The Rocketeer seems like a property custom-made for the action figure world. But aside from pricey, high-end figures from companies like Medicom, there really haven’t been too many Rocketeer figures available since the property’s storied comic book run way back in the ’80s and its big-screen debut in the early ’90s. Funko, a company that seems to be answering the prayers of action figure enthusiasts left and right lately, has dipped their big toe in the Rocketeer pool by producing a vinyl Pop! figure and a retro 3.75-inch figure based on Dave Steven’s titular hero, the latter of which we’ll be checking out today.
The original Kenner Star Wars line is probably the yard stick by which all action figure lines are measured. Aside from perhaps Mego, there is no other toy line that could possibly hold the same kind of nostalgia value that those old Star Wars figures do, and, the thing was, at the time those figures were coming out, I wanted every movie and comic book I liked to have similar figures made, so even though it’s coming a few years late, Funko is, sort of, answering that prayer.
Now, it’s been quite a few years since my Kenner Star Wars figures took that fateful trip to the dump with my dad, but handling this Rocketeer figure is hitting many of the right notes that it should in order to really feel like a Kenner figure from the late ’70s. So let’s take a look and see what it’s doing right.
The packaging is beautiful, and this was one of those times that I really did consider just leaving the figure carded, and that’s why it’s taken me so long to get around to this write-up. I’ve had this figure for a couple weeks, but it wasn’t until now that I was able to talk myself into opening it. I got mine from Amazon, so the shipping process left the card with some dings, but had the card been perfect, I’d probably still be debating opening it or not. So thank you, crappy Amazon packaging, for making the decision easier for me. Still, gorgeous card.
Video breakdown of the figure’s articulation and some additional thoughts:
The sculpt is simple and adequate. All the necessary details are there, and it certainly looks like the Rocketeer, so mission accomplished, Funko. I find it interesting that the pegs that secure his rocket pack to his back are actually part of the figure and not part of the backpack. This is the complete opposite of how the Star Wars figures did it. He ends up looking a little strange with those pegs protruding from his back, but functionally, this works much more effectively than the Star Wars design did. The pack really feels locked in place and like it’s not going anywhere.
His only accessories are just what you’d expect: the rocket pack and his helmet. Both are nicely sculpted with clean paint apps.
His head sculpt is as basic as it gets. The sparse paint apps make him look a bit generic, as though this could be any brown-haired guy, from Han Solo to Hank Pym. Not that this matters much because he’ll be wearing his helmet approximately 100 percent of the time.
The helmet is HUGE on him. It makes him look like a little kid in Rocketeer cosplay, especially when you stand him next to any modern-styled action figure. I mean, it looks cool, but the helmet looks as though it may work just as well with a larger figure. Maybe not a 6-inch figure (though I have seen some 6-inch Rocketeer customs that look like they’re using this helmet), but maybe on a 5-inch figure or so.
It also fits on him quite loosely. It just kind of flops around, so I had to use a bit of museum putty to secure it in place and to keep it from going flying if he falls over.
His gear makes him tough to balance, so you do have to give him a slight forward lean in order to keep him standing without assistance. Because of his imbalanced center of gravity, he is prone to falling down. Couple that with the fact that his right leg is just slightly shorter than his left, and he can be difficult to keep standing. There is a sweet spot where he can stand well enough, but you definitely have to play around with him to find it.
For articulation, he’s got the standard Kenner “big five”: hips, shoulder, and neck. They’re all just simple swivel joints, so there’s not much dynamic posing to be done. He’s basically meant to just stand there looking cool on the shelf.
When we look at him posed next to, say, Death’s Head (random?), he really does look like a little kid in cosplay because of the size of that helmet. But that just makes him all the more endearing because, let’s face it, if I were looking for a highly detailed action figure representation of the Rocketeer, I would not have gone the retro 4-inch route. This figure is all about the nostalgia factor and nothing else.
The figure is meant to be fun, and I think it succeeds in being just that. For $10, I don’t think buying this figure was a huge risk, and I am happy I bought it. I don’t really know what to do with it in my collection, though, because he doesn’t really fit anywhere, so he’ll just stand there all by himself. That is, at least until Funko sees fit to produce a companion for him. Maybe a Bettie Page-esque Jennifer Connelly? We can dream, right?