Packaging - ***
The packages are pretty basic mass market designs. They use the basic logo, font and colors that you associate with the game packaging, and they do have examples of the various available guitars on the back.

Sculpting - ***1/2
Looking through the packs on the shelf, and over the ones shown on the back of the cards, it appears to me that there are just four different body styles in this first wave. These are then deco-ed differently and packed with different partners to fill out the wave.

One of the four is based on the classic 'flying V' body, while the other three are right out of the game. The small knobs, plates, and pickups are all done with reasonably good detail at this scale. While there are no strings of course, the frets are raised, and even the pick guards are separate sculpted pieces.

The designs look good, and the hard plastic they've used is very sturdy and unlikely to wilt or bend over time.

These will work terrific with the regular series figures from McFarlane, or just about any 5" to 6" scaled line that has enough articulation to make use of them. I've shot them with the 5" Halo figure, the 6" Marvel Legends Spidey, and the uber cool NECA TMNT figures. Some look a little better than others scale-wise, but none look completely out of place.

Another cool feature here is that these are 'mix and match' instruments. The connector for the head to neck and neck to body are consistent across all the designs, so you can put any neck, head and body combo together. Along with having a ton of different body art designs, you can create your own unique look for your instruments.

Paint - ***
The majority of the visual excitement here is in the body art designs. I'm not quite sure how these are done. At first, I thought it was tempo style work, but some of them look like some sort of unique stickers. Either way, they are very well done, very clean, and properly centered on the body.

There's additional paint work on areas like the frets, pick ups, knobs and buttons, etc. Most of it is pretty clean although some of it is too thick and clumpy.

Articulation - Bupkis
The tremolo bars (better known as whammy bars) move around a bit, but that's due to the soft plastic that they are made from, more than any intended articulation. As you'd expect, there is no other joints on the guitars.

The base supports on the guitar stands move, to allow you to get the guitar in just the right spot to stay upright, but I'm not counting that toward this score.

Accessories - **
Each guitar comes with a small guitar stand. These are pretty cheaply made, but they do serve the purpose.

Value - **
You can't get much in the action figure aisle for under $6 these days, but let's be honest - there isn't a lot here. At $5 I'd give them another half star, and feel a lot better about picking up multiples to outfit the band.

Things To Watch Out For - 
The posts used to attach the head stocks to the necks are a little thin, so that's a connection you'll want to be careful with.

Overall - ***
While I didn't really care about the Guitar Hero figures, these guitars do have an awful lot of potential with just about any 5 - 6" figure line. They have a nice realism to them that allows them to fit in with just about anybody, and now all you need is a nice bass, and a great drum set in this scale, and your figures can play Rock Band.

Score Recap:
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - ***
Paint - ***
Articulation - Bupkis
Accessories - **
Value - **
Overall - ***

Where to Buy -
I picked these up at the evil Wal-mart, but they should show up at other mass market retailers as well. Other options:

- Clark Toys has the singles for $7, a set of 6 for $25, or a case of 18 for $60.

- you can pick up a full case from Entertainment Earth (18 guitars) for just $60.

you can search ebay with the sponsor MyAuctionLinks.com.

Related Links -
I had a guest review of the first series of Guitar Hero figures.

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