Farscape Bobbleheads

The bobbleheads from Rittenhouse Archives arrived at the same time as the Season Four set of trading cards and because of this, they've suffered from lack of attention. (Click here for a review of the cards.) Everyone seems to have concentrated on collecting the cards rather than this limited edition set of dolls. Each comes in its own box and is encased in form-fitting plastic that pops off with a little tug.

As you can see in the image above, there are four bobbles in the set and each individual is numbered with the same number (xxx of 1000). The name of the character is on the top of the silver-colored base and Rittenhouse's website address is on the back. When you touch the head or move the doll, the head, which is on a spring, bobs for a time, hence the name bobblehead. 

Scorpius is the most true to the character, but it's definitely not as creepy as the real thing. He's got a rather complacent little black grin and he's posed with clenched fists as if ready to begin a boxing match. 

The Crichton doll's face doesn't look a whole lot like the character - for one thing, it's got brown eyes and the hair is way too neat for John Crichton - but there's no mistaking who it's supposed to be. The pose looks as if he's about to draw his pulse pistol. 

Chiana's hair is better than Crichton's, and the outfit is pretty well done. They've gone into a lot of detail on her clothes, even down to the textured fabric in her sleeves. She's got a really stupid expression on her face as though she was in the middle of saying "duh" when they caught her. Also, when she bobbles, the stand teeters. None of the others do this. 

Zhaan's makeup looks more like the Season Four version than previous seasons, and is a little off in color. Her jewelry is well done as is her dress. She has a perfect Zhaan pose and when she bobbles, it's really cute.

I'm hoping that they'll complete the set with D'Argo, Rygel, Pilot and Aeryn sometime soon. It would be nice to have a set of the entire crew.

Series Two Action Figures

Series Two of the action figures from Toy Vault has two versions each of three new characters and one version of Aeryn, which is the same as the Aeryn in Series One. The three new ones are Rygel, Crais and Scorpius. The most welcome difference between this and the last edition is that the two figures of the same character are actually two different figures rather than the same figure in different clothes. I should say that the heads are different, but as far as I can tell, the bodies are the same.

Let’s start with the two versions of Rygel, who has the most toys and the best clothes. No surprise there, Ryg wouldn’t have it any other way! The differences between the two figures are mostly in the ears, whiskers and mouth, which are sculpted differently, giving the faces much different expressions. His shoulders and hips are jointed and although his head seems to be a separate piece, I couldn’t get it to turn. Both versions come with terrific little throne sleds that look like a lot of work went into them – right down to the moveable control stick. The regular version, “Dominar of Hyneria,” also comes with the bomb and bomb case, dagger and cartographic crystal, all from DNA Mad Scientist,  while the special edition, “Royalty in Exile,” includes a Tadek game board, game fork, and Hynerian pipe from The Flax. Both robes are purple velvet but they have different trim. Under the robes (yes, I looked) he’s wearing his red underwear. 

Read the Karlsweb exclusive interview with Raven Hood, Rygel's sculptor!

The Scorpius figure is a really good representation of the character, having the same pasty face and red eyes. Again, the faces are quite different in the two versions – one is grinning and the other is scowling. Both have a removable head appliance for his cooling rods and both are jointed at the neck, shoulders, wrists and hips. They stand easily without toppling over if you play with the legs a bit. The regular version, “Scorpius the Hunter,” comes with a pulse gun, an analyzer, and a neural spike. The special edition, “Master of Evil,” has a neural spike and a Hynerian head trophy that he inherited from Crais.   

The third new figure, Crais, is a bit thin in the face in both versions, but otherwise looks very good. The regular version is wearing a removable long black overcoat that’s sleeveless and made of plastic. It comes with a pulse pistol and the stupid looking Peacekeeper hat Crais was wearing in Premier.  The special edition version is taken from That Old Black Magic and named “Vengeance Is Mine” which seems like an odd name because Crais got thrashed in that episode. He has a much angrier expression and his hair is a mess. The messy hair is sculpted in, not just painted on. This one comes with the spear he used in his attempt to kill Crichton and a fighting plate. Both are jointed in the shoulders, neck and wrists, but not the hips so there’s no problem making them stand up. 

The Aeryn figure is exactly the same one that came out last year as a limited edition DNA Mad Scientist mutation. Originally the figure was an exclusive for Fandom.com, but they’ve since gone bankrupt, so Toy Vault has reissued the figure as part of Series Two. If you’d like to read an interview with the sculptor, check out the Newscape interview with Raven Hood.

Series One part 2 Action Figures

The next batch of action figures that Toy Vault will introduce in May are same figures with new clothing from specific Season Two episodes: Zhaan as the pirate Oralla from Liars, Guns, and Money (have a look at Karl's idea for this action figure in the humor section); Crichton in his wedding gown from Look at the Princess, part 2: I Do, I Think; D'Argo from Vitas Mortis wearing his blue over-robe; Chiana in her white nightie from Look at the Princess. The set is titled Farscape Reunited and is a part of Series I. Another group, Series II, is in the works that will include Aeryn Sun, Rygel, Scorpius and Crais. This set is expected to be released in late spring or early summer.

The long awaited Series 1 action figures from Toy Vault are finally here. They're available in four characters: John Crichton, Zhaan, Chiana, and D'Argo, with two or three versions of each. Well, the bodies of the figures are the exactly the same but the clothing and accessories are different. According to the package, over twenty figures are planned. I don't know if this bunch counts as four figures or if they're counting each different set of accessories as a different figure. If they are, then there are eleven figures here.

