Series: McFarlane’s Dragons 1

Craftsmanship: 8.5 / 10

- Great color application and sculpt

- A different pose

- Very limited articulation

- Cool base

- Bendy tail

Playability: 4.0 / 10

- Good for dioramas

- Wings can be torn off

Related Links:

Action Figure: Sorcerers Clan Dragon

Action Figure: Water Clan Dragon

Action Figure: Eternal Clan Dragon

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With a name like “Fire Clan Dragon” who would be expecting a dragon that is apparently covered in feathers?  Mightn’t that be a fire hazard?  Or is it one of those ironic names, like a bull mastiff named, Tiny?  Or maybe those feathers are actually fire retardant scales that just look like feathers?  Whatever the case, Fire Clan Dragon is a cool display piece.

It has four points of articulation, but like the rest of the McFarlane’s Dragon line, the articulation is mostly useless.  For example, there are seam joints at the base and top of its neck but neither have much to offer when it comes to manipulating it into a different pose.  If the neck had been made bendy like the tail there would have been a lot more to do with Fire Clan Dragon.  As it is, you install him on the detailed base and let him stand there.

The sculpt is very good – he really does look a little feathery, with just enough leathery to make him fit with the stereotype of a what a dragon should look like. Nothing you can do will change his default pose very much – he’s always looking over his shoulder.  This was an unusual choice.  Almost without exception action figures are all sculpted facing forward or even slightly off center.  With this sculpt, he looks great facing left or right and changing it up actually manages to keep the figure “fresh.”  Plus, it makes for a lot of dioramas which are usually titled, “What was that?” and studded with lots of hidden MUSCLE figures waiting to pounce.

Also reinforcing the idea of feathers is the white paint application – maybe you can think of him a big chicken, with a few spiny bits.  To match the sculpt is a very good paint job.  The mud on his feet is handled very well, with the mud blended gradually with the white to create an organic feel.  However, the red strip on the underside of his tail and leading up to his stomach is spotty at best.  Overall, it’s still scores points.

The included cardback is part four of five chronicling the decline of the Dragon civilization, but because of the way it’s written you shouldn’t feel any compunction to buy the other figures just for the story.  If McFarlane brought a respected and professional fantasy writer on-board it might have been a different story.

Playability is low for the simple reasons listed above, but if you want a display piece in an unusual pose Fire Clan Dragon is the one to check out. (No, matter if I can’t look at him without wondering if I should have chicken for dinner.)

- Omni

(April 20, 2005)

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