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Packaging - ***
No real surprise here - it's a clamshell. The included graphics are
terrific, and there's some good background text on the reverse. There's
a few twisty ties though, which I'm not fond of, and even less fond of
in a tight package like a clamshell, where the figure has no where to
go and thieves would have a tough time tearing it open in a store.
Sculpting - ***1/2
Without having seen the film yet, all we have is some dark stills and
fast cut trailer scenes to compare, but from what I've seen so far, the
sculpt is very accurate.
Before
you ask, no, the mask is not removable. Oh, if you really want to pry
it off, you could do it, but it's not designed to be removed.
Underneath, you can see the one horribly disfigured glassy left eye, as
well as the less damaged right.
The
mask and straps have a very realistic appearance, partly because they
are sculpted as separate pieces and glued in place, and partly because
the underlying face sculpt is designed so that they appear to sink
slightly into him, as though it's a tight fit.
The exposed skin
on the neck and face is textured, giving him a very weathered, rough
look. The mask has seen better days as well, with scoring across much
of the surface.
The body sculpt is terrific, and he stands just
over 7" tall. The shirt looks great, and hides the waist articulation
without interfering with it. The jacket has a different stitch pattern
on the sleeves than on the body, which does seem a bit odd. But I'm
assuming this matches the film, since it wouldn't make much sense
otherwise.
The right hand is sculpted to work great with all
three included weapons, and the left hand is posed in a great
threatening gesture.
There are a couple minor negatives for me,
however. Some of the clothing sculpt is a little soft, like the zipper
on the jacket, and there's something a bit cartoony about the bell
bottom jeans. It's not that they are bells, but rather the thickness
and flow that makes him look more Shaggy than Jason from the knees down.
It's
also worth pointing out that he stands great on his own, which is a
huge plus for a figure with limited articulation below the waist.
Paint - ***1/2
Great sculpts deserve great paint, and Jason gets the full treatment.
While
there aren't quite as many paint ops here as we've seen on many other
Mezco figures, there's still quite a few more than seems standard these
days, and they are generally all done with high quality and care.
The
wash and dirt on the mask works great for me, although for some it may
seem too much. That's where I am on the skin, actually - the dark wash
ends up a bit too much on the exposed neck, although in person it's not
as much of an issue as I've seen in some photos.
Some of the best
work is on the hands, where they've done subtle veining on the backs.
It looks great, and really adds to his 'living decomposition'
appearance.
Some of the finer small details are a smidge sloppy,
like the buckle on the leg strap, or the tiny silver zipper, but in
general these are minor annoyances, and don't detract from the overall
appeal of the figure.
Articulation - ***
If you
judge looking at the figure in the package, you'd expect very little
articulation, but that's not the case. Oh, he's not going to be doing
any ninja moves on the shelf, but he can certainly take on a pretty
wide range of poses.
The first, and most critical
joint is the
ball jointed neck. It has a very good range of movement, and allows
tilting as well as up and downward movement.
There are also ball jointed
shoulders, jointed only at the shoulder i.e. no bicep joint.
There are also cut joints on
both elbows and both wrists, allowing for a greater number of arm poses
than I had expected.
The
ball waist joint is hidden underneath the t-shirt, and allows the
figure to tilt forward and back, as well as side to side.
There's
also ankle joints hidden under the funky bell bottoms, and while the
pants do restrict them quite a bit, you can still get more movement out
of them than you might first expect. They really help balance the
center of gravity on the figure when you've adjusted the waist or
shoulders in more extreme ways.
Accessories - ***1/2
Mezco has done a nice job packing in some useful weapons for Jason, as
he hacks his way through your display shelf.
There's a
nice bloody machete, with an excellent sculpt (including sculpted blade
damage) and decent paint. For the old school fan, there's a double
bladed ax, also sporting a terrific realistic sculpt right down to the
dulled edge of the blades. The bloody paint work on the ax is a bit
better than what's on the machete, flowing in a more realistic pattern.
Finally,
there's one of those climber tool's that works as an ice pick, hammer,
wedge, and whatever else a mountain climber might need. Where Jason
came up with this thing I don't know, as Camp Crystal Lake is
an
actual working Boy Scout camp in New Jersey, where they don't have a
lot of call for mountain climbing equipment. But it's still pretty damn
deadly looking.
All the accessories fit in the
sculpted right
hand, and the machete or pick can be slid in the sculpted 'holster'. As
I said earlier, while this holster looks like the kind I've normally
seen used for axes, the handle for the included ax doesn't fit
particularly well.
Fun Factor - ***
Okay, so a crazed serial killer like Jason isn't something I'd give to
a 5 year old, but this figure is not just a collectible - it's very
clearly a toy as well. While it might never get used in that way, it
certainly could be, with very sturdy joints and a high quality
construction. I always like it when a 'collectibles' company remembers
the roots of this particular style of figure.
Value - **1/2
As painful as it is, this $15 - $17 price range is the going rate for
specialty market figures like this. Hell, it's starting to edge up
there for the mass market stuff in this scale. Considering that Mezco
through in a nice assortment of extras, I'm giving him an average value
rating, which means that this score will have no effect either positive
or negative on my Overall. In other words, you pretty much get what you
pay for.
Things To Watch Out For
-
Not a thing. He's very sturdy, with solid joints, and I'm from what
I've seen, the paint quality is pretty consistent across the line.
Overall - ***1/2
I'm willing to give the new film a chance, even if it the odds are
against it. From what I've read, it doesn't look good...but that
doesn't mean that the figures or the slightly updated character designs
don't look terrific. I'm happy to add this guy to his cousins that have
come before, and I plan on grabbing the 19" version with the wrapped
face as well just to mix things up a bit.
Score Recap:
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - ***1/2
Paint - ***1/2
Articulation - ***
Accessories - ***1/2
Fun Factor - ***
Value - **1/2
Overall - ***1/2
Where to Buy -
If you have a local Hot Topic or FYE that still carries action figures,
you may find him there, but your best bet (and in some cases cheaper
bet) is online:
- Entertainment
Earth has this version at just $15, with the
Previews exclusive version for $19 (wrapped head), and the 19" version
at $40. Just search for 'jason'.
- Cornerstore Comics
has this one for $17, the PX version for $17, the 12" version for $32,
and the 19" version for $37.
- Urban Collector
has this hockey mask version for $17, the Previews exclusive version
for $19 (wrapped head), and the 19" tall version with both heads for
$37.
- Things From Another World
has the hockey mask version for $16.
- Alter Ego has
the previews exclusive version for $19, or the 19" version for
$40.
Related Links -
I've looked at a lot of Jason
stuff over the years:
- recently, we has the excellent
12"
Jason from Mezco.
- Mezco has also done other
smaller scale Jasons, like this one
from part VI.
- the Mezco stylized version
is one of my favorites.
- from Sideshow,
there's the guest review of the recent Sideshow Part 7 version, and my
Jason reviews, including Sideshow Part
6, Sideshow Part 2,
Sideshow's Part
3, Sideshow Freddy
vs. Jason, and NECA's 7" Freddy
vs Jason set, and the large PF Jason.
- also in the Mezco Cinema of
Fear line up, there's the second
set of Mez-itz, and the first series of Cinema of Fear,
- and there's also the 8" version of Jason from
Freddy vs. Jason.
- finally, if you're a Friday
the 13th fan, check out the
3-D poster from Mcfarlane.
Discussion:
Want to chat about this review? Try out one of these terrific forums where I'll be
discussing it!
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