TOY REVIEW ARCHIVE    LIVING WITH LATE FEES    FEATURES    LINKS    BIO    MISSION    EMAIL    MAIN PAGE >


Toys McCoy
Marilyn Monroe

I'm betting most folks know Toys McCoy best for their sixth scale Indiana Jones figures, but they've done plenty of other famous folks, including tonight's review from Jeff Parker.  Let's see if she poof's Jeff's skirt!

Tonight I'm reviewing a figure released back in 2002 for a lot of money ( many places asking between $250 to $300 ) but now cropping up on eBay for around the $70 mark....don't ask me! But for this price it's certainly much better value for money.





Packaging - ****
A nice piece of packaging, with quite an old fashioned feel to it. A full colour box with numerous images of both Monroe herself and pics of the doll. The front has a pic of Monroe photographed in Korea 1954 wearing the 'JACKET-Flying Intermediate, Type B-15C'that she had on when she arrived to entertain the troops. The front flap opens to reveal a window for the figure along side a brief bio of what the history behind this figure is. Something all too often omitted in historical figures. It's also completely collector friendly, instead of twisty-ties it has elasticated bands with metal T bars, like the kind sometimes used to hold documents together, so you can get her out then put her back, and as long as you use a degree of care, no one will ever know.

Sculpting - ***1/2
Only real area of sculpting are the hands and face. The hands look pretty standard, nicely done but no more than you expect. The face on the other hand is really nice. I've seen a lot of Monroe dolls over the years, most fail miserably (if you have the misfortune to have paid a lot of money for the Playboy 18" Marilyn you'll know what I mean), some bare a passing resemblance, and although not perfect this is the best I've seen, and strangely looks better in the flesh than any photo's I've seen do justice. 

Paint - ***
A very simple paint job, mouth, eyes and hair...and the infamous beauty spot. On mine there was some slight over spill from the hair onto the skin, really very slight though, and on the whole much sharper than a lot of figures on the market. The only other area was some detailing on the boots, which again was nice and tight and gives them some authenticity. 

Articulation - **1/2
Not quite up to par on the articulation, no double elbows or knees and the shoulders are a simple swivel ball joint. That said it's well built and sturdy with no loose joints on mine. The really interesting point is that this is an adapted male body modified for Ms Monroe. There's a good picture on the back of the box (see photo of pack detail) showing how they did it. with strategic lumps and bumps simply glued in the appropriate places. And lets face it Marilyn certainly had her bumps in the right places. The over all effect is good. And once clothed looks great, might not have looked quite so good had she come in a ball gown!

Accessories - *1/2
Almost a bupkiss, but to save face she comes with a stand and an added extra, A miniature embroidered Mosquito squadron patch. There's also a small instruction manual completely in Japanese. I'm not sure weather this constitutes an accessories or not. But its a nice little booklet with a colour cover and some line drawings showing how to dress and disrobe the figure should you want to.

Outfit - ***1/2
I feel compelled to give this figure a high score in this category as the clothes are just so damn well put together, and how many figure come with 100% wool tailored trousers. The full wardrobe consists of:- Cotton sleeveless vest, Cotton 3/4 length underpants, 100% wool pants, wool sweater with crutch fastening, brown U.S. Army combat boots and a finely detailed B-15C flight jacket with working zips and pockets. Even the underside of the collar on the jacket has all the detail you'd find on the real thing. The only reason I've deducted half a point is the basic fit of the pants does make her look a little full/bulky around the trunk, bearing in mind she is wearing a lot of layers and that this is a modified male body I suppose this shouldn't be surprising, but I feel I have to deduct that 1/2 a point.

Fun Factor - ***
Kind of a strange one to give a 'fun factor' but I wanted her for my collection as I feel Toys McCoy have best captured the feel for Marilyn Monroe. And as she's such an icon she'll look great next to my 12" Warhols, Elvis and James Dean (when he arrives).

Value - ***
As I said at the beginning, I've seen Anime Collectibles selling for $274.00, Maybang Collectibles selling for $290 and Andgor (who I think have now closed down, and not a second too soon) selling for $299.00 So if you can get her on eBay for under $70 (and there are a few about) I think you're on to a winner.

Overall - ***1/2
A nice all round figure, and one I'm glad to have in my collection, and as long as you don't pay too much for it- quite a bargain.

Where to Buy - 
eBay all the way. Be patient and keep looking. I got mine from a seller called gmsenterprises so check her out, and failing that keep looking.

Keep scrolling down for more photos!


Figure from the collection of Jeff Parker.

This page copyright 2003, Michael Crawford. All rights reserved. Hosted by 1 Hour Hosting.com