Tag Archives: Funko

#0448: Carol Peletier

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CAROL PELETIER

FUNKO POP!

For Day Eleven of the Christmas Reviews, let’s have a look at something a little (but not totally) different. The Doctor Who reviews have wrapped up and the Alien reviews will be finishing up tomorrow. So, today, I’ll be taking a look at another Funko Pop! figure, this time based on the widely popular comicbook turned TV show The Walking Dead. It’s a figure of one of the show’s rising stars Carol Peletier (whose last name I did not know until I owned this figure. So there.)

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Carol is figure #156 in the Funko Pop! Television line. This version is the Hot Topic exclusive blood splattered version. The figure is about 3 ½ inches tall and she has the requisite one point of articulation. It may not be much, but at least it’s consistent. Carol is based on her season 4/season 5 appearance. It’s a good choice because that’s when she truly becomes awesome. The design has been adjusted to fit into the Pop! style. It’s not a style that works for every character, but it works rather well for Carol. The sculpt is surprisingly well detailed for this style of figure. Her clothes are loaded with lots of wrinkles, to give them the appropriate worn look. She’s also got very nicely detailed boots, with all the proper straps and such. She’s even got her knife sheathed on her belt! Like many Funko offerings, this figure’s weakest point is its paint. Granted, Carol’s paint is a fair bit better than most other Pop! figures I’ve seen. Overall, the paint is alright, but there are a few areas with bleed over and fuzzy lines. Fortunately, this figure’s blood splattered look helps to hide some of the rougher spots of paint. Speaking of the blood splatter, it really adds to the figure. It’s very nicely done, and it gives her that messy look that one expects from a survivor of a zombie apocalypse.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Carol is yet another gift from my Super Awesome Girlfriend Jessica. This one marks a change of pace from the Doctor Who theme present in all of her other gifts, but variety’s never a bad thing. Carol is one of my favorite characters on The Walking Dead (and Mellissa McBride is a pretty awesome person outside of the show), so I’m pretty thrilled to have her in figure form!

#0443: Ripley – Spacesuit

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RIPLEY – SPACESUIT

ALIEN REACTION

It’s Day Six of my Christmas Reviews, and they’re moving along strong. Today’s review is the second half of the ReAction review I started yesterday. When you’re dealing with Alien, the two most important characters are the Alien and the lone survivor, Ripley. Yesterday, I looked at the Alien, today I’ll look at Ripley.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Ripley was released in the second series of Alien ReAction Figures. She’s 3 ¾ inches tall and she features 5 points of articulation. Ripley is presented here in the space suit she wears during her final run-in with the creature. From the neck down, Ripley is identical to Series One’s Kane figure. Since the Nostromo’s space suits were all roughly the same design with different colors, it’s a reasonable re-use of parts. It certainly doesn’t hurt that Kane was my personal favorite figure from the first series, mostly due to his superb sculpt. At first, I thought the head might just be a re-use from the first Ripley, but a closer look shows this is definitely not the same piece. It’s not as good as the first Ripley, but I imagine a large part of that is due to the need for it to fit in the helmet properly.  This results in the figure looking much better with the helmet on, which is the better of the two options, I suppose. It might seem the figure has no paint on the body, but that’s not the case. All of the plating and straps have been painted with a slightly different white, allowing for some distinction between the pieces of the suit. It’s really an impressive effect, and something that could have been left out. The figure’s head features mostly straight forward work, which is fine I suppose. Ripley includes her helmet for her suit, which fits very well. True to the movie, the helmet lacks the head light seen on Kane’s suit, which means they tweaked the helmet at least a little bit.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like the Alien, Ripley was a gift from my amazingly cool parents. While this might not be the most exciting figure that the line has to offer, it does offer Ripley in a fairly key look, and it gives us another figure using the fantastic Space Suit sculpt from Kane. I can’t really fault Funko for wanting to use that body again.

