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Packaging -
***
The packaging is decent. The figure is very prominent, taking up
most of the front of the package. There is a drawing of the
character behind the figure but it is easy to lose the picture since the
character's colors are too close to the background colors. The back
of the package has a sketch by character creator Mike Mignola and a brief
bio of Hellboy. The other figures in the assortment are also shown
at the bottom. Graphitti also credits the sculptor. A nice
touch that other companies should pick up as well.
Sculpting - ****
WOW! This figure is a dead on likeness of the character. Hellboy has
a very strong Jack Kirby influence that seems like it would be difficult
to capture in 3 dimensions. However, they managed quite well. Visually,
the figure is very impressive. At 8" in height, the toy is large
enough to allow the sculptor to accurately capture the likeness. The
sculpt is really the strongest argument for buying the figure.
Paint -
****
Hellboy's a pretty simple figure, colorwise. The paint lines are all
neat and crisp. I wouldn't imagine that you'll see a Hellboy with a
bad paint job since there aren't a whole lot of paint apps for this
figure. Articulation
- ***
Articulation is a double-edged sword on this figure. He has a
whopping 17 points of articulation: neck, shoulders, bicep, elbow, wrist,
waist, hip, knee, ankle, and tail. Not all of these are
exceptionally useful. The shoulders are ball jointed but have a
pretty limited range of motion. The bicep articulation is nice, but
looks odd when faced at an angle other than that which exactly lines up
with the sculpt. Continuing a trend from Graphitti, he has ball
jointed hips with a waist that is sculpted so that there is no way for the
figure to sit or raise his legs. In spite of what sounds like
complaints, I am very impressed with the articulation on this figure.
The only real problem that I have is that the ankles are not
especially tight and he pitches forward every couple of weeks and falls
off of my shelf. Accessories -
***1/2
Hellboy comes with his gun, a sword, an extra hand for holding the sword,
and a coat. One hand is designed to hold only the gun and the other
hand is designed to hold only the sword. Both weapons fit very
nicely and snugly in the hands. The sculpting on the weapons,
especially the gun, is very accurate to the comic. Oddly, the weapons are
molded in red plastic and painted gray. A cost cutting measure, I'm sure.
The coat fits nicely although I would have liked a coat with both sleeves.
One of the sleeves is damaged as though torn in a fight with some
otherworldly beast.
Value - ***
I will admit it, I'm cheap. When I shell out $15 for a toy, I want a
lot for my money. Hellboy is not a bad deal at $15. he has a
lot of heft and looks really great on a shelf where he kind of makes the
other toys look bad by comparison. While not as good a value as the
new Spider-Man Classics at $6, he is a much better value than DC Direct
figures, who also run $15. He is the same price as DCD figures, is
bigger, more articulated, and comes with more accessories. With Kid
Flash, I looked at him and said " I spent $15 on this?" and
shook my head. When I looked at Hellboy, there wasn't any of that
same buyer's remorse.
Overall -
***1/2
This figure is a great addition to my collection. I would have liked
for the articulation to have been a bit more useful for striking some more
dynamic poses, but it is serviceable. If you have any fondness for
the character you should go buy one. You won't regret it. I
bought the figure because I liked the character visually and then read the
comics and have enjoyed the comics more than the figure. He is the most
striking of the Graphitti Big Blast figures and just dwarfs everything
else on the shelf. If you buy one, open it. I am a big
advocate of opening what you buy and this figure is much better when freed
from his blister prison.
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Where to Buy -
Mine came from a comic shop, but you could probably also find them on ebay.
These are exclusively through Diamond so it is possible, although
unlikely, that Software Etc., Gamestop, Babbages, or Electronics Boutique
could also get them.
Michael here! I did a
little looking around and found this on-line option: -
Comics Infinity has the figure
for $13.46 plus shipping. They've always provided good service to
me.
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