Every year there’s a new fall show that takes the world by storm. Every year there’s always at least one, because God knows we don’t want to talk about work when we’re at work, and heaven forbid should be spend any extra time with our families. Two years ago, that show was Lost.
Although it’s had its ups and downs over the course of two and a quarter seasons so far, the show remains strong both in the ratings and in its fanbase. Mcfarlane Toys picked up the license last summer with much hoopla to do action figures based on the show, starting with a wave of six this fall. While they were officially released in a big signing party at the Toys R Us in Times Square over a month ago, they’ve just now started to make it out in numbers to stores across the country and online.
The first wave consists of Jack, Hurley, Locke (all three reviewed here today), Charlie, Shannon and Kate (all three reviewed over at MROTW later today). Each figure includes a diorama style base, a ‘prop replica’ from the show, and a talking feature, allowing you to play several key lines for each character from the first season. These are all very much first season based, although the appearance of the characters hasn’t altered a whole lot during the course of the show.
If you have any questions or comments, drop me a line at mwc@mwctoys.com. Now buckle in for a long ride – there’s lots to say about this series!
“Lost – Jack, Locke and Hurley”
While some of the character choices for this first wave might be questionable (Shannon?!?!?), there’s no doubt that Jack, Hurley and Locke are at the top of everyone’s list.
Hurley is depicted from the episode in which they played the first “Island Open”, using the golf clubs they recovered to pass the time.
Jack is straight from the very first episode, walking through the rubble of the plane on the beach, still in shock at what has happened.
And then there is Locke, from much later in the season, standing over the newly discovered hatch that will play such a critical role both in his character’s life and in the lives of the entire group of survivors.
You can find these at a number of online stores (links at the end of the review, as usual), or you can find them at your local Toys R Us for around $15 a pop. For the full set, that’s a whopping $90 out of the old budget (not including tax), and that’s about the cheapest you’ll find them.
Packaging – **
This packaging could have been four star work, with just a couple minor alterations. Even with my nits, it’s still pretty damn well done.
These figures are boxed instead of carded, a big plus. They’re easy to store for the MOCers, but to open them you will have to destroy the box. The top flap is glued shut, which is too bad because once inside, there’s only a couple twisties and some tape. You could easily put everything back for storage if it weren’t for the taped flap. You can try opening them from the bottom, where the flaps are folded together without tape or glue, but I couldn’t manage to open them without tearing the thin package.
The graphics and text are great though, and to the right of each figure is a flap that opens up to give you some more details. My big nit with this packaging that pulls it down at least a half star is the lack of any instructions. The dioramas are actually tricky to get together (I have a little visual how to later in the review), and for some, like Jack, it will take a few minutes to figure out how to get everything in the right place. It would have been very easy – and very inexpensive – to give us a small insert that had basic visual instructions on how to get at least the cardboard backer frame together and in place.
The big drop in the score here is due to the lack of instructions. Without them, I (and many other buyers) had no idea that the voice boxes actually attached to the bases, and wasted time I didn’t need to on assembling the frames.
Sculpting – Locke ****; Hurley, Jack ***1/2
Scanning is all the rage these days, and Mcfarlane uses the process quite heavily. However, the key to getting tremendous results out of scanning is to have sculptors that can give the results life. Without that step, scanning produces zombie versions of the characters.
I’m happy to say there’s no zombies here, and Locke is the clear winner of the entire series. The head sculpt is almost spooky it’s so accurate, and the detail work on the body is up to the very best of Mcfarlane standards. I could pick at it a bit and mention that the neck seems a little thin, making the sculpt not quite dead on, but it’s a very, very minor nit. This final figure turned out very much like the original pre-production two up, which is a very good thing.
Jack’s up next, and while he doesn’t quite live up to the expectations set by Locke, he’s still a solid effort. Jack’s face doesn’t have quite as much ‘character’ as Locke or Charlie, making it more difficult to capture the character and set him apart from just another guy. The short hair and stubby beard, usually very difficult to do, are nicely depicted, and the details in the dirty suit and flopping tie give the impression of movement without being overdone. I’m not a huge fan of the open mouth expression, and the lower half of the face is a squidge wider and longer than the actor, but it’s certainly close enough to warrant a well above average score. The two up we saw of Jack last summer was much better, but I think this is due in no small part to his front teeth. You see, in the two up they were clearly visible – the scale made that possible. They’re still here of course, but you have to really search for them, and not seeing them makes the open mouthed expression seem a bit odd.
