Superhero Times: a service of Action Online
Marvel's Ghost Rider is my favorite superhero who is getting a much needed revival with a new comic series, movie and a Hasbro toy line to go with it, and now a 1/6 scale figure by Medicom. Though not the comic incarnation that I grew up with and liked, it's still an awesome item.
Packaging:
The packaging is pretty straightforward, with very nice graphics all around of the Ghost Rider. There's a list of the people involved in making the figure on the back. It's a really nice and vibrant box that'll be sure to attract attention if you decide to keep it mint in box. The great thing about it is that there are no twisty ties, so there's no need to break out the scissors or nail clippers or whatever you use to get them off. I'm all for keeping the stuff inside intact, but the Ghost Rider is pretty secure enough as is. No time wasted trying to free it from the plastic prison and more time to enjoy it.
Sculpting:
There are a couple things that are sculpted on the Ghost Rider and they are his skull and flames. His hands will be covered in the accessories stage, but the first two are really the main ones on this product. The skull is really great, showing his menacing look fit for one who is out to dispense vengeance upon the evil. The teeth, nose and eye sockets are all done wonderfully and really capture the Ghost Rider's stylized human skull look. It's all sculpted as one piece as far as I can tell.
The flames are a work of wonder. I've seen his flames done on previous figures and model kits and none of them really caught the right look to it. The Medicom Ghost Rider has managed to do just that, and it looks great from any angle. They are done as a separate piece, very soft I might add, that covers the head like a hood, going all the way down to the torso. While it looks great, there's one thing that it detracts, and that's the articulation. Still, the best representation of flames on the Ghost Rider I've ever seen.
Articulation:
I'm not familiar with the Medicom body, but he's got a pretty good range of motion all around. The articulation is all there for the basics - shoulders, elbows, wrists, waist, chest, thighs, hips, ankles and in a sense, the neck. The neck's articulation is severely limited due to the overlapping flames and can barely move side to side. That's one of the biggest problems I had with it, since all he can do is look straight forward and I would have to shift his torso around to get him to check out what's going on next to him.
The outfit doesn't hinder any of the articulation either, and you can get him in some pretty cool poses. I'm not a posing machine, so I like to have him in one position and keep it like that, but it's good to know that I can. The boots cover up the nice ankle joints that I don't see on a lot of standard 1/6 bodies. There's a swivel joint that can allow him to rest his foot at an angle, which I thought was cool. The only articulation I was hoping for but didn't get was in his jaw. Without articulation there, Ghost Rider just stares at you angrily with clenched teeth.
The articulation count goes as follows, and I'm probably sure I got a few of the terms wrong: Ball jointed neck, another neck joint at torso, 2 swivel joint at shoulders (move up and down and front and back), ball jointed shoulders, bicep cuts, double jointed elbows, wrist cut joints, ball jointed wrists, torso joint, waist cut joint, 2 swivel joint at hips (move side to side and front and back), thigh cut joints, double jointed knees, calf cut joints, swivel joints at ankles (move side to side) and hinged joint at ankles (move up and down).
Paint:
The only paint that's really on the figure is the skull, so I am pleased to find that they did a very nice job on it. The skull is a dirty, white-ish color with some blackwash to bring out the details. I'm going to assume that depending on the quality control, they'd vary for each product. Mine was pretty decent so I have no problems there. The only issue I take is that the yellow applied near the flames isn't as nicely shaded as I'd have like. It's not a big deal, though. The eye sockets aren't shaded in as much, but I suspect they did this so that the effect when you put a light source behind the flames would look better than if it was colored in completely.
Costume:
He's dressed in a pleather jacket with plastic spikes on the epaulets, spiked gauntlets, a studded belt, pleather chaps over a dark navy denim jeans, and boots with sculpted on spikes and moving spurs. The jacket is awesome, with high collars and a nice glossy look. Obviously, the only issue with it is the glaringly oversized zipper. I knew it was there from seeing the final product on Sideshow's site, but truth be told it's not going to be noticeable since you're going to be looking at the whole figure instead. The spiked epaulets slope slightly downwards due to the lack of shoulder on the boy, but it's easily overlooked. Other than those little nitpicks, the jacket is nicely tailored, and not too thick a material.
The pleather chaps is equally nice, made of the same material with a velcro strap to hold it together. It is kind of short, ending just about calf height since it's going to be covered by his boots. The sides are strung together with thick black string so you can loosen or tighten it if you are going to use it on another body. The denim pants are cheap looking by themselves. They have a velcro clasp, no front pockets and end at the same area as the chaps. Not really worth using on anything other than the chaps.
The spiked gauntlets and boots are a thing of beauty. The gauntlets have molded details for the straps and the spikes are made of hard plastic so it's not children friendly, the way toys should be. I wish that it would have been spiked all around the gauntlets but it's still nice the way it is. The boots have the same molded on strap details and the spikes are nice and sturdy too. The spurs are sweet looking, and won't come off so that's a good thing since losing one would really suck. They can move up and down and really add to his image. The studded belt is plastic, but looks really great. The buckle is molded so they had it attached with a metal hook and a couple slots in the belt itself. Not sure if I'd have liked a functional one, since this way wasn't all that bad either. Another great addition to his outfit. I swapped out the chaps for a more 90's denim jean look.
Accessories:
He comes with three accessories - his trusty chain, an extra pair of hands, and a stand. Would have liked maybe an alternate screaming skull or more hands for the price I paid for it. The chain is metal and is very long, with a spike at the end of it. You can wrap it around his body a few times and still have enough left over for him to hold. The extra hands he comes with are more for grasping his chain. They are decent looking and made of a hard plastic. The stand I'm not sure how it is, but if you've used Medicom stands then you can judge it for yourself. I'm not much of a stand guy. I don't think there's much else you can pack with him other than his bike that would complete him (Hasbro 12" Ghost Rider Bike pictured below- not included)... perhaps some variations of his chains (so he can make them into throwing stars or a spear)?
Overall:
I'm pretty satisfied with my purchase. I got him directly from Sideshow's site, which I think was the first one to have it on preorder at $99.99. Not a bad price, but if you can snag him elsewhere for about 10 bucks cheaper then it's the way to go. You definitely need some kind of Hellcycle for him to ride or pose next to, and if you can get your hands on the Hasbro one then you are in business. I'd have liked for him to have come with more alternate hands (closed fists, poining, etc) and maybe an alternate head if they couldn't articulate the jaw, and that would have definitely made the price for it more reasonable. As a Ghost Rider fan I'd give it a 4 out of 5, not perfect but pretty damn close.
Review and Images Courtesy of: Danny Chen, aka Demon Cat
