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When the first Terminator figures from McFarlane came out in Movie Maniacs 4, they caused much grousing and gnashing of teeth. Besides the idiotic "it's not a maniac" cry-babying, there was the entire question of the head. Schwarzenegger withdrew his approval for his likeness before the figure shipped, leaving fans with only a severely battle-damaged face.
McToys persevered, however, and gave us a few more T2 figures in Movie Maniacs 5. Then, with the coming of Terminator 3, they announced that they had secured the license and would once again be producing toys of the ever-aging Austrian andriod.
Twelve years after John Connor survived an attempt on his life from the future, the Terminator is back. And this time, he's in just as much trouble as the man he's supposed to be protecting.
The line is fairly balanced, with two figures of the T-850, two figures of the T-X and one boxed set with the T-850 and the T-X. Variety! At least this time they had Arnold's face.
Capturing one of the film's more visually interesting scenes, this figure sees the Terminator showing off his mechanical might by toting a coffin on his shoulder. The coffin has been scarred by police bullets as they glanced off its surface. It has been said that if McFarlane had publicized what's inside the coffin, this particular figure would have become insanely hard to find, since everyone would want one. I have mine, so let the publicizing begin.
Inside the coffin is a selection of weaponry worthy of the Punisher: bullets, bombs, rockets, grendades, handguns, assault rifles and all manner of weapons of mass destruction. Two of the guns are individually molded, removable pieces, as are the two missiles. The rest of this arsenal is, sadly, one solid molded piece, and cannot be removed from the coffin (at least not easily). How cool would it have been if this could actually double as a coffin for your figures? Alas, we'll have to settle for it hiding the accessories so stores that are squeamish about toys with guns are more likely to pick up the line.
The Terminator fits in with his Movie Maniac brothers in scale, sculpt and articulation: he moves at the neck, shoulders, right elbow, wrists, waist and hips. His battle damage is handled well, with glints of silver showing through the wounds. Incidentally, a few spots of cracked paint reveals how McToys made the interior of the damage look so good: they painted the entire thing silver, then went over it with the fleshtones and blood.
Each of the figures in this line comes with a small display base; Coffin-Haulin' Arnold has a grassy divot of the graveyard through which he is stalking in the represented scene. There are a few pieces of stained glass and marble lying near his feet, and a deeply indented footprint that also has a peg to help him stand. It looks failry nice, but there is a problem.
The T-850 stands fine on his own for a change. The figure's feet are wide-set and stable and his center of balance is, well, centered. Even with the coffin plugged into his shoulder, he stands just fine. But put him onto his base, and suddenly his feet are no longer even level, he's tipping forward mightily and looks like he might fall at any moment.
In addition to the Mighty Coffin O' Doom, the Terminator has one more weapon: a large machine gun that can be held in his right hand. A strap is slung around the figure's body to help hold the gun in place, which might be a good idea: the handle/trigger guard on my gun broke off very easily and had to be replaced.
These figures are for all the fans who complained and complained about the last Terminator figures. They're not without their faults, but they are very good.
Bigger joke: Arnold's "acting" or Arnold's "politics?" Tell us on our message board, The Loafing Lounge.
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