Review of Indiana Jones Collectible Figures

Introduction

For years, the Indiana Jones fan faced a barren wasteland when it came to collectibles based on his or her beloved movies. Then, with the release of KOTCS, we were treated to an avalanche of product, from every company and every theme.

But nothing lasts for ever, and over the last few months the supply of new items has dried up. This isn't particularly surprising since many of the earlier releases of busts, statues and action figures faired poorly on the open market, but the well hasn't gone completely dry.

The Disney Store usually has sets of cutesy 'collectible figures' based on various properties. For the most part, these are animated films, like 101 Dalmatians or Monsters, Inc. However, they've released a set of five figures based on Indiana Jones that includes Indy, Marion, Sallah, the Cairo Swordsman and the German Mechanic. I found this set at the Disney Store at the LA park, but you should be able to locate it at other Disney stores as well. Expect to pay $13.

Packaging - ***
The box is fairly attractive, and has a big plus at this price point - it's collector friendly. That means you can remove the inside tray, pop out the figures (no twisty ties or rubber bands at all!), and put them back clean and neat without any real damage to the box.

The box doesn't say Raiders of the Lost Ark, but that's what this set is clearly based on. It does mention a 3+ age range though, which is appropriate considering the quality and price.

Sculpting - Cairo Swordsman, German ***; Sallah **1/2; Indy **; Marion *
From past Disney releases, we know they don't have the movie likeness rights, particularly for Indy himself. So it's no surprise that Indiana Jones looks a bit more like Basketball Jones, his distant cousin. The Indy body pose is decent for an action stance, but the goofy grin and over sized hands takes a bit off his score.

Marion is an utter disaster, and will end up on my worst of 201 list, no doubt about it. With her horsey face and completely unworkable pose, she'll be tossed into the bin the moment she's free from the tray.

Sallah has a fairly good sculpt, especially when it comes to a realistic facial sculpt in this scale. The paint doesn't do much to let it shine, but the work on the portrait is nice - too bad the over sized hands kills it.

The Cairo Swordsman and German Mechanic are the winners of the set. Both have very good sculpts that we can appreciate as much as the weak paint ops will allow.

The Swordsman has a few problems staying upright, but the German stood tall for me without any trouble. Both have properly sized heads and hands as well, something that Sallah and Indy lack.

These figures are all just under 4" tall, and can work pretty well scale-wise with other 3 3/4" - 4" series.

Paint - **
While the sculpting on three of the five is reasonable, the paint is simply awful all the way around.

The mechanic has this very dark red lower lip, thick and wide. I'm assuming that they were going for a bloody look here, after Indy had punched him. I give them some credit for trying, but it looks awful, and nothing like a bloody mouth. Instead, it looks like he has a reverse double mustache, or some weird skin condition.

The rest of the figures all have a lot of slop, fuzzy cut lines, and poor definition. The skin tone on the hands is clumpy, and most of the hairlines are poorly defined. There's a few details here and there, but most of the paint work is broad and sweeping, covering large chunks of plastic. They did work with a wash on some of the clothing to add wear and dirt, and this works a bit better than expected.

While there's really no saving Marion, slightly better paint ops would have greatly improved the German, Sallah and the Swordsman.

Articulation - *
There ain't much. All the figures have some sort of arm articulation. For most it's a cut shoulder, but for the Cairo Swordsman it's cut joints where the arms meet the robes. And that's it.

There are a few spots that *look* like joints (like the neck and waist of the German Mechanic), but sadly these are glued tight.

With this woefully inadequate articulation, it's probably no surprise that many of the figures have a tough time standing. The German had the least amount of trouble, while it's impossible to keep Marion on her feet without support. The others fall somewhere in between, and will probably require a quick dip in hot water, some bending of the feet, and a quick dip in the cold to repose them slightly and make standing an easier task. Poor Marion is a lost cause.

Accessories - ***
There are several, and one in particular saves the set from a lower score.

There's the small handgun for Indy, which can't go in the holster but does fit in his sculpted left hand. His whip is NOT an accessory, as it is firmly glued permanently in place.

There's a torch for Sallah, which also fits in in his left hand. The torch sculpt and paint work is on par with most of the figures, which means it's pretty weak.

There's also a small Fertility Idol, which has the best sculpt and paint of the little accessories.

The frying pan in Marion's hand and the sword in the Cairo Swordsman's grip are both like Indy's whip - permanently attached. Therefore neither count toward this score.

If it were just those three, they'd be getting closer to ** here, maybe less, but they've also included a fairly accurate (for this scale and price point) Ark of the Covenant. The Ark opens, and has a very nice sculpt and paint job. The poles were bent a bit by the plastic tray, but with a hot and cold water treatment you should be able to correct that. Open it up, and the interior is painted a sand color - it even has tassels!

Fun Factor - ***
While the sculpts and paint are weak, these are still pretty good toys - and at a good price. If the German ends up under the lawn mower, you won't be crying about the loss.

In fact, these would have received a full four star score here had they not had trouble standing. Kids find that to be very frustrating when they are trying to play out battles and scenes - nobody wants to spend five minutes standing up a figure just to knock him down.

Value - ***1/2
To buy 5 figures in this scale at your local store would cost you at least $30. For some series, like Star Wars, that's more like $40. This full set is just $13 at the Disney store, which is quite the bargain. Of course, these figures don't have the articulation, accessories and overall quality of something like a new Hasbro Star Wars figure, making the price not quite the bargain it could be. Still, if you're looking for some Indy toys for your son or daughter, this set is a much better value.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing.

Overall - **
Honestly, these aren't good figures. Almost no articulation, weak paint, only passable sculpting on some and terrible on others...these aren't going in too many 'collector' displays.

I will say that with a little paint work, the German Mechanic might be a good fit with the Hasbro line, and you could always toss the Cairo Swordsman and Sallah in for giggles.

But if you're looking for a set of figures that a smaller child - say 5 or 6 up to around 10 - could get a ton of play out of, and won't cost you big bucks, then these are perfect. Kids that enjoyed the Hasbro line might like adding these guys into the mix, and the Ark is certainly a well done accessory for the scale.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - Cairo Swordsman, German ***; Sallah **1/2; Indy **; Marion *
Paint - **
Articulation - *
Accessories - ***
Fun Factor - ***
Value - ***1/2
Overall - **

Where to Buy 
These guys are exclusive to the Disney stores, but if you don't have one handy you can always try ebay.

Related Links -
I've looked at lots of Indy product. They include:

- if you're looking for something a bit more high end, check out the Indiana Jones or Mola Ram Premium Format statues from Sideshow.

- they also did the exceptional Fertility Idol, but DST has a cheaper yet also awesome version.

- other characters as Indy include the big Mickey, as well as Kermit.

- other figures include Sideshow's Indy and Fridge, the excellent Professor Jones Sr, the German Outfit Indy, Toht (with Ark), Belloq with the Fertility Idol Environment, and ROTLA Indy himself.

- Medicom has released Dr. Henry Jones as well, and Young Indy.

- also in approximately this same scale is the Kotobukiya Henry Jones Sr. statue.

- and Hasbro did several figures, including Indy in German Disguise, Cairo Swordsman and German Soldier, and two versions of Indy.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

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