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Sideshow has produced two 12" figures of Ash already, both based on the character in the third film of
the series, the Army of Darkness. The third figure is also based on this film, showing our boy Ash in his
S-Mart uniform ("Name's Ash. Housewares."). Sideshow also did a website only special version of this
figure, and included a pricing gun accessory for the first 250 people to buy it on-line at their site.
I reviewed the regular Ash, as well as the
evil version when they were released last summer.
You may still be able to find those two are your local Sam Goody or Media Play store.
Packaging - ***
Sideshow cheaped out a bit on this version, going with a far more basic box than you might be
accustomed to.
There's no fifth panel, so the graphics are much more limited. It is pretty much collector friendly though,
with only the display stand attached to the insert. Still, it's a little disappointing for the MIBer, since
this box won't match up well with the other two.
Sculpting -***1/2
While I thought the Evil Ash head sculpt was quite good, I was less thrilled with the regular Ash. It didn't
look like Bruce Campbell, but they've gone a long way to improving that with this version.
The face is thinner, the hair neater, with a lone loose strand hanging down in front. That strand is a
separate piece by the way, glued into his forehead. Pay too much attention to it, and it may start looking
a bit odd, but it's about the best they could have done. Of all the Bruce Campbell figures done so far,
including those by McFarlane, I think this one captures his look the best. It's not perfect, and he still has
a bit of an oversized head for his body, but it's damn good, and certainly recognizable. I wouldn't be too
surprised if this head didn't get swapped around with the outfit from the previous figure.
The right hand is sculpted with the metal gloved appendage, having lost his
actual hand in Evil Dead 2. He can hold the rifle and price gun (if you got your order in early) just fine.
Paint - ****
Sideshow always does great paint ops. Ash is another example of their paint quality, with perfect
skin tone, excellent work on the eyes, and no bleed between the hair line and the face. The details on the small
areas, like the pocket protector and the S-mart name badge are also well done and very clean.
Articulation - ***1/2
This is the standard Sideshow body, which is one of my top three or four in the sixth scale market. There's
all the articulation you'd expect - neck, ball jointed shoulders and hips, cut biceps and thighs, double
jointed elbows and knees, ankles, waist, chest, and their own unique, highly poseable wrists. The extra
bonus here is that I had no trouble with any loose joints, which can be a problem on occasion with this
body.
Accessories - ***
There are two accessories in the regular release, three if you got lucky and got one of the early ones.
That's a tad light for a figure in this price range, but what's here is well done.
The regular figure includes a lever action rifle, and the lever actually moves. Be extremely careful
with it though, as it is very fragile and easy to break. He also comes with a pocket protector that slips
neatly into the breast pocket of his S-mart smock.
The figure also includes the standard
Sideshow stand, with special S-Mart description on the base for this
figure. I didn't need the stand, but it's a worthwhile extra if you
live someplace prone to earthquakes, or have a cat around the house.
The extra accessory included in the early figures is an S-mart pricing gun. It's nothing
too exciting,
with a fairly basic appearance, but considering the low quantity on this exclusive I suspect plenty of folks
will be paying top dollar on ebay just to get that little bugger.
Outfit - ***
The outfit consists of his shirt - same as the original, I believe - dress pants, dress shoes, smock and
fancy belt/holster combo.
The shirt, smock, pants and shoes are all excellent quality, with excellent tailoring.
Everything fits well, and the stitching and seams are all well done and likely to hold up fine over time. The details on the smock
are especially nice, like the name badge and ID.
The belt/holster contraption isn't quite as nice, made of some very basic pleather material that is likely
to rip fairly easily. Be careful, particularly with the straps, which are very thin. There are several
buckles holding it all together, but I wouldn't remove it unless I absolutely had to. I suspect getting it
back on would be far more trouble that it could possibly be worth.
Value - **1/2
One area that always hurts Sideshow is price. I'm ranking this at the suggested retail of $40, although I
have some suggestions below where you can find it for $30 or so, which adds another half star to the value.
Overall - ***
I find it a bit ironic...okay, maybe not ironic, since it really isn't and that damn song by Alanis Morissette
always annoys the hell out of me since there isn't a single ironic example actually in it...but that might
be the irony...anyway, it is odd at least that this quirky variation could easily be the best Ash action
figure produced so far in any scale. While he doesn't have the accessories to really deserve the hefty
price tag (a run of only 3000 will make him slightly tougher to get than the first two versions though), he
does have the sculpting, great paint ops and excellent outfit. While the McToys versions aren't bad, this one
will make the sixth scale collectors very happy.
Where to Buy -
I haven't seen this version at any bricks and mortar stores, and I'm not surprised considering the lower run.
You can find it at plenty of places on-line though:
- Sideshow themselves sell them through their store, at $40 plus shipping.
- Aisle Sniper has a better deal at $35. They also have some of the Evil Ash's still available at the
excellent price of $20, or a two pack deal of the Evil Ash and Regular Ash for $45. That's an
excellent price!
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