Toy News and Reviews
Muppets
Series 7
by The Toyman
It’s that time again, little ones: Time for your once-upon-a-time weekly dose of the Toyman!
This week we will be reviewing the new Muppets figures, the seventh series in the successful line by Palisades Toys. Series 7 consists of Kermit as Captain Abraham Smollet (from Muppet Treasure Island) (with Polly Lobster), Beauregard the janitor, Johnny Fiama the lounge singer, and Frog Scout Robin (Kermit’s nephew). Another fantastic (and unusual) line-up in this amazing line of figures. You can never say that Palisades isn’t giving the fans what they want. We’ve gotten the most major players in the Henson universe, as well as some of the most obscure.
Initial Thoughts
I’ve always had a soft spot for the Muppets. I watched all the original episodes of The Muppet Show as a child, saw the movies, even was a fan of the short lived Muppets Tonight series. Thankfully, I’m not the only one, as can be proved by the success of this line.
Palisades deserves just as much credit as the characters do. They make fantastic toys: Perfectly sculpted, great character choices, consistent releases, and amazing interaction with their fan base. These are great toys, so let’s go ahead and talk about them.
Packaging
Another wave of figures in the ever-so-popular clamshell
packaging. Sturdy, attractive — you know the drill: They look great, but they are
hard to open.
The card designs are great, and Palisades adds all the right touches. The current wave is featured hanging out on the Muppet logo; the back has a picture displaying the entire line as a group.
The blue really stands out
on the pegs. It’s been a while since the packaging changed, but this new blue
packaging is much more appealing than the original red packaging.
All the
accessories are clearly displayed; the figures are prominent; and if you were so
inclined to keep your figures carded, they would look good that way.
Bottom line: The packing looks great, and since Palisades is their own worst critic, they’ll find something wrong with it eventually and make it even better, no matter how perfect it may already be. 5 stars out of 5!
Sculpts
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Palisades gives fans the unique chance to see in-progress sculpts of some of their figures. They often show early sculpts at cons or on their website, and Palisades is quick to point out what they plan to change. It’s an amazing insight into the way a company sculpts its figures, and it shows how dedicated Palisades is to getting these figures just right.
Beauregard is my
favorite character in the line. He is the biggest and heaviest sculpt. As with
all the Muppets, the texture of the original puppets is recreated for his
"skin," and it really
adds a great detail to the figures. Beauregard's hair hangs perfectly; the fur on his
hands and feet is well-sculpted; the wrinkles in his clothes are perfect; even
his hat
fits perfectly on his head. (And the magnet innovation Palisades uses for the
hats works great.)
Johnny Fiama looks like he’s in the middle of belting out his latest hit. He holds his microphone perfectly and even has tassels on his loafers!
Robin is the smallest of the bunch, but no less detailed. His uniform is well-sculpted, his hands hold his accessories well, and he couldn’t look happier to be on his camping trip. The one drawback is that Robin's hat is sculpted on.
Abraham Smollet (Kermit) looks great.
He was my favorite Kermit for two days
(before Adventure Kermit arrived), and his Captain's uniform is amazingly detailed. All the layers of his clothing hang right, his coat is well textured,
and even his hairpiece looks good.
Beauregard gets 5 stars. Johnny gets 5 stars. Kermit gets 5, too. But Robin only gets 4½. Why the lower score for Robin? Everybody can’t be perfect, and his hat being sculpted/glued on really bothers me. Sure, I know it may be too small for a magnet — but so was Rizzo’s hat, and it was a separate piece.
Articulation
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Palisades’ motto is “Play With It,” and with the amount of articulation they squeeze into their well-sculpted figures, how can you do anything but play with them?
Johnny has 14 points of articulation. Kermit has 13. Beauregard has 12. While Robin has a “pitiful” 10.
Robin is limited by
his size, but 10 useful points of articulation in a figure this small is pretty
impressive.
Beauregard’s sculpt hinders his leg articulation, but he's mobile enough to hold his mop and broom appropriately.
Kermit is missing the waist joint the others have but can be posed in a fencing position that looks natural.
And Johnny can move as smoothly as he sings
Johnny gets 5 stars in the articulation department. Kermit and Robin get 4½ each. And Beauregard gets 4. All fantastic scores, but the difficulty in moving Beauregard's legs brings him down a little more than the rest.
Paint
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Palisades knows that the paint job can make or break a figure. There have been some problems in the past with overspray and slop, but they seem to have been resolved. In this line, everyone’s colors are consistent and well-applied.
Beauregard’s plaid shirt is perfect.
