Maggie Greene: The Walking Dead (McFarlane Toys)

The Walking Dead: Maggie Greene

Buffy is not the only hot chick around murdering monsters and demons or undead beings on TV. There are several of these women but there is one that specializes on post-apocalyptic survival and zombies, and that's Maggie. Like her boyfriend, Glenn, she started in this simple-normal type of job not until a zombie outbreak turned her from a farm girl to a zombie slayer! Not only that she added some unique element to the show (thanks to her gorgeous body), but made this whole zombie thing even more entertaining to watch... especially for the guys who admires her.















Now this McFarlane figure have a lot of details, sculpt-wise. However, the face never really captured the likeness of Lauren Cohan (a.k.a. Maggie Greene); and it's even hard to tell if she's Caucasian. For me, the only indicator that tells me that I'm looking at a Maggie Greene figure are these dark straps from her brassier at the back along with her army green tank top. Like all Walking Dead figures, she has uncannily realistic features from head to toe, except for the moving parts on her joints that has ridges over it, which I really don't understand why this toyline still stick with these.

Paint-wise, again- I'm not too impressed with how her face looked as though she needs some correctional lenses. I have to say that the eyes are probably the most important parts of a figure that needs to be done properly. Unfortunately, all Maggie Greene figures I've seen in stores have eyes like these! But, oh well what can you do, at least the paint details over her arms, legs and torso made up for it. There are splatters of blood around her neck and her forearm, and a well executed paint wash over her denim pants.

Maggie doesn't come with any interchangeable parts. She only comes with weapons which are very true to what she used in the series; a machete, a pistol and an assault rifle. Both the machete and the pistol are concealable and each comes with their own storage. The assault rifle considerably doesn't have one and it doesn't need to. The only thing that's kinda weird with this gun is that it looks a little big for her! Or maybe she's just made a little short to be a Walking Dead figure.

As you might have already learned, these figures are display pieces and so the articulation is not that great. It's more or less likely a "staction figure" (statue-like action figure). There is no bicep rotation or ankle pivot, which is very common with these figures. Maggie got the standard Walking Dead articulation; a ball-neck, ball-hinged shoulders, single-jointed elbows and hinged wrists with rotation. She got waist rotation that doesn't perform well and thigh cuts that rotates and moves forward or back but only to a limited range. Also, she got single-jointed knees and hinged ankles that rotates.

My verdict is that I think it is a must-have figure only because she definitely needs to be partnered with Glenn Rhee. These two go together like Bonnie and Clyde. But speaking about its rendition to the actual look on the face of the character, it is poorly executed. The only good thing about it though is the body mold and (as always) paint job. Overall, I'm satisfied with this figure but not extremely happy.

Glenn Rhee: The Walking Dead (McFarlane Toys)

The Walking Dead: Glenn Rhee

It's the tragic zombie outbreak that transformed this pizza delivery guy into a cunning soldier. Meet Glenn, a long-standing and probably the smartest and most resilient member of "Team Grimes". If Daryl got the balls, this guy got wits. We could assume that Glenn is a gamer and a geek after he described to his girlfriend that heading deep into a zombie-occupied well was like playing Portal! How badass was that! The geek inside of me just overflows with pride and having a Glenn action figure cements that pride and enthusiasm. Definitely, he's one of my favourite characters in the Walking Dead Series.














To start off, let's look at how this figure is being translated from its TV origins to McFarlane plastic. We need to look for any resemblance of Steven Yeun, the actor that played the character. And as far as I could tell, that Asian look is spot on! The face and head sculpt is almost accurate to Glenn. I got no issues with the sculpt on this figure. The folds and creases around his shirt and pants are everywhere but nothing over the top.

Must I remind you that McFarlane just excels when it comes to sculpt and paint? They're just phenomenal. The paint wash on this figure is well executed. The only and perhaps the most consistent issue these figures always have are the paint around the wrists that's obviously not blending in too well with his forearms. Overall, the paint job delivers a lot of fine details.

Even the accessories that he comes with are well detailed. He comes with an interchangeable head that some of you might be familiar with. It's the head or rather, the face of Glenn after his ass got eloquently beaten up by Merle Dixon. You can check online about this reference but I must tell you that the likeness between his busted face and on this figure is accurate.

He also comes with an easy-to-wear bulletproof vest that can be removed by popping his head out. Also, he got an assault rifle, his Glock pistol and combat knife, which you may get him to conceal or arm himself with it. Moreover, Glenn got this iron pipe with a bloody pointy end that he must have used in one of those episodes (sorry, I forgot which event that was).

The downside of all these Walking Dead figures are their limited poseability. They are meant to be display pieces. With Glenn, there is no ankle pivot or rotation at the biceps. What's more annoying is that his waist rotation are hindered by all these sculpting around the waist, and so it's pretty useless. He got a ball-jointed neck, ball-hinged shoulders, single-jointed elbows, hinged wrists with rotation. He got thigh swivel, single-jointed knees with rotation, and hinged ankles.

Overall, I like the look on this figure. Even though they are not as articulated as figures like Marvel Legends or the ones from NECA, for me, these guys got that collector's value in them. I've been watching the Walking Dead ever since it first got showed on TV and I was truly amazed by it. As a core member of the group, a Glenn Rhee action figure is a must-have.

Merle Zombie: The Walking Dead (McFarlane Toys)

The Walking Dead: Merle Zombie

In the world of the Walking Dead, you're either dead or become the undead. Unfortunately for Merle, he turned into one of them. Even more so, his own little brother, Daryl had to end him after all that "Dixon family reunion" in Season 3. That scene delivered a huge impact on the Daryl character and probably the most memorable one for me. For Walking Dead fans (such as myself), this Merle Zombie action figure reminds us of how death is inevitable even to the most beloved character.
















Before you try to find any accessories that might have came with it, first ask yourself- does a zombie know how to hold a weapon? Unlike the more modern and more creative zombie interpretations in films, Walking Dead zombies are like any other typical zombies we know; slow and extremely unintelligent let alone the fact that Merle Zombie was only seen munching on a corpse before he got stabbed in the face by Daryl. So sadly, no accessories with this figure.

Basically, the figure is a repaint of the first Merle Dixon we had from last year. The difference obviously is that Merle is now a pale-looking gray zombie as you can see him standing next to his former self. Those streaks of blood over his face with those "pupil-less" eyes are signs of danger. Also, he got a big blood splatter over his chest and at his forearms painted with some realism. Shirt and pants are of the same colour from first one. Interestingly, Merle Zombie suddenly got zippers around his pants, which are made obvious by its silver paint and which I believe is a mistake.

The face sculpt is very Michael Rooker look-alike... in his zombie form. McFarlane used the same body mold from the previous. Everything is the same except that his hand-blade on the right arm is slightly tilted, which probably was in the show. The holster and the sheath for his gun and knife are still part of this figure but like I said, he doesn't come specifically with these accessories.

The poseability on this figure is more or less limited. I think it makes no sense for a zombie action figure to be highly articulated and can do some kicks and splits. The amount of articulation is just right. Merle has a ball-jointed neck, ball-hinged shoulder (without the bicep swivel), single-jointed and swivelled elbows, and wrists that bends and rotates. He got a Y-joint with swivels at the upper thighs, single-jointed knees with rotation, ball-hinged ankles with a bit of ankle pivot.

So Merle being one of the iconic characters in the TV Series along with that crucial event where he "turned", is something you might wanna consider having in an action figure if you're a die hard Walking Dead fan. The paint job and sculpt is neat and accurate that will make you relive those moments. I highly recommend the Merle Zombie.