Review: THE WALKING DEAD Season 7 Figures – Newsarama

The Walking Dead has shattered ratings records and has become a pop culture phenomenon and McFarlane Toys has provided fans with the chance to have a piece of the show and comic book series with their premiere toy line. In June, McFarlane will release a new wave of The Walking Dead action figures and Newsarama had a hands-on sneak peek with the new 7-inch Negan and 5-inch 3-pack of Michonne, Rick, and Daryl, all showcasing their Season 7 appearances.

The first thing youre going to notice are the astonishing likenesses of actors Andrew Lincoln, Danai Gurira, Norman Reedus, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. So lets get started and take a look at the heroic 3-pack with Rick, Michonne, and Daryl.

Rick, Michonne, & Daryl 5-Inch Figures

Facial likeness aside, the level of sculpt at this scale is tremendous. Beginning with Rick, from the folds of his jacket, on to the shoulders and the cuffs, it looks incredibly lifelike. Going down to his jeans and boots, the way its all sculpted appears to be as real as it gets with how they crease and bend. His belt has a slightly different texture, which was a nice touch.

Ricks paint job is fairly gory as blood is dripping from his face, hands, and chest, but detailed in an accurate way in how it would be splashed on him. At first glance, his jacket and pants appeared to be the same color, but under further inspection, the jacket is a pinch darker, keeping up with the shows depiction.

The articulation across the board for these 5-inch toys is something a bit different, but really cool. Though its a bit weird that Rick didnt have any waist articulation or the ability to rotate. The jacket is a stiff and doesnt give way so that might have been the issue. At the top of his legs, theres a swivel cross sectioned with a hinge so his legs and can go up and down and then side to side. Usually there would be a ball-joint for something like this mainly to hide where you can move the limbs, but the hinges are front and center and its slightly weird to see them displayed like this. However, it allows for some of the most anatomically accurate presentation out there in just how people really move and stand.

His shoulders have ball-joints with the elbows having both a swivel and hinge combination. The articulation of the wrists were a bit stiff, but manageable in posing like hes about to take out some Walker garbage. He does only have one place of articulation with his neck, so he cant look up, but just side-to-side.

This figure comes with two accessories: his trademark Colt Python revolver and an assault rifle. His hands are already sculpted in a way so he looks like his finger is on the trigger, ready to fire. It was only a slight pain to put his guns into his hands like that, but doable.

Moving on to Michonne, who makes up for Ricks lack of flexibility, but interesting to be missing an important part of articulation of her head. She is dressed in a best, pink cami, jeans, and boots, with blood smeared on both her outer thighs and right side of her chest. Her M necklace is painted on rather than sculpted or an entirely separate accessory all together.

The best thing about Michonne here is her level of articulation. Where Ricks jacket hindered him slightly, Michonne feels incredibly looser and more free to have more fun with. Her wrists have a swivel and hinge combo and doesnt look as stiff. She also has hip movement and her legs have a ball joint at the top, which gives a more seamless look rather than Ricks (and Daryls) leg hinges.

The detail of her clothes is okay, but next to Rick its not as dramatic. The sculpt of her boots and the detail down to the shoelaces is impressive, though.

Of course Michonne would be incomplete without her distinctive katana. The sheath is detailed very well with a faux leather strap. The blade itself is actually quite firm with three-fourth of it painted with blood detail. Her hands are sculpted in a way that the handle of the sword slides in and out with ease.

The one big negative is the lack of head/neck articulation. Its really weird to see that when that seems like a standard fixture. Though with how her hair braids are sculpted and fall on her shoulder, it would seem difficult for her to move her head anyways.

Last piece of the pack is the crossbow-wielding Daryl Dixon that consists of the best of both of the previous figures in the line. The multiple layers of clothing are sculpted in a way that doesnt complicate overall presentation, especially since he actually has a chest swivel across his torso. Like the rest of the crew, he has random blood splatter applications, but Daryls clothing is slightly more tattered with holes on his left elbow and knee.

Daryl has the same places of articulation as the Rick figure, but with his vest being placed higher than Ricks jacket, hes able to bend his legs farther allowing for more posability, especially if you want to crouch him down with his crossbow. His wrists are quite flexible as well since the cuff of his sleeves dont hinder his movement.

Obviously Daryl comes with his crossbow, but its more of an item for show and doesnt fit into his hands. Similar to Michonnes sheath, it has a facsimile leather strap that can go over his shoulder, but still takes a moment to place properly. He also comes with a hunting knife that is easier to place and fits nice and snug in either of his hands.

Rama Rating: 8 out of 10

Jeffrey Dean Morgan has turned heads (as well as broken a few) as the ultimate bad guy, Negan. The incredibly likeness aside (down to the salt and pepper hair) this is one of the best well put together figures McFarlane Toys has debuted.

Theres a lot going for Negan here, and with McFarlane offering two versions. One being the standard and the other being a Walmart exclusive bloody paint splatter. Both come with Negans famous barb wire-wrapped baseball bat, Lucille, and even a stylized base. They are packaged in different stances to differentiate to add to the blood application to make sure you know what youre getting. The basic Negan can be found at GameStop, Walgreens, Toys R Us, Amazon, and comic shops.

Just like the previously mentioned figures, Negan has an extraordinary sculpting job from his scarf to his boots. The barb wire around Lucille has a metallic sheen to it and looks like a legitimate threat. The belt buckles also have a metal look to them, adding that much more detail to his clothes. The bloody variant has blood on his face, jacket, Lucille (obviously) and left thigh, giving the impression he really just let somebody have it.

Negan has an impressive 14 points of articulation, but its definitely less than the like of the Daryl figure. Negan has a more statuesque nature than the figures from the Heroes pack, but would look great on any Walking Dead fans shelf and fits perfectly with previously released figures at this scale.

Rama Rating: 9 out of 10

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Review: THE WALKING DEAD Season 7 Figures - Newsarama