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Teenage Caveman
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I'm trying something a little different
tonight. This is a Point - Counterpoint style review, although
nothing quite like the old Saturday Night Live bit.
Mark Burnette comes in with the pro
argument for this review, while I do my best to be negative. Let
me know what you think of this style, and if you'd like to do something
like this as well. On to the review!
Teenage Caveman/Future Mutant is one of five figures in Stan Winston
Creature Features, a new line of figures connected with an upcoming
Cinemax series produced by Stan Winston, Colleen Camp and Samuel Z.
Arkoff. In this series, Stan Winston revisits and redesigns classic
Arkoff B-horror film creatures for a contemporary audience.
Winston is probably best known for his outstanding (and Academy
Award winning) creature design work in Terminator and Jurassic
Park. This line of figures marks Winston’s first foray into
collectibles for a mainstream audience. If my memory serves, some
sculptures of his film work have been sold in the past, but were
marketed to only a select group of collectors (meaning folks with BIG
bucks.)
While these figures are not drawn from his famous film work, they
are extremely well sculpted and painted, and will likely appeal to
fans of Winston, or anyone who collects monster figures. For this
review I am focusing on the Teenage Caveman/Future Mutant figure from
the series. Each figure retails for $14.99. These figures are
exclusive to Toys R Us, but can also be purchased online from
Amazon.com.
Packaging -
MB ***, MWC **
(MB) The packaging includes a large bubble in which the figure
is displayed, with artwork on the front unique to each figure. The
back of the card includes photos of all five figures in the series.
Since I am a collector who almost always unpacks a figure, I
am not terribly picky about the packaging. In the case of Teenage
Caveman/Future Mutant, the display of the figure is fairly good in
the package, but you will need to open it to complete the diorama
base that comes in two interlocking pieces. The CD-ROM is also
sealed to the back of the card, which means you will need to do some
tearing to get at it. The figure is thankfully not overly secured
with black wire ties--the curse of collectors everywhere-- so
removing it and setting up the diorama will take just a minute or
two.
(MWC) Well, I can't argue too much with Mark on this
one, but I'm being a little rougher on these than him. While
the packaging is servicable, it really isn't eye catching or
special. It'll hold the figures, but it didn't get me to pay
any special attention to the line.
Paint -
MB ****, MWC *1/2
(MWC) The greatest failing of this entire set is
the dull paint ops. With a predominately green and brown
palette, everything runs together. There needs to be more
contrast in the colors of various items to make this set, and the
others, stand out. The choice of colors was almost the
greatest turn off for me - we still haven't gotten to number one
yet.
If you look at other great monsters and monster sets,
there is at least some level of reds, blacks and whites involved.
Here, the overuse of dull colors causes the sets to be washed out to
the eye.
(MB) The paint detailing, like the sculpting, is extremely
well done, even in small areas like the teeth of the creature.
Overall, the paint application is precise and wonderfully
textured, and the color palette on the figure and base is
appropriately muted and nicely harmonized, making the figure feel
like a part of “the world” of the base diorama. This unified
color palette is essential because of how closely tied the figure
is to the base.
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Sculpting - (MB) ****, (MWC) ***
(MB) Not surprisingly, with Stan Winston’s background in film
creature design, the sculpting on Teenage Caveman is quite exceptional.
The musculature of the creature is nicely detailed, striking a good
balance between an ultra-realistic and an ultra-stylized sculpting. The
pose, and the pained scowl of the creature, creates a nice sense of
movement in the overall piece. Of special note is the sculpting on the
diorama base. The detailing on this area of the piece is most
impressive. This figure includes the most realistic simulation of brick
and concrete I have yet seen in a mass marketed diorama. Plus, the
sculpting is able to create several believable textures (brick, mortar,
metal, wood, plastic) that still feel connected and unified.
(MWC) When Stan Winston advertised these new figures in various
interviews and magazines, he did a lot of talking about McFarlane
figures. Well, the sculpting here isn't bad, but it has a long way
to go to rival the work coming out of McFarlane Toys. The detail
isn't bad, but it can't compare to the level of detail of one of Todd's.
The diorama is again the strongest piece, but at fifteen bucks, the
figure has to rival the diorama.