Likewise, Hurley came out extremely well. From other photos I’ve seen, I was most concerned about how the final Hurley would turn out, but in person he’s great. The expression is perfect, as is the sculpted stance – which is a good thing since you won’t be changing it. The huge puff of hair looks a little weird in plastic form, but it does approximate his hair style as best as you’re going to get in this medium. The small details are perfect, right down to the proper folding and wrinkling of his shirt and jeans.
One of the things worth noting here is that the proportions are excellent all around. Heads, torsos and limbs are all properly in scale with one another, and even from character to character, scale is great. These are done in a general 6″ scale.
Paint – Hurley, Jack ****; Locke ***
Mcfarlane excels at paint application, and this set of three is generally in line with their usual quality. Locke is the only one to have issues, and I’m betting that it’s a hit or miss sort of problem.
My Locke has a rather odd looking ‘hair line’ across his bald pate. It appears as though they were trying to use a slightly darker paint on his head, but the hair line across the front on mine makes some odd dips and turns, and looks more like a mistaken application. However, other than that, Locke is excellent. The face details are clean and neat, the dirtied up clothing have just the right amount of wash, and clothing details like buckles and zippers, are done with tremendous realism.
Jack’s outfit doesn’t have the opportunity to show off the detail work quite like Locke’s does, but it still has some amazing work on the tie, and features very realistic dirt on the elbows and knees. In fact, Locke, Charlie and Jack all sport some of the most realistic dirt effects I’ve ever seen in figures this scale. Poor Kate doesn’t fair as well, but more about that in the other review.
Jack has some nice work on his face as well, where the scratchs are present, and the beard and hairline are extremely clean and neat.
Hurley has the same excellent work on his hair and beard, and even has some extra itty bitty eyebrow hairs running between the two defined eyebrows. These are such a small detail that they are almost impossible to see with the nekkid eye. Hurley has some dry brushing added to his shirt to imply wear and bring out the details, and it’s not over done or excessive.
With the one exception of Locke’s weird hair line on my figure, these are all excellent examples of the sculpt being complemented and even improved by the paint application.
Articulation – Locke, Jack *1/2; Hurley *
This is one of those categories that will matter quite a bit to some folks – for me, this score will have little effect on the overall. Why? Because with this line, I’m giving it very little weight. It’s important to score it, so that people picking them up understand what they are getting, but once you understand, if the product fulfills you’re expectation, then the lack of articulation won’t effect your personal overall. If you’re looking for lots of articulation though, and expect that in all your figures, then these will do much worse in your final assessment.
Each of these figures has only the most basic of articulation. Hurley has a cut waist, cut neck (technically, there’s probably a ball down in the torso, but you’re only going to be able to turn the head from side to side, and even then only a little bit due to the hair), and cut right arm at the sleeve. He poses one way, and one way only.
Jack has more articulation, but what’s here is pretty much worthless. Again he has a cut neck, although the range of movement is a little better since he doesn’t have Hurley’s long hair. He has cut shoulders, but are you ever going to raise the stiff arms? And he has cut wrists, but like the shoulders, they’re here only to get the hands in just the right spot and leave them. Oh, and he has a cut waist too, but it’s restricted by the coat and shirt. Again, he’s a plastic statue that holds one pose extremely well.
Finally, there’s Locke. Locke sports a ball jointed neck (again, the all probably do, but the others are completely restricted by the clothing, making them really cut joints), and he can move his head forward and back, and tilt side to side. He can’t move his head back far enough though, due to the collar of his shirt, so he’s always going to be looking downward at least somewhat. I really do wish he could look straight forward, but it’s not going to happen. He has cut joints at the elbows, and a cut waist as well.
Accessories – Locke, Jack ***; Hurley **1/2
Each of the figures come with an assortment of extras, although most of them fall far short of exciting.
They all have diorama bases, which are generally the best feature in this category. Locke goes a step further though, and includes a nifty water bottle (with air pocket mid-way in the bottle, just like it would be if it were being carried on an angle!), and one of his trademark knives. Both of these accessories fit nicely in his hands, and are a key part of the overall appearance.
His base depicts the hatch, or at least the small section of it first uncovered. There’s a cardboard background depicting the jungle, which you may decide to use or not – see below for some photos without. More about the cardboard backgrounds and the assembly of the frames in a minute.
Jack has a very detailed base, including several extra pieces which you need to assemble. These extra pieces are made from fairly sturdy plastic, so wilt is unlikely, and are designed to fit in certain holes only. Still, those instructions we didn’t get would have been nice. He also suffers from a backdrop that’s shorter than he is, since the base puts him up further in the air than either Locke or Hurley. Jack’s diorama is his only extra, but with the additional pieces, it makes up for any shortcoming compared to Locke.