Even the ⅛ of an inch that hangs out the
ends of his jacket sleeves is painted!
There are numerous shades of green on Robin, and they all look great.
Kermit’s uniform looks great, although there is a little bit of inconsistency in the gold trim of his jacket and that of his hat.
Johnny is
the standout, as well as being the repaint in the line. This time around, Johnny
comes in 3 versions: The pinstripe suit, a maroon suit, and a silver suit. You
can pick your favorite or buy all three. (I’ve always thought the pinstripe suit
looked best on him, so that’s the one I picked up. The stripes are all perfect,
straight and consistent. It’s an impressive paint job, to say the least.)
Johnny gets the full 5 stars in any of his paint jobs. While I prefer the pinstripes, they all look great. Beauregard’s plaid shirt is a great added detail and keeps his score at 5 stars as well. Kermit’s gold trim inconsistencies keep him at 4½ stars.
And the little bit of slop on Robin’s tie and around his eye brings him down to 4 stars. (Robin's eye paint isn't horrible, but it is something to look out for.)
Accessories
Palisades never slouches in the accessory department.
Beauregard gets a functional mop bucket, a mop, a broom, and his hat. They are all well-sculpted and appropriate.
Johnny has a stool, a microphone, a record album (with sleeve!), and a framed picture of himself. The repaints of Johnny have all the same accessories, just repainted. (Different pictures and different albums.)
Robin has a giant trunk with a sheet of stickers
to apply to it, his Scout book, a backpack, a bag of trail mix, marshmallows on a
stick, and a fire to roast them over. Having a lot of accessories to accompany a small
figure makes him a better value.
Kermit has his hat, scabbard, sword, and the
best accessory of the line — Polly Lobster. Polly is almost a separate figure;
he’s a little smaller than
Robin and has one point of articulation, in his neck.
Well-sculpted, well-painted, and the perfect companion to Captain Smollet.
In the accessory department, the entire Series 7 of the Muppets gets 5 stars. That’s a lot of stuff to accompany four figures that are already impressive on their own!
Price
Priced around the $10 mark, these are impressive figures for the money. You get a great sculpt, amazing accessories, good paint jobs, and fantastic articulation — all at a price that is both fair and competitive.
For Palisades to keep these figures at such a reasonable price but
to keep making each series better than the last is quite a feat. For price,
these figures get 5 stars!
Overall Playability
A great line of toys. They aren’t perfect, but they are so close they may as well be. The small inconsistencies are so small that they may as well be ignored. But, to be fair to everyone, I won’t ignore them. The entire line gets 4½ stars. Well worth picking up, but make sure you get the best paint jobs you can find.
And now for this week's news:
Head to Spawn.com for this week's news:
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The Conan line-up has finally been revealed.
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Pictures of the Reborn Series 2 line-up are finally shown.
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And you'll also find the announcement of several new 12” figures, including a 12” "Wings of Redemption" Spawn.
You can also check out the con exclusive silver Sandtrooper at rebelscum.com.
Questions and Answers
This week we have a few questions to answer.
David writes in to ask:
What is that playset your Minimates are standing in front of?
Dave, that playset is a custom I built after seeing a different version of it at the San Diego Comic Con last year.
It was built using the Imaginext Rescue Station as a base and a lot of glue and paint. I still need to finish it. It needs a few signs and possibly a billboard, if I can find one in the right scale. Basically I reconfigured the set into a look I liked, sanded down the excess pegs, filled in the gaps and holes with epoxy putty, and then painted it. The excess accessories (figures and a truck) made my nephew a happy camper.
T.B. wrote in to ask:
Do you ever write a negative review?
I’m sure I will eventually, T.B. I usually only buy figures I really like, but I do occasionally pick up a bum figure — and when I do, you’ll be the first to know.
What with the high standards most toy companies are putting themselves to these days, it’s getting harder and harder to buy bad toys. But, then again, I did buy the Planet of the Apes toys — and have you seen the Van Helsing toys yet?
And finally, Jack writes in to ask:
Where do you keep all those marvelous toys, and can we see them all?
Well, Jack, thankfully I have an understanding wife who overlooks my toy-buying habits and allows me to keep them locked away in their own little room. One day, when I finally get all the toys off the floor and onto shelves, I will gladly show them off. In the meantime, why don’t you show me and all of my readers your toys?
That’s right, readers! Send in your collection pics! I would love to see them, and I’ll even showcase the best in future columns.
I guess that’s it for this review, fellow toy hoarders. Until next time, Toyman out!
Feel free to ask questions, suggest a
review, or share toy news with the Toyman!