Toy Review: Mezco One 12 Collective Wolverine Deluxe Steel Box Edition

This week’s review of Mezco‘s Wolverine Deluxe figure comes courtesy of Entertainment Earth, who provided the sample. Superhero Hype is an affiliate partner with Entertainment Earth, and may earn fees from purchases made through site links. Opinions expressed herein are independent of Entertainment Earth.

Mezco’s One:12 Collection figures are the line that most toy collectors would probably be into if they had the budget. But as basic mass-retail figures creep up to the $30 mark, more deluxe figures for $80-$150 might start to look reasonable. Other lines may call their figures “ultimate” because they have an alternate head and a handful of accessories. Mezco, calling this Wolverine simply “deluxe,” provides, all this:

And this…

Indeed, those are AAA batteries, which light up the Sentinel base nicely. The white lights even flicker like they’re losing energy. And the base is sculpted to look clawed to all hell by Logan.

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The left eye pops in and out, for alternate looks.

Open the tin the figure comes in, and the first thing inside is a disclaimer, warning this is not a toy for kids. It isn’t, mainly because it’s too fiddly and easily breakable if not handled carefully. The heads pop on and off easily; the hands offer perhaps the tiniest moment of anxiety. The shoulder pads, which connect to the shoulders, take nimble work to reattach if they pop off.

Those arm hairs use such subtle painting that it’s only really obvious in the close-up photos. The micro-level of detail is the primary appeal of these figures, with the tiny outfits impressively tailored to look like they hang properly as if larger. The spandex-y torso and leggings, and the rubbery trunks, scrunch just right when the figure hits a new pose. These are figures designed for display, posing, and photo shoots. In the case of this Wolverine, plenty of customizable options allow collectors to pick their version.

It’s not as simple as just masked or unmasked. This figure’s heads include comic-style unmasked, movie hairstyle unmasked (not a Hugh Jackman face, but his hairdo), first appearance open-mouthed, first appearance closed mouth, classic open-mouth, classic closed-mouth, and battle damaged. There’s also a loose, around-the-neck mask to use with the unmasked heads.

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Hand options include open and closed hands with claws and without, bone claw hands, and a right-hand pointing finger. Multiple slashing effect options attach to all the claws, some snugly but some loose balanced.

Word to the wise: it might be best to leave his belt as is. By virtue of packaging, the default black belt sticks a bit to the rubbery undies. It’s designed to come off, though, replaceable by a red belt with two interchangeable buckles — standard and X-logo. However, these fall off more easily. They’re more meant to help you reach your ideal custom and then glue it in place than to switch out regularly. Both belts may also migrate up the torso once freed. Best to just keep the black belt there, mildly stuck by friction.

The giant “X” slash effect looks cool from in front of the figure, and the claws fit in to easy-to-find holes.

From the side? Not quite so much.

A note about scale. One: 12 makes it sound so calculated, like they measured exactly what height Wolverine would be and scaled it down specifically. Not quite — like many figures with cloth outfits, Wolverine uses a more generic body. And Mezco’s 1:12 isn’t Hasbro’s 1;12, for example.

The articulation on both is about the same, with Mezco’s appeal being that they’re under clothes for a more realistic look. As with most Mezco figures, the figure’s sewn into the outfit, which cannot come off without destroying it.

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A considerate feature of many Mezco figures is a brabded plastic Ziploc bag for the accessories. Mezco, however, needs this less than most, since the figures also come in trays that snugly fit every accessory. And in this case, a collector tin too. The Ziploc bag for extras is a great idea, though.

Though the Sentinel base supposedly allows for foot pegs to plug in to several ports, none come in this set. But the plastic arm that usually attaches to Mezco bases does. The flat logo base here, meanwhile, simply sports a foot peg.

While many may have fun switching out Wolverine parts regularly, most will probably assemble their specific favorite. Here, that’s the battle-damaged head, metal claw hands with one fist and one open, and the black belt. Slash effects look fun but seem unnecessary.

It’s a great display piece, with lots of options. Careful stop-motion animators should also have a blast. Entertainment Earth’s price tag of $155 may seem steep to some, but that’s partly because diorama base bits cost quite a bit in themselves. Throw in one that has multiple ports for waist clips (aerial battle with multiple Mezco X-Men, maybe?) and light-up effects with convincing flickering, and the deal sounds better.

For fans of the yellow and blue comic-based Wolverine, it’s hard to imagine what more a figure would need. One might say, at least in this instance, that Mezco are the best they are at what they do. But what they do is very nice. Check out the gallery below for more.

Recommended Reading: Wolverine: Origin – The Complete Collection

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