Series 25 review w/ pics! I'm tired of typing.

[cr0w]

Well, I'd posted last week after seeing these figures in Wal-Mart that the horrid paintjobs and overall uninspired lineup made me lose interest in them. Apparently McFarlane sent Wally World a bad batch, because the figures I got from EBGames today are all fan-friggin'-tastic. Let's break it down, shall we?

Sam & Twitch



Sculpt - The sculpt on these two is fantastic. Take Ashley Wood's art, put it in three dimensions, and you'll have an idea of how well these two came out. Sam's got tons of folds in his shirt over his gut, the sharp angles on both figures are very well done and straight off the cover, and the facial sculpts on both are great. They look JUST LIKE the cover. 10/10

Paint - Ahh, here's where it gets tricky. Some sets we've seen have given Sam a completely ridiculous-looking paintjob on his face, but fortunately that's not the case here. Again, it looks just like the comic. Black and white is the color scheme here, with brown thrown in to give it a sepia look. Lines are clean, no bleeding is apparent, and the drybrushing is spot-on. 9/10

Articulation - Very, very little. But what could you do with them anyway? Twitch has a few points, such as his ankles and wrists, but the selected pose is the only way to display them. N/A

Accessories - Sam's got his little stool and Twitch has his two revolvers, which are really cool and sculpted with lots of detail and in the signature Ashley Wood exaggerated style. Not much, but they make it count. 7/10

Overall Score - 9/10

Redeemer 2





Sculpt - Once again, excellent. All the musculature, the intricately detailed armor, the wings, everything is superbly done. Couldn't ask for a nicer sculpt. The armor in particular is wonderful, as it's incredibly ornate and detailed. 10/10

Paint - Ahh, another worrisome figure in terms of paint. Some peoples' have turned out terribly, with the blackwash over his muscles looking like someone went a little happy with a Sharpie to the green highlights on his wings looking as if someone sneezed all over them, leaving sporadic green spots all over his wings with little to no pattern. Luckily, the one I got has very few of these problems. The blackwash over his muscles, while not as clean as I would've liked, is very much improved from the figures I've previously seen posted. It still can be a little sloppy on the legs, but overall it's very, very much improved and nowhere NEAR as noticeable as what I've seen on other figures. The wings have a green wash all over them, rather than just in certain spots, which gave other figures I've seen a very ugly appearance. I'm not sure if Wal-Mart and TRU got rushed cases or what, but the paintjob on the wings is superb here. The only issue I really have with the figure is the armor. It's so detailed and well-done that I would've liked a gold drybrush over a darker color, if only to bring out the detail on the armor and give it a more detailed appearance. That's something that I can do myself later though, so I'm not too worried about it. 9/10

Articulation - Slim to none. He's in a fixed pose, and while he's slightly articulated, as with Sam & Twitch, there's no need to move him at all. His pose is incredibly dynamic, as well, so why would you want to move him? N/A

Accessories - He comes with an ornate sword and, well...that's it. But what else does he need? I guess you can count his wings, but he looks good with what he comes with. The sword is just a tad fragile though, so be careful with it. 7/10

Overall Score - 9/10

Hellspawn 2



Sculpt - Well, I haven't opened this one, and I'm debating on whether I want to grab another one to open, because I've never been a fan of Spawn using guns. I'll eventually end up getting one to open, but not right away. Anyway, I'll give you my impressions of the one I have MOC. He's very well sculpted, especially his anatomy. He's tall and lanky, but bulkier than the original Hellspawn figure. He's incredibly stylized, thanks to Ashley Wood, and again, he looks like he stepped right off the comic cover. The cape is pretty big, and looks a bit like feathers, oddly enough, but overall he continues the trend this line is setting, and that's the trend of fantastic sculpts. 10/10

Paint - Fantastic. Ashley Wood's art is perfectly emulated here. Brown, white and grey are the main colors used, and they're used in perfect amounts, with no bleeding, splotches or sloppiness anywhere on the figure that I can see. His gun in particular is very well painted. The paintjobs are just getting better and better, and I hope more people can find sets that are painted this well. 10/10

Articulation - Bupkiss! He doesn't need it. [/b]N/A[/b]

Accessories - Big honkin' gun and his cape. Nothing else. The gun is very well sculpted, with lots of little details here and there, and his cape looks great. Again, he comes with what he needs and nothing else. 9/10

Overall Score - 9/10

[cr0w]

Raven Spawn 2





The one figure of the line I was looking forward to most, and he doesn't disappoint.

