Wrapping Up 2023: Indiana Jones (Cairo) from Indiana Jones: Adventure Series by Hasbro

 

   Near the end of the year I did end up grabbing more of the Indiana Jones: Adventure Series than I originally planned. The reason was that they went on sale at clearance prices at most places, so I ended up with all but a few of them for probably half the original price. Indiana Jones (Cairo) captures a very recognizable look for Indy, similar to how he looks on the iconic 1982 Richard Amsel US re-release poster. This guy was sure to be a winner of a figure, right? Well,for some bizarre reason he was shipped at deluxe pricing, meaning this guy originally cost $34 dollars. That's within the past few months. That's... ridiculous. He's largely a reuse of other prior Indy figures, he has no new or unique accessories, and a few extra hands. This is definitely one of those pricing issues that Hasbro has right now that causes a lot of ill will towards collectors. There's no reason this guy should be should at a price above the standard price point. I'm glad I waited for a deep price cut and you should, too! Let's check out Indiana Jones (Cairo) after the break and try to discover why Hasbro thought this guy was worth about $10 more than a regular figure. 

The Facts:

Height: 6 1/8ths inches

Articulation: Double swivel/hinge ankles, swivel/ hinge knees, swivel thighs, balljointed hips, balljointed waist, balljointed mid-torso, swivel/hinge shoulders w/ lateral "butterfly" hinges, swivel/hinge elbows, balljointed wrists, balljointed neck, and a barbell jointed head.

Accessories: Revolver, 2 whips, satchel, 6 swappable hands, and monkey.

Non-Scalper Price: $34 dollars

Comparison:

* Cairo Indy (center) borrows from three other figures in the Adventure Series: The standard Raiders Indy (released in the Ark BAA set or as the Temple Escape version), the Hypnotized Indy, and the Temple of Doom Indy. The head is from the TOD Indy (not shown), the legs, belt, hands, and most accessories are from the standard Indy (left) while the torso is from the Hypnotized Indy (right). The arms and shirt overlay seem to be new. 

The Positives:

* This is an incredibly memorable look for Indy and overall I think Hasbro captured it nicely. With his buttons unbuttoned most of the way down, part of his shirt hanging out untucked, and sweat stains all over, the figure captures the ragged appearance Indy has when he's finally had enough and just shoots the Cairo swordsman. Why is there no Cairo Swordsman in this line for this guy to fight? The lack of the big guys sucks, particularly the Swordsman and the Mechanic. Pat Roach needs to be represented!

* Like with most of the Indy figures, the articulation scheme is familiar here; it's pretty much what most recent non-armored Star Wars: The Black Series figures have. The joints all have a nice range of motion, especially the shoulders and the head and neck. Since he used the torso from the Hypnotized Indy with a shirt overlay, he gets both balljointed waist rather and mid-torso (though the shirt hinders it a bit). He also has true balljointed wrists rather than swivel/hinge wrists. I'm still not sure if I think they function better but they look nice.

* Indy comes with six swappable hands: Fists for punching, a gripping right hand for whipping, a pistol grip right hand for shooting, a more open gripped left hand for holding, and a very open gripped left hand for cupping. 

* Indy comes with his Smith & Wesson revolver, reused from the standard figure. The sculpt is really nice with a lot of detail, though I do wish it had received a paint application for the handle. I'm pretty sure the revolvers in the 2008 line had that detail. 

* The revolver fits into the holster on Indy's pistol belt just fine. 

* Cairo Indy also comes with his trusty bullwhip, like about half of the Indy figures in the line. It's a little brighter than I'd expect but it does have a nice sculpted braid to it rather than just being completely smooth. It comes looped up but with a little futzing around it'll look better.

* A coiled whip is also included which can hang from Indy's belt.

* And here it is coiled up on his belt! 

* Indy's satchel is another shared accessory with the standard Raiders Indy figure; it's a simple piece with a bit of paint that looks pretty accurate to the film prop.

* In the Adventure Series Hasbro didn't make Mola Ram, nor Irina Spalko, nor the Cairo Swordsman, nor the German Mechanic, nor the giant Thuggee, nor Lao Che, nor Col. Dietrich, nor Col. Vogel, nor Col Dovchenko, nor Satipo and Barranca, nor Klaber, but you know who they made? The monkey. The Nazi monkey. Not the Monkey Man just the monkey. And they've included him twice: Once with Marion Ravenwood and again with Cairo Indy. He's kind of cool, but why did we need two monkeys in this line? He's nicely sculpted, though and is a cool minifigure.

* He's also fully articulated. He's got a balljointed tail, swivel shoulders, and a balljointed head. When you're posing your monkey, just remember that Hasbro released him twice but didn't make any of the thirteen villains I mentioned in the previous paragraph. Am I salty? You better believe it. Salty like a pretzel. 

* Like with the standard Indy head, I can say that this isn't a bad portrait. It's clearly Indiana Jones. The hat helps to solidify this as Mr. Adventure himself, but the portrait isn't bad. This portrait is shared with the Temple of Doom Indy and has his teeth showing in a bit of an angered expression.

The Negatives:

* While this is Indy, is it Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones? It doesn't quite nail his likeness the way some of the Han Solo figures have. We're getting some stunning likenesses from Hasbro of late, but this one just isn't top shelf. 

   This isn't a bad figure at all; it's just not by any means a deluxe figure. The pricing on this guy is truly bizarre to me. The standard Raiders Indy came with the exact same stuff expect instead of a monkey (the same monkey Marion Ravenwood comes with) he came with the fertility idol and the parts for the ark. There's just no noticeable difference that would justify him as deluxe. Now, on sale? He's much better and a pretty nice figure. I'm giving him a Good and a 1/2. I do wish the Harrison Ford likeness was better, though. Sadly, it's unlikely we'll see anything else from this line. Hasbro's even clearing these figures out on Pulse. It's a shame that we'll likely never have a Cairo Swordsman or the Monkey Man to go with him. I've got some more reviews coming, but this line felt very half-baked to me. It felt like there were key figures missing from the get-go, an entire movie was skipped, the DoD figure were largely duds, and it seemed like it was dead before it could even get started; almost like Hasbro knew it was going to be very finite. Bummer.

   Looking for more of Dr. Henry Walton Jones, Jr., better known as Indiana Jones? Then check out my reviews of the Adventure Series Indiana Jones (Professor), Indiana Jones (Map Room), Indiana Jones (Club Obi Wan), and Indiana Jones (Temple Escape), Indiana Jones with Ark and the two Indys from the SDCC "Lost Wave" set: Indiana Jones and Indiana Jones in German Uniform, all from Hasbro's 2008 Indiana Jones toyline, the Retro Collection Indiana Jones (Raiders of the Lost Ark), and the Indiana Jones: Worlds of Adventure Indiana Jones with Adventure Backpack.


For more reviews from the Indiana Jones: Adventure Series check out the following:

Indiana Jones (Club Obi Wan)
Indiana Jones (Map Room)

Indiana Jones (Professor)

Indiana Jones (Temple Escape)
Major Arnold Toht