Introduction
Time flies when you're having fun... or when you are being chased relentlessly at high speed by punk bikers in the post-apocalyptic wastelands of Australia (or anywhere else)... It seems hard to believe that it has been 40 years since Mad Max 2 (given the additional US title The Road Warrior) was released in 1981. At least three companies, Premier Toys, Present Toys, and Dark Toys, decided to mark this anniversary by releasing sets inspired by its protagonist, played by Mel Gibson. While I am currently more amused and attached to the newest Mad Max film with Tom Hardy, for me this is still the classic Max. After some consideration, I ended up going for the set that seemed to bear the better likeness to me, and this is the one currently under review. It is not perfect, but I consider it good overall.
Packaging
The set comes in a cardboard shipper box, containing the shoe box-type softer cardboard container decorated with graphical art (a posterized image of the figure itself?). Inside the box are two black plastic treys, each with their own clear plastic lid, held together by a cardboard cigar band. The upper trey contains the figure and its weapons, the lower trey contains the extra hands, dog, and action figure stand. I prefer soft foam but everything is safe and collector friendly.
Sculpting
On the whole, the sculpting in this set is very good, and the head sculpt looks just like the one shown in the promotional images. One thing that might throw off the likeness to Mel Gibson's appearance in the film is the wavy, almost curly treatment of the hair. It was more matted in the film, but that is perhaps difficult to convey with sculpted (or any) hair in sixth scale. The hair strands are fine but not as fine they could have been, although perhaps this is to some degree on purpose, given the character's uncouth appearance. Elsewhere there is plenty of subtle sculpted detail, including a scar under the right (camera left) eye and stubble; the lower right (camera left) arm has sculpted veins. The sculpted detail on the molded gloved hands and boots is excellent, and likewise on the various molded plastic accessories, although occasionally they missed a detail, like the rivets on the knee armor. I am less impressed with the dog, where something seems a little off with the shape of the head (the size and angle of the ears perhaps?). Mel's head looks just a little bit small, something perhaps accentuated by the body being a little tall for him (adjusting for scale).
Paint
The paint job is very good overall, although a little less expressive than what was seen on the promotional images of the head. With the right lighting and close up, mine seems to have pupils looking in slightly different directions, although this is not usually noticeable. There is some distinctive color to the stubble, but it is kept fairly light -- the effect is appropriate, although less impressive than the promotional images. The edges between what is supposed to be leather and flesh on the gloves is, as usual in cases like these, a weak spot; given the intended worn appearance of the gloves, however, this is probably fine. The paint application of several of the accessories is intended to convey weathering. This is least present on the knife, but very good on the binoculars (with glossy lenses), shotgun, wrench, hydrant spanner, axe, and leg brace. The molded plastic parts of the outfit are given a variable matte finish that helps convey realism and wear and tear. The metal buckles and other elements on the boots' molded straps are painted very finely and accurately. As in the previous category, I am least impressed with the dog. The overall colors are ok, if a little subdued, but the specific spot pattern of the animal in the film is not reproduced even remotely accurately.
Articulation
I do not know what body Premier Toys used or customized for this set, but on the whole it appears to have good articulation. This is compromised not so much by the outfit as by specific choices. For example, they went with single-piece plastic boots, which eliminate any ankle articulation. While the boots look great, this was an unfortunate decision; moreover, given the placement of the straps on the boots, the alternative of two-piece plastic boots ought to have been possible. While the left (camera right) arm, completely covered by the jacket's long sleeve, has a double jointed elbow and excellent articulation, they chose a single-jointed elbow for the right (camera left) arm, presumably for aesthetic reasons. In terms of articulation, the decision was very poor, and the figure cannot achieve various poses from the film or even from the promotional images. That is correct, the arm (or lower) arm is different from the one in the promotional images -- it has sculpted veins, but even less bend at the elbow than what was advertised. This and the lack of ankle functionality are my main disappointments with this set.
Accessories
Although they overlooked one useful accessory to complete the look (see Source Accuracy below), on the whole the set comes with ample and appropriate accessories. These include, apart from what comes attached on the figure right out of the box (such as the gun holster and belt, shoulder strap belt with wrench hanging from it, boot knife sheath, leg brace, pair of gloved semi-relaxed hands), the following: axe (hatchet), knife, hydrant spanner, sawed-off double-barreled shotgun (which folds open for loading), two shotgun shells (which can be loaded into the shotgun), binoculars, three spare hands (ungloved), the Australian cattle dog (blue heeler), and an action figure stand. The weathering on the binoculars, hydrant spanner, axe, and shotgun is particularly nice. The axe and hydrant spanner fit inside (handles poking out) the two pouches attached to the back of the belt, which close with tiny magnets. In pretty much all the movie stills I perused before writing this review, Mad Max wore the gloves; why there are no additional gloved hands is, therefore, beyond me. Moreover, the promotional materials promised two right and one left ungloved hands (the left one being the knife grip); but included in the box are three right hands (including the knife grip). The choice and number of hands could have been better.
