I’m a big fan of cartoon lines.  Simpsons, Invader Zim, Ren and Stimpy…Hell, I even have Cow and Chicken stuff.  Everyone always talks about the likenesses on real people, and how tough it is to do, but the simple lines and easy designs of some of our best loved cartoons are just as difficult to do in three dimensions as any human likeness. 

Humans are already in three dimension.  They also don’t vary in scale and proportion just because they turned to one side or the other, and they don’t vary based on the individual animator working on them that day.  Perhaps most important, they don’t have a ‘style guide’ that must be followed, even when it hasn’t been accurate in a decade.

The classic Hanna-Barbera cartoons spanned many decades and many classics, from the Flintstones to Yogi Bear.  Mcfarlane Toys picked up the license last year, and has just released their first series of figures, including two Tom and Jerry sets, a Fred Flintstone, Quick Draw McGraw, and Hong Kong Phooey.  I reviewed this wave earlier this week over at MROTW, and today I’m covering the deluxe boxed set based on that old Bedrock madman himself.

 

 

 This set is called Fred Flintstone in his Cruiser, although I think the name:

“Hot Rod Fred Flintstone”

is more befitting.  Or maybe Rat Fink meets Fred Flintstone.  Rat Flintstone?  Fred Flintfink?  You get my point.

Packaging – ***
This deluxe set, like most Mcfarlane deluxe sets, comes in a box with a large window.  The set is laid out in the interior tray for maximum display potential for the MIBers, and has some nice character specific graphics and text.  I also like the light colors and kid-centric pallette. 

 

 

One of the advantages of boxes over cardback/bubble packaging is that it is usually more collector friendly, allowing you to remove the figure and set without destroying the packaging.  That’s not the case here, and you’ll be tossing this box as soon as you’ve freed him.

Sculpting – **1/2
When I was a kid, I loved Fred Flintstone.  The predecessor to cartoon dads like Homer Simpson and Peter Griffen, he bumbled his way through the stone age.  He definitely wasn’t a complex guy, and there were certain things he did – and didn’t do.

The deluxe boxed set depicts Fred drag racing in some sort of hot rod.  As I mentioned earlier, it has a prehistoric Rat Fink look to it, and unlike his regular car which was ‘motorized’ with Fred’s own feet, it has an engine of sorts.  More on that later.

 

 

The sculpt is decent in terms of general detail, scale and quality.  These figures are probably supposed to be in the same 4″ scale as the recent Simpsons sets from Mcfarlane, and that works out pretty well with the Quick Draw and Phooey, but Fred does tend to be a bit on the tall side when placed with the others.  That is, if you could place him with the others.  Fred is permenantly attached to the seat of his hot rod.  He does have a full body however.

There’s as much small detail work as you could get into a cartoon figure, including some terrific stone texturing on the wheels and car itself.  My issue with this sculpt is not one of technical quality, but rather aesthetic appeal.

You see, this isn’t the Fred I remember.  I’m betting at some point in some later version of Fred, he actually drove a hot rod.  Perhaps it even looked like this.  But this isn’t an iconic look for Fred, something people will instantly recognize.  It’s like having your first Homer Simpson figure dressed up like Ganesh – sure, it happened, and you’d recognize Homer, but fans would be left wondering ‘huh?’.  That’s my major problem here.

The deluxe boxed set in the second series will have Fred in his traditional car with the family at the drive-in, betting the ribs delivered, right out of the old opening sequence.  It will also have an individual Fred figure with Dino, hopefully also from the opening sequence.  These are classic moments, and I’m betting I’ll be much happier with those two.  Your dinosaur mileage may vary.

BTW, why is the little pterodactyl tied on the antenna (an early version of Sirius radio?), and why does he have a cigar in his mouth?  I don’t remember any pterodactyl’s smoking cigars…did Fred have a pet pterodactyl in the later cartoons?  We may never have the answers to life’s most perplexing questions.

