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The PopCult Toybox
The arms are way too short. The hands will not grip anything and are posed open, like he’s waving. There is no articulation in the arms, other than the ball-and-socket joint where they attach to the torso. Elbows do not bend and the wrists are not articulated.
All told, there are eight points of articulation, but that’s being a bit generous.
The uniform is cloth, and not some kind of plastic or vinyl, but the velcro-type closures are clunky (and white on the uniform I got, which makes them more visible). The pants may be useful on other figures as part of a kitbash, but the shirt is hampered by being tailored to fit the unnaturally short arms and might look a tad doofussy on another figure.
At the moment, I’ve only seen these at Amazon. None showed up at any of the toy shows I’ve been to this year, and even ordering from Amazon, they ship from the UK. You’re looking at spending twenty to thirty bucks a pop, depending on the vendor and how elaborate the set you choose is.
I went with the basic desert-camo guy, and he ran just over twenty bucks.
That’s not a great value for the money. The figure, as sold, is not intended for collectors, and once he’s out of the box, he does not display well at all. My guess is that, if these were marketed in the US, at mainstream retailers, they’d sell for ten or twelve bucks, just like most 12″ figures do now.
At that price, these have some good kitbash/custom fodder value. I’ve just popped the head off the body as I’m typing this, and I’m going to extend the neck with Apoxie and see how he works on a Marx 12″ action figure. I’ll find a use for the uniform, boots and beret, and those dog tags will look sharp on a detailed military kitbash.
If Hasbro allows these to be marketed in the US (which does not look to be likely) and the price is what I’m guessing, customizing and kitbashing would be the use for these. They’d be cheap enough to buy in bulk just to get the headsculpts.
However, at the current prices as imports, it’s a bit much to pay for a figure that can’t be enjoyed as-is, out of the box.