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Indiana Jones Wave 2
Indy, Marion, German Soldier, German Mechanic, Swordsman


Where's Coheteboy going?  To Disneyland!  Or at least he did, and he's back with a review of the second wave of Indy figures.

Just how long have people been requestion plastic versions of the Indiana Jones trilogy? A very very long time. The last time we've seen the likes of Indy and friends as action figures were back in the early 80s when Kenner had the license. Twenty years later, it's finally time to rejoice as Indiana Jones toys have returned!

Sort of. 
Walt Disney theme parks had a few Indiana Jones offering a year ago with a lone action figure, larger size vinyl doll, and a variety of micro figures and vehicles. The popularity of the merchandise paved the way to another series of action figures at the Disney Parks but unfortunately, the quality isn't exactly up to par with what fans of Lucasfilm merchandise are used to. 

Before I report how disappointing these toys are, let's establish who's in this wave. Since the first Indiana Jones figure released was the classic version wearing a leather jacket, the new Indiana Jones figure is re-sculpted without the classic jacket. Also in this set is Raiders heroine MARION RAVENWOOD, generic GERMAN SOLDIER, GERMAN MECHANIC, and CAIRO SWORDSMAN. All together there are now SIX figures made for the Disney Theme Parks.







Packaging - **1/2
Just a standard card and bubble here and it's pretty unimpressive, as the same card is used for all five figures. The card art is good enough to see that it's an official product but it's incredibly generic. A sticker on the outside of the bubble tells you which figure you're purchasing. For an official Lucasfilm toy, I was hoping for something a little more than what we are given. 

Sculpting - Indy ***; Cairo Swordsman, German Mechanic **1/2; German Soldier **; Marion *
That's right, the scores are all across the board with this line. The sad thing is that the best looking figure (Indy) isn't nearly as good as it should be and I'm actually being generous to the other figures.

Let's start at the bottom and discuss poor MARION RAVENWOOD. It's not that horrible to look at, but when this figure is supposed to represent the attractive Karen Allen in her Cairo outfit, the sculptors missed it by a LONG SHOT. This would be a pretty accurate figure if it were say Anjelica Huston but it's definitely not Marion from the movies. She's also pretty burly compared to most female action figures. Definitely not a good thing. 

Moving up one star is the GERMAN SOLDIER, who does not belong in an Indiana Jones movie but rather BABES IN FREAKING TOYLAND! This is a horrible sculpt but generic enough to have a few of these, but WHY WOULD YOU? His hands are sculpted so poorly that he cannot even hold his rifle. Now that is really frustrating when your toy isn't sculpted well enough to hold his weapon! It's a Nazi soldier that's going to kill you with his bare hands? 

Then we have the GERMAN MECHANIC who isn't really supposed to fight but he sure was big enough to do so. This mechanic however is just a fighter here. One hand closed in a fist and the other pointing a finger. His included wrench? Completely useless. He can't hold it. On the upside, the sculpt of the mechanic is pretty decent with an intimidating facial expression. 

The CAIRO SWORDSMAN is also sculpted alright as he actually resembles the character in the movie but we also have a problem with the poorly sculpted hands here. The swords at least fit in his hands but rather awkwardly. Another problem I had was that my figure can't stand up on his own. One foot is sculpted so that he is using the ball of his feet to hold himself up and poorly executed. 

Finally we have version two of Indiana Jones. Arguably the best figure in the line but still with a plethora of flaws. What's good about the figure is that the headsculpt has improved since the first version with a better resemblance of Harrison Ford. The outfit is sculpted relatively accurately which is always good. Unfortunately, like the rest of the line, the hands are done horribly. One hand is an open hand, meant to hold the sand bag or the idol? I really don't know since he can't hold either of them! The right hand is a regular cupped hand meant to hold his included machete. But can he do it? No. I tried and tried and tried but I couldn't manage to squeeze the thick handle into his fat stubby fingers. I really should take off half a star for something like that but I'm letting it slide.

Paint - **
The paint ops are awful. A picture is worth a thousand words so take a look for yourself. It's not really that there aren't enough paint ops, it's that the paint is just so badly applied! No, the German Soldier isn't a man in drag. It's just painted so that he has a lazy eye! And yes, he does appear to have more eyeliner than Marion. :::sigh::: There's nothing more I can say about this. It's been a disappointing set. 

Articulation - Indy, German Soldier, Mechanic, Cairo Swordsman *; Marion 1/2
Everyone except Marion has an articulated neck, arms, and legs adding up to five points of articulation. Marion just has arms and legs. BUT NOT normal leg articulation! She can't sit down but she can twist her leg backwards! What a pointless articulation to have on a figure! Not even worth one star! She doesn't even have neck articulation since her hair is part of the rest of the torso. It would have helped if these figures were given waist articulation but we're not even lucky enough to get that. Booooo!!!

Accessories - Indy ***; the rest **
The one with the best accessories has to be Dr. Jones. He comes with a machete, sand bag, removable satchel, gold idol and stand. Aside from the satchel, none of those accessories can be held. The idol and stand is really cool, but it really would be nice to have a removable hat and a whip just like the first release. The German Mechanic comes with an oil barrel and a crescent wrench that he can't hold. The German Soldier does have a really cool accessory which is the crate holding the arc. I didn't think they would go as far as putting the paint details on the front but they did, and I'm actually glad since it makes it a little more authentic. Sadly, the soldier also comes with a rifle that yup, you guessed it... he cannot hold properly. Cairo Swordsman comes with two swords and yes he can hold them! Marion comes with her frying pan and the monkey. 

Value - **
At $8 a pop, crappy figures are never a value. The only figure I'd recommend getting would be the Indiana Jones figure and maybe the German Soldier just to get the crate. But these are so badly made that you'd probably not even want to show your friends this collection. 

Overall - Indiana ***; German Mechanic, Cairo Swordsman **; German Soldier *1/2; Marion *
So there you have it. Sorry to break the bad news but these are really really REALLY badly made toys. I don't understand how Lucasfilm can approve such slop. There was a time when Disney wouldn't make shoddy merchandise this bad but it's become common practice these days at their parks. I hoped that Hasbro would be able to tackle the entire world of Lucasfilm so that all the toys would be in the same scale, so here's hoping that they can still do that. I definitely will take a closer look if this no-named toy company put out another wave. I consider myself a pretty big fan of Indiana Jones but if I had known earlier that the weapons can't even be used, I would have thought a little harder before plunging to make the buy. But if you are indeed a fan, go ahead and pick up the Indiana Jones figure. It's not half bad but keep in mind that the machete won't fit in his hand. If you DO fit it in, then I applaud you for you have more patience than I. The German Mechanic is so-so and would be the only other figure I'd suggest having. My Cairo Swordsman can't stand up... shady it is, but not the real slim shady. I like the crate that the German Soldier comes with but the dolled up soldier is pretty pathetic. Marion... don't even bother. Unless you just have to have every monkey figure ever made.... which was why I picked it up. In short, these figures aren't worth $8. Lacking sculpts, unimpressive paint, horrible articulation. So you decide for yourself if this is worth $8. If you know someone who works for Disney, let them help you out with the purchase.

Where to Buy - 
These figures and other Indiana Jones merchandise can be found at the Indiana Jones Outpost store located in Adventureland of Disneyland, CA and at the Disney-MGM Studios in Florida for $8 each. You may also try calling the Disney DeliverEars service at (800) 362-4533 if you are unable to to visit the parks any time soon.

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Figures from the collection of Coheteboy.

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