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In future times, when today’s action figure collectors are living together at the only rest home that will take them, sharing their stories of days gone by, much discussion will center around the Hasbro Indiana Jones action figure line of 2008, and the mistakes that doomed it to failure.

In case you hadn’t heard, the Temple of Doom wave will most likely be the last to see retail daylight, and even that wave has been harder to find than an honest man in politics. Many others were shown, and the diehard fan’s obsession was fueled, but these things will not come to pass. The whys are many. Collectors will cite the over production of the first couple waves, with their lame Mutts, poor paint jobs, and weak quality control. Average parents will point out a lackluster fourth movie that failed to drive kid’s interest to the overall franchise. And I’m sure Hasbro will point out that Indy had to battle against a crowded summer of high performing blockbusters like Iron Man and Wall-E, and the weakening economy that’s drying up the action figure market. And of course, Bakugan is kicking everyone’s ass.

Despite the reasons, the effects are here. Finding the Temple of Doom wave – which includes a new Indy, Willie, Short Round, Molan Ram, a Temple Guard, and the Chief Temple Guard – has been the quest of collectors for several weeks now. If you’re lucky, you may find them at a Meijers or a Kroger. If not, you’ll pay through the nose on Ebay or from your local scalper.

I’ve managed to snag a few, although both Indy and Willie remain on my hunt list. I’ll check out the Chief Temple Guard tonight, and much of what I say about him translates to the rest of this wave as well. If you have any questions, drop me an email at mwc@mwctoys.com, or visit my site at Michael’s Review of the Week – Captain Toy.

Indiana Jones Temple of Doom wave – Chief Temple Guard

Temple of Doom used to be my least favorite Indiana Jones movie. That was of course until this summer and the release of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. TOD has it’s issues, but they are nothing compared to the stinker that is KOTCS. But no matter how badly George and Stephen treat their poor Indy, I still buy all the figures. And while TOD might not be the best of the movies, it certainly has some of the coolest looking villains.

You’ll remember the Temple Guard Chief. He’s the big ugly dude that likes beating the kids in the mine, and who pays for it in a rather brutal and nasty death. Your trivia of the day – this character was played by the English actor Pat Roach, who also played the German Mechanic in Raiders of the Lost Ark and a Gestapo solider in Last Crusade, making him the only other actor (other than Ford of course) to play in all three original films.

Packaging – ***1/2
I’ve liked the small packages all along, with their retro feel and general Indy branding. The shape of the bubbles do make them a bit difficult to store for the MOCers, but they hold up surprisingly well to basic shelf wear.

Sculpting – ***1/2
I suspect that had earlier waves been sculpted this well, they would have sold much better. If it weren’t for one issue, I would have gone full four stars here.

The head sculpt might only be 3/4″ from tip of beard to top of turban, but you can clearly see Pat Roach’s character in there. The fine detail work on the beard is excellent for this scale, and the folds and layers of the turban look very realistic.

The body work is general top notch as well. The torso was probably intended for the German Mechanic as well, since the belts and accoutrements you see are all glued on separately. He stands about 4 1/4″, slightly above the other figures in the line, fitting in pretty well scale wise.

My only problem with this category is in the figure’s ability to stand. I always include that concept with the sculpt, rather than the articulation – you might think otherwise. I had a mighty tough time getting this guy to stand on his own, although it is possible with the right combination of the ankles, knees, hips and feet. This is due in large part to his very small feet, which make it tough to get the high center of gravity just right.

Paint – ***
The worst aspect of the early waves of Indy figures was the sloppy paint. It looks like Hasbro got those issues resolved just in time to cancel the line.

Many of the pieces are cast in the appropriate color, like the arms, torso, legs, etc. You can tell by the slightly glossy plastic look to these parts that they were not painted separately. This works fine for me, particularly since the colors from one plastic piece to another remain consistent.

There are small details that are added, however, including things like the eyes, teeth, and small spots on the outfit. There’s a bit more slop here than would be perfect (especially under the glaring eye of the camera – in person it’s not as noticable), particularly around the red and black on the sash/belt. But it’s a huge improvement over the early waves, and indicates that Hasbro could get it right given time. Unfortunately, they didn’t have as much time as they needed.

Articulation – ***1/2
Considering the scale, this boss baddie has an impressive number of useful joints.

