Packaging - ***
The figure comes in a black box, sealed so you can't see the actual
figure. It looks fairly good, but I'd rather be able to see the
figure. It's fairly collector friendly though, and you can pop him out and
put him back later if you feel the desire.
It's attractive, but not quite as nice as something like the Mattel Batman
packaging used at the show. Of course, that packaging isn't collector
friendly, so I guess you can't win them all.
Sculpting - ***1/2
You don't get just one great head here - you get two. And both of them
sport terrific sculpts!
This is more of a caricature style, similar to the work Mezco has done with
Animal House or Scarface. I'm not a big fan of that style most of the
time, but Hellboy is already a caricature to begin with. The style seems
to fit him much better than a 'real' person, right down to the oversized feet
and skinny waist.
One head sports a closed mouth grimace, while the other has an open mouth,
showing teeth, that is designed to hold the cigar accessory. There's about
the right amount of detail on this sculpt, matching up with a more comic book
version of Hellboy.
While the figure is rotocast, there's still a lot of deep detail, and none of
the sculpting seems soft or weak. Even the Right Hand of Doom has fairly
deep cuts, looking very much like concrete. There are plenty of small
details on the body, such as the cross and rosary on his belt, with detailed
wrinkles in the pants, and lots of texture to the skin.
Paint - ***1/2
The paint ops are solid, with the majority of detail work on the faces.
The red body is consistent and has a nice wash to bring out the details.
The body seems to be a slightly lighter red than the heads though, which makes
him look flushed. Maybe he's embarrassed.
Articulation - ***1/2
For a rotocast figure, especially in this scale, he has quite a bit of
articulation.
There's the ball jointed neck, ball jointed right wrist, and ball jointed
shoulders, all of which work pretty well if they don't have quite as much of a
range of motion as you'd expect.
There's also a cut left wrist joint, hips, and cut joints at the shins.
There's also the chest and waist joints, and let's not forget that the tail is
jointed at the body AND bendy.
With those big feet, and the solid leg articulation, you'll have no trouble
getting and keeping this guy standing.
Accessories - ***1/2
There's a nice, healthy number here. I already mentioned that there's two
heads, and they pop on and off quite nicely. There's also the second
shirt, which uses a zipper up the front rather than the velcro down the
back. There's the aforementioned cigar which fits perfectly between the
teeth of the gaping mouth, and of course, there's Samaritan, the huge gun.
The Samaritan is made from a softer plastic, and doesn't open like the
18" version. It looks good though, and fits nicely in his left hand.
Outfit - ***
There are several pieces of clothing here, all removable.
There's the overcoat of course, and Mezco did almost as nice a job on this
version as they did on the one for their 18" figure. The color is
good, the fit excellent, and they've included a soft cloth holster on the inside
for the Samaritan.
The coat can be removed if you pop off the Right Hand of Doom, and then you
can remove the original shirt. This shirt looks great from the front, but
has a huge velcro closure in back. It doesn't look all that great without
the coat, and I suspect that's why they threw in the alternate shirt, with the
zipper up the front. Of course, the zipper is really too big for this
scale, so it doesn't really look as good from the front as the other
shirt. Six of one, half a dozen of the other. At least you'll have
your choice as to which shirt you use (or none at all!).
Fun Factor - ***
This is a pretty fun version, with lots of cool accessories, a fun, cartoony
sculpt, and solid articulation. If you know a kid who likes Hellboy, you
might give this version a shot. The larger scale will work well for them,
and this Hellboy looks more like a Rescue Hero than a copy of the movie version.
Value - **
Even as a con exclusive, this guy is mighty expensive. At $35, he's more
expensive than any other single figure exclusive I saw at the show, other than
the huge Zuni Warrior from Majestic. Considering that you can get the uber-cool
18" Hellboy, also from Mezco, for $40 or less, you can see that this figure
isn't the same kind of value.
Overall - ***
This Hellboy isn't the best version that Mezco has produced - that honor
goes to the 18" version. It's not even number 2, because I put the
8" movie version in the coat in that slot. But he's a solid third,
and for people looking for a more comic book styled version, he might very well
be their favorite.
The big negative here is the high price due to the exclusivity of the
figure. You're best bet is to get him through the Mezco toy club,
particularly if you're considering buying other future Mezco exclusives.
Where to Buy -
I picked mine up at SDCC, and I have an extra I'm giving away 'at cost' in the current
contest. You can also find him at:
- ClubMez is the collector's club
for Mezco, and they have him available for the $35 he was at the show. You
have to join up though to be able to purchase him. It's a good deal though
if you expect to buy future exclusives.
- CornerStoreComics has him for
$59.
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