Review of Walking Dead Carol & Herschel action figures

Introduction

Walking Dead stormed back for the second half of the season just last week, and it was a brutal episode. Me thinks that level of harsh is likely to continue for some time, with little respite for our survivors.

McFarlane has released the sixth series based on the show, and it includes Carol, Hershel (both reviewed tonight), Abe, a new Governor, a new Rick, and another zombie, called 'bungee guts'. These are available at a number of retailers right now, and I even saw them recently on the end cap at a local Target. Walgreen is another good choice if you are looking to pick them up at a brick and mortar store.

You'll pay around $15 each, which has been pretty consistent since the beginning. Some retailers are a little higher, and there are a couple that will be slightly lower as well.

Packaging - ***1/2
Nothing new with the packaging, but it retains the cool graphics, including photos of the complete line up on the back. The graphics are updated to match the current season theme. There's a decent amount of character personalization, and these are even sorta, kinda collector friendly. Three of the sides of the bubble wrap around the card back, where it is taped. Cut the bubble loose on the three sides, and you an lift it up off the card and remove the inner tray. Pop it back later, tape things back down, and viola - no serious damage done.

There are a couple annoying plastic 'ties' on these, but it's nothing you can snip with basic scissors.

Sculpting - ***1/2
Both head sculpts look quite good, better under a macro lens in fact than with the nekkid eye. I was particularly impressed with Carol, who has the right facial shape, as well as the perfect set to the lips and jaw.  

Hershel is solid as well, and I love the level of detailing in the hair and beard. The head does seem a little small for the neck, especially from the side, but the likeness is quite good.

I knocked off a bit due to the unsightly joints, especially in the wrists on Carol, and with the new hips. I prefer more articulation to less, but even I have to admit that these are a bit much when it comes to their appearance.

The sculpts on both figures have a ton of small detail, like the buckles on Carol's boots or the wedding ring on Hershel's hand.  However, neither have hand sculpts that work with the weapons. Hershel can hold the crutches properly, but not his gun. And Carol can manage nicely with the gas can, but not the gun or knife.

This is a 5" scale, and that's right about where Carol stands. Hershel is slightly taller at about 5 1/4".

Paint - ***
While the paint work on the bodies of both figures is quite good - particularly with the small details - the work on the face and hair hurts, rather than helps, the underlying sculpt.

For Hershel, it's the painted hair line, which doesn't seem to follow the sculpted hairline. Instead, they have him painted up with less hair, and nobody wants less hair.

For Carol, it's the slightly gloppy thickness in the skin tone, weird eyebrows, and dark hair. It's tough to get gray hair just right, but this is much darker than the character, and is particularly off putting in person.

There's a very good likeness on both these figures, but the paint job on holds it back.

Articulation - Carol ***1/2; Hershel ***
There's no shortage of articulation on these, and they actually added a couple new joints.

The ball jointed neck on Carol works pretty well, but the jawline and pony tail on Hershel tend to restrict it quite a bit.

The ball shoulders, pin elbows, and pin/cut wrists allow for plenty of good arm poses. There's pin knees and ankles too, along with a cut waist on both figures.

The hips are now hinge style, much like the new DC Collectibles animated figures. That means there's a pin through the front of the body, but it's much less distracting with these darker colored figures than it is on the DC characters.

These hinge hips allow for greater forward and backward movement, as well as side to side. The knees are ratchet joints, which means they should be able to maintain stances long term.

However, overall these are some ugly joints. If you're not a joint junkie, and prefer sculpt to articulation, these are probably a disappointment. The wrists are atrocious looking on Carol, although they are very, very posable, and the ratchet knees are quite obvious when bent.  Add in the pins in the front of the hips, and sculpt aficionados are going to be irate.

Accessories - ***1/2
While most of the figures in the overall series have been a little short in this department, both of these do quite well.

Carol has a small handgun, that looks like a .38, and this is a gun we've seen her use at key times. I'm avoiding spoilers, but you know what I'm talking about. 

There's also her knife with 'brass knuckles' grip, and it fits nicely in the small sheath on her belt. Neither weapon fits in her hands very well, as I mentioned in the Sculpting section.

Finally, she has a gas can, this one a smaller version. This is another item she's specifically had, although they've all carried around gas at one time or another.

Hershel comes with his crutches, which I suppose counts as two accessories. You can get him to hold them under his arms and actually balance on them, mid-stride.

He comes without any lower right leg in the package, but you can swap out the empty pant leg for a prosthetic leg at the knee. This extra lower leg has the articulated knee, as well as a cut joint at the boot, allowing it to turn side to side.

Finally, he can't go without a gun, and it fits nicely in the holster on the front of his belt. Again, He can't really hold it particularly well in either hand, but it looks great in the holster.

Fun Factor - ***1/2
These are really a lot of fun, particularly for the fan of the show. With all this articulation and accessories, you can create some pretty cool Walking Dead dioramas, the epitome of adult collector fun.

Value - ***1/2
I'm assuming you're paying $15 each, which seems to be the going rate these days for most action figures, even when they are in this scale. There are some places that have them slightly lower though, including Walgreen, where you can save a couple bucks each. Another way to shave off a few bucks is to buy the whole set from certain online retailers. C'mon, you know you want them all anyway!

Things to Watch Out For -
Be careful with those soft hands and wrists, especially on Carol!

Overall - ***1/2
These are two more very solid additions to the line up, allowing you to fill out the ranks of your survivors. Hershel adds two interesting aspects to the display - the lack of a leg, and his age.  While it's easier to get him to stand with the prosthetic, I think the better route is the crutches, particularly since the prosthetic is visible, something that isn't common on the show.

Carol adds quite a bit too, and after her strong performance in the first half of this season, she's become a must have.

I'll be looking at the other four very soon as well, and hopefully we'll see plenty of additional waves during 2015.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***1/2
Sculpting - ***
Paint - ***
Articulation - Carol ***1/2; Hershel ***
Accessories - ***1/2
Fun Factor - ***1/2
Value - **1/2
Overall - ***

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth has the singles for $15 or the set of 6 for $84.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
I covered the series 5 Tyreese and charred zombie here, as well as Glenn and Maggie.  The previous series' included Carl and SWAT walker, the Governor and Andrea, Merle and Michonne, the RV and Well walkers, Shane and the Bicycle Girl, Walking Dead figures series 1, the two humans in series 2, as well as the first series of comic based figures.

Discussion:
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