#0442: Alien – Metallic Flesh

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ALIEN – METALLIC FLESH

ALIEN REACTION

Today marks Day Five of my Christmas Reviews. This review also marks the second review to tie in with the “theme” of my gifts this year: Aliens. Last year, I received the first series of Funko’s Alien ReAction line, which finally brought the unreleased Kenner Alien figures to retail. Almost a year later, Funko finally added a second series, which was made of three new figures and one repaint. So, hey, how about starting with that repaint?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Alien is part of the second series of Alien ReAction Figures. The figure is about 4 inches in height and it has 6 points of articulation. As noted in the intro, the Alien is the one straight repaint in this series. From head to toe, this figure’s sculpt is identical to the Alien from the first series. Fortunately, the Alien featured one of the best sculpts from the first series, so it’s not a bad thing. Like I said in my review of the first release of this sculpt, it’s certainly a product of its time, but it represents the best that late 70s sculpting had to offer. Being a repaint, obviously what sets this figure apart from the previous figure is the paint. The last figure was rather basic, and presented the Alien as it would have looked if it really had been released in 1979. This figure opts for a more detailed paint job, and it’s the better for it. Rather than a flat gray, this figure’s base color is a very dark, metallic gray, which is far more in line with the creature’s film appearance. The figure’s dome has been changed from a smoky, semi-transparent piece to a completely clear piece. Underneath of the dome, the head has been given a more intensive paint job, detailing the underlying skull. While this isn’t strictly accurate to the movie, it is accurate to what the suit created for the movie looked like initially. It offers a nice contrast to the last figure, and the cool thing is that the domes can easily swap out, if one were to want a more accurate Alien. The Alien includes no accessories, but that’s no surprise; it’s a larger figure and the previous one didn’t have accessories either.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Alien was another gift from my always amazing parents. He and the other ReAction figure I got (who I’ll be reviewing tomorrow) were actually purchased as a bit of a “backup gift,” just in case the Queen wasn’t there in time. Fortunately, the Queen did arrive, but hey, extra gift! At first glance, this Alien seemed a bit boring, but having it in hand I actually really love the figure. He offers a wonderful improvement to the original figure, and that was a pretty great figure to start with.

#0439: Donatello

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DONATELLO

FUNKO POP!

We continue on with the post-Christmas gift reviews today, with #2. While the vast majority of the gifts I received were either Doctor Who or Alien related, there were a few outliers. Today’s review comes from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, that cultural phenomenon that I keep missing but still have an oddly placed affection for.

This review is also the first time that I’ll be delving into the Funko Pop! line. Pop! is a line of stylized vinyl figures based on a wide gamut of properties (Funko has the rights to virtually every property in existence). There are well over a hundred figures in the line and there are a few different sub-headings (31 to be exact). Today’s figure, Donatello, hails from the Pop! Television line.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Donatello is figure #60 in the Funko Pop! Television line. Numerically, he’s the first of the four turtle brothers. The figure is roughly 3 inches tall and features a whole one point of articulation. The articulation is limited, but it’s par for the line, and vinyl figures in general. Donatello is based on the character’s appearance in the 1987 cartoon, with the usual Pop! style applied. This means he has the solid circle eyes, the squared-off head, and the exaggerated, smaller lower body all native to the Pop! line. The figure features a completely unique sculpt. It’s pretty good for what we’ve come to expect from the line. The proportions are decent, from an internal stand-point, and it has cleanly sculpted details. It isn’t completely without issue, though. The biggest issue is very definitely the Bo Staff, which has been sculpted as part of the body. It seems the hands weren’t quite sculpted in the right positioning for the staff to fit them, and rather than fix them, the sculptor just sorta bent the staff a bit. It’s really obvious and it makes the figure look rather sloppy. Funko may be really good at getting every license under the sun, but they have yet to figure out the secret to a consistent paint job. Donatello’s isn’t horribly off the mark, to be fair. The colors are nice and vibrant, and they really reflect the color palette of the cartoon version of the character well. That said, they seem to be placed only in the general vicinity of where they should be, leading to a lot of bleed over. There is also a lot of fuzzy line work around the edges. Donatello includes no accessories, which is fairly standard for a Pop! figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Donatello here was a Christmas gift from my brother Christian. I’ve mentioned before that my fandom of TMNT is shared with Christian, so this gift has much more meaning coming from him than it would anyone else. Plus, it’s my favorite turtle to boot! Funko Pop! isn’t a line I follow religiously, but the style works pretty well for certain characters. The Turtles definitely fit the style well. Donatello is a fun little figure, even with his small assortment of issues.

