Ask any fan of the TV series version of The Walking Dead to name their three favorite characters, and Daryl Dixon will definitely be in the mix, if not be everyone’s outright favorite.
McFarlane Toys knows that as well, and after its initial lackluster crack at Daryl, they’ve released a much improved figure with its first deluxe set featuring Daryl and his chopper motorcycle. Is it worth battling the dead to add to your collection? Let’s find out!
Packaging: The package is a little plain with the black backdrop and helps the sets blend in with all the various lines with black backgrounds. A bit more color would have it stand out especially since the Snake Eyes in the top left portion is lost among the rest of the black.
Likeness: I may be unfairly judging this against the very strong likenesses from the Series 5 wave, which included Glenn Rhee and Tyrese, but initially I couldn’t see actor Norman Reedus at all in this figure.
After fiddling around with the figure from various angles and perspectives, I can see more of the likeness making me suspect the sculpt is there, but the paint job is more to blame for the likeness issues. The hair sculpted could stand to be a bit more disheveled as well since Daryl isn’t exactly the daily combing kind of guy.
The McFarlane Toys sculptors had a lot of fun covering all the various details in Daryl’s outfit. The vest is extremely well detailed for this scale with a terrific weathering effect to capture the leather material, the connecting links on the sides, the angel wings on the back, and the buttons along the front.
While the vest isn’t removable, it is sculpted separately, which allows for greater movement in the mid-torso area. The shirt underneath looks great and even has the ripped sleeves.
Likewise, the jeans have a solid amount of detail, complete with a ripped hole in the knee area, Daryl’s handkerchief, and an attached/non-removable sheath for Daryl’s knife.
Scale: The Walking Dead figures are in a 5-inch scale, and, for the most part, there’s not going to be a lot of shifts in heights between the characters since they’re all regular people.
Reedus is 5’10” and co-star Steven Yeun, who plays Glenn, is 5’9″. Scott Wilson (Herschel), and Chad L. Coleman (Tyrese) are both 5’11”, and the figures do a decent job conveying the discrepancies, although not nearly to the level of a Mattel with its WWE line.
Paint: As I mentioned earlier, the paint job on the face is washing out a lot of the details in the sculpt. The prototype has an exact likeness, so I’m betting customizers could repaint the head to fully bring the likeness out.
Beyond the head, the paint job is just about perfect. The weathering and muddy look on the jeans is just the right amount. The right side of the vest rungs are dead-on while the left side is off, but it looks good enough from a distance.
Articulation: When McFarlane Toys initially released its Walking Dead TV line, the figures were essentially smaller-scaled statues with minimal articulation and passable likenesses. They’ve dramatically upgraded the figures on both fronts, and this Daryl has some of the best articulation I’ve seen all year.
Daryl’s got a ball-jointed neck, ball-jointed shoulders, elbow and wrist articulation with the unique ratchet scheme that allows for side-to-side and a deeper back and forth movement, mid-torso, waist, hinge hips, hip articulation, ratchet knees, and very restricted foot articulation.
I’m a big fan of the articulation scheme as there’s not a lot of poses you won’t be able to get. And unlike some of the other figures in the line, Daryl doesn’t have any problem standing. Going forward, I’d love to see Daryl’s articulation becoming the default for the line.
Accessories: Daryl comes with three accessories. One, of course, is the other selling point of the deluxe set, but let’s start small. Daryl has his hunting knife — perfect for going through the head of a walker. The knife seems scaled properly even if it looks a bit small from a distance. It fits better in the left hand, but it’ll go in the right as well, but I’m most excited that it can go in the sheath so well without constantly having to worry about it falling out.
Next up is Daryl’s trademark weapon — the crossbow. Initially, the blue green splatter threw me off because I just remembered it being one color, but a few reference pics confirm this is accurate. Maybe Daryl’s more like a Jedi than I thought in that he constantly changes crossbow colors? It fits in his hands well and helpfully already has a bolt loaded. The carrier underneath has three other non-removable bolts as well.
Now for the other major selling point — Daryl’s chopper motorcycle. I’m not a big motorcycle guy, so I won’t be able to complain about any small elements, but from my novice eyes, this is a great 5-inch scale bike.
It’s scaled properly and has enough heft to it that you won’t have to worry about Daryl constantly making it topple over. It’s got some paint weathering along the rails and scuff marks to indicate this isn’t a new fresh out of the shop bike. The handlebars are nice and soft, so you won’t have to worry about snapping them when attaching Daryl’s hands to them.
The rear tire has a small tab to help keep it standing, but it’s removable so you can actually roll the chopper along. And it’s even got a handy grip for the crossbow.
Worth it? I’ve been able to get a lot of The Walking Dead figures at discounted rates in part because of my love of the show and because I appreciate the improvements McFarlane Toys has made with the line. At most stores, The Walking Dead figures will set you back about $15, and I definitely think the bike is a value priced at the same cost of a figure.
Fittingly, Daryl is the standout figure of the line so far, and despite the soft likeness, the articulation and chopper combine to make this one of my favorite figures this year.
RATING: 9.5 out of 10
With a better likeness this would be an easy 10. If you’re a fan of The Walking Dead, this is the one figure from the line to get.
Where to get it? This set is all over from Toys R Us to specialty shops like FYE and Amazon
