Review of Josh Randall (Steve McQueen)
Wanted Dead or Alive sixth scale action figure

Introduction

When future generations talk about the television landscape of the first decade of this century, the clear theme will be dramatic cop shows like CSI and Law and Order. But back in the distant television past, when the technology was fairly new, the style of show that dominated every channel (all three of them) was the western.

If you think spin off shows are a new thing, think again. The show 'Zane Grey Theater', which ran in the late 50's, was a Western anthology show that jump started not one but six other shows - Johnny Ringo, The Rifleman, Stagecoach West, Black Saddle, The Westerner, and the one that matters for our discussion here - Trackdown. From this second show, another show was spun off - Wanted: Dead or Alive, starring the exceptional Steve McQueen.

McQueen played Josh Randall, a warmhearted bounty hunter. His trademark weapon was called the "Mare's Leg", a shortened lever action Winchester rifle that he carried in a holster on his hip.

Triad Toys has recently released a sixth scale figure based on the character and runs $90. I bought this guy straight from their store, but you have a couple options that I'll outline at the end.

Packaging - ***1/2
The exterior of the package is fairly basic, without much in the way of graphics. It has a nice western feel though, and I'm particularly happy with the collector friendly nature and small size.

While there's a couple twisties inside, for the most part the figure is easy to remove and replace with no damage. They've used one of the opposing trays, set against the fifth panel, to hold most of the accessories, but rather than tape or glue this in place, they have plastic pegs to hold it firm. It's a good design, and it allows for a thinner, smaller box.

Sculpting - ***1/2
Triad's sculpting continues to improve, although it hasn't yet reached a level to compete head to head with Hot Toys or Enterbay.

This was a relatively young McQueen (late twenties), and there are a number of good reference photos out there, like this or this. The expression is a bit off for me, simply because it seems like the eyes are too slitted for the character, looking more like Randall as played by Clint Eastwood instead of McQueen.

But the accuracy of the face itself is extremely good, especially the nose, lips and jawline. They've also added in some subtle skin texturing, and the wrinkles and lines in the face are very realistic, although he probably looks a little older here than he did on the show.

My big complaint is with the hair.  Both the eyebrows and the hair itself are a bit too soft, with fairly thick strands. Modern sculpts from the top companies are getting the hair to look finer and finer, and this is a critical distinction that Triad will need to take to reach the next level.

The hands are sculpted of a softer material, and work well with the gun. There's only the one pair, but they work with most poses.

He stands great on his own of course, but at hair over 12 1/2 inches tall, he's just a smidge bigger than most other sixth scale figures on the market currently. It's the boots.

Paint - ***
The paint work on the eyes, skin and lips is very good, with clean lines and good color. The face is a little darker than the body though, which is most noticeable at the neck.

Like the sculpt, the real paint issues are with the hair. They've attempted to capture the dirty blond look with a yellow and black mixture, and it's not working for me. The two colors are just too distinct from each other, without enough blending, and even in person it stands out.

Articulation - ***1/2
The underlying body is the Triad Omega, and I'm very happy with the quality, number of joints, and range of movement.

I did find that the neck is a little too thin for this and several other head sculpts. The long neck can look cause a character to look a bit like a giraffe, and that's true here if Josh is not wearing the heavy jacket.

But the body can take very life-like poses, with the ability to hang very naturally. The joints were also all tight enough to hold poses for extended periods, and I had no worries about the figure falling over easily.

Accessories - ***
Most of Josh's extras I'm counting as parts of his outfit, rather than as separate accessories.

The main accessory is is Mare's Leg gun. It's very well sculpted, and the paint work is decent. It could use a little more detailing in the wood stocks to set them apart from the gun metal, but that's a minor nit.

The lever moves, as does the hammer, and it fits in the included holster in the same manner as on the show. Unfortunately, the lever won't stay snapped in place, so it tends to drop down when the gun is in the holster.

The other true accessory is the included shells, which fit in loops on the belt. There's plenty of them, and they are made out of metal, not plastic.

Still, considering the $90 price point, that's a tad light. Some additional hands designed for other poses are  a much needed touch.

Outfit - ***1/2
While the accessories are a bit light, there's plenty of extra outfit goodies.

The hat fits well for a separately sculpted piece. It's still a little big though, as it's impossible to get away from that size issue when the head and hat are not a single entity.

On the other end of the body is his cowboy boots, done up in a very traditional style. There's also metal spurs (that actually spin!) that attached with the use of two straps.  Take a look at the last photo showing the location of the buckle on the outside of the foot if you have any problems figuring them out. They are VERY tough to get on, and I spent quite a bit of time trying to find the best way without damaging the leather straps. You'll have to bend the spurs outward (they are metal, but be careful), and take the top strap out of the buckle as far as you can. Once you have it on (the strap over the toes and then the spur over the heel) you can tighten up the top strap.

There's also the belt on his pants, as well as a second belt/holster combo. These are made from leather, and have real working buckles, even on the leg tie-down. As previously mentioned, the cartridges fit nicely in small loops around the belt.

The holster is definitely different. There's only an interior flap of leather against his leg. and the barrel is held in place with the bottom strap. This is the same strap that goes around his leg. This is actually accurate to the show, and works pretty well.

His cloth pieces include a traditional blue flannel shirt, blue jeans, and a heavy leather and sheepskin jacket. The jacket is a tight fit, but when it's completely snapped closed, I think it really makes the figure stand out. The quality of the stitching, materials and style is excellent, and the tailoring makes it one of the nicest coats in this scale I've seen in some time.

My one nit here is the large snaps used to hold it closed. Since the female pieces of the snaps are attached to the front of the left side of the coat, they extremely obvious and unsightly when the jacket is left open. Closed is definitely the way to go.

Fun Factor - ***
While cowboys might be passe now, they were once all the rage, and they are still damn fun. Hey, pirates managed to make a comeback, and I think cowboys will too - with the right movie or television show. Of course, my opinion might be a bit twisted here, since the favorite toys of my youth were my Best of the West action figures.

While Josh is clearly aimed at the collector market, the quality of the figure, outfit and accessories is high enough that breakage or damage is unlikely with normal handling and even play.

Value - **
At $90, Triad is floating around in the higher end sixth scale market. While this figure is good, it's still not quite at the quality that can demand that price point. If you can pick this guy up in the $60 - $70 range, you'll be much closer to the average.

Things to Watch Out For -
If you mess around with the shells in the holster, be sure to keep an eye on them. Once freed up from their slot, they tend to fall out, and they are mighty small.

Overall - ***
I'm a huge fan of westerns and western action figures, so picking up this guy was a no brainer. He's going to go quite nicely with other figures like the Six Gun Legends, and the overall quality is quite high.

The $90 price tag is still a bit much to take though, considering what other companies are producing. Much of this price is due to the small size of Triad, and the limited number of figures they produce, and as they have more success, I expect their costs will come down.

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

Where to Buy 
You can pick this up directly from Triad, or you can look for a deal on ebay.

Related Links -
Other Triad reviews include my review of Agent Indigo and the Otaku body, and guest reviews of Lola.

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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