I’m a bit of a WWE figure-collecting elitist — pun almost actually intended here. While I can appreciate the sculpts of Mattel’s Basic line, I pretty much always need some lure to buy a Basic figure. A Build-a-Figure set, packed with an Elite suit-body manager or Diva or some accessory I really, really needed to get. But no matter how nice a Basic figure looks, I’m fine waiting on an Elite version. Until now.
Mattel was pretty crafty with its handling of current NXT champion, Finn Balor. For the Elite version, we got Balor in his “Demon” incarnation with his oh-so-cool body paint. And to take advantage of all us suckers who can’t exhibit a little patience, Mattel released a non-Demon version Balor as a Basic figure. Since Balor is my current favorite wrestler, alongside AJ Styles, I had to break my no-Basic rule. I figure I’ve got enough spare parts lying around I should be able to cobble together a workable Elite version anyway. But for now, let’s take a look at Basic Balor.
Balor marks the last small assortment Basic wave, meaning the package back doesn’t share a lot of space with 8-10 figures. I’m such a fan of the new packaging with its explosive red and accent color for the respective WWE brand. NXT stars get yellow, which wraps up the primary colors of the WWE brands with red for RAW and blue for Smackdown.
This is another great likeness for Mattel. They’ve really made some strides on that front, and Balor is another solid addition to showcase those improvements. The torso selected is the ripped one to best represent Balor’s impressive physique, and Mattel even worked in the bags under his eyes.
Back in the less educated Monday Night Wars era, Balor would have been written off for being a vanilla midget at 5 foot 11 inches. I’m thrilled fans have become more informed that height does not equal wrestling talent, and Balor gets a chance to be a main star. The figure fits right in line with similar size stars like the 6-foot 2-inch CM Punk and 6-foot 1-inch Seth Rollins even if he shouldn’t be right at eye level with them. Mattel doesn’t always get it right, but the important aspects, like taller giants and smaller cruiserweights, continue to be stellar.
The paint is the biggest “problem” with the figure. The boot detail is terrific and there’s no issues with lazy eyes or stray paint marks. It’s simply that Mattel reversed the paint emphasis on Balor’s facial hair. Balor should have a thicker beard and a light mustache instead of what we got with the figure. It’s not a major problem, but it throws the likeness off a little.
Similar to Bret “The Hitman” Hart, I never realized Balor’s hair was actually brown, but Mattel went with a flat brown instead of a darker brown to better reflect how it looks on TV.
I know Balor’s a Basic figure, so complaining about not being able to do moves and great poses is like whining about water being wet.
Balor’s points of articulation are as follows:
- Neck
- Ball-jointed shoulders
- Bicep
- Elbow
- Wrist
- Wrist hinge
- Waist
- Hip
- Knee
- Ankle
Only in the rarest of cases does a Basic figure get an accessory. Balor’s Elite version should come with a cloth leather jacket, a NXT title, and an aiming index finger for a little Bullet Club shout out. For $10 I can’t be too upset with the articulation problems. I wonder how many kids would enjoy playing with these if given the option for Elite figures.
Rating: 8.5 out of 10
If you’re considering this figure for an Elite fix-up, you might want to reapply the facial hair and darken the hair overall. Otherwise, this has all you need for a great start to an Elite Finn figure. And if you prefer Basics, this is a great addition to your collection.
I found Balor at Toys R Us, but I’ve also spotted several at Walmart, and I suspect it won’t be long before he’s at Target as well.