Review of Conan the Barbarian
One:12 Collective Action Figure

Introduction

Mezco is a company that doesn't simply chase licenses for profit. They go after what they love, pour that love into them, and let the chips fall where they may. As a business model, it might not always return maximum profit, but it does result in some of the very best action figures ever produced for some really terrific, overlooked licenses.

Want an example? Look at Popeye. In the 21st century, who is doing Popeye? Why, Mezco of course, and they produced some amazing figures in their One:12 Collective series. Why? Because they love Popeye.

Which brings us to Conan. Like Popeye, he originated in the early pulp magazines and cartoon strips of the 30's. He has had many iterations, from books to movies, and while he's not a character currently popular, the Mezco folks sure do love him. In particular, they love the Frazetta Conan.

They've just released their One:12 Collective version, and also very much like Popeye, he's one that most collectors slept on when the pre-orders went up. Oh, they're all over the latest Marvel release, but Conan? There was a lot of 'wait and see' going on. And now they're paying the price, as secondary market prices are through the roof.

Conan was $90 originally, but if you can find him at retail now, I'd suggest jumping on it immediately.

Packaging - ****
It's the standard box, with plastic trays that are completely collector friendly, and which keep everything quite safe. The exterior is gorgeous though, although it might look familiar. They've used Frank Frazetta's artwork, called appropriately "Conan the Barbarian", as the cover, and it works perfectly.

Sculpting - ****
The reason the artwork is so perfect, is the figure matches the Frazetta interpretation of the character. The chiseled chin, broad nose, scarred face, it's all here.

There are two portraits, one calm, one scowling in mid-battle. Both have an amazing amount of detail. Remember, this figure is a mere 6 1/2" tall, yet it has the detail and quality you see in much, much larger figures.

The long black hair is sculpted to flow on the back and shoulders, with decent detail in the stranding. It's less restrictive than most sculpted long hair, thanks to the bit of space provided along the neck and shoulders.

Both faces look terrific, and the amazing detail work in the scars and damage is present on the body as well. There's a ton of texture on the entire figure, from head to toe. This is a warrior who wears his experiences on his body with pride. Every battle is etched in his flesh, and one can only wonder how bad the other guy ended up looking.

The muscle body looks terrific as well, with extreme proportions perfect for the character. As I mentioned, he stands about 6 1/2" tall, which is about the same as the other heroes in the One:12 line up, and I suspect some may whine he's too short. But it feels right to me, and I think he'll look fantastic pairing off against the Death Dealer.

The second head, with the gritted teeth, is a bit of an extreme expression. I suspect I'll go with the closed mouth on the shelf, but I have to point out how amazing the sculpting is on the teeth. Teeth on figures this small tend to go one of two ways - Hollywood perfect or God awful bad. Here we see a set of perfectly sculpted chompers, done in a much more realistic style, with varying sizes and slightly asymmetrical placement. It's pretty amazing work at any scale, but is really impressive in this small size.

Paint - ****
Supporting the amazing sculpt is some amazing paint operations. All those tiny details are brought out by perfect paint, clearly separating the scars from the skin, and highlighting the various textures.

The great paint ops aren't just on the face and body. The various accessories look terrific, and the use of washes and dry brushing brings out the beauty. And those teeth? Yep, they look even more realistic thanks to the paint application.

Articulation - ***1/2
The One:12 body has nice, tight joints, and can take fairly natural, flowing poses.

Here, the long hair is a bit restrictive on the neck poses, but I was able to get more tilt, lean, and turn out of it than I expected, thanks to a bit of a space between the hair and shoulders. The heads swap easily.

The shoulders, elbows, and wrists use rotating hinge joints to provide enough movement for most one and two handed weapon poses. I'm sure someone will complain that the elbows aren't double pin, but these look much better with the sculpted arms and still provide a good range of movement. There's a bicep cut as well which helps.

