Yep, this is the week. You know what I’m talking about. That is unless you’re from another planet, and living there under a rock all alone. Or you’re a woman.
That’s right, this is the week for Spider-man 3. This is also the week that begins a MASSIVE summer movie season, with major blockbusters hitting every weekend from now through August 10th. The sheer number of major films hitting this year is staggering, and we’ll have Spider-man 3, Shrek 3 and POTC 3 all in theaters for Memorial Day weekend. That’s some heaving hitters!
We’ve been getting hit with Spider-man product for several months now in anticipation of the film, but if you’re like me, you’ve been less than impressed. I’m not a card carrying Hasbro hater, but even I have to admit that they’ve pretty much screwed the pooch on their offering. But thanks to a guest review on my site last week by Big Guido, I have found some very cool TOYS (please note the emphasis on the term TOYS) for the film.
Back a few years ago, when Toy Story first hit, a company called Thinkway Toys made one of the coolest toys we’d seen in years – the talking Buzz Lightyear. It was a huge hit that year for Christmas, and became one of those legendary releases. Now, Thinkway is back with some more cool goodies this time for the new Spider-man film. They’ve made three ‘room guards’: a Spider-man, Sandman, and Goblin. I picked up the Spidey and Goblin for today’s review.
Spider-man 3 Room Guards
While these are technically motion sense room guardians, they are also very cool action figures. If you’re looking for something for your kids to have fun with based on the movie, these might just be what you’ve been waiting for.
Packaging – **
The external box is the usual mass market contrivance. It has a j-hook hanger on top, but can sit on a shelf as a box as well. At least sort of. The box has a slightly curved top and bottom, making it tough for it to actually stay standing on one end. There’s also all the usual twisties, and I think the package weighs an extra pound just from the million ties holding him in place. And it’s definitely not collector friendly, since you’ll pretty much destroy things getting him out.
There’s also a little weirdness going on here. Both figures have pegs screwed onto the bottom of their feet. These pegs can attach to the bases, and that’s what the instructions imply. That means the figure would stand about a quarter inch up off the base, and can’t really stand on flat ground without the base. Ain’t that weird?
Actually, it probably makes sense. I’m betting that Hasbro wasn’t interested in Thinkway – or anyone else – competing with them for ‘action figures’, so when they got the license to do these room guards, they had to come up with something that would make the figures less ‘action’, more room guard. Screw a couple posts on their feet that attach only to the room guard, and you have a solution.
However, all you need is a Philips screwdriver, and you’re good to go. In fact, there’s an alternate hole on the bottom of the character’s feet that also fits the pegs on the base, so even once you’ve removed the posts, they can STILL stand on the base. And viola – now they’re really action figures too!
Sculpt – ***
It’s important at this point in our discussion to keep that term TOYS clearly in your head. If you’re looking for collectible action figures of a high quality that are designed to look life-like and make women swoon, then you’re looking in the wrong spot. But if you’re looking for some cool, fun toys that both collectors and kids can enjoy, these are an excellent choice.
Both figures stand about 8 inches tall, which makes them a tad too small for other sixth scale lines, and much too big for most other 6 – 7″ lines. These really only fit in with other figures in the room guard series, but with three out already – and rumored plans for at least a Venom as well – you can make a reasonable movie set up.
Spidey has the webbing and insignia sculpted on, giving him some texture and dimension. The proportions are good if not perfect, and he’s made from a very lightweight plastic, making it possible for him to hold some pretty difficult positions. Even though he’s lightweight, I didn’t find any joints that felt weak or easy to break.
This Goblin is the new version, more thrasher than villain I suppose, but if you don’t mind the design he looks pretty good. There’s a ton of detail work on the backpack, but I was disappointed that the weapons are permanently attached, and not removable or usuable.
Again, his proportions are good, but he has some huge honkin’ feet. They are more anime or vinyl toy style, and did seem a bit out of place. Still, it means he can stand extremely well in a number of awkward poses, so that’s a plus.
