[56K] Jazwares is actually kind of awesome

[Yami CJMErl]

So I'm meandering around Toys 'R Us yesterday, and I happen upon the ever-increasing Sonic the Hedgehog toys area. Now, since TRU got that exclusive Werehog figure late last year, Jazwares has been pumping out a fair few number of figures from the franchise. I'll snap a picture of the specific aisle another time, but the list includes a "Black Knight" Sonic figure (with one hand replaced with that glove which can hold the sword), several of those standard figures (inculdes a re-packed Werehog, Sonic, Shadow, and Super forms for both), some pretty decent-looking mini-figures (Sonic and Tails), this special Archie Comics pack (with the 200th issue and mini-figures of Knuckles and a clear blue Sonic), and...mini-plushies (of Sonic, shadow, and Werehog). Oh, yeah, and those wierd "JUVI" things. However, I also spotted one more thing there:



^ this monster of a figure, the only one on the shelf. Metal Sonic has always been a favorite character of mine (for additional reasons that I won't get into right now because they're borderline retarded in hindsight), so as soon as I saw this, I grabbed it.

~IN-THE-BOX~





^ as the silver sticker states, this is obviously another TRU exclusive (like all the other Sonic toys). They aren't kidding about the articulation, either...





The box is pretty nice, too--Metal's official Sonic Channel artwork adorns the sides and back--the back also makes a nice display card.

~OUT-OF-BOX~







This might actually be Jazware's finest work yet--the level of detail on this figure is nuts. Take a look at


...the jet engine...


...and the feet. Hell, it's like someone at JW went to SEGA and got a whole bunch of rare concept images and shit just to make this toy.


All of those red dots dentoe the articulation the figure has. The box says "over 12 points", but the toy itself actually has, like, over 17 points. Hell, it even has freaking ball joints on the wrists--the first/only Sonic figure in my knowledge to have that. (I think the hip rotates too, but it's really tight and I don't want to break anything)

You can, summarily, pull of a lot of poses with him. My favorite is


However, the hip joints are kind of loose, to the points that the legs flop everywhere when I pick it up. Plus, they're those wierd ones that previous figures have--they allow perfectly fine side-to-side movement, but no back-and-forth movement--wierd when you consider the current focus of the games is running as fast as you can. Also, several of the joints were really tight (especially on the left arm), and a lot of the figure is actually made of a fairly soft plastic (for safety purposes, no doubt), so I had to be extra careful not to break anything as I tried to loosen up the joints. Oh, and there's no foot posing outside of rotating ankle joints. On the bright side though...


I can totally pull off a "Metal Sonic approves" posture.

When I say this thing is a "monster", I mean that it's easily the largest figure Jazwares has made. As comparison:







GOOD POINTS:
- it's huge
- lots of posability
- it's freaking Metal Sonic

BAD POINTS:
- tight/loose joints (may just be my figure, though)
- those wierd hip joints
- no foot articulation

Overall (especially now that I have all the joints working), I'd very much reccommend this. $16.99 at any USA Toys 'R Us.

[P.P.A.]

I'm tempted to go to eBay right now.

[Dr. BUGMAN]

Metal's design does lend itself to a good action figure. I think I'll bite.

EDIT: No-one would happen to have the promotional code for this, would they?

[Wombatwarlord777]

Yeah, cool. Especially the bottom of the feet.

What's that action figure made of exactly? It seems to have an awful lot of glitter, especially in this photograph.

[Yami CJMErl]

Hard to say. It's a relatively soft, semi-pliable plastic--I can only assume the glittery look was to give the figure a metallic-esque sheen.

Also, I was not aware of any promotional codes--I just saw this thing sitting on the shelf, took it and bought it.

[Kogen]

Sometimes I want to buy this stuff, but then I wonder what exactly I am going to do with it.

Other than use it to scare away women and dissapoint my father.

[Wombatwarlord777]

Please. A Metal Sonic action figure is a REAL man's action figure. You can't deny his bad-assity!

[Neo]

Wow. It looks pretty awesome, save for a couple of points:

- The bottom part of his muzzle appears to be blue for some reason?
- He's missing the white stripes on his feet
- Not really a fault, but it'd be cool if he had an extra joint halfway through his fingers, so you could fully clench his fist.

Other than that, it's pretty much the best Sonic figure I've ever seen. Almost makes me wish I had taken better care of the ones I had.

[Crowbar]

Send those to UK:R and become a celebrity.

[Arcade]

This is now on my "I want that toy" list...

[Dasher]

Man, if I saw that when I was young I would've went ape shit, hell I will buy one as well!

Tho I really don't like his new design, but meh Im bored.

[Yami CJMErl]

Send those to UK:R and become a celebrity.

Done.

I also took some pics of the toy aisle that the other Sonic figures were in a couple days ago--I'll make sure to upload them soon.

[Arcade]

So is this the "Sonic Adventure DX" look, or what?

[Malchik]

Other than use it to scare away women and dissapoint my father.

Best take off that Sonic Medallions... Hark, Hark.

Unless you buy this stuff from a fan hobby store you look like a weirdo at 22 years of age.

[Yami CJMErl]

Considering how frequently I buy Transformers from the same TRU that I found this in, how wierd I seem to others isn't all that high on my priorities.

[Yami CJMErl]

Okay, here's pics of the rest of the Sonic toys (in the same store I bought the Metal Sonic):


^ Sonic Plushies (and JUVIs). Current assortment seems to be Sonic, Shadow, and Werehog.


