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Packaging - ***
Once again we get very attractive packaging from McToys, including the
insert and stickers. Now, it's not amazing work, and the style is a
little too close to series 26, making it tough to pick out on the pegs.
Sculpting - ***
This was a tough one to score. I suppose if I were to go with a
completely technical review of the sculpting work, I would have scored this
higher. The figure has some amazing detail, and a realism to the
clothing and accessories that's truly impressive.
But you can reproduce a bowl of fruit perfectly on canvas, and the best you
might get is a place on the wall of your local Holiday Inn. To make it
art requires more than pure technical skill, and these even have the word
'art' right on the package. That means there has to be more to the look,
design and style of this figure than pure detail.
The more I looked at this figure, the less I liked the pose. Now
remember, the only thing I like better than action figures is cowboy action
figures, and I was pretty stoked to hear I'd be getting a Spawn in gunslinger
gear.
But this pose simply doesn't work. It's not that far off from the
source interior artwork, but that part of the challenge when taking something
from 2-D to 3-D is translating the figure into a good looking, realistic
version of what is not real. And this time, they managed to miss the
mark.
I like to call this pose - with claw like hands out to the side, knees bent
in almost a half stride as if he's stopped short, and his head tilted down so
that it appears as though he's staring at the ground in front of him -
"Oh crap, I almost stepped in that horse shit."
The single biggest problem here is the head pose. This figure screams
for a ball jointed neck, so you can tilt and move the head into a perfect
position, giving him the personality he needs. Neck joints, when the
ball joint is up at the bottom of the head, and not at the torso, are not
visually annoying or obvious, and yet they are the single best joint any
figure can have. If we had that here, this figure would have been
drastically improved.
The rest of the pose, including the odd leg pose, could work if you could
simply get the head and hat tilted up slightly. So close, but yet for
me, so disappointing. Other nits include the odd bones hanging from his
belt, ala Predator style, that don't really seem to make a whole lot of
sense. I'm hoping they explained them in the comic...
There are some excellent points to the sculpt though, including the ultra
cool aforementioned hat. The high, funky appearance works great, as does
the highly detailed jacket. In general, this is a great mix of cowboy
ruggedness and Spawn attitude. While I have my issues with him, the
overall detail is strong enough to keep him at a slightly above average sculpt
score.
Paint - ***1/2
As is often the case these days, there's a little too much reliance on paint
washes to bring out detail and add shadowing, but McToys still does it fairly
well.
The lines are all very clean, especially around the white on his chest and
face. There's no bleed or over spray, and there's a nice vibrancy to the
colors that is sometimes missing in Spawn versions. There's some
excellent small detail work as well, especially in the skulls around the hat
band.
Articulation - **
If you're looking for super articulated, don't look here. He has a cut
neck, cut shoulders, wrists, boot tops (where you attach the legs to
the boots), and a cut right bicep. There's almost zero posing you'll be
able to do here that makes sense, but you can adjust the arms slightly to get
the perfect look for you.
He does stand perfectly fine on his own though, with no worries about
wilting or toppling easily.
Accessories - **
The guns are glued into the holsters. Let me repeat that - the guns
are glued into the holsters. Since the hands aren't sculpted to hold
them anyway, I suppose it doesn't matter.
The only accessories is a small round, plain stand that the figure doesn't
particularly need, and one of those little (and seem to be getting smaller)
cardboard versions of the original art.
Value - **1/2
Pay $12 or so, and you're getting a pretty average value here.
Manage to pay less than $10, and you'll be much happier, and be able to
actually afford the whole series.
Overall - ***
I had really high hopes for this figure, so while three stars isn't a
terrible score by any stretch of the imagination, I was really hoping for a
four star figure here.
This was the only figure out of series 27 that I was really anticipating,
and perhaps all that anticipation and hope got the best of me. I just
can't fight the fact that the longer I look at this figure, and the more I
play around with it, the less I like it.
Things to Watch Out For -
It was tough popping the lower legs on, but it is doable. Just be
careful where you hold the figure to avoid damaging something else in the
process. And no, the guns do NOT come out, so don't go tearing them
apart trying.
SCORE RECAP:
Packaging - ***
Sculpt - ***
Paint - ***1/2
Articulation - **
Accessories - **
Value - **1/2
Overall - ***
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