I
had a bit of a problem when I was around twelve years old. I was
totally obsessed with RoboCop.
People
these days don’t even know what obsession is. Nobody’s attention
span is long enough to become
obsessed with anything because the combination of the internet and
the proliferation of portable, immediately accessible media has made
us all retarded.
Obsession
is coming home after school every
single day
and watching the VHS tape that you recorded RoboCop
on to the point where the tape snaps and you panic because you aren’t
old enough to buy a copy and the TV listings don’t show RoboCop
coming on HBO again so you might have to go who knows how long
without watching the best movie you have ever seen in your life that
is barely over a decade in length.
I
recorded it again within a week or so, this time on the “SP”
setting – best quality and less play time. I always used “EP”
for stuff because you could get six hours onto one tape, but the AV
quality wasn’t a s good and it stressed the tape more. So for the
new recording of RoboCop
I used “SP”, I only put RoboCop
on the tape, and I snapped the little tab off so it couldn’t be
recorded over.
When
I say “after school every single day” I am talking about between
three and six months, which is an eternity to a twelve-year-old. I
know every line. My lifelong love of Peter Weller, Ronny Cox,
Kurtwood Smith, and Miguel Ferrer are because of this movie. My
relationship with Paul Verhoeven started here. And I think this was
the first non-horror movie I saw with ridiculous, over-the-top gore.
Sure, there were the big action flicks and they were plenty violent,
but RoboCop
is fucking disgusting.
To this day.
I
was not upset when I heard about the new RoboCop.
If you know me, you know I don’t mind remakes, reboots,
reimaginings, or re-pretty much anything. I see such things as an
opportunity to update a franchise or look at it in a new way. And it
looks like the new RoboCop
could be successful at doing both.
But
regardless of the quality of the new film, I wasn’t going to be
able to walk by a new RoboCop figure in the toy store and not buy it.
Especially one coming from a toy company I had never heard of.
First
Glance:
The packaging was the first clue that ol’ Officer Murphy was coming
from some weird, new toy maker. No self-respecting company sells
tri-logo stuff in America. But the figure itself looks surprisingly
good coming from an unknown entity. It doesn’t appear all that
sturdy, but the detailing is nice.
Articulation:
This guy has great articulation for a 3.75” scale figure from a new
company. I know I’m driving that point into the ground, but for
decades now the rule has been that toys from new companies suck. As
the review goes on you will see my utter shock at this toy not
sucking.
Head
– swivel
Shoulder
– ball joint
Elbow
– swivel/pivot
Hips
– ball joint
Knees
– swivel/pivot
No,
that’s not a ton compared to my normal reviews, but the fact that
the knees and elbows all use dual-purpose joints is very exciting.
The
shoulders and hips are a bit loose, but in a weird way. They sort of
flop around, but still hold poses.
The
elbows and knees function well. I could do with a bit more of a
pivot, though.
All
of the joints function about as well as I could want and defy my
expectations by being sturdy. I did a lot of futzing around with this
guy and nothing broke off.
Sculpt:
I’ve only made the most cursory examinations of the new RoboCop
suit because I do my best to avoid spoilers, but just from looking I
feel like this is a fantastic sculpt. There’s lots of detail and
the lines between all of the plating and gizmos are clean and
distinct. The guy still kind of looks like the mech suits from the GI
Joe movie, but don’t you think that’s a bit more reasonable than
the clunky, older version?
The
joints are integrated into the sculpt and are unobtrusive. Of course,
this is fairly easy to accomplish on a mechanical figure. I’d like
to see how this company does with a more human profile.
This
new visor makes RoboCop look kind of bizarre. Like a bird, sort of.
But the figure got it right, so good job. The only real sculpt issue
is that the right hand looks a bit mushy. Not as bad as an 80s Kenner
figure or anything, but it’s a bit sausage-y.
Honestly,
this is just a great sculpt. I think the picture alone without scale
reference could pass for a 6” figure.
Coloring:
I opted for the version with the silver deco for a few reasons.
First, it is reminiscent of the classic RoboCop design and I will
always like that. Second, it would provide a better indication of how
good this company was with paint apps. Third, it just looks more
interesting.
It
turns out Jada toys is mostly good with paint apps.
The
mechanical portions look superb. The black portions are a bit flat.
The silver portions have a nice metallic look. What impressed me the
most in this age of lackluster paint apps and corner-cutting were the
little pistons painted silver in amongst the black portions. Not just
that they are painted so well, but that they’re there at all. Jada
Toys could have easily left those off and nobody would have thought
twice about it.
The
flesh parts – the jaw and right hand – are a good hue and don’t
look weird or anything. The only issue is the red on the visor. It
blots outside of the sculpt just a bit. It wouldn’t be a big deal,
but the red is so vibrant against the rest of the figure that it
stands out. I bought two of these – one for me and one for Lil’
Troublemaker – and both had visor paint that was very slightly off.
Overall,
though, this figure has very solid paint. Again – I am surprised.
And pleased.
Accessories:
RoboCop comes with two guns. One is an update of the pistol we all
know and love. It’s basically just bigger and badder-asser. The
paint on this thing is astonishing. Okay, maybe not astonishing, but
it’s great. The fact that it even has paint is a shocker. That the
paint is applied well and cleanly is amazing. Yes, I was right the
first time. It’s astonishing. Also, the figure can hold it
perfectly. It doesn’t store in his elg, but c’mon – these guys
are on a roll.
The
other gun is more like a rifle. It fits into RoboCop’s left hand
and looks pretty rad. The stock fits around the figure’s arm. And
once again the paint is great. The fact that “OCP” is stamped on
the clip is insane.
Side
Note: OCP (or Omni Consumer Products) is called OmniCorp in the new
movie, so I’m not sure where “OCP” comes in. Maybe it’s just
OmniCorp Products. I dunno.
Packaging:
While I am always delighted by a simple blister card, this one is
bogged down by all of the languages. It has a nice shape and
eye-catching design, but the triple labeling make it look cheap and
crappy.
I like that there's a synopsis of the flick on the back. It makes things seem very slightly less cheap and crappy.
The full range of products isn't very... full. But if everything is as fun as this figure I think it's a good start. Better than flooding the market with 20 variations of the same scale RoboCop, anyway.
Value:
This figure is an absolute steal for only $6.99 at Toys R Us. If
anywhere else does end up carrying them I doubt they’ll be cheaper,
but TRU does tend to be the most expensive place to buy toys.
Overall:
I am totally delighted by this action figure. Aside from the visor
paint it looks great, the sculpt is excellent, the accessories look
great and can interact with the figure, and it’s just fun to play
with. I want to give it a perfect score, but it doesn’t quite
get there. This RoboCop is still an outstanding release from a new
company. I can’t wait to see more.
4
out of 5
I
haven’t checked to see if these are online anywhere, but Toys R Us
had plenty of them. Rest assured, I plan on buying and reviewing one
of the 6” scale versions. I might even pick up the black version of
this one. I’m curious to see if they might have used different
glosses.
-Phantom
I think I'm gonna grab one as soon as I see one. FYI, Jada Toys is a well known toy company that specializes in Die Cast cars. It is surprising that a die cast toy car company managed to make an action figure THIS good...
ReplyDeleteI'm curious to see more from them now.
Deleteim just waiting for them to make 1 diecast since its from a diecast company
ReplyDeleteI'd like to see that. An affordable die-cast RoboCop would be cool. I say affordable because I'm sure some Japanese company has done one and I'm sure it was five hundred dollars.
Delete