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Manufacturer Information:
M & C Toy Centre LTD.
Unit 813
8th Floor
Peninsula Centre
67 Mody Road
Tsim Sha Tsui East
Kowloon, Hong Kong
Website
The Package:
This sucker comes in a long windowed box (8 inches high x 26 inches wide x 4 - 1/2 inches deep). You can clearly see everything you're getting when you pick one up off the shelf and look it over. I like the 'action' pose they have displayed inside with the figure 'paddling' his kayak through cardboard 'waves'. The back of the package shows photos of the other World Peacekeepers figures and vehicles that are available. The box is taped shut, which a single pull from a knife easily rectifies. There are quite a few twisty ties securing the figure and the kayak to the box, much more than the usual two twisties that bind the single World Peacekeepers figures. Now for the bad part: The kayak has two compartments for holding accessories, these are secured shut with excessive amounts of tape. So what, you say? This tape leaves horrible amounts of sticky residue on your kayak when you remove it. I had to spend a good ten-to-fifteen minutes scrubbing, using some cleaning 'goop' ('Orange Goop' to be specific--it's the same stuff I use to remove price tags from toys I keep MOC), in order to get it all off. Annoying to say the least, but at least my soldier can rest easy knowing that his kayak will pass cleaning inspection thanks to me. The accessories are secured to the back of the box inside two plastic bubbles, and, unfortunately, you'll have to rip the back of the box to get them out.
The Kayak:
Let's talk about his ebony, two-foot-long kayak, which is obviously the main attraction of this set. The sculpt is pretty basic, but real kayaks are generally smooth and lacking in detail too. There are two, small storage spaces with removable lids built into the front and back of the craft. I was pleasantly surprised to see this, as it was not obvious in the store and the package doesn't mention it anywhere. The spaces are on the small side though, so you can only fit some of his items in them, but it's still a cool addition that I appreciate. The soldier only fits in the kayak one way, facing the narrower end of the craft (the other end is closed off with a plastic wall). Now, the most important question, does it float? Yes, but unfortunately, it sits quite low in the water, especially with the added weight of the soldier. The kayak also has a tendency to roll over when the figure is in it--I don't know how typical that is with a real kayak, but it certainly makes me apprehensive about ever trying out the real deal. You'll have to tweak the figure's pose just right to keep him from taking an unscheduled dunk in the drink. The kayak doesn't leak either, in case you're wondering, but it will take on water during a roll over, so make sure you empty out any water that gets in when that happens, or else it will add even more weight, further decreasing its already dubious sea-worthiness.
Rather than in the accessories section, I'll address the subject of the black paddle here as well, where it's more appropriate: It measures just under 13 inches long from tip to tip. The paddles are set at opposite angles (i.e., when one end is in the horizontal position, the other end is in the vertical position). The shaft has some give to it, which is good as it makes it more resilient to snapping.
The Soldier:
Head sculpts and ethnicity vary for these Power Team figures, so the one you get might look much different than mine. My figure sports a very short, blond, buzz haircut and a band-aid on his left cheek. The black gloves are permanently sculpted on and have a fair amount of detail such as a textured surface and seams. He has the usual impressive M & C Toy 3rd-Generation body articulation: Ball-jointed neck, shoulders, chest, waist, and hips; triple-jointed knees and elbows; cut joints in the biceps, thighs, and wrists, and pivot ankles. The cut joints on these figures have a tendency towards looseness, which can make posing somewhat problematic; the biceps on this one are particularly bad.
IMPORTANT: The two different head sculpts I saw in Big! Lots for this kayak set also came with very different accessories--this is the first time I've seen M & C Toy change around the gear with the variant heads, but it's something I hope to see again in the future. The brown-haired version I didn't buy came with: (1) A camo outfit instead of a wetsuit, (2) a soft-goods camouflage hat instead of the underwater compass thingy, (3) a slightly different machine gun, (4) binoculars and a flashlight instead of the aqua-lung.
Accessories:
Even if you exclude the kayak and paddle from consideration, this guy is still loaded. You get:
- A black MP5. The sculpting on this is quite nice, sporting lots of little details. An elastic band is attached via two metal ring and allows your soldier to carry his weapon over his shoulder/back.
- A black scope for the MP5. This snaps on and stays put.
- A black extra clip attacher. One side slides on over the clip that is permanently sculpted on the MP5, leaving the other slot free to accept another clip.
