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Packaging - **1/2
It's small and compact, if not the most exciting. Mezco is capable of some amazing packaging work, but this time around they were phoning it in. The small size is nice for MOCers though, and you won't have any trouble finding a place to store them.
Sculpting - Dr. Mez ****; Claude, Grim ***1/2; Boris ***
I really like the overall monster series, and love it when companies do their versions of classic nasties. In this set of four, my clear favorite is Dr. Mezitstein, and the exposed brain and wild hair go a long way to getting my top vote. There's not a lot of sculpting in most mini-figures, but that's where the Mez-itz really stand out from the crowd. With the good doctor, his head sculpt is exceptionally cool, and his body and costume have just the right amount of detail to fit with the
minimalism of the general design, yet make him stand out.
Claude gets special points since he's clear under all the clothes. Everyone loves clear figures - don't you? The sculpt is well done, although it's always a little tough to see small detail on a clear figure. The work on the bandaged head is great though, and the way the pieces come off to give us the 'invisible' version is well engineered.
Grim is a great sculpt, especially the skeletal face, but he's not my particular favorite. Likewise with Boris, who doesn't really match up as well with the rest of the series for me. I'm glad I picked them up, but they aren't as high on my list as the other two.
I have a feeling that while some of the basis for Boris is Boris Karloff, that it's also based on a very famous horror film show host that looked an awful lot like this, especially the weird parted hair...Zacherley, perhaps? It was one of those old television hosts that had that funky part.
Paint - ***
The paint ops on all the figures are consistent and reasonable at this scale and
price. There's nothing outstanding, but you won't find obvious errors,
bleed or sloppiness. Some of the small details have minor issues - Boris'
hair line is unkempt for example - but there's nothing major.
Consistency is pretty important when you have such large amounts of a single
color, and black is that color here. Most of the figures - three of the
four anyway - are predominately black, and the color is consistent across the
various body parts.
The good doctor has a wider palette of colors, and some great crossed
eyes. I don't think that's a mistake - they are painted with red lines as
well that seem to indicate everything is right were it's supposed to be.
Articulation - ***
These aren't super articulated, but considering the size and the rest of the mini-figure market, they're right about in the middle.
Each has neck, shoulder, wrist, waist, and hips. That's not as much as something like the mini-mates, but on par with Kubricks or I-men. In this size and scale, this is fairly decent articulation, and can give you a fair number of poses. The articulation also works well with the style of the sculpt, and neither gets in the way of the other. At least not too much.
Accessories - Claude ***1/2; the rest Bupkis
Of the four, Claude is the only one who actually has any accessories. That's too bad, since throwing in a few body parts with Boris or at least a scythe for Grim would have been nice.
Claude actually has a second set of arms, cast in clear material. That's so you can pop off the black arms, remove the jacket and head piece, pop on the clear arms, and voila, completely invisible Invisible Man! It's a really nice touch, and makes this figure quite a bit better bargain than the others.
Fun Factor - ****
The Mez-itz are a kid's dream line. With the slightly silly body appearance of Legos, Megablocks or Playmobil, yet the gruesome features of the creatures of the night, this line will appeal to just about any kid who likes ghouls and ghosts.
Value - **1/2
I paid seven bucks a pair for these, and that's pretty consistent with other Mez-itz lines. They are unlicensed though, and have few or no accessories, so it's still a tad on the high side. The biggest problem facing the mini-figure industry is the price point right now, as they climb closer and closer in cost to full size lines.
Overall - Dr. Mezitstein ***1/2; Grim, Claude ***; Boris **1/2
The variation in my final scores deals more with personal preference in the
designs than any concrete quality issue. Your mileage may vary, but I'm
betting most folks will find the bloody doctor their favorite.
It took me awhile, and while I don't love every Mez-itz, I have to admit that
the figures in general have become my favorite mini-figures. I love the
sculpted heads, and the Mezco caricature style works great in this
format.
I also prefer the rounded bodies and arms on these to the square bodies and
arms on many other mini-figures, and that's no surprise to me. I've always
preferred Playmobil figures to LEGO, for the exact same reason.
SCORE RECAP:
Packaging - **1/2
Sculpt - Dr. Mez ****; Claude, Grim ***1/2; Boris ***
Paint - ***
Articulation - ***
Accessories - Claude ***1/2; the rest Bupkis
Fun Factor - ****
Value - **1/2
Overall - Dr. Mezitstein ***1/2; Grim, Claude ***; Boris **1/2
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