Tag Archives: Malcolm Reynolds

#1099: Malcolm Reynolds

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

MALCOLM REYNOLDS

FIREFLY LEGACY COLLECTION

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If you had to pick a face of Firefly, I think it’s pretty safe to say it’s Malcolm Reynolds.  Despite the definite ensemble bent of the show, he was the captain, and he was front and center for pretty much everything.  As the “face,” Mal has been privy to by far the most action figures of any cast member, with a good seven of them under his belt.  As one of only two characters to get a figure (well, two, actually) from the criminally short-lived Serenity line back in 2005, he was already covered in the 6-inch scale, but Funko probably didn’t want to do Legacy without him (and I’m sure a good number of people never got the Serenity figures), so he found his way into that line too.  I’ll be looking at that figure today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

mallegacy2Mal was figure #1 in the first series of Funko’s Firefly Legacy Collection.  That makes sense, what with him being the captain and all.  The figure stands a little over 6 inches tall and he has 26 points of articulation.  Or he would had my figure not broken.  Yep, after fairing alright with my Rocketeer, all of my GoT figures, and Wash and Zoe, Mal was my first official break from the Legacy line.  It was just a manner of time, I suppose.  While taking this guy out of the box, I apparently handled his right hand a little too roughly, and it fell off.  I can’t say I’m surprised, though, since his wrist pegs are thin, hollow, and made of clear plastic (the weakest plastic out there).  I’m not sure how this figure wouldn’t break.  That’s just very poor design.  Like most of the other figures in this set, Mal is sporting his look from the promotional images.  It’s a pretty straightforward look for Mal, what with the suspenders, red shirt, and signature brown coat.  Mal’s sculpt is…well, it’s something.  It’s definitely not as good as Wash or Zoe, or even any of the GoT figures.  I wouldn’t call it bad per se, but I can’t say I’d call it particularly good either.  He’s long and lanky, which isn’t necessarily wrong for Mal, but it’s handled in an odd sort of “this person wouldn’t be able to live” sort of way.  I’m not sure what’s going on with the hips, but it looks sort of like he broke one of them and is trying to hide the body cast in his pants.  His shoulders are quite narrow, which is emphasized by the slightly bow-legged stance of the figure and his inability to put his arms down all the way.  Then there’s the jacket, which I can’t tell if it’s too short or his legs are just too long, but something’s off about it.  It also sits rather clumsily on his shoulders, as if it was taken from another figure entirely.  The head is probably the figure’s strongest point, though even it’s a little strange.  From some angles, it’s a spot-on Fillion likeness, but from others he looks kinda like Michael J Fox.   The paint work on the figure is decent, I suppose.  The best work is probably the body, though it feels kind of murky and slapdash compared to the others.  The head has some okay work, but something about the eyes is just deeply disturbing.  Mal includes his usual revolver, as well as a larger rifle (different from the one included with Zoe).

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Seeing as I already had the Serenity Mal, and I was hemming and hawing over Wash and Zoe to begin with, I was definitely not planning on getting this guy.  But then Movie Stop was going out of business, and this was one of the very last figures they had, and he was like $4.  And for that price, I figured he was worth a shot.  Between the strange sculpt, the iffy paint, and the fact that he broke right out of the box, I’m definitely glad I didn’t pay full or even half price for this guy.  I’d like to write this guy off as being an example of Funko’s inexperience in the field of action figures, but the other Legacy figures show they can make a very good figure when they want to.  I guess everyone needs a worst.  Man, this one was kind of a bummer…

#0817: Malcolm Reynolds

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

MALCOLM REYNOLDS

FIREFLY REACTION! (FUNKO)

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Today is day 16 of the Post-Christmas gift reviews, the penultimate review of this particular sub-set of reviews.  For today’s review, I’ll be looking at a figure from a line I haven’t looked at in a fair bit of time, Funko’s ReAction line. Yes, today I’ll be looking at Captain Malcolm Reynolds, from their Firefly ReAction line. But, wait, didn’t I already review him with the rest of the first series? Yes, I did, but this one’s got a new hat—I mean, this one’s shirt is blue!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

MalBlue2Mal is technically part of the first series of Firefly ReAction figures, though he was released a fair bit after the original selection of figures. He was exclusive to “go!”. For those of you who have no clue what that is (like me!), you know those mall kiosks that sell calendars? Yeah, those are owned by go!. Mal was, in fact, a calendar store exclusive. Funko will literally give anyone an exclusive. And, honestly, I can’t really see a problem with that. The figure stands 3 ¾ inches tall and has 5 points of articulation. His sculpt is 100% identical to the regular, red-shirted Mal figure, reviewed here. It’s not one of Funko’s stronger sculpts. That said, I certainly wouldn’t want an improved Mal sculpt to be implemented on a weird, out of nowhere exclusive. The key difference here is paint. Instead of red, his shirt is now a light blue. It’s not a signature look for Mal, but it actually is kind of appealing. The application is a bit sloppy, especially at the hairline, but he looks okay as a whole. The other main change to this figure is his included weapon. The regular release had Mal’s signature revolver. In its place, this figure includes a shotgun, which is the same as the one included with Zoe.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Mal was given to me by my friends Cindy and Lance, who are pretty good at finding me harder-to-get items as gifts. I had no clue this figure even existed until I opened it. It’s not often that I’m surprised like that. It was actually a nice change of pace. He’s not super different from the regular release, but he’s a fun little variant.

