activity. Victor is so skinny, he could be snapped
like a twig and the figure captures this aspect very well. Even being so skinny,
McFarlane managed to implement all the small details on the figure. His clothing
for example, looks great. After just finishing a review of one of McFarlane’s
hockey figs, I admit that I started to lose some confidence and felt that
McFarlane was starting to lose his touch, but thankfully, Victor’s face sculpt
proves otherwise and like mentioned above, his face looks perfect.
Corpse Bride; Skeleton Girl and Boy
The Bride was the main attraction in the movie and she will most likely be the
figure that quickly leaves the shelves. Since she played such a big role in the
movie, it’s important that the figure should really be exemplary. Well, I am
happy to report that she looks just as good as Victor. This means that she has a
perfect sculpt from the face, to the dress and, yes, even her visible creepy
bones look perfect.
Over where I live, Victoria is a peg warmer. Although she played a vital role in
the movie, her design is just unappealing, especially compared to the creepy
Bride. Actually, Victoria is also Victor’s bride to be. Getting back on track
with the figure, there is nothing wrong with Victoria’s sculpt. On a technical
level she looks as magnificent as the other characters and her dress was really
well done.
General Wellington is a great figure because of his whacky design. His uniform
looks terrific and the cannonball hole in his gut is the icing on the cake.
Mcfarlane even blended in the little pieces of bone that managed to remain after
Wellington’s unfortunate death (ouch). Wellington’s head has no flesh on it, it
is just a plain skull, but he still somehow managed to retain his curled
mustache. I really like the mustache and to further the visual appeal of the
figure, he has a mug attached to his hand.
I cannot decide which figure I like more, Wellington or his drinking buddy
Bonesapart. The reason is because I love both designs and both sculpts are
outstanding. While Wellington is really tall, Bonesapart is really short and
pudgy. He has tiny feet, a mug attached to his hand, a nice uniform and yes, he
even has a sword impaling him through the gut. Like Wellington, Bonesapart has
visible bones around his wound. There is a lot of a detail to Bonesapart’s
uniform, and I particularly like the curls at the end of his coat.
The two Skeleton kids are the smallest of the bunch and because of that, they
are packaged together. Like all the other characters, they have a weird design
and that’s a good thing. Their face structure is really creepy, but with skin
they would probably have a cute innocent look. Like Wellington, the girl somehow
managed to keep some hair on her head, but rather than Wellington’s facial hair,
she has it on her head. I prefer the boy’s design over the girl’s, but they both
look great. Their clothing looks really worn out and there are even little tears
in it.
Out of all the figures, I found that none of them (excluding Victoria and the
Bride) could stand on their own. Thankfully, McFarlane included bases to go
along with the figures. Boneapart and Wellington for example; can stand on what
looks to be pieces of wooden planks from the bar’s wooden floor.
General Bonesapart; General Wellington
Now in terms of articulation, you might be surprised because each character
contains useful points of articulation. However I find this to be kind of an
awkward feature, the reason being, the characters are so scrawny which means
that body parts could easily be snapped off. Nevertheless, it is a welcome
change of pace and like I said, the articulation is actually useful. Some
characters have more articulation than others, but this is kind of obvious since
Victoria’s legs, for example, are not visible and there is no point in
articulating her dress. Boneapart’s legs are really stubby and he has tiny feet
so it was a wise choice to leave his legs without any articulation. He does have
some articulation elsewhere though, so he is not completely left in the dark.
The paint applications were very well done (as always) and there is absolutely
no "bleeding" on any of the figures. This shows how much care goes into
McFarlane’s work because I surely expected some bleeding from the stripes on
Victoria’s dress, but they are surprisingly clean from any bleeding whatsoever.
The one other thing I was worried about was the Bride’s skin color. As you all
know, her skin is a pale blue and it looks as if it is cold as death. I’m happy
to report that her looks parallels the movie. I think the trickiest part in
painting Victor would be the dark bags around his eyes. It is made up of
different shades of dark grays and black. This was done with a dead on likeness
to what we saw in the movie. The skeleton children’s paint applications are
basic, but they remain loyal to the movie. Best use of paint has to go to
General Wellington and Bonesapart. The reason for this is because of their
uniforms. I really love Boneapart’s blue coat, the hue just goes so well with
the darker blue on his hat. This is some of Mcfarlane’s best work.
Accessories (excluding stands) for Victor include: a candlestick, a globe and
some books. He also comes with a butterfly that hangs from a thin wire which
could easily break from improper use. Victoria comes with a vase holding a
flower which is removable and both parts are easy to lose. Bonesapart comes with
his sword which fits nicely into his gut and the Bride sports a bouquet. Oh yes,
how could I forget about the Skeleton kids? They come with a football, a small
boat toy and something which I have no idea what it is (perhaps a toy)?
Even though I was a little disappointed in the movie, these are fabulous figures
and I think each one is worth the dough. If you are a fan of Corpse Bride, then
pick these up.
- J'Tonello
(January 1, 2006)
