Review of Jason Voorhees - Friday the 13th
4" Cinema of Fear Action Figure

Introduction

Mezco's Cinema of Fear series of figures has been very popular in every format. At Toy Fair in February, Mezco showed off their new 3 3/4" COF figures, and gave away an exclusive version of Jason as a 'preview' figure. This version is differentiated from the later release by a glow in the dark mask.

Mezco also gave fans a chance to pick one up through their website, although they weren't cheap at $13 each. Then again, DC Infinite Heroes are $8, $9 and even $10 at some stores, and they aren't as articulated OR as limited. Speaking of which, they only made 1000 of these.

This little guy is based on the film The Final Chapter, and is nice look at what the rest of the series could have in store for us. At Toy Fair they showed off Freddy and Leatherface to go along with this Jason, and we can only hope they expand the line. Mezco sure as Hell knows how to do this scale!

And while this special exclusive was pretty expensive, I suspect we'll see the regular releases more in line with the pricing on Mezco's similar Hellboy line, which cost around $7 - $8 each.

Packaging - ***1/2
I like the small, compact size of these cards, just big enough to hold the small figure without a lot of wasted material. Hey, there's nothing wrong with being environmentally aware without going nuts over it. 

Of course, these aren't 'collector friendly' in the standard definition, but I'm going to cut them some slack in that department.

Sculpting - ***
Whether you're concerned with the underlying head or not may make a big difference in your feelings about the overall sculpt.

If I were never to remove the mask, I'd be tempted to boost this score another half star. The look of the mask, including the machete damage, is great. It fits the head tightly, so tightly that if they didn't tell you on the package that it's removable, you might not realize it.

UPDATE: A reader (thanks, Shel!), who is a huge fan of the franchise, pointed out that this is the ax damage Jason got from Chris in Part 3, not the machete damage that came from Trish in part 4 or even later from Tommy. He knows far better than I!

The body sculpt is also good, with proper wrinkles, pockets, buttons and other details sculpted cleanly. He's a good height at 4 1/8 inches tall, fitting in pretty good with other figures in this scale. Yes, he's large, but Jason should be taller than your average person.

There is a couple weird issues though. First, the left hand is larger than it should be, sculpted in a menacing pose.  It's not an atrocious issue, but it is noticeable.

The other general area is in the hips and pelvis. Due to the ball jointed hips, getting the legs to look just right was tough. I'm more than willing to sacrifice the perfect look here for the added useful articulation, however.

Now, with the mask off, the figure doesn't look as good. The Final Chapter isn't the worst of the Friday movies, but it's certainly not may fav, either. Considering the scale, the detail work on the damaged, ugly face is good, but it's not really my preference.

Because the figure is made to look perfect IN the mask, the figure ends up looking pretty pinheaded without the mask as well. While I have to take this into consideration, I suspect that most folks won't be too worried about it since they'll opt to display him wearing his trademark hockey mask.

Paint - ***1/2
While the sculpt on the unmasked head isn't the greatest, the paint is quite good. Remember - this is a itty bitty figure. The rotting teeth, sagging flesh and open head wound look surprisingly good for such a small figure.

The mask is also well painted, although I suspect some folks might not like the slightly rough surface. I suspect this is an artifact of the GITD nature of the paint, and that feature works quite well. In a completely dark room, this tiny glowing hockey mask is pretty damn creepy, and it glows with a slightly greenish tinge. The very first photo in the review is shot in a very dark room, and the lighting of the mask (not the body) is largely due to the GITD feature, not an external light source.

I do wish there were some additional paint details on the outfit, where the buttons, etc, blend in with the overall gray color, and some of the wash on the exposed neck and hands is a bit much, but these are minor nits for me.

Articulation - ***1/2
I want Mezco to make all my 3 3/4" figures. Please.

And it's not just because of the sculpts and paint that we've seen with Jason and the Hellboy II series, although it's great.

No, it's the terrific articulation. On Jason, the hips do look a little wonky, but it's not a major problem for me, and this little serial killer poses great.

He has a ball jointed neck, and you know how much I love a good ball jointed neck. The joint is down at the torso, not up under the chin, so it's fairly well hidden.

He also has ball jointed shoulders and hips, and while the hips are very much like those on Marvel Universe figures, the design is much, much better, allowing for a greater range of movement. The arms finish off with cut wrist joints.

There's single pin knees, but the elbows are pin/post, so that they can turn inward and outward, as well as moving up and down. The ankles might also be pin/post in style, but the pant legs reduce the range of movement considerably.

Finally, there's a ball jointed waist, which allows him to tilt as well as turn. While the shirt restricts it a little, it also covers it up well so that it isn't too obvious.

Accessories - ***
Small figures often end up shorted in this category - just look at the DCIH or Marvel Universe figures for proof. But Mezco has always loved accessories, no matter what the scale.

Jason comes with the removable mask, which I'm calling an accessory here. It fits great, and goes on and off fairly easily. The GITD feature works great, and you could even pop it on some of your other figures in this scale for some amusing photos.

But that's not all he has - Jason has to have a weapon, and what better than his machete? The bloody blade looks great, and it fits nicely in his sculpted right hand.

Finally, there's a black display stand included. He certainly doesn't need it to stand in just about any pose, but it works well nonetheless.

Fun Factor - ***1/2
Okay, so Jason might not be your first choice for your kid's toy box, but even without ever seeing the movies, this figure would make a fantastic monster/villain for any Star Wars, super hero or even G.I. Joe confrontation. Yea, he's a little big, but Jason is supposed to be!

Value - **
Yea, I wouldn't call $13 for a figure this size a great deal. Still, considering how expensive some of the recent 3 3/4" mass market lines are, and considering that it was a Toy Fair exclusive, it's not as bad as it could be. The regular series figures will be much more in line with the current market prices.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing - he's sturdy, well made, and I suspect the quality will be very consistent.

Overall - ***1/2
Mezco has really been doing up the modern horror figures right. They also clearly know what they're doing in this scale, so when you combine the two, you get a real winner. Playing around with this guy I can't help but wish the DCIH and MU figures were this good. If they were, I'd have no problem spending $8 on every one of them.

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

Where to Buy 
Since these are no longer available through Mezco, your best bet is ebay at this point.

Related Links -
I've looked at plenty of Jason figures over the years:

- I just checked out the 7" version of Jason based on the new film.

- then we had 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 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.

- 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.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

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