Hey, everybody, DrunkWooky back with another Figure review. Today Odin and I took a look at the SDCC 2019 Exclusive Slim Jim Macho Man Randy Savage.
When this figure was announced, there was plenty of buzz all around the web. Macho Man is a much-beloved member of 90s Wrestling zeitgeist and his Slim Jim persona is probably how most members of the American public remember him regardless of whether they watched wrestling in the 90s.
Listings:
Myself, coming from England, I watched some wrestling in the mid-90s as a part of my self-imposed cultural education. But, i know there are much bigger fans out there than me!
Macho Man quickly sold out at Entertainment Earth, but you can still pick him up, albeit at a premium on Ebay and Amazon. He retailed originally through Entertainment Earth and at SDCC for $29.99. I’d message some sellers and see if you can get him for $45.00 to $50.00. I think that’s a fair price for what you get in the box. Check out our Youtube review below. If you like it, subscribe to the Odins Toy Chest channel for more of the same.
Full write up review below. Use the fancy-dancey headings to navigate around!
Packaging
Today, unlike some other reviews, I’m going to start with the packaging. SDCC exclusives sometimes have incredibly creative one-of-a-kind packaging. Mattel did not shirk that expectation here.
First of all, the package mimics a Slim Jim retail store display. It’s complete with an authentic Slim Jim logo a la mid-90s licensed from ConAgra. To complete the effect the box has a perforated pull tab around the center. Don’t fret. You don’t need to tear that to open the figure. The top flat is a simple one tape strip situation. There are a couple other humorous design elements such as the Nutrition Facts. I’ll let you experience those afresh without me spoiling it for you. The lightning bolt Macho Man design on the top flap and leopard print just inside that.
Once inside the outer box, you have a plastic inner tray containing the man himself. one single tape strip more and your into the figure. There are some elastic bands keeping Randy’s hands and feet in place, but there’s no need to cut these to get him free.
Accessories
Seeing as Mattel has created Randy Savage figures in the past, the success of the execution of this figure was all going to come down to the accessories. He comes with one cowboy hat, a pair of matching sunglasses, a faux leather jacket with Slim Jim catch phrase emblazoned on the reverse and tassels hanging from the sleeves, and, of course, two slim jim display boxes.
Everything is designed quite well and looks good. Practical use and posing is where this figure runs into a little bit of a problem.
The hat, as you can see from the package shots above, is slightly too small to fit over Randy’s mop of hair. In the package it kind of perches above his head. When putting it on the figure out of the package, you have to push it down quite hard, and even then it sits a little high.
The Slim Jim packs look great and there’s even some differentiation between the individual packs. The logos are printed crips and clear. However, they sit a little loose in Randy’s hands which takes away from some of the fun of posing him. He as much grips them as he does balance them in his hand.
I had no issues getting the jacket on and off without fear of tearing or otherwise damaging it. The tassels are as over-the-top as to be expected. The sunglasses were a “snap” to put on and take off.
Sculpt
The sculpt looks great to me, given my standards for the $20 to $30 range of 1:12 scale figures. Great detail on his musculature and his face is well-sculpted to give a really convincing impression of Randy Savage. There’s even a small gap between his lips to show his toothy smile. There are more tassels sculpted down the legs, and I think those are only failed in execution by the paint application.
Paint Application
This is where the figure stumbles slightly. As you can see from the pictures above, the yellow paint application to the tassels on the pant legs is a little slap-dash. Some areas either don’t go far enough to the edge of the sculpted tassel or go too far over. These tassels could have benefited from a simple shading wash as well. Randy’s beard also comes up a bit short of the edge of his sculpted facial hair.
Other than this, the eyes are printed clean, crisp, straight and centered. The Slim Jim packages pack as much detail as possible at this price range onto a tiny accessory, and he patterns on Randy’s hat and glasses are crisp and clean. No smudging anywhere to be found. I’ll also praise the fine detail on the lips and teeth.
Articulation
Many people may be familiar with Marvel Legends’ or the Black Series’ standard suite of articulation from Hasbro. You get that hear with a few exceptions. The neck is a simple ball joint without any additional swivel neck movement. Having said that, I got all the head cocks and side-eyes I wanted from that joint. The hair in the back hinders the range of motion slightly, but not enough to complain.
The elbow is a single swivel joint as opposed to the double that many may be used to from other lines. This prevents you from really bringing Randy’s arm into his body. Randy’s hips are attached with a single point of ball articulation per leg. His ankles look to be a simple swivel joint, but I couldn’t get the joint on mine to move. I didn’t want to continue pushing it for fear of breaking it. So that was a little disappointing and prevented me from getting him into some of the wrestling poses I imagined when I ordered him.
All in all, this is a fun figure. It’s pretty much single purpose. He’s the Slim Jim commercial version and it’s hard to escape that even once all the accessories are removed. For real wrestling fans, it’s probably a must-have. Still, I would try and hold out until the market cools or haggle your way into the $45 to $50 mark on the aftermarket. He’s a lot of fun, but not a $100 figure.
Good luck hunting on the aftermarket, friends:
Enjoy the rest of the pictures I snapped below! I know I enjoyed taking them! That’s it for now. More later! DrunkWooky out!
