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What’s up, everywookiee! It’s DrunkWooky here with another action figure review! Today, I’m taking a look at the Loyal Subjects Action Vinyl line with a couple examples from across their licenses. We have the Aliens Xenomorph, Game of Thrones Night King, and Masters of the Universe He-Man. Now, full disclosure, these were provided to the site by PR and marketing firm ChizComm. Thanks, ChizComm! We usually buy our review samples so we can be completely unbiased in our assessment of the price and value of a figure. However, I feel like I’ve been objective in my assessment in this review.
The Loyal Subjects Action Vinyl Figures are approximately 3 inch vinyl figures with full articulation and high levels of detail. These figures range in price depending on rarity and size starting at $11.99. Figures like He-Man’s Battle Cat and the Ghostbusters Stay Puft Marhsmellow man coming in February go for around $14.99.
The Loyal Subjects are available from the following fine retailers and boast impressive license powerhouses such as Aliens, Predator, Masters of the Universe, Game of Thrones, Ghostbusters, Street Fighter, Power Rangers and more:
Packaging
Packaging is handled slightly different with the Loyal Subjects. To my understanding, the Action Vinyl line started as pure blind boxes in the similar vein as Kid Robot blind boxes. They recently switched this over so that some of the boxes at the front of the blind box cases have window packaging so that they’re shoppable. The chase variants are sometimes still hidden in blind boxes, but in the case of the glow-in-the-dark Night King I received, not always.
Each license has its own graphic design story differentiating it from the others. Aliens is a scratched up industrial metallic look, Masters of the Universe gets classic Castle Grayskull green bricks with Eternia skylines, and winter has come to the Game of Thrones packaging. Each package displays ample cross-promotion of other figures from the line to tempt you.
Each one has a simple top flap to open and plastic tray to slide out. Once out, you reveal the accessory in a plastic sealed baggie and a trading card along the side of the box. Apart from the accessory baggie, there is no need to cut or rip any packaging to get into these figures. Therefore, these packages are very collector friendly for both mint-in-box collectors and loose collectors.
Sculpt
The Loyal Subjects Action Vinyls occupy that sector of merchandising that is filled with “deformed” or “stylized” figures. We’re talking the Funko Pops and Kid Robot blind box mini figures. Loyal Subjects Action Vinyls also clock in at just over 2 inches. About 2 1/2 to 3 inches. At that scale, and with the available excuse that these are “stylized”, you might expect a lot of detail to be cast aside. I was pleasantly surprised to find that was not the case!
H.R. Giger’s classic xenomorph design is nothing if not highly detailed. All the ribbing, veins, lines, and the very essence of the Xenomorph design remains in this figure. Chcek out those back tubes (not sure if they’ve ever been named). Check out the ridge of the head and the construction of the torso. Tons of detail there. If I had to nit pick, and because it’s a review I do, the joints should have been cast in black. The one downfall is that the blatant white joints detract from all the other amazing detail.
The same can be said here about He-Man and Night King. I could spend all day pointing out small details that were included. The shape of He-Man’s signature bowl cut, the rivets on his shield and belt, the tufting of his loin cloth and top of his boots, Night King’s crown of horns, the scaling on his outfit, and the geometrical planes of his spear. All this detail on such a tiny figure really is an impressive feat.
Articulation
Of all the categories, this is probably the Action Vinyl line’s weakest, but even here the story’s not so bad. The Xenomorph is probably the best example of articulation I had available.
Each figure has a ball neck, a tiny double-ended ball post on the shoulder, swiveling wrists, a rotating and tilting waist, ball hips, single swivel knees, and a ball joint at the ankle. That’s a lot of articulation at 2 1/2 inches! Additionally, the xenomorphs mouth opens with a spring-loaded second mouth popping out from inside. How cool is that!?
There were downsides, though. As I stated, xenomorph needed black joints. He-Man’s left arm kept popping off the ball joint and I had to re-attach it. That’s not a huge problem, but it is a little annoying after a handful of occurrences. The double ball joint in the shoulder probably isn’t even necessary. the arm and torso pieces lie flush with each other at the joint without much space to move, so you’re not getting a ton of range of motion out of that second ball joint anyway. He-Man’s hip was also restricted as it rubbed up against his loin cloth. Can you say chaffing!?
Night King’s kilt tended to prevent him from striking deeper leg poses.
Accessories
The accessories are all nice value-adds. Xenomorph comes with a solid-sculpted egg. Night King comes with his ice spear. He-Man comes with his shield, sword and battle axe. In the accessory department, he definitely takes the value prize. The accessories that can be held all fit neatly in the figures hands without much effort at all and don’t tent to slip out.
Paint Application
All clean and crisp with one exception. The xenomorph’s white teeth and toe nails are applied a bit splotchy on mine. I think a little closer attention to detail would benefit that aspect greatly.
The Night King has a nice iridescent or pearlescent finish to his armor which is a nice tough.
Price/Value
Starting at $11.99, these figures are priced in line with a Funko Pop vinyl figure and are a better value by my assessment. You get tons more detail and articulation and there’s more playability along with the collectibility here.
You can pick up the Loyal Subjects Action Vinyl at these fine e-tailers:
That’s it for now! Until later! DrunkWooky out!