#0344: T800 Terminator

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T800 TERMINATOR

THE TERMINATOR REACTION

The ReAction line is certainly a line of ups and downs. I appreciate what Funko are trying to do with the line. I like the style they’re aiming for, and I really love a lot of the properties they’ve managed to secure in this scale. That being said, a fair number of figures in the line haven’t been as good as they could have been. Of the four figures I’ve looked at from their Terminator line, one was good, two were alright, and one was downright bad. That’s not terrible, but it could be better. There’s one figure left in the series, based on one of the film’s more definitive looks. Has Funko managed to pull this one off?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Terminator was released as part of the first series of The Terminator ReAction Figures. He is just shy of 4 inches tall, making him the same height as the Tech Noir version and just a little shorter than the Endoskeleton, and he features the same 5 points of articulation standard for the line. The figure is based on what is probably the T800’s most distinctive look from the first movie, usually referred to as the “police shootout” version. It’s the look the character sports during his attack on the police station where Sarah and Kyle are being held. The figure, like just about every other ReAction figure, features a brand-new sculpt, and a very good one at that. While he doesn’t quite have the girth of Schwarzenegger in the movie, he very nicely translates the look into the Kenner aesthetic. There aren’t any strange proportions or issues of flatness on this sculpt. What’s more, the likeness on the head sculpt is pretty much spot on, which is certainly a change of pace with this line. Even little, seemingly-pointless things, like the slight bend of the arms, have been handled pitch-perfectly. The figure’s paint work is also pretty good. The glasses in place of painted eyes really helps, and I love the heavy shine they put on his jacket. The figure includes a Spas-12 Shotgun and a stockless M16, which are the two weapons he carries through the police station. Both are handled pretty nicely, though the M16 is a little lighter on the details than the other weapons in this series. Special thanks go out to Tim Marron of Timiscal Thoughts for helping me properly identify those weapons!

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Just like every other figure in this set, the Terminator was ordered from Amazon. Thrilling story, right?

I had certain ideas about this set of figures when I ordered them. I knew Sarah would be the weak link. I figured the Endo would be my favorite, and I was looking forward to Kyle and the other Terminator. This one…eh, I just didn’t know. He’d probably be cool, right? Little did I know he’d end up being my favorite figure in the series. Heck, he’s my favorite figure in the entire ReAction line! This figure looks like he stepped right out of the Kenner Star Wars line, and that’s amazing. I hope that this figure is indicative of the future of the ReAction line, because he is a heavy step in the right direction!

#0343: Kyle Reese

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KYLE REESE

THE TERMINATOR REACTION

Well, yesterday’s review was a bit of a downer. Not every figure can be a winner, but it’s still sad to see it happen. It’s especially sad to see it happen with Funko’s ReAction line, because it’s already under enough criticism based just on the style choice alone. Fortunately, the figures seem to be improving as they keep going. I still have two figures left from the first series of The Terminator ReAction Figures, and fear not dear readers, it’s only an uphill stride from here. I’ve looked at the title character and the target, and today, I’ll be looking at the hero of The Terminator, Kyle Reese, the human resistance fighter sent back to save Sarah Connor. He also happens to be portrayed by Michael Biehn, also known for playing Hicks in James Cameron’s Aliens, and also the lunatic villain in Cameron’s The Abyss. Cameron just really likes this guy!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

