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I am sort of torn about the paint job on this figure. It is very well done however, I'm not to thrilled about the color choices. Particularly with the orange pants instead of purple as Quickfire Joker had.
The rest of the outfit is not bad. The purple jacket, pink shirt and green vest look fine. Other than a little bit of running around the tie, the paint job is pretty good. My other issue is the blue wash on the face. As with the Harley Quinn figure from DCUC series 2, I'm not a big fan of this choice of wash color on a white face. I wonder if a shade of gray would have been a better choice. The wash actually does show the detail in his face better. Quickfire Joker did not have a wash on the face at all. Other than that, the face is nicely painted. There are no runs at all. The eyes, eyebrows, mouth and teeth are all super clean. The hair is classic Joker green (matches his vest) with a black wash.
Besides the paint job, the other thing different about this figure is the accessories Mattel has given us. Joker comes with a giant green hammer which has a jester symbol on it. Also he comes with a huge laughing gas gun, which is attached to a back pack that consists of 4 gas tanks. The back pack is removable from Joker's back but is permanently attached to the gun. The third accessory is a gas mask which fits over Joker's face very securely. It is fairly well detailed for a small part right down to the little grills over the mouth portion. All accessories fit nicely into Joker's hands, however, the gun is very heavy for his bony arms.
The big weak spot for this figure is his articulation. Joker's head can only move left to right. He has ball joint shoulders and twist joints in the wrists. Nothing in the elbows or biceps. He has a waist joint and knee joints. The hip joints are not your standard DCSH hip joints. They are very old school and only allow for his legs to be swung forwards and backwards. Also, there are no ankle or thigh joints.
Overall, this wasn't my favorite figure by any means. I'm not a fan of the sculpt or the paint colors or lack of articulation, but the paint is generally well done and Joker does look very good in the limited amount of posing positions you can give him. Plus the amount of accessories Mattel gives us is generous. This Joker also looks very good when paired up with Harley Quinn from DCUC series 2. it is still a good figure for display. For those of you out there that like to customize action figures, I would suggest painting the orange pants or getting a Quickfire Joker and replace it's head with this Jokers head as it is better painted. For me, i hope that they come out with a new and improved Joker in the DC Universe Classics toy line in the near future. Hey, they already gave us a new Batman, Robin & Nightwing, why not a new Joker? But at this point, nothing has been announced.
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The sculpt itself is not an original. It is almost exactly the same as the Batman figure released in the DC Superheroes Series 3 set which, up to this point, was probably the best Batman figure in the 6 inch height range. (The figure stands just under 6.5 inches by the way). The only difference (other than the paint job) is his utility belt which is has been improved. The buckle is slightly different and the pockets on the belt have been slimmed down allowing for better movement in the hip joints. Everything else you loved about the DCSH series 3 Batman is still the same.
The figure's articulation is also the same as Series 3 Batman. Ball joint neck and shoulders, biceps, elbows, forearms, abdominal, waist, hips, thighs, knees and ankles.
Bats comes with 3 different batarangs. The problem is (much like the series 3 version) is that they don't fit very well in his hands. Batman's left fist has a tiny slit in where the batarangs are suppose to be able to slide in however the slit is not deep enough to securely hold them.
Thanks for checking out Action Toy Review. Be sure to come back for more action figure reviews on your favorite DC Universe Classics, DC Superheroes and other action figures.
Today's Review - DC Universe Classics - Series 1 (Penguin & Red Tornado)
DC Universe Classics - Series 1 is a combination of 5 action figures. The Penguin, Red Tornado, The Demon Etrigan, Orion and Batman in his classic detective outfit. Since I'm a Batman fan, The Penguin was tops on my list. I have a couple Batman's from the previous DC Superheroes toy line so, the new "Classic" version was not a priority. Neither were the other 3 figures so, I've decided to just wait out this set and maybe pick the rest up if i can find a good deal. These figures are not that hard to find compared to Series 2 and 3.
Oswald Cobblepot or The Penguin, is the shortest figure from this set measuring approximately 5.75 inches to the tip of his hat. DC Database lists Penguin as 5 foot, 2 inches so this figure seems to be in proper scale compared to the others.