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#0509: Malcolm Reynolds

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

MALCOLM REYNOLDS

FUNKO POP! TELEVISION

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For years, cult favorite show Firefly went pretty much untouched by the toy-world. There were a few figures from the movie, Serenity, but that was it. No one seemed to be able to get the license. Enter Funko, masters of possessing the licenses to literally everything ever (seriously, they must know where all of the bodies are buried), who picked up the Firefly license and quickly pumped out an assortment of merchandise in all of their various styles, including their ever-popular Pop! Vinyl line. Today, I’ll be looking at that line’s take on Captain Malcolm Reynolds.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

MalPop2Mal is the 135th figure in the Funko Pop! Television line. The figure is about 3 ½ inches in height, with the standard one point of articulation at the neck. It’s not a lot, but that one point of movement does add a fair bit to what can be done with the figure. Mal is based on his standard coated look from the show, though it’s worth noting that he’s sporting a pair of gloves, which he only wore from time to time on the show. I think this might be meant to more represent his look in the pilot episode. Regardless of exactly where it’s from, it works as a decent summation of the character. The look has, of course, been reworked into the Pop! style, so he’s got the usual big square head, circle eyes, and no mouth. While some Pop!s are pretty good at conveying an actor’s likeness in these limited features, this one’s a little more on the generic side. It could still certainly be Mal/Fillion, but it doesn’t jump out immediately. Fortunately, the rest of the figure does a pretty great job of conveying the character. All the details of the clothing are nice and sharp, which is good to see. Furthermore, the figure moves away from the usual Pop! semi-crouch pose, instead opting for a much more character-appropriate look. It really sells this as Mal, and it’s refreshing to see Funko moving away from the more generic poses they were doing for so long. The weakest point of any Funko figure is typically the paintwork, and Mal is no exception. That said, the work here isn’t terrible. There’s a few missed spots and some occasional bleed over, but most things are pretty clean.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Mal here was a Valentine’s Day gift from my Super Awesome Girlfriend. I know, it’s not the usual Doctor Who! She actually wanted to get me Wash, who’s my favorite character, but she was unable to find him. Mal’s definitely a good second choice, and this figure’s certainly a lot of fun!

#0324: Malcolm Reynolds

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

MALCOLM REYNOLDS

FIREFLY REACTION

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Back in the 80s, the toymakers at Kenner made a serious impact on the action figure market when they introduced their line of 3 ¾ inch figures based on Star Wars. The scale proved to be a huge hit, maintaining itself as one of the industry standards for over 30 years. Moreover, the style of the vintage Star Wars figures is quite popular with many collectors, those being the figures that brought many of them into the collecting world. Funko and Super 7 have recently joined forces to try and recapture that style and bring it to just about every property imaginable. One set of figures I was most excited for was the figures from Joss Whedon’s cult favorite Firefly. I recently reviewed plucky pilot Wash, and I liked him enough to pick up the rest of the first series. I’ll be kicking things off with Captain Tightpants himself, Malcom Reynolds.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

MalWilsonLike Wash, Mal was released as part of the first series of Firefly ReAction Figures. He is 3 ¾ inches tall and features the old-faithful 5 points of articulation. Mal had a fairly consistent look over the course of the series, though it should be noted that Funko have chosen to depict him without his signature Brown Coat. There is an exclusive version that features a cloth one, but the regular release is sans coat. Mal features a sculpt that is completely unique to this figure. It’s an alright sculpt. He bears a passing resemblance to Nathan Fillion, but it wouldn’t be very easy to place him if he weren’t in the typical Mal get-up. The weakest point of Mal’s sculpt is definitely his torso, which is too flat to properly capture the Kenner style. It really throws the rest of the figure off, which is a shame. It seems odd to say this, but the legs are actually the best work on the figure. I can’t help but look at those and see a set of vintage Kenner legs, so kudos to Funko for that. The paintwork on Mal is in keeping with the Kenner style that Funko’s going for, which is certainly good. It’s simplistic, but it’s nice and clean. All the paint apps seem to be right where they should be. Mal’s sole accessory is his signature revolver, molded in a brownish yellow.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After I picked up Wash, I pretty much immediately went ahead and ordered the rest of the first series from Amazon. Being totally honest, Mal isn’t quite up to the standards set by Wash. He lacks a lot of the character that was present in that figure, which makes this figure a little more bland overall. That being said, he isn’t a bad figure. If you’re into this style, you could do a lot worse than to pick up this figure.

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