Packaging - ***1/2
I really like these boxes.  Great graphics, with an interesting color scheme, and they're just big enough to hold the figure and accessory with very little waste. Hey, they're even relatively collector friendly, with just a couple rubber bands holding them in the tray.

Sculpting/Design - ***1/2
There's not much 'sculpting' going on here, but rather a basic body design that seems to work quite well no matter what the license - Star Wars, Indiana Jones or even Marvel superheroes.

I've said before that I think this design works best for 'regular' people, rather than helmeted ones, unless they go with actual helmets like they did with Mola. The basic design lends itself extremely well to the types of characters in the Indy universe.

Of course, with such a basic body design, the paint work becomes critical.  More on that in the next category.

Mutt and Henry Sr have the basic legs, while Monkey Man has the 'skirt' legs. Both allow the figures to stand great on their own.

Paint - ***1/2
The most critical aspect for these figures is the paint - it makes or breaks the pseudo likeness to the character.

Of course, first it has to be clean and neat, and they have that covered across the board.  The general paint quality here was even better this time around than the first wave. There's a few smudges here and there, but they are far and few between.

Henry Sr and Monkey Man look terrific. The characters are instantly recognizable, and they used some interesting techniques to make them look interesting, like the square tooth edge to Monkey Man's beard.

He does have one oddity that I think might be a simple screw up on their part.  The scar down his face from his eye has a small diamond shape on it to set it apart.  But they also added that diamond shape to one half of the strap of the eye patch...I don't think they intended to do that.

Articulation - *1/2
Like most designer vinyl, these aren't particularly articulated.  There's a cut neck, and cut shoulders, and that's it.  I cut them more slack last time around in this category, but cut wrists, a cut waist or even the obvious cut hips would have gone a long way to helping in this category.

Accessories - Monkey Man, Mutt **1/2; Dr. Jones **
Some of the other Muggs lack accessories, but Hasbro has been pretty good about adding in extras with the Indy series.

Monkey Man has his monkey of course. I'm giving them credit for including it (and let's face it, they had to), but I have to say that it's a truly disturbing little creature.  Between the facial expression and contorted body pose, he looks truly creepy.  He does fit in the Man's hand though, even if it does look mighty weird.

Mutt has a sword, which fits the character considering the film. It also fits in his hands nicely.

Unfortunately, Professor Henry Sr only has his hat.  This was a big disappointment, considering the other potential items, including an umbrella.  The hat fits well and looks great, but Indy's dad deserved another accessory.

Fun Factor - ***
Okay, so most kids aren't going to find these as much fun as the usual action figure, but they do have a lot of potential. Kids enjoy Playmobil and Lego figures not because they are highly detailed and articulated, but because they are fun - these don't have the playsets to go along with them like those lines, but they can still provide plenty of play.

Rather than think of these as action figures for the 7 and up crowd, you can consider them more in line with toddler toys, and as such a great way to get smaller kids introduced to the world of Indiana Jones.

Value - ****
Folks not familiar with the specialty market designer vinyl figures are probably wondering how Hasbro is getting ten bucks a pop for these. The reality is that in that market, what amounts to fairly basic figures go for extremely big bucks. These make for a much better value for fans of the style, especially those that can't afford the specialty market lines.

Things To Watch Out For - 
They might look like designer vinyl, but they're still mass market. You'll want to watch the paint when you're picking them out on the shelf.

Overall - Monkey Man, Henry Sr. ***1/2; Mutt ***
Henry Sr is my favorite of the bunch, followed closely by Monkey Man.  I do wish that they'd included more accessories with him, but that's a minor gripe.

Of the three, Mutt is the least impressive for me.  It might be simply because he's the least interesting character still, and that may be altering my judgement a bit. Still, the quality of the likeness in this unique style is too good for me to ignore.

One of the things that makes basic designs like these appealing is how they look in groups.  If you only buy Indy, I have to admit that I wouldn't 'get it' either. One or two of these don't fit in with anything else, and would look odd all by themselves.

But put a bunch of them together, and the consistency of the basic design with the cool unique paint jobs makes for a great display.  The beauty of a collectible like this (or mini-mates, etc) is not in the single figure, but rather the collective. Resistance is futile.

Now that we have six figures on the shelf, things are looking up, and with at least six more already announced, they should make for one of the better Indy products released in conjunction with the movie this year.

Score Recap:
Packaging - ***1/2
Sculpting/Design - ***1/2
Paint - ***1/2
Articulation - *1/2
Accessories - Monkey Man, Mutt **1/2; Dr. Jones **
Fun Factor - ***
Value - ****
Overall - Monkey Man, Henry Sr. ***1/2; Mutt ***

Where to Buy -
These are hitting most large retailers right now. I have some sponsors that carry them as well:

- you can pick up a case (or pre-order most of them) at Urban Collector for around $54.

- Entertainment Earth has the set of four (including the Indy) for $50, and have a 'low price guarantee' on it.

- for the UK collectors, Forbidden Planet has them for 9 GBP each.

- You can order the next wave of Indy Muggs from Things From Another World for $48.

Related Links -
I covered a couple other Muggs so far - here's a review of the Star Wars Boba Fett, as well as the first wave of Indy. And if you're looking for regular news on the Muggs, check out the Mighty Muggs Lounge.

Discussion:
Want to chat about this review?  Try out one of these terrific forums where I'll be discussing it!

Reader Ratings!
Here's your chance to weigh in!  Select your rating for this figure(s) to the right.  Yea, it's a five star system and not a four star system like mine, but it's the best I've been able to come up with so far.  You can only rate once from any particular IP.  My overall score for these three, averaged and then converted to a five star system for comparison is: 4.16