Tag Archives: Funko

#3309: Jon Snow

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

JON SNOW

GAME OF THRONES (FUNKO)

Wait, a Game of Thrones review….What year is this?  If it’s anything later than 2019, this just doesn’t seem to track.  Huh, I’m getting reports that it’s later than 2019.  Yeah.  Not tracking.  Look, guys, I haven’t bought anything since Game of Thrones went off the air, and I’ve honestly moved past it, but, the thing is, I’ve had this one item just sort of lingering for a while and I feel like I just need to get it done and out of the way finally, so it can just, like, stop staring at me and making me feel bad about my life choices.  Just…okay?  So, please enjoy this Jon Snow review.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Jon Snow was one of the 9 figures that made up the first (and only) series of the ill-fated smaller Game of Thrones line from Funko, which came and went in the last chunk of 2016.  All of the figures were centered on the Wall, for which they also did a playset.  It was, perhaps not the best choice, seeing as the two seasons that surrounded this set’s release moved the action away from The Wall for the most part, but planning and production times on toys being what they are, I suppose there was only so much Funko could do.  Jon is unquestionably the biggest name of the single carded figures, rivaled only by Tyrion overall, but he was stuck with the big, expensive playset.  Jon was based on his mid-run Night’s Watch look, in the Seasons 2-4 area.  It’s a definitive look for him, and one that tied well with the overall theming of the line.  The figure stands about 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 9 points of articulation.  Of the four figures I own from this line, Jon’s the best articulated, just in terms of proper clearances and stuff on the joints.  It’s not anything crazy or anything, but he poses well enough for what you’re getting.  His sculpt’s a pretty basic one.  This whole line was sporting much more dialed back sculpts, which honestly felt like an odd choice for a property like GoT, but I myself didn’t hate the concept.  Admittedly, Jon’s got a look that works alright with the style.  The body captures his outfit pretty well, and it’s even got a removable cloak, which gives him some more options.  The head’s certainly got one of the weaker likenesses, though.  The other three all had some sort of distinctive trait of their actors present, but there’s really really not a lot of it Harrington coming through here.  Like his larger counterpart, however, it’s possible this might be more of a paint thing.  The paint on the face is certainly an improvement on the larger figure, but it’s still a little off; those eyebrows are still not Harrington’s.  Otherwise, things are generally okay.  The detailing on the fur of his cloak in particular is quite nice.  Jon’s packed with his sword Longclaw, which is a decent enough little piece.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I picked this figure up back in 2017, when he was roughly a year old.  I’d gotten Ygritte, Tormund, and the Wall, and I kind of wanted a Jon to go with them.  So, when I found him at a small game store in College Park called Pandora’s Cube, I went for it.  Now, you’re probably asking yourself “Why wait this many years to actually review him, Ethan?”  Valid question.  Ummm, I forgot about him.  No, really.  I took photos of him, and had actually planned on reviewing him to coincide with the series finale in 2019.  But, in the two years of waiting, and the ensuing excitement surrounding Avengers Endgame and it’s tie-in product around the same time as the GoT finale (to say nothing of my own diminishing interest in the show as the season wrapped up), I just forgot to review him, and post-finale, I had little calling me back.  But, I had the photos, and he was sitting there, and it’s honestly been nagging at me for a bit.  So, you know, there it is.  Yay.  Review done.  Boy, I sure hope there aren’t any other items I’ve been putting off lingering somewhere…

#2392: Green Lantern

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

GREEN LANTERN

DC PRIMAL AGE (FUNKO)