When the Aeryn Sun mutation figure came out a few weeks ago I had high hopes for the series but when I received the rest of the figures, I was disappointed in two of them, Chiana and Zhaan.

The first one I opened was Chiana and I wondered why she came with a dentic. It turned out that it wasn't a dentic but one of the little fuzzy things that had come unglued from her shoulder. The painting on her face is good - it looks a lot like her. In fact, it's the most realistic of the four. She's jointed at her neck, shoulders, wrists and hips but her knees and elbows are locked in a bent position. They also gave her a navel. There are three versions of this figure. The regular version (Anarchistic Runaway) comes with that industrial-sized hockey stick that she carried in "Durka Returns", a neck collar and handcuffs. The special edition (Armed and Dangerous) includes the neck collar, the handcuffs and a pulse rifle. Entertainment Earth has an exclusive version (Escape from Nebari Prime) that comes wearing a cloth coat. The neck collar and the handcuffs are also a part of this package.

Next, I opened Zhaan. I think Zhaan's been sniffing a few too many of her own herbs - I can't make her stand up no matter what I do, twist her, turn her, move her arms, move her legs, whatever. She's fallen over so many times that she's more black and blue than blue. The painting on her face is acceptable, but the top of her head is plain blue with no spots at all - it looks as if she's wearing a bathing cap. She's jointed in the same places as Chiana (hips, neck, shoulders and wrists). Zhaan also has three variations. In the regular edition ("Delvian Pau") she's wearing a cloth hood, sashed dress, and shawl. The hood is attached to the dress at the shoulders. The only accessory is a small vial or bottle. Probably for sniffing those herbs. The special edition ("Spiritualist and Healer") wears the same dress but this time it's covered by a transparent lab coat that closes in the back with Velcro. I took it off to get a better look at it and it was a miserable job to get it back on. They must have had her do that hand-withering trick to get it on in the first place. For the special edition, the accessories are the trelkez on a standing perch from "That Old Black Magic" (mine snapped off the perch when I opened the package), and a pillow with the mask that Crichton stepped on in "Back and Back and Back to the Future". The third version is the same as the special edition but comes with it's own trading card from Rittenhouse Archives.

D'Argo is the largest and most rugged of the figures and he's painted very well. He looks like he's snarling and one of his fists is clenched. The tattoos on his head and chest are quite good and the tentacles and braids look realistic. As realistic as a Luxan, anyhow. He also has the rings implanted in his collar bones. His neck is jointed but doesn't turn all the way (probably because of the hair and tentacles in the back). Both wrists and both shoulders are jointed and the waist also turns. He's wearing a removable sash and belt. The regular edition ("Luxan Warrior") includes a shilquen, a Qualta Blade, and the little non-metal knife that Rygel used in "I, E. T." and that D'Argo uses for...well, they never exactly said what he uses it for but it's probably painful. The special edition ("'Til the Blood Runs Clear") comes with the Qualta Blade, a sand mask and a dagger. The Qualta Blade is especially well done, painted to look like it has a sharp edge. There's no problem at all in getting him to stand up. I wonder if it's because the hips aren't jointed.

The John Crichton figure is also pretty rugged and stands on it's own with no problem. The body is jointed at the wrists, neck, shoulders and waist. The hips and legs are not movable in the Crichton figure. The regular figure ("Astronaut and Scientist) is dressed in a cloth jacket over painted-on white t-shirt and khaki slacks. Along with the figure are two DRDs, a drak, a helmet and a set of headphones . The special edition (Commander Crichton) is dressed in the same cloth jacket and also has the helmet and 2 DRDs. Instead of the headphones he has the goggles from "Til the Blood Runs Clear" and a pulse rifle - not an exploding one, I hope. There is a third Crichton figure, an exclusive only available from Toy Vault. It's from the episode "Thank God It's Friday...Again". This version is wearing painted-on black t-shirt and slacks with a red cloth vest that looks nothing like the one he wore in TGIF. He has the head phones, two DRDs and a set of handcuffs.

The first of Toy Vault’s Farscape action figures is a special edition of Aeryn Sun from the episode “DNA Mad Scientist”. It shows Aeryn during the first part of her mutation into Pilot. Her right hand and her midriff have some of Pilot’s skin texture and coloration. She’s wearing a belt with two canteen-looking pouches on the back and a side holster which is also strapped to her leg.

There are three accessories that come with Aeryn: the syringe Namtar used to extract DNA, the hypodermic that John used to inject the antidote, and a pulse pistol which fits into both her hand and the holster.

The color and shading of Aeryn’s skin is beautiful. I was afraid it would be shiny and totally fake looking, but it isn’t. It has a smooth feeling slight luster. Her eyes are blue and the painter did an excellent job with the eyebrows. The face is a bit thinner than Aeryn’s and the nose is a little bit different, but everything else is right on.

The detail in this figure is incredible. There are studs on her belt, creases in her slacks, and treads on her boots. Both arms and both legs are movable. The series is made to a scale of 6’ to 7”. She stands approximately 6 ½ “ tall. There are over twenty Farscape figures planned. Toy Vault has made an excellent replication of Aeryn Sun and I can’t wait to see the rest of the characters.