Action Figure Review: No.77 from Frontline Chaos by JoyToy

 

   Most of the time my toy collecting is rather predictable. If you stop by here often you know I collect and review stuff like Marvel Legends, G.I.Joe: The Classified Series, Action Force, most Masters of the Universe stuff, McFarlane's DC Multiverse figures, Universal Monsters and NECA horror figures. Every now and then, though, I jump in and grab something random that I've seen online, perhaps in phots that someone has taken. Today I'm looking at a very unusual figure: No.77 from Joy Toy. Joy Toy is pretty popular right now because of their Warhammer action figures but they also have their own line of random characters called Frontline Chaos. Frontline Chaos is an eclectic mix of 1/12 scaled characters with little to no backstory and soft goods outfits. I saw this nurse figure (No.77 legitimately seems to be her name rather than a release number or anything as the other figures in Frontline Chaos have legit names and such) and though she looked pretty cool and just a bit creepy. I mean, she's attractive, yeah, but there's also something off about her, too. Initially I thought she'd make a good assistant to the Joker. For some reason she puts me in the mind of the "Love That Joker!" spoke model from 1989's Batman. The more I have her in hand, the more versatile I think she'll be. There's a lot of fluctuation in the pricing of this figure as I've seen her from from $65 dollars to over $100 retail. Depending on how much you pay might determine how much you like her. Ready for a visit from No.77? Then turn your head, cough, and join me after the break...

The Facts:

Height: 6 1/4ths inches

Articulation: Double swivel/ hinge ankles, double hinged knees, swivel thighs, ball jointed hips, ball jointed waist, balljointed mid-torso, swivel/hinge shoulders, bicep swivels, double hinged elbows, double swivel/hinge wrists, and a barbell jointed head.

Accessories: Dress, hat, coat, panties, scalpel, bone saw, syringe, plunger, and 14 swappable hands. 

Non-Scalper Price: $70-$100 dollars.

The Positives:

* I'm not going to remove all of No.77's clothing but she does have a fully removable outfit consisting of the white nurse's outfit and a pair of white panties. Underneath, she's just a plain figure, kind of like an action figure sized Barbie doll. The clothes fit well and the dress has functioning snaps on the front. No.77 has very pale skin and definitely looks like she'd fit in as an accomplice of the Joker and/or Harley Quinn. There's not much sculpted detail on the body but the figure looks pretty nice overall.

* The dress does have functional snaps on the front and functional pockets. You can store her scalpel (or any other small items you find in your parts bin to give her) in her pocket quite securely. Functional pockets; that's a bit of a leg up over most regular women's clothing from what I hear. 

* The portrait is really nice on No.77. She's sporting a light blue bob that's ridiculously fantastic with her gorgeous portrait. And yeah, she also has stitches or some remnant of a scar across her face. But it's not Listen: You're a child of the late 80s/ early 90s with coulrophobia, then Batman: The Animated Series introduces Harley Quinn, yada, yada, yada, now you dig clown ladies. Does her face remind anyone else of Lady Gaga a little bit? Not the color or the scar; just the general appearance. 

* Over her nurse uniform No.77 is also sporting a translucent plastic raincoat to protect herself from blood spatter.  It's kind of giving me an American Psycho vibe! There are some bits of blood stain on her outfit. The raincoat is made from translucent plastic and really does feel like a legit raincoat. It's pretty interesting. It can snap closed and the hood is functional, covering No.77's hair. I imagine blood is a pain to get out of blue hair.

* Here's a shot from the back so you can better see the hood up and the transparency of the material. This is pretty impressive and has such an interesting look.

* Her shoes are cool, though definitely more "Halloween costume" nurse and less real life nurse. I mean, they have heels. That's not something typically favored in a medical environment. The shoes are spattered with a bit of blood, too.

* No.77 also comes with an old timey nurse's cap with a red cross on the top. Guess how it stays on so well? It's magnetic. That's a neat way to tackle this as I can't think of any other way that would work as well other than having it be part of the hair and non-removable. 

* Nurse No.77 comes with a bunch of extra hands for multiple poses. She has a pair of open hands with her fingers spread wide, a pair of standard grips, a pair of loose grips, a very precise left hand for holding the scalpel, a right hand with an "OK" gesture, a pointing right hand, and a left handed peace sign. That's a lot of options!

