Blog

In 2003 an elite special ops unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they did not commit.  These men promptly escaped from Maximum Security Stockades to the L.A. Underground.  Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as Soldiers of Fortune.  If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe YOU can hire… THE A-TEAM

Hoo, dang!  Who doesn’t get psyched after reading/hearing that!?  If you answered “Not me”, than you need to be checked for a pulse!

Happy Saturday, Comic Attackers!  Hot on the heels of last night’s premier of The A-Team in movie theaters across America, and being made possible to cover here on ComicAttack.net by IDW Publishing‘s The A-Team: Shotgun Wedding and The A-Team: War Stories , this week’s installment of Gotta Have It! Figure Edition takes a look at Col. John “Hannibal” Smith, Lt. Templeton “Faceman” Peck, Capt. H.M. “Howling Mad” Murdock, and Sgt. Bosco B.A. “Bad Attitude” Baracus…The A-Team!

Product Line: The A-Team
Company: Jazwares
Released: June 2010
Packaging: Blister Card Packaging
Where to Buy: So far, I’ve only seen these at Target stores.
Price: US $5.99 EA.
Points of Articulation: 21 EA.
Height: 3 3/4 inches EA.

Paint Job: These guys are painted very well.  There aren’t any colors where there shouldn’t be.  Face is in a gray suit and white shirt. Nothing really fancy about the paint on it.  Gray plastic is used for the suit.  Gloves are a flat black plastic and his shoes are glossy black.  The only paint on him is the shirt, skin tone and hair.  He’s rockin’ a five o’clock shadow.  It’s all good.

The other three dudes have something a little different going on with their paint jobs.  B.A. and Murdock’s pants are one color and have streaks and splotches of a lighter shade to show texture and shadowing.  B.A. even has a tattoo on each arm.  I can’t really tell what they are, but I know one says “Street Soldier”.  Hannibal is rocking some khakis so they are all one color, but his button down shirt has the same effect on it as B.A. and Murdock’s pants.  Hannibal also has a five o’clock shadow going on.  Murdock has a little oops on the back of his head;  He’s wearing an adjustable hat and the hair that is visible through the gap is painted red like that hat.

Sculpt: The sculpts on these guys are highly detailed.  Hannibal and B.A. have shoulder holsters.  One on either side have a gun that is molded into place and the other side looks to be empty.  Pockets and pouches on their pants and jackets are well done and part of the actual figure instead of just painted on.  There is really no muscle tone to speak of.  These are, after all, real people instead of super heroes so nobody has any 32 pack abs and bulging backs!  Also, each figure has a peg hole in their right heel.  Murdock and Face appear to have their heads smashed a little bit, though.  Murdock looks a little bit like Owen Wilson.

Durability: These things aren’t the most sturdy action figures, but they aren’t weak willies either.  The legs, especially at the hip joints, seem not to want to swing out very much, so my common-sense started tingling and I quit trying to get their legs to move like that.  Their knee joints are made of two sides with a seam down the middle.  The knee joints on Face and Murdock look like they could split, but I’m not too worried about it.  It probably won’t happen.

Poseability: In spite of having 21 points of articulation each, the poseability is pretty minimum.  That’s okay, though.  These are regular folks.  They aren’t acrobats, ninjas, or rooftop hoppers.  A simple tough and badass pose is sufficient for these action figures.  It just wouldn’t be natural if you saw Hannibal bust out in a Todd McFarlane-esque Spider-Man pose, now would it?  They ain’t here to flip and prance.  They are here to punch people in the face and blow $h!+ up!  These guys can stand up straight and hold their balance, no problem.  Solid in the standing department.  B.A. Baracus, though, can’t really hold his machine gun rifle.  His hand is sculpted too far open, so you have to be careful how you pose that arm with the gun.  He can hold his handgun just fine, though.

Accessories: Each of them come with two guns.  They all have the same handgun while B.A., Face, and Murdock all have the same machine gun.  Hannibal comes with some other type of short rifle.  Forgive me, I’m not any kind of gun expert so I can’t tell you what they are an exact replica of, if they are at all.

What’s Awesome: The fact that these figures even exist is pretty freakin’ awesome!  I was walking down the toy isle when I spotted these and I stopped dead in my tracks.  My hair was looking like Albert Einstein’s from all the goosebumps, and a Target employee had to come by and pick my chin up off the floor and mop up my drool.  I believe it was the first time that I had ever been so awe-struck over an action figure before.  The likeness on these figures are pretty strong, too.  Other than Murdock looking like Owen Wilson, they did a pretty good job at sticking to the actors from the movie.

What Sucks: These action figures are pretty low quality compared to the Hasbro and Mattel figures that I have reviewed, but it really wouldn’t be fair to dog on them for that.  Jazwares won the rights to the license and they did the work.  Chocolate covered granola bars (Kudos) and props go out to Jazwares for even making these available.  A HUGE part of my childhood can be relived now, thanks to them!  If I can directly come out and say something sucks about this set, it would have to be the Col. Lynch figure.  He’s stupid.  Who the hell wants him?  That’s exactly why you don’t find him in this review.

Overall: 4 out of 5.  This whole set of A-Team action figures from Jazwares is getting four thumbs up.  If it wasn’t for the smashed heads and B.A.’s hands not being gun compatible, they would have been given a perfect score.  The A-Team 3 3/4 inch action figures…gotta have ’em?  HELLYEAH, YOU DO!  There’s a van, too!  You bet your ass, there’s a van and these guys fit in it!  I can’t wait to get my hands on one of those!  These things are so awesome!

Aron White
aron@comicattack.net