DREAD PIRATE ROBERTS — BLOODIED

THE PRINCESS BRIDE (MCFARLANE TOYS)

Yesterday, I kicked back into my Princess Bride reviews with the only new character in Series 2 of the line.  Today, I continue with the first of the three variant figures that make up the rest of the assortment.  I’m going to look at them from most notable variant to least notable variant.  Most notable it is, then!  Princess Buttercup’s love Westley initially resurfaces in her life as the masked mystery man, the Dread Pirate Roberts, but after rescuing her from Vizzini and his men, he reveals his identity, before taking a bit of a beating while trekking through the fire swamp, changing up his look bit for the rest of the movie…or at the very least removing the mystery of the initial look.  That’s the look that gets the figure today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Dread Pirate Roberts (Bloodied) is the second figure in Series 2 of McFarlane’s The Princess Bride line.  While I don’t like to harp on names on the box too much, the fact that this guy is still labeled “Dread Pirate Roberts,” despite being a post-unmasking version of the character, and thereby being pretty much exclusively Westley at that point, seems like an odd choice.  But, it’s hardly the oddest choice that ol’ Toddy boy has ever made.  The figure stands a little over 7 inches tall and he has 35 points of articulation.  As was expected for this release, a lot of his parts are shared with the Series 1 Roberts.  It’s a for better/for worse situation, since it’s consistent and all, but it’s also victim to the weird hang-ups of the original sculpt, especially that weird torso/pelvis set-up.  He gets a new head and left arm to sell his new look.  The head is a solid offering.  The likeness is even better than the masked version, and the hair is pretty much perfect for Elwes’ hair in the movie.  The new left arm showcases the damage to his shirt from fighting the Rodent-of-unusual-size, as well as the missing glove.  It’s a good change-up, marred by only one thing: they didn’t re-sculpt the right side, so he’s still got one glove, which is a look he never has in the movie.  Even just redoing the hand would at least sell it a bit better.  As it stands, it just feels a bit lazy.  Westley’s paint work is largely pretty similar to the standard version, but he’s got some blood on the shoulder, as well as more detailing on the face and the hair.  He seems rather pale for Westley, but honestly, it’s not the worst thing.  Westley is packed with his sword and a display stand, mirroring what came with the first release.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The first Westley was the weakest of the first series.  This one had a bit more potential.  Ultimately, he probably could have just been an extra head and hands with the first release, especially given that they didn’t even fully commit to the dressed-down look, but at the same time, this one does work just a little bit better than the first one.  The unmasked look is more prevalent in the film, and works better as a figure, so he’s ultimately a slightly better offering, and just the better of the two, really.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website.