Sideshow Collectibles

I'm a huge fan of the Twilight Zone and Outer Limits shows. When Sideshow Collectibles started producing 12" figures based on these classics, I was in sixth scale heaven.

It's been awhile since the last release in this line, but we got two for the price of one this time. Okay, not for the price of one, but actually for the price of two, but at least they come in the same box!

This is the Helosian, from the episode O.B.I.T., and Andro, from the episode "The Man Who Was Never Born". While the Helosian was an alien, Andro was a man from our future, back to try to save us from our awful fate.

Packaging - ****
I wish every package had the level of depth and information that this box does. Production notes on the episodes, synopsis, great stills, it's got it all.

I am going to complain though about the shipping boxes. I received this one damaged again, because the shipping box is exactly the right size for the package to fit inside. The shipping box gets damaged, the inside box gets damaged. It happens fairly often too, and while I didn't keep this one MIB (Mint in Box Condition), I would have been pretty upset as a MIBBer.

Sculpting - Andro ***1/2; Helosian ***
Both of these figures look extremely nice, particularly in terms of the quality of the sculpt itself. But both also suffer from at least one drawback.

The Helosian looks great at first glance, and matches the uni-brow expression from the still on the front of the package extremely well. But they've chosen a very hard, Bakelite type plastic for the head, much harder than usual. Or at least it seemed to me at first - after double checking with the Kanamit and Gwyllm, it doesn't seem harder to the touch. It doesn't hold any texture well, and the paint ops make it look shiny and toy-ish. The hard plastic makes it tough for the head sculpt to have as much detail or depth as we've come to expect. Both Gwyllm and Kanamit look much better though, so I suspect a lot of this has to do with the shiny gloss paint.

Andro doesn't suffer from a glossy hard plastic head, but his seems just a tad too small. Due to the old style of makeup prosthetics (and actually modern ones have this same problem), the heads of the monsters were usually oversized. If you look at the photos, Andro certainly had a big head once you take into account his lumpy appearance. However, the sculpted Andro head seems small on the shoulders, and slightly out of place.

Other than these two issues, the head sculpts are kickin'. The hand and foot sculpts on both of these are also extremely well done, and unlike the usual human figure, give them a chance to show off their sculpting talents. I particularly like the meat hooks on the Helosian.

Paint - Andro ****; Helosian ***1/2
There's very little to pick on when it comes to the paint ops, although you know I can always find something!

Maybe not something every time - Andro is near perfect. The work on his head, feet and hands is all superb, showing off the craggy sculpt and facial deformities. This guy would make a great candidate for The Swan.

While the Helosian paint ops are good, the hard plastic head makes for both a shiny appearance and increases the risks of rub marks and damage. The work on the hands and feet is well above average however.

Articulation - ****
Both have the usual Sideshow bodies, with plenty of articulation for most poses. Once again, I had no trouble with loose joints, and while both figures come with bases, I didn't find any reason to use them.

Accessories - Andro ***; Helosian Bupkis
I have the book pictured with the Helosian, but that's just because he felt so left out. All three accessories that come with the set are technically from Andro's episode. And yes, he was the one that was going to shoot someone.

He comes with his pistol, book and flower. All three sport great sculpts, and fit in his hands. They all make great sense with the episode as well.

The Helosian didn't have many choices, but something would have been nice. Of course, some sort of O.B.I.T. screen would have been ideal, especially at this price point.

Both figures also come with the standard Sideshow base with the name of their respective episodes.

Outfit - ***1/2
Both outfits are excellent, even if they are somewhat boring.

Okay, that's not really fair to the Helosian, who has a nice shimmery body suit underneath a plastic 'dress'. The outer clothing is made from a plastic similar to a rain slicker, and has a basic belt. The inner body suit fits great, and overall the tailoring is excellent.

Poor Andro has the drab looking outfit, but it's not really his fault - you know how they never have any sense of fashion in the future. His clothes are a basic brown - shirt, pants, 'skirt', and vest. However, the stitching, tailoring and overall quality is excellent on every piece.

Fun Factor - ***1/2
Even though these are intended as high end collectibles, they have plenty of opportunity for play. I know that I would have loved to have a pair of sixth scale monsters like these when I was a kid, and the great sculpting, outfits and articulation all work in their favor.

Value - **
Ouch. $90 for a pair of figures comes out to $45, in case you don't have a calculator handy. Considering that we are getting the very intricate and complicated Live By The Sword figures for about the same price, these take a bit of a hit.

Overall - ***
Sideshow has produced some excellent figures in the Outer Limits and Twilight Zone series - Ikar and Ikar's Soldier , the Doctor and Nurse from Eye of the Beholder, Gwyllm and the Ebonite Interrogator, The Kanamit, The Invader, the Gremlin from Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, and the Zanti Misfits. Out of all of these, I still like the Doctor and Nurse the best, but these two rank up with Gwyllum and the Kanamit as great examples of early sci-fi makeup.