Review of Ozymandias - The Watchmen action figure

Introduction

Fans of the graphic Novel The Watchmen have been treated to a great set of figures from Mattel this year. These are based on the comic designs, and Mattel promised that we would get the full team - the Comedian, Silk Spectre, Nite Owl, Dr. Manhattan, Rorschach, and finally tonight's review, Ozymandias.

Far too often, companies don't commit to getting us the full team. For all of Hot Toys wonderful work, they stiffed us with just two of the six characters from the film. The fact that Mattel lived up to their promise is no small deal.

Sadly, the demand wasn't good enough to keep the line going into 2014. These six are probably all we'll see, although we could get lucky at some point and get a Con exclusive or two.

Ozy was $25 originally at Matty Collector, but has since sold out.

Packaging - ***1/2
If I gave out a Best Of Award for Packaging, this series would be the 2013 winner hands down.

There are two boxes - technically three if you count the outer white mailer box, but nobody should be paying much attention to that. There is an outer box with great graphics all around, but the best part is the one spline. Stack them next to each other, and you have the "who watches the Watchmen" graphitti across the set. Check the very first photo to see how that looks on the shelf.

Then there is a cool interior box with a flap lid. It's completely collector friendly, and if you sit these boxes side by side, you get the Watchmen name across the set. I have one of those photos near the end of the review as well. The other side has the components to display the countdown clock.

That's some damn sweet packaging, which looks great in a number of ways in any display. Add in the collector friendly nature, and it's a knock out.

And yet, I dropped a half star this time. That's because with this specific character, they designed the interior tray in such a way that they've risked the collector friendly nature. The heavy rubber cape slides through the plastic tray, fitting between it and the box lid. It is very difficult to get that cape in and out without damaging the tray or pulling it loose from the lid, so take some care.

But that's only an issue for this figure, and once you have him out on display, you won't need to worry about it again unless you decide to sell him or store him. Who would want to do that?

Sculpting - ***
This figure comes with two head sculpts, masked and unmasked. Both look terrific, with lots of nice detail work.

I love the fine stranding of the hair, much finer than we usually see in this scale. Remember, this are 6" figures, which makes the detailing that much more impressive.

There's also good work on the carvings in the collar and wrist bands. Add in some nice looking folds in the flowing clothes, and you have a pretty impressive overall look.

He does have one issue though that holds him back from a higher score. He's definitely pin headed. It's not quite as bad in person as it is in photos, since the very, very wide shoulders tend to accentuate the problem in front of the lens. But there's no doubt that it's an issue, and when you compare him to some of the other figures, like Nite Owl (who also has very broad shoulders), it's pretty clear that his head is on the smaller side.

As I said, these are a 6" scale, and the big Ozy comes in at 6 1/2", about the same as Dr. Manhattan and the Comedian. The only one to look out of scale to me is Rorschach.

Paint - ***1/2
I'm very impressed with the paint work on this figure, especially on the two head sculpts. The gold head band is perfect, the eyes are sharp, and even the edges of the mask are fairly clean. 

The costume is good too, although there isn't a ton of small detail work. Gold is a tough color though, especially getting the coverage consistent. They do a nice job here, with only a few small spots looking a little thin.

Articulation - ***
These figures use a style of articulation that's similar to Mattel's own DC Universe Classics line. For most of the figures, it works quite well, but here the design of the costume restricts things.

He has a ball neck, which tilts and leans pretty well. The upper arms include ball shoulders and cut biceps, but the large, plastic shirt and collar takes away most of the mobility. There's pin elbows and wrists as well, and a cut waist. There might be an ab crunch - I didn't try to pull the shirt off when I had the head off - but even if there is, it would be useless.

There are hinge hips, pin knees, pin ankles and cut thighs. The pin ankles don't have a ton of movement in them, however. The leg articulation allows to get some decent stances, and he stands great on his own and stays there, but as I said earlier, the costume design restricts the articulation more than usual.

Accessories - ***
This series has included two consistent accessories with every figure - a small display stand done in the style of the logo, and a large collector's card.

The collector's card is kinda cool looking, and includes some bio info on the back. I do wish there was some sort of stand for the card, and actually would have preferred that to the stand for the figure. The figures don't need help standing up, but the cards do if you want to use them in the display.

Ozy only has one additional accessory, but it's a good one. He comes with a second portrait, this one without the mask. Both head sculpts look great, if a little on the small side, and they pop off and on easily.

Fun Factor - ***
While these are clearly intended for fans of the comic that are also collectors, they are good action figures at heart. The articulation is a bit more restricted this time, but he's still poseable, and once you have the entire team together, you'll have a great time finding just the perfect pose for each to complement the other.

Value - **1/2
Sadly, I've become accustomed to the $25 price point at Matty Collector. Just wait - they'll raise it again, and my Value score will drop again...for awhile.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing.

Overall - ***
Great stuff overall, and a nice way to finish out the series. He's not going to knock the Comedian off the top as my personal favorite, but he's a nice representation of the character.

Even better is how they all look together on the shelf. I'm going to go with the outer boxes and brick wall background as a backdrop to the set, but you can also use the interior boxes with either the Hot Toys figures or the DC Direct figures, giving you more than one backdrop.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***1/2
Sculpting - ***
Paint - ***1/2
Articulation - ***
Accessories - ***
Fun Factor - ***
Value - **1/2
Overall - ***

Where to Buy 
Matty Collector last month was the place to get this guy originally, where he was $25. Online options include these site sponsors:

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
This is likely to be the last in the Watchmen series, but at least we got the entire original team. I've reveiwed them all: Comedian, Nite Owl,  Dr. Manhattan, Silk Spectre II, and Rorschach. 

This isn't the first time the license has been hit with collectibles either - smaller figures that I've checked out include some of the variants, and series 1 split in two reviews, one of Ozymandias and modern Silk Spectre, and the other of Rorschach and modern Nite Owl. There's also the series 2 review, and I also checked out one of the 13" deluxe figures, Dr. Manhattan.

Hot Toys produced two sixth scale figures with the Comedian and Silk Spectre.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

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