Outfit
The outfit is made up of a black t-shirt, the black leather (or pleather) jacket with the right (camera left) sleeve cut above the elbow and molded plastic shoulder armor over the right (camera left) elbow, black leather (or pleather) pants with molded plastic knee armor on the left (camera right) knee, and molded black plastic boots. The molded plastic parts are given a slightly variable matte finish and weathering, which create an appropriate impression of realistic wear and tear. The leather/pleather parts are cleaner and perhaps not weathered at all, but I don't mind -- I would rather distress or soil them to my taste anyway; they are not excessively shiny, and have a pattern, which makes them look realistic. The jacket's zipper is functional, while the pants close with velcro. Except for the single-piece molded plastic boots that get in the way of any ankle articulation, the outfit does not restrict the articulation very much.
Source Accuracy
I confess I did not re-watch the film before doing the review, but did go through a great number of stills. On the whole, Premier Toys seems to have done its homework and produced a fairly accurate rendition of the character's look. In some respects, the attention to detail is excellent, like the specific tears on the gloves. Similarly, the t-shirt is appropriately without hems, and its frayed edge shows up below the jacket, correctly (at least for some frames). The knee armor and the holster could use a few rivets, which appear to have been overlooked. The jacket is very close to correct, but I noticed that the pocket on the figure's right side (camera left) ought to be placed lower, like it is on the left side (camera right) -- why they didn't make them symmetrical is beyond me; similarly, the shoulder armor and its support ought to extend a little lower over the front. Something is off in the configuration or relative placement of parts of the leg brace, perhaps because the body is a little too tall (the legs too long) -- the broad horizontal metal part ought to be above the top of the boot and closer to the knee armor; the whole thing should fit tighter along sides of the leg; there should be one more point of articulation for the brace at the top of the boot, although it is perhaps functionally obviated by the lack of ankle articulation. One accessory was overlooked -- a silverish folding knife that should hang from the belt below the wrench and above the leg brace. In these respects, the version of the figure announced as "Mad Warrior" by Present Toys promises to be more accurate (it will also include a set of keys); that one does not, however, include the shotgun shells, axe (hatchet), hydrant spanner, or the dog, which are all part of the Premier Toys set currently under review. The coloring of the dog, however, is not entirely accurate to the animal in the film.
Fun Factor
With some extra limitations to the articulation and no other figures from the film to play with, this is not the most interactive of figures. But one still gets plenty of potential for creative posing and one's imagination alone is the limit as to what other figures or characters one throws into Mad Max's path; if nothing else, he has a dog to play with. I foresee some customizing to mine.
Value
I paid $186 (USD) for this figure (including shipping). These days, this is a reasonably good price for a higher-end set. Despite certain limitations and imperfections, the set is quite good and, unlike so many others of its type, not at all light on accessories. This makes it of fairly good value in my book.
Things to watch out for
Not very much, but I would be reasonably careful handling the leg brace and some of the leather/pleather straps. The smallest and most easily misplaced items by far are the shotgun shells. They can also get stuck inside the shotgun (which is, arguably, where they belong), and are difficult to get back out (I used a tiny ball of sticky putty for a shell to get stuck to and then get pulled out). It can be a little difficult to balance the figure on its feet, thanks to the elimination of ankle articulation and to the leg brace (although the bottom of it can be folded back so as not to interfere), so the action figure stand might come in handy.
Overall
While I am disappointed by the choices regarding ankle, (right, camera left) elbow articulation, and choice of hands, and I wish some details had been reproduced more accurately, on the whole I am pretty happy with this set. While I loved the new Mad Max film, this is still the classic Mad Max for me. I prefer the likeness to the available alternatives, even if I realize that the almost curly treatment of the hair is a bit much and the proportions slightly off. Between the overall appearance and the relative wealth of appropriate accessories, coupled with the relatively reasonable price, this seems like a good acquisition. That said, I will be doing a bit of customizing, and perhaps adding a couple of pieces from the Present Toys set if I find it parted out.
Where to buy?
I got mine from GianToy, but it is already sold out (for the time being). You can check out our online retailers list for suggestions of where to look (or take your chances on eBay), or try these from a couple of my other go-to places:
Cotswold Collectibles
Monkey Depot
I hope this was useful. As always, what do you think?
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