Figure Review: DC Blammoids Sinestro

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Blammoids!

Sinestro

3” Scale

by: DC Direct

MSRP $9.99

I’m a bit of a sucker for strange takes on known characters so I’ve naturally been attracted to the fairly recent “Designer Vinyl” trend. I bought into Mighty Muggs BIG time and spent way more on the Adult Swim figures than I shoud’ve as an outlet for my collecting compulsion. There’s just something about cute versions of usually bad-ass characters that I can’t resist.

Because of the initial humongous success of Mighty Muggs a lot of other companies tried very hard to jump on the bandwagon, most with little or no success. It seems like this Blammoids! figure that I’m looking at today springs from the same style of thinking, take the same base body and use paint and unique heads to make each figure it’s own unique snowflake.

I’d seen these in a local comic shop (Big Easy Comics www.bigeasycomics.com whoop whoop) and been intrigued by them but never felt strongly enough to plunk down the $10 asking price. When I found a lone Sinestro hanging out at a closing Borders for $2 I knew I had to scoop him up and get a closer look.



Packaging :

The Blammoids! come in a colorful, dynamic blister card that really catches your eye from across the room. Even in the comic shop where it has a lot of similarly colored competition the Blammoids! card stands out, demanding your attention. The name of the character is printed stylishly on the top left of the card just in case you don’t recognize them in their exaggerated form.

The back of the card shows all of the figures from the current wave and the next two planned waves, this is something that I really wish more companies would do. This is admittedly partially out of nostalgia for the old G.I. Joe and MOTU card backs that would show an army of characters waiting to be bought. I’d spend hours planning my next purchases and trying to convince parents, relatives and neighbors how much I needed them and I want today’s kids to share that joy! Besides, not everyone has constant access to the internet to see what other items are out there to lust over.

Sculpt :

The sculpt of this particular Blammoids! figure is mostly shared with every other Blammoids! figure ever made. His chest, torso, legs and feet are all made up of one piece of hollow plastic while his arms are separate pieces attached at extremely limited ball joints. The head is where most of the sculpted detail resides.

He’s got a cool, elongated head that really evokes Sinestro’s strectched out noggin as well as what appears to be a separate hair part that’s glued onto the top. He also has a couple of plastic parts that represent his mustache beautifully.

I absolutely love the look they’ve given Sinestro, it’s a squench-eyed face that can range from HORRIBLE ANGER to STARK TERROR to I HAVE TO POOP and it makes me smile just to see him plopped into the middle of different scenes. Sinestro really has a very adaptable face which is very important on a figure like this.

The paint is near perfect all over the figure which is good because it’s giving him the bulk of his detail. His Sinestro Corps uniform is a very bright yellow that contrasts well with his sort of magenta colored skin. The smaller lines of the cuffs on his arms, his eyes and the Sinestro Corps logo look very good even on extremely close inspection.

Articulation :

There isn’t much to speak of in the articulation department. Sinestro has 2 ball joints, 1 at each shoulder, as well as a swivel neck. This leaves him without a lot of room for movement to make him fun, especially since the ball joints at the shoulders are severely limited by the sculpt of the arm itself.

This is basically par for the course in the vinyl toy area of collecting, Mighty Muggs only have swivel arms and necks while a lot of other toys have no movement at all, and to be fair I can’t think of any way DC Direct could have added any more joints to the Blammoids! without redesigning them completely.

Sinestro gets a lot of emotion out of his 3 joints, each little movement of the arms and head can bring out different looks from the little figure and I don’t take too many points off for lack of poseability. It’s just important to know what you’re getting into.

Accessories :

Nuthin’

Sinestro did not come with any accessories, I do not think any of the Blammoids! figures come with any gear.

Value :

At the price I paid ($2) Sinestro is a fantastic buy. However, the asking price on these figures ranges from $10 to $13 depending on the shop and that feels like quite a bit too much. While they are nicely painted figures with (IMO) fantastic, stylized, quirky and adorable designs they do not feel worth it.

Compare these to their closest brethren, the Mighty Muggs, and it’s easier to see the problem with paying $10 for the Blammoids. Mighty Muggs are bigger figures in a similar style that often come with accessories. The only step up the Blammoids have is that every single figure has it’s own, unique head sculpt while Mighty Muggs only boast unique helmets and the occasional add-on.

Sinestro feels very well constructed and very sturdy, he’s not at all cheaply made. He stands up fairly well even with his tiny feet and huge upper body, although he does get KNOCKED over easily. I am a little concerned about his tiny little mustache snapping off but so far he has stayed together admirably.

Summary :

I know this review seems very down on the Sinestro Blammoids! figure but I want to be clear that the only issue I have with him is that, at full price, he would have been far too expensive. I really like the design of the figure, and of the other Blammoids! figures that I’ve seen in stores, and would be happy to have a little regiment of them for my desk if only the price was a little lower.

Looking through the pictures of the other waves of Blammoids! I was really impressed with the way the characters have been boiled down to one major feature that defines them. That feature is then magnified and made the focal point of the figure, it makes for a really striking set of characters that are instantly recognizable.

I say check out the Blammoids! figures, be aware of their limited articulation and their high cost, and see if one of them catches your eye. In small numbers the high cost is not a deal breaker, it’s going to stop me from buying very many of them but now that I have had a chance to see one first hand there may be a Cyborg in my future!