Toy News and Reviews
Spawn
Series 25: Classic Covers II
Spawn
Hellspawn
Sam & Twitch
Raven Spawn
Redeemer
by The Toyman
Welcome back, toyboys and
toygirls! The Toyman has returned with your weekly dose of toy reviews and news.
This week's review
is Spawn Series 25: Classic Covers 2 — the most recent release from Todd
McFarlane Productions. This six-figure series has just been released, and like
the previous 24 series is flying off the shelves. Only five of the figures are
being reviewed today. The sixth, The Creech, is the boxed set for the line and
is running about a week or two behind the regular series.
The series consists
of Spawn
(from the cover of Spawn # 95),
Hellspawn (from Hellspawn # 5),
Sam & Twitch
(Sam and Twitch # 26), Raven Spawn
(Hellspawn # 11), and the Redeemer
(Spawn # 117).
Initial Thoughts
As always, if you are a fan of McFarlane toys, you will not be
let down. This series's Spawn is a great representation of an iconic character.
The Redeemer is an impressive redesign of a popular Spawn character. This new Hellspawn is an improvement over the last one, and Raven Spawn is a great
representation of the character.
And finally we have a new Sam and Twitch. They are fantastic! We now have a Twitch that is dwarfed by the massive size of his partner. Ashley Wood's art translates perfectly to plastic in the Sam and Twitch, Hellspawn, and Raven Spawn figures. I am not a fan of Wood's artwork at all, but when his designs are translated into plastic, they make for impressive toys.
Packaging
McFarlane continues in their use of plastic clamshell
packaging with this series. It all looks great and shows off the figures nicely.
Being the only colorful characters in the line makes Spawn and Redeemer stand
out on the pegs long enough to drag you in to purchase the rest.
I do wish someone would create an easy-to-open clamshell
(similar to what DC Direct did for a short time), but for now the MOC collectors
can be happy with sturdy packaging while the openers get to hack away with X-Actos
and scissors.
Sculpt
These figures are perfect. McFarlane stays on top after a
slight drop off the last few series. It seems Todd is still finding high-quality
sculptors to replace all the ones that ran off and started their own companies.
The Spawn figure is a perfect representation of the artwork
from the series. His cape is sculpted to capture the dynamic motion of his
pose, a pose that commands attention. The figure under the cape is not a
dramatic improvement over the last few Spawns and actually looks very similar to
the Series 20 Spawn. For that, he gets 4 stars out of 5.
At first glance, this Hellspawn looks like the last one with a
new cape and gun. Nothing could be further from the truth. A vast
improvement over that last Hellspawn, this one is more menacing and looks even
more like Ashley Wood's artwork just stepped off the page. The level of
detail on his gun, his face, and his hands is amazing. 5 stars out of 5!
Raven Spawn's pose may be the dullest of the bunch. Yes, the
level of detail is still there, but the character just doesn't look as dramatic
standing next to the rest of the wave. And he is so much smaller than the rest
that it almost seems like there should be more to him. So Raven just stands
there, trying to look menacing while receiving his 3½ stars out of 5.
Sam and Twitch are also great sculpts. (It's hard to say
anything different about this batch of toys.) Sam is perched on a small
stool, chain-smoking while his partner stands in front, fingers "twitching" at
his twin revolvers. Twitch is perfect. From the fly-away hair to the
characteristic
lean to his pointed feet, Twitch looks like Twitch. Both Sam and Twitch
get 5 stars each.
The Redeemer is the stand-out figure of the line. His pose is
beyond impressive — arms outstretched, wings spread, ready to attack.
Every feather is there, sculpted realistically enough that you almost think he
could fly. His armor is well-engraved, and his muscle tone is well-captured. If I could give him more, I would, but Redeemer gets 5 stars out
of 5.
Articulation
McFarlane's never been known for a high level of articulation in their figures.
Their toys are rarely more than minimally articulated statues, and this line is
no exception.
Spawn has the most points of articulation, with 11. Hellspawn and Raven Spawn each have 8. Redeemer has 7. Twitch has 7. And Sam has an amazing 3!
All the expected articulation is there. Cut joints on the legs and ankles
mostly. Minimal arm articulation and a few necks. Sam is the worst.
He just sits there on his stool.
You can adjust his feet and his right
arm.
The entire series gets 3 stars out of 5 in this category. One day, McFarlane may start to surprise us in the articulation department, but today's not the day. I've had high hopes since the 10th Anniversary Spawn, but I've been mostly let down ever since.
Paint
Paint apps throughout are well done. The washes on Raven Spawn, Hellspawn, Sam, and Twitch look great. All the colors are consistent.
The main problem seems to be around Sam's eyes.
He looks like he has two black eyes. They are too dark and could have used
a little more definition. For a group of mostly brown toys, there is a lot
of variation in color between them.
The Spawn is well-painted. There is a little slop around the spikes on his gauntlet and boot, but that is countered by the fact that they are finally painted silver instead of grey. The red also seems very bright compared to some other Spawns, but that is also a reflection of the line as a whole. This Spawn is a bright splash of red in a dull palate.
The Redeemer is the stand-out of the line in
regards to paint. His bright blue-and-gold armor is well-painted, has
clean lines, and is topped with a well-executed black wash. His bright
white wings are highlighted with a green wash. The green wash is a little
heavy on some figures, so be sure to find one you like the looks of.
The entire line receives 4½ stars for paint. They are almost perfect, but some minor imperfections and inconsistencies from figure to figure keep them from being perfect.
Accessories
Each figure comes with a reproduction of the
cover artwork it is based on. There is also a base for each cardboard
"cover."
Raven Spawn comes with McFarlane's latest rotating base and a cardboard backdrop. He also has a sickle on a chain connected to his waist.
Spawn has the same base. If you have picked up any recent Spawn toys, the base has not changed. Pull the lever on the side, and the figure rotates — nothing too exciting.
Hellspawn has a small disc for a base and comes
with a massive hand cannon. Twitch has both revolvers. And Sam has
his stool. Not really an accessory, since he can't sit without it, but
I'll count it anyway. Redeemer also has a base and a sword.
As far as accessories go, we should have more.
The set gets a 3 out of 5 for
accessories.
Character-specific bases would have been nice. If Sam's gun had been a separate piece, that also would have helped.
Price
At $11.95 each, there's no surprise with these figures. We have all become accustomed to the typical McFarlane price point.
Sam
and Twitch and Redeemer are well worth it. Both are crammed in their
bubbles with little room to spare. Hellspawn and Spawn are almost
worth it. And at $11.95, Raven Spawn is a little overpriced. Just
because he's smaller doesn't mean cramming the card full of rehashed accessories
makes him worth it.
Overall
Another stand-out line from McFarlane Toys. If you liked past series, you will like these. If you are looking for something new, try Mezco or Neca.
There are a few variants in this line.
There is a variant (mass market) head for Raven Spawn, and he comes with a
different weapon. There is also a variant Sam (also mass market) with his
cigarettes carved down to look like
toothpicks.
Spawn Series 25 as a whole receives 4 out of 5 stars from the Toyman. A great buy that will please even the pickiest Spawn fan.
And Now for This Week's News ...
It has been a slow news week, but two highlights are:
-
McFarlane Monsters Series 3: Faces of Madness is finally revealed (sort of) at Spawn.com.
-
Diamond Select has taken over the Buffy license from Clayburn Moore. Moore will still be involved in the sculpting.
That's it for this week, toy fans. Tune in next week for a review of Kingdom Come Series 1-3.
Feel free to ask questions, suggest a
review, or share toy news with the Toyman!