Review of Quisp, Baseball Quisp action figures

Introduction

Last week I reviewed the new Davey and Goliath figures from Majestic Studios.  This week, it's another new set of figures from Majestic - Quisp and baseball Quisp.

So what the hell is Quisp? Well, this is another license that is for the children of the 60's and early 70's.  Quisp was a popular kid's cereal from Quaker Oats, who also made Quake cereal during this same period.

Jay Ward Productions, the animation company responsible for such classics as Bullwinkle, Dudley Do-right and George of the Jungle, turned to commercial work as well.  They created Quisp, Quake, and the still infamous Cap'n Crunch characters, and the cereals were actually designed around the characters, rather than the other way around.

Quisp is from outer space of course, and he's brought to Earth the tasty but quazy Quisp cereal.  One of his favorite pastimes was baseball, so it only makes sense that we are getting a 'regular' Quisp in his most common costume, and a baseball version.

These are hitting stores now, and retail for about $8 each.  That's SRP, so you might find them some places either higher or lower, depending on the retailer.

2016 Update: You could easily argue that we are in an amazing time for action figures, with far more being produced that are directed at the collector's market, and therefore of a higher quality, than ever before. But back when the collector market was still in its fledgling stages, companies tended to take more risks than they do know, producing figures from just about any license available. These guys are a good example of that, and I often wish we were getting more oddball items like this these days.

And no, I haven't forgotten Funko, who not only do some sort of bobblehead or vinyl figure for every character ever conceived plus a few no one has thought of yet, but have also done their own Quisp. Of course they have!

In case you've forgotten about poor old Quisp, here's the very first commercial, which also features Quake. Funko talked about doing a wobbler or Pop for him too, but I don't think it ever happened.

These guys go for around $20 - $30 each on ebay these days. 

Packaging - ***1/2
The artwork and style are reminiscent of the old cartoon commercials, and they fit the character perfectly.  They also use the clam shell packages I've come to love, and the wide open bubble shows off the entire figure and the accessories great.

Sculpting - ***
This is how I remember Quisp, although I believe John Kricfalusi has done some new commercials with him that look slightly different.

While the character designs are simple, it's still possible to screw them up.  Thank goodness Majestic hasn't had that problem here.  Proportions between the head and body look good, the facial expressions are dead on, and the figures stand great on their own.  They're about 7" tall with the propeller, somewhat larger than I expected, but it's an appropriate size.

They've sculpted two sets of hands, and the pop on and off fine, although you should be careful when doing it to avoid tearing the pegs.  The figures stand great on their own, and overall look just right.

The arms are bendy, and some folks may have an issue with that.  I think it looks fine, but others may have preferred a sculpted pose.

One area that does detract slightly from the look is the seam line down the center of the head and body.  These figures are hollow, and very light - much lighter than you'd expect.  They are cast in two halves and then glued together, and the seam line is fairly obvious.

Paint - ***1/2
I am very impressed with the paint application on all the Majestic product I've seen so far.  This is a mighty tough area to get right, and these figures have their fair share of color and detail.

There's good definition between the colors, with no bleed or sloppy lines.  The pink heads are nice and consistent, and the whites of the eyes and teeth are sharp and bright.  Overall, the paint ops look terrific, and I'm glad to see that Majestic seems to have this particular nut cracked.

Articulation - ***
The articulation on these figures isn't stupendous, but works well with the character style.

The propeller spins, and there is neck, shoulder and wrist articulation.  There's no leg articulation, but the arms are bendy and can take just about any pose.

Accessories - ***
Each figure comes with several spiff accessories.  The regular Quisp has a small box of the cereal with him, including a tiny but detailed comic on the back, his spoon (sculpted into another hand), and his belt pouch.  The pouch attaches with a small peg that fits in a hole on the belt, and the hand that holds the spoon swaps on easily enough.

The baseball version has an extra set of hands, sculpted holding a bat and glove with ball.  There's also a baseball card with his picture on it.

Value - ***
This isn't a fantastic value, but it's not bad.  I certainly don't have a problem paying eight bucks for one of these if you're a big fan of the license.  You're getting good sculpting, great paint ops, and a decent group of accessories all for about average retail these days.

Overall - ***
If you're a big fan of Quisp, or just advertising icons in general, these are going to look excellent on the shelf.  The light weight feel might put you off a little at first, but it's certainly understandable considering the size of the head.  Okay, the license might not float your boat, but I'm telling you know that Majestic is a company to watch in 2004.

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

Where to Buy 
Stores like Media Play, Tower and Sam Goody should be getting these in. Your local comic shop may also be picking them up.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

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