There’s a ball jointed neck, but the ball is so far up his head that it operates pretty much like a cut joint. The shoulders are ball jointed too, but they have an excellent range of movement, and take full advantage of their ballish nature. The arms also have a cut joint above the elbow, a pin joint at the elbow, and a cut wrist joint. That’s a lot of arm articulation for this size figure!

The waist is also cut, and he has the standard T hips. The knees are ball joints though (or peg/post as I like to call them), allowing the lower leg to move forward and back as well as giving it the ability to turn. There’s this same sort of peg/post joint at the ankle too, and it’s a good thing since without the mobility in the ankle, you’d have a tough time keeping him standing.

Accessories – ***1/2
Often, the accessories get dumped to keep the price down. That’s not the case here.

All the Indy 3 3/4″ figures have come with a special accessory – a treasure of sorts. This relic comes in a cardbard crate, along with a small sticker. If you collected six of the stickers and sent them in, you could get the mail away Crystal Skull skeleton. The artifact that comes with the Chief Temple Guard is a Spartan helmet, made from soft rubber. The helmet is quite large for this scale, and actually fits in better with a figure in the 6 – 7″ scale. In fact, you could put it with your Disney Indiana Jones, and it would fit in great.

The Chief also comes with three of his own goodies. There’s the cat-o-nine-tails style whip that he used on the kids/slaves, as well as a long, curved saber. This sword can fit inside a loop that is sculpted on his belt. Finally, there’s his unique dagger, which he can hold in his hand, or it can be sheathed in a loop on his chest.

Three film appropriate accessories along with the relic make for a much better Accessories score than we usually see in this scale, at least in the current market.

Fun Factor – ****
Great looking figure with solid articulation, a nice group of accessories, and the ability to stand off against a key hero – how much more fun can any one action figure be? Collectors may find themselves drawn more to Willie (another great sculpt and paint), but the kids are going to be attracted to the bad guys to give Indy someone to smack around. I suppose Willie or Short Round could serve that purpose too, but then there’d be that whole series of parent/teacher conferences you’d have to attend.

Value – ***
Some retailers have dropped the price of their Indy figures as low as $5, although most places are still in that $7 range. That’s a pretty average price for a 3 3/4″ figure, but most don’t have this number of accessories, or this level of articulation, making this a better than average value.

Of course, finding this guy (or any of the TOD wave) at retail is the far bigger issue than paying seven bills for him.

Things to Watch Out For –
It’s unlikely you’ll get a ton of choices when picking up this figure, so looking for the best paint is probably a moot point. Thankfully, the paint has been great on all the ones I’ve seen.

Overall – ***1/2
The sad, unfortunate truth is that this entire wave, from the new Indy to Short Round, is a big improvement over past waves. It looks like Hasbro was just getting it right when they had to stop. And collectors (including me) will be whining about never getting a Toht for years to come.

If you do see this wave, and you or someone you know is interested in them, I’d grab them. While I have my fingers crossed that there are crates of these sitting in some warehouse, it is likely that it’s the same warehouse from Raiders, and those crates will never be seen or heard from again. Hey, there’s an idea for George – Indy 5: Indiana Jones and the Quest for the TOD wave. It couldn’t be any worse than KOTCS.

Where to Buy –
As I said earlier, these are mighty tough to come by. Krogers (yes, the grocery store) had some when the DVD was released, and Meijers has stocked them off and on. They’ve trickled in to some other mass retailers, but not in any real numbers yet. You can find them online, but you’ll pay quite a premium. I suspect we’ll see these dumped at some retailer like Big Lots eventually.

Related Links –
I’ve covered a TON of Indy merchandise at mwctoys.com, but let’s just stick with the 3 3/4″ line for now.

– I had a guest review of this entire TOD wave, as well as another guest review on various figures from the earlier waves.

– I covered the Swordsman, Indy and Marion in one review, as well as several of the deluxe two packs.

Comments: 2 Comments

2 Responses to “Toy Box: Indiana Jones Chief Temple Guard Action Figure”

  1. Craig Oxbrow Says:

    Oddly enough, the TOD line seems to be generally available here in the UK. My local Forbidden Planet has plenty of them – and the local biggish Woolworth’s got them as well.

  2. Phantom Says:

    This is such bullshit. All I wanted was a Short Round to go with my Indy. Why didn’t they make Last Crusade the final wave? I see Young Indiana Jones everywhere!

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