Funko, holders of the licenses to everything you care about, have a tendency to slide from style to style, for anything that’s not Pops, anyway.  From 2018 to mid-2019, that style was Masters of the Universe knock-offs.  They did a bunch of horror icons and the Thundercats under the Savage World imprint, before moving DC into the style with their Primal Age line.  Me being me, I of course have the Green Lantern figure, and I’m gonna take a look at him today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Green Lantern was part of the first basic assortment of the DC: Primal Age line, which was initially exclusive to Target, before showing up through a few other retailers.  So far, Primal Age has been the only of these Masters-inspired lines to get more than one series, so I guess Target backing them right out of the gate probably helped with that.  The figure stands 5 1/2 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  Continuing the trend of the figures I’ve looked at from these line’s so far, GL is an all-new sculpt, rather than falling back on the usual heavy re-use of such a style of figure.  Of the two lines I’ve looked at, he falls more into the horror line’s style, being a more complete re-imagining of the character design through this new lens.  The standard GL elements are all there, but rather than a sleek super hero costume, it’s more battle-ready armor.  He’s got a breast plate instead of the green unitard thing, and a chain with a lantern charm on it instead of a logo.  Of course, he’s still just strait up got a domino mask, which does ruin the immersion ever so slightly, but what else are you going to do?  Though the chest armor is not removable in the usual Masters fashion, there’s a shoulder pad and leg piece that are, and it kind of recalls Man-at-Arms in its stylings.  The paintwork on this guy is pretty basic, but it does the job it needs to.  He has the usual colors for a GL, and that works pretty well.  He’s packed with an axe, mace, and shield, which are all molded in translucent green, so as to look like constructs, which is a pretty cool touch.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Something I’ve recently discovered about myself is that I actually don’t like the vintage Masters aesthetic all that much, so I really haven’t been pulled in by these take-offs of the style.  This guy almost got me, especially when they got really cheap, but I never did get one.  Max, on the other hand, did, and he decided that it ultimately wasn’t a figure he *needed* and since I’m the resident GL fan, he passed it onto me.  It doesn’t really change my opinion on this style of figure, but this guy’s pretty cool on his own.

#1919: Mumm-Ra

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

MUMM-RA

SAVAGE WORLD: THUNDERCATS (FUNKO)

It feels a bit boiler plate to have to start every Funko review off by noting that the company has the license to everything you love, everything you hate, and just about everything in between, but that’s just how I do.  Apart from Pops, which seem to remain a fairly evergreen investment, Funko seems to slide from style to style.  For a while, they had their ReAction line, based on the Kenner stylings of the late ‘70s, but now they’ve moved forward a bit, with their new Savage World branding, which takes they stylings of Mattel’s vintage Masters of the Universe line.  So far, they’ve done Mortal Kombat, an assortment of slasher flick stars, some DC super heroes, and, perhaps most sensibly, Thundercats, which is the line I’ll be focusing on today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Mumm-Ra is one of the four figures in the first series of Savage World: Thundercats.  While some of the other lines have been sort of modifying the characters to better fit the Savage World style, the Thundercats line are more straight adaptations of the characters.  This Mumm-Ra in particular is based on his powered up “Mumm-Ra, the Ever-Living” form, which is a sensible choice, given its inherently muscle-bound appearance.  The figure stands 6 inches tall going by the top of the horns (about 5 1/2 without them) and he has 6 points of articulation.  The sculpt is unique to Mumm-Ra, and is a pretty sensible recreation of his design.  Obviously, he’s super buff, as is the style for the line, but given the usual look for Mumm-Ra, it’s not much of an adjustment.  The detailing on the sculpt is clean and sharp, and the head in particular has a lot of really nice detail work on both the face and the helmet.  The cape is affixed to the torso, and not removable, which was slightly surprising, but I don’t mind it too much, since it means it’s not flapping all over the place.  Like the sculpt, the paintwork on Mumm-Ra is clean and sharp.  He’s bright and eye-catching, and he has all of the important details that he should.  He doesn’t really have any of the smaller details like the Leatherface did, but it’s befitting of Mumm-Ra’s cleaner design.  Mumm-Ra is packed with his double-bladed sword, which he has a little bit of trouble holding, but is otherwise a pretty cool piece.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve never been a super hardcore Thundercats fan, but I do have some of the toys from the 2011 relaunch, and I can certainly appreciate the style they’re going for with these figures.  This one’s not actually mine.  As with Leatherface, Mumm-Ra arrived at the store with a limb popped out of place (though it was an arm this time).  While I don’t know that I would have chosen Mumm-Ra on my own, I certainly like this figure, and I’m definitely planning to pick up at least the Tygra figure from Series 2.

