THE INVISIBLE MAN

UNIVERSAL MONSTERS (JADA TOYS)

Back at the beginning of last year, I took a look at a couple of Universal Monsters figures from a rather unlikely source, Jada Toys.  The line was just generally a surprise, in terms of both existence and quality.  It was also just a really cool little set of figures.  A lot of the basics were covered in that first assortment of four, but there was still some room for a few additional offerings, based on a few more of the old Universal films.  The one that got me the most excited was the figure based on the titular character from 1933’s The Invisible Man, and I’ll be taking a look at that figure today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Invisible Man is one half of the second “assortment” of Jada’s Universal Monsters line.  Assortment is a loose term here, of course, since they all ship in solid cases anyway, but he and the Wolf Man went up for order together, and a shipped to retailers at about the same time.  As I’ve noted in previous Invisible Man reviews, there are a couple of looks for the title character from the original film.  Like the 8 inch Sideshow figure I looked at before, this guy is sporting the robe/smoking jacket look, which I really feel is his most distinctive and most impressive design.  The figure stands about 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 29 points of articulation.  Invisible Man’s articulation scheme continues to follow the impressive standards set by the rest of this line, being just shy of the current Hasbro level.  That said, he’s improved even a little bit from last year’s figures.  The range remains similar, but he doesn’t break up the sculpt quite as much to get there.  The only slight issue I ran into was with my figure’s right ankle, which appears to be stuck due to the paint; nothing a little hot water won’t fix, though.  The figure’s sculpt is an all-new one.  It’s a very strong one, much like the others I’ve looked at.  In fact, I’d say it’s the strongest of the bunch thus far.  All of the detailing is nice and sharp, and there’s just a ton of great texture work on the clothing, especially the jacket and the wraps on the face.  His glasses are a separate piece, which helps to give things the right amount of depth.  The jacket for the upper torso and the waist is made from a soft rubber; it’s not bad looking, and it preserves the posability, but I do worry just a little bit about the long-term durability of it.  We’ll just have to see on that one.  The paint work on this guy is a little bit of a mixed bag; the bandages are fantastic, as is the detailing on the glasses, and even some of the smaller details of the jacket and pants.  The biggest issue is the trim for the jacket, which isn’t terrible on mine, though perhaps a little misaligned.  The trouble is that I had six of them to choose from, and had to ultimately settle for one that was “good enough.”  It’s definitely the one weak point of the figure.  What’s *not* a weak point is the accessory selection.  This guy gets an alternate head with the bandages being unwrapped, five different hands (a fist and two styles of grip for the right, a relaxed for the left, and a really cool left hand that’s designed to look like he’s taking off his right glove), a hat, a book, and a beaker.  I like the mix of parts to “reveal” his invisible nature, so those are definitely my favorites.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Invisible Man is one of those designs that I’ve always really loved, and it’s one I’m always on the lookout for whenever there’s Universal Monsters stuff.  When NECA unveiled their Universal stuff, I was sort of interested, but then got more pulled towards Jada’s first round.  I was waiting to see which would get to this guy first, and it was NECA, but then they did the version of the Invisible Man that I didn’t want as much, so when this one was shown off, I was in from day one.  He’s got one or two small flaws, but I really like him, and I continue to be impressed by the work that Jada’s putting in with this line.  They just announced Street Fighter and Mega Man lines as well, and I’m very interested to see how those go, because they’re really shaping up to be a serious contender in the 6 inch market.

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.