I've said it before, but I'll say it again
- Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys is one of
my all time favorite holiday shows.
Sure, it's dated, but the story and
style are classic. Last year, Playing Mantis gave us a wonderful
series of action figures based on the show, including a Bumble.
However, he was only slightly bigger than the other figures, and
certainly not in scale.
Playing Mantis corrected that situation
this year, putting out a huge, two foot Bumble. This figure is
nicely in scale with the other figures, and looks terrific with the rest
of the line.
These are available at a number of
retailers, although Target is the most likely. They run from
$20-$25 depending on the retailer.
Packaging - **
Don't plan on keeping this mint in box, because it certainly wasn't
designed for it. The boxes are open in the front, to allow
complete access to the figure. Shelf wear is going to be a
problem, and keeping the box long term is unlikely to work well.
That just gives you a better excuse to open him up!
Sculpting - ***1/2
This Bumble looks better than the original. No mismatched nostrils
here, unlike the source material. The sculpting on the face,
teeth, hands and feet is great. Of course, it should be easy to
get right, since it's a fairly basic sculpt.
I'm including points for
scale in this category as well. Getting this in scale with the
other figures was a huge selling point for me.
Paint - ***1/2
No slop here. There isn't much detail in the paint ops, but they
are clean, particularly the toe nails and finger nails. Articulation
- **
This isn't really an articulated figure - he's a bendy. That works
really well for this style of fur ball though, and has been used in
figures like the Star Wars Wampa in the past. I
was able to get his arms to hold most positions, and he stands very well
on his own. I do worry that the weight of his body may give his
legs trouble over time, but for now he's pretty good. Accessories -
***
There isn't much for Bumble to have, other than the star. This one
matches the one the small Bumble came with last year, and it really
isn't designed to fit on a tree top. Fur
Factor - ***1/2
This is a separate category from the sculpting, since this type of fur
is very difficult to get right. Fortunately, Playing Mantis has
done a fantastic job.
The body is stuffed around
the bendy wires, and the fur is attached in such a way that it looks
extremely realistic.
The only reason I took off
a half point is because some of the ones I saw had some problems with
the fur around the mouth and nose. It wasn't glued down well, or
it was thin. Be particular when picking yours out, and you should
have no trouble finding a nice one.
Value
- ***
I picked this up for under twenty bucks at a local Meijers store.
Considering how big he is, how well done he is, and that he has the
screaming feature, that's a very good price. It's
not perfect, and I think fifteen bucks would have been just right.
But even at twenty I can't complain. I would avoid spending the
$25 that stores like Suncoast are charging though, since you should be
able to find this fairly easily elsewhere. Scream
Feature - **1/2
Squeeze Bumble's left hand and you get a resounding roar out of
him. Unfortunately, it doesn't sound too much like he did in the
movie. Sure, some of his movie screams were pretty weak, but there
were one or two that were downright terrifying. That's the sound
he should have used here.
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