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Packaging - *** The packaging has remained fairly
consistent through out the run, and that's a good thing for most
MOCers. That provides for a consistent display, but if you're an opener
it won't be much of an issue. The packaging has some basic personalization for each character, but does tend to hide the BaF piece.
Sculpting - Green Arrow ****; the rest ***1/2 All four are excellent sculpts, but for me it's the Green Arrow that stands out. It's
the somewhat old school head sculpt combined with the well designed
costume. The extra articulation (he has pin wrists) help with posing,
and it allows him to be even more dynamic on the shelf than the usual
DCUC. Dove has a pretty funky mask, but she's still one of the
more attractive female figures we've had in awhile. I love the long
ponytail in back too, which doesn't get in the way of the articulation.
She doesn't have a ton of detail work on the costume, but it works for
the character. Her partner Hawk is a bulky due, with a more
complex costume due to the wing-like cape on his back. I like the
simple expressions on Green Arrow and Dove, but I have to say that
Hawk's weird gritted teeth are a bit off-putting. The same is
true of the expression on Red Arrow. While the sculpt style on Green
Arrow is a bit more realistic, Red Arrow is slightly more
cartoony. It's an odd combination, but a minor quibble at best. Red
Arrow does have nicely detailed hair, and more sculpted details on his
costume and quiver. The hands on both Arrows are sculpted to pose with
and hold the bow, which works fairly well considering. The scale
ranges from 6 - 7" for this wave, with most figures coming in around 6
1/4 to 6 1/2". They fit in nicely with the rest of the series,
both scale-wise and design-wise.
Paint - ***1/2 There's a few blurps and blips here and there, but for mass market toys these have a much better paint quality than average.
The mask edges are generally clean, especially on Dove. Her lips are
quite clean - and very bright red - as well, and I like the darker
airbrushed look to the edges of her collar.
The cut lines and
separations on the Arrow costumes are particularly clean, due in part
to the separate pieces like the strap and quivers. Even Hawk has
good ops, especially on the face and mask. His costume details are
based more in paint than sculpt, so having sharp lines is quite
important. Articulation - ***1/2 I
really like the basic body for both the female and male DCUC
characters. For a 6 -7" figure, it poses extremely well, and is fairly
lifelike. All the joints are here - ball jointed neck and
shoulders, cut biceps, waist, and thighs, pin elbows, knees and
ankles, hinge hips and even ab-crunch. They are all fairly sturdy, and
none of the joints were warped or felt like they would easily tear or
break. Hawk and Dove have the usual cut writs, but the Arrows both have pin wrists, making it easier for them to pose with the bow.
Accessories - Red Arrow, Green Arrow ***1/2; Hawk, Dove **1/2 All
four of these come with a part for Nekron, which is enough to get them
a **1/2 score, but if you aren't interested in building him, that won't
mean much to you. Green Arrow has his bow, which can't actually
be drawn back. The arrow is attached to both the string and the bow,
making the string immovable. Still, it fits well in his right hand, and
you can get some reasonable basic poses. Red Arrow has the same
bow - with the same restriction - just in his color. He also has three
alternate arrows, although just what you are going to do with them is a
mystery to me.
Fun Factor - ****
These figures don't have quite the build quality (or imaginativeness)
of the MOTUC series, but they are still extremely good action figures.
Add in the superhero theme, and you get toys that most kids will find
appealing.
Value - **1/2
You should be able to find these for around $16 each, give or take a
bit. That's pretty average right now, but if you get hit for closer to
$20, I'd pull a half star here.
Things to Watch Out For - Not a thing with these four.
Overall - Green Arrow ****; the rest ***1/2
I'm a big fan of the DC Universe Classics, and I'll keep buying every
wave til Mattel finally decides they've had enough. But that doesn't
mean every figure is a knock out. This
time though, I really like all four of these, especially the Green
Arrow. Dove is a great female figure too, although Hawk is just another
figure to add to the shelf, at least to me. Sculpting and paint are
solid across the set, which is a big plus. As always, your mileage may
vary. I've included a lot of photos, so be sure to scroll all the way to the bottom.
Score Recap:
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - Green Arrow ****; the rest ***1/2
Paint - ***1/2
Articulation - ***1/2
Accessories - Red Arrow, Green Arrow ***1/2; Hawk, Dove **1/2
Fun Factor - ****
Value - **1/2
Overall - Green Arrow ****; the rest ***1/2
Where to Buy -
Your first choice for these guys is the local stores, like Toys R Us
and Target, where they will run you around $15 or so each.
Related
Links - I've covered a lot of DCUC: - obviously, the last set was wave 19, done in three parts: part 1, part 2, and part 3. - just before that were the series 17 part 1
and part 2, as well as series 18 part 1 and part
2.
- other recent reviews covered the new Green Lantern waves: wave 2 part 2 and part 1, and wave 1 part 2 and part 1.
- Series 16 was split up too, into part 1
and part 2.
- I finished off wave 15 in two parts, one here and one here.
- and wave 14 was also in part 1 and part 2.
- the SDCC Plastic Man was the previous
review.
- I split the wave 13 up into two sections, part
1 and part 2.
- I covered half of wave 12, but it took
awhile to pick up the second half.
- prior to that was part 1 and part 2 of wave 11.
- big surprise, wave 10 was before that, with some here and some
here.
- you can find wave 9 part 1 here, and part 2 over here.
- I split wave 8 up into two parts, one here
and one here.
- prior to that was wave 7 (duh), which I covered here.
- I broke wave six into two reviews, one here and one here.
- no, I never reviewed wave 5, but prior to that was wave 4 which I also
broke into this review, and this
one.
- of course, prior to that was wave 3. -
I covered wave 1 in two parts, one here and one
at here. It took me so freakin' long to find
them, I never did review wave 2, but if you're looking for one, Kastor's
Korner has a great review.
- last up in the DCSH figures were the Clayface
and Bruce to Bats figures.
- before that was Mongul, who is also one of
the best figures this year and Parasite and
Steel.
- don't forget the 12" version of the
smaller Batman, and the 12" Cyborg
Superman.
- in this smaller line, the fourth series was Superman themed, with Brainiac and Darkseid. There's also the Batgirl and Superman from the two packs.
-
there's the guest review of series 3 Batman and
Azrael.
- a guest review of series 2 Doomsday, and
another of the series 2 Superman.
- my review of the series 2 Bizarro and
Supergirl.
- my review of the Batman and Killer Croc
from wave 1.
- and finally, my review of Bane and Scarecrow that were released
internationally as part of the old Mattel line, and then re-released with wave 1
of the DCSH.
- and while the aren't technically DCUC, the new Public Enemies figures are
close enough for most of us. I split the review into part 1 and part
2.
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