Monday, April 13, 2015

Action Figure Review: Bray Wyatt from WWE Elite: WrestleMania XXX by Mattel


     Last year Andrew, one of my fellow podcasters on the Confirmed Epic Podcast, invited me over to his house to watch WrestleMania XXX. I can't say that I've ever been into wrestling before, despite trying to get into it back in 9th grade (1998-1999) when everyone else was, but the allure of hanging out with friends and eating chicken wings was too much. I ended up...captivated. I really enjoyed it and since have become a casual fan watching a few of the Pay Per Views over the past year along with WrestleMania XXXI. Of course, the most interesting part of WWE to me thus far has been Bray Wyatt and the Wyatt Family. I'm all about the horror themed stuff and their entrance at WrestleMania XXX last year just sold me on their whole gimmick. So far the only WWE Elite figures I've purchased have been the (now disbanded) Wyatt Family: Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, and Erick Rowan. I've been amazed by how great these figures are and have been anxiously looking forward to other characters that I like to be released in the WWE Elite line. While I'm still waiting to get Rusev (that guy cracks me up), Goldust and Stardust (they're so bizarre!) and Paige (cause, y'know-it's Paige), I managed to find this Bray Wyatt figure from his appearance at Wrestlemania XXX which is part of a Toys 'R Us exclusive wave that features a build-a-figure Corporate Kane. I actually bought mine loose without his build-a-figure piece, so i don't have that (but I wasn't going to use it anyways). Ready for a look at The New Face of Fear? Then join me after the break...





The Facts:
Height: 7 inches

Articulation: Lateral hinged ankles, ball jointed ankles, double hinged knees, swivel thighs, ball jointed hips, swivel waist, hinged abdomen, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel biceps, hinged elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, and a ball jointed head.

Accessories: Hat, lantern, and Kane's legs (not included with my loose figure).

Non-Scalper Price: $22 dollars



The Positives:

* I think I said this in my review of the standard Elite Bray Wyatt but I really, really like how Mattel handles these figures. They're well articulated, feature some nice sculpting and paint, and are just fun toys to play with. They might be one of the best combinations of design and playability I've seen in a modern action figure line. Bray is extremely sturdy and just looks incredible. I'm not going to say that his likeness is a NECA quality likeness or anything but it definitely surpasses most of what you'd find in comparable mass market lines.


*The paint work is really good. While this figure is essentially just a repaint of the series 28 Bray Wyatt, the painted details excellently recreate Bray's look at WrestleMania XXX. The pattern on the snakeskin boots is great and actually has a weathered look to it while his T-shirt with the words "All Hope is Lost" is spot on. Interestingly, the word "is" is printed on the shirt twice since it falls right over the "ab crunch" joint. This seemed weird at first but I think that it ultimately makes the figure look better in more poses, even if the "is" isn't quite right. And those tattoos? Just awesome. Bray Wyatt has some great ink on his arms and Mattel has nicely recreated it here.

*Bray comes with two accessories: His fedora and his lantern. The fedora is just a darker version of the one that came with the Elite 28 Bray Wyatt while the lantern is a non glow in the dark version of the lantern that came with the Elite Luke Harper. Both accessories work great and really help bring Bray to life.

*While my set didn't come with them, the fact that you only have to buy four figures to get a build a figure of Corporate Kane is not a bad incentive. If you bought the whole wave you'd essentially be getting five figures for the price of four.


The Negatives:

*While I'm not at all surprised that this figure is simply a repaint of the Elite 28 Bray Wyatt (since Bray typically wears the same type of clothes) I do wish that Mattel had given us a new head sculpt. I like that Bray Wyatt headsculpt, but it's definitely a more jovial representation of Bray. This is Bray when he was sitting back in his rocking chair and watching Harper and Rowan fight. I want to see a Bray mid-match, possibly with the sweaty strands of hair plastered to his forehead. Heck, I'd like to see a Bray Wyatt headsculpt that is sculpted to show him in his creepy spider walk pose. Something different and a bit more sinister would have been nice.

*Where's his vest? Bray wore an old vest at Wrestlemania XXX. Surely some other figure had a vest that could have been repainted and re-purposed to make a more accurate Bray.


     If you're a Bray Wyatt fan, this is a cool version of the figure. His entrance at Wrestlemania XXX was amazing and this figure captures it rather well (although the lack of a vest is a bit disappointing). While this figure is completely a repaint, it's a good repaint that doesn't sacrifice much authenticity and doesn't feel cheap or thrown together. As it stands, I'm giving it a Great as it's still a well constructed and fun figure. If you want the Kane build-a-figure, you'll probably even feel better about it. It's a Toys R Us exclusive and seems to be rather difficult to find, so good luck on hunting it down.


I've only reviewed two other WWE figures from the WWE Elite Collection by Mattel:
Bray Wyatt
Erick Rowan

I have Luke Harper but never got around to reviewing him. He's pretty awesome though. Maybe a Great as well?






2 comments:

  1. I used to be a huge wrestling fan but these days it's more casual. Bray Wyatt is one of my tops though and now I want all three guys from the Wyatt Family. That last pic looks great with all three together.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Creepy...But a fun looking action figure of I.R.S's son.

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