Some might say “why are you buying an action figure with a tomato for a head.” I say how can you not buy an action figure with a tomato for a head. And that is why I’m a weak weak man. A weak weak man collecting a toy line with figures with tomato for heads. We live in magical times.
It didn’t take long after having my first Fortnite figure—Crackshot—in hand to know that, yes, I will be collecting this line, I will indeed. It features all the articulation hallmarks of some of my favorite toylines while adding in things that I just don’t see a lot, like nutcrackers and guys with a tomato for a head.
In case you couldn’t figure out, that damn tomato is a huge selling point. Looking at a lineup of Fortnite skins is like doing a deep dive into everything I need in a toyline, from humanoid hot dogs to random colorful stuff that just makes me want to hand Jazwares my bank account number.
Tomatohead is a colorful dude that looks like he’s either about to make a pizza or jump over a barrel that a giant monkey just threw. It’s that mustache. That is one hell of a mustache. If your tomato has a mustache, I would recommend not eating it, but here I can’t imagine anything other than a majestic mustache working overtop of that big dumb grin.
Tomatohead uses a lot of parts from Crackshot, so the articulation here is much the same: double jointed knees and elbows and a good range in the hips. I just went into a whole bitchfest in my crackshot article about the articulated fingers, and my feelings haven’t changed. I still don’t like them and wish they had been left in action figure past. They don’t work well at holding weapons securely.
My quibbles with the fingers aside, I love the articulation. Everything is tight, with a decent and yet not intrusive ratcheting that makes you feel like you’re dealing with a solid chunk of plastic. I know people are worried about kids breaking their toys and stuff, but these feel like you could throw them over the edge of a building and then run over them with a bus and they’d still be ready for playtime.
Don’t try that at home.
The torso is brand new, conveying that pizza theme nicely with…a slice of pizza on the chest. He gets a decent amount of crunch and swivels nicely. I like this method of articulation as opposed to the ab-crunch, and combining it with the torso swivel gives you a lot of wiggle room.
Not content to just have one head Tomatohead comes with two heads. The regular one is a nice, smiling mustachioed head while the second one has that same mustache and smile, adding in war-paint and a crown of utensils. Same expression, but the addition of the war paint and crown means this tomato has seen and done some shit. This is Colonel Kurtz and a tomato.
Tomatohead comes with a handful of other appropriate accessories. His backpack is of course, a pizza warmer. He comes with a rifle and a machine gun, a tomato, a shield potion (had to do research on what it represented. Arrgh research burns!) and my favorite accessory, a bigass pizza slicer axe thing. If there is anything that a dude with a tomato for a head will kill you with, it’s an axe in the shape of a pizza slicer. The blade actually spins. I don’t know if it will cut a pizza, but the next time I make a tiny tiny pizza I will definitely try it out. After I wash it thoroughly.
Sure, I grew up with Freddy and Jason and Michael Myers and Pinhead and all that, but I really want a horror movie with a guy with a tomato for a head. Kind of like Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, except…more? Yes, I believe “more” is the appropriate level I’m aiming for with this.
Tomatohead is another simple yet fun figure that gives a lot of bang for the buck, meaning that you can routinely find these for under 20 dollars. That’s a decent price for so much stuff, and so much fun. If shipping dates are to be believed, I’m going to be rolling in Fortnite Figures by week’s end, and I’m really looking forward to it. For a company I have very rarely purchased figures from, Jazwares is kicking multiple layers of butt here.