McFarlane Toys is the latest company to get the license to make figures based on the Assassin’s Creed video game series from UBISOFT. They are doing 6” figures with the first wave based on characters from the Assassin’s Creed III video game. Today, we take a look at the new Connor figure from Assassin’s Creed III to see if it’s one worth adding to your collection.
Check out hi-res images for this figure in our
GALLERY below.
Packaging - McFarlane used a very basic and sleek-looking packaging design for this line. The figure comes on a white blister card which has the Assassin’s Creed name at the top in the same font as you would see on the video game. The cardback isn’t much wider than the figure itself so it takes up very little room on the pegs. The bubble clearly displays the figure so you can get a good look at it before purchasing. At the bottom is art of the Connor character which is very similar to the art you see on the packaging for the game. The figure’s name is displayed at the bottom as well as a picture of a boat which promotes the unlockable in-game content that these figures come packaged with as an additional bonus. The back of the cardback shows the other two figures in wave 1 as well as additional figures coming out in October based on both Assassin’s Creed III and IV games.
Sculpt - The sculpting on this figure is very solid. There are tons of little details sculpted on the figure like buttons on his shirt and jacket and creases sculpted into the pants legs. The face sculpt is also very nice though somewhat hard to see due to the hood he wears. The only slight downside for this figure is that the hinged joints on the figure’s shoulders are sculpted in a manner that sticks out a little. You can also see the pins on the shoulders and elbows where the joints are attached. It’s not major and even hidden by the way they sculpted the overlay of the coat, but it is noticeable at times depending on how you have the figure posed. Both hands are sculpted so it can hold accessories in either one. McFarlane is one of those companies that has gained its notoriety over the years primarily through the high quality of its figure sculpts, and this new line of Assassin’s Creed figures seem to be living up to that tradition.
Paint - As with the sculpting, the paint job on this figure seems to be very nice. The top half of the figure is done in mostly a white/cream color which has some nice washes mixed in to really bring out the small sculpting details like the buttons. The bottom half uses dark browns and navy colors which again incorporates some nice washes to really help bring out the details of the sculpting. I also really like the face and how you can see just a hint of 5 o’clock shadow on his lower face. There is no noticeable paint chipping or error on my particular figure.
Articulation - In the past, this is an area were McFarlane has suffered. Although this figure isn’t what I would consider to be super-posable, it does have fair articulation. The head can move left, right and down although the movements are somewhat limited because of the hood and collar on the figure. You can’t lift the figure’s head back at all because of the hood. The arms are attached with ball-hinged joints which give them a nice range of motion. The hinges also have a ratcheted-type click to them giving them more stability. You have swivel-hinged joints at the elbows and wrists. There is no waist or ab-crunch articulation which is a bit disappointing. The way the hip joints are cut combined with the long coat made out of fairly hard plastic over the waist and upper legs hinders movement of his legs forward, backward and out. He has hinged swivel knees and ankle rocker type joints. My biggest complaint when it comes to the articulation on this figure is the lack of any kind of mid torso movement. You can still get some cool poses out of him but had they worked in a waist swivel or ab-crunch, you could have gotten a whole lot more out of him. On the other hand, more articulation might have messed up the aesthetics of the figure which is likely why they didn’t include it.
Accessories - McFarlane didn’t skimp on the accessories for this figure. He comes with two pirate-like pistols, both of which fit in holsters sculpted on the figure. He comes with a tomahawk-like ax which can slide into a loop that is sculpted on the figure’s belt and a bow with an elastic string. The figure has no arrows but does have a removable quiver with sculpted arrows in it. Finally, he comes with a dagger-like weapon that is painted all silver. There are a couple holes on one side of it although I am not sure why. It looks like it was designed so it could attach to something or maybe clip on a belt, but I could find nothing on the figure or the other accessories that would accommodate these holes. As with the figure, all the accessories have nice detailing sculpted into them and nice paint jobs that really help those details stand out. Even the all silver dagger has little details sculpted into it. I do wish the figure had come with one working arrow to use with the bow.
Accessories Update - Thanks to TNI reader JsironStories for pointing out the pegs on the figure's left wrist for the silver dagger to plug into.
Overall - I am not much into the Assassin’s Creed video games and I don’t have any of the previously made Assassin’s Creed figures that have been made by other companies like NECA to compare this figure to, but I do think this is a pretty nice-looking figure based on its own merits. A few more points of articulation would have really made this figure more fun but it’s still very nice looking and has lots of cool accessories to help compensate in the fun department. If you are an Assassin’s Creed fan, then I think you will definitely want to check out this figure and this line from McFarlane Toys.
Score: 4 out of 5
