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The new series II toys for Harry Potter are starting to trickle
out. We've seen a few playsets, some of the next series of
figures, and now the new 'Magical Minis' collection.
These small figures - about 3 3/4" or so for the kids, taller
for the adults - have just started to show up at Target stores. There's Harry, Hermione, Ron and Malfoy of course, but also Dumbledore
(reviewed here) and Hagrid.
I've only seen them once so far, and there was only one Dumbledore on
the pegs, and no Hagrid's. I wouldn't be surprised if these are
shipping in lower numbers than the four kids. The price at Target
is $4.99.
Packaging - *
That's a pretty low packaging score from me - why? Well, it's
not because it's unattractive. They've done a nice job with the
graphics, and the curved bubble front on this package looks good and will
withstand a lot of shelf abuse.
And it's not because it's not collector friendly, although
that does account for some of the low score. I always try to open
things carefully at first to test out the collector friendly theory on the
package, and this one failed pretty quick. But considering it's
intended for kids, that's not too big of a deal.
Nope, the problem here is the awful hair 'controlling
device'. If you opened your 12" Arwen, you've seen something
like this before.
There are two pieces of plastic, with two plastic threads
interwoven between small groups of strands of the hair. This
arrangement is supposed to keep the hair neat, but it is very difficult to
get it apart, and it will require a parent's assistance, and a sharp
knife. Be very careful that you don't pull to hard on the hair or
get it too wild trying to pull this monstrosity off.
The hair could have been contained the same way the beard
is - there is a rubber band around the waist that holds the long beard in
place. After removing the figure, I used this same rubber band to
hold the hair in back.
Sculpting - ***1/2
These are not based on the film, but rather the books. The
sculpts are very nice, including both the head, body and accessories.
One nice touch here that might not be obvious from most
pictures, is that they have sculpted a short beard and moustache under the
rooted beard. You can see it in the picture to the left. It
gives a 'base' to the rooted beard, and really improves the look without
being obvious.
Paint - **1/2
The paint ops on this figure could have been a little better.
The face and eyes aren't bad, but the coloration of the glasses makes them
blend into the face so much that at first you might not realize he has
eyes! Also, the seam of the body runs through his belt and pouch,
causing the colors on these areas to not match up as nicely as they
should.
Articulation - **
Dumbledore has three points, so his score is lower than the kids,
who also had leg articulation. He has shoulders and neck.
I suspect Hagrid is similar to Dumbledore.
Accessories - ***
Dumbledore has two accessories - a wand, and Fawkes, his Phoenix from
the second book. Both are nicely done, although small of
course. Fawkes has no articulation, and not a whole lot of detail.
Play Value - *
These figures all come with a play 'gimmick'. If you wave the wands, the
little figures that come as accessories - Fawkes with Dumbledore or Ron
with Scabbers - magically move.
Of course, there's a small magnet in the bottom of the
accessory, with a piece of metal in the wand. I thought there were
magnets in both at first, but I think the wand simply has a small steel
rod.
Unfortunately, it doesn't work worth a damn. I
couldn't get Fawkes to move a millimeter, no matter how I waved that
little wand.
Value - ***
Five bucks a pop isn't too bad for these, or maybe all the ridiculously
priced $8 and $9 figures on the shelves these days just have me
confused. It would be a far better deal if the wand worked, at least
a little - perhaps I just got a bum wand.
Overall - **1/2
These are very cute little figures, and I do plan on picking up the whole
series. But they could have been sooo much better, with just the
slightest extra work. Still, I can't complain too much, and it's
nice to see a five buck price point on an action figure again.
Where to Buy -
Target is the only store I've seen these at, but I'm betting we'll get
flooded with them over the next couple months.
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