^ Sonic JUVIs in closer detail. As far as I can tell, these "JUVIs" are little more than Jazwares attempt at making ripoff Mighty Muggs, but I could hardly care as I don't buy Mighty Muggs anyway. Comes in Sonic, Knuckles, Shadow, and Werehog flavors.


^ Sonic and the Black Knight figurine. It appears to have the same posability as the other figures, the primary difference being a different head and, naturally, the metal-gloved hand/sword thing.


^ Super Sonic / Super Shadow figures. The are, sadly, just straight repaints of the original Sonic/Shadow toys (which have been around as long as the KB Toys Sonic X toyline). I say "sadly" because I would have totally bought the Super Sonic if it had a more game-accurate head. Nitpicking, I know, but oh well.


^ Werehog / New Sonic figures. The "New Sonic" is actually the Black Knight figure with a normal hand where the gloved one would be...and no sword.


^ Jazwares seems to REALLY like pimping out the Werehog...


^ The new tiny Sonic figures. There are, like, 4 inches high, and are actually better posable than the larger figures because they have better hip joints (the legs can now go back and forth instead of side-to-side). Flavors are Sonic, Tails, and a Black Knight version of Sonic that I didn't spot when I took the pics (it was hiding on the very back of the pegs).


^ The special Archies Comics 200th Issue set. Includes the 200th issue of the Archie Comics comic book (duh), along with a clear blue version of the tiny Sonic figure, and a Knuckles toy. As far as I'm aware, this is the only way to get the Knuckles toy...




^ close-ups of the tiny figures.

Of course, as my sense of timing would have it...not only did I find the Black Knight Sonic after the fact, I also found that FYE (a media store chain in the US) ALSO sells Sonic goods. I found a Tails-head beanie and several pairs of Knuckles gloves. (Yes, like the ACTUAL gloves Knuckles wears. With [plush] spikes.)

[Malchik]

Who's that squirrel I see in the last pick?

[Yami CJMErl]

Princess Sally Acorn.

Yes, she's still a prominent character in the Archie Comics.

[CM August]

It's comemorating 200 issues of the Archie comic, so I suspect it's Sally. Spaz's drawing style certainly slipped in later years.

Or what Yami just said.

[Shadow Hog]

I'm not even sure Spaz is still doing the covers anymore.

But yeah, they've gotten significantly less detailed as years go on. So essentially, their quality dropped alongside everything else good about the Sonic franchise (although, IIRC, diehard fans of the comic had been saying it's been the best it's ever been, so some small solace, I guess).

[G.Silver]

Sonic and Tails have been working out!

[ShinjukuNeedlemouse]

Meh. That Jazwares Sonic figure looks exactly like the Resaurus Sonic SA1 figure, with the edition of joints at the elbows and knees. That Metal Sonic is hella cool, though, and I LOVE the Knuckles Mighty Mugg, I might have to get one of my own!

And where the fuck is Eggman? (Maybe his figure won't stand up on it's own so they scrapped it.)

EDIT: Where is everyone seeing Princess Sally? For the life of me I can't see her.

[ShinjukuNeedlemouse]

I see Princess Sally now. What's the big uproar over this, anyway? For one, the only picture in this thread about the subject is a digital camera pic taken in a store with fullbright flourescent lighting (and according to the EXIF metadata, cropped with Microsoft Photo Gallery ), the subject we're discussing happens to be a medium-resolution picture on the back of a box, and since it's an action figure box (or blister pack) the picture was taken through the blister bubble (a semi-convex piece of plastic, which surely doesn't do much for picture quality).

Not only that, the semi-translucent blue Sonic thing (I have no idea who that is because I don't read the comic, I just have a basic grasp on the original comic plot because of SatAM) is blocking most of Princess Sally, so we can't even see her as a full picture, just a partial of a head, which makes all the criticism of the comic artist's art style which was solely based on this picture invalid.

If I were to play devil's advocate though, and actually use the poor criteria to support my outlandish claims, I might say that I approve of the new design and that she doesn't seem much different other than a slightly anime-ized face.

[Delphine]

I see Princess Sally now. What's the big uproar over this, anyway? For one, the only picture in this thread about the subject is a digital camera pic taken in a store with fullbright flourescent lighting (and according to the EXIF metadata, cropped with Microsoft Photo Gallery ), the subject we're discussing happens to be a medium-resolution picture on the back of a box, and since it's an action figure box (or blister pack) the picture was taken through the blister bubble (a semi-convex piece of plastic, which surely doesn't do much for picture quality).

The episode of Fringe I just watched makes more sense than this paragraph.

[ShinjukuNeedlemouse]

I see Princess Sally now. What's the big uproar over this, anyway? For one, the only picture in this thread about the subject is a digital camera pic taken in a store with fullbright flourescent lighting (and according to the EXIF metadata, cropped with Microsoft Photo Gallery ), the subject we're discussing happens to be a medium-resolution picture on the back of a box, and since it's an action figure box (or blister pack) the picture was taken through the blister bubble (a semi-convex piece of plastic, which surely doesn't do much for picture quality).

The episode of Fringe I just watched makes more sense than this paragraph.

OMG A GRAMMAR FLAW THE WORLD IS DOOMED, DOOMED I SAY

BTW, why watch Fringe? It's not a particularly good show. Just because Sonic isn't particularly good doesn't mean you have to lower your expectations for EVERY form of media you encounter.