As noted above, the Mumm-Ra figure featured here was provided to me for review by my friends at All Time Toys.  If you’d like one of your own, they still have them in-stock through their web store.  And, if you’re looking for other toys both old and new, check out their eBay store front or their web store!

#1856: Leatherface

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

LEATHERFACE

SAVAGE WORLD (FUNKO)

Funko, masters at getting literally every license under the sun, got into the action figure game with ReAction, a line of figures based on the styling of Kenner’s failed Alien line (and, by extension, the styling of Kenner’s far more successful Star Wars line).  There were some gems in that run, but Funko sort of ran it into the ground, so they decided to move forward and ape *another* vintage toyline’s style.  This time, it was Masters of the Universe.  Their first offerings were from the thematically appropriate Mortal Kombat, but, as with everything they do, Funko has decided to extend the style to cover a plethora of other licenses.  The line we’re focussing on today, Savage World,  is an anthology line of sorts, based on several popular slasher franchises.  Today, I’ll be looking at Leatherface, the slasher from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, viewed through that He-Man-esque lens.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Leatherface is part of the five-figure first series for Savage World, alongside Michael Myers, Freddy Kruger, Jason, and Pinhead.  There are enough heavy hitters here that I’m honestly not sure there’s a Series 2 in the plans, and quite frankly, that’s for the best.  Funko’s not had the best track record of finishing things (if you don’t believe me, ask anyone of my three incomplete Serenity crews), so a one and done is alright by me.  Leatherface is 5 1/2 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  His sculpt appears to be unique to him (which is actually a bit of a surprise, given the heavy parts reuse of the old Masters figures), and rather nicely sums up the intended aesthetic.  His design has, rather expectedly, gone through some notable changes to bring him more in line with that Masters thing.  Obviously, he’s super buff and cut, and quite squat, in contrast to the more schlubby look of the movies.  And to accentuate this new build, he’s also ditched his shirt, as you do.  Topping all of that off, he’s gone full-on Ash Williams, and replaced his right hand with a chainsaw attachment.  He’s also got the usual furry loincloth piece that most of the Masters had, because he just wouldn’t quite look right without it.  Admittedly, Leatherface’s classic design doesn’t seem quite as natural a fit for this style as the others in the set, but ultimately the figure makes it work pretty well.  The paint work on Leatherface is overall pretty basic.  The application is clean and sharp, and they’re are some nice smaller details, like the blood splatter details on his torso.  He doesn’t have the most eye-catching color-scheme, but that’s true to Leatherface.  He’s packed with a second hand attachment, a mallet, which swaps out with the saw hand.  It’s not as definitive as the other hand, but it’s still fun.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, yeah, confession?  I’ve never actually seen Texas Chainsaw Massacre all the way through.  It’s not really my kind of movie.  By extension, I have no real attachment to Leatherface.  In general, Savage World isn’t really for me, and Leatherface is perhaps the least for me of the set.  Why do I have him then?  Well, he’s not actually mine.  When All Time got in their cases of this line, this guy’s leg had popped off of its socket in the package, so they offered him up to me for review.  Yay for me!  Even for someone who doesn’t have a personal attachment to this figure, he’s pretty solid.  The whole concept’s pretty goofy, but hey, goofy’s fun.

If your interested in getting a Leatherface of your own, you can buy this exact figure from All Time’s eBay store here, or you can buy a sealed one from the web store here.

#1794: Bookworm

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

BOOKWORM

BATMAN ’66 (FUNKO)

