Funko Legacy: Nissa Revane

Company: Funko

Series: Funko Legacy – Magic the Gathering

Year: 2015

BACKGROUND

Magic: The Gathering. A card game beloved by millions around the world. It’ll steal your free time and even more of your money than Warhammer. I whiled away many hours myself with the game back in mid-high school, but I didn’t have the budget, skill or the inclination to make a more long-term investment in the game.

It’s also inspired quite an in-depth backstory, which I haven’t kept up with since around 1999. This seems to have come to the forefront a lot more over the last few years; there used to be a novel released for just about every set of cards release but now Hasbro has expanded into additional merchandise – including the subject of today’s review, action figures.    

SCULPT AND ARTICULATION

The prototype shots of these guys looked incredible, and the sculpting seems to have made it through to the finished product; Funko have obviously invested a lot of time and effort into translating these characters into 3D. The only real area I don’t like is the back of the hair; it seems a little under-detailed, but that’s not the end of the world.  

Here’s the articulation breakdown:

*ball-jointed neck (totally immobile)

*swivel-hinged shoulders

*bicep swivels

*hinged elbows

*swivel-hinged wrists

*ball-jointed torso

*ball-jointed hips (fairly immobile due to the skirt)

*double-hinged knees

*rocker ankles

There are a few joints that could be added – one at the waist for instance – but it’s perfectly serviceable in terms of articulation. The main issue I had was that one of the knees was warped right of the box, which left quite a sour taste in my mouth. It could probably be straightened out with a hair-dryer though.  

PAINT

Paint is cleanly executed, but it’s a little flat. Though I understand we’re no longer living in a ToyBiz c.2004-06 era, a few bits of shading and highlighting wouldn’t have gone astray. However, the various tattoos (are they tattoos or warpaint?) are particularly well-executed.   

OVERALL

All things considered, it's a little odd Hasbro didn't just keep production of these figures in-house and re-use a whole bunch of Marvel Legends molds. Nonetheless, I was excited to see how the line from Funko turned out – and did really enjoy the POPs they did based on the same characters – but I think the execution is a little lacking. The warped knee is disappointing, but it’s not a deal-breaker. I can’t quite pinpoint what it is, but I’m left feeling a little underwhelmed by the whole figure, but I think it’s mostly to do with the paint. I’m curious to give another figure from the line a go – especially Garruk – but I’m currently in the once-bitten, twice shy category.