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Series: Army of Darkness
Craftsmanship: 9.3 out of 10 - Quality cloth clothes - Great stand - Excellent poseability - Articulation out the wazoo - Interchangeable chainsaw hand - Lots of great details - Great likeness
Playability: 7.5 out of 10 - Not exactly a kid’s toy - Straps easily snapped, etc. - Tons of diorama options with other 12” figures
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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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