Main
Features
 FOTD
 Toy Fair 2023
 SDCC 2023
 Toy Fair 2020
 NYCC 2019
 SDCC 2019
 Toy Fair 2019
 SDCC 2018
 Toy Fair 2018
 HasCon 2017
 SDCC 2017
 Toy Fair 2017
 SDCC 2016
 Toy Fair 2016
 SDCC 2015
 Toy Fair 2015
 SDCC 2014
 C2E2 2014
 Toy Fair 2014
 SDCC 2013
 C2E2 2013
 Toy Fair 2013
 SDCC 2012
 C2E2 2012
 Toy Fair 2012
 NYCC 2011
 SDCC 2011
 Toy Fair 2011
Archives
 Books
 DVD
 Music
 Statues
 Prop Replicas
 Toys
 Video Games
Credits
Contact


This site is part of Amazon, Walmart, eBay, and Entertainment Earth affiliate programs. We may earn a commission when you click one of their links.


Related Links:
16bit Tumblr
16bit Twitter
16bit Instagram
ASWN
EE Podcast
Galactic Hunter
Glyos News
OSM News

Bif Bang Pow! The Twilight Zone Henry Bemis Bif Bang Pow!, 2014
Day #970: July 23, 2014
Bif Bang Pow! The Twilight Zone Henry Bemis Action FigureHenry Bemis
B&W Kenner-Style 3 3/4-inch Action Figure

The Twilight Zone Retro 3 3/4-inch Action Figure
Item No.:
Asst. ??? No. 05107
Manufacturer: Bif Bang Pow!
Includes: 2 books
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: est. $9.99
Availability: July 2014
Other: Collect All Seven Thirteen!

  PREVIOUS RSS NEXT  

Bif Bang Pow! The Twilight Zone Henry Bemis Action FigureThe notion of a retro, Kenner-style action figure has been a gag I've been talking about for a while - Super7 got to it first with real vintage sculpts first, but I talked to a few companies about this for a while - and Star Wars fans have been asking for it for years. Now Bif Bang Pow! brought out seven characters in 2-3 colorways each, including Henry Bemis. The colorized version is a convention exclusive, and I was indeed involved in some discussions surrounding the creation of this figure - so consider this a biased overview.

These are Bif Bang Pow!'s first "retro" 3 3/4-inch action figures. More modern creations for The Venture Bros. and Dexter exist, while Saturday Night Live's "The Ambiguously Gay Duo" exist in a space in between the classic and modern figure styles. It's my understanding there are plans for more of some of these, but I don't think I'm supposed to talk about that yet, so let's pretend that I didn't.

With the question of "color, or black and white?" the answer was "both." Why? Well, obviously you need to make the most out of your sculpting and tooling budgets, but at the same time it's tough to decide what people want - on one hand, black-and-white action figures aren't really a thing (with a few exceptions). On the other, there aren't really good color guides or color photography from this era of the show, and you want to make something cool - so here we are, with two styles from which to choose. Black and white is retailing cheaper, so why not go that route?

Bif Bang Pow! The Twilight Zone Henry Bemis Action Figure

In terms of functionality, the figure deviates slightly from the inspiration. The hands are differently shaped, but due to a more flexible plastic are quite good at gripping his included book accessories. The feet are rotated out a tiny bit, and feature peg holes - but these are sized to modern 3 3/4-inch figure pegs, rather than the larger ones of the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s. Straight out of the package my Bemis sample had a little problem standing, but thanks to the plastic having some give the legs could be easily manipulated into standing normally. He has no problems standing upright while holding his precious books, which is a huge plus for me.

Bif Bang Pow! The Twilight Zone Henry Bemis Action Figure

Part of the challenge posed by this kind of figure is walking that fine line between doing something authentic to the time, doing something crappy, and doing something that seems to carry the vocabulary of this era. The head sculpt of Mr. Bemis is, for better or worse, more modern looking with more detail than his vintage counterparts - he seems more lively, and more specific to the actor. The coke bottle glasses were conveyed nicely with the "lens" effectively blurring out his eyes, but other details like his glossy boots are decidedly un-vintage. Articulation is exactly what you'd expect, and the joints on my sample aren't quite as stiff as some of the other similar retro figures. Most important of all, he passes the Landspeeder Test (TM) in which I have decreed that any figure boasting 1970s aesthetics must be able to fit in a 1970s vehicle - and he does! Being able to sit with his legs at a right angle is arguably the most important thing for a figure of this era, as vehicles were a very important part of the marketing of this kind of toy. Even though there aren't any vehicles in this line - and I suspect, may well never come to pass - it's something I consider to be incredibly important.

Another departure from real vintage figures that this figure (and Funko, Super7, and Zica are dealing with) is that there's really no visible bare plastic here. There's a sheen on the plastic of these old figures which you can't replicate with paint, and the painted grey suit gives Bemis a mate finish. Overall I'd say he looks pretty good, but whenever you paint a figure over completely you'll see one or two more imperfections than you would see were he molded in color.

In an effort to keep this kind of figure going, it's a good one - I daresay one of the best of the initial wave. The figure seems to really get it, even if it does do things a vintage figure wouldn't do like add painted white pages to the book rather than it be an unpleasant, painted blob. Much like The Rocketeer figure, there's a fine line between going old-school, and trying to make an attractive collectible figure - and it's a struggle we'll likely continue to see play itself out over time between now and whenever this style of product becomes unpopular. I'm happy with what we see here, because even though it doesn't quite ape Kenner's style it does feel like something that on the whole could have existed at some point in the mid or late 1980s, deco aside. For ten bucks, I'd suggest grabbing Henry Bemis or another one of these figures. It's neat!

--Adam Pawlus

Additional Images

Bif Bang Pow! The Twilight Zone Henry Bemis Action Figure Bif Bang Pow! The Twilight Zone Henry Bemis Action Figure
Bif Bang Pow! The Twilight Zone Henry Bemis Action Figure Bif Bang Pow! The Twilight Zone Henry Bemis Action Figure
Bif Bang Pow! The Twilight Zone Henry Bemis Action Figure Bif Bang Pow! The Twilight Zone Henry Bemis Action Figure
Bif Bang Pow! The Twilight Zone Henry Bemis Action Figure Bif Bang Pow! The Twilight Zone Henry Bemis Action Figure
Bif Bang Pow! The Twilight Zone Henry Bemis Action Figure Bif Bang Pow! The Twilight Zone Henry Bemis Action Figure
Bif Bang Pow! The Twilight Zone Henry Bemis Action Figure Bif Bang Pow! The Twilight Zone Henry Bemis Action Figure
Bif Bang Pow! The Twilight Zone Henry Bemis Action Figure

See more Bif Bang Pow! action figures in Figure of the Day:
Day 3: Venture Bros. The Monarch Action Figure
Day 192: Venture Bros. Dean Venture Action Figure
Day 289: Venture Bros. Jonas Venture Action Figure
Day 297: Venture Bros. Rusty Venture Action Figure
Day 303: Bif Bang Pow! Venture Bros. Dr. Girlfriend Action Figure
Day 308: Bif Bang Pow! Doctor Who Fourth Doctor Action Figure
Day 313: Bif Bang Pow! Venture Bros. Dr. Orpheus Action Figure
Day 362: Bif Bang Pow! Venture Bros. Hank Venture Action Figure
Day 439: Bif Bang Pow! Venture Bros. Phantom Limb Action Figure
Day 490: Bif Bang Pow! Venture Bros. Bloody Brock Samson Action Figure
Day 499: Bif Bang Pow! Venture Bros. Brock Samson Action Figure
Day 666: Bif