[wp-review id=”100625″]

Mezco doesn’t only do horror and comic book figures but they also have a toe in the classic animation game as well. They have made a new Popeye figure from on the old comic strips and cartoons. The twist is the unique design for the character. Let’s dive in and check out this figure:

PACKAGING:

The box has a matte finish with the black coloring on the front and his face as the logo. His name is in big letters with an anchor inside of the “O”. The sides of the box are white with a silver anchor. The back has the action shot and accessories photo from the site. The slipcover comes off and you have the standard box with the window to see the figure in his plastic holder.

LIKENESS:

Now, before I get into the likeness of the figure, I have to say that it depends on how you look at it. This is Popeye but how he would in a more realistic take than the cartoons or some other literal translation. He is this grizzled sailor who will knock out any idiot that messes with him or his lady; especially after spinach.

There are two head sculpts included that are practically identical with one minuscule difference: he has a “straight” mouth on one and gritting teeth on the other. He has the large cleft chin complete with the stubble and the bald head.

Some say that he has a salty eye and some say he only has one, either way, he has the classic squint that he is known to have. The eye is a nice blue and he has all of the facial lines and squinting wrinkles. It completely suits him.

His body is maybe a bit shorter than the other figures and average in musculature. Of course, he has the cannons for forearms. They are huge and are also one of the characteristics that he couldn’t be without. The muscles are defined and just show the potential power that this sailor’s arms contain. Each arm has the anchor tattoo that looks like a fellow sailor put them on there. He has huge hands to go along with the arms so the wrist pegs are larger as well and the largest next to The Hulk. The look is great and completely works together.

The outfit has the standard sailor collar and dark dungarees. The collar is a thicker material that is read and similar in texture to the peacoat. He also has a peacoat that looks like wool. Together, he looks like a sailor from WWII in either look. His boots are worn and weathered with a rounded to look like the cartoons. The dungarees show just the right amount of boot to finish off the non-non-removable clothing.

He also comes with three hats that are all made out of a vinyl-like material: a captain’s hat, a sailor’s hat, and a longshoreman’s hat. They all sit on the bald part of his head and he can wear them further back or tilted forward to coincide with his mood. Because of their material, they stay on his head no matter how it sits. I do think it is pretty damn cool that the disposition of a figure can look different just by moving a hat.

ACCESSORIES:

He comes with a solid set of accessories: the two (2) head-sculpts, seven (7) interchangeable hands, six (6) corncob pipes – three (3) with smoke and three (3) without smoke, a duffle bag, an open spinach can, a closed spinach can, a spyglass, a compass, a base stand arm for posing, the base stand with the anchor, and a plastic bag for the accessories.

As for the hands, they are a bit oversized so that the proportions with his arms looks right. If they used the standard smaller hands, he would look so weird. The detailing on them is superb and they even made his fingernails dirty like he hasn’t had a chance to wash up. The six corncob pipes are identical with the smoke being the only difference. They are well made and due to the thinness of the pipe, I’m stoked that they included 3 of each. They have a brassy finish to them with a black lip piece. The smoke is a mix of clear material with some white accents to finish off the look of smoke.
The duffle bag is made out of a thick material that actually feels like, well, a duffle bag. It is white with a thicker, brown bottom and his name is stenciled on the side in black. There is some nice and realistic weathering to make the bag look used. It has a drawstring and is large enough to put all of the accessories inside.

The two spinach cans both look worn as if he has stashed them away for a very long time. One of them is sealed with the label intact. The other fits into one of his hands that makes it look like he has crushed it to gets his spinach. This is pretty much the accessory that would cause anger from the fans and collectors if they didn’t include it. The spyglass and compass have the same bronze finish. The finish is also similar to the pipes. The spyglass is collapsible and fits in the gripping hand. The compass can flip open with little details for the face. The letters and arrows are red against a silver background.

The base is navy blue with a large, light blue anchor for the logo. It has the removable foot peg where the clear arm fits into it. I know that the arm is included with all of the One:12 Collective figures but this is a case where I don’t see many collectors using it just because a flying or mid-air pose isn’t typical for Popeye. I could be totally wrong about this but it’s just my opinion. The included bag is the same bag that comes with all of the One:12 Collective line. It is for storing the accessories and keeping them organized. It has a white label for writing in some info with a Sharpie so you know what bag goes with a particular figure.

ARTICULATION:

The articulation allows for a variety of poses and makes it easy to use all of the included accessories. The body feels like he has the double joints in the legs and the elbows still have some good even though the forearms are larger than the average figure. You can have him in just an intimidating pose with his big guns up or at his side. The way that the clothing is tailored is loose for unhindered movement. The head sits on a round peg and allows complete movement. He also has movement in his torso to make poses come off naturally. All of these things together make a figure that can look good no matter how you show him off.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

Popeye here might actually be my favorite figure from Mezco in 2018 or at least in the top 3 and that says a lot. This is mostly due to the creative design and bringing this figure to this line in a practical, realistic style. He has a killer set of accessories to do a variety of looks and poses plus including the extra pipes makes me worry less about breakage or loss. I was on the fence about him because I’m not a huge Popeye fan but I’m so glad I picked him up. I hope they make more in the line to go with him like Olive Oil, Bluto, and Wimpy. I highly recommend getting your hands on one and adding him to your collective.