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Sculpting
- ***1/2
I'll say this more than once
tonight - the zombies in this series are far superior to the living
characters. That improvement starts with the much better sculpting.
Of
course, it helps that making these exact representations of the on
screen characters is a bit easier. You don't have the intricacies of a
human likeness to capture, and the extreme nature of their wounds makes
it simpler to make a reasonable facsimile.
Still, there's no
doubt these sculpts are better. Both have lots of nice detail and
texture, with special attention paid to open, damaged flesh. They're
gross, but that's the point.
One of the cool features of the
Well
zombie is the addition of the rope around his chest. When you first
pull him out of the package, you'll find the end wrapped up (and
possibly stuck) on his back, but when you pull him apart it will
unroll. Now all you need is a T-Dog figure to be pulling the top half
along the ground.
These figures stand about 5
inches tall, and
fit in nicely with the earlier releases in the series. Both stand great
on their own, although the minor articulation in the legs goes a long
way to make that possible.
Paint - ***
These guys are dirty, bloody, oozing and gross - perfect for the
McFarlane style of purposefully sloppy paint.
Of
the two, I like the RV's paint job a smidge better. The checkered shirt
looks great, with just the right amount of staining, wear and damage.
and the open sores and deteriorating flesh is very well done.
There's
a few color issues with the Well zombie. The head doesn't quite match
the body, and the internal organs don't have quite enough paint detail
to allow the sculpt details to show through.
Still, there's some
nice work on the rotting flesh, and the overall quality is solid. The
work on the zombies, especially the paint work, has been consistently
better than what we've seen on the living in this series.
Articulation - **1/2
These aren't super articulated, but the joint count has gone up.
The
RV zombie has a pin jointed neck, so that the head can flop back like a
Pez dispenser. There's cut shoulders, a cut right elbow, pin wrists, a
cut waist, and cut hips. The cut hips allow you to find the sweet spot
to keep him standing, and the arm articulation is good enough to get
some decent poses.
The Well Zombie has a cut neck,
cut shoulders,
pin elbows and knees, and cut hips. That's fewer joints, but the arms
work well. The real drawback is the neck, since you can't alter the
direction of his stare, but it's a minor quibble. These are zombies
after all, and at least they both stay upright.
Accessories - Well **1/2; RV **
There's
not a ton of extras with any of the figures in the line, but these two
end up getting the short end of the accessory stick.
The Well
Zombie has two extras - the hunk of ham that was lowered into the well
(and that he had no interest in), and a section of intestines, designed
to be put in his lower body when you have him separated. The ham is
cute, but not particularly exciting, and the extra intestines are very
specific to displaying the figure in parts. The dangling intestines
tend to look a bit silly and rope-like, and this extra piece for the
lower abdomen isn't any better.
At first glance, you might think
that the RV zombie has zero accessories, but that's not true. The
screwdriver planted in his eye is removable, and he looks great with or
without it.
Action Feature - ***
Like
the other zombies in this series, each has an 'action' feature. Neither
are actually mechanical, but are less obtrusive than many other action
features.
The RV zombie has a hinged neck,
so that you can flop
the head back at a 90 degree angle. The interior of the wounded neck
looks great, and it's the sort of action feature I like - it doesn't
hurt any other aspect of the figure and still works well.
The
Well zombie isn't quite as unobtrusive, but the coolness of the feature
is probably going to outweigh that issue. The jagged wound around his
stomach is pretty obvious, and in fact it has trouble with gapping,
making the seam all the more glaring. But this means that you can pull
the zombie apart, just like the on screen version, and he's complete
with those trailing bloody intestines. How cool is that?
Fun Factor - ***
While no
one thing is exceptional here, the parts do add up to a decent toy. The
articulation and action features add some real fun, even for the adult
collector.
Value - *1/2
The biggest issue here is that you are
getting figures that are 5" at best with very few accessories, but
paying a whopping $16. They simply aren't worth the high price tag, and
that overshadows the better qualities.
Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing.
Overall - **1/2
The zombie figures are much, much better
than the living humans in the Walking Dead line up, no matter the
series or the source (TV show or comic). These guys are a bit too big
to fit in with 4" scale figures, but if you have some other 5" figures
that need zombie enemies, these are great.
Unfortunately, the
high price point hurts the overall score quite a bit. Ten or twelve
bucks, and these would get another half star, but with a price point
similar to 6 - 8" figures (that generally more accessories), you're
going to feel a tad ripped.
Score Recap:
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - ***1/2
Paint - ***
Articulation - **1/2
Accessories - Well **1/2; RV **
Action Feature - ***
Fun Factor - ***
Value - *1/2
Overall - **1/2
Where to Buy -
These can be had at your local Toys R Us for around $16 each.
Related
Links -
Previous Walking Dead figures include Shane
and the Bicycle Girl, Walking Dead figures series 1, the two humans in series 2,
as well as the first series
of comic based figures. And don't forget that NECA is doing
busts, one for this same
'biter', and one for this same
'walker'. And if you like the RV Zombie, Mcfarlane also did a
cool blu-ray case using his
head.
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