Review of Young Indiana Jones
Real Action Heroes Sixth Scale Action Figure

Introduction

Sideshow Collectibles, along with a bunch of other companies, has been doing a variety of products, including sixth scale figures. While I've generally been happy with the figures, with some issues here and there, I have a fear that they won't get very deep into the line, unlike Star Wars.

Medicom is also doing sixth scale figures, and I am less pleased with their work these days. The price is still very high, and they don't offer as much for your money. There was a time not too long ago when they were really the only game in high end licensed sixth scale figures, but that is no longer the case, and other companies have stepped up to equal or surpass them. But they are producing some Indy characters that I feared Sideshow would never get to - like Young Indy.

This version of Indy is iconic, showing his earliest experience with relic hunting. We get the origin of his scar, fear of snakes, the whip, the hat...Lucas crammed a lot into that one experience. River Phoenix played the young Indy, and for me, it's the role I'll always remember him in. Sure, he did more important roles, but none that I cared about quite as much.

Medicom's version of the young adventurer is now shipping, and will run you around $135 - $150, depending on the vendor. Right now, this is the only Young Indy on the market or even announced, so it's pretty much the only game in town.

Packaging - ***
Medicom doesn't do the all out fancy packages like some of the other sixth scale companies out there right now, but they get the basics right.

The packaging is collector friendly, allowing you to remove the figure and put it back in without any damage. They included photos of both the figure AND the character, allowing you to compare their work right there.  There's even some basic background text on the inside fifth panel.

Sculpting - ***1/2
I suppose it's appropriate to start with the best aspect of this figure - the head sculpt. This is one of Medicom's better recent portraits, capturing the young River Phoenix almost perfectly. It doesn't have the texturing of the skin, but that actually fits here. Hey, he was a young kid, so wrinkles and aging would look out of place. There is the extra detail work in other areas though, like the lips and eyebrows.

The hair sculpt is quite good as well, especially the loose strands. This hair style often ends up looking like tootsie rolls in sixth scale, but Medicom has managed to get the strands small enough to look about right.

I do think the scar needs a little sculpt to it though, at least a little texture to make it stand out. They simply used some red paint, with nothing on the skin to show any damage, so it ends up looking exactly like what it is - a stripe of red paint.

The only hands are sculpted in a relaxed pose. There are no additionally hands, so these will have to work with every pose.

The attractive head sculpt is hurt by the ugly neck joint of the RAH body. This has been a problem for Medicom for years now, and remains one of the more unattractive features of the RAH.

If you're worried about this being too small, like other Medicom sixth scale figures, don't. In fact, he's as tall as most Sideshow figures. If you were hoping for kid height, you're not getting it here, and oddly enough, this would have been the perfect time to use the smaller body. But this is the slightly taller version, albeit thin enough to look like a teenage version if Indiana. I don't mind him being as tall, and the thinner style works well for this character, but your mileage may vary.

Paint - *1/2
We're going from the best aspect of the figure to the worst. The technical quality of the application of the paint isn't the biggest issue, but they aren't up to the quality of the competition at this point.

While the work on the eyes is clean, it lacks the realism that we're seeing from Hot Toys and even Sideshow. The eyebrows and lips are clean and well done, and the hairline is sharp and well done.

I already mentioned the rather weak looking wound on his chin. It's a simply line of paint, with one end turned down to look like dripping blood. In execution, it looks very much like something Hasbro would have done.

But those are all minor issues, and would have dropped this score only a little bit. No, the big reason for the low score in this category is the hair color.

Check out the photo of the actual character on the front of the box. Brown hair. Sure, there's a few blondish highlights, but he's clearly got brown hair. And older Indy? Yea, he had brown hair.

I've included a photo of the inside of the fifth panel. Notice that the original figure had brown hair. Now, it's a little too dark, but only a little. At least it's in the general ball park.

But what we ended up with was a VERY blond figure. In fact, it looks like he dyes his hair blond, since the roots are brown. What happened at the factory? Clearly, someone made a HUGE mistake with these figures, and it's simply not acceptable to be that far off. Obviously, somebody read instructions wrong, or miss-communicated the proper color, and nobody checked until it was too late. I'd be pretty annoyed if Hasbro pulled a blunder like this on a $30 figure - at more than a $100 more than that, it's not unreasonable to expect near perfection.

