Michael Crawford's Review of the Week

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Crash Helmet Gonzo

I finally find myself all caught up again with the latest releases of Muppets figures from Palisades Toys. The final figure for me this wave was the Electronics Boutique exclusive Crash Helmet Gonzo.

This figure is a repaint of the regular release Series 2 Gonzo, with the addition of his crash helmet. Otherwise, he has the same accessories and sculpt.

As mentioned, this is an Electronics Boutique exclusive, and you can pick them up at either the store or on-line. As usual with exclusives, the price point is a little higher at $11.

Packaging - ***
The packaging continues it's tradition of bright color, great graphics, and excellent text. My only issue with this particular package is the size of the bubble. This is one of those few lines that I have both a carded and loose set, and I had a very hard time finding carded examples of Gonzo in good shape. Because of the size, it tends to pull the bubble free from the card back.

Sculpting - ***1/2
It's the sculpting and detail of these figures that really makes the line stand out. Palisades is currently doing very well in the voting for Best Company of 2002, and this line is a predominate reason.

Gonzo is not my favorite of the series, although he's not at the bottom of the overall line either. While the level of detail is extremely good, and I'm very impressed by the texture of his arms and head, his stance and leg positioning hurt the overall appearance for me.

The newly added Crash Helmet is technically not an accessory, as it is glued on his head. The sculpting is extremely good, with tons of detail and attention to accuracy.

Paint - ***1/2
The paint ops on all the Muppets sets the bar for other companies. There's no real slop or errors here, with clean lines and consistent colors.

There was some missing paint around the mouth this time, and some folks are not particularly happy about the bluish color of his nose. The majority of the new colors aren't an improvement over the originals, with one notable exception.

I love the look of the dirty sneakers, and it really works well with this character.

Articulation - ***
Gonzo has neck, waist, hips, tops of the shoes, and ball jointed arms. He's not the most articulated of the series, but the joints work well, and you can pose him in a number of ways.

The leg articulation is particularly important, because while he stands fine on his own, you have to get the position of the legs and feet just right.

The articulation also allows him to pull those extremities in tight for his ride out of the cannon!

Accessories - ***1/2
Crash Helmet Gonzo has the same accessories as the standard Gonzo - cannon, cape, and blocks. The spring seems a tad stronger in this cannon than the original, but that might be my imagination getting a little overactive.

While the color of this cannon looks as good as the original, I don't like the all blue cape as much as the red and white. It has the same cool elastic strap for around his neck, and works very well.

Value - ***
Exclusives always cost more. Considering you're paying about $3 more for pretty much the same figure, and you aren't getting as good of a value.

Overall - ***1/2
The daredevil version of Gonzo isn't everyone's favorite, but even this character shows the level of attention and pride that Palisades has shown in this line. If you're not a completist, or a big Gonzo fan, I suspect he may be one you pass up. But you may regret not having him in the long run!

Where to Buy -
I picked this one up when they finally hit my local Electronics Boutique. On-line:

- EBgames.com has them available for $11 plus shipping. Just check out the Muppets section under the Action Figures tab. (MROTW Affiliate)

Figure from the collection of Michael Crawford.