Introduction
A review of Abraham Ford and the Bungee Walker action figures from the Walking Dead Series 6 by McFarlane Toys

I've heard the whining - "it's sooo boring" - and I'll agree that between our favorite survivors finding Noah's home, and ending up at Alexandria, there were a couple pretty slow episodes. But these last two? This is some excellent story development, leading up to a huge season finale. The tension is so thick you can cut it with a knife, with the group waiting for the hammer to drop...and yet it isn't. Will this be their salvation? You know it can't be...they know it can't be...and yet they want to believe. And you see each slowly dragged into that belief, even Daryl. How will they possible recover if this turns out to be all a lie? And will they end up the bad guys this time? Once again, it looks like it's going to be Carol left to save the day, and man, after the last episode I love her even more.

She was in series 6, but I've already covered her and Herschel. Also in this wave is another Rick and Governor figure, both of which I picked up but don't plan on reviewing (it's another Rick and Governor). The final two in the set are Abraham Ford, and the Bungee Walker.

These two have been shipping for awhile - I've even spotted them at Target and Meijer. They will run you around $15, depending on the retailer.

Packaging - ***1/2
The attractive card backs provide plenty of personalization as well as a nice rundown on the back of the wave line up. You can see the figure and accessories clearly, and the package is very sturdy, yet it's also fairly collector friendly, a rarity for a mass market toy. The bubble wraps around the sides and bottom, and you can slit the tape (it's a little harder with the bottom, but you can manage it), and slide the inner tray right out. There's still a couple annoying plastic ties to cut, but you could always return the figure to the pack, re-tape it, and hang it on the wall.

Sculpting - Abraham ***; Walker **
This line has only been around for about 3 years, but the differences between those first figures and these is pretty astounding. And it all starts with a greatly improved sculpt, particularly with the living.

Abraham is an excellent likeness, especially when you take into consideration the scale. Remember, he's just a smidge over 5" tall! And it's not just the likeness, but the attention to detail. Even the t-shirt has the proper texture and pattern sculpted right in! Proportions are decent as well, with his internal scale - size of his head, hands, limbs, body - all looking just about right.

The Walker is not one of my favorites, however. Here, scale gets weird. The head is tiny, and the chest is done in a bloated Herman Munster style. Maybe I'm just getting jaded in my old age, but the damage and rot here seems almost cartoony compared to some of the others.

Both stand fine on their own, and Abraham's hands are sculpted to work with the accessories.

Paint - Abraham ***; Walker **1/2
While these tend to follow the pattern of "throw the paint at them and see what sticks", there's plenty of underlying detail work that's extremely well done.

For example, the clean work on the eyes, eyebrows, hair line and mustache on Abraham allow the sculpt to really shine. The dirt smudges look good, and they didn't go crazy with the blood or overall dirty wash. The only real issue is the pins in the various joints, which aren't quite the same color or finish as the surrounding area, whether it's the leg or the arm. Since they are fairly large and obvious, it's a big detriment to this category.

Again, the Walker takes a hit. The blood effect looks off, perhaps because there's just so much of it. Like the sculpt, the paint work on the exposed organs and rotting face looks cartoony and over the top, something I haven't really felt with previous releases.

Articulation - Abraham ***1/2; Walker **1/2
Remember the early waves, when we were stuck with some truly ugly poses and no real chance to correct them? We complained, as you'd expect. And McFarlane listened, which you might not expect, improving the articulation almost as much as the paint and sculpt.

For some folks, it might be too much - and I already complained in the Sculpting section that the joints are definitely ugly on Abraham. I'm in the camp of preferring the joints over the aesthetics, but your mileage is probably gonna vary.

Abraham has the ball neck, but it's a bit restricted. You can get some tilt and lean though, adding that smidge of personality to any pose. The ball shoulders work well, as do the pin/post elbows and pin knees (with ratchet joints), hinge hips, cut waist, and cut boots. The wrists have a combination of cut joint and pin joint, which allows them to do pretty much any pose. They felt a little weak though, so take some care with them if they are painted tight.

The Walker doesn't fair as well. His neck works like a cut joint, with almost zero lean or tilt. The arms only have a cut joint each, and the legs do have hinge hips and pin knees, but there's not too many poses you're going to be able to pull off. A cut waist finishes things up.

Accessories - Abraham ***1/2; Walker **
The Walker doesn't get much this time around, but he does have something - his guts. There are two pieces that can be removed, the longer, thinner piece you can hang him from, and the shorter, large intestine.

While being able to remove them is a nice touch, allowing you to use him as another every day walker (the long small intestine tends to get in the way if you don't remove it and want him just to stand around), they both leave pretty obvious holes when not in place. You may also end up gluing them in place if you plan on having him hang permanently, since the soft plastic does pop out rather easily.

Abraham fares better, as you'd expect. He has not one but three weapons of walker (or human) destruction: a handgun, a machine gun, and a knife. The handgun and knife both fit on his belt in their appropriate spot, and he can easily hold the machine gun in one hand or two. Scale is great, which is always tough to manage with accessories this small.

Fun Factor - ***1/2
While I have my nits to pick, these are still fun figures. You'll be able to pose them with the other walkers and survivors in some pretty cool dioramas with just a little imagination. I might complain about the ugliness of some of the joints, but I'd rather have them than be forced into some weird pose selected by the company.

Value - Abraham **1/2; Walker **
The price on these has remained constant at around the $15 mark. While that's a little shigh for a figure in this scale, it's not excessive in the current market. I am docking the Walker a bit here, simply because the overall quality - and lack of any real extras - hurts his value as well.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing!

Overall - Abraham ***; Walker **1/2
Abraham is a character I really like on the show. I don't think he's going to end up a front runner like Daryl, Michonne or Carol, but then, who would have ever imagined that Carol would end up where she has? He's even a bit of a philosopher, at least when he's had enough beer.

The figure looks great, and is a welcome add. I don't expect anything to happen to him any time soon on the show - you never know of course, but the overall story line hasn't really involved him that much lately, and I suspect they'll have bigger plans for him next season - so getting him now is a nice bonus.

This Walker is my least favorite of the undead released so far, and I'm not exactly sure why. It's a lot of little things - tiny head, cheesy paint, cartoony sculpt, weak articulation - that add up to a figure that leaves me cold. He'll end up as Walker fodder, since it's always nice to have more in the horde, but if you can wait to pick him up on sale, you'll probably be happier with the purchase.

Score Recap:
Packaging - ***1/2
Sculpting - Abraham ***; Walker **
Paint - Abraham ***; Walker **1/2
Articulation - Abraham ***; Walker **1/2
Accessories - Abraham ***1/2; Walker **
Fun Factor - ***1/2
Value - Abraham **1/2; Walker **
Overall - Abraham ***; Walker **1/2

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth also has them at $15.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
I just recently looked at Carol and Herschel, and I covered the series 5 Tyreese and charred walker here, as well as Glenn and Maggie.  The previous series' included Carl and SWAT walker, the Governor and Andrea, Merle and Michonne, the RV and Well walkers, 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.

Discussion:
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