There was a time when any Batman ’66 product at all was something fans dreamed about.  Who’d have ever guessed we might have too much of it?  Well, I guess that’s a highly subjective take on things, isn’t it?  Perhaps I’m a little jaded about the whole thing.  See, when Mattel launched their Batman ’66 line, I was thrilled beyond belief, and preorder everything in the initial assortments.  And then I actually got the figures and…well, they were kind of garbage.  The line failed, what with the figures being kind of garbage and all.  In its stead we’ve gotten all sorts of stuff.  Pops, Hot Toys figures, Quarter Scale figures, Megos, etc.  All possessing their own strengths and weaknesses.  Towards the tail end of it all, Funko came in with a 3 3/4 inch line, which showed a lot of promise.  Sadly, its weakness was one of timing; it hit shelves a few years after collectors had been burned out by everything else.  As such, it too is another failed line, with an incomplete assortment of characters, focusing more on the obscure than the major.  Hence why we have no Joker, Penguin, or Catwoman, but we managed to get today’s offering, Bookworm.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Bookwork is part of the first, and only, series of Funko’s Batman ’66 line, one of the line’s many more obscure rogues.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 11 points of articulation.  The improved articulation on these figures is still very much appreciated, and Bookworm himself is far less affected by the lack of hip hinges than Batgirl was.  Like Batgirl, Bookworm takes the retro feel of the ReAction line and dials it back just a bit, resulting in a better overall figure that still pays homage to a more vintage style.  Apart from some slight weirdness where the hips and the bottom of the jacket intersect, his sculpt is really quite good.  In particular, I really love the head, especially his glasses.  Glasses are hard to do at all on toys, even more so at a small scale like this.  They could have just sculpted the rims right onto his face and done it all with paint, but they didn’t and the figure is all the better for it.  His head doesn’t have too much of actor Roddy McDowall’s likeness, but given how little of his face is actually visible here, it’s not like he looks unlike McDowall, so I’d say it’s close enough not to hold the figure back.  The figure’s paint is a little on the drab side, being mostly variations of brown.  This is true to the show, though, and at least the application is clean.  The glasses again are the best part for me, with clear lenses *and* cleanly painted rims.  Bookworm is, appropriately, packed with a book, which his right hand has been sculpted to properly hold.  That was a nice change, since Batgirl was unable to hold her accessory.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I have to admit: I was part of the problem.  When they were new, I bought exactly one of Funko’s Batman ’66 figures.  I really liked Batgirl a lot, and was interested in getting more, but after the whole debacle with Mattel, I wanted to see more of what the line had to offer before really jumping on board.  During the TRU liquidation process, I found poor Bookworm, all by himself, package smashed to hell.  I felt sorry for him, so home with me he came.  And then there was the months of waiting to open him, because boy did I pick up a backlog of figures over the summer.  Now that I’ve finally opened him, I’m really happy I got one, but also very sad I didn’t support this line earlier, because Bookworm is a very good figure. 

#1640: Mr. Meeseeks

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

MR. MEESEEKS

RICK AND MORTY (FUNKO)

“I’m Mr. Meeseeks!  Look at meeeee!”

Oooooooooo, it’s another Mr. Meeseeks review!  Caaaaan dooooo!

I’ve touched on Rick and Morty once on this site before, in fact in another Mr. Meeseeks review.  It’s certainly an odd show, but it amuses me.  There’s a bunch of associated merchandise out there to choose from, especially if you’re an action figure fan like myself.  Funko of course did their usual Pops and Mystery Minis, but there’s also a proper action figure line as well, and my personal favorite character (or characters, I suppose), Mr. Meeseeks was included amongst the initial assortment.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Mr. Meeseeks was released in the first series of Rick and Morty figures from Funko.  He represents Jerry’s first Meeseeks from “Meeseeks and Destroy,” which is the most prominent Meeseeks by far.  The figure stands just shy of 6 inches tall and he has 17 points of articulation.  His sculpt isn’t a straight recreation of the design from the show, largely due to the design not really being meant for three dimensions or adding things like articulation. From the outset, there were some compromises that needed to be made.  On top of that, Funko looks to be trying to create some sort of line-wide style for the Rick and Morty figures, at least partly influenced by other media adaptation lines from the ‘90s and such.  It’s not too far removed from the already established Rick and Morty style, and the figure still has all of the characteristics necessary for selling this figure as a Meeseeks figure.  The head in particular is a solid recreation of the show design.  The articulation is rather obvious, but it’s not particularly obtrusive, and it has a pretty good range of motion, which is the important thing here.  There’s not actually much paint on this figure.  The vast majority of the figure is just molded in light blue plastic, with paint limited to the head, specifically the eyes, brows, and hair. The application is all clean, but that’s pretty easy to do when there’s this little to apply.  Meeseeks is packed with a golf club (which you gotta choke up on, while remembering to square your shoulders; you know you gotta do both) and a hand gun.  His hands aren’t exactly designed for optimal grip on either, but it’s not like he can’t hold them at all.  It might have been cool to get an extra head or two to allow for multiple Meeseeks to be depicted, but it wouldn’t surprise me if Funko was holding out to release more variants down the line.  Meeseeks is also packed with the leg of the Build-A-Figure Snowball.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Despite not being a fan of the show herself, Super Awesome Girlfriend got me this figure, just like the last one.  We had stopped to look for the Solo product, and I didn’t find much, so I guess she took a bit of pity on me and bought me this guy (it probably had something to do with me only being out that day because I was doing some volunteer work with her, as well).  I don’t know that I’ll be going all-in on this particular line, but I do quite like this particular figure.

