Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Starcraft II Series 2 Terran Marine Tychus Findlay figure review

Hopefully you're familiar with Starcraft a sci-fi based 'tower defense' style game. Tychus Findlay is one of the Terran Marines in the game and pretty much a main character as he's seen in the promos, trailers, and box art. But even if you have never played the game you're going to appreciate this figure. First noteworthy point, it's a fully articulated figure by DC Unlimited ( DC Direct's video game brand). That alone raises an eyebrow.

Normally I don't cover packaging but this one is special. It's collector friendly meaning you can put the figure back in, with some twiste-tie work. The box walls are strong, almost shipping-class strong and there's glossy logos that stand out on the excellent matte graphics. Keep it in case you ever want to sell the figure. Thychus is a big figure standing at 9" and weighs quite a bit. The box as big and sturdy as it is was a good idea.

Sculpting for this Terran Marine is nothing short of extraordinary. Pistons, armor plating, hoses, rivets, exhaust ports, it's all been rendered in perfect detail. Fold up the visor and you're treated to an amazingly realistic human face staring back at you. Tychus' hands and feet are particularly well rendered. I like the handles on the back of the shoulder pads, presumably to help the occupant load himself into the armor.

Paint work for the armor and human head inside are downright amazing. There's scratches, scuffing, dirt covered feet, each hose is detailed, and there's danger striping on sections. Neat additions like the scribbled words 'suck it down' and the ace of spades on the shoulder add personality to the figure, crisp and cleanly applied. The two-tone metallic visor looks great and so does Tychus' human face with glossy eyes and scarring.

Now let's address the elephant in the room. This is DC Direct we're talking about, a company known for producing unposable plastic statues. Well not here. It's like they took every joint never given to their figures and stuffed them into one big ball of articulation. He literally has Marvel Legends style articulation with the exception of ankle rockers. Shoulder pads move, biceps/hips swivel, toes move, even the fingers on his right hand are articulated. Unfortunately you can't move his inner head without needle-nose pliers, your fingers aren't going to fit inside the visor space.

Range of articulation is surprisingly good. He can walk, step, aim, twist, and do just about anything  aside from Spiderman flying kicks. This is a giant armored suit, not an acrobat's leotard. His gun is quite well designed and painted. It's hollow and light enough he can aim it with one hand. It's his only accessory but looks amazing. I can see a lot of Hulk Buster Iron Man and Warhammer 40K customs based on this figure.

I wasn't expecting much from these figures and I hear the other figure in this series Sarah Kerrigan didn't fare nearly as well as Tychus in articulation or paint, doomed to be another plastic statue. This is angering a lot of DC Direct fans. Here you see what they are actually capable with Findlay, an amazing figure in every aspect. Yet they are holding back even in the same series.

The verdict? If you're into power armor, space marines, giant robots, or just sci-fi in general, buy this figure immediately. I can't imagine it sitting around for very long on the shelf. Our sponsors Big Bad Toy Store and Past Generation Toys have both Tychus and Sarah Kerrigan.


JDubG said...

This dude looks real good and I have been meaning to pick him up. Nice pick-up!

1337W422102 said...

>tower defense
Y-you're joking, right, man?