PopCult Rudy Panucci on Pop Culture

The PopCulteer Toybox: Wild Adventure

Img_2329The PopCulteer
November 28, 2014

PopCult Note: This week The PopCult Toybox was delayed, and next week it will be a special PopCult Gift Guide installment, so rather than push this piece back two weeks, today the Toybox invades The PopCulteer.

In many ways, the rise of the Internet has made being a toy collector a lot easier. One of those ways is by spreading the news of new product and how and where you can find it.

As a recent example of this, just last week in the Adventure Team HQ Yahoo! mailing list, GI Joe collector Jerry Gonzalez posted a discovery he made while poking around on the Target.com website. Though they were not yet listed as being in stock, Target had listings for five new 1/6 scale action figures. Actually, Target listed them as being 1/10 scale, but I could tell from the listed size of the package that these guys were in scale with the original GI Joe.

From the ATHQ mailing list, the news quickly spread on Facebook and other message boards and as soon as these items were listed as being in stock, I was able to order a complete set. In today’s PopCulteer, we’re shifting gears a bit and bringing you a special Black Friday PopCult Toybox. It was a bit of a gamble ordering these with the questions of scale, but it was a gamble that paid off. These are 1/6 scale figures.

The new BBi body design: less articulation, bulkier muscles, more height
The new BBi body design: less articulation, bulkier muscles, more height

Offered up as an online exclusive at Target.com, we have the Wild Adventure line from Blue Box International. This is of note because it’s been nearly a decade since Blue Box International has produced any affordable 1/6 scale action figures for the mass market. This line is basically an assortment of hunters (with one fisherman) decked out in woodland camo with tons of accessories.

Before we describe each set, I need to point out that this figure uses an all new body design with really high quality new head sculpts.

The body is less articulated that previous Blue Box International figures but is still more than adequate for most customizers and collectors. Boots are molded on. Two of the figures have molded on gloves. I don’t know how compatible the removable boot/feet are with other companies offerings. There are sixteen points of articulation, with standard ball and socket elbow joints, a simple swivel at the waist, and double-ganged knee joints which are limited in range somewhat by the bulkiness of the legs.

A closer look at the wrist and ankle pegs, and the double-ganged knee
A closer look at the wrist and ankle pegs, and the double-ganged knee

The figure actually stands 12 1/4 inches tall, which is a scale 6’3″ that makes him considerably taller than many other 1/6 scale figures. It’s good to have some variety in your figures heights if you’re building a realistic diorama.

Each figure comes with a well-tailored outfit that uses velcro closures instead of snaps and a ton of equipment which we will list below. Also included with each figure is an adventure guide card that lists all of the gear included.

The figures sell for $17.99 at Target.com except for the Duck Hunter, who sells for $22.99 and has much more in the way of accessories.

16669656_Alt02Wild Adventure Bear Hunter

The Bear Hunter comes with a two piece camo hunting outfit and has molded-on boots and gloves. Other accessories included with this set: a blaze orange vest, tree stand, hunting rifle with scope, hunting knife, sunglasses, binoculars, hunting pistol and bear claws. The detail on the weapons and accessories in all of these sets is very high. The bear claws are a very unusual and distinctive touch. This figure sports a head sculpt with a nicely trimmed beard and light brown hair.

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16672290_Alt01Wild Adventure Turkey Hunter

This figure again has the two piece woodland camo outfit with a blaze orange jacket and molded-on boots and gloves.

The figure has light brown hair and is clean shaven. Accessories include: shotgun, sunglasses, turkey calls, binoculars, and two turkey decoys. Of note, the hunting rifle is a different design than the Bear Hunter’s.

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16672279_Alt01Wild Adventure Deer Hunter

This figure includes the standard woodland camo outfit with blaze orange vest and molded-on boots. However, he has ungloved hands and a tan hunting vest, plus a ball cap.

The figure is clean shaven, with dark brown hair. Accessories include a tree stand (different design and color than the Bear Hunter), binoculars, a compound bow, and what looks like antlers to this person who is completely ignorant of things to do with deer hunting  (They’re listed as “Stag Antlers).

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16669655_Alt01Wild Adventure Fisherman

This is the figure that doesn’t quite fit with the others. He has molded-on fishing boots, non gloved hands, tan pants, and what looks like a professional fisherman’s jersey with corporate sponsors. Plus, he’s got a blue baseball cap.

The figure has a clean shaven face with very dark brown hair. Accessories include sunglasses, a fishing net, a filet knife, a fishing trophy, a rod and reel, and a fish.

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Wild Adventure Duck Hunter

16669654_Alt01This is the most expensive set and includes the largest number of accessories, the most unusual of which is a working 1/1 scale duck call. This makes me wonder if maybe these sets happened because of the huge demand for Duck Dynasty merchandise about a year and a half ago. It’s cool that these made it to market anyway, even though due to the controversy surrounding the show, Duck Dynasty merchandise is harder to sell than DVD sets of The Cosby Show now.

This figure sports a full heavy beard with black hair and is wearing a woodland camo high-neck shirt with woodland camo wader coveralls and molded-on wading boots, plus the standard blaze orange vest. He does not have molded-on gloves. In addition, he has a netting kind of neck wrap and comes with sunglasses and a ton of other accessories.

The Duck Hunter is loaded with accessories and an actual duck call, which this reporter mistook for a 1/6 bazooka at first glance
The Duck Hunter is loaded with accessories and an actual duck call, which this reporter mistook for a 1/6 bazooka at first glance

The accessories include a very well-sculpted 1/6 scale hunting dog with an articulated mouth, two decoy ducks, three apparently successfully hunted ducks, a duck call, binoculars, a shotgun and hunting rifle, both of which are different designs from the long guns used in other sets. This figure is packaged in a much wider box to accomodate all the extra accessories.

It’s always cool to get 1/6 scale animals for diorama use and as with every Wild Adventure set, the accessories are extremely well sculpted.

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2014 has been an extremely disappointing year for 1/6 scale hobbyists. Hasbro offered up nothing for the die hard collector. Big Lots got their usual one case per store assortment of Power Team World Peacekeepers, while Lanard’s Tracker figures showed up at Magic Mart after debuting last year at Dealz, and Toys R Us blew out most of their Captain Action figures early in the year at rock bottom prices.

Aside from those examples, everything else offered for the 1/6 scale hobby this year has been premium format figures which retail for eighty dollars and up (way up). It’s great to have a reasonably-priced new line pop up like Wild Adventure, because aside from being really nice sets in their own right, they also make terrific kitbash fodder that can be repurposed for military or adventure use without breaking the bank.

The Bear Hunter kitbashed into a new member of The Adventure Team
The Bear Hunter kitbashed into a new member of The Adventure Team

If you’re interested and Target hasn’t sold out yet, you can find these figures HERE.

That’s it for this special Black Friday PopCulteer Toy Box. Check PopCult every day for fresh content and get ready for the PopCult Gift Guide, which begins Monday.