NOTE: A friend just let me know they saw a Satan figure at their local
Suncoast. He was supposed to be out with this wave, but isn't pictured
on the back, and wasn't at the stores I found these at. Keep your eyes
peeled!
Packaging - **
No big changes to the packaging, but the more times I see it, the less
enamored I become. It's fairly plain and basic, although that's not too
far off the style of the show. Still, I think a little more creativity could
have gone into the general design.
Sculpting - Mr. Garrison ***; Chef, Wendy **1/2; Cartman's Mom **
The style of South Park is extremely simple, since it started as basic
construction paper animation. There's not a lot of detail to the
cartoon, and you shouldn't expect a lot of detail to the figures.
These are rotocast, so think big dog chew toy. And large they are,
since they actually took a shot at some sort of scale between the kids and
adults. With the kids in this line so large, there was no way they could
actually match up, but they get points for at least trying. The scale
actually works best with Wendy and the other boys, because they did make her
slightly smaller.
The designs are all very static, with arms at the sides and some sort of
aghast expression. One of the nice things is that all the features -
eyes eyebrows, mouth, facial hair, glasses, etc. - are actually sculpted, and
not just painted on. That is a nice touch that I have to admit is really
growing on me with time.
When I first saw these in the packages, I suspected that Chef would be my
favorite. But then I cracked them open, and found that he is very
flat. Yep, he's flat. He's far thinner front to back than he is
side to side, so he ends up looking a tad odd.
The one that surprised me was Mr. Garrison, who has a great expression, and
actually works fairly well in his static pose. Cartman's Mom is the
weakest of the bunch for me, probably because she looks so much like some sort
of freaky sex toy. Considering her proclivities on the show though, I'm not too
surprised.
Paint - Wendy **1/2; the rest ***
In general, the paint ops improved over previous series. I noticed less
sloppiness this time, particularly around the arms, hands, feet, shirt and
legs.
There's still a few issues with the eyes, although Wendy was the only one
that was really bad. She has lots of white off on the face, with the
eyes brought together completely in the center. Her mittens and coat
also showed the same time of poor definition between the colors that plagued
the previous waves.
Overall though, the quality has improved a bit, although it's still not at
the level that you'll probably expect at this price point in the specialty
market.
Articulation - *1/2
Each has one and only one joint, a ball joint at the neck. While that
allows you to do some useful posing with the heads, it means that for the most
part, they are unarticulated.
This is a big problem with characters like Cartman's mom, who has a plate
of chocolate covered pancakes and donuts, but can't hold them.
I know the designs don't lend themselves to much articulation, but the
Peanuts designs didn't either, and yet they managed to find creative ways to
add it. I wish that Mirage could do something like that with this line.
Accessories - **1/2
Just like previous series, each figure comes with one accessory. Cartman's
mom has his favorite food, chocolate covered donuts and pancakes, while Wendy
has a pile of puke, no doubt due to Stan's inability to speak to her without
spewing.
Chef has his spatula, and can actually hold it. He has a very small
hole drilled in his right hand, into which you can fit the handle of the
spatula. It sticks out oddly though, and sculpted hands would be so much
nicer.
Mr. Garrison has the most crucial accessory, Mr. Hat. He's dressed in
his patriotic best, and actually fits on his oddly sculpted right hand.
While the accessories all make sense, it's a pity they aren't more useful
with the characters.
Fun Factor - *1/2
These aren't exactly fun toys, with almost no articulation, no conflict to
their back story, and no way to really use the accessories. I suppose
some kids could find something to do with them, but what that might be, with
characters like Cartman's Mom and Chef, isn't something I want to know.
Value - *1/2
At $13, these figures are running with the big dogs of the specialty
market. While even I have to admit that their slightly simple rotocast
style has grown on me, I still haven't lost sight of the fact that these are
easily $5 - $6 overpriced.
Overall - Mr. Garrison **1/2; Chef, Wendy, Cartman's Mom **
This isn't as good of an overall line as I think it could be, and the high
price for these really hurts them. The high prices are hurting everyone
of course, especially the buyers.
If you look at Chef from the front only, and skip the spatula sticking out
from his side, he doesn't look too bad. Mr. Garrison is actually pretty
good, at least an average figure compared to other lines.
While I'm not leaping up and down, screaming about these figures from the
rooftops, you'll notice that I am buying them. I'm a huge fan of the
show, and I'm at least happy that I'm getting some half way decent figures of
the best characters. Beggars can't be choosers I suppose.
SCORE RECAP:
Packaging - **
Sculpt - Mr. Garrison ***; Chef, Wendy **1/2; Cartman's Mom **
Paint - Wendy **1/2; the rest ***
Articulation - *1/2
Accessories - **1/2
Fun Factor - *1/2
Value - *1/2
Overall - Mr. Garrison **1/2; Chef, Wendy, Cartman's Mom **
Where to Buy -
Hot Topic is the only brick and mortar store I've seen these at so far, but
I'm betting Media Play and Suncoast will get them eventually. Online
options include:
- CornerStoreComics has the
set of four listed for $50.
KEEP SCROLLING DOWN FOR MORE PHOTOS!
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