Review of Well Walker - Walking Dead mini-bust

Introduction

One of my favorite shows returned this last weekend - The Walking Dead. And it was a solid return, too, with a nice mix if new characters and deadly zombies.

Gentle Giant has just started shipping their next mini-bust in their series, so it seems only fitting to cover it this week. For their third bust (first we had Michonne, then Rick), they have done the Well Walker, the centerpiece zombie of one of the more memorable moments on the show, if not the most disgusting. Already announced is the Sophie Stalker Zombie, the Governor, and Daryl Dixon.

This bust will run you around $65, maybe a little less, depending on the retailer. The bust is limited to just 850.

Packaging - ***1/2
I like the use of the prison as a backdrop for the boxes, and you can't argue with the nifty baseball card style Certificate of Authenticity.  This is an actual limited edition - not one of those that says it is, and yet they produced thousands. This guy was limited to just 850, only 100 more than the SDCC exclusive Michonne.

My one complaint, that I didn't mention last time, is the lack of a window.  I really do like seeing the bust before purchase, since the paint work can vary so much. It's not a huge deal for most of us though, since the majority of these will be sold sight unseen online.

Sculpting - ***
Mini-busts have always - generally - been done in sixth scale, or thereabouts. That makes most of them around 6" or so tall without the base, and this guy is no exception. He comes in at about 6 1/4", if you don't include the base.

This guy was very fat and bloated in the show. Very. Here's a still shot of him near T-Dog, a big man himself, and you can see that the Well Walker was larger in mass than he. This bust does not take up enough volume to look right with other busts in the series so far. I've included a shot of him with Michonne as an example, and he's only a smidge bigger than her.

The head sculpt itself is quite good though, as you can see from this still. They did get the facial damage, sagging and rotting just about right, and he's a gruesome guy.

I also have to give them some props for doing something that they almost never do - they gave him a nice skin texture all over. Too often, Gentle Giant goes with a smooth surface on skin and clothing, hurting some of the realism. Here, they've given the rotting flesh a slight texture everywhere, with some of it getting pretty disgusting.

I'm not sold on the gaping wound on his left side, since I don't recall that being there in the show. He ended up with a much worse gaping wound at his waist, but I don't remember this one.

Still, he does look sickeningly good overall, with just the undersized nature of the sculpt hurting him.

Paint - ***
The quality and realism of the paint varies a bit by the area of the bust.

The face work is great, including the purplish bruising where the blood pooled when he was freshly deceased. There's just the right amount of wash to imply the dirty, muddy water that he was immersed within.

The body, especially the torn side, isn't quite as good. They've tried to get that bruising in a few spots, and the skin has a sickly tone, but it's not quite as realistic in its application. The shiny gloss wet look on the exposed fat isn't bad, but the colors look slightly cartoony.

Value - ***
I can't argue with the price. These busts are running around $60 - $65, which is not a lot different than they cost several years ago. That's a very solid value.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing.

Overall - ***
In person and on the shelf, this guy looks pretty good. The face sculpt and face paint are particularly good, and the consistent base makes him look like an appropriate part of the series.

I am a little disappointed in the size of this guy though. To my eye, he looks about 15% too small, lacking the extreme bloating that was present on the show.

Still, they managed to make this a recognizable zombie, someone a fan will pick out on the shelf. While there's nits here and there to pick at with each of these releases, they remain the best collectibles produced for this license so far.

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

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
This is the third bust released by Gentle Giant so far. They've also done Rick Grimes and Michonne. Other Walking Dead goodies include the season 3 blu-ray case, the season 2 blu-ray case, McFarlane figures from the TV series 3, the RV and Well Walker Zombies, 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. And don't forget that NECA did a couple busts, one for the 'biter', and one for this 'walker'.

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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