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Write a Review link for that item. Simpsons (Jakks Pacific) (Jakks Pacific)Since last month, Jakks Pacific's new Simpsons line has been trickling into various of their usual retailers, namely Target and Walmart. They haven't been super abundant for me, and I suspect the aisles have been picked over by the time I get there, but I've been able to find almost everything out so far. The first wave of their 5" figures is part of the initial offerings, and with it comes some good variety. Once again, Homer is the key character in the debut wave, but I consider the sculpt in this scale to be a bit weaker than the smaller version. My reason being that the top of his head is a bit bulbous and misshapen. It looks fine from the sides, profile view, and the back, but from the front, he looks quite off. Comparing him to the smaller version, the head on that is about as misshapen, but not as noticeable, while the larger Homer's lower jaw is too short. Still, the likeness is fairly decent, and the head is composed from various pieces of colored plastic, with only the pupils and hairline being painted. I recommend paying attention to the eyes, as off-center pupils are a bit of an issue with these. The proportions on the body are dead-on to the show, and I noticed a slight difference in finish from the smaller Homer. The skin tone is slightly darker, and the arms are cast in bare colored plastic rather than paint. Since the arms and legs aren't solid pieces here, it allowed Jakks to pass on full paint in favor of colored plastic, which helps save on costs, but it results in him having a glossy appearance, moreso than his smaller counterpart. The overall look reminds me a bit of the Playmates figures, and he's even in the same scale - about 5" tall - allowing him and the rest of the line to fit in with World of Springfield. I haven't seen anyone try that with Simpsons since NECA, but the finish here matches the older line much more closely. I don't think it was intentional, but cross-compatibility is good. Jakks had to include another family member in the first wave, and of course it has to be Bart. His sculpt feels much more like a scaled-up version of the smaller figure, and he looks great, with his smile being able to be made out more easily than his palm-sized cousin. The paint on the shoes is clean, but the aforementioned pupil issue seems to be most prominent on him. Thankfully, finding one with good eyes is easy, especially when there's more than one of him on the shelf. The scale, however, is off. Even when he's smaller at 3 3/4" tall, he's notably oversized when compared to the other adults, and if he was right at the 3" mark, he'd be in a more proper scale. Going outside of the family is Groundskeeper Willie, and it sure feels nice to get a new Willie after the Super7 version got cancelled. Compared to the blank smile the others have, Willie is outfitted with an angry open-mouth expression, yelling like usual. The likeness is great, down of having only two teeth on each side like in the show. At 4 1/4" tall, he's a little smaller than his Playmates counterpart, partially due to his legs being sculpted with a bit of a bend, and not quite as bulky. While it's more show-accurate, I'll admit I like the chunkiness of his older counterpart more. On the positive side, the colors are much more accurate than the prior Willie, with his skin being slightly paler than the others. Rounding out the wave is another Springfield Elementary employee in Otto Mann. Standing about the same height as Willie, Otto is another figure not as chunky as their Playmates counterpart, but he's also the best sculpt in the wave to me. His head screams "Season 1 Simpsons," with his narrow eyes and overbite, and the hair has more detail in it than the Playmates Otto did. Speaking of which, remember how that Otto had a walkman that plugged into the waist? This one also has one, but it's sculpted as part of the figure. The colors and paint on the walkman are great, as is the rest of the figure, and he's alongside Willie as the best-looking figure in the wave. Super7 proved articulation on Simpsons figures could be more than just 4-6 points, and Jakks follows suit with similar movement. Most of the posability is in the arms, with swivel/hinge shoulders and wrists, Revoltech-esque hinged elbows with forearm swivels, and swivel biceps. The bicep joints are hidden by the sleeves on most, but Willie's more visible ones blend into the sculpt well, and make for natural-looking arm poses. The necks only turn, but these figures have ball-jointed waists (except Willie, who only has a swivel) with a decent amount of tilt. The legs have ball-jointed hips and ankles, hinged knees, and swivel thighs on the characters with shorts. The legs are an area I think could be improved, with more hip and ankle range, and thigh joints on Homer and Willie. Overall, the joints work well for a variety of poses, more than Playmates ever gave us. Each figure comes with one or two accessories, but they fit the characters and price point well. Bart and Otto are the two with only one extra, having their skateboard and guitar respectively. Bart's skateboard has both rolling wheels and a foot peg, and he's pretty stable on it, and Otto's guitar looks great despite not being as colorful as the Playmates one. Homer has his signature pink frosted donut, with a bite taken out of it, and a box containing a near-baker's dozen of donuts. The box has a lid that opens and closes, and a small gap to the single donut to rest in. It's a very nice piece, and will work great with the Power Plant Lunch Room Playmates made years ago. Willie, in addition to his shovel, comes with a pair of bagpipes, the most intricate accessory here. The colors and design are very nice, and both the arm movement and sculpt allow him to play it. It's taken years, but I feel we finally have a proper successor to Playmates' Simpsons line. Sure, Super7 tried with more intricate 7" figures, but they mucked it up, whereas these fit much better with the old line, and the reasonable price of $13 a figure helps. If you have of the old Playmates sets or at least accessories, it increases the display opportunities for them. With luck, Jakks will be able to keep this line going as long as their Mario and Sonic lines, hopefully with a big variety of characters and variants. A new Mr. Plow or Devil Flanders (sorry S7, yours was crap) would be great. - 8/20/24   by RMaster007 |
| Toilet Taxi |  | Submission Order |  | Sheila the Thief (Invisible) |
| Living Room Diorama | | Simpsons (Jakks Pacific) Series | | Vampire Mr. Burns |
| Toilet Taxi | | Written by RMaster007 | | Sheila the Thief (Invisible) |
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