Goblin is another figure from Mezco's Hellboy II Series 2 line. I have not seen the movie, so I don't know this character's role in it, but the figure has an interesting design that could appeal to kid and collector alike.
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It's evident that someone spent a lot of time sculpting this figure. He's loaded down with all kinds of details that probably came straight out of the movie. His face is a great sculpt, with a kind of dumbfounded look that shows crooked teeth, wrinkles, a bulbous nose, very well sculpted eyes, and big wrinkly ears. There's also a kind of pimpled texture all over his face that makes him look appropriately goblin-like. I really love this head sculpt. His body is equally good with a lot of elements. You can see little details on the crabs, lines in the harnesses, holes and tears in the gloves, and little baubles on the necklaces. The cart he's attached to is mostly good, but the stuff inside of it could've been done a little more tightly, it looks like everything kind of just runs together, as if there's water running over everything and softening the edges. The rest of the cart is great with wood grain and working wheels, as well are the accessories which look old and dilapidated as they should.
Sculpt Score: 9 / 10 - A ton of different small details, really really good face sculpt, nice textures, some edges are a little soft.
Goblin is painted pretty well for the most part but sometimes things get a little muddy with his undiversified pallete. His body/face look great with subtle color variations working through his skin. His eyes and mouth look really fantastic with crisp details even in tiny areas and the color choice for his skin is great too, a nice dirty yellow that looks like old skin. The crabs on his body are pretty sloppily painted with black and orange just wherever, often spilling over onto the character's skin. The actual cart and its details are painted well, looking like wood and rope and metal where it's supposed to, but again the contents of the cart just look sloppy and muddy, like nobody was paying attention. I know they were just matching the movie design, but a little more color could've gon a long way because as it stands know he just looks dirty and boring. I think the colors came out better in the photos, yet in standard lighting it all looks much more muted and similar. The green of the lantern and blue in the cart aren't nearly as vibrant in normal lighting as they are in my photos, such as below.
Paint Score: 7 / 10 - Some amazing work on the body, face, and cart details, skin color looks great, just way too muddy, with some sloppy applications.
Goblin doesn't have a whole lot of articulation because he doesn't have a wole lot of body. His arms bend at the elbows with very limited ball type shoulders. His head has a good full range of movement up down and all around. Past that all you've got are three spinning wheels. I would have appreciated some wrist articulation, a cut waste to turn him another direction but straight with the cart, and maybe even a bicep swivel. It all would've been easy to accomplish and match up with the much more articulated look of the Hellboy figure, but they avoided it for some reason. It's hard to get him in many poses and it limits the playability too. You're going to be settling on a pose quickly with this guy since there just isn't much you can do. The articulation he does have is tight and works very smoothly, holding positions well. The good news is that the articulation doesn't interfere with the appearance of the sculpt much at all, althought the wood on his left arm breaks when his elbow is bent, which is a little weird. I don't know how that looked in the movie to compare.
Articulation Score: 5 / 10 - Needs more points, what's there works well, doesn't mess sculpt up at all.
This figure looks pretty cool and his design pushed me over the top of the decision to purchase him. Now that's he's home and I've had him a few days though, he gets a little more boring everyday. He looks more and more generic to me all the time and is becoming less fun by the minute. His awesomely funny facial expression is the only thing that's holding my attention. He's not a lot of fun to play with because of his limited articulation. The wheels might be fun for some kids, although I don't think he looks like the racing type. Goblin isn't particularly fun to pose or play with and annoyingly keeps rolling off my shelf. He does come with a number of accessories that are fun to hang on his cart once and might come in handy with other toys or displays.
Fun Score: 6 / 10 - Nice design that gets boring over time, some articulation but not enough to play with a lot, posing isn't a blast, good but boring accessories.
At $16 I'm mixed about the quality of this purchase. He's a large figure that requires some assembly and comes with a number of accessories, so it I don't think he should cost less than $16 from a materials or time standpoint. It's clear they spent some time on him and I'm happy to pay $16. Then I just think, what exactly is this figure doing for me? I don't really want to display him, he's not much fun to play with, and I'm not a customizer, so that's out. I just don't know if he's worth the money for me in an entertainment perspective. If you're a Hellboy fan that loves the movies and Guillermo del Toro's designs then I'd say head out and buy this figure, becuase he's sturdy, will last a while, and can help fill out your Hellboy display, but otherwise, choose wisely.
Value Score: 7 / 10 - All the necessary attributes are there, he's big, well made, high quality, and not too expensive, there's just some fun and character missing.
Summary
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Overall Score: 68 / 100 - This is an Okay Toy
Goblin is well sculpted, generally well painted and a good value, but lacks some obvious articulation and falls short of being fun.
P.S. This could be the figure I'm giving away this month, just leave a comment for a chance to win (if he's the one).
-The Articulated One
