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SDCC Exclusive Extreme Hellboy

One of the San Diego Comic Con exclusives this year was the Extreme Hellboy from Mezco.  As a follow up to their successful 8" line, this version is more of a caricature style, 10" tall and rotocast.

They also did an 'extended features' Hellboy for the show, which was the original 8" figure, with a pewter gun and polystone Right Hand of Doom.  Don't confuse that one with this one - this one is bigger, and a slightly different style.

This figure was limited to 3000, and cost $35 at the show.  I doubt we'll see any additional 'extreme' versions of the other characters, but folks should be satiated with the second series of Hellboy figures from Mezco, due later this year.






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.

 


Figure from the collection of Michael Crawford.

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