Ash (Army of Darkness) by Sideshow
Toys
I have a special place in my heart for 12” action
figures. I have a
memory of receiving a 12” Chewbacca for my sixth or seventh
birthday. It was
entirely molded plastic with four points of articulation and arms
that had a bad habit of falling out of their sockets – but I still
loved him. Then along
comes a figure like Ash from Sideshow Toys that shows just how far
action figures have come.
This is Ash as seen in the feature film, Army of Darkness,
and really does look like Bruce Campbell (circa 1993) and probably
has about as much articulation. With 12” figures one expects
a lot of articulation and Sideshow more than meets this
expectation. I
attempted to count articulation points but I always lost count so
all I’ve really got is a rough guess of about 20. And they’re all fully
functional and provide a huge range of mobility. The clothes are
hand-stitched and made from good quality fabric, and it’s because of
the cloth outfit that Ash can be manipulated into all manner of
positions.
Poseability is further heightened by the solidly constructed
stand. It is possible
to stand Ash on his own, but his stability isn’t very good. His stand takes up a small
surface area, so when you’re not playing with him installing him on
his base is your best bet.
It’s the best way to display and pose him in all those
classic Ash stances.
Topping the presentation off are the dead-on
accessories. His
full-length cape is a great touch and adds a certain “superhero”
quality missing when he’s without it. The ubiquitous chainsaw and
metal hand are interchangeable for his right hand. Switching hands is actually
pretty easy and once they’re pegged in they stay put so the ugly
specter of losing one unexpectedly is avoided. The shotgun (a.k.a.
boomstick) is finely detailed and the barrel hinges open for that
extra touch. It fits
well in his left hand and like a glove in the holster (which makes
for excellent storage).
Outfitting Ash with the holster can be a bit frustrating if
you’ve got big fingers and lack a delicate touch, but the effort is
worth it.
Generally, action figures are meant to be played with but I
wouldn’t recommend putting Ash through his paces. Dioramas are the best way to
get any play factor.
The 12” size makes him perfectly compatible to those wimpy
12” Star Wars dolls, and, of course, Evil Ash. Do not hand over Ash to
anyone under the age of six (the box recommends “Ages 12 and up”)
because you’re just asking for major headaches. The small faux leather
straps can easily be snapped and stretched, the shotgun broken,
pieces lost… it’ll make you wish you’d never taken him out of the
great looking box he came in.
Besides are kids going to really appreciate the small touches
like his wristwatch, the bloodshot stare, the blood-spattered
chainsaw, the scuffmarks on his boots, the finely sculpted hands, or
that great haircut? No
– except maybe the blood-spattered chainsaw but for completely
unaesthetic reasons.
Ash is limited to 10,000 pieces, which in the scheme of
things is a comparatively small run. Serious collectors and fans
of the Evil Dead movies should be jumping all over Ash anyway, but
in case you needed confirmation – and I don’t throw this phrase
around lightly – he’s definitely worth the money.
-
Omni
(July
20, 2002)
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