Before we get started with our regular festivities, I wanted to mention that you can vote for your favorite (and least favorite) collectibles this year once again in my People’s Pick Awards. The voting will be open for a few more days, so get your vote in now! Just click here to head over to the ballot – and be sure to sign up to win one of 8 cool prizes. Now on to our regularly scheduled program…
The movie was okay…but not spectacular. But the Sci-fi channel was able to take a decent flick and turn it into a solid television show, running 9 years now! Nine years! I can’t get over that.
Diamond Select Toys picked up the license for action figures last year, and fans were skeptical. DST has done a good job with the Buffy and Angel lines, although to say either hasn’t been without its bumps would be lying. Then they did Serenity, and fans weeped. So what would happen with Stargate?
The good news is that series 1 was great, with much better sculpting, good articulation, and a nifty idea around getting all the pieces to build a diorama of the Stargate. Now wave 2 is hitting stores in the next month (this is an early review), and includes Teal’C, Carter and Thor. Like usual (for DST), they’ve stretched those three characters into a wave of six. In addition to the core three, there’s a chase variant Black Ops Teal’C and Previews Exclusive Jaffa Warrior Teal’C, along with a Replicator Carter. There’s also a Desert Camo Carter pictured on the cardback, but it’s wasn’t produced.
Over at MROTW, I reviewed the three core characters last week, and here I’ll be covering the two variant Teal’C figures. If you have any questions or comments, drop me a line at mwc@mwctoys.com.
“Jaffa Warrior Teal’C and Black Ops Teal’C”
Each of the main characters – O’Neil, Jackson, Carter, and Teal’C will eventually have a black ops version. Teal’C also gets the Jaffa Warrior treatment, using the same body as the series 1 Serpent Guard.
Packaging – ***
The cardbacks are growing on me, but they still don’t knock my socks off. Decent graphics, reasonable text, but they lack the visual pop to snag your eye. Of course, since you’ll probably be stuck buying these online, it’s a moot point. The other minus here is the lack of instructions for putting together the Stargate. Some of the pieces fit together tightly, and you may be wondering if you’re doing it right or you’re about to break something. A basic visual instruction guide would have been a big help.
Sculpting – ***1/2
These are two slightly different versions of Teal’C, one with hair, and one without…and sporting the forehead symbol as part of his sculpt, not just an additional paint op. As I mentioned in my review of the regular Teal’C, I’m not a huge fan of the slightly confused expression, but of the three Teal’C versions, the black ops head sculpt, with hair, looks the best.
Each of the body sculpts are very detailed, particularly the Jaffa Warrior version. All of the lines in the armor are sculpted in, right down to the small chain mail-like texturing. Like the other figures in the series, internal scale and proportions are very good, with no pin heads or bobble heads, and no odd lengths to the limbs.
They’ve also added veins to his arms in the shirtless black ops version, and his t-shirt and pants fold and crease in a very realistic way across his body. Both figures stand absolutely great on their own, and both have hand sculpts designed to work with the widest variety of accessories.
Paint – ***1/2
The paint ops are extremely clean, although there is some slop on the Jaffa Warrior if you look *really* close. The white lines aren’t always perfect, but the eye of the camera is much more able to pick up on it than your own.
The work on the faces is terrific, with no problems with the eyes, or poor cuts between the hair line and face. The skin tone is consistent and even, and even the lips (often a problem with male figures) are reasonably well done. Okay, so it looks like he has a bit of the old lipstick on, but it’s not a major issue on either figure.
Articulation – ***1/2
While neither figure is super articulated, they both have about as much articulation as possible, and still maintain realistic sculpts. On top of that, all the articulation has a good range of movement, and allows for useful posing. Other figures may have more points, but they are often worthless points.
Both figures have the all mighty ball jointed neck, and both work great. Tilt, turn, forward, back – they do it all. They also have ball jointed shoulders, but the joints are only at the shoulder. They don’t allow for quite as much mobility as some other ball joints, but they have a better appearance.
There’s cut biceps, pin elbows and cut wrists to allow them to hold weapons (like the staff) in both hands, and a cut waist, T hips, pin knees, and cut thighs to get some decent posing out of the legs. Some of the joints, like the cut biceps or thighs, can break the lines of the sculpt, but having them gives you a lot more options as well.
Accessories – ***1/2
DST has taken the concept of ‘reuse’ to whole new levels with this line, but they throw in enough accessories with every figure (plus one or two new ones) that it takes most of the sting off.
The Black Ops version has his staff (with alternate, ‘open’ head), radio, P-90 rifle, zat and G.D.O. These accessories are all used in other figures as well, but they make sense with this character as well. His soft rubber vest is removable, and while the sculpt and fit are good, I tend to prefer the figures sans vests.
He also comes with a huge, honkin’ butt kickin’ rifle, that looks great, but which I could never quite find a satisfactory way for him to hold. You may have better luck than I.
The Jaffa Warrior version has the staff as well, with alternate staff head, the zat, and the funky ‘eyeball’, which I’ve been told by readers may be a ‘tek’, a stunning grenade. He also has a Goa’uld, the big bad of the show (although they aren’t all that big). These snake-like aliens get up inside your brain, and you don’t want that.
Both figures come with a piece of the Stargate, the same piece as the regular Teal’C. DST was nice enough to put the same piece of the gate with all the same character, no matter how many variants, so if you only want one Teal’C, you don’t need to buy all three to build the gate.
And the gate is damn cool, even if it isn’t in scale. It’s on the small side, but the figures look good displayed with it. And what can you expect when you’re already getting figures at a price range that is standard, and yet so much extra is in the package?
Fun Factor – ***1/2
Put together the great sculpts and paint with good articulation and a ton of cool, useful accessories, and you have some terrific toys. Sure, these are intended as ‘adult collectibles’, but they haven’t forgotten their roots in play.
Value – Jaffa Warrior ***; Black Ops **1/2
These are an excellent value in the current specialty market, running around $11 – $12 each. That’s if you find them, especially the black ops chase figure. He’ll end up costing you more from most places, because of his lower production run, and ends up with a lower value score because of it.
Things to Watch Out For –
Not a thing. These guys might not be intended for kids, but the figures themselves are sturdy enough to handle play anyway. The biggest problem is keeping track of the tiny accessories, but as a reasonably intelligent adult, I’m sure you can handle it. Better than I did, anyway.
Overall – ***1/2
Great sculpting, solid articulation, and cool accessories add up to one of my current favorite lines – and I’m not even a big fan of the show! If you are, you should be very happy with the treatment DST is giving the license, and I’m also hopeful this means there are no more Serenity debacles in their future.
Where to Buy –
Online is your best bet these days, although some local comic shops may carry them:
– Killer Toys has the regular set of three for $33, and the black ops Teal’c for $20.
– Time And Space Toys has been carrying all the figures, but are selling out quick. They still have the Previews exclusive Replicator Carter for $13, and they have preorders up for series 3 at just $60 for the set of 5 (includes the chase and previews exclusive!)
– Alter Ego Comics has this basic set of three figures available for $38.
– CornerStoreComics has the regular figures for $12 each, or a set of four (includes the Previews exclusive) for $44.
– Amazing Toyz also has the regulars for $12, or the set of 4 for $44.
– and if you’re in the U.K., hit Forbidden Planet to pick them up for about 10 pounds each.
Related Links:
I reviewed most of the first series as well, with the exception of Jackson. I still gotta snag one now, to finish off my Stargate! And I reviewed the core 3 characters today at MROTW as well.
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