Daryl Dixon with Chopper: The Walking Dead (McFarlane Toys)

If there's one statement I could use to describe this whole thing about Daryl- it is that zombie apocalypse has never been made this appealing for us to wish it would happen! There is nothing more exciting than killing hordes of undead with a combination of precision and style; with a crossbow and a motorcycle! To me, Daryl Dixon has always been the poster boy for zombie flicks. And with all the tension rising and new characters filling up The Walking Dead universe (TV series), comes another wave of action figures. Daryl with the Chopper is the one that I am most excited about with this current release.

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon with Chopper Motorcycle

Like any Walking Dead windowed box set, the figure is showcased behind this transparent plastic with Daryl's Chopper positioned at the backend. We're still seeing the same "prison-artwork" like the ones we had from the previous series with Norman Reedus' face at the corner. Just by a quick glance, it's very obvious that this figure only comes with two weapons/accessories which I'm going to talk later.

The paint job with all these McFarlane Walking Dead figures have been consistent all through and through. Almost all areas on this figure are painted with maybe 2 or 3 different colours layering on top of each other. However, there is one complain, which is not too obvious and that is his wrists! Just below its rotating part, the wrists got colours mismatching his forearms and it's quite a bummer. I absolutely love the "angel wings" painted over the back of his coat; I can't ignore it. Overall, the paint job on this figure generates a lot of positive comments.

The amount of detail on the sculpt is as high as with the paint. Everything is sculpted perfectly except these ridges at the elbow and knee joints that McFarlane has once again not doing any improvement with it. It kinda takes you away from that awe feeling you get from looking at the details. Anyways, what I like though is how they made the vest look like a separate piece and the angel wings looking like it's patched on. The head sculpt is excellent but it's not perfectly getting the actor's facial features, and he's kinda smiling... it's definitely because he's having fun! I mean, who doesn't when you got a kick-ass motorcycle that doesn't make you look like survivor.

Speaking of which, we now focus on Daryl's Chopper, the main highlight of this deluxe box set and probably the reason why this was a no brainer purchase. I got nothing but praise for this accessory. The only accessory, I believe, that would count as a separate character because of the fact that it also got its own playability. It is an accessory with accessories. You can add or remove its luggage feature at the back, and hung or unhung Daryl's crossbow at the front. In addition, this motorcycle can stand either by utilizing its kick stand or that little base stand that attaches to the rear wheel. Like the figure, it's also heavily detailed. The wheels are rubberized and it is almost as though I bought miniature replica of some Harley Davidson.

Note that this is not the same crossbow from previous Daryl action figure we've seen. Inspired from Season 3's, the crossbow has arrows with green fletchings resting under its limbs. Also, he got his Bowie knife as usual.

The articulation is enough to get him into his ride. He got this DCUC style hip articulation along with his single-jointed knees to help get his butt unto the motorcycle. He got a ball-jointed neck that lets him lean side to side and rotate his head. No rotation to the biceps but has ball-hinged shoulders, single-jointed elbows, rotations near the wrists with hinges. He has diaphragm swivel (which is uncommon for TWD figures) and waist swivel. Unfortunately, no ankle pivots on this one.

Compared to our "old Daryl", Biker Daryl stands with him equally at 5 inches. It's funny how his character improvement in the TV series is somehow congruent with these figures basing from how differently they look. Although he didn't exactly turn into a Filipino man like with this figure here but I think you know what I mean. This is a good improvement plus he got his motorcycle that makes me want to recommend this figure to all Walking Dead fans.