You know, it just seems like there are so few exclusives at SDCC these days.  Really, what’s a guy supposed to do if he wants to spend some money? 

Obviously, I’m kidding. There are more exclusives at SDCC than hookers at a Charlie Sheen bachalor party. Even the smallest company has them, and often there are several from the larger companies.  Many of these are highly sought after, at least during and immediately after the convention, but are they really worth it?  I’ll be doing a number of reviews over the next month on some of the most interesting.

I’m starting tonight with the Family Guy Herbert from Mezco.  If you’re not a regular watcher of the show, you may not remember Herbert.  He’s the old man who often has rather inappropriate thoughts about Chris, leering at him whenever he delivers his newspaper.  With Herbert’s perverted and illegal sexual desires, it’s not surprising that he hasn’t been featured in any of the regularly released waves, even if he is a fan favorite.  Mezco made a smart move using the convention exclusive route to get this guy out to us, and hardcore fans will be pleased.

Herbert cost $20 at the show, but that wasn’t the only way to get him.  You could order him in advance of the show at either the Club Mez site, or the Mezco Direct site, and now that the con is complete, you can order him there again.

Family Guy Herbert – SDCC 2006 Exclusive

 

 

Packaging – ***
The package is designed for the convention, with a convention exclusive sticker on the front and a photo of the two Family Guy exclusives – Herbert and the giant evil monkey – on the back.  Otherwise, it matches the normal Family Guy packaging, which looks decent and does the job.

 

 

Sculpting – ***1/2
The sculpting work is solid here, and some aspects are four stars.  Still, the work on his head is slightly off, although putting my finger on it exactly is tough.  First, it seems a tad large for the body, moreso than on the cartoon.  Several of the features seem slightly off proportional as well, particularly the nose.  This is one of the tough characters for them to tackle on the show though, since there’s more ‘character’ in his face than others.  The sculpt is a little rough around the front of the chin, but still looks quite a bit like the old geezer.

The body sculpt is fine, although lacking in some of the weird lines of the show. It’s straight up from heel to hump, instead of having a bit of a bend at the waist.  The hand sculpts are terrific, allowing you to use the accessories and have some interesting poses.

While the head and body aren’t perfect, they’d be solid three star work at least on their own.  But one single feature pushed this guy up another half star for me – the hairs.  You see, poor old Herbert still has six or seven hairs sticking out of the top of his head from two different location.  Instead of trying to paint these, or use some sort of sculpted material, they used a stiff nylon (or that’s what it appears to be).  That means he has these nifty little stiff gray hairs poking out of the top of his head.  They’re almost impossible to see in photos, but in person they look terrific.  Excellent!

Oh, and unlike the cartoon Herbert, the action figure Herbert can stand fine on his own without the walker.

 

 

Paint – ***
If you own other Mezco Family Guy figures, you know pretty much what to expect with the line.  Things are relatively clean, but there’s some bleed between colors, and the cuts aren’t always clean.  Herbert also suffers from a bit of blush on the cheeks, throwing off the consistency of his skin tone. It’s solid work, but not quite up to the same level of quality we’ve seen on other Mezco lines.

 

 

Articulation – ***
Herbie has more articulation than the standard Family Guy figure, due in part to the design of the character.

See, he has this long skinny neck on the show, something most of the characters do not.  This allowed Mezco to include a ball jointed neck, up at the top, just below the head.  It works great, and fits the character’s attitude well.  Of course, you know how I feel about ball jointed necks.

He also has cut shoulders, cut elbows, cut wrists and a cut waist.  That gives him very good arm articulation for a cartoon character, and he can pose well with the walker, popsicle and newspaper.  Considering the design of the body and legs of the character, there wasn’t much addiitional articulation they could add there anyway.

 

 

Accessories – ***1/2
Herbert comes with some terrific unique (no re-use!) accessories, that are very specific to his character.  There’s Jessie, his dog who has lost the use of his back legs, and drags himself around by the front.  Jasper’s sculpt is excellent, and he’s even articulated at the neck!  Obviously, he stands great on his own.  Or lays.  Or half lays.  You know what I mean.

There’s also Herbert’s walker, and if fits nicely in his sculpted right hand.  He can also rest on it with his left hand, so either position works great.  It takes a little work positioning the arms and hands just right, but you can also have all four feet of the walker flat on the ground with it in position in his right hand.

Chris delivers the newspaper to Herbert, so it’s fitting that he also has a rolled up paper.  This can fit in his left hand, but it takes a little finesse.

Finally, he has a popsicle, a treat he’s used to tempt poor Chris with on more than one occasion.  This one appears to be grape.  While the pre-production photos showed this in his left hand, that sculpt was altered to the more interesting version you see here.  He can still hold the sweet treat in his right hand, however.

 

 

Fun Factor – **1/2
I’m not exactly sure this is a figure I’d give my kids to play with.  Even if I did, I have a tough time imagining a scenario in which he’d be useful.  Kids aren’t generally interested in wrinkled up old men, even when those wrinkled up old men might be a little too interested in them, like Herbert here.

However, he’s a great addition for any friend you might have that loves the show, and is a great figure for the desk at work.

Value – **
Twenty bucks – ouch.  People who are accostumed to paying $10 – $12 for a regular release figure might have a bit of a tough time with the price tag, but it’s not too unusual for a con exclusive.  $15 actually seems closer to right to me, at least for an average value score, but even at $20 you won’t feel too bad.  Unlike many exclusives that are nothing more than repaints, Herbert is a unique character with a unique set of accessories.

Things to watch out for –
Not a thing.  No worries here!

 

Overall – ***
At $20, Herbert is a pretty expensive figure.  As an exclusive though, he’s a great choice, and as always with exclusives, his production numbers will be pretty low.

Casual fans aren’t going to care a whole lot about him, but hard core fans and collectors won’t want to miss out.  He is certainly a unique character, and you can even put him on the shelf with a few Michael Jackson dolls, and start your own special sub-category of action figures.

Where to Buy –
You can pick him up on ebay of course, but Mezco Direct is taking orders for the figures they have remaining after the con.

Related Links –
I’ve got plenty of Family Guy reviews to choose from:

– my last review covered wave 5, including the Greased Up Deaf Guy! 

– they recently released the series 1.5 family boxed set so you can have the whole family.

– Here’s my reviews of wave 1, wave 2, wave 3 and wave 4.

– also, I reviewed both the Peter and Lois two pack, and the Peter and Chicken two pack.

– Finally, there’s the review of the large talking Stewie.

 

 

Comments: 3 Comments

3 Responses to “Toy Box: Family Guy Herbert – SDCC 2006 Exclusive” Georgia Says: February 21st, 2008 at 10:38 pm herbert is the most awesome family guy character ever! i really want to get one for my friend for her birthday because she thinks he’s awesome too!!! nathan Says: July 12th, 2008 at 1:25 am Familyguy is the best show on adultswin Stece Says: November 25th, 2008 at 9:44 pm Herbert should team up on the FAMILY GUY show with Michael Jackson. Leave a Reply Name (required) Mail (will not be published) (required) Website Δ