Everyone loves the cool antihero. It’s the appeal of the “bad boy,” and if the lines at any given Wizard World event featuring actor Norman Reedus, who plays Daryl Dixon on The Walking Dead, are any indication, Daryl is one of the most popular antiheroes ever. Daryl is the Wolverine, Han Solo, and Rorschach of The Walking Dead, with a little bit of Boba Fett sprinkled in for good measure. His appeal is undeniable, and people just can’t seem to get enough of him.
When McFarlane Toys released their first Daryl Dixon figure a couple years ago, he vanished from the pegs quickly and went on to command outrageous prices on the secondary market — despite the fact that the figure pretty much sucked. The likeness was way off and he could really only be posed in a single awkward pose, but that didn’t do anything to dampen fans’ need for a Daryl Dixon figure. And anyone who missed out was left with either having no Daryl in their collection or were relegated to having to spend hundreds of dollars to get one.
Realizing the popularity and the appeal of this character, McFarlane has finally released a new, deluxe version of Daryl complete with the chopper he’s often seen riding on the show. This set gives fans the opportunity to be able to not only finally add a Daryl to their collections, but to add one that’s (mostly) a huge, vast improvement over what came before.
His packaging is cool as far as packaging goes. The figure and bike are featured against a backdrop of what looks like the prison from the show. Norman Reedus’ face is prominently stamped right on there as well, which is a wise marketing move since Reedus really is the appeal here.
The size of the box makes it a hard item to miss on the shelf. I didn’t even know this set was out yet when I stumbled upon it at my local Toys R Us — the sight of Reedus sort of staring back at me from the shelf was the first thing I noticed as my eyes scanned the piles of same ol’, same ol’. Needless to say, I was excited to see it, and I grabbed it with the quickness.
This is a pretty great figure — from the neck down. The sculpt and paint detail are top-notch, and it’s cool to finally have a superposable Daryl. I don’t like how the large pins are so visible in his shoulders and hips, though. It makes me wonder why they went with this particular articulation scheme since we’ve seen more than a few 5-inch and 6-inch figures that integrate their articulation more seamlessly, but those pins are just about my only complaint with the base body. Otherwise, he looks great. His clothes look lived-in with all the dirt, grit, and sweat we’d expect Daryl to be decked-out in.
As great as he looks from the neck down, it’s from the neck up where the figure falters a bit. The likeness is almost there. It’s so close. In profile, from either side, it pretty much looks like Reedus. It does. But when viewed straight-on, his likeness is compromised — perhaps a little too much. McFarlane has been doing quite well in terms of capturing actors’ likenesses in plastic — both their Michonne and Merle are fantastic examples of this — but here something was lost in translation. Reedus has a pretty narrow face, but the figure’s face is rather round and almost boxy. It looks like a different person — maybe Charles Bronson. So the head sculpt looks less like Norman Reedus with his hipster haircut and more like Charles Bronson with a ’70s haircut. It’s disappointing because it is so darn close, but somewhere along the production process his head was smushed into this not-ideal shape, and it really compromises the likeness quite a bit.
For accessories, he comes with his signature crossbow, a hunting knife, and, well, his chopper. The crossbow is nicely detailed and features several non-removable arrows stored on the underside. It fits in his hand snugly, and the knife can be stored in a sheath on his belt (see below).
Every piece of clothing looks realistic and convincing, which is one of McFarlane’s strengths with this line. I love that they included what looks to be a rag hanging from his back pocket — it’s little extra details like this that make the figure so cool.
Daryl is a perfect fit for the chopper, and McFarlane really outdid themselves here. The bike is just fantastic in terms of both sculpt and paint. It looks darn realistic, as though a real chopper were shrunken down to 5-inch scale. The set is almost worth it for the bike alone.
Everything, from the engine to the cables to the faded license plate on the back, looks just perfect. The removable saddle bags on the back also look great and highly realistic. When I play around with it, I half expect the breaks and ignition to actually work — it’s that detailed.
As mentioned previously, Daryl is a superposable figure, and that puts this figure light years ahead of the previous version. His articulation breakdown is as follows:
- Ball head
- Pegged shoulders
- Swivel/hinged elbows
- Swivel/hinged wrists
- Ab crunch/torso swivel
- Hinged hips that allow for forward and side motion
- Swivel/hinged knees
- Swivel/hinged feet
The figure is so close to being great. I just wish the head sculpt were a little tighter because it does miss the mark. That wouldn’t seem like that big a deal, especially when you compare him to Rick or Shane, but when compared to his brother Merle or Michonne, it’s difficult to not wish he were more fully realized in plastic. We know McFarlane is capable of delivering a virtually spot-on likeness, so it’s disappointing we didn’t get that here.
If his likeness is OK with you, then you’ve got a pretty great Daryl to add to your Walking Dead collection. And since I know people are going to ask, the chopper is too small for your 6-inch figures to ride, so Logan will have to be satisfied with the bike we got in Marvel Legends series 11.
This set is popping up right now at Toys R Us stores across the country, but he’s sure to sell fast because fans just have to have their mini Norman Reedus on their shelves. I imagine this will end up being a pretty tough set to get because, heck, if that first figure flew off the shelves the way it did, then this one is going to get snatched up even faster still. Amazon has him available for preorder with a release date of March 31, so if you can muster up some patience, then that may be the better way to go. Big Bad Toy Store also has him available for preorder as well, so hopefully he’ll hit soon.