- An extra black clip for the MP5. This attaches to the gun via the previously mentioned attacher device. Call me crazy, but having an extra clip for a gun where the clips aren't even removable in the first place is pretty pointless. M & C Toy should address this issue--it wouldn't be difficult to alter the sculpt of their guns slightly so that the clips could be removed.
- A knife. It's molded in black plastic with the blade painted silver.
- A black sheath for said knife. The fit of the knife is rather loose, which I found surprising, as another Power Team figure I have came with the exact same knife and sheath, and his fits snugly. A slot on the back allows you to attach it to a belt/strap.
- A black board with handles that has what looks like a transparent, spherical, compass thingy set in it (It's the thing to the left of the knife and sheath in the photo of the accessories). I guess it's some kind of underwater equipment, but I really can't say for certain. If anybody knows what this thing is, drop me an e-mail and let me know, eh?
- A pair of rubbery, black shoes. The sculpt on these is nothing special, but they slip on and off his feet with ease.
- A pair of rubbery, black flippers. You need to have the previously mentioned shoes on for these to fit, otherwise his bare feet are too small. I noticed that there are holes near the back of the flippers that would allow you to connect elastic straps though . . .
- Rubber goggles with an attached rubbery snorkel. The eyeholes have clear plastic lenses and the goggles have an elastic band to keep them on your soldier's head. The snorkel doesn't attach to his mouth at all, but if you fiddle with it, you can kind of get it to sit right. While okay by itself, the snorkel looks pretty absurd when you also have the aqualung hooked up (if you really want to go to the trouble, you can remove the snorkel from the elastic band, I just left it).
- An aqualung. This has some cool sculpted elements such as dials/meters on the front and a small, silver and green oxygen tank on the bottom. The body of the apparatus attaches to his body via two adjustable straps. The mouthpiece connects to his face via an elastic strap that goes around his head.
- Metal dog tags. One has "Power Team" stamped into it, the other "World Peacekeepers". These hang around his neck on a metal ball chain. Scale is good.
- A black nylon bodysuit. This opens and closes via a working zipper on the front. There's also an elastic hood attached which fits very tightly. The legs and arms are a little on the short side, and even worse, the outfit has a tendency to leave smudge marks on the figure (my soldier now looks like he has a part time job in a coal mine), which is definitely not cool. I think the tightness of the hood is the main culprit there . . .
- A rubbery black belt. This is fairly thick and it opens and closes via a ribbed end that goes through the 'buckle' portion on the other end.
Cost:
Simply unbelievable--I only paid $12.99 + tax for this set. When you consider all the stuff you're getting, that's just insane. No other manufacturer I can think of could, or would, offer this much for so little.
Final Analysis:
PROS:
- Exceptional value. You get a good quality 1:6-scale figure with a large/varied assortment of gear, and a huge kayak for a mere $12.99 + tax! Good luck finding a better value for thirteen smackers in today's toy market.
- Toys you can play with in the bath tub, pool, lake, stream, etc. are always a treat.
- Buying the variant head sculpt actually means something with this set--you get a different outfit and gear.
- Highly articulated figure.
- Nice, inexpensive fodder for 1:6-scale kitbashers/customizers.
CONS:
- Snorkel should not have been attached to goggles (and probably excluded all together), as it looks silly when you also have an aqualung.
- Having an extra clip for a gun that you can't remove clips from is pointless.
- Black nylon outfit leaves unsightly smudge marks on figure, particularly on the face where it's most noticeable.
- Kayak floats low in the water and has a tendency to try to drown its occupant with frequent rollovers.
- Loose cut joints can make posing troublesome.
- Overall quality is relatively lacking compared to more expensive 1:6-scale military figures made by other manufacturers. However, the price does much to compensate for this.
Where to Buy:
I've only seen them at our local Big! Lots, but M & C Toy's official website (see link at the beginning of the review) has an international list of stores that are supposed to carry these, so you'll want to check that out if you're having trouble locating some in your area.
In addition to these 1:6 scale figures and vehicles, M & C Toy also makes 1:18th-scale military figures/vehicles/playsets which may be of particular interest to 3-3/4 inch G.I.JOE: Real American Hero fans.
For Parents:
M & C Toy recommends this set for ages three and up.
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(Above photo is from package)
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