Oops… did I end up on page two before even talking about the figure? *Ahem*

Despite my enjoying the character and appreciating the “WTF” status of his inclusion, I have mixed feelings about the figure. Like others in the wave, it’s not inaccurate, but it’s also trying to get by on as few pieces as possible. The two sculpts for these pieces are fantastic (I love the harness as it goes beyond his simple animated design), but he could’ve used a little more love (i.e. budget). It’s particularly obvious for the gloves because the color of the gold paint and the plastic of arms is sometimes hard to distinguish, his hands are yellow, his arms bare and they just blend together somewhere in the middle. I know a different paint color would also solve that problem, but a sculpted line would have gone a long way right there. And since I’m already whining about sculpted details, it’s a damn shame that Mattel got through twenty waves without a proper bare chest piece for the normal buck.

The paint work itself is sharp on El Dorado, but some of the choices still keep the figure from being great in this category. He’s showing a lot of skin and the different grades of plastic don’t quite match. And I already mentioned how the gold and skin tone blend together on the forearms, but there’s also that the harness is molded red and painted gold. I don’t mind that it’s one-piece with the cape, but the red shows through on a lot of the figures I’ve seen. And the use of the gold paint here also makes me ask – why don’t the gold on the gloves and harness match? Add in the glossy face paint and you end up with a few aggravations on an otherwise fun figure.

As an aside, I’ve seen some comments this week about the height of this wave. I didn’t think they were bigger, but the ‘usual suspects’ lineup pic reveals they do appear to be a smidge taller.

Articulation is what we’ve come to expect: good range on the ball-joint at the neck, ball shoulders, swivels at the bicep, wrist, waist, & thighs, hinges at the elbows, knees, & ankles, the ab crunch, and the 4H hips. Ah, but then there’s that QC spotlight on his shoulder. It may look okay in the picture, but that is one stuck joint. It can swing it and out, but there’s little no front and back movement. I’ve had some stuck joints before, but this one is different. It has a little bit of give – and not because the plastic is twisting – it does turn, but just barely. It’s almost as if something internally is blocking the shoulder. It’s very odd and I don’t much feel like cracking him open to find out, I may just swap him out when I find a second one at retail.

Overall… great scott, there’s an El Dorado figure. There’s really not words how to describe how crazy (or how horrible, if you absolutely must prefer) that Mattel included him. I know I might’ve nitpicked him to death here, but I can overlook the lack of sculpted details and some of the paint choices and enjoy the figure. I mean, if you’re a fan of the Super Friends or just El Dorado, you’ll probably be pleased with the figure. The primary issue for me (and probably why this review tended to be so nitpicky) is the blocked shoulder joint. And while I can definitely say El Dorado needed a little more attention from Mattel before he was sent out, I’ll be a lot happier when I snag one with a working shoulder. Then I’ll just need to make a cool pad for him to hang out in while he’s waiting for the other superheroes to get where they’re going…