
Dragon's
Lair Singe
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Everyone that remembers the golden age of
standing arcade games remembers the first laser disc, full animation one -
Dragon's Lair. With fantastic animation from Don Bluth, the game
captured the challenge hungry arcaders of 1983
The game was damn expensive though - seems
to me that while others were still a quarter, Dragon's Lair was one of the
first, if not the first, to bump the price to 50 cents.
This fall a new version is being released
for home systems called Dragon's Lair 3D. In conjunction with this new
game, Anjon is releasing a series of action figures, including Dirk of
course (reviewed on Tuesday, August 20th at Movie Poop
Shoot), Mordroc,
Daphne and the deluxe dragon Singe, reviewed here.
Suggested retail on the regular figures is
about 9 bucks, while Singe runs around $20.
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Packaging - **1/2
The colors and style are eye catching, but the window is likely to end up
damaged on the shelf.
Also, they really needed to add
some explanatory text. With the new game still not out, and the
previous game well in the past, many kids won't know much about these
characters.
Sculpting - ***1/2
I'm happy with the sculpting on the entire line. While it's true that
cartoons are easier to match due to the simplicity of design, it's still
quite possible to produce poor sculpts. Thank goodness that's not the
case here.
The overall body sculpt looks nice, and the head sculpt is
particularly well done. I have but one complaint, and it's one most
folks will have. Singe is clearly out of scale, as he's barely taller
than Dirk. This is due to costs of course - an in-scale Singe would
have been huge. But adding a small scale Dirk and Daphne to the set
would have really improved the figure, and added to the accessories, making
the figure a far better value.
Paint - ***1/2
I don't have any real complaint on the paint ops. While they are very
simple, they are all clean and nicely done. Unlike Dirk, who had some
inconsistencies in some of his color, Singe was smooth and clean all around.
Articulation - **
I was disappointed by the articulation, particularly since they tried so
hard.
Singe has a far number of points - ball jointed shoulders,
cut thighs, neck, cut joint at the base of the neck, and two points in the
tail. These points are hidden by the rubber of the tail, and the end
of the tail, along with the neck, are made of a bendy material.
Unfortunately, I wasn't impressed by the bendy
material. While it was possible to get it to hold a position for
awhile, it only really worked with extreme positions. The hidden
joints in the tail worked poorly for me, and perhaps it was a QA
issue. While one of them would click into place, the other didn't work
at all, simply popping back.
The single best joint his his jaw. He can open his
mouth nice and wide, or close it up tight, and it really adds to the look of
the figure. But cut wrists would have really been nice, and the issues
with the tail damaged my opinion in a big way.
Accessories - ***
Singe comes with the magic sword, the large jewel into which the sword
fits (think Excalibur), and a gold key on a metal gold chain.
The chain and key fit nicely around Singe's neck, and the sword fits
perfectly into the stone. The accessories make complete sense and all
come right out of the source material.
Still, it's a bit light on the accessory side for a figure this
expensive. As I mentioned earlier (and stole from a poster at the Buzz
Board), having a small Dirk and Daphne would have really helped.
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Value - **
While I like the figure, the twenty dollar price tag is simply too
high. Fifteen bucks perhaps, but the high cost on this entire line
hurts it overall.
Overall - **1/2
While I was pleasantly surprised with Dirk, who I purchased first, I was
disappointed with Singe. Anjon did such a terrific job with Dirk that
I expected the same - or better, considering I was paying twice as much -
with Singe. Alas, it wasn't to be.
Less articulation, the problems I had with the tail, and the
high price point all hurt this figure. I could have dealt with the
scale problems, if they'd done a better job in the other three areas.
Where to Buy -
The Musicland stores (Sam Goody, On Cue, Musicland and Media Play)
have them, as does Gamestop and Electronics Boutique. Your local
comic shop may also have them. On-line:
- Electronics
Boutique on-line has Singe for $18, but the regular figures are $10
each. (MROTW Affiliate)
- Action
Figure Express has the set of three regular figures for $30, and Singe
for $20, plus shipping. Search for 'Dragon Lair'. (MROTW
affiliate)
- Big Bad Toy Store has
Singe for $19, and the set
of three for $30. You can also buy the individual figures for ten
bucks each, all plus shipping of course.
- Entertainment
Earth has the set
of three regular figures for $35, and Singe
for $20 plus shipping. (MROTW affiliate)
|
 Figure from the collection of Michael Crawford. |