#1531: Mr. Meeseeks

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

MR. MEESEEKS

POP! ANIMATION (FUNKO)

“I’m Mr. Meeseeks!  Look at meeeeee!”

-Mr. Meeseeks

Oooooooo.  It’s that time of the year.  Time for the holiday gift reviews!  Caaaaan doooooo!  As with prior years, I’ll be kicking things off with my one non-Christmas gift of the season, as sort of a prologue to the main items.

My introduction to Rick and Morty was really just in the last year, and it wasn’t actually something from the show at all, but rather a gag animation done by the same crew featuring Rick and Morty reciting, verbatim, the record of an actual court case, which was somehow weirder than the actual show.  It piqued my interest enough to give the show as a whole a try, and I’ve enjoyed what I’ve seen.  In particular, I liked “Meeseeks and Destroy”, the episode that introduced the Meeseeks, a goofy disposable workforce.  Today, I’ll be following the advise of Mr. Meeseeks’ catchphrase, and taking a look at him!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Mr. Meeseeks is #174 in Funko’s Pop! Animation line, falling into their first assortment of Rick and Morty Pops.  The figure stands about 4 inches tall and has a basic swivel joint at his neck as his only articulation.  This Meeseeks appears to be based on Jerry’s first Meeseeks from the episode.  Since it’s the one we spend the most time with, that’s pretty sensible.  This guy merges the typical Pop aesthetic with the simplistic animation style of the show, though he leans a little bit more towards the show side of things.  Really, the only thing that denotes this as a Pop is the larger, squarer shaping of the head.  Everything else is pretty standard for Meeseeks.  He’s got the round, blank eyes, but that’s really not a change for Meeseeks.  He even ends up getting a mouth.  Technically, Pops are supposed to omit that detail, but it’s probably one of the most overlooked rules, and I believe all of the Rick and Morty figures got mouths, so Meeseeks is far from the only figure in this category.  His pose is appropriate for Meeseeks, and certainly breaks from some of the more generic Pop poses, so I can definitely get behind it.  Paint on Meeseeks is fairly sparse, with him mostly being molded in the appropriate shade of blue.  There’s a little bit of paint for his face and hair, and that’s all fairly decent.  Nothing amazing, but certainly passable work.  Meeseeks actually does include an accessory, which is outside the norm for a Pop.  He gets a display stand to help keep him upright.  I didn’t have too much trouble keeping him standing on his own, but I appreciate the option of the stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Mr. Meeseeks was given to me as an anniversary gift by Super Awesome Girlfriend.  She’s not really a fan of Rick and Morty herself, but she knows I like the Meeseeks, and she’s also a pretty huge fan of the “I’m Mr. Meeseeks” music video (which I definitely recommend giving a watch; it’s quite amusing), so she got me this guy.  Pops aren’t always my thing, but this is definitely a case where the source material really fits the style well, resulting in a pretty solid final product.