Articulation -
MB **1/2, MWC *1/2
(MWC) If you're going to create a statue, which
Stan Winston pretty much said in at least one interview that these
were going to be (more or less), then leave out the obtrusive
looking joints. They do little for the figure, and are
likely there for easy assembly at the manufacturing plant rather
than for any great poseability options. Winston clearly
stated that articulation wasn't important in these figures, so I'm
not sure why the superfluous joints were added. (MB) Although articulation is included in the figure, it is
fairly limited. Clearly, the intention is for the figure to be
displayed with the diorama rather than separately. Joints are
found at the left shoulder, right elbow, the neck, waist, left
thigh, and the right leg below the knee. The waist and upper body
articulation points do allow for some slight variation in posing,
but the lower body joints serve little purpose, and the joint in
the right thigh is noticeable and slightly detracts from the
otherwise excellent sculpting.
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Accessories -
MB ***, MWC **1/2
(MB) The accessories include two pieces of broken wood, a
section of a steel girder, and a piece of broken concrete. These
“accessories” do allow for some choice in the placement of
debris, and are nicely sculpted and painted. The other major
accessory is a CD-ROM that provides a “behind-the-scenes”
making of the figure. The CD-ROM played smoothly on my Mac and
includes a short video with Stan Winston talking about the figure
with video of the actual sculpting of the figure, a gallery of
photos of the Teenage Caveman, 3D rotating models of all five
figures in the series, a brief biography of Stan Winston, and a
sneak peak at future Stan Winston Creatures, Inc. releases.
Overall, the CD-ROM was nice, but did not go into any real depth
into the process making of the figure which was my personal hope.
However, the presentation on the CD-ROM is very professional, and
the 3D rotating models of all the figures are pretty cool.
(MWC) Okay, I have to admit that the diorama is
pretty cool, with some good detail and great display potential.
But the CD doesn't do much for me, and adds little value to
the overall figure. Stick this info and rotating models on a
website, and that would be appropriate. Don't charge me for
it.
Value -
MB *** 1/2, MWC *
(MWC) For me, fifteen bucks is way out of line for
a figure of this quality. This was the biggest turn off of
this entire line. While the diorama is nice, the CD
is pretty much worthless to most collectors, leaving you with a
plastic statue of decent but not extraordinary quality. Movie Maniacs figures are under ten bucks, and I managed to find
the Jaws playset for $15 on line. Comparing this to the
earlier Sideshow Toy 8" monsters, and they blow it out of the
water for ten bucks. Drop the CD and the price by at least
five dollars. (MB) The price of $14.99 is not too bad considering the
inclusion of the CD-ROM, although I think $12.99 would have been a
better price point. Like any line of figures, I tend to pick what
I like, rather than trying to complete a series. I imagine that
for most collectors, especially fans of monster movies, they will
find at least one figure in this series that will be worth the
expenditure. I hope Winston continues to market action figures.
For a first series, the sculpting, paint detail, and overall
presentation is quite impressive and holds it’s own against some
of the outstanding work being done by Sideshow Toys and McFarlane
Toys.
Overall Score: - MB ***1/2, MWC **
(MB) For a first line of mass-market figures, Stan Winston is off to
an excellent start. With superb sculpting and paint detail, Teenage
Caveman/Future Mutant is a fun figure which brings back memories of my
watching classic monster films on the Saturday movie matinee on KPLR TV in
St. Louis. The only minor shortcomings of the figure are the limited
articulation points, and the slightly high price of $14.99. Perhaps
without the CD-ROM the price could lower to a more comfortable $12.99.
Although this is not a series of figures I feel compelled to
complete--unlike my collection of Universal Monsters from Sideshow Toys--I
imagine at least one or two in this series of five figures will appeal to
the monster movie fan in you. I am definitely looking forward to some of
the future releases from Stan Winston. Hopefully future lines will expand
from the current exclusive status at Toys R Us, opening up the market to
this promising new figure company.
(MWC) I was very disappointed in this first
release, even though I knew what to expect based on the interviews with
Winston early on. I do hope that things improve, and perhaps they'll
drop the price of these figures AND find some monsters that are a bit more
visually compelling.
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Where to Buy -
As mentioned earlier, these are a Toys R Us exclusive, so you should be
able to find them on an endcap of your local TRU. But if you need
to go the on line route, Amazon.com
has the full set in stock. Search for 'Stan Winston', and they
will be under the Toys section. It will cost you shipping of
course, but you might be able to come up with a coupon at one of the
coupon web sites that could reduce the price. |
Figure from the collection of Mark Burnette
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