Our fine friends across the pond get quite a few interesting shows on the BBC that we get to see only much later, or sometimes not at all. I was recently in the U.K., and noticed a number of interesting toys based on British shows, including Dr. Who of course (and if you were a Dr. Who fan, you would have wet your pants on seeing the number of toys on the shelf at Toys R Us), Sarah Jane Adventures and Robin Hood.
One that really caught my eye was Primeval, a show I’d only heard about in passing. The toys caught my eye though, and I picked up the Connor Temple/Future Predator two pack. Other figures in the series that I noticed were Helen Cutter and Claudia Brown with three Agnurognathus, Professor Nick Carter and an Anomaly, and Abby Maitland with Rex and a Dodo bird. These are produced by Character Online, and retail for around 10 GBP.
The show revolves around a team of scientists that investigate time anamolies, which allow people and creatures to travel both backward and forward in time. The show has been greenlit for a third season, but remember that British ‘seasons’ are much shorter than U.S. seasons. The first season of Primeval was just six episodes, the second was seven, and the third is planned for ten more.
Packaging – ***
The two packs are in interestingly shaped clear plastic boxes, with cardboard inserts. The packaging is certainly eye catching, and very sturdy, able to withstand a lot of shelf wear. It’s a bit oversized though for the purpose, and annoying for the MIBers to store. There were also plenty of annoying twisty ties, and this is packaging that will be tossed as soon as the toy is open.
Sculpting – Temple **1/2; Predator ***
The actor that plays Connor Temple, Andrew Lee-Potts, has some funky eyes, that’s to be sure. The sculptors on this line tried to capture that, but unfortunately ended up making him look a bit too…deformed. The eyes drop off at odd angles, partly due to the sculpt and partly due to the paint.
The facial structure is a bit better, with a jawline that looks more like the actor and a general head shape that works for him. The hair lacks some of it’s personality though, and if this head weren’t on this body and in this package, I doubt most folks would recognize him.
His body sculpt is decent, with a little detail work in the wrinkles and folds and reasonable hand sculpts. He stands great on his own, and is just under 5 1/2″ tall.
The Future Predator figure is an interesting creature design, but could use a little more detail work in the sculpt. There is more texturing here though than on Connor, with the skin given a bit more realistic appearance. The work on the small teeth and tongue is good for a mass market toy, and of the two, his sculpt appears to have been more considered.
He stands fine on his four feet, and it was even possible to get him to stand on his itty bitty back feet, although it wasn’t a pose he was going to hold for long. The claw-like front hands look terrific, and they managed to capture some of the danger and violence in his appearance.
Paint – **1/2
Neither of these figures has a paint job that stands out from the average mass market action figure, and poor Connor gets a bit of the ugly stick again when it comes to the work on his face. The paint does nothing to improve his weird, widely spaced eyes, and there’s a bit of slop around the hairline as well.
The work on his body is much better though, although it is still fairly standard in style. The cut lines are good, and his silly diamond print sweater is very well done.
The Predator has a bit more of an attempt at paint detailing, but the attempt is not up to the current standards. The various skin colors are put on with a heavy hand, and don’t have the realistic appearance of something from a company like NECA or Mcfarlane. The large ‘dots’ of paint, wide bands, and haphazard style are all well below the current expectations even for a mass market line.
Articulation – ***
This is where things get a bit odd. You see, both figures have a ton of articulation, but I’m not sure that much of it does you any good.
Connor has a cut neck, cut shoulders, cut biceps, pin elbows, cut wrists, cut waist, T hips, cut thighs, and pin knees. The style of articulation reminds me of the recent DST work with the Stargate properties, but the joints here don’t have quite as wide a range of movement.
The Predator has pin neck to allow forward and backward movement, but unfortunately it is extremely restricted. He (I’m assuming it’s a he) has ball jointed shoulders and hips, which are really pin/disc joints. These are the type with the pin goes into the torso to allow the joint to turn, and the disc allows for back and forth movement.
He also has a ball jointed torso, pin elbows and knees, wrists with both cut joints and a pin joint, and cut calf joints. With all those joints you’d expect better posability than you actually get though, due in large part to the general design of the character itself.
Accessories – *1/2
The two figures are almost all you get, with the exception of Connor’s man purse. This is sculpted from a softer rubber, and the sculpt is designed to form fit to the side of his body. It does look great on him, but I’m betting the show provides for plenty of other accessory opportunities.
Fun Factor – ***
While these might not be the best pop culture collectibles, they do pass as solid action figures for play. The articulation is a nice addition, and kids always love creepy looking monsters.
Value – **
These cost 10 GBP, which in today’s market translates to about $20 U.S. Toys are much more expensive in the U.K., but you aren’t getting anything extra for this expense, making them a fairly weak value. I feel for both the collectors and the kids.
Things to Watch Out For –
Not much. When you’re picking them off the shelf you can check for the best paint ops, but that’s about it.
Overall – **1/2
The big plus here is the articulation, which was a nice surprise, but which isn’t as useful as I’d hoped. Still, they get some brownie points for trying.
The rest of the quality is very average, and some of it (like the head sculpt for Connor) is below average. For fans of the show, it’s nice to see that there’s something available, but if you’re looking for the ultimate in Primeval collectible, you’re going to have to wait a bit longer.
Where to Buy –
Obviously, I found these on the shelf at Toys R Us, but this TRU was in Cambridge, England. If you’re not in the U.K., you can still order them from Forbidden Planet, although I’m betting the shipping will be a bit much.
