Packaging - ***
While the two packs and sets all came in boxes, the singles come in
clamshells with rounded fronts. The graphics are decent, and the text
has a Da Vinci code feel to it, but more info on the rest of the line on the
back would be good.
There's a little personalization to the insert, but they've also included
a kind of holy baseball card with a photo (okay, 'artwork', but it should be
no surprise that he looks EXACTLY like the figure) of Moses on the front and a bio on
the back. It sort of reminds me of the collector cards in Harry
Potter, but unfortunately Moses doesn't actually move on the front.
Sculpting - **1/2
Since there really isn't any true 'source material' to get an exact
likeness, they just tried to go for an old guy with a very big white beard
that looks wise and stern, and tried to avoid creepy and weird. What
that means is if you plop a red hat on this guy, your kids will think Santa
came early.
But that does fit the general description we have of Moses, or at least
of the traditional Ten Commandments version. He even has a little bit
of a Charleton Heston thing going on.
The detail work on the hair and beard is surprisingly good, although the
shape and size of the beard, particularly around the sides of the jaw, ended
up making it look fake.
The hands are sculpted to hold the accessories, and appropriate sandal footwear is sculpted on to his feet.
The hand sculpts are pretty soft though, and much more dollar store toy-like
than the head sculpt.
He stands great on his own, at
about 5" tall. That means he can hang with your movie Spider-man,
Batman and Superman. Or not, since every time one of the three
superheroes started telling a story of their exploits, Moses would ruin it
by saying "Yea, but I know God personally."
Paint - **1/2
The paint is pretty much standard mass market work. It's not
terrible, and as is often the case with mass market work, the lines are
quite clean. But there's not much here outside of the hair, eyes and
sandals. The skin tone is the cast color of the plastic, which is no
big surprise.
And for those of you wondering - and I know you sick little monkeys are
out there - he's wearing white underwear. I hope you realize I risked
going to Hell just to check that out for you.
Articulation - ***
I was pretty surprised by the articulation, since it's impossible to tell
from outside the package how much and what type there might be.
The neck and shoulders are just cut joints, but they work pretty well.
There are also cut joints at the waist and wrists, and the inclusion of the
wrist joints was one of the surprises. I would have expected them to
skip that with this type of figure in this scale, but that really helps him
pose with the various accessories.
The elbows are single pin, but also have the post that runs up into the
upper arm from the forearm. I always refer to these in that creative
way as "pin and post" joints. These means that the arm can turn at the
elbow, as well as move forward and back.
The ankles are also pin and post, but the knees are just single pin.
The hips have pin joints that allow the legs to move outward from the body,
but not forward and back.
But that's all quite a bit more articulation than I was expecting.
I wouldn't have been surprised with just a five points - a cut neck,
shoulders and hips - so the additional joints were quite welcome, and
useful.
Accessories - ***1/2
The real selling point to this whole line - particularly if the basic
religious theme doesn't do much for you - is the accessories. All of
them packed in quite a few, many of them animals. And the animals were
generally very well scaled and sculpted for use with other 5" lines,
including the larger animals like the camels and lions.
But I bought Moses here because of one very specific accessory.
Wondering what it is? Hey, I'll get to it, don't rush me!
He comes with the Burning Bush (which has the potential for all kinds of
jokes, but I'm already going to get enough hate mail for this review), one
of the stone tablets that bears the Ten Commandments, and both versions of
his 'rod' - wood and asp. Okay, so clearly the wood one is supposed to
be his regular staff that he did so much with, but I'm assuming he comes
with a snake because of the story about God turning the rod into a snake and
back again. Then again, it seems to me that might have been Aaron, and
not Moses...but Moses did use the 'bronze snake' to heal snake bites.
Whatever - he comes with a snake.
I mentioned earlier that he also has this sort of holy baseball card,
with a bio on the back and a scene on the front. I can't confirm it,
but I suspect that Moses has more than one card to collect about him, as do
some of the other figures.
In any event, the best of his many accessories is....let the tension
build...the Ark of the Covenant! When you see him on the peg you might
not notice it, because it's hidden behind the label with his name on it, but
it's there.
It's not bad either, although it has no bottom and is hollow. I was
hoping for something that would open up, but the sculpt detail on this one
isn't bad considering it's a mass market toy. If you have a current
Indiana Jones set up in the 4" - 5" scale (this Ark is actually a little
small for the 5" scale, better suited to the smaller Indy figures from the
old Hasbro line and hopefully the new ones coming out next year), you might
want to check it out. I mean, surely Hasbro will give us an Ark next
year with their Indy line...surely they wouldn't skip it for fear of
upsetting religious folks...okay, so maybe they would. It's nice to
know that if they do, you have a potential backup here.
Outfit - ***
This figure sports some soft goods, as did the majority of the line.
He is wearing his inner white robe with belt, along with the outer purple
and black robe.
All the edges on the thin material are hemmed, and the fit on both robes
is excellent considering the scale. Oh, the outer robe is still a
smidge baggy, but compare this outfit to some of the awful ones we've seen
in the 5" and 6" superhero lines, and you'll see they did quite a bit better
job. The outer robe still bunches up a bit at the shoulders, and
you're never going to be able to produce truly realistic clothes at this
scale. But it's better than I expected Even the belt is a much better scale than usual, cut as a single
piece from a good quality material.
If you're looking to do some customizing, the outfit is removable.
But if you darken up this guys beard and hair, give him a turban and call
him Bin Laden, don't come crying to me about the fate of your eternal soul.
Fun Factor - ***
I don't know that I see many kids actually 'playing' with these, but they're
sturdy enough. These certainly aren't delicate and fragile Nerd
Hummels, but the license and lack of articulation kills a bit of the Fun
Factor.
Value -*1/2
Unless somebody is paying license fees to God, these aren't ten dollar
figures. I'm glad to see that the quality (at least for Moses) is a
bit above the usual dollar store style crap we get with religious themes,
but at a 5" scale with a handful of accessories, these are $6 - $7 figures
at best.
Things to Watch Out For -
Not much. If you're hoping that having your kid play with these
instead of Spider-man or Star Wars is more likely to set him on the road to
righteousness, I think you're likely to be disappointed a few years down the
road. Likewise, if someone slips Moses into your kid's toy box, I
wouldn't worry that they'll suddenly start speaking in tongues.
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