The first season of Netflix’s Stranger Things hit so many nostalgia buttons that it’s hard to keep track of them all. There were hints and echoes of the glory days of Steven Spielberg and Stephen King, the Goonies, John Hughes movies, the X-Men, and, heck, just about anything fun and cool from the 1980s. I loved watching it, but I also felt soooo exploited as I watched it, but I also didn’t care. This series mined my childhood and adolescence like nothing else ever had before, and I gobbled it up, much the same way I gobbled up these Funko 3-packs when I stumbled upon them at Target recently. Let’s take a look!
With the second season of Stranger Things hitting, well, right about now, merchandise is hitting stores in an oh-so-timely manner. Included in the consumable deluge is the first wave of 3.75-inch action figures from Funko, available as single-carded releases or collected in two sets of 3-packs. The figures and accessories are exactly the same whichever format you go with, but I went with the 3-packs because it saved me a few bucks and I think they display better.
Everything about the packaging screams “1980s horror and sci-fi,” and I am cool with that. I mean, that’s the entire basis of this franchise’s appeal, right? I’m actually keeping the packaging to display these in because … I’ll get to that in a bit.
These are definitely a smaller scale than I’m used to with Marvel Legends and Star Wars Black. The sculpts are accurate but soft, and the paint apps are a little better than adequate. There is some cool detailing here and there, like on Dustin’s shirt and Eleven’s box of Eggos, but otherwise the paint does the job it’s there to do.
There are a fair amount of accessories packed in, and I was surprised by how unique all the sculpts are. There is actually very little reuse, which ensures each figure is packed full of individual character. The one thing that is reused from figure to figure is the backpack — each boy comes equipped with a repainted version of the exact same backpack, but even this aspect is true to the time period. In my school in the ’80s, every single kid had the exact same Jansport backpack, the only difference ever being the color, so even this is hilariously accurate to the series’ time period.
Articulation-wise, these figures are pretty limited. With one exception, they’re all sporting the same nine points of articulation, which is enough to get them moving, but it’s hard to get them to hold any poses. Also, the joints are extremely loose on a few of my figures, which makes them darn difficult to keep standing, especially in the case of my Demogorgon — that sucker will not stand for anything, even if he’s leaning on something. This is why I’m likely to keep them displayed in their respective window boxes.
The backpacks are easily removed, but having them in place does add a lot of character to the figures. The straps are so well done that they look convincing and natural. Range of motion in all the joins is decent, but, again, not wildly functional since they can’t stand in anything but a very vanilla pose. For all the “human” figures the articulation scheme is as follows:
- Ball head
- Swivel/hinge shoulders
- Swivel hips
- Single-jointed knees and elbows
Eleven also has swivel wrists. The Demogorgon has an extra pair each of wrist and ankle joints.
The Demogorgon looks appropriately creepy. The paint apps here are stellar, and they succeed in making him look as gross as he’s supposed to look. Mine has a very loose ankle joint, though, and it makes him virtually impossible to keep standing. I imagine a little superglue in the right spot will cure this, but it’s disappointing to find this right out of the package.
This scale is not in my usual wheelhouse these days, but these figures are a perfect throwback to the days when Star Wars and G.I. Joe ruled the toy aisles. They’re fun for what they are and I’m glad I picked them up, and I will probably snag any future sets they may plan to release, like the adults and teenagers. They’re not the greatest figures I own, but they serve their purpose as products of the ever-churning nostalgia factory.
If you’re interested in picking these up, swing by Target (and check the back wall near the movies, not in the actual toy aisles), or you can save yourself the trip and order direct from Big Bad Toy Store or Amazon.
