2004 saw the release of one of my all-time favorite superhero movies in The Incredibles. 10 years have passed, and thanks to the recently released Pixar Collection by Thinkway Toys, I now have my very first Mr. Incredible figure. So was it worth the wait? Let’s see!
I’ll be the first to admit that I know next to nothing about Thinkway Toys and their Disney Pixar lines, and if it wasn’t for the helpful Fwooshers on the boards, I’d still be in the dark. From what I can gather, this new crop of Thinkway product is new items and re-releases all packaged in a stylishly simple Pixar-inspired card art. I have the Wall-E that they’re now selling as “deluxe,” but I can guarantee that I didn’t spend the $20 that these are now running. According to Thinkway’s site, the deluxe line of 6-inch-ish figures includes Mr. Incredible, Syndrome, Nemo, Bruce, Wall-E, and Eve. They’ve also released a slew of mini-figures, large scale interactive toys, box sets, and plush characters.
The packaging is extremely nice. The white cards and clean graphics are eye-catching and instantly recognizable as Pixar, and they definitely stand out on the busy shelves.
The sculpt of the figure is outstanding, and Thinkway did a terrific job at bringing this animated character to life. Mr. Incredible’s top-heavy proportions are there and the face sculpt is dead-on. It’s simplicity done right. The characters on screen aren’t filled with detail and neither is this figure. You get some nice texturing in the hair, and the mask is sculpted on, but other than that, he looks pretty smooth. The sculpting on the face is a little soft, so the camera didn’t pick up much detail, but in person it’s just fine. Thinkway went with a mostly neutral/slightly smiling look. It may look out of place when placing him in some action poses, but it’s my preferred look for display.
Mr. Incredible also comes with the pincher claw from one of Syndrome’s robots and a display stand with an “I” logo on it. The claw has four fingers that are connected with a ball, all of which hold poses well, but aren’t tight enough to actually grip anything. The sculpt is decent, but way too small if it’s meant to represent the big final battle of the film. In addition to the size, the claw has some goofy clips that you use to attach it to Mr. Incredible’s arm. That alone will send it to the accessory graveyard in my garage.
There isn’t much paintwork to speak of as the plastic is mostly cast in the appropriate colors, but what we do have, is done fairly well. There are some fuzzy cut lines around the belt, but it’s not all that noticeable. The hair, mask, and eyes are all pretty much flawless — and that’s what matters most to me as a collector. The insignia tampo is centered and perfectly scaled.
We definitely have a case of less is more when it comes to articulation. One reason that I passed on Revoltech’s version of Mr. Incredible was that the articulation scheme made it a mess to look at. Clean and simple designs are a trademark of Pixar characters, and multiple (and visible) joints just kill it for me. He has 12 points including pin/disc shoulders and hips, ball/disc elbows and knees, cut wrists, and an ab joint. The articulation point for his head is at the base of neck which goes below his sculpted collar. You get a little movement side-to-side, but it functions mostly as a cut. The joints are all tight and very well engineered. It’s not the highest articulation count you can imagine, but they work really well and don’t detract at all from the sculpt. I would have liked a bit more movement in his head and wrists, but what we have is still good.
Value is what is really going to make people question this purchase. This figure is light as a feather out of the package, has minimal paints, and has no extras other than a subpar robot hand and a display stand. At $20, this guy is on the same playing field as Legends, NECA ,and Diamond Select, so it’s definitely caused me a moment of pause — especially when I don’t have the highest of hopes that the rest of the family will be made. But it’s also a character that I love and one of the most fun toys that I’ve purchased in a while. I can’t put him down!
With a room full of $20 figures that went straight to the shelf — never to be touched again — I’d say that Thinkway’s Mr. Incredible has been worth every penny.
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