#1470: Frankenstein’s Monster

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

FRANKENSTEIN’S MONSTER

UNIVERSAL MONSTERS REACTION FIGURES (FUNKO)

Oooooooooooo!  Spoooooky!  Scaaaaaaarry!  Is that good?  Have I conveyed enough of the Halloween spirit?  No?  Well, fair enough.  How about I review something a little bit Halloween-y, then, shall I?  Now, I know I usually review some slightly spooky Minimates around this time of year, but this year I’ve decided to be a little different.  I’m still sticking with the general Universal Monsters theme I like oh so much, but this time I’m setting my sights on one of Funko’s ReAction Figures, specifically Frankenstein’s Monster!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Frankenstein’s Monster was one of the four figures in the first series of Universal Monsters ReAction Figures, which hit in late 2014, just in time for the Halloween season.  Good ol’ Frankie  looks to be most closely based on his appearance from the first Frankenstein film, albeit a colorized version of what we see on the screen.  The figure stands just shy of 4 inches tall (he was amongst the tallest of the set) and he has 5 points of articulation.  Lack of articulation is generally pretty restrictive for most characters, but for Frankenstein’s Monster, it’s actually not bad, since it’s enough to get all of his usual poses done.  The sculpt is actually pretty decent.  I found the Universal Monsters to be when Funko really started to come into their own with the ReAction style.  It helps that this sort of property more generally lends itself to this style of figure, resulting in figures that are a bit more genuine looking than, say, Firefly ReAction Figures.  Frankie still has some of the tell-tale signs of an early ReAction Figure, notably the slightly flatter torso, but it’s far less noticeable on him, since he’s supposed to be stiff and squared off to begin with.  The detail work could possibly stand to be a little sharper, especially on the head, but there’s still a lot of solid work, and he certainly doesn’t look unfinished or anything.  In terms of paint, this guy’s a little on the dull side, but that’s to be expected.  He is based on a black and white film, after all.  He follows Sideshow’s model for the basic color scheme, with a green jacket a greenish-grey skin.  The different color to the jacket helps to add a little bit more diversity to the palette, which is definitely for the best.  The Monster included no accessories, which is a little sad, but also excusable.  There’s not a ton you can give him, really.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

When the ReAction stuff first started hitting, I fully intended to get a bunch of it.  And then I bought a handful of it, and thought better of investing too much of my time in the line.  Not that I hated any of the figures I bought, but the line was certainly flawed.  So, I mostly missed the Monsters line.  I bought this guy from Ollie’s just earlier this year, because, in addition to their usual lowered prices, they were also offering an additional 50% off all toys, meaning Frankie was $1.50.  That was enough to make me dig through the rack to find a figure still actually attached to his blister card and buy him.  He’s a good figure.  Not a great figure, but a good one.  He shows what the line should have focused on, in contrast to the plethora of modern properties it ultimately did focus on.

#1392: Batgirl

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

BATGIRL

BATMAN ’66 (FUNKO)

Fun fact: did you know that the Barbara Gordon version of Batgirl was only created to help sell the third season of the ‘60s Batman show?  Well, sort of.  Carmine Infantino and Julie Schwartz were working on a way to revamp the Betty Kane “Bat-Girl”, when they were visited by the tv-show’s producers, who were looking for a hook for what would be the show’s final season.  They liked Infantino’s early designs for Barbara, and she was quickly introduced in the comics before making her on-screen debut shortly thereafter.  Yvonne Craig’s portrayal of Batgirl in the show is by far the most definitive take on the character, even years later.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Batgirl was released in the first series of Funko’s new Batman ’66 line of figures.  After being left out of the Mattel line at launch, it’s really nice to see Batgirl turn up much earlier in the new line.  These figures are in a similar style to Game of Thrones figures, but this feels like a property that’s more at home in the style.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and she has 11 points of articulation.  I definitely appreciate the hinges on the shoulders; it’s a shame we couldn’t get similar movement on the hips, but I’ll take what I can get.  The style of these figures has a vaguely retro feel to it, but it’s not quite as hardcore as the ReAction stuff.  The sculpt on Batgirl is somewhat streamlined and more simplistic, but she still manages to have some really incredible detail work, especially on the gloves.  The head actually sports a pretty solid likeness, definitely better than the Mattel version (and I even though that was one of Mattel’s better attempts in their line), and a very crisply defined cowl with her hair billowing out of the back.  The hair is well-placed, so as not to impede the neck movement, which is very much appreciated.  There’s a rubber cape, which is held in place by the head.  It’s fairly light-weight and flexible.  Definitely an improvement on the cloth cape from the Mattel stuff.  The paintwork on Batgirl is decent enough.  The application is all pretty clean, and there’s no real noticeable slop.  The belt has some slight bleed over onto the pelvis, but it’s minor.  I will say, while the flat colors look fine, I do sort of miss the metallics from the Mattel version, and I feel like at the very least, the jumpsuit should have been a little shiny.  Batgirl was packed with a Bat-Communicator, which is cool, though she has trouble holding it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