Hurley’s base is the least interesting of the set. The bottom is basically sculpted grass, with a hole for the bottom of the flag. The cardboard background shows the mountain and sky, with a lot of open grass. While the flag is well done, it’s not quite the visual “oooo” as either Jack or Locke’s base. On top of that, I was never able to get Hurley’s feet to fit properly into the sculpted footprints and pegs. While every one of the figures took a lot of effort to get on the base, Hurley was the only one that never did match up properly. The legs need to be just a bit further apart, and because his are so thick and made from such solid plastic, bending them out to fit just wasn’t going to happen.
Before we get to the other accessories (each figure also comes with a “full scale replica” from the show, as proclaimed by the box), let’s talk a bit about the backgrounds. I had to enlist the help of Spidey to get these things together. You’ll find seven parts altogether – the sheet of cardboard, two small pins (which are actually inserted into a cross beam already in the package and have to be removed), two side beams, a top beam and a bottom beam. Let’s use Jack’s background as our example:
The larger curved cross beam is the bottom, the smaller is the top. While not all the characters have curved beams (Shannon and Charlie’s are straight), they all go together the same way. The peg on each side beam inserts into the top support, and the bottom support has a peg that inserts into each side beam. Once you have the four support pieces together, the frame should look like so:
Then all you need to do is attach the backer to the frame with the two included pegs. The final product will look like the next photo, and can then be attached to the back of the display base.
And there you have it! Now, I realize this doesn’t require a degree in engineering to figure out, but I have one and it took me about 10 minutes, and Spider-man’s help. That’s ten minutes I could have saved with just a simple little diagram included in the box. And now I owe Spider-man one, and you know what a pain in the ass he can be.
There’s another question here – should you even use the cardboard backdrops? Please note that once you’ve snapped the frame on the base, you may have an extremely tough time getting it off, depending on how much paint ended up on the pegs, so it’s a good idea to consider this first. Some folks prefer to go without, and I’ve included the next three photos of the figures without to give you a feel for how they look sans backgrounds.
One other point to note on the backdrops that you may have noticed in the photos. Unlike the prototypes, that had a frame across the top of the backer, these use two black plastic pins to attach them at the top to the frame in back. That means back drops light in color have two glaring black spots in obvious spots. For a character like Hurley, for example, where the black peg rests squarely in the middle of the sky, it’s a tad annoying.
Now let’s talk “full scale replicas”. To be honest, this is the first time ever that I have dropped an accessory score because of the INCLUSION of an accessory. Normally, more is always better – not this time.
On paper, the idea of adding in replicas of key props for each character sounds good. It also makes it sound like the higher than average price for these is warranted. And then you see them. Now, this score is going to be a little better for Kate and Charlie, two characters who actually got decent props. In fact, I’m betting this whole idea started with someone saying “hey, we need to include the airplane for Kate in actual size!”, and everyone agreeing that yes, that sounds cool. Unfortunately, the next person came up with the bad idea “Let’s do that for all of them!”
The reason this is a bad idea is quite simple – almost none of the characters have actually interesting or useful props to be included. These three are perfect examples. Jack comes with a folded 8 1/2 x 11″ piece of paper that looks like it just came out of the fax, with Kate’s mug shot. Locke and Hurley’s are a little better, since they’re at least two sided and in color – Locke has his ‘walkabout’ brochure, with almost no information on it, and Hurley has the lottery ticket with the numbers on one side, and almost all other text in gibberish and such a tiny font it would be unreadable anyway. These are cheap little pieces of paper, folded up (in the case of Kate’s sheet and the brochure) so that even framing them to display is out of the question. These things don’t cost pennies to include – they cost tenths of pennies, and certainly do not warrant or justify the high prices of the figures. You might keep the lottery ticket around, but the other two are going to get tossed aside by even hardcore fans.
Talking Feature – ***
To go along with the silly replicas, there’s a silly talking feature. Now, talking features in general aren’t silly, and sometimes – in the case of shows like the Simpsons, Futurama, horror films – they can really add quite a bit to the overall value and fun of action figures. Unfortunately, Lost isn’t one of the licenses where it really makes sense.
While the dialog on Lost is extremely well written (most of the time), it’s not particularly iconic. There are no lines that are repeated at the water cooler the next day, or even more importantly, three years after they’ve been uttered on the show. But had the feature been implemented well, even this lack of iconic statue wouldn’t have been a huge detraction.
