The new head sculpt is one of the highlights of the figure admittedly, but I don’t like it. I would’ve preferred a more classic version on the head sculpt, either the slicked back hair or the curly/bushy hair from the poster. Instead the inspiration appears to be the destitute Vertigo hair or the more recent pre-New 52 appearances. I can’t knock the sculpt, it looks great, like’s he ready to kick ass, but this guy needs a haircut.
The other thing I’m having trouble with on this figure is the hands. There aren’t bare hands made for the suit body and even though Mattel put out two suit figures that needed bare hands in November, there still isn’t. Mattel popped two normal hands on both Sam & Constantine and sometimes the figures just don’t like quite right. Sam points – it’s kinda his thing. His other thing is punching. And we got a figure that can hold a steering wheel. I know I’ve taken Mattel to task both ways on the hands. When there are fists, I complain about open hands. When there are open hands, I complain about fists. What I really just want is some options. Adult Collectible just need alternate hands.
The paintwork on Sam is pretty good considering the detail required. The details on the face are great as is the suit, particularly the striped pants. The only paint issues mine had were on the non-removable top hat with both the stars and stripes coming out a little askew.
Articulation is normal for the line. The suit body features everything the main bucks do, but I can’t turn the waist on my figure. I’m not sure if it’s just supremely stuck or not meant to be turned. If I remember, my Joker was really frozen at the waist too, so it may just be the buck is prone to locking up that joint.
Finally, Uncle Sam did include an accessory. It’s yet another thing that ended up not where I thought it was in the move, but Vault was kind enough to snap a few pics and send them over this morning. First, I’m absolutely thrilled that Mattel tossed Doll Man in for this release! That’s awesome, particularly because I would’ve put Doll Man up there with Matter Masters as a never gonna happen. The execution was a little lacking though, both mine and Vault’s had bent legs from the packaging and both of ours has the cape stuck/glued around the chin instead of being pushed all the way down to the shoulders. That’s gonna be a messy fix I think.
Overall, I’m happy that Mattel got Uncle Sam in the line. It’s a decent figure that just falls a few points shy of being great (he really needed new hands) and has a great head sculpt even if it isn’t to my preference. The inclusion of Doll Man is particularly exciting to me because I want all the Freedom Fighters. Some of you may say “who?”, but I’d kill to get the Human Bomb, Black Condor, Phantom Lady, the Ray, and toss in Firebrand there to boot.
Thing is though, if any of those figures are going to be coming, it will be in the subscription. And I’d really like to be wowed by something in the subscription. The character selection has definitely wowed me, but the execution hasn’t always. The subscription DC figures seem to be being made because they can be or because no one’s come along to say stop. I remember when buying DC figures felt like the folks making them where as excited as I was. I’d like to get back to that some day.
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Nice to have you back, Noisy.
Sam’s hands sure are off-putting, but if and when they announce a Phantom Lady, this guy’s resale will go through the roof.
I’ve bought me a loose Uncle Sam myself, and you make some really good points about the hands. It seems to me, that like you suggested, it might not have been that hard or to cost-worthy to have included alternative hands featuring a pointing hand and closed fists. That DC direct Uncle Sam does have the better sculpted face though, so I’ll agree with you there.
Hell they could have even thrown a small bald eagle in there to rest on US’s arm like Dr. Midnite’s pet owl.
All in all, still a pretty decent figure to own, if you’re in to him.
As for the other FF members, maybe next year’s subscription line;)
… good point about the eagle. And to think they already have the one that came with the Wonder Twins.
And I conjecture that Sam’s hands were meant to hold an American flag (that’s what I have mine doing), but likely it was left in the same box with Nekron’s scythe and SA Catwoman’s whip.
Good thing all those WWE Legends Jim Duggan were clearanced out. Perfect flag for Uncle Sam.
Nice review, esp since it’s one where we get to compare the previous release to the present one. Now I’m thinking of seeing if I still have the DCD Sam to swap the right hand (forearm?) to the Mattel version. and I do agree about liking the Dillon sculpted head better. that said, Matty did give us somewhat decent “low tier” figure, and put me down for Ray I and Phantom Lady I, as well! Those two would be the easiest to pull off. condor would require new tooling for his cape/wings and I thought HB could re-use the Capt. Cold buck, but then I remembered he has sculpted “fur” for his boots, not a plain baggy pant tucked into them.
that said, I still want the All-Star Squadron more. 😉
(Johnny, Libby, Dani/firebrand II, Tarantula, and redeco silver Robotman I!)
Actually, they did rework Captain Cold a bit for Brainiac 5, he’d be a bit on the small side but it’s probably the only way we’ll get him…
thanks, I wasn’t sure if they did or not. Given that, all they would really need to do is take the B5 body, swap the forearms with gloved hands and make a new helmet cowl. I really wouldn’t expect them to go the extra step with gloveless hand (even “sparkly” to show the imminent detonation.)