As noted in the opening, Kyle was released as part of the first series of The Terminator ReAction Figures. Kyle is 3 ¾ inches in height and features the same basic 5 points of articulation as every other figure in this line. Obviously, he’s based on Kyle’s look in The Terminator, specifically his 1984 look. Kyle wears both a green and a blue jacket over the course of the movie. The figure goes with the green one, which is the one he wears earlier in the movie, most notably during his showdown with The Terminator at the Tech Noir club. The figure features a cloth piece to emulate the coat, which isn’t the greatest. The sleeves are really baggy, and the collar sits oddly, which makes it look more like a bath robe. Once it’s removed, the figure actually improves greatly. Kyle’s sculpt is unique to this figure. It’s not bad. Not the best ever, but not bad. Certainly better than the coat lets on. The torso is still a little too flat, like so many of the other ReAction figures. Aside from that, the rest of the sculpt is a pretty great translation of Kyle to the Kenner style. The etched stripes on the shirt look pretty great, and the proportions aren’t bad. The head is a little too generic to be a spot on Biehn, but it isn’t too far off. It’s close enough that you can tell who he’s supposed to be. Kyle’s paint is pretty good. It’s a little on the clean side, but that’s mostly to do with the style of the figure. There aren’t any issues with slop or bleed over, so that’s good. In addition to the removable jacket, Kyle includes his modified shotgun and a small revolver.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Kyle was, surprisingly enough, flung at me by an angry homeless man while I was walking to class the other day. For real guys. It was weird…

Okay, not really. Like the rest of the series, I ordered Kyle from Amazon. I had initially been pretty excited for Kyle, but that excitement waned once the prototype pictures surfaced. However, I came across a few pictures of Kyle in-hand, especially without the coat, and that was enough to sway me back. Kyle isn’t without his issues, but he’s really not a bad figure, and he certainly makes me feel better after the very sad review I had to do for Sarah. If you’re a fan of The Terminator, you could do worse than this Kyle figure.

#0342: Sarah Connor

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

SARAH CONNOR

THE TERMINATOR REACTION

What separates Funko’s ReAction line from many of the other lines to tackle such licenses is the selection of characters Funko is releasing. See, Funko’s not just doing the one or two distinctive characters from a license. They’re also focusing on doing figures of characters never before released. Although The Terminator, has been granted a few figures of key players like the T800 and Kyle Reese, one figure that’s never been released is Sarah Connor, the Terminator’s intended target. Sure, she’s had a few figures based on her appearance in T2, but her original look has never been covered before. Funko has seen fit to release that particular version of the character in their Terminator line. Let’s see how that one turned out.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Sarah was released in the first series of The Terminator ReAction Figures. She’s a little under 3 ¾ inches tall, making her one the shortest of The Terminator figures, and she has the standard 5 points of articulation. As I noted in the intro, she’s based on Sarah’s look from the first Terminator movie, specifically the look she is wearing while she and Kyle are on the run. For what it’s worth, Sarah’s sculpt is totally unique to this figure. That’s probably for the best, because simply put: it’s not very good. I suppose the body sculpt is alright, but she seems to be a little too frail looking. She also seems to slope outward from the top, not unlike a pear. One of the more defining things about Linda Hamilton, who played Sarah in the movies, is that she has somewhat broad shoulders. The sloping shoulders throw the whole figure off, and she ends up looking like she has really stubby arms. Unfortunately, the body sculpt is nothing compared to the head. Sarah suffers from a serious case of man-face, but not just any man-face, ugly man-face. Both of the T800s are prettier than this. Heck, Sloth from the Goonies line is prettier! On top of the bad face sculpt is what can lightly be described as a hair helmet. Sarah’s hair in the movie was pretty bad, but it didn’t look like this! All of that is rounded out by a neck that is definitely too long. Combined with the body, this sculpt gives Sarah a really odd look. In what is definitely a change for a Funko figure, the best part of this figure is her paint. She still has the problem of her eyes being set too far up that we saw on Kaylee, but otherwise, the paintwork isn’t bad. In fact, she’s gotten the proper white stripes on her shirt, which even the prototype lacked. Everything is nice and clean, and there aren’t any issues with slop or bleed over, so that’s pretty good. Sarah comes with no accessories, which is kind of a bummer. Was the upper half of an Endoskeleton too much to ask for?

