Archie Comics is doing a cross-promotion with Jazwares exclusivly at Toys R Us stores with this triple pack of items to be available late august 2009.
Likely the first way to get 2 figures from the Jazwares 3 inch line, will be with this triple pack. You get the clear blue Sonic, plus Knuckles from the line as well as the 200th issue of Archie Sonic Comic all in 1 clear plastic pack with paper front-piece. Above, is
the advertisement piece for it, and to the right is a close-up of the actual pack. It's interesting that the actual product pack is the FIRST to be photographed rather than a company shot, especially of the special clear Sonic. Is this collectible? Yes. It WILL however also cause the rarity/value of Sonic 200 to plummet as everyone will likely want/hold onto this set whether or not they collect the comics at all. This should be approx. 12.99 and is available at TRU online in 2009.
Photo by LarryInc64
Photo by LarryInc64
Photo by LarryInc64
Here is 'clear Sonic'. He is identical to their regular Sonic in every way, except that his plastic is semi-transparent blue and he is not painted at all. Yes, it's a gimmick figure, but seen here, it is actually pretty cool to look at. The light shines through him, and the details become visible (shoe straps, eyes, glove cuffs etc) This transparent plastic actually highlights different aspects of the figure, making it a neat collectible!
Photo by LarryInc64
Photo by LarryInc64
Photo by LarryInc64
Their 3 inch Knuckles is just as good as the Sonic & Tails. With big, 3D fists, and detailed shoes he's no slouch in design. His spikes do limit his arm and head movement ability but there's nothing that can be done against that in design. He IS still articulated just as much as everyone else, the waist spin is harder to see because he's all 1 color--this works in his favor! This LOOKS like video-game Knuckles. He does not suffer 'thin body' or a too-steep head like other figures had in the past. There's not 'saucer head' either where it is enormous and flat. (evidenced by proportional side view)
Photo by LarryInc64
His shoe tracks are wavy rather than streight like the other figures.
Discovered by BleachXVizard
Figure Line Review:
EXCELLENT LINE. Period. There is ZERO excuse to not pick these guys up. The sculpts and articulation beats practically everything else out there, except their own larger line figures. They beat ToyIsland at anything. The price point is also *fantastic* at only $4.99 each or 12.99 for the 2 pak/comic bundle. With figures this small they really pulled out all the stops. There are 0 mutant figures on the line and even the 'clear blue Sonic' does not dissapoint just because his material is cool to look at. Many people consider a figure like that a 'gimmick' since it's exactly the same guy, just with different material, but the photos above prove he's still worth while to get.
Problems:
The problems are really really minor. They nearly count as 'nit picks' because everything else went so well.
Weakest Link--Literally WAS Tails. If this figure can't survive a 17 inch fall into a cushioning bag then yes, he is defective in more ways than just 'they put the tails on upside-down'. But this was actually fixed in later releases of him. The new Tails features rotating tails that don't just snap off. (See bottom of this page) This really helps to perfect the line, as it eliminated any all-out defectiveness to him. The only other beef is he's not scaled at all, so he appears huge, as tall as or taller than Sonic.
The joints can be loose- Sometimes the figures don't stand very well because of loose joints. Naturally, their heads are heavy because they are so large, but that just means making all joints very tight to support them.
Figures packed with backward arms- My figures came out of the box with knees and elbows backward. This encourages breaking if they're not inspected before movement is attempted.
Knuckles Shoes not Silver- His shoes are gray and not metallic where most versions of him do use the metallic paint (see above bendy) This is a nonsense point.
Articulation- EXTREMELY Great. They spared no joint with these guys and went all the way. They also finally ditched the "werehog leg" problem that encouraged breaking and replaced it with a useful and realistic joint.
The Bottom Line:
Don't let anything stop you from getting these figures. Great packages, great price, great pose-ability, great sculpts...you'll have a lot of fun with these.
Photo by LarryInc64
See how far the figures have come, as these 3 inchers pose with the standard TI bendies. NO CONTEST. Knuckles' smushed up face, Sonic's goofy look and their barely-action bending cannot measure up to these new figures.