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Junkyard Jack |
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Last year, 21st Century toys caused quite a stir when they produced their
first figure in the Villains series. The figure, called 'the
terrorist', sparked debate because of it's close resemblance to the
shooters at Columbine. Of course, there was no real relationship -
it was merely a case of the Columbine killers of not only being brutal and
stupid, but unimaginative dressers as well. This year, they are
producing four more figures in the Villains line. It's likely that
these will be less controversial, but they are no less
stereotypical. The first to be released is Junkyard Jack. He's
just now hitting Toys R Us stores, and like all 21st Century figures
currently is $29.99.
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Packaging - **
Similar to other 21st Century boxes, but deeper this time to handle the
two Dobermans that accompany Jack. The graphics are all right, but
nothing superb, and the inside flap lacks any descriptive or background
text. Who is Junkyard Jack? Hell if I know.
Sculpting - **1/2
A step up from recent figures from 21st Century, and certainly better in
both sculpting and paint than figures like the German Machine
Gunner. The scars are deep and clear, and the soul patch is a nice
touch. He's also sporting a small pony tail in back. Actually,
if he didn't have the serious scarring, you might mistake him for a
beatnik artist.
Also of note is the sculpting on the hands - the detail in the veins is
nicely done.
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Uniform - **
Leather is a real tough look to pull off, particularly leather
pants. Just ask anyone in L.A. these days. Jack doesn't pull
it off particularly well, and the belt is extremely cheap on top of
it. The quality of the jacket is nice, with good seams and heavy
gauge pleather used, but it's too big for him. It might look better
on the bulkier Max Steele figure.
The shirt has the Punisher's skull on it - I don't know any better way
to describe it. It's a sleeveless shirt of course, and the skull is
transfer, and not painted on. You should be careful when opening the
jacket for the first time, as it may be stuck to the transfer and pull
some of it off.
The boots are very nice, and easily the best single part of his overall
outfit.
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Articulation - ***
As usual, 21st Century articulation is above average. What I find
odd here though is that this isn't completely one of the newer Super
Soldier bodies. He has the double joints at the knees, but his
elbows are the older style, single joint. What gives? Oh, and
the pooches have no joints.
Accessories - ***1/2
An area that some of the recent 21st Century figures have been sorely
light on are accessories. Fortunately, that's not the case
here. Jack has his two companions with him, very mean looking
Dobermans. They come with nice collars that work very well, and a
terrific double leash with metal clips.
Also included is a assault shotgun, and three rather
bizarre accessories. A watch, perhaps so that Jack knows what time
Oprah is on, a cell phone, since all hip criminals are wireless, and a
chain with padlock. Now, the weird thing about the chain and padlock
is not their inclusion - every junk yard is locked up - but that they are
so far out of scale. It's a real metal chain, but it looks more like
an ankle bracelet for Jack than security for the junk yard.
Value - **1/2
The value is certainly higher here than for some figures, like the Police
or Fire Helicopter Pilots. But I still would have liked a better
uniform for $30, since it appears most of the money is going for the two
dogs.
Overall -
**1/2
This figure is an improvement over many of the other recent figures from
21st Century. Thirty bucks is pushing it slightly, but the dogs are
sharp, the leash surprisingly well done, and the sculpting on the face
above average. I still think you should wait for clearance if you
can though - I bet we see this at amazon.com on sale. Personally,
I'm looking forward to Matilda, and hoping she is far superior to Jack.
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Figure from the collection of Michael Crawford
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