|
Packaging - ***1/2
They aren't quite works of art, but close enough. I love the clamshells,
and they almost guarantee a nicely packaged one will arrive at your door.
They stand up great to shelf wear, a huge plus for MOCers, and they show off the
figure and all his accessories quite well.
Sculpting - ****
I can't find anything to complain about in this department. Every one
of these four characters is excellent, although my favorites are Statler and
Waldorf. This is them in their classic outfits, just as you remember them
from the show.
I'm not a big Clifford fan, but they've done a marvelous job with him.
The wild 'hair' is tough to pull off, but they did a good job with it, and his
expression fits him well.
Statler and Waldorf are really works of art. Both look like they just
stepped out of the TV, and the attention to detail in their clothing and
textures makes all the difference in the world.
Finally, there's Fozzie. Always a fan favorite, this variant of Fozzie
is one of the best. The soft tie is sculpted separate, and there are holes
in his belt to hold all his accessories. The hat fits great, and although
he has less articulation than the others, he still stands great on his own.
It's also important to note that the hand sculpts work fairly well on all
four figures, and they can hold at least some of their accessories properly.
Paint - ***1/2
The Muppets line has two difficult aspects to their paint ops - there's lots of
detail, and there's a huge variety of color. Those two things make getting
good paint application even tougher for Palisades.
They seem to have done a great job this time. It's always tough to tell
unless you see a large number of figures, since there are always a few good and
bad. But the set I picked up, and the few others I've seen, all look
extremely good.
The Clifford repaint was toned down quite a bit from the original prototype
photos, and I'm a little disappointed. Oh sure, that paint scheme was a
little wild, but what we did end up with wasn't that big of a difference.
However, all the work that went into the various colors and details is great.
Statler and Waldorf wear their usual suits, and while they have less color,
they still look good. Of all the figures, they were the only ones to have
some issues with the consistency of the dark colors, but it wasn't too bad.
Fozzie also has some excellent quality paint operations, with lots of little
details in the buckles, patches and badges. The dark blue of his uniform
is more consistent that the old geezer's suits, and there's very little bleed
between the detail colors and the overall uniform paint.
Articulation - Fozzie ***; the rest ****
Statler, Waldorf, and Clifford have tons of articulation, and can stand
nicely on their own. More importantly, all three can sit in their chairs.
They have neck, ball jointed shoulders, cut biceps, elbows, wirsts, waist,
hips, and knees. Clifford also has ankles, and S&W have those cool
split crotch hips that allow for easier sitting poses for old men with pot
bellies.
Fozzie doesn't have quite as much articulation, although you can pose him in
a number of ways, and he stands great on his own. He has neck - but none
of the bobble head issues of the past - ball jointed shoulders, elbows, wrists,
waist and hips.
Accessories - ****
Wow. This is one category that they always excel in, and this series is no
different.
Fozzie is the big winner here, with a ton of nifty cop accessories that all
fit in small holes on his belt. There's a peg on each accessory - or a bag
to hold them - that pops into the small hole. Fozzie has his flashlight,
night stick, bag for his handcuffs, handcuffs (that open and close), holster for
his radio, hand held radio, and two small sculpted packs that look like the type
that hold pepper spray or other tub like items. He also has his hat, which
fits nicely on his head and stays in place with the magnet, and the usual
Palisades stand. All the figures come with stands, but none of them need them.
Statler and Waldorf come with the most important accessory - their
chairs. The two chairs are identical, but look amazing. There's all
kinds of Victorian goodness, with terrific detail in the wood carvings and
upholstery. Using a slightly different texture differentiates the two
nicely.
They also come with a variety of talking vegetables, two tomatoes, a carrot,
and something green between them. These go great with the Kitchen playset
of course.
Statler comes with a cane, and Waldorf has a set of 'voting' cards, all low
numbers. Both figures also have the Muppet Show playbill, another
identical accessory.
Clifford has a chair as well - a director's chair. It doesn't fold, but
is all hard plastic. The seat looks so good you'd think it was cloth at first
glance! He also comes with sunglasses that fit nicely into two small holes
in his hair line, a cel phone, microphone on a stand, and clacker board for
starting a scene. The repaint is identical in all aspects except for,
obviously, the paint.
The sculpts and paint ops across the board with all the accessories are
great. This is the type of quality you've come to expect, and they don't
let you down.
Value - ***
At the current market prices, $8 - $9 is a decent, reasonable price for
these. You aren't getting an amazing value, but you aren't paying too much
either, and you won't feel ripped off when you get these home and open them up.
Overall - Statler/Waldorf ****; Clifford, Fozzie ***1/2
I have to be honest. Clifford is not a big favorite of mine. I
was never a big fan of Muppets Tonight anyway, and Clifford was one of my least
favorite characters from the show. But I have to admit that Palisades
managed to produce a great looking figure with excellent accessories just the
same.
The rest of the line is fantastic. This might be my favorite Fozzie so
far, upsetting the Vacation Fozzie for the top spot. And Statler and
Waldorf are not just perfect, they are critical to your entire display.
While I loved the Vaudeville versions, your
collection wouldn't be complete without this show accurate pair.
|
