|
Packaging - ***
Bright and colorful, the packaging matches up well with the designs and
stylings of the comic books. It's not too large either, which is nice
for the eco-minded collectors. Obviously, it's not collector friendly,
which means that you'll have to destroy it to get at your figure, and
there's a handful of the hated twisty ties as well, but overall it's
solid work. Sculpting - ***1/2
Comic book Scott is not Movie Scott - these guys are based on the print appearance. These
are in a 6" scale, each standing just under that size. They stand great
on their own too, which means that the sculpted leg pose (there's no
leg articulation) was well selected. While the basic designs are
pretty simplistic, they've sculpted the edges of all major areas, like
the eyes and iris', mouth, teeth, eyebrows, shirt edging, etc. They
could have done some of these in just paint, but by adding them as
sculpted features they've greatly improved the overall appearance and
added lots of depth to the sculpt. The hands are sculpted to work with the two accessories, and both can be held properly. There
are two head sculpts here, one for the green shirt and one for the
purple. They almost closed mouth, stern expression comes with the green
shirt, while the crazy eyes/open smile expression comes with the purple
shirt. If you have both, you can easily swap the heads. My only
complaint that holds these back from a perfect score is the amount of
seam lines created by the manufacturing process. The figure looks
rougher because of it, and a little less like the two dimensional
version.
Paint - ***
The paint work is fairly basic, as is the norm for cartoon/comic style
figures. The colors are bright and consistent, as is the overall finish. Some
of the cut lines are a little sloppy, particularly on the shirt. The
hair paint looks a bit gloppy too, as does some of the skin. The issues
are minor, but there are enough to pull him down overall slightly.
Articulation - ***1/2 I
figured the few points that are here would hurt these figures, but once
I had them out of the package I realized that Mezco had made the most
of the limited articulation. The ball jointed neck is key, and it
has an excellent range of movement with lots of tilt and lean
potential. There's also ball jointed shoulders, although they are of
the disc and post variety. Below that on the arms are cut biceps and
cut wrists, with a cut waist finishing things off. The lack of
leg articulation isn't as big of a problem because a) the pose they
selected works well with lots of upper body poses and b) the figures
stand great on their own. It's
worth noting that the heads pop
off, allowing you to put the guitar over his shoulder easily, as well
as allowing you to swap expressions with shirts if you feel the need.
I've included one photo where you can see them together with the heads
swapped.
Accessories - ***
Both figures come with the exact same accessories - his bass guitar and his sword. These
are sculpted and painted to replicate the comic book versions, and they
look great, right down to the heart shaped knob on the sword hilt.
There's not a ton of detail, but the style is in line with the artwork.
Smaller details that could have just been paint - like the bass strings
or the control knobs - are actually sculpted, a nice touch. The bass
also has a leather strap, and it is very firmly attached to the back of
the instrument. His hands are sculpted to hold these, and he can wield the bass to play it or use it as a weapon. Fun Factor - ***1/2 While
the number of joints might seem limiting, they are all so well executed
and designed that the figure poses and plays better than some that have
many more joints. I don't know that kids are going to have any idea who
Scott Pilgrim is (and let's face it, they'd need some of the exes to
have any conflict play), but adult collectors will appreciate the
ability to pose these in their own way.
Value - ***1/2 Let me see if I have this straight - I just
spent $17 on a 6" DCUC figure from Mattel at my local Toys R Us, but
these guys are only $12 or so each? Seriously? That's a Hell of a buy
considering the current market for action figures in this scale.
Things to Watch Out For -
If you're having trouble putting the guitar over his shoulder, just pop the head off - easy peasy!
Overall - ***1/2
While there's a few nits here - gloppy paint, seam lines - the price
point is shockingly good. How many figures over 4" tall are even
available at mass retail for $12 or so? Considering that these are a
specialty market release, I'm amazed that they can be had so cheap. If
you're a fan of the comic, you'll be very pleased with the overall look
as well. There's enough articulation to give the figures plenty of
personality on your shelf, and these are a great way to introduce your
friends to the printed version of the character, especially if they
enjoyed the live action film. I do wish that we'd gotten the
cloth coat, and if the demand is too low for us to get a Ramona or any
of the exes then it will be disappointing. But if you're not buying
these for fear of that outcome, then you're creating the very situation
you're trying to avoid. Support the line, and maybe we'll get some of
the other key characters.
Score Recap:
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - ***1/2
Paint - ***
Articulation - ***1/2
Accessories - *** Fun Factor - ***1/2
Value - ***1/2
Overall - ***1/2
Where to Buy -
Online options include these site sponsors:
- Things From Another World still has the purple shirt version for $13.50. - Entertainment
Earth has the set for just $24. - Big Bad Toy Store has the singles for $14 each, or the pair for $25.
- or you can search
ebay for a buy.
Related
Links -
Not much - there's been little in the way of collectibles for the comic or film.
Discussion:
Want to chat about this
review? Try out one of these terrific
forums where I'll be
discussing it!
Enjoyed this review? Be sure to head back to the main page to find
thousands more just like it!
KEEP
SCROLLING DOWN FOR MORE
PHOTOS!
|