The torso can lean and tilt as well, and the hips, knees, and ankles can manage shallow to deep stances. I didn't have quite as much rocker in the ankle as I wanted even with the two piece boot sculpt, but it was still reasonable considering the sculpt.

Accessories - ****
Conan is well outfitted, ready for battle and conquest.

He has that second head we discussed earlier, and it's a big factor here as well. There's an additional six hands to go with the fists he comes wearing, in various gripping or grasping poses. The hands swapped easily, but stayed in place while posing.

For defensive purposes, he has a round shield. This has a handle and strap on the back to position it on either arm.

There's a number of removable costume pieces. I'll be putting the cloak and extra loincloth in the next section - Outfit - but it's worth noting here that you can remove the necklace if you'd like, and I consider it an accessory. There's also a strap that can go around his chest (it fits better one way than the other, so pay attention when putting it on), and what I assume is a cuff for his right wrist. It's not mentioned in the marketing info, and I didn't see any marketing photos with him wearing it, but I assume that's what it is. It's a tight fit though, so I skipped it putting it on him.

There are four weapons for him to wield as well. There's a large axe, the only weapon he can really use two handed - the hilts on the swords are a little too short to work well. The axe can also be slipped into the strap around his chest for carrying on his back.

There is also a small knife with a sheath. The sheath has a small loop on it, which I assume is for his arm. It's pretty thin though, so I'd take some care with it.

There are two large swords - a standard broadsword, and one that's more like a scimitar in shape and style. Both come with proper scabbards as well. These scabbards, or sheaths, attach to his belt thanks to two plastic hooks. These hooks attach to loops on the belt, and then attach to loops on the metal chains of the sheaths. It works fine, but I did find that they come undone easier than they attach, which can be a tad frustrating.

The final accessory is the stand, with the usual foot peg or larger, clear plastic support. The base has the cool Frazetta artwork reproduced on it.

Outfit - ***1/2
Unlike most One:12 figures, there's not a lot of cloth here. Conan wasn't the sort of guy to wear a lot of cloth.

He does come with the loincloth though, which fits up underneath the sculpted belt. It looks great, and I doubt there will be any long term issues. You can swap out this loincloth with a second provided. This alternate version has a different cut, and includes a real metal chain mail front.

However, swapping them out looks a bit tricky. The one he comes wearing is a bit more complex than the alternate, and I suspect swapping back might be more difficult. I haven't tried it yet, but when I do find a home on the shelf for this guy, I suspect I will. I like the look of the alternate quite a bit.

There's also a cape included, which fits over his shoulders. The quality is good, but it clearly didn't turn out quite the way they intended.

Fun Factor - ****
With a great assortment of extras and plenty of posability, this is a figure you'll happily pose and re-pose over and over. Once we get the Death Dealer - and any additional Frazetta figures - you'll really see the fun increase.

Value - **1/2
It does seem like this guy was on the high end of the range when he was released. With most One:12 figures in the $80 range, the extra ten bucks didn't seem obvious. However, it is important to realize that there are likely two licensors here - Howard's estate and Frazetta's - which probably drove costs up a bit.

Things to Watch Out For -
There are a couple tiny bits. I'd be very careful with the strap on the knife scabbard, and take your time working with the tiny hooks for the belt.

Overall - ****
This just might be my figure of the year. Terrific sculpting and paint, backed up with great articulation and accessories. If you're a fan of Frazetta's work or the character in general, this is a figure you can't pass up.

And if you slept on it and are now scrambling to find a reasonable price on the secondary market, make sure you don't make the same mistake with the Death Dealer. You may still be able to find him at something close to retail, but not for long.

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

Where to Buy 
As is often the case with One:12 figures, retailers are long sold out on pre-orders for this guy. Your best bet now is to search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
I don't have a lot of Conan reviews, but back in the day Marvel Toys did a terrific Marvel Legends style version.

I have lots of One:12 reviews, the most recent being Thanos, Vapor, and Wonder Woman.

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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