|
Packaging - ***1/2
The
artwork on this line is terrific. Bright, colorful, and appropriate,
it's clearly based on the old Segar cartoons. The card stock is
sturdy as well, and on the back of the card the rest of the line is
pictured.
Sculpt - ****
One
of the best parts of this line is the sculpting. All five of the
figures look great, particularly if your a fan of the old cartoons.
The sculpting on the accessories is also well done, and Varner Studios did
some very nice work here. Value - **1/2
As
always, it depends on where you buy. Right now, these are only
available at stores like Electronic Boutique and Media Play. At ten
bucks, these aren't the greatest value, although the accessories and
articulation are good. But if you can find these for 8 bucks or
less, you'd be getting a good deal. Accessories -
***1/2
Another
very nice part of these figures are the terrific accessories. This
version of Popeye comes with his squished can of Spinach, shark's jaws, an
anchor and a removable bicep muscle.
The
bicep muscle isn't particularly great, although the one that comes with
the Peacoat Popeye looked like it would fit better.
The
can of spinach fits inside his right hand just fine, and the anchor is
nice. I really like the articulated shark jaws, although painting
the teeth white would have been better.
Another
nice touch is his removable hat - it fits with a small peg into his head,
but the hole is fairly small and it fits tightly.
Articulation - ***1/2
This figure looked better in the package than out when it comes to
articulation. He has at least 13 points, depending on how you count,
but unfortunately a couple of the joints aren't quite as good as I'd
hoped.
First the good news - the neck joint
is excellent! The head turns left and right, and moves forward and
back. The articulated hands are good, and the cut joints at the
wrists are very important.
The cut joints at the thighs aren't
particularly useful, but they are still decent. The waist
articulation works with the punch action.
The only disappointment here that
brings the score down are the ball jointed shoulders. Sure, they're
ball joints, but they have a very limited range of motion because of their
design, and they also seem extremely fragile. Be careful when you're
moving his arms!
Paint - ***
It's pretty decent paint work, although there isn't too much complicated
here. The colors are all fairly clean, with no overspray or
slop. But there aren't too many details, and painting the teeth on
the shark jaws white would have given the figure a better score.
Overall - ***1/2
Although
I have no interest in the license, the quality of the articulation and
accessories convinced me to buy one. That says an awful lot about
this product. I
have high hopes for Mezco if they pull in some interesting licenses.
Currently nothing they have coming up is likely to get my money, but then
I didn't think I'd be getting a Popeye in my lifetime either.
|
