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


NFL Sports Pick

Matt D joins us again today with a review of the McFarlane NFL figures.  Take it away, Matt!

The figures are NFL SportsPics by McFarlane Toys. McFarlane has previously issued professional baseball and hockey figures. In the past he did not have licensing agreements with the leagues and therefore could only use the correct uniform colors but instead of logos had to use the player's names or cities. This time Todd has gotten the licensing rights for NFL teams and can make the uniforms 100% accurate. However, McFarlane is up to his usual tricks. He is short packing "chase" figures. He is sticking in figures with different jersey colors and even packing some with the helmets off and packed separately. These are apparently pretty hard to find (except at internet auction sites). Series one featured figures of Randy Moss (Vikings), Eddie George (Titans), Warren Sapp (Buccaneers), Edgerrin James (Colts), Kurt Warner (Rams) and Emmett Smith (Cowboys). Series 2 has just hit the shelf and features Marshall Faulk (Rams), Daunte Culpepper (Vikings), Brian Urlacher (Bears), Marvin Harrison (Colts), Wayne Chrebet (Jets) & Mark Brunell (Jaguars). What??...No Brett Favre??? C'Mon Todd!!! He's a three-time MVP!!! The 6" figures all come with a "grass" display base that supports the running and catching poses with foot and body pegs.

I picked up the Faulk and Sapp figures as my first two....sorry AFC fans, but the NFC RULES!!





Packaging - ***
The package is a large blister card with built in J hook. The card is fully enclosed plastic with one of the "welded" seams all around, instead of a blister on cardboard type card. The packaging allows total viewing of the figures from all sides. They have great photos of the figures and great team and NFL logos and designs. I don't know how you could ever open these without ruining the package so purist would probably rate them lower.

Sculpting - ****
From every little wrinkle of the jersey, to unsnapped belts, to the laces on the football, no detail, no matter how small, is overlooked. This is just excellent...but what can you expect from McFarlane toys?

Paint - ****
Hey...when you have such detailed sculpting, you need equal detail in the paint. besides great painting on the uniforms in general, the figures have grass stains, dirt stains, even skinned elbows. The detail is accurate down to the miniscule team names below the jersey collar. It is less than 1/4" but is 100% legible.

Articulation - *
OK, here's where we lose some points. These guys are more "statues" than "action figures". Faulk has 3 points of articulation (arms at jersey and neck) while Sapp has a whopping 1 point at the neck. My guess is none of the other figures fare any better.

Accessories - **
The sole accessory is the "grass" display base. It is as nice as the figures but there's nothing else included. But then again, what more could you realistically put with the figures?

Play Factor - *1/2 
Hey they look great on my shelf but other than posing them up against each other, there isn't much you can do with them.

Value - ***
I got these guys for $9.99 each, which is pretty much on par with McFarlane toys and similar figures on the market. If you happen to be a fan
of any of these athletes, I'm sure you'd be willing to pay quite a bit more. When you compare these figures to the similar sized porcelain figures made by the Danbury Mint and figures by Savino, these guys have equal if not greater detail than them at 1/5 the price.

Overall - **1/2
As much as I like these guys and their incredible detail, I can only give them **1/2 because of the incredibly poor articulation and lack of play value. If I looked at the detail alone they'd be a **** but these guys are still meant to be toys and a toy isn't a toy unless it's played with!!!

About the reviewer:
The Rater: Mark D is an avid action figure collector old enough to have gotten vintage GI Joes for Christmas as a kid, but still young enough to play with his toys. He collects mostly vintage AT GI Joe stuff but still likes to grab the cool stuff that comes out now, especially law enforcement figures
and accessories. He's been a regular at The Sandbox (alt.toys.gi-joe) since he first came on line about five years ago. He's always looking to swap with other Joe-head and assist them in finding the hard to find stuff. You can contact him at mmdals1@aol.com

Where to buy
These figures can be found at most retailers, particularly Toys R Us, Target and more expensive stores like Media Play and Electronics Boutique.  That's your best bet right now, and cheapest considering the extra cost of shipping.


Figure from the collection of Michael Crawford

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