Paint – ***
These are classic mass market paint jobs. Most of the large pieces of plastic are cast in the color they need to be, with smaller areas painted on. The paint work is fairly clean, but consistentcy is focus, not the highest possible quality.
The small, silver webbing on Spider-man is a bit sloppy, but not quite as much as I expected from a toy of this style. There’s also some poor cuts on the Goblin between colors, but none of it is terrible, and none of it is bad enough to interfere with the purpose of these figures – to be fun.
Articulation – ***1/2
One of the strong suits of these guys is the articulation, which is surprising for something that’s supposed to just stand there and yell at you for coming in the room.
Both have neck joints similar to Marvel Legends, where the peg/disk allows the head to tilt forward and backward (quite a bit in Spidey’s case), and turn side to side. I had to really twist hard to break Goblin’s neck free (painted stuck), but once I did it worked well. It didn’t quite have the range of movement that Spider-man’s has due to the slightly more confining sculpt, but it was still decent.
Both have ball jointed shoulders, jointed on both sides, that work quite well, and ball jointed hips that are designed to allow the leg to move all the way forward and out to the side. However, because of the butt sculpt, the legs don’t go backward very far.
Both also have double jointed knees and elbows, and cut joints at the waist, thighs and ankles. The wrists have a cut joint for turning, along with a pin joint so it can move forward and back, and the middle two fingers on both hands have a pin joint so he can take the traditional ‘web shooting’ pose. The ankles also have a pin joint, and a rocker joint as well, plus the mid-foot has a pin joint. Finally, there’s a chest joint that allows a good range of movement, and holds positions pretty well.
That’s a LOT of articulation for a toy that theoritically didn’t need it. Perhaps Thinkway knew Hasbro was dropping the ball on the ‘action’ in action figure? Or maybe they’re just smart when it comes to making fun toys.
Accessories – ***
The only accessories are the room guard bases, which house the electronics. Both are done in the same rock style, although they are cast in different colors. Press the button on the top, and it plays a random line. Press it quickly twice, and the motion sensor activates, playing a line when any intruder is spotted. I’d tell you how to deactivate it, but since I’ve replaced my Brink’s system with a number of these placed strategically around the house, I don’t think it would be a good idea.
Both figures have a number of cute sayings, intended to scare off any intruders. Or at least amuse your kids.
Neither of the bases are using the actual actor’s voice, but rather some poor slub who happened to be hanging around the sound booth that day. Both figures attach to the base easily with the pegs removed, or you can just pose them in the same general vicinity.
Fun Factor – ****
While the sculpt and paint might not be ideal, these do make for really fun toys. They take poses extremely well, have tight, sturdy joints, and are a nice scale for small hands. I just wish there were more figures in scale with these that kids could play with.
Value – **1/2
At around $17 – $20, you’re paying a pretty good chunk of change for the room guard feature. If you’re buying them just for action figures, that’s a bit hard to swallow, but don’t over look the many fun uses for the room guards. Maybe you don’t have kids that want them, but you can always take them to work and place them in strategic locations.
Things to Watch Out For –
I suspect that mass market consistency will make these all about the same, with no real perfection but no real issues either.
Overall – ***
These aren’t going to wow your fellow geeks with their life-like appearance. They’re toys, and they are meant for kids to have use in having fun. But there’s plenty of us out there that still collect toys, because we love what the represent. Sure, perfect pop culture collectibles are nice too, but we shouldn’t forget that great toys are cool as well. And that’s what these guys are – great toys.
If the pricing had been $15 or less, I would have given these guys another half star. As it is, I plan on picking up the Sandman for my son as well, and having some fun with him re-enacting scenes from the film, and making up a few new ones of our own.
Where to Buy –
Target has the best price I’ve seen at about $17 each. You can find them at most major retailers, however.
Related Links –
As I mentioned Big Guido did a guest review of the Spidey last week, and I reviewed some of the smaller Hasbro figures a couple weeks or so ago.
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