Paint – ***1/2
The paint ops on all the figures and this set are excellent, with only the barest amount of slop and bleed between colors.  These figures sport a much wider range of colors than the usual Mcfarlane figure, and the quality is up to their normal standards.

 

 

There’s a little gloppiness in the skin tone in some spots, and some of the tougher colors have issues at the cuts between them, but these are all very, very minor.  I’m particularly impressed by the stone wash, and how well it worked on the car’s body, although there are a few issues with consistency between various parts (hood, body, interior of engine).

Articulation – *
The only ‘articulation’ on this set is the front hood, which opens to reveal the true source of power  a small green dinosaur with the usual white tusk on his nose.  It’s a nice feature, and works fine.

 

  

You could say the rear wheels are articulated, since they do turn, but that’s more of the action feature and I’ll cover that in the later section.

Accessories – **
There are no traditional accessories with this set, although the car can detach from the base itself, and the antenna is a separate piece.  The detailing on both of these is terrific, especially the base, where the grass and dirt detail is amazing.

Action Feature – **1/2
Mcfarlane decided to add pseudo action features to all the figures in this line up so far.  The deluxe boxed set has ‘wheelie poppin’ action, which means that the rear tires can lock into three positions up off the ground.  There’s no real ‘action’ since you have to lift the car off the ground with your hand and pose it in a new spot, so it’s more of a display option than an action feature.

 

 

The biggest issue with this feature is that Fred is sculpted to only look good in one mode – all the way up.  When the car is flat on the ground, he’s staring down at the hood, and with no articulation or ability to move him in his seat, he looks pretty silly.  That makes what appears to be an interesting display option not really much of an option at all.

Fun Factor – **1/2
This isn’t really designed as traditional ‘toy’, but it could hold up to most play.  Kids who are lucky enough to get Boomerang from their local cable company, or kids who watch way too many Fruit Pebbles commercials, will at least recognize Fred, and kids always love cars, right?  Obviously, that’s the conventional wisdom.

Value – ***
One thing that all Mcfarlane figures are – at least so far – is a great value.  For around $22, you’re getting a technically well sculpted, well painted, decent sized diorama type item.  That’s a solid value in a market where a twenty is getting you less and less with every release.

 

 

Things to Watch Out for –
Not much.  In fact, there’s little change of damaging anything in putting the few parts together, and little chance of having problems with the action feature.

Overall – **1/2
If you look at these photos and think this is one great looking design for Fred, than you’re overall score is going to be much higher than mine.  I wasn’t expecting much in terms of accessories, articulation or even the goofy action feature, so my overall is based largely on paint and sculpt.  Because this is not an iconic look for Fred, and because it is their first attempt at him, I was disappointed in the design.  If you’re not, then this score will easily jump up another full star for you.

The best thing about this set for me is the apparant quality, especially in the paint.  The Simpsons line has been a bit of a disappointment in that regard, but the higher quality paint here means that the more traditional Flintstones set in the second series, and other characters like Yogi Bear and Captain Caveman, are more likely to be exceptional.

Scoring Recap:
Packaging – ***
Sculpt – **1/2
Paint – ***1/2
Articulation – *
Accessories – **
Action Feature – **1/2
Fun Factor – **1/2
Value – ***
Overall – **1/2

Where to Buy –
These are hitting Toys R Us stores, if you’re looking for a brick and mortar retailer.  Online options include:

– Clark Toys has the deluxe set for $20, and the regular figures for $12 each OR if you’re buying the set, they have the best deal at just $50 for the full set of 5!

– Amazing Toyz has the singles at $12, the boxed set at $22, and the set of 5 for $55.

– CornerStoreComics also has the singles at $12, the set for $55, and the boxed set is at $23. You can also get all five and the boxed set for $75.

– Killer Toys doesn’t have this regular series listed yet, but they do have the boxed set of Fred in the dragster for $23.

Related Links:
I reviewed the full series of wave 1 earlier this week.

 

 

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