TMNT Alien Hunter Buzzroc and Multiflex Review
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They say that good things come to those that wait. But for those of us who were eagerly anticipating the four alien figures
that were to come out as part of the TMNT Alien Hunter line, it appeared that our patience was going to be short changed when
two of the aliens were dropped from the line for its US release. But it turns out that all hope was not lost as they did finally
surface, but in the UK. So it appears that this time it will take patience and some international shipping. But it remains to be
seen if they can live up to the anticipation.
Packaging - 8/10The packaging for the final two aliens has not changed from the previous six figures. Unfortunately it has been marred by the presence of a plain white sticker on the back with the UK distributor's information. I really like the packaging design, especially the short comic explaining the Turtles' origins which is a nice homage to the original TMNT figures from the 80's
Sculpting - Multiflex 8/10, Buzzroc 9/10It is fairly unusual to see a non-humanoid design for an action figure, so when the Alien Hunter line promised three of them, I was excited. The fact that Multiflex was based on a Michael Dooney design was also a big draw for a lot of TMNT fans. The final figures don't disappoint. Both have far more detail than the average TMNT figure. The details are sharper on Buzzroc's legs and neck than it is on his outfit and arms. The same is true for Multiflex and even more so. I wish that they had made the figures bigger though. It's hard to hold that against them since there is no specific size given for either character, so it is possible that they are supposed to be smaller than the Turtles. But since the Turtles are suppose to be fairly short, I expect most of their enemies to be larger.One other note. On my figure, Buzzroc's lower arms (the ones without hands) are identical rather than having a separate sculpt for the left and right limb. I'm not entirely sure if this is just an error on my figure or if they are all this way. (If anyone else has one and wants to confirm whether they are all like this I would appreciate it.) Even if Playmates' did take the easy way out and recycle a single arm, it isn't that big of an issue.
Paint - 6/10the paint work on both Buzzroc and Multiflex is pretty limited as is often the case for Playmates' figures. But they do a decent job of getting away with it. Buzzroc only uses a few colors: green for the flesh tone, orange for the outfit and black trim. Toss in some clear plastic for the wings and the overall look works well. There's plenty of room for improvement with a little shadowing or some body markings. The dark purple of Multiflex's outfit doesn't contrast as well with his lighter purple flesh. But the bright silver accents do contrast nicely. He also has painted teeth which are lacking on Buzzroc. But once again, there is no effort into adding detail or using the paint to bring out the details on the exposed body parts. One other positive point is that there don't seem to be any issues with the quality control. There are no major stray paint marks or sloppiness. That's not to say that the paint work is perfect. There some slightly sloppy edges. But for mass market releases, they turned out okay.
Articulation - 2/10Articulation hasn't been Playmates' strong suit in a very long time. And these two figures aren't breaking any records either. That's a shame since the character designs lend themselves to having extra articulation, particularly on Buzzroc. Instead he has just ten points of articulation: rotating joints at the hips, the shoulders of the upper arms, wrists and waist and ball joints at the torso for the pincer arms and for the neck. Multiflex has even less articulation with just nine points of articulation: rotating joints at the ankles, hips, shoulders and mid-arm just above where they split into the individual tentacles as well as a ball jointed neck. Again, there is so much potential here had they been willing to go the extra mile and used bendable material for the tentacles. At the very least they could have put the rotating joints further down the arms and allowed each tentacle to rotate independently. As if the general lack of articulation and the limited range of motion provided by what is present wasn't bad enough, with Buzzroc you also have to deal with the fact that the ball joints for the lower arms are not that tight so that the arms have a tendency to fall off when moved. Playmates, it is really time to step into the 21st century when it comes to articulation.
Accessories - Multiflex 3/10, Buzzroc 5/10Multiflex comes with just two accessories: a sword and a gun. Their organic design is nice. And the fact that Playmates managed to design them to be held securely by a figure without hands is impressive. But overall they are woefully lacking in detail beyond their basic shape. And their paint work is none existent. Buzzroc is a bit better. His three weapons include a whip, trident and gun. But his weapons actually do have some detail to them. Of course they still lack any paint.
Value - 2/10Both Buzzroc and Multiflex have thus far only been found in the United Kingdom. So while the retail price is probably around $10, you'll be fortunate to get them for much under $20 a piece unless you know someone in the UK who can buy them for you. And either way you are still going to have to pay to ship them. As toys, it is hard to justify such prices for either of these figures. And it isn't like they are worth buying for the sake of the characters since they don't exist outside of the Alien Hunter figure line. On the other hand, if you are a collector they may be worth tracking down if only for their scarcity.
Happy Hunting:Usually finding TMNT figures isn't much of a challenge. But given that these have not been released in the United States, finding them won't be as easy as usual. they do show up from time to time on eBay though. That is where I got my figures. Beyond that, your best bet is to know someone in the UK who lives near a Woolworth's store.
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