus to me. You'd have to really work hard not to get a great accessories score when you give me three different options with the portrait.

They've also included five additional hands to go with the fists he comes wearing: a relaxed set, a tighter grip set, and a wide grip right for the milk glass.

Yep, he comes with a glass of milk, which will make a lot more sense to you once you've watched the  movie.  He also has his cane, as well as the cane knife. Unfortunately, the knife doesn't actually come out of the cane, and there isn't a second cane with the top missing, so you can't pose him holding both the cane and knife at the same time.

Finally, he has the usual display stand which you can use with the large, clear plastic support rod, or with the simple foot peg. It has the Clockwork Orange logo as well.

Outfit - ***1/2
While the costume is relatively simple, there are key areas where it is important to match the on screen look.

The shirt has a rather unique collar, which they've captured here. They sculpted eyeballs on his wrists, complete with blood, look terrific as well.  The pants are basic, but the high waist is accurate, and the suspenders are a dead ringer.

The combat boots are a fantastic sculpt, and the two piece design allows for plenty of rocker movement in the ankle. They didn't sacrifice appearance though, creating an almost seamless look to the boot.

That brings us to the codpiece. The hard plastic jockstrap looks a little small to me, but it can be adjusted to fit where ever you'd like. There's no strap through the crotch, so it can be lowered and raised on the hips to suit your memory of them film.

Fun Factor - ***
The multiple heads and solid articulation will allow you to visit this figure over and over again, if you're so inclined. I haven't quite decided the best grouping to display him in yet, but I'm sure I'll come up with something.

Value - **1/2
While $80 isn't cheap, you are getting three portraits, plenty of extras, and a great looking costume. This is not a figure with a huge production run, and I'm willing to pay a little more to get the more obscure characters like this.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing. Everything is sturdy and well made, and I had no trouble swapping hands or heads.

Overall - ***1/2
Once upon a time, a company called Hot Toys brought high end sixth scale quality to a huge variety of characters. As they got more and more successful, the licenses and characters they covered got narrower and narrower.

Mezco is working to recreate this sort of success in the one twelve market, bringing high quality sculpts, paintwork and costuming to a small size. They have been doing a great job, but they have been getting more and more successful, and I have feared we would see their selection get narrower and narrower. Fortunately, that hasn't happened yet, as evidenced by the release of Michael Myers, Alex DeLarge, and Ash in a fairly short period of time.

I'll pick up every unusual, off beat, or just plain weird character they want to produce in this line, and I hope I'm not alone. Fans of Kubrick and Clockwork Orange are not going to be disappointed by this release, and maybe it will cause a few younger fans to get out there and watch the movie.

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

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth is also at $80.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Other recent One:12 reviews include Michael Myers, Special Ops Punisher, and Doctor Strange.

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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