The Walking Dead Building Sets (McFarlane): Collectible Figure Blind Bag

I thought with The Walking Dead premiering on AMC this upcoming weekend, now was as good a time to share this little piece than any. Most collectors know that McFarlane Toy has released a series of building sets based on the popular zombie franchise. What I didn't know was how would Todd McFarlane put his own spin on these, especially the figures.

A few months back I found a box of the blind bag packaged figures at my local Toys R Us. I believe they retailed for $3.99 each, but don't hold me to that. It appears that series 1 contains 8 different characters. I grabbed one just because I was curious as to how these looked in hand.

I didn't bother standing there feeling each pack, I just grabbed one and made my way to the checkout. Upon opening the foil packet these were the contents inside, a backpack, two legs, a head, torso, waist, a chain and a little clear figure stand.

I immediately thought these pieces looked like Mega Bloks, but more detailed. The pieces simply snap together and most of them seemed to have a very tight fit.

     

Once everything was snapped together I've got to say I was impressed. The figure overall stands at around 2 inches or so. This zombie of course is one of the two that Michonne was first shown with in the television show. Lots of detail has been given to both the zombie's rotting flesh, but also to his clothing and accessories. 

The figure stand included is done in a way I've never seen before. On the back of the right foot is a rounded hook if you will, molded on the figure's heel. This is so it can clip around the little peg on the back end of the stand. While the figure can stand without the aid of the stand, it's a nice little added touch.

I've yet to buy any others and I'm not sure if I will at this point. It's not because I don't like what McFarlane as done here or it's not because I don't like zombies. I think this is pretty nifty and if money and space weren't an issue with me, I'd probably buy one of the larger building sets. However as-is I have a nice little display piece that represents yet another creative entry into the building block arena of toys.

The Walking Dead: Mystery Minis

Blind packaged toys and vinyl figures I'd argue are at the height of their popularity.  Funko has decided to cash in on both this popularity and their Walking Dead license by releasing a series of vinyl figures.  I've seen these at the local comic shop for $9 a piece, but thankfully they can be found in the trading card aisle at your local Target for only $5.99.

  

These figures are done in a very stylistic way and judging from the art I was very intrigued to see what the actual figure looked like.  Series 1 contains16 possible figures.  Of course there are variations to be found such as blood splattered figures.  There are numbers beside each figure shown on the back of the box, but I'm unsure what these numbers represent.  Are they odds for each particular character?

  

More great artwork can be found on each side of the box.  Being based on the AMC television show as opposed to the comic, you can see a few characters from the first 2 seasons of the show.

  

Score!  Merle Dixon...and the blood splattered version at that!  Now while I'm a huge fan of the AMC show, I never cared for the character of Merle.  However like many viewers, I was touched by his change of attitude towards the end of season 3.

These vinyl figures are nicely done by Funko.  They don't feature any articulation unlike the Disney Vinylmation toys I recently looked at, but that doesn't hinder the figure at all.  While only standing roughly 2 inches tall, these little figures pack a lot more detail than I thought they would.  The paint apps are very nicely done, something that you don't always expect with a toy such as this.

I'm not sure if I'll pick up any more of these, but I do have to say I'm very impressed with Funko's effort here.  For the time being, Merle will be accompanying me at work on my desk, watching my back for any zombies strolling around the office.