Sculpting - ***1/2
The sculpting is great on Jacques, and decent on Marge. The Marge
sculpt is pretty much the same as the first series Marge, but the bowling
glove and bowling shoes are new.
Jacques is a terrific sculpt, both body and head. He's
in scale with the rest of the line, and his expression captures the
character perfectly. And now we have two characters in sweaters!
For a scale picture, check out the very last photo on the page.
Another plus on the sculpting of both figures is the hands
and arms. Due to the limited articulation, it's important to sculpt
the arms in such a way as to give you some posing options. They
managed to do that with both figures, and the hands are sculpted to hold the
bowling balls perfectly.
Paint - ***1/2
The paint ops on both the figures and playset look good. No slop, no
inconsistencies, and very little overspray. Every line isn't perfect,
but it's above average.
You should watch the eyes on Jacques though. Mine were
fine, but I suspect that if the pupils aren't just right he'll come out
looking a bit goofy.
Marge's head also appears to be made from the shinier
plastic...hmmm.
Articulation - **1/2
Another one of those same story, different figures sort of thing.
Neck, shoulders and waist.
Accessories - ***1/2
The accessories on this set are light - only two bowling balls and the
ball bag. All are technically re-uses.
The ball bag is a repaint, and looks pretty good. Both balls are
also painted to match the episode colors, and both have the appropriate
names inscribed on them - Homer on the green ball, and Jacques on the red
ball.
The simple fact that they inscribed these balls with the names elevates
the accessories a solid star or more. Adding in show specific touches,
rather than just reused existing accessories, is crucial to making the set a
hit.
Talking Feature - ***
Hallelujah! It appears that our major issue with the pegs just might be
fixed. Both Jacques and Marge fit on the pegs perfectly, with no
issues at all.
The lines are all from the episode, and fairly well chosen:
Jacques: "There are ten pins in my heart - you've knocked over
eight", "I can teach you everything", "Do you know how
beautiful you look in the moonlight?", "My mind says stop, but my
hips cry proceed!", "Your fingers are so slender".
Marge: "Where do I throw this?", "Homer's my ball's
name", "I'm a married woman".
As you can see, Jacques has quite a good selection, but Marge seems a
little less talkative.
