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Packaging - ***
Yes, I know that isn't either Bubba or John in the package to the
left. That's because I shot one package shot for the whole series, and
Flyboy had the coolest looking insert of the bunch.
Still, all four had some decent graphics, and included shots of the group
on the back. There was a good use of color throughout, and you all
know how much I like clamshells.
Sculpting - Bubba ***1/2; John **
These two figures represent the opposite ends of the visual spectrum -
beauty on one end, butt ugly on the other.
Bubba Ho-Tep is an excellent sculpt, with tons of detail work, and plenty
of realism. The face has the shrunken, drawn yellowed skin, and the
exposed bone on the chin looks perfect. The hat is affixed and not
removable, with a soft brim and feathers, and looks terrific over the head
and sculpted hair. The clothing hangs off the mummified body, and the
wrinkles and flow matches with the position of the bones and skin.
This is a great figure, and turned out much better than I had
expected. He's going to make a great addition to the monster shelf.
Ah, and then there's John McClane. This is John McClane as drawn by
a guy at the carnival. The face looks stretched, the proportions
slightly skewed. In just the right light, and just the right angle, it
looks a little like Bruce Willis' cousin on his mother's side.
From the waist down, the body sculpt is pretty good. He has the
bare feet, and the wrinkles and stretch of the pants at least matches up
with the pose of the legs.
The torso has some weird issues however. The lower arms are very
hairy (and both this hair and the chest hair is sculpted in), but at the
elbow he seems to go nekkid, as if someone drew a line across his arm.
The size and build are fine, but the sculpted scar on his left shoulder is
over done, and there's a sculpted handgun in the front of his pants.
While the head sculpt isn't fantastic, it's passable. Hey, you can
learn to squint when you look at it, and it gets better. But this
funky gun is the worst aspect of the figure overall.
As I said, it's actually sculpted onto his belly, but it sits way up in
the belt, looking like it should fall out any second. It looks awkward
and silly, and it would have been good just to skip it.
Paint - Bubba ****; John *1/2
The sculpts weren't in the same ball park - the paint ops aren't even in the
same league.
Bubba sports some great paint work, with lots of tiny details and great
colors. Of course, the funky colored shirt and hat help here, bringing
in some much need flair to the display. But had they screwed up the
application, all the color in the world wouldn't have helped.
Fortunately, that's not the case.
I'm particularly impressed with the face work on Bubba. There's the
right amount of wash, not over done, not under done, and the bright white of
the exposed bone stands out perfectly against the old yellowed appearance of
his rotted skin.
The didn't skip any of the important details, including the ornamentation
on the boots, the cool head band on the hat, and the blackened dead
fingernails. If I have one complaint, it's that the figure is a bit
thin. Yes, I know he's a mummy, so he's pretty much skin and
bones. But let's also remember that this latex mummy suit fit over the
body of a regular guy, giving him some imposing bulk in the movie.
In every way that Bubba went right, John went wrong. The face isn't
a great sculpt, but the heavy black line under the eyes, and the weak
attempt at dirt and/or stubble on the face hurts it even further. The
t-shirt has a liberal amount of blood, but it's not realistic in any sense,
and is wiped clean on the back and front in some areas in a weird, obvious
pattern. For all the blood on his shirt, it doesn't appear that he's
actually wounded, and his feet are completely free of injury.
Just like the sculpt, the gun is really my least favorite aspect of his
paint job. I mentioned that it was sticking way out of his
pants. Well, there's a painted on trigger, and what appears to be the
start of a trigger guard. However, it turns into one long line that
runs down the front of his shirt, straight, until hit reaches his belt
line. It looks like the person in charge of this paint operation was
partying a little too much the night before.
Articulation - Bubba **; McClane *1/2
Neither of these figures is highly articulated, and are intended more as
plastic statues than action figures.
Both have a ball jointed neck, although neither has a particularly wide
range of movement. Bubba also has ball jointed shoulders, much to my
surprise, which allow for a little lateral movement, but not much.
Still, it helps with the arm poses a bit.
He also has cut wrists and cuts inside the boot tops. He can't
stand on his own without the included display stand.
McClane has cut shoulders, and cut ankles. Yep, that's it - no cut
wrists, no waist, no other articulation of any kind. He can hold the
machine gun in one way, and that's about it. I was able to get him to
stand without the base, but it adds enough to the character that you'll
probably want to use it.
Accessories - Bubba **1/2; John ***
Ah, the only category in which John outdoes Bubba! Both come with a
small display stand, but John's includes a section of the railing. He
also has a machine gun, which fits neatly in his hands and sports a rubber
strap.
Bubba's stand is a little less impressive, but decent in its own
right. There's some of the reeds and the license plate from down by
the river, a nice touch. He doesn't fit quite as easily to the pegs as
does John, but if you play around with him for awhile, you'll get him to
stay. He definitely needs the base to remain upright.
Value - **1/2
Both of these figures run around $12 - $14, which is the average going
rate right now for specialty market figures. It's not a great price,
but does line up with the market pretty well.
Fun Factor - **1/2
Neither of these are really designed for kids, but as 'collectibles' to be
up on the shelf..
Things to watch out for -
Not a thing, really. If you're picking these out on the shelf,
look for the best paint you can find, particularly on McClane. You
should also be a little careful with the strap on his gun, as it can tear
pretty easily.
Overall - Bubba * **1/2; McClane **
Of the four figures, these two represent the two ends of the
spectrum. Bubba was easily my overall favorite of the set, while
McClane was easily the worst.
This Bubba also assures more sales of the upcoming Elvis figure in wave
4, so that they can battle for eternity on your display shelf. Let's
just hope that Elvis turns out more like Bubba in quality than John.
This is the only Die Hard figure we've ever been treated to, although
fans have requested him for many years. The head sculpt isn't as bad
in person as it is in photos - the camera always gets you closer to the
action than your human eye - but it's still more caricature than
reality. The paint ops do nothing to improve on the situation, and
that funky gun down his pants pretty much kills the deal.
I'll have my review up on Tuesday of both the Endoskeleton and the Flyboy
over at da Poop, and as you might guess, they fall in between these two
extremes in quality and results.
SCORE RECAP:
Packaging - ***
Sculpt - Bubba ***1/2; McClane **
Paint - Bubba * ***; McClane *1/2
Articulation - Bubba **; McClane *1/2
Accessories - Bubba **1/2; McClane ***
Fun Factor - **
Value - **/2
Overall - Bubba * **1/2; McClane **
Where to Buy -
Local stores like Spencers and Hot Topic may have them in. Your online
options include:
- CornerStoreComics has
the singles for $12 each, or the full set for $44.
- Time and Space Toys has
the singles at $12 as well.
- Amazing Toyz has the singles
for $11 - $13 each, depending on the character.
- Alter Ego Comics has the set
for $48. The listing says only three of the figures, but at that price
(and with the photo including the Bubba figure), I'd assume that's all four.
- Killer Toys sells the
individuals for $14 each, or the set for $50.
Related Links:
Series 1 included the Mohawk Gremlin and
Patrick Bateman, and series two had
Leatherface, Freddy, the Tall Man and Frank the Bunny.
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