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I'm assuming you know who Batman
is. You'll find these three at
Target, along with a couple other new three packs that are currently
out. They normally rung $15 - $16 a pack, but this week Target has
them on sale for $12.
Packaging - ***
The packaging has remained fairly consistent through the entire run, a
big plus for the MOCers who like to see consistency. Also, but placing
the main logo at the bottom of the bubble, they allow you to see the
figures quite easily.
On
the back, you'll find photos of the other new three packs out at the
same time, also a big plus if you want to know what you're searching
for.
Sculpting - ***
How many times have we seen this Batman? I don't even want to guess.
He's a decent sculpt though, and this time around the mold lines seem a
bit less obvious, the cape is a bit softer and even a bit lighter. He
stands good on his own, even with those skinny ankles, and the plastic
seems strong enough not to wilt over time.
Eiling
looks like Alfred in a military uniform. The sculpt has fairly sharp
lines for this scale, and he also stands well, although I did find that
I had to tilt him a bit at the waist. He clocks in at just a bit under
5", just like Bats. His large collar makes his head look even tinier
than it is, and the seemingly ever present flashing mars the body and
arms a bit.
Finally, there's Waller. While
she might seem a bit
of an odd choice for an action figure, I'm betting most folks will be
picking up the set up for her. The Justice League Unlimited series has
become a collector's line over the years, and Waller is going to be
high on collector's lists.
She's quite squat, standing
about an
inch shorter than the boys, but about twice as wide. The detail work on
her face - eyes, lips, nose, even eyebrows - is quite good. The hand
sculpts are designed to work with the funky cut shoulders (more about
those in the Articulation section) to give you some decent poses, and
she stands on her own quite well even with the tiny feet. Again, she
does tend to lean a bit, but I was pretty shocked that she stays
upright period.
She suffers the most out of
these three from mold
lines and flashing, but considering the mass market nature of the line
and the relatively low cost that's probably not a surprising situation.
Paint - Waller ***; Batman **1/2;
Eiling **
The paint is a bit better here than I've seen on some JLU releases,
including Batman.
The
cut lines are generally clean, but there's a few notable exceptions,
like Eiling's wrists, Waller's hairline or Batman's shorts.
Eiling
has the most problems, with slop around the shirt and tie, shaky edges
on the sleeve stripes, and uneven eyebrows, but Waller and Batman are
much cleaner.
Articulation - Waller **1/2;
Batman, Eiling **
These figures - and the entire line - are not the poster children for
great articulation. The men have a cut neck, cut shoulders, and T hips.
Amanda has a cut waist instead of the T hips, but she actually scores
slightly better here. That's because the funky cut shoulders actually
allow for at least one decent looking arm pose, other than straight
down at her sides.
Sadly,
that's the only pose you can do with Eiling and Bats. Kids can use the
basic articulation for battles, but collectors won't get much out of
them for shelf display.
Accessories - Bupkis
Yep, three figures - zero accessories. Not sure what you'd give Amanda
and the good General, but at $15 normally, you're spending
enough on a per figure basis to expect something.
Fun Factor - **1/2
While the articulation is fairly limited, kids could still enjoy the
figures. But Batman is really the only one of these three I would
expect most kids looking to get (if they've somehow missed out on him
the last fifty times he's been released) - while the other two make for
nice ambiguous villains, a very full figured woman and an old guy in a
army uniform are not exactly visions of super villainy.
Value - **1/2
Only one of these three is a re-release, and Waller is brand new all
around. They'll cost you $4 - $5 each, but how many other figures cost
that little these days? I'm giving them an average score here, but if
they came with an accessory or three, they'd manage another half star.
Things to Watch Out For -
Obviously you want the best paint ops you can find.
Also,
be careful with Amanda's ankles. If you're like me, the first thing
you'll try when you take her out of the package is bending her ankles
to get rid of any tilt in her stance. Don't. Doing so will stretch the
plastic and damage the dark color of her ankles. Clearly, her legs
aren't painted but cast in this color, and any tension that you put on
the plastic will damage the appearance.
Overall - Waller ***;
Batman **1/2; Eiling **
As I said earlier, I don't think anyone will be picking up this set for
the Batman, but if they do at least he's a reasonable figure. The paint
ops here hurt the figure, unfortunately, particularly the poor cut
lines at the boots and gloves, but that seems to be a common issue with
the JLU series.
Eiling
is my least favorite, but would have scored a sight better had the
paint not been the weakest of the three. He has the most detail work
too, which is probably what resulted in more problems.
Waller is
the one most folks will be looking to pick up, and she's also the best
of the set. She has the least problems with sculpt and paint, and will
look surprisingly good on the shelf with the better figures in the
overall series.
Score Recap:
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - ***
Paint - Waller ***; Batman **1/2; Eiling **
Articulation - Waller **1/2; Batman, Eiling **
Accessories - Bupkis
Fun Factor - **1/2
Value - **1/2
Overall - Waller ***; Batman **1/2; Eiling **
Where to Buy -
Target is the place to go if you're looking for these or any of the
other three packs currently out.
Related
Links -
Other reviews include:
- the last time I reviewed a JLU
figure was over a year ago when I checked out the Wonder Pig and Batman.
- and way back, I had a guest review of a number
of the figures.
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