Michael Crawford's Review of the Week

TOY REVIEW ARCHIVE LIVING WITH LATE FEES FEATURES LINKS BIO MISSION EMAIL MAIN PAGE >

King of the Hill Series 2

King of the Hill is one of those unusual cartoons. Really nothing more than your standard sitcom, and not requiring animation - there's nothing that the characters do that human actors couldn't - it nonetheless is a big hit with the animation crowd. And because it is a sitcom, and a fairly well written one at that, it strikes a chord with many people who are normally not fond of cartoons.

Toycom, probably best known for the Space Ghost series of figures, produced their first series of action figures based on the show last year. It
included Hank, Peggy, Dale and Bill. This year brings the second series, including Bobby (with Lady Bird), Boomhauer and Luanne.

I haven't seen these at any bricks and mortar stores, although both Gamestop and Media Play carried the first series. Retail runs around $12-$13 again.

Packaging - ***
The graphics and text on the package is pretty basic, and there's nothing very exciting or outstanding about the design. It looks decent, but isn't exceptional in any regard.

Sculpting - Boomhauer ***1/2; Luanne, Bobby ***
The style of sculpt here is fairly rough, but that matches the style of animation on the show perfectly. The sculpting on the entire line has grown on me over time, and once I put the whole line together on the shelf, I was really sold. As individual pieces they have some issues, but when you group them together you can appreciate the overall style.

Boomhauer is the best of this series, with excellent head and body sculpts. It really does look just like the character on the show, and the his scale with the rest of the figures feels right. That's something important to note, as most lines seem unable to manage it. The scale on the entire series so far seems very close to perfect, right down to Lady Bird.

Luanne and Bobby are good, but there's something a little off in the face sculpt. Luanne looks a little too heavy to me, particularly in the face, and Bobby's sculpt seems softer than the rest of the line. But overall I'm very happy, and once they are all together they make a terrific display.

Paint - ***
I had no serious issues with any of the paint ops, although there was the occasional over spray or bleed.

The colors are all fairly consistent, and there isn't the too white skin that we saw in the first series on Hank and Peggy. Overall the paint application is a definite improvement since the first series.

Articulation - **1/2
On these three, you get neck, shoulder and waist. Bobby and Luanne also have leg articulation, but overall there's not much you'll do with the poses. Both Luanne and Boomhauer's arms are positioned for specific poses, and Bobby really needs wrist articulation to allow him to pet Lady Bird. Adding some cut joints would have been nice - the first series did some pretty imaginative stuff in that area, Dale.

Accessories - Boomhauer **1/2; Bobby ***1/2; Luanne **
The accessories vary pretty widely this time. Bobby, being a smaller figure, comes with the largest and most elaborate accessory in Lady Bird. I can't say enough nice things about this extra figure. The sculpting is fantastic, and the facial expression and scale seem right on. He could use a little more articulation, but the neck joint allows for some good choices in poses, very similar to the looks she gives to Hank on the show.

All three characters also come with a piece of the fence with the KOTH logo on it from the show. While it wasn't the most exciting accessory with the first series, now that you can have a complete backdrop it really shows off what a great idea it really was. I wish the fence was a little taller - it seems out of scale - but overall it looks great all together with the figures in front.

Value - Boomhauer **; Luanne *1/2; Bobby **1/2
These buggers aren't cheap. At an average retail of $13, the value varies - Bobby is best with the very cool Lady Bird, and Luanne got the short end of the stick with only the piece of fence. The first series hit clearance pretty quick, but I suspect that won't occur this time, simply because I'm betting orders (particularly to any bricks and mortar stores) will be very low.

Overall - Boomhauer, Bobby ***; Luanne **1/2
These figures are really growing on me. I like the style of sculpt, and while I think the price point is at least $5 too high considering the accessories, they are still a decent representation of the characters - and likely to be the only one's we get. For big fans of the show, they are a must have, and I'm looking forward to see how the South Park figures (that Toycom is producing later this year) turn out.

Where to Buy -
I haven't seen these at any bricks and mortar stores, but there are some good choices on-line:

- JGP Toys has the set for $38, in stock. Great customer service is their standard.

- Entertainment Earth has the set listed for $35, but not in stock. However, if you're just
looking for Boomhauer to open up, they have him listed for $10 separately. They also still have the wave 1 figures for $50 for the set of four.

Figure from the collection of Michael Crawford.