Nope, it’s the way a feature that’s already not particularly exciting was implemented that kills it. Rather than being integrated with the diorama in any way, it’s been done as a separate black box, about 3.5 inches square. Pop in your own batteries (no, your $15 – $20 a figure doesn’t get you any cheap AAA batteries) and press a button on top, and it runs through three or four lines from the show. EDIT: Guess what? They DO attach to the bases, in a rather unobvious way. There are two small pegs on the back of each frame, and the underside of the boxes have holes that allow you to attach the box there. After finding this out (thanks to a smarter reader than I), I actually upped the score in this category across the board. However, the general idea of having the talking feature with a dramatic show is still weak, especially considering the additional cost.
The lines are:
Locke:
“I’ve looked into the eye of this island, and what I saw… was beautiful.”
“Don’t ever tell me what I can’t do! Ever!”
â€Do you want to know a secret?”
Jack:
“If we can’t live together, we’re going to die alone.”
“Everybody wants me to be a leader, until I make a decision that they don’t like.”
“There’s something that you need to know… We’re going to have a Locke problem, and I have to know that you’ve got my back.”
Hurley:
“Dude… I’m starving… I’m nowhere near that hungry.”
“Stop! Wait! The numbers are bad!”
“Welcome, to the first… and hopefully last… Island Open.”
He was also orginally supposed to say “You got some… Arzt… on you.”, but that line has been dropped. Too bad, since that was my favorite of the bunch.
The speakers are fairly clear, and most of the lines are intelligible. All of the boxes are identical, so you’ll need batteries in them to tell them apart. All in all, underwhelming is a good word to describe them. The only upside to having the voice boxes as wholly seperate entities is that it makes it all that much easier to drop the idea from future assortments.
Fun Factor – *1/2
While they might be called Mcfarlane “Toys”, these are clearly not toys. These are inexpensive pop culture statues, designed for the adult fan to display at home or work. Now, this score is going to have no bearing on my personal overall, because I knew this going in and didn’t expect anything different, but if you’re looking for super poseable action figures, these aren’t you’re thing.
Value – **
These are going to cost you at least $16 a piece on the cheap side, and that’s too much for a mass market release, even of something that’s really a specialty market toy. The addition of the talking feature and ‘prop replicas’ clearly gave them the option to drive up the price from the usual $10 – $12, but both of these features are uppercase lame. Since most fans are going to want sets (with perhaps the exception of Shannon), they’re looking at a $100 investment, no small potatos.
Things to Watch Out For –
If you’re picking them out at TRU, you should watch the paint application, although I’m betting my problem with Locke is a fluke. Generally, Mcfarlane is quite consistent with the quality of paint work.
Overall – Locke ***1/2; Hurley, Jack ***
Had they dropped the talking feature and the props, and therefore dropped the price accordingly, these guys would have rated another half star higher across the board. In fact, had they done that, this line could have easily been in contention for one of the best of the year. Unfortunatley, this was definitely a case of more is less.
Mcfarlane has also just released a boxed set of the Hatch, with mini-figures (about 2″ tall) of Kate, Hurley, Lock and Jack. It runs around $30, and you can see a photo here from my SDCC coverage.
The next line up as been announced as Sun, Jin, Ecko, Desmond, Sayid, and Sawyer, and is due out next May.
Scoring Recap:
Packaging – ***
Sculpt – Locke ****; Jack, Hurley ***
Paint – Jack, Hurley ****; Locke ***
Articulation – Locke, Jack *1/2; Hurley *
Accessories – Locke **1/2; Hurley, Jack **
Talking Feature – ***
Fun Factor – *1/2
Value – **
Overall – Locke ***1/2; Hurley, Jack ***
Where to Buy –
I’m assuming some other brick and mortar retailers will eventually get these in, but right now Toys R Us is the place to find them locally. Online options include:
– Amazing Toyz has the singles for $15 – $17, but are selling out fast. The full set is $80. They also have preorders up for wave 2.
– CornerStoreComics has the set at $85, and the singles for 415 – $17 as well, along with series 2 pre-orders.
– Alter Ego Comics has them for $16 each.
– Killer Toys has the set of six for $83.
– Clark Toys has the singles for $17, the set for $85, or a case of 12 for $155. They also have preorders already up for series 2.
– Time and Space Toys has the set for $95, plus they carry the cool Lost puzzles.
Related Links:
Obviously, you’ll want to check out my review of the other three figures, Shannon, Kate and Charlie, but don’t forget there’s also the very cool Lost puzzles that I reviewed here a few weeks ago.
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