* She also has some gloved hands with blood spatter on them. There's a pair of tighter grips and a pair of looser, relaxed grips. The gloved hands are legitimately a it larger, as if she does have a layer of protective material over her hands, so that's pretty cool. 

* The articulation is really nice on these. It kind of reminds me of something like a Figma or SH Figuarts item. Maybe not quite as smooth but the articulation is well though out and there's a good range of motion. The knees and elbows stand out a bit, which is probably more prevalent here than on some other JoyToy figures due to NO.77's outfit not covering those areas. She doesn't feel overly delicate and I'm not concerned with breakage while just posing her. The joints all seem seem pretty decent. 

* Ever since watching the 1989 film Pet Sematary I've hated scalpels. Guess what No.77 comes with? A scalpel. Yikes! (It could be a lancet, too. There's a bit of a difference I guess). This is a pretty nasty looking little piece with some nice paint applications. Since she has a special hand for wielding it properly, it looks really good when in use.

* Listen, when any medical professional shows up with a bone saw, you know your days is pretty well screwed up. Especially when they walk in and yell "Bonesaw is ready!" Yup. Your day is down the drain. Here's a bone saw. If you see it wielded by either a medical professional or a sexy clown, run.

* Next up is a syringe. A massive syringe. This thing is ridiculously huge. What the heck is No.77 injecting with this? Or maybe she's using it to suck out blood. That could happen, right? This is a pretty accurate looking syringe, though it's covered in blood and has a little heart at the top. It's oversized, but promo pics show her kind of posing with it, like a prop.

* The plunger is removable and can fit inside the barrel, allowing you to pose No.77 as if she's injecting or extracting her victim. Yikes!

* Lots of toy lines have nice packaging and, more and more frequently these days, we're seeing packaging that's quite well designed and fairly collector friendly. Rarely do I count it as part of the figure itself, though, as usually something has to get destroyed to remove the figure. Not so here. The Frontline Chaos figures come in very sturdy boxes that definitely are meant to be saved. They remind me of the original Mezco One:12 Collective boxes. Furthermore, there's no plastic tray here. There are two foam trays inside that safely hold No.77 and all of her extras in place. Plus, the art on the front is pretty cool, too. 

The Negatives:



* Do I have some complaints? Yes, unfortunately I do. First of all, the joints on No.77 are weird. They're whiter than the rest of her skin. This is true for the knee, wrist, ankle, and elbow joints. 

* Secondly, many of the hands are a pain to attach. The wrist peg is fine but the holes in the hands are too small on a number of the hands. Maybe it's just me but I definitely don't think the first thing I need to be doing on a higher end figure is yanking out a Dremel or something and enlarging stuff.  

   I do take cost into my reviews, especially when it's stuff that can easily be purchased at retail or through regular e-tailers with distribution in the United States (where I'm based) and can be compared with other companies putting out similar product. So, cost-wise what do I think? This figure costs way too much for what you get. If you do find her on the lower end for around $65 or $70, well, that's less bad, but it's really tough to compare the value you're getting here with, say, anything from NECA, Four Horsemen Studios, or even Mezco, and feel like you're getting your money's worth. No.77 is an interesting figure and filled a bizarre gap in my collection, but it's tough to recommend this one too much.

   I love her design and the portrait. Her accessories are pretty cool, too, though she does come pretty light for a higher end figure. It's still kind of novel to have a figure in a soft goods outfit like this, sure, but the outfit isn't something that feels like it demands a premium price. It's less elaborate than some of the Cosmic Legions outfits. No extra portraits? Discolored joints? No stand (and no foot pegs)? This is a definitely a very Eh and a 1/2 figure. I like her, don't get me wrong, but it's tough to see the value. Hey, sometimes I bite the bullet and pick up a figure that seems cool, but that doesn't always mean that I don't feel like a bit of a sucker. If you're interested in her, shop around for a deal. She's not bad, but it's like getting charged $20 for a cheeseburger at a concert or sporting event. It might still taste yummy and you can still enjoy it, but you know you're paying more than you should and that your money would have went further elsewhere. 


This is the first figure of No.77 I've reviewed.