When Funko announced they were doing this line, I will admit, I was skeptical.  I went all-in on the Mattel figures, and I was ultimately rather let down by those.  Similarly, I was only so-so on a lot of the ReAction stuff and the smaller-scale Game of Thrones figures.  But, I was at Lost in Time Toys, and they had Batgirl, and I really liked the look of her, so I figured I’d give the line a shot.  I kinda wish I’d waited it out for the Funko stuff, because I found this Batgirl to be a better put together figure than what we got from Mattel.  On top of that, I’m happy to see Funko starting to find their footing in the action figure world.  Here’s hoping they can maintain their niche. 

#1363: Tyrion Lannister

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

TYRION LANNISTER

GAME OF THRONES: LEGACY COLLECTION (FUNKO)

Bet you weren’t expecting to see another Game of Thrones review.  Or maybe you were, given my tendency to time reviews up with current happenings, like, for instance the season premier of a TV show.    When it comes to GoT, the best figures are still those from Funko’s sadly short-lived Legacy Collection.  I’ve looked at one of each of the characters presented by that line, but I hadn’t yet tackled the handful of variants offered for both Dany and Tyrion.  Today, I take a look at another Tyrion, because you can never have too many Tyrions!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Tyrion was part of Series 1 of Funko’s Game of Thrones: Legacy Collection.  He’s figure 2 in the set, a number he shares with the prior Tyrion I reviewed.  The last Tyrion I looked at was the Walgreens-exclusive Hand of the King version of Tyrion; this figure is the basic Series 1 release, which depicts him in his armor he’s seen wearing towards the ends of Seasons 1 and 2.  I don’t find it to be quite as essential a look for Tyrion as the prior figure, but it’s still an important version of the character, I suppose.  Like the prior figure, this figure stands roughly 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 26 points of articulation.  On the plus side of things, the articulation, particularly the elbows, of this figure offers a better range than the Hand of the King figure.  Given he’s supposed to be more “battle-ready” than his counterpart, this is pretty sensible.  As with the other Tyrion, this figure sports one of the best sculpts in the line.  The head is the same one used on the Hand of the King figure, meaning it has a solid Dinklage likeness.  The body is unique, and has some tremendous detail work, especially on the armor.  It’s a shame that we never got any other characters in the King’s Landing armor, because it really would have been nice to see this detail at a larger scale.  Regardless, it’s a truly impressive sculpt.  The paintwork on the figure is largely pretty solid work overall, with one small set of issues.  The work on the armor is really sharp, with the base colors being super clean, and the weathering and the like on top of them offering a nice bit of realism.  The only real issue is with the head; for whatever reason, the color choices for his hair, skin, and stubble make this figure look less like Peter Dinklage than the Walgreens variant.  Minor changes that make for a rather different look.  It’s amazing what effect a color palette can have on something.  Tyrion is packed with a battle axe, which is a slightly more impressive extra than the small dagger included with the last figure.  That being said, it’s really a shame that the regular release didn’t also include the helmet that came with the SDCC variant, since it was already tooled and everything.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After picking up the Hand of the King Tyrion, I really hadn’t planned on getting this guy.  I was really trying to just go with one of each character for this line, as I had high hopes for the smaller-scale line Funko launched last year.  Sadly, that line was middling at best, and it doesn’t appear it will be moving any further forward.  So, I was kind of jonesing for some more GoT stuff.  When I found this guy at Half-Priced Books just outside of Seattle earlier this summer, he was enough to tide me over, I suppose.  The other Tyrion is still my preferred version of the character, but there’s no denying that this guy’s a super fun figure.