Posted in: Collectibles, Games | Tagged: action figures, eleven, hopper, McFarlane Toys, stranger things, toy review, vintage cardback

Stranger Things McFarlane Figures Unfortunately Disappoint

Stranger Things fans have been eagerly anticipating the release of the new figures from McFarlane Toys for months now. First announced last spring and shown off at cons throughout the rest of the year, it would be easy to say they were my most anticipated release of the winter. Eleven and Hopper being the first two releases only aded to my excitement. This should have been a slam dunk. In reality, not so much.

They certainly got the packaging right. Very cool key art from the show, on a vintage-inspired card was the way to go here. And they completely nailed it. Even the back of the card, showing off the series and what other figures will be coming soon are really nice touches. All of the accessories and displayed nicely around the figures on their bubbles as well. For MOC collectors, these are perfect. Including a Stranger Things logo stand for the figures was necessary as well. We will get into that shortly.

Of the two released figures, Hopper is the better of the two by far. As far as sculpting is concerned, they did a good job on the body of the figure. Dad bods ftw! But that face. The face is just such a disappointment from what the prototypes looked like. His face looks scrunched up and the eyes are all wrong. And his hat doen't come off! The articulation is ok, but there is also not many poses to put Hopper in to begin with, so I forgive that. I just can't get over the difference from early sample to production on that face sculpt.

Then I opened Eleven. This one is a complete mess. Remember that stand up there? Good luck getting this one to stand or pose without it. And that is if you can find one on the pegs without a completely destroyed knee joint. Multiple figures on the pegs I got these from had snapped leg joints inside the bubble. They pop out very easily, and it is difficult to get them back in once they do. It is pretty easy to change the hands, but the fingers are so stiff they refuse to hold the waffle. Luckily the walkie talkie hand has a peg to hold it to the palm of her hand.

But the wig. Or my gosh the wig. Not only does it not fit the head of the figure, but once on Eleven looks like Jesse Eisenburg wearing a wig. The head sculpt is ok, but once you get that wig on her head it truly is terrible.

These are just flat out not what I was expecting from a company as great as McFarlane. I will probably not be getting the rest now after being all in before they released. Which is a shame. If keeping them mint on card, you should be ok. Loose collectors however, I would stay away.

If you would like to see these Stranger Things figures for yourself, these are in stores now or available here.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!