CONNOR - McFarlane Toys Assassin's Creed III Action Figure

The Facts:

Connor was released by McFarlane Toys in the summer of 2013, as part of Series 1 Assassin's Creed III, alongside Haytham Kenway and Edward Kenway (Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag). The figure comes sealed on a thin bubble card with some neat in-game graphics and exclusive unlockable in-game content.

Details:

Connor stands 5 & 3/4" tall, putting him in-scale with other McFarlane Toys releases (Halo and The Walking Dead, specifically), but out of scale with most other lines, including the previous NECA Assassin's Creed figures. The sculpt is solid, with appropriate buttons, wrinkles, pouches, buckles, etc. Connor has a thick build, with a barrel chest and large, rounded shoulders. Not having played the game, I'm can't speak about how accurate that may or may not be, but in terms of the aesthetics of the figure, he looks proportional. The cowl sports an eagle-type design at the point, and rotates with the head. There are lots of excellent paint apps (detailed bands around the biceps are terrific), and some poor ones (the sash is sloppy on nearly every figure I've seen), but the overall look is a good one. The face is well-sculpted and painted, though the eyes are a bit beady in my mind (this may be due to the smaller scale, and an unfair comparison to the NECA AC figures). Connor's bracer and weapons are also well-sculpted and painted.

Posing:

Above the waist, the articulation is good. Swivel head (restricted by the cowl), ball joints at the shoulders and elbows (with some rotation), and wrists. The joints are pretty ugly, with unpainted (mismatched plastic) pins and ridged hinges that really call attention to themselves. The elbow bend is restricted a bit by the bracer and forearm pieces, as well. There is no waist articulation or ab-crunch, which is the real weakness of this figure.

Below the waist, things get worse. The hips are odd- the thighs can rotate a bit and move out to the sides, but the forward/backwards movement is very restricted. I can't get anything remotely close to crouches or even running poses. But I can adjust well enough to get some pretty natural standing poses. The knees have those hinged ball joints as do the ankles (which also have a rocker joint to allow them to lie flat with wider stances).

Accessories:

Excellent. Two pistols (which fit into the sculpted holsters), a bow (with string), hatchet, Assassin's blade (it's a little thick and has an odd sculpt, but can be pegged onto the bracer or left off), and 3 non-removable arrows sculpted into the quiver on his back. They are all appropriately sized, sculpted and painted nicely, and can be worn or held as needed, more or less. 

Final Thoughts:

I really like this figure! I'm not especially picky about scale - to me, a neat figure is a neat figure, not matter the size. That said, there's something especially appealing to me about this smaller 5" scale. Connor is easy to work with, is solidly constructed, has great accessories, and can be posed well-enough for my tastes. The AC figures were on sale this past week at Walgreens, where I picked them up for $10 apiece, which is a terrific deal. If you have the opportunity, I'd highly recommend grabbing these guys while you can- Series 2 (the pirates!) is about to hit, along with the release of Assassin's Creed Black Flag...