His words, not mine.
So if you've been watching Amazon Prime in the last few years, you've probably heard of a little show called The Boys. Based off a comic series of the same name, the show has become quite the hit due to just how insane the world they live in is. Naturally, with the success of the show comes the character goods. While not my first pick, the only Japanese toy maker to have taken on this license was Mafex - I was kind of hoping for Bandai to step in. Still, I figure it would probably still turn out better than what was being made by NECA. Turns out I'm still right, despite the figure taking over a year to show up, as there is still no NECA Butcher.
Retailing for an eyewatering 8,860 yen, the contents of the set aren't too shabby, but in general Mafex always asks for above average pricing. You get the following:
- 1 x Main Figure w/Fabric Overcoat
- 2 x Head Sculpts (Neutral, Smiling).
- 10 x Posing/Gripping Hands
- 1 x Crowbar
- 1 x Electric Prod
- 1 x Rifle
- 1 x Wrist Watch
- 1 x Laser Baby
- 1 x Mafex Stand/Base set
Something new (at least to me) that Medicom is doing as of late is using of third part software, in this case "HiddenTag" to verify the authenticity of product via the Quality seal. I've seen it used at least on some health supplements. Unlike the health supplements, however, I couldn't seem to get the decal to scan properly, as the label on these is relatively small and the app didn't allow me to use the zooming function of my phone to actually get the thing in focus.
So here we are, the basic figure unboxed. First impression - not bad. I actually forgot/didn't notice that the overcoat was actually a soft good. Due to the small size of the figure (roughly 1/12) and of course the proportions of the underlying plastic body, the coat does look oversized (Barbie dolls feature undersized bodies so the clothes look normal when on the figure itself). Having said that, it doesn't look any worse than your typical Mezco. The actual coat itself is decent, effectively a single layer affair (no liner) though I suspect that would have made the coat even bulkier. Non functional buttons and pockets are present, and are visually nice along with the patches on the shoulders and elbows. Competent stitch work, good material choices, and posing wire in the collar and front of the coat round out the package, though I'm kind of confused why they didn't put any wire in the coattails.
The only other question that is probably in your mind is how accurate is the Karl Urban sculpt? It's not too bad - I can't say I've studied his mug as much as say, oh I don't know... Scarlet Johansson? You're not going to get the full subtle detailing of hair at this level, so that's fine. To me, it's like they pasted Karl Urban's facial features on the actual face of Andy Serkis, as the shape seems a bit on the full side. The actual features themselves appear to be slightly "cartoony"., like Mafex put on some weird Snapchat filter, but ultimately very recognizable as Urban. Of the two heads, the smiling one came out a bit more accurate - the neutral head gives me hints of Benico Del Toro.
The actual digital paint work itself is pretty solid, and actually seems to have a higher DPI as compared to the Figuarts stuff I've gotten. Now, mind you the last one I got was Dr. Strange from Infinity War/Endgame, so maybe that was older tech.
So how's the rest of the figure? Well, the good news is that due to the proper sizing of the overcoat, you don't really lose much articulation whether or not Butcher is wearing it.
The underlying body isn't bad, though it's clearly no Figuarts in terms of posing, specifically the hip area. I suspect most of that has to do with Butcher not exactly needing super flexible posing powers, as the promo pictures for Black Noir show some decent posing. Butcher features toes, ankle ball joint, single jointed knees, hip ball joint with swivel, waist ball joint, mid torso ball joint, double ended ball joint shoulders, bicep swivel, double jointed elbows, wrist, ball jointed base of neck as well as base of head.
There isn't much paint work on the body per se, and it appears that it's pretty much the flesh coloured parts (along with his gold chain) and whatever paint applications are on the weaponry/accessories. The rest of it appears to be base plastic treated with a top coat. Detailing for the fabric folds, buttons and so are pretty good, though the watch looks a tad rough. Finishes on the various parts aren't bad, though are crude compared to Figuarts and Figma, particularly the hands.
So, it wouldn't be a Mafex figure if there wasn't SOMETHING wrong. From crap joints to poor material choices, stories can be found all over the Internet about issues people have had with the Mafex line up. In the case of Butcher, I'm not sure if I was lucky or if this is normal, but I found that the gripping hand which held the electric prod perfectly just wouldn't hold the crowbar - and it's not like I have that many gripping hands to choose from. Perhaps even more annoying is that the hand that was designed to support Laser Baby, literally the one thing it was meant to do, has such poor QC that it can't even do that.
Overall, Butcher isn't bad, he's just kind of overpriced, as are most Mafex products, though admittedly there are some aspects of their figures that are better than the competition. For the most part, though, you're generally better overall if other companies provide options for that IP you just love so much. In the event they're the only game in town, however, you basically have to bend over and take it. I'm just lucky I'm not a completist. For Full Gallery, please visit:
Comments