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The Werewolf of London

Sideshow Toy made a name for themselves with their line of 8" Universal Monsters.  But at a certain point, the call of the 12" market was simply too great, and the company switched from the smaller, all plastic figures to the larger sixth scale, highly articulated figures they do today.

But that didn't mean they left the Universal Monsters behind, oh no.  They've given us almost every figure in 12" form that they had produced in 8" form, and the upcoming 12" Creature from the Black Lagoon is one of the most anticipated figures from Sideshow this year.

Before we get there though, we have two more hitting our shelves - The Werewolf of London and the Moleman.  I'll be reviewing Moleman shortly, and today we look at the furball with an English accent.

He's shipping now from Sideshow, but I have no idea if we'll see him at regular bricks and mortar stores.  The run size is only 1500, so this may be a Sideshow site only type figure, without being officially called that.




Packaging - ***1/2
More terrific graphics, and once again a completely collector friendly box.  Sure, there's a few twisties, but you don't have to destroy anything like you do when the bubble seal the stands to the insert.

I do wish there was more text here.  The best Sideshow packaging, like the Twilight Zone and Outer Limits boxes, gives a great synopsis of the license.  Here we get the poster graphics and a cast list, but more info would have pushed this to the four stars.

Sculpting - ****
No one does sixth scale licensed sculpts like Sideshow - no one.  Occasionally they slip slightly, but I'm glad to see that wasn't the case here.  The head and hand sculpts are beautiful work once again from Mat Falls.

The facial expression has been chosen well, and is not over the top, but not too complacent.  There's a ton of detail in the eyes and mouth, and in the slightly wrinkled expression.  The hands look just as you'd expect, but it would have been nice if he could have held the test tubes properly in one of them.

Paint - ****
The paint operations on this set are fairly basic outside the face, but they really shine there.  The detail of the eyes and mouth is perfect, and the colors are all consistent and even.

The paint application works perfectly with the excellent sculpting, and brins out all the detail and expression in the face.  

Articulation - ***1/2
The usual Sideshow body is in use, except in a very dark brown color.  He has neck, ball jointed shoulders, cut biceps, double jointed elbows, the special Sideshow wrists that allow for tons of movement, chest, waist, ball jointed hips, cut thighs, double jointed knees, and ankles.

Normally, this body gets the full four stars from me, but this time around I had some trouble with loose hips and ankles.  That seems to be a hit or miss thing with Sideshow, and while I didn't end up using a stand to keep him standing, I have a hunch that I'll have to resort to one eventually.

Accessories - ***
The accessories you get with Sideshow are always consistent in quality, but not in number.  Sometimes you're lucky to get one or two, and other times they are loaded with more than you could ever use.  The Werewolf of London hits that middle ground.

He comes with the flower of course, a critical piece of the movie, and with a set of six test tubes.  There's a Erlenmeyer flask, his glasses on a string, and a test tube rack that has both an area to hold the test tubes when in use, and to hold them to dry after washing.

The work on the accessories is very nice, and I like the detail on the test tube rack and the glasses.  There's even a small gold ball on the end of the string, implying a clasp (although there is none of course).  I would have loved his hat though, but without the overcoat outfit it really doesn't fit in.

Outfit - ***
Sideshow selected his red 'smoking' jacket, with a white shirt and tuxedo pants as the outfit.  The 8" version wore the more familiar brown suit, brown overcoat and hat, and I suspect most people would have preferred that version.  It would have been more expensive of course, and also I think this way they figured you could get two versions of this character on your shelf, rather than having two that matched in appearance.

The outfit is fairly basic, but the quality is up to the usual high level.  The material used for the jacket is excellent quality, and the stitching and tailoring is great.  The shirt has full sleeves, and the snaps at the wrists are done 'cuff link' style, a very nice touch.

The pants are tailored well, with a black stripe down either leg, and the shoes are the usual dress version.

Value - **1/2
Forty bucks is the usual price at the Sideshow site, but there are normally alternatives.  With such a low production run though, this may only end up available through the site.

Overall - ***1/2
This figure is a great addition to your Universal Monsters set.  After the disappointing Mummy, I'm glad to see the line back on track, and I simply can't wait to get my hands on the Creature.

Where to Buy - 
I doubt we'll see these in any main stream stores, because the run on them is so small.  On-line:

- your best bet is Sideshow, because as I mentioned early on these are limited to only 1500.  The Moleman's run is the same - only 1500.

- Time and Space Toys has them in stock and ready to go at $38 each.  They also carry a lot of the earlier 12" and 8" Universal Monsters from Sideshow.


Figure from the collection of Michael Crawford.

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