Penguin's face is the highlight of this figure. Everything from his long pointy nose to his gummy frown makes him look like the classic Batman foe. It is a very good sculpt. The body is short and stubby. His vest is sculpted so it looks like it's too tight for his bulging belly. To top it off, he's got a classic penguin jacket with coat tales, top hat and pin-striped purple pants. It looks like Mattel has used all new parts to put this figure together too which is always a bonus.
Sculpt/Design - 9, Paint - 10, Accessories - 7.5, Articulation - 7, Fun - 8
The paint job is a little disappointing. The worst part being the red wash that was used over the yellow painted areas. Its just so inconsistent and in some areas, there is just too much red where it should be yellow. Specifically the arrow on top of his head and the stripe down his abdominal. This really shouldn't have been a difficult figure to paint. The face is all one color with neon yellow eyes.
The accessory that comes with Red Tornado is a snap on..wirlwind/tornado...thingy..... Its a transparent orange and made of a somewhat hard plastic. It only fits on his right hand but it goes on tightly and won't fall off.
The articulation on this figure is pretty standard for this toy series so there is not disappointment in this area. Neck, shoulders, biceps, elbows, forearms, wrists, abdominal, waist, hips, thighs, knees and ankles. The abdominal and neck joints are a little obstructed by the cape. All joints were nice and tight out of the box.
Overall, I wasn't expecting much from this figure so I'm not totally disappointed. As mentioned, the worst part is the sloppy paint job. Other than that, it's not a bad figure and fits in nicely with the other Justice League members.
Sculpt/Design - 8, Paint - 5, Accessories - 6, Articulation - 9.5, Fun - 7
Red Tornado Overall Score - 7.5
DC Universe Classic - Series 1 action figures are still quite easy to find online. eBay is always the easiest place to find older figures. Click the following to find:
Or you can check out my "Action Toy Review Recommends" page on Amazon
Continuing my backwards trend, my next post will probably be a review of one or more of the figures from the now discontinued DC Super Heroes toy line.
DCUC series 4 should arrive within the next 2-3 weeks so keep checking back for that review as well.
Thanks for reading my ACTION TOY REVIEW blog. Be sure to check back for more reviews on a variety of action figures including those from Mattel's DC Universe Classics and DC Superheroes toy lines.
Green Lantern's design is classic Hal Jordan. The face looks good. The majority of the body looks very similar to that of Black Manta's body from the previous series. Its no secret that Mattel re-uses some of the same body pieces for these figures. The figure stands just under 6.5 inches tall. DC Comics lists Hal Jordan as 6 foot 2 inches so this figure is about right compared to others in his size range. The paint job is generally done well. There are a couple of small black spots here and there where there shouldn't be. If you look closely around the edges of his mask, its not exactly a totally clean paint job with the green and flesh tone. There are some small runs. The hair is a dark brown wash with a lighter brown highlights. Again, there are some minor runs of the brown over his ears. The face would probably benefit with a bit more shading. Its not quite as nice as Aquaman's face from the previous set..JPG)
Robin stands at 5.5 inches tall so he's the shortest of the bunch. The body type is similar to that of Green Lantern but in a smaller scale. The hair is nicely done in a messy style. His cape totally wraps around his neck which kind of prevents any up and down movement. 
Nightwing's sculpt is very similar to Green Lanterns with the exception of his forearms and boots. They are the exact same height, 6.25 inches. He also has 2 slots on his back which hold the 2 nightsticks that come with the figure. The main difference is obviously the face and hair. 
Deathstroke stands at 6.25 inches to the tip of his head. DC Comics lists Deathstroke as 6 foot 6 inches so the height of the figure is not consistant. For a mass market toy line, you're probably not going to get the height differences in for each individual figure unfortunately. Especially when they are using a lot of similar parts. That said, his body is more unique compared to the others from this set. Specifically the shiny scales around his abdominal and biceps (similar to the scales on Aquaman from series 2). He has his own utility belt similar to Robin but with smaller pockets. His gloves are wider towards the ends (again similar to Aquaman's) and his boots have big cuffs. The head is masked with the ends sticking out to the side like they're blowing in the wind. They cant be moved around. 
Finally we come to the C&C figure, Solomon Grundy. Grundy is big...really big. He towers over the other standing at 9 inches tall. DC Comics has him listed as 9 foot 2 inches. 
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