AM Natalie toy review
Posted: 20 Mar 2008 03:51
Let me start by saying that in the Action Man cartoon, Natalie Poole is a great character! But great character or not, it is actually a huge surprise that Hasbro produced this figure in the first place. They are not in a habit of making female figures in a boys' toyline. This figure, as far as I know, was not available in the UK or in the USA. So when I missed a chance to get one of these recently, I luckily was given a second chance to get my hands on this AM figure. So is this figure worth all the trouble and money? Let's see:
First off, we have the box. The packaging is the first thing you see when walking past the store shelves. The modern Action Man always features bright orange on their packaging. Being one of my personal favorite colors, I am immediatley attracted to this figure. Her name is prominantly displayed on the bottom, with a cool animated picture version of her in the corner, as well. Natalie is displayed in an action pose and all of her gear is visible through the clear window. Overall the front of the package is very nice.
Next, we see the back of the box. There is a great looking cartoon with Natalie kicking butt. The dialog is in three languages, none of them English. Below the cartoon is a picture of the Natalie action figure showing off her special feature: she KICKS! Again, the back has some nice art and pictures which make for a great display.
Last part of the box that I'm showing is the side view. Simple. Art of Action Man, Knuck, and Natalie. Pretty cool.
So, what about the actual figure? Well, a mixed bag for me. Starting with the head, it looks nothing like Natalie from the cartoon. Oh, they got everything including the removeable bandana on there, but the hair is not even close to the right style. Since they didn't go with rooted hair, I can understand them molding it short, but this head looks like my son's kindergarten teacher from last year. Ironically, her name is Mrs. Poole! No joke! The head has a full range of motion like most other 12" action figures. The rest of the figure "looks" great! The clothing is pretty close to the cartoon outfit. Short, short blue tank top? Check! Short, short green shorts? Check! Even the boots, while all black, are good to go. The figure also comes with a yellow utility belt which can carry the knife and two grenades that she comes with. The last bit of equipment is the missile firing rifle. It's not bad, and even the stock has a feature that hooks around her arm. What about the bad? Okay, the articulation is horrible! We're talking, Barbie articulation! The arms rotate but have no ball joint. The elbows... are not articulated, and are bent in a permanent position. Same goes with the gloved hands. No articulation at all. Moving down Natalie's body, we come to the waist. Again, in true Barbie fashion, no articualtion. The hip joints DO have a great range of movement, thank goodness. The right knee can bend as it should, but the left knee has the special action feature. Bend the knee until it clicks into position, and then press the button on the back of her leg (see photo below) to watch her kick Dr. X in the sweet spot! HIYAHH!!! Lastly, her boots come off to reveal no articulation in the ankles.
Last, we have the ID cards that were inserted in with the figure. Again, we are no longer in Kansas, as all three cards are written in languages other than English.
So now that I have the elusive Natalie in my collection, what do I REALLY think of her? To be honest, I like her! The figure is a pretty good representation of the cartoon Natalie. Except for the head, of course. The lack of articulation aside, this is a great figure to have in an Action Man collection. I do believe that this saw limited release because of the fact that this is a female action figure for a boys' toyline. And this figure in particular skirts that thin line between action figure and doll! But it will display nicely alongside Action Man and so I am very happy that I have Natalie in my posession.
Edit: Photos deleted. I will hopefully provided new photos in time.
First off, we have the box. The packaging is the first thing you see when walking past the store shelves. The modern Action Man always features bright orange on their packaging. Being one of my personal favorite colors, I am immediatley attracted to this figure. Her name is prominantly displayed on the bottom, with a cool animated picture version of her in the corner, as well. Natalie is displayed in an action pose and all of her gear is visible through the clear window. Overall the front of the package is very nice.
Next, we see the back of the box. There is a great looking cartoon with Natalie kicking butt. The dialog is in three languages, none of them English. Below the cartoon is a picture of the Natalie action figure showing off her special feature: she KICKS! Again, the back has some nice art and pictures which make for a great display.
Last part of the box that I'm showing is the side view. Simple. Art of Action Man, Knuck, and Natalie. Pretty cool.
So, what about the actual figure? Well, a mixed bag for me. Starting with the head, it looks nothing like Natalie from the cartoon. Oh, they got everything including the removeable bandana on there, but the hair is not even close to the right style. Since they didn't go with rooted hair, I can understand them molding it short, but this head looks like my son's kindergarten teacher from last year. Ironically, her name is Mrs. Poole! No joke! The head has a full range of motion like most other 12" action figures. The rest of the figure "looks" great! The clothing is pretty close to the cartoon outfit. Short, short blue tank top? Check! Short, short green shorts? Check! Even the boots, while all black, are good to go. The figure also comes with a yellow utility belt which can carry the knife and two grenades that she comes with. The last bit of equipment is the missile firing rifle. It's not bad, and even the stock has a feature that hooks around her arm. What about the bad? Okay, the articulation is horrible! We're talking, Barbie articulation! The arms rotate but have no ball joint. The elbows... are not articulated, and are bent in a permanent position. Same goes with the gloved hands. No articulation at all. Moving down Natalie's body, we come to the waist. Again, in true Barbie fashion, no articualtion. The hip joints DO have a great range of movement, thank goodness. The right knee can bend as it should, but the left knee has the special action feature. Bend the knee until it clicks into position, and then press the button on the back of her leg (see photo below) to watch her kick Dr. X in the sweet spot! HIYAHH!!! Lastly, her boots come off to reveal no articulation in the ankles.
Last, we have the ID cards that were inserted in with the figure. Again, we are no longer in Kansas, as all three cards are written in languages other than English.
So now that I have the elusive Natalie in my collection, what do I REALLY think of her? To be honest, I like her! The figure is a pretty good representation of the cartoon Natalie. Except for the head, of course. The lack of articulation aside, this is a great figure to have in an Action Man collection. I do believe that this saw limited release because of the fact that this is a female action figure for a boys' toyline. And this figure in particular skirts that thin line between action figure and doll! But it will display nicely alongside Action Man and so I am very happy that I have Natalie in my posession.
Edit: Photos deleted. I will hopefully provided new photos in time.
