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Deluxe Real Heroes Bomb Tech

I've heard from tons of folks since reviewing the first of these Real Hero figures last week, and they seem to really love these.  On their own, they are great toys, but the customizing and kit bashing potential is excellent.

There are two deluxe sets to go along with the regular figures - a Police Diver, and a Bomb Technician, reviewed here.  These are $20 each, but include more equipment than the basic figures.



Packaging - ***
The packaging here is quite a bit better than the carded figures.  Sure, the graphics aren't quite as nice as I'd like, but they show all the figures in the line across the back, with some decent text.  The box is nice and sturdy as well, and should hold up well on the shelf.

Another nice factor is that the box is easy to open, and the figures and parts are easy to remove.  There's a handful of twisty ties, but it's not too bad, and you can even take the package apart and put it back together if you want, although since kids will be the major buyers, I don't see that happening too often.

Sculpting - ***1/2
This is the best sculpt so far in the line, and has a lot of potential.  There's just the right amount of serious without looking goofy.

Uniform - **1/2
The uniform on the Bomb Tech looks great in the package, but isn't quite as nice as some of the carded figures.  The big difference here is fit - the other uniforms were all well fitting, but the Bomb Tech uniform is a bit baggy and loose.

Also, the helmet simply sits on the neck, flopping around, and really needed some sort of elastic neck like the Astronaut to hold it in place.  The helmet is really nice looking though, and is the best head gear so far in the line.  The visor does not open however. 

Articulation - ***1/2
This is the same body as the carded figures of course.  While it isn't as articulated as the current batch of 12" figures out there, it's still very nice, particularly in this scale.

Paint - *1/2
The worst feature on this figure is the paint ops.  On all the ones I saw (6) the paint around the mouth was awful.  It's tough to see in the photos, but rather than just paint the lips, the pinkish paint covered everything inside the van dyke.  It screws up an otherwise excellent sculpt.

Accessories - ***
The tech comes with a variety of accessories, and even a bomb although it isn't mentioned on the package.

There's the large remote controlled arm, that can roll along the floor.  The arm turns up and down, and the jaws open to hold a bomb, but the jaws won't stay tight enough to actually carry anything.

There's also a box for equipment, although none of the equipment fits inside, a two piece hand held retriever that also has moving jaws and CAN hold things, and a floor stand for the top half of the hand held retriever.  The plastic is somewhat flimsy on these though, and I suspect that holding the bomb with the gripper for some time will cause the arm to wilt.

There's also a cardboard 'steel' wall he can stand behind.  It works fine, but isn't too sturdy (obviously!).

Talking Feature - ****
As I mentioned in the previous review, the talking feature on these is great.  Press the left button, and you get his voice, with quite a few lines.  Press the right, and you get the commands from the Control Center.  Press them together, and you get sound effects (although there was no bomb blast).

The box fits easily into the back of the figure, and the fact that you don't need a screwdriver to work on it, and that the cover stays very well, really add to the feature.  It's a great example of intelligent design and engineering.

Value - **
The ten dollar carded figures are a good value, but doubling the price for these is a bit too much.  Yes, you get a couple larger accessories (and the Police Diver with his raft is a better value than the Bomb Tech), but $15-$17 would have been much more appropriate.

Overall - **1/2
The Bomb Tech doesn't do quite as well as the carded figures.  He gets worse value, outfit and paint op scores, but better sculpting, and accessories scores.  The Pilot Diver is probably the better of the two deluxe figures, but I really like the look of the Bomb Tech uniform on the shelf. 

I'm very happy with this whole series so far, and plan on picking up all the future releases.

Where to Buy - 
These are a TRU exclusive. You should be able to find them in the same aisle as the 21st Century and G.I. Joe sixth scale figures.


Figure from the collection of Michael Crawford

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