Post by Dabid on Jan 20, 2012 17:30:00 GMT -5
It's my first wrestling figure review ever, and it's not even for a full-time wrestler! The fulltext of the review is posted here for discussion, although the prettied-up version with complete photo gallery is posted over on my blog.
I never thought I’d see the day when the two top heels in wrestling would be an announcer and a manager, but that’s the current state of the WWE for you. Mattel is releasing their first-ever action figures of these two villains you either love to hate or just plain hate this winter: Michael Cole and Vickie Guerrero. Michael Cole is being spread out as a build-a-figure in the Toys R Us exclusive Best of Pay-Per-View set, but the villainous Vickie Guerrero has earned her own mass release in the basic line of singles. To commemorate the occasion, it’s my first-ever wrestling figure review here on Toy Review Daily! I had some reservations about this figure, much as I had initially about Vickie as an on-air character. But just as Vickie’s TV personality surprised me, this female figure shocked me with its impressive quality…
The Right:
Vickie Guerrero, the widow of the late, great Eddie Guerrero, is one of the unexpected success stories in wrestling. She has a grating voice, obnoxious personality, and is about as far as you can get from the typical demeanor and appearance of a WWE Diva. Despite this, Vickie has won over audiences as a pure villain with her evil witch cackle and woman-scorned personality. Vickie is certainly in theall-time upper-echelon of wrestling women who appear mainly in a non-wrestling role, and it’s earned her the first mass-release non-wrestler slot in the entirety of the Mattel WWE toy line.
I was discriminating against this figure before I even found it in a store because I knew it was part of the basic figures assortment. I haven’t bought many of Mattel’s basic WWE figures, but I remember how awful the sculpts and articulation was on Jakks Pacific’s basic female figures. To my extreme shock, Vickie Guerrero turns out to be the most articulated and most impressive female wrestling figure I’ve ever owned.
Vickie has a crazy amount of articulation for a 6" figure that retails for around just $10. Vickie has: neck, upper torso, swivel waist, ball-jointed shoulders, cut biceps, hinge elbows, swivel wrists, ball-jointed hips, thighs, knees, swivel shins, and hinge ankles. That’s not bad at all for a manager!
Mattel made excellent design choices with the hands: Vickie has one grasping hand which can double as a punching hand, and one open-faced hand to use to slap Vickie’s adversaries. Paired with the copious amounts of articulation built into the figure, and you can do everything with this figure you might actually see Vickie do on television.
Vickie has a great sculpt, which features a painted-on low-cut top, black leather pants, and black high-heeled boots. It’s totally authentic to what you’d actually except to see Vickie wear on TV, and an excellent apparel choice all-around.
Vickie includes two accessories, both of which are parts of her attire. The first is her trademark “Cougar” necklace, which is an all-new sculpt (obviously) and adds an enhancing touch to the figure. The other accessory is Vickie’s leopard-print blouse, which is low-cut in the back and very characteristic of Vickie. Vickie has lost some weight over the years, but the blouse adds a bit of bulk, so you can simulate when Vickie was heavier by having her wear it.
As far as quality-control, Vickie Guerrero is outstanding. There’s no paint glop or uneven lines, no loose joints, and no issues of any kind to note.
The Wrong:
This is a splendid figure all-around, with only one real negative for me to pick at: I’m let down by Vickie’s head sculpt. The face that Mattel sculpted here does a spectacular job of portraying a pouty, ill-tempered total witch–which Vickie is. But even so, it doesn’t quite look like the pouty, ill-tempered total witch that is Vickie Guerrero. I think that the face is sculpted slightly too fat and the hair isn’t quite right, resulting in a Vickie figure that’s not as attractive as the woman it’s based on. In fact, this figure bears an unfortunate resemblance to Roseanne Barr more than it does Vickie Guerrero. It’s by no means a horrible sculpt, and I’ve seen infinitely worse wrestling figure head sculpts (I’m talking about you, Jakks Pacific), but it’s not quite up to the superb quality of the rest of this action figure.
Overall: Just as unlikely as the smash success Vickie Guerrero has been in the WWE is the exceptional quality of her first Mattel action figure. Vickie’s articulation is on-par with that of the Elite series of figures, but at a much lower price. The paint and joints on Vickie are both flawless, and her accessories give her a couple of different display options and costume choices. Vickie’s facial sculpt leaves something to be desired, but barring that she’s one of the best female wrestling figures I’ve ever seen, if not the single best one. If you like Vickie Guerrero, this figure is for you and is highly recommended.
GRADE: A-
Thanks!
when her figure allegedly got pulled. If i was any good at customizing, this would be a perfect, super easy base.
