But the best part are the 'scapes'
playsets. I didn't get any with the figures to review, but from the
pictures these look really cool.
The basic idea is to have a small, triangular base (think
slice of pizza) with a background. Both the base and the background
are made of wood with stickers applied, and both pieces are also reversible
so that you get two scenes with each set. On top of all that, the
scenes connect, so you can build a huge lunar station or even recreate the
town of Plymouth!
The figures themselves are about 4" tall, with sculpted
heads, solid torsos, bendy arms and legs, and cloth outfits. Each
retails for about $8.
Packaging - ***1/2
Each figure comes in a small plastic tube like container. They look
great together, and are very eye catching. Each has a character
specific background, and on the reverse of this background is a short
biography. The base of the package has a wood block inside, so they
are very stable, and would even work for the collector to display! Of
course, these are really made for kids, but it's nice to see such a great
job on the packaging done with kids in mind.
Sculpting - ***
The head sculpts are fairly generic, although you won't have too much
trouble recognizing most of the characters. The eyes and nose are done
in a very similar style to give the overall line a particular feel, and it
works well.
The hands are sculpted to hold accessories where possible,
although most of the accessories come with the 'scapes'.
Paint - ***
All the facial paint ops are nicely done, although not overly detailed.
There's a little fuzziness on some of the lines, particularly around the
astronaut's boots, but overall I was impressed by the quality for a child's
action figure.
Articulation - ***1/2
Okay, this is a weird category to score, since the articulation isn't
handled in the usual action figure manner. Instead, the arms and legs
are made of bendy material.
This actually works extremely well here - I don't know if
it's the use of thin limbs, or a higher quality material, but it's very easy
to bend them in many positions and get them to hold those positions.
Also, the large oversized feet means they can stand
extremely well on their own, even with the bendy legs. Some action
figure folks won't like the style, but kids should absolutely love it.
Accessories - ***
Each figure came with something - Lincoln and Bill had their removable hats,
and the Astronaut had both the EV pack and helmet.
The quality on the hats was excellent, and they fit nicely
on the head and look terrific. They were fairly solid plastic, which
makes all the difference.
The Astronaut helmet wasn't quite as nice, but the backpack
is great. Okay, he's not the Dragon Buck figure, but he's pretty damn
cute nonetheless.
The pack has great graphics, fits easily on the back with
velcro, and even has a big pocket right on the back with an elastic top!
Outfit - ***1/2
The Astronaut came out on top again in the outfit category, but they were
all very well done.
He has terrific graphic detail an stitching, and there's
even a great little NASA patch. He even has little elastic tubes running
from the front of the suit!
The quality of the other two outfits is very high as well,
with excellent stitching and material all around. the fringe and edge
decoration on Buffalo Bill and the wide selection of materials used on
Lincoln show the level of quality that Odyssey is going for.
The only nit I could pick on any of the three outfits were
the spurs on Bill. They are made of material, easy to tear off, and
don't really look right.
Value - **1/2
Ouch. The one category where these take a hit. At a SRP of
around $8, these are about $2-$3 too much. Kids are going to have a
tough time convincing Mom or Dad to buy 20 or 30 of these at that price
point. Beanies did well because of the five buck price point - it
didn't seem quite so bad to parents to spend at one time. Eight bucks
means they have to break a ten, and that's a harder sell.
Perhaps if these were picked up by one of the major retailers, they price
would drop. For now, you'll have to shop at the specialty toy stores
to find them.
Overall - ***1/2
I'm very impressed by these cute little buggers. Combined with the
Scapes, there's tons of play opportunity, plus kids will end up learning about
historical characters. There's nothing like slipping a little learning in
with the fun.
I can see adults getting hooked on them too if they aren't careful.
Getting the price point down a bit has got to be Odyssey's number one priority
if they want these to really take off however.