Note
to action figure industry: whenever possible give your figures ankle
articulation.Ankle
articulation allows for way more poses especially when combined with
decent leg articulation.Moore
Action Collectibles (MAC) has apparently embraced this concept with the
Angel line and the title character is a typical example.
Angel
(or Angie to his close friends) stands just under 6½” tall and has 17
points of articulation. (Technically there are 18, but the waist
articulation is extremely limited.)I scrutinize action figures based on real people a little closer
than those based on video games or comic books, which is why I take
points off for the likeness.There’s
a distinct resemblance but he’s no twin.However, the rest of Angel is sculpted very well and the location
of each articulation point has been well chosen.He’s got the typical Astro-boy seam-joints that MAC is known
for and they all work very well toward allowing more action
poses.The base is great and unique to Angel – the manhole cover can
be lifted out and the crumbling brick walls are great touches.There are two pegs on the base but you don’t need to use
both to keep Angel standing, who is surprisingly stable even without the
base.Paint has been
applied with an expert hand
For
display purposes, Angel fits in with the figures from both Buffy the
Vampire Slayer and Angel.He’s
got a great variety of accessories so you can achieve that perfect
action pose.Obviously, if
you’re not careful those same accessories will go missing – and more
so if you play with your action figures.
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Playability
is most hampered by Angel’s plainness.If he had wings or big spiral horns coming out of his head or
wore some kind of flashy costume, it might be a different story.Kids like stuff that’s otherworldly and Angel’s about as
plain as you can get.However,
if you need a straight man – maybe a hapless citizen in need of saving
– Angel’s your guy.Angel’s
solidly constructed and the cross-compatibility with the other Buffy and
Angel accessories actually makes him fairly playable but he’s just
lacks that excitement factor or even a brooding scowl.
Angel’s
a solid figure for Buffy and Angel fans (and collectors) – he’s got
everything you’ve come to expect from MAC’s Buffy and Angel lines
– but even though he has play potential he’s not likely to be played
with.