TOY REVIEW ARCHIVE    LIVING WITH LATE FEES    FEATURES    LINKS    BIO    MISSION    EMAIL    MAIN PAGE >


Invader Zim
Mega Gir

It seems like there's been a flood of Zim product this last year, due in large part to the efforts of Palisades Toys. For a show that's been off the air for quite awhile, the number of figures has been pretty amazing.

There's the two regular series of figures, the two Hot Topic exclusive versions, several show and store exclusives, the PVC's, and now the Mega Gir. Following the idea born out of the Muppets line, Mega Gir is a regular Gir, just mighty mega.

You can find him at all the local hangouts, including Sam Goody and Media Play, or you can hit Circle Red and pick him up for just $26.50.




Packaging -  **
I think this is the lowest score I've ever given to a Palisades package. Normally their crack package designers are all over cool like white on rice. But this time they've missed the mark - and when they miss it, they do it big.

Oh, the graphics are attractive, and there's some decent text. There is a very misleading photo showing him wearing the costume in a way that's not possible, but other than that the graphic aspects are fine.

But the package does absolutely nothing to show off the actual figure. He and his suit are both jammed in there, one on top of the other, and you can't get much of a decent look at either. This isn't a package that will do much to move the toy off the shelf.

Sculpt - ***
Gir is a pretty basic design, and fairly easy to capture. With most body parts coming from a basic geometric shape, there's little room for major errors.

This sculpt is above average, with nice work on the scale and design. Oddly, there's a roughness to the head that seems out of place for a robot, and looks like an artifact of scaling up what was probably a smaller original. The blue plate on his chest exhibits some of this rough appearance as well.

The arms are identical, so you can pop either one on either side. The figure stands a whopping 9 inches tall without the suit on, and can actually stand all on his own, even with his ginormous head.

Unfortunately, that head does not open up. How cool would that have been, and so much more useful in this scale!

Paint - ***
Decent work all around, with only a little slop. Some of the lines between colors are off, indicating that perhaps the masking tools weren't the tightest fit, or perhaps the factory worker had a little too much coffee that day. There's a handful of stray marks, but nothing exceptional, and while the paint work won't wow you, it won't disappoint you either.

Articulation - **1/2
Gir has a ball jointed neck, cut shoulders and wrists, and cut joints where the legs attach to the torso. The articulation doesn't damage the appearance of the sculpt, and the ball jointed neck is tremendously useful for adding some flair to his expression. And we all know you need at least 37 pieces of flair to properly express yourself.

Gir also stands on his own, which really surprised me. The feet aren't all that large, but the noggin' sure is. However, I had no trouble getting him to stay upright, and the joints are fairly tight. Don't try to keep him standing in the costume though - that's a lost cause.

Outfit - **
I'm putting the doggie suit here, rather than under accessories. Deal with it.

The suit does fit, although you're going to have to work it right. Obviously, you need to pop off his antenna, and then fit the suit over his head and eyes first. Once you get that done, and it may take some work, then get the lower half of the body inside.

This isn't an easy process, but the material is stretchy enough to work. The zipper is actually in back, not in front, so you can't have the hood open and behind him as pictured on the box. The outfit is either on completely or off.

The quality of the material is fairly good, but the final appearance ended up leaving something to be desired. The 2-D version looks solid, hard, and rigid, something an actual costume can never look like. The small doggy suit Gir we recently got with wave 2 is a much better approximation of the look.

Accessories - Bupkis
There's only the suit, and no additional goodies.

Fun Factor - ***
While the doggy suit might not look great, kids will get a charge out of it. The Mega Gir looks good on his own as well, with decent articulation. Any kids who are big fans of the show will find all kinds of unique and creative ways to have fun with this guy.

The only frustration might be in the effort to get the suit on and off. They'll probably need some help from mom or dad, at least the first few times.

Value - **
The Mega Muppets usually ran around $20, so paying closer to $30 for this guy is going to take a big chunk out of your wallet. The obvious reason for the extra cost is the doggy suit, but since this didn't turn out particularly well, it's not a huge draw. I think a lot of folks would have been happy with just the Mega Gir at a $20 price point.

If we're going to get hit for this much money, it's not asking too much to have the head open up, and a donut or two to throw in there.

Things to watch out for - 
No real issues, although you always want to be on the look out for the best possible paint application.

Overall -  **1/2
The mega Gir himself is a decent figure in the mega tradition. Release him by himself, drop the price $10, and he's a three star figure. But the doggy suit just didn't come out as well as I'd hoped, and the extra cost for it is tough to swallow.

Still, I'm happy I picked one up - yes, I'm weird like that - because I'm a big Zim fan, and there's so little quality merchandise out there other than the Palisades stuff. I'll just pack the doggy suit away, and stick with the Mega Gir in his natural state.

SCORE RECAP:
Packaging - **
Sculpt - ***
Paint - ***
Articulation - **1/2
Outfit - **
Accessories - Bupkis
Fun Factor - ***
Value - **
Overall -  **1/2

Where to Buy -
Circle Red has a great price at just $26.50 for the Doggy Suit Mega Gir.

Related Links -
I've reviewed a ton of the Zim releases, including:

- I just reviewed the regular series 2 figures a few weeks ago. 

- Hot Topic has their exclusive versions of this series, and I have my review.

- here's the Wizard World Chicago exclusive Old Man Zim and Dog Suit Gir.

- and the rest of the reviews, including the regular series 1, the Hot Topic series 1 exclusives, and the Angry Zim/Goofy Gir set.

- and let's not forget the Zim DVD boxed set with the exclusive Gir figure!


Figure from the collection of Michael Crawford.

This page copyright 2003, Michael Crawford. All rights reserved. Hosted by 1 Hour Hosting.com