Wednesday, October 30, 2013

HAYTHAM KENWAY - McFarlane Toys Assassin's Creed III


Haytham Kenway was released this past summer as part of McFarlane Toys' first half of their Series 1 set of Assassin's Creed action figures. The series mixes characters from Assassin's Creed III and the upcoming Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag, with 4 figures from each game being released in two parts (part 2 is currently releasing). Haytham, like the rest of the line, features an excellent, highly detailed sculpt and paint job, along with McFarlane's current standard articulation, done in an approximate 5 or 6 inch scale (he measures 5 & 3/4" tall). He comes with a pistol and sword. The pistol grip is thicker than his hand allows, and the trigger finger isn't separated from the rest of the gripping hand, so the pistol looks fairly awkward in his hand- it's a good thing there's a sculpted holster to store it in.
The sword fits better into his right hand, but the grip is still a bit tight. You may want to soften the hand a little with some hot water before stuffing the sword in. The pistol holster has a small slot alongside it which I assume is for the sword's storage, as well.


The sculpt on Haytham Kenway is quite good. The face is passable (not having ever played the game, I have no point of reference from which to quibble), and the outfit is exceptional. There are so many tiny buckles, buttons, clasps and such that the figure remains impressive even after thorough inspection. The accessories, and his large cloak likewise feature excellent detailing. The paint work is a little sloppy in places, but not enough to ruin things. There are so many tight edges and miniature metal "things" that some misalignment is bound to happen, but it's all entirely forgivable. My only knock is on the red of his "tie", which isn't quite dark enough to cover the primer coat underneath. Additionally, there is some fantastic tampo detail which I had no idea about while the figure was still carded. There's a faint white/grey eagle on Kenway's left cuff and an absolutely outstanding "something" on the back of his cloak that are both really impressive. The sculpt and paint work really well together to create a great "on-shelf" look.


The articulation has some issues, but the attempt is appreciated. McFarlane Toys has come a long way in this department recently (which isn't to say it's where it should be yet, but we're getting there), and this line has more right than wrong. The head is ball-jointed, but doesn't have a great range in motion. The shoulders and elbows are swivel/hinge balljoints and work pretty well. The wrists are cut joints, with the hands sculpted at slight angles. This all means that you can get one or two decent poses from the waist-up. Below the waist doesn't fare as well. The hip joints that McFarlane is using on these and the Walking Dead figures are almost like a mini Play Arts attempt, with the actual joints covered by a waist piece. On the Play Arts figures, this waist piece is fairly loose, allowing the legs a wide range of movement, though it doesn't always look good. McFarlane's hips sit in a tighter waist. The range of motion forward and backwards is nearly non-existant, though the legs can swing out to the sides a bit better. On top of that, Kenway has a long coat of very hard plastic- even if you could get the legs to move, the coat would prevent you from doing so. There are swivel/hinge ball-joints at the knees and the ankles have what I think are swivels, since I can't get the left one to tilt at all. Like the rest of the AC figures, Haytham Kenway stands tall very well, but you won't get any crouches or much in the way of action poses out of him.


I'm becoming quite a fan of this line of figures. I'm not a stickler for any one scale, and this particular one is growing on me. There's something easier to manage with this smaller scale, but it's not too small to be overshadowed (which is why I tend to shy away from 4" figures or less, for the most part). There's a nice assortment of accessories, which are too often overlooked with the 7" figures, some good detailing and the articulation is good enough for me to accept at this price point. That said, I paid $10 for this guy at Walgreens, which I am very happy about (the $17 some places ask for these is offensive). Even at regular price, Walgreens only charges $13, so that's your best bet if you are interested in picking up any of the current Assassin's Creed offerings.

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