Articulation - ***1/2
Medicom has one of the best articulated bodies on the market. This version is thin, no doubt about that, and some of the tailoring of the costume over accentuates that, but it's a minor issue.

The joints are all tight, and you'll be able to get very natural poses. In fact, Medicom's body was one of the first that could pose in so many life-like ways, and paved the way for others.

It has that ugly neck joint though, where the jaw line hangs over the neck in a very obvious manner. This is more of an issue on a figure like this, where the neck is fairly easy to see.

Accessories - **
There's only one. Let me repeat that in more detail - with a figure that costs at least $135, there's only ONE accessory.

It's a nicely done accessory. It's the Cross of Coronado, that started Indy down the path of relic hunting. It has a real metal chain, and a nice sculpt with decent paint ops. There's a little slop here and there, but it's minor.

But one accessory? Really? No snakes, no whip, no extra hands?

Outfit - **1/2
The outfit is straight from the film, where Indy was wearing his Scout-like uniform. The sculpted boots look great, topped off with long canvas leggings. The pants are done in a riding style, with the poofy hips, and he's wearing one of those belts you used to make out of beads at summer camp. This one is printed material, but it gets the idea across.

The shirt looks pretty good, although the pockets are a smidge big, as is the stitch they used. The overall tailoring is a bit wonky, with very tight lower legs and a loose waist, but if you keep in mind the kid-like body size, it isn't as much of a problem.

If that were it, this outfit would have gotten at least three stars. But then there's the yellow neckerchief. Another attribute that resembles the Scouts, it was a little big in the movie...but here it's HUGE. It actually looks better in photos than it does in person, where it looks completely out of scale. If you could figure out some way to get a few more folds in it, you might be able to get it down to a more manageable size, but that's a trick. The material is just too thick to fold any further.

Fun Factor - ***
The joints are sturdy, and the outfit fairly rugged. This is an action figure that could actually do double duty as a toy - if it wasn't a high end collectible. Even collectors will enjoy posing him, thanks to the underlying RAH body.

Value - *
You'll pay at least $135 for this figure at most retailers. Compare this to other figures that are currently coming out in the $100 - $150 range from companies like Sideshow, Hot Toys, Triad, and Enterbay, and you can see that there's simply no comparison. Eighty bucks is about the top price for this guy, and that's pushing it. Unfortunately for Medicom and their retailers, I suspect you'll be able to get this figure at that price pretty soon.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing. Everything is nice and sturdy, and the body is tight and solid.

Overall - **
This figure has a great head sculpt, a decent body, and a good outfit with the exception of the neckerchief. Unfortunately, the paint pulls it way down, as does the high price for what you're getting. If this figure was in the $70 - $80 range, it would have made the lack of accessories a bit less painful...but it still wouldn't have fixed the incorrect hair color.

If you have someone repaint this head for you, and you futz around a bit with the outfit (including finding a yellow bandanna that's more in scale), and I think you could have a great Young Indy. But that just adds more cost to an already over priced figure, and I suspect that by waiting for a little while, you'll get a better deal on this guy.

Unfortunately for Medicom, companies like Hot Toys and Enterbay have surpassed them on the high end sixth scale market, producing better sculpts, better paint, better costumes and better accessories, at least in terms of licensed figures. This is probably the only Young Indy we're going to get, but you probably won't be satisfied with it without doing some additional work on it.

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

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Other sixth scale Indiana Jones reviews include:

- Hasbro did several figures, including Indy in German Disguise, Cairo Swordsman and German Soldier, and two versions of Indy.

- Sideshow has done Indy himself, as well as Belloq with the Fertility Idol Environment.

- and because I feared Sideshow might not do him, I picked up the Medicom Professor Jones, Sr. as well. Now of course, they've announced they are doing one, but we'll see if it turns out better.

- and if you're looking for sixth scale extras, check out this Grail Diary and Ark.

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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