Sculpt - This is getting repetitive. Fantastic. The armor, the muscles, the little details, the face, the cape, everything is just top-notch. I especially like the look of his "spikes", as they look like feathers, which fits the "Raven" theme well. His cape also reminds me of folded wings. He's got a very...angular look, and he looks like a medieval warrior with a very scary suit of armor. He's surpassed the original Raven as my favorite Spawn ever. Just awesome. 10/10

Paint - It's like a broken record! Awesome. Brown, white, black and grey are the primary colors here again, and they're used perfectly. Drybrushing is top-notch, and there's no slop, bleeding or anything to complain about here. A gloss finish is used on his cape and certain parts of his body, which gives him a really oily look, which looks fantastic. I have no complaints. 10/10

Articulation - Shoulders, thighs, his right wrist and elbow, and his neck are all articulation points here. Again, as with all the others in this line, he only looks good in his original intended pose, so I really can't give this a rating. N/A

Accessories - He comes with a sickle and that's it. As with the rest of the figures, his accessories are there to provide us with a 3D version of the original comic cover, and that's it. They do their job. 8/10

Overall Score - 10/10

Spawn 8





The one figure I really didn't want, and strangely enough, he's quickly becoming my favorite of the line.

Sculpt - First, the cape is fantastic. Very well done. It's got some rips and tears in it, and the folds, wrinkles and texture are very, very nice. It wraps around Spawn in a very cool way, and the cape itself just makes the figure. Spawn is very reminiscent of Spawn 6, and I'm not sure if this is an entirely new sculpt or just a retool, but either way it looks just like the cover it's based on. Again, the cape makes this figure. It's excellent. Spawn himself is very detailed, as you'd expect, with his spikes, chains and gauntlets very well done and with a nice texture to them, and his muscles and general body sculpt are excellent. Great stuff. 10/10

Paint - This was another figure I'd initially had a problem with, mainly due to the lack of a blackwash over the capes I saw at Wal-Mart. Luckily, the ones I got have a light wash over the cape, with a darker was on the inside of the cape to give us a shadow effect, and it looks great. The rips and tears in the cape have a heavy wash over them as well, and it really gives the cape a nice deep, textured look. The skulls are all painted VERY well, and they each have little bright green eyes on them, again painted very neatly. His spikes are painted with a metallic silver, and it looks very good. The red on here is a little brighter than previous Spawn figures, but it's a welcome change from the dingy look of past figures. Spawn himself is painted nice, with his eyes in particular a very bright green. His gauntlets and the pack on his left leg are the same bright red shade as his cape, and everything is just painted really neatly. No bleeding, no slop, no nothing. I'm very impressed. 10/10

Articulation - Elbows, right foot, neck, shoulders and waist. Again, this isn't a super-poseable Marvel Legend, it's a figure based off a comic cover, so one pose is what you get. It's not meant for anything else. N/A

Accessories - Nada. N/A

Overall Score - 10/10

Final Thoughts - I've gone from not caring a lick about this line to being totally crazy about it, due simply to the varying paintjobs on the different sets I saw. If you're picky about paint and have the chance to get these at somewhere other than Wal-Mart and TRU, DO IT! It's worth the extra dollar or two. It really makes a whole lot of difference. If you just want the figures and aren't as anal about paint as I am, then get 'em wherever you can. Either way, I love this line and I think alot of you will too. I was very pleasantly surprised by Spawn 8, but the cape is just fantastic.

Overall Line Score - 10/10. This one gives S24 a hard run for its money.

[sculpey]

Excellent review, cr0w.

[-megalithanod]

I still stand by my more simple and to the point review! [img]wink.gif[/img]