Hellboy and Abe Sapien Mez-itz !!! (some holiday loot...)

It has been a while since my last post. It has been a busy holiday, with the sudden onrush of festivities and work related distractions. Anyway, now as my daily routine goes back to a more normal pace, I would like to take the time and write a review for some toys I got during my hiatus.

An uncle of mine gave me Hellboy (top) for Christmas, and I found an Abe Sapien (bottom) whilst browsing at 2rats in Eastwood. They are Mez-its from Mezco. Their site mentions that these are 6" variants of the original Mez-itz line, though personally I don't think these look significantly similar to these Mez-itz predecessors.

Hellboy is a Con exclusive comic variant whilst Abe is the Hellboy 2 Movie version. There is also a Hellboy movie variant but I couldn't find one in the local stores. Both figures I have are wonderfully detailed, with as much character painted on as it seemed tasteful to bring the basic Mez-itz mold to life. Abe comes with plateaus that serve as goggles on his head. Hellboy, in addition to similar plateaus that serve as his sawed-off horns, comes with the Right Hand of Doom (articulated at the wrist), his signature Samaritan handgun, and an articulated tail. One standard articulation that I enjoyed on both figures was the ball-socket type head joints instead of the usual swivel, as these enabled more interesting poses that you couldn't really do with most vinyl collectibles.

(pic from theblotsays.blogspot.com)

Another aspect of the toys I found interesting were the differences in their packagings. Above is the standard movie version Mez-itz. The Abe I bought came in one of these, which featured clear plastic windows. Both the front and back of the box have similar windows that taper slightly to the sides of the box, thus enabling views of the figure from multiple angles. I really like how this packaging helps showcase a lot of the figures inside. The art on the box itself does not draw away attention from the toy itself, which for me is a good thing.

The Comic Con Exclusive Hellboy on the other hand had different packaging.

(pic from www.actionfigurepics.com)

Instead of the standard clear plastic window, this box came with line art drawn on all four sides. The front and sides showed closeups of the respective views of the figure, whilst the back showed a full body line art of the toy. The art came in muted colors with a "con exclusive" sticker standing out with its blue and yellow. I found this to be very appealing and I would really enjoy displaying this next to the loosed toy.

Overall I am pleasantly surprised by how appealing these were to me. I was not really planning on getting them, because I'm not really that familiar with the characters and the toy line. Unlike the Mighty Muggs that I currently collect, these offer a bit more articulation, but fewer character availability. They are coming out with the horror line though which includes Jason, Freddy, some zombies, and the Wolfman. Perhaps I'll be tempted to get them as well, if my finances allow. Now if they came out with an Aliens and Predator line, those I would definitely start saving up for.



-alger