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Sarah was another figure acquired via Amazon. Mostly, I bought Sarah because I was buying the rest of the set. I can’t really see why anyone would want this figure otherwise. Sadly, this is one of the worst figures Funko has put out so far. I really would like to focus on the figure’s positive qualities, but there really aren’t any to speak of. It’s nice to have finally gotten this version of Sarah, but the figure doesn’t really do much for the look. I’ve noticed that the biggest downfalls of what Funko has released seem to be the female figures, which is a shame.

SarahConnor2

#0341: The Terminator

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THE TERMINATOR

THE TERMINATOR REACTION

Funko’s ReAction line has become one of the bigger splashes in the toy world, mostly due to the large scope of the line. Funko’s massive catalogue of licenses allows the line to have some serious pull. A lot of people are getting into it solely based on some properties getting their first toylines ever. One such license is James Cameron’s The Terminator. While its sequels weren’t short on toys, the original tends to only be seen through a stray figure here or there in a sequel’s line. Recent years of collector lines have added a few more figures from the first film, but never a purely devoted line. Today, I’ll be looking at one of the ReAction versions of the titular Terminator.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Terminator is part of the first series of The Terminator ReAction Figures line, which is part of Funko’s larger ReAction line. He stands just shy of 4 inches tall (making him shorter than the Endoskeleton, by the way) and features the standard 5 points of articulation. This figure is based on the Terminator’s “Tech Noir” look, which is the look he sports for the first half of the movie. It’s referred to as the “Tech Noir” look after the name of club that he first confronts Sarah Connor in. It’s the look he has for the longest stretch of the movie, but it isn’t usually considered the definitive Terminator look. The Terminator has an all-new sculpt, based on his look from the movie. It does a pretty good job translating the Terminator to the style, but it’s not perfect. He’s a little bit too skinny for Schwarzenegger in the first Terminator, especially at the neck. The head sort of looks like Schwarzenegger, but it’s not spot on. It’s like the Terminator, if he were a Vulcan. The paint on the Terminator is passable. He’s got a few areas of slop and bleed over, as well as some fuzzy lines. Then, of course, there’s the eyebrows, which are definitely not right. Still, as a whole, the paint is fine, and it seems to have summed up the Terminator’s look nicely. The Terminator includes an Uzi and Colt with a scope, both of which he is seen carrying in this particular outfit. They both are quite well sculpted, especially for the scale and style.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Terminator was another figure purchased from Amazon, along with the rest of the first series. While this isn’t the definitive Terminator look, it is a unique look. It looks pretty great with the rest of the set, and it’s not a bad figure in general. He’s not the best ReAction has to offer, but he’s far from the worst.

#0340: T800 Endoskeleton – Chrome

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T800 ENDOSKELETON – CHROME

THE TERMINATOR REACTION

Well, it seems I’ve been bitten by the ReAction bug. I had mixed feelings about the quality of the Firefly figures, but the pros outweighed the cons, and just the sheer volume of characters available in the style meant it was pretty easy for Funko to pull me back in. One of the early properties announced for the line was James Cameron’s The Terminator, of which I’m a pretty big fan. I mean, it’s no Aliens, but it’s one of the top sci fi films of the 80s. It also has the notoriety of being one of the announced ReAction properties that was released somewhat closely to the figures of the style that this line is going for. Today, I’ll be getting under the skin of the titular Terminator, with the T800 Endoskeleton!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The T800 Endoskeleton was released as part of The Terminator ReAction Figures line, under Funko’s wider ReAction Figures umbrella. The Endoskeleton is 4 inches in height and features the line’s standard 5 points of articulation. The figure is of course based on the design of the T800, specifically from the first Terminator movie. However, this is the Chrome version of the figure, which more accurately coveys the sheen of the T800 in Terminator 2. That being said, the vac metalized look is probably more accurate to the Kenner style. Fortunately, Funko has given fans the choice between two different sheens. Anyway, the sculpt is all new to this figure, and it’s pretty great. It manages to capture the complex design of the T800, which at the same time maintaining the more simplistic aesthetic of the rest of the ReAction line. The head is a little on the large side, but it’s not too bad, and it maintains the same quality as the rest of the sculpt. Obviously, the Endoskeleton isn’t a design that requires much paint, especially in the case of a chromed version, but Funko hasn’t cheeped out. The head features properly painted eyes and teeth, both of which are very well done, with no slop or bleed over. The Endoskeleton includes no accessories. It would have been nice to get a plasma rifle or something, but the Endo isn’t actually seen wielding any weaponry until T2, so I guess the lack of accessories is accurate.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Endoskeleton was ordered from Amazon, along with the rest of the first series of The Terminator ReAction Figures. When the ReAction Figures were first announced, the chrome Endo was one of the first ones I really wanted. The Endo design is incredibly distinctive, and definitely one of the more memorable killer robot designs out there. The figure isn’t perfect. He feels a bit on the frail side, and I’m uncertain of how long the chrome will last. That being said, he’s a fun little figure, and I whole-heartedly recommend him to even moderate fans of The Terminator.

#0328: The Rocketeer

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , ,

ROCKETEER

ROCKETEER REACTION

Rocketeer1

Yesterday, I defended the ReAction line in spite of its flaws. It might be easy for you, the reader, to look at the Jayne figure I examined yesterday and ask why I would try to defend a line that produced such a figure. That’s because I knew that today’s figure was up next.

1990’s The Rocketeer is one of my favorite movies. It’s a wonderful example of a super hero movie that predated the super hero boom by just a few years. Its director, Joe Johnson, even went on to direct Captain America: The First Avenger, another of my favorites. Sadly, The Rocketeer is at best a cult favorite, and it has been mostly left out in terms of toys. When Funko announced their list of ReAction Figures, the Rocketeer was the one I wanted the most. Now it’s here, so let’s see how it turned out!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

RocketeerWilsonThe Rocketeer was his own release under the ReAction banner. He’s really the only figure I could see Funko offering, so that’s fair. I’d still like a Lothar figure, but I’m weird. The Rocketeer is roughly 3 ¾ inches in height and he has the same 5 points of articulation we’ve seen on the rest of the line. He’s based on the movie version of the character, but this is one of those rare instances where it works just as well as a comic version. The sculpt on the figure is overall very impressive. It’s not perfect. The decision to make the helmet removable goes against the Kenner style, though it’s hard to say if they would have stuck to that in the case of someone like Cliff Secord, who did take his helmet off a lot. The underlying unmasked head seems a bit vertically squashed, but it’s not terrible. I doubt anyone is planning to display him without the helmet. The helmet is a very nice sculpt, even if it is a little bit oversized. The Rocketeer is one of the few ReAction figures not to have any issues with the sculpt being too flat, which is definitely a good thing. The details on the costume are quite nice, and they fit the style very well. The jetpack is another separate piece, and it’s a really great sculpt. There’s lots of nice details, and they even sculpted the little piece of gum on the back! The paint work on Cliff is okay, not amazing. It’s mostly clean, but there are a few areas of bleed over here and there. There’s also a small issue with paint transfer from the hands to the thighs. It scratches back off, but it’s annoying. The Rocketeer includes no extra accessories, but since the helmet and jetpack are packed separately, that’s not really a bad thing.

Rocketeer2 Rocketeer4 Rocketeer3

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

When I first heard about the Rocketeer figure, I was instantly on board for getting the figure. The figure’s release actually ended up sneaking up on me a bit. I ended up getting him along with the remainder of the Firefly ReAction Figures from Amazon. Of the figures I received in that shipment, Rocketeer is far and away my favorite. After the bit of a descent in quality seen with the Firefly figures, this figure is a real pick me up for the line. He has his flaws, but I think he really shows the true potential of this line. If Funko can manage to make more figures in the vein of this one, I think the ReAction line can really take off.

Rocketeer5