The hands are an issue here, but then you know what they say about guys with big hands.
Going in though, I knew we’d be getting the Vertigo-ish Sam since they were using the GG/Joker buck. So I went and got the old DC Direct Uncle Sam at a bargain price. Those dio pics now give my two Sam figures a whole new dimension.
Here’s to Phantom Lady and more Freedom Fighters! 🙂
I dunno how tough she is to find, but the DCD Phantom Lady is a fairly nice figure and looks nice next to Sam. I bought mine way back when she was first offered
Admit I forgot about the pointing hand and yes it is a must. I need a flag for him cause he’s drinking a bottle of coke right now.
The other FF members would indeed be nice. Phantom lady, Human Bomb, and honestly I would love a Damage pre crisis look.
I am stunned about Zatarra not getting done yet. Easy make too with this mold. Just a new head under the hat.
Yeah, I’ve seen a few customs of him using the Mad Love Joker body, which is the same mold as this one.
mark me down for a Damage, too!
After his series ended, he wound up in the Arsenal/Darkstar-Donna New Titans book, where for some insane reason, they decided he needed to “grow” as his body charge did, and that stuck with him for the rest of his run at DC. I had to shake my head as that became his “character”: I get big and blow up. nnnggggyyaaaaahhhh!!!!!! [aneurism]
He had a host of other powers, which were swept under the continuity rug.
Good to see the reviews starting up again, Noisy. And as always, great pics and commentary. I haven’t cracked open my Uncle Sam packaging yet, but I think he looks great. I too was surprised they went with that haircut, but I do like it. Looks like he just put his hat back on after a wild, Pier-6 Brawl (as Good Ol’ J.R. might say). But yeah, those hands are…distracting. How could one not be a “pointing” sculpt? The guys at Mattel are just so damn lazy sometimes. I mean, the majority of the figure is re-used parts, they couldn’t at least give us one new hand sculpt? C’mon. Kind of reminiscent of the hands on those God-awful 3 3/4 inch figures mattel pooped out not too long ago. But besides that, the figure is cool, the accessory is fantastic (Doll Man? Talk about a Z-list character. Awesome surprise!). Gonna have to concur with a lot of my fellow posters here and express my love for the Golden Age characters: Johnny Quick, Liberty Belle, Robotman, and Human Bomb would all be welcome additions. And modern takes on Phantom Lady and Black Condor would be great, too.
And your last paragraph there speaks volumes. Looking at some of the older figures in my collection, I just can’t get over the attention to detail (Artemis, Ares, Cyborg, to name a few). These figures they’ve been sending us just seem slapped together from pre-made parts and re-painted, with no real love put into them at all. I mean, I love having them, but it just feels like Matty is going through the motions. After this year’s sub runs its course, I really do think it might be best if this line just ends gracefully. No thermometer with some nebulous magic number to reach, no pleading from Scott. Just end it. And it pains me to say that.
I’m of the mind that they need to go one more year to satisfy most MIA basic team needs. Another 12-13 figures in 2014 would wrap things up nicely.
But I see your point– if they’re not going to put the effort or budget towards maintaining the high quality established early in the line, retire while the going’s good. Still there’s a handful more fairly simple characters they can squeeze out before the hand.
yeah, there are definitely some figures that are “must haves,” but it doesn’t seem like they want to do them justice, so why bother. maybe they should just focus on making figure-packs exclusive to their website a few times a year (with pre-orders so they don’t sell-out to scalpers in 5 minutes). Fire and Ice one month, then a few months later Johnny Quick/Liberty Belle, etc. And also put some effort into re-releasing some of the characters from older waves. Wonder Woman gets big bucks on Ebay, so how ’bout offering her again, Matty? There’s obviously a demand. It seems like a no-brainer, but what do I know?
This is starting to look like JLU all over again. Once DCUC hit a certain level of decline, Matty puts forth no effort at all. BUT the line still generates a little revenue, so they’ll continue to limp along. I forsee future releases being more sporatic…with the quality slowly diminishing. Later we’ll see almost a complete lack of retailer interest….then we’ll get excited about one store, lets say…Target will carry them exclusively. We’ll probably get a few releases from whatever exclusive retailer…then whatever that company is will quit carrying them. The last stop will be constant “final figures” being dangled in front of us like carrots being released thru Matty.
Mark my words
That last picture with Rita is classic.
Oh god that sounds depressing as hell, but very likely. I think the line died pretty much once Mattel decided to end the regular waves and go strictly Subscription only. Yeah there’ll be some lines like Batman Unlimited and stuff, but just not the same as DCUC. And that’s a damn shame considering all the money that has gone into Mattel’s pockets, and not just from me….Sad really:(
There aren’t bare hands made for the suit body and even though Mattel put out two suit figures that needed bare hands in November, there still isn’t.
Actually there are two sets, at least for the “suit body” — Clark Kent and Two-Face — though the bare Movie Master hands may be the best choice for this body…