|
|
|
Review of The Governor & Andrea
Walking Dead action figures
McFarlane Toys
Date Published: 2013-10-23
Written By: Michael Crawford
Overall Average Rating: 3
out of 4
Please share with your friends!
|
Introduction
It's October, and the hit AMC series The Walking Dead is back. I'm enjoying
it so far, with plenty of nasty zombie action.
Last season, the show focused on the insane Governor, leader of Woodbury. Andrea, one of our original clan, tried to get him
to see the error of his ways. If you watch the show, you know how that turned out.
McFarlane's fourth series of figures includes both the Governor and Andrea, who I'll be checking out tonight, as well as two
SWAT zombies and Carl. I'll get to a SWAT zombie and Carl sometime next week.
There's also an exclusive release of Rick listed on the back of the card. These are running around $18 at most stores and
online retailers, and are shipping right now.
Click on the image below for a Life Size version
|
Packaging - ***1/2
These are small cards and bubbles, with decent artwork and very little waste. There's a few more twisties than I like, but
it's a minor nit at best.
The back shows off the rest of the line, as well as listing the accessories. Thankfully, there's no silly action features to
explain.
|
|
Sculpting - Governor ***1/2; Andrea ***
The work in this category has improved over the first four series, always a good sign. But it's going to be tough to do
better than Merle and Michonne, two figures that really knocked it out of the park when it comes to likeness at this scale.
The Governor comes close. He's not as good as either of those figures, but he's a sight better than the previous living
characters. He has two head sculpts included, one with and one without the patch over his eye, a present from Michonne.
While the patched look is a bit more iconic for the character, it's the non-patched version that I really like. The
combination of likeness and expression really works for this character.
It's odd that the simple addition of the patch throws things off slightly for me. The majority of the face is the same -
chin, face shape, hair, nose - but the expression is different. The patch creates wrinkles in the skin that makes him
look...confused and depressed. The non-patched version captures both the actor's likeness and the character's attitude the
best.
Unfortunately, Andrea doesn't fair as well. They tried using her slightly unique nose to capture some of her personality,
but they went a tad over board, missing the mark. Regular viewers will recognize her, but casual observers might have a
tough time picking her out of a line up.
There's a few nice little touches here, like the key sculpted around the Governor's neck.
I might have been tempted to go even higher on the score with the Governor, but for his hands. Both figures have poorly
designed grip sculpts that don't work well with any of the accessories. You'll have to fight with the hard plastic hands to
get the hard plastic weapons in place, and then they'll pop right out when you aren't looking.
|
|
Paint - ***
Considering the scale, the paint work is pretty solid. There's none of the overdone wash effect, and some of the small
details are quite clean. There's some clumpiness here and there on the skin tone, particularly on the hands, and a few of
the edges are sloppy, like between the two shirts on Andrea. But overall the quality is reasonable for the price.
|
|
Articulation - ***
These figures have come a long way from the awful original series, which had little articulation and God awful action
features that just got in the way.
Ball joints are the name of the game, with one at the neck, shoulders elbows, wrists, hips, knees, and ankles. The neck is
a true ball joint, while the others are what I like to call pin/disc style, which allow the joint to turn as well as move
forward and back.
There's a cut waist joint to round things out.
Both stand nicely on their own, and the joints are very tight. Had the hips worked a bit better - both figures are
restricted by the pants sculpt - I would have upped the score here another half star.
|
|
Accessories - ***1/2
McFarlane is doing a nice job adding in extras with these figures.
I already mentioned that the Gov comes with two head sculpts, and they swap fairly easily. (NOTE: Other buyers have had
trouble with the head swap, and the post snapping. While I didn't, I felt it was worth mentioning - take care.) When you get
a second portrait, it always bumps this category quite a bit for me.
He also has his handgun that fits nicely in the holster, a small knife that fits great in the sheath on his other hip, and
a large machete.
Andrea has a handgun as well, which goes in the holster on her hip, as well as a rifle with sling, pitchfork, and warm
vest.
All the guns look great, but the pitchfork is way over sized, comically so. While the paint is decent across the board, the
poorly designed hands do not work well with any of the accessories. You'll have to work to get them in place, and they don't
stay particularly well.
|
|
|
|
Fun Factor - **1/2
If the accessories fit in the hands a bit better, I would have upped the score here. The rest of the articulation is
reasonable, and there's plenty of extras - you just can't put them to use quite as easily as I'd hoped.
|
|
Value - **
These figures are just 4 - 5" tall, yet they cost around $18 at most places. You can get them closer to $15 if you shop
around (see the Where to Buy section below), or even better, you can get them at $14 if you buy all five at once. At that
price, you can bump the score here another half star.
|
|
Things to Watch Out For -
Both the hands and the accessories are made from very hard plastic, and fitting the weapons inside the fingers can be tough.
The weapons can snap, especially the machete, so take some care.
And while I didn't have any trouble swapping the heads, I've heard others have had a similar problem with the post
breaking.
|
|
Overall - ***
I'm probably being a little generous with Andrea here. The head sculpt isn't nice enough to really rate the 3 stars overall,
but it's balanced out by the work on the rest of the body, and the cool accessories and articulation. She's not Merle or
Michonne good, but she's way better than the initial Shane or Rick.
The Governor is nice, particularly when you have the non-patched head in place. He's a little taller than the other figures
too, making the overall scale work well.
The most important characteristic of these figures is that they are an improvement over the first couple waves. When a
company recognizes the shortcomings in their product and works to improve them, you have to give them some props.
Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - Governor ***1/2; Andrea ***
Paint - ***
Articulation - ***
Accessories - ***1/2
Fun Factor - **1/2
Value - **
Overall - ***
|
|
Where to Buy
Online options include these site sponsors:
- Entertainment
Earth has the singles for $15, or the set of 5 for just $70.
-
also has the singles at $15, and the full set of five at $70.
-
also has them at $18 each.
-
has the set of five regular figures for $70.
- or you can search
ebay for a deal.
|
Related Links -
I've also covered Merle and Michonne, the RV and Well 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 Gentle Giant is doing busts, including Michonne,
Rick and the Well
Walker so far. And if you like the RV Zombie, Mcfarlane also did a cool blu-ray
case using his head, as well as the third season blu-ray
case.
You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case
any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.
Discussion:
Want to chat about this review? Try out one of these terrific forums where I'll be
discussing it!
Enjoyed this review? Be sure to head back to the main page to find thousands more just like it!
|
|
Please share with your friends!
|
This product was purchased for the review by the reviewer. Photos and text by Michael Crawford.
|
|
|
|
|
|