he Babylon 5 fan phalanx, after four years, finally gets what Trekkers and Star Wars fans have had for a long time--action figures. Exclusive Premiere has released two new B5 toy lines, neatly rendered for collectors into nine-inch limited edition display figures and six-inch action figures.
The nine-inch figures first debuted in December 1997 with Delenn, G'Kar and Sheridan, each limited to a production run of 12,000 and available exclusively at Toys R Us stores. The next trio in the series was Vir, Lennier and Marcus, and while the production limit for these three has not as yet been determined, they cost a bit more than the first generation. They are sold through specialty stores via Diamond Comics. Nine-inch Delenn, G'Kar and Sheridan retail for under $20, while the next generation is priced at under $28. All are made of PVC and attired in plain, metallic and leatherette cloth; each garment is variously detailed with metallic trims, studs and buckles.
The six-inch series (under $8) is entirely new and consists of four characters: Delenn, G'Kar, Sheridan and Londo. Each of these is entirely composed of PVC, with movable joints at the neck, arms and thighs (all except Delenn, who, due to the length of her PVC robe, only moves at the neck and arms). And, because a diplomat without a ship is just a run-of-the-mill government flunkie, each of these figures is accompanied by a diplomatic spacecraft, with the exception of Sheridan, who is packaged with the Babylon 5 space station itself. Collectors take note: this series is not limited, and the figures are not numbered.
Cool, but the gold lame has got to go
These figures succeed or fail based on two criteria: the likeness of the figure to the character, and the quality and accuracy of the garments.
The nine-inch series is largely strong in terms of likeness. Lennier and Marcus are rendered the best (Lennier is actually quite excellent) and Delenn and G'Karr are fair. The weakest of the lot are Sheridan (who looks more like Bill Pullman--eeew--than Bruce Boxleitner) and Vir, whose face, correctly assessed by Londo, is truly more moon-shaped.
Garment-wise, the nine-inch series is a little ungainly, but mostly okay, if a bit glittery. The only style setters are Marcus and Lennier; Lennier is absolutely fab in a chocolate-bronze robe, inset with plackets of charcoal grey and muted ochre, tastefully detailed with silver trim. Alone in this series, G'Kar is rather a fright. When the Narn ambassador is wearing more gold lame than Heather Locklear, it's time to head for the airlocks.
Though diminutive, the six-inch series is superior to the nine-inch in both likeness and garments. The likenesses of all the six-inch models are quite strong, more so than is usual for such figures. But it is the rendering of the garments that makes this series so excellent. Though the series is composed entirely of lowly PVC, the molders have just about set new standards for the medium, and the paint has been impeccably applied. Example: the detail of Londo's attire is incredible--the gold filigree of his badge and torque, the weave of his vest, the braid on his jacket.
These are, undeniably, nice toys, and for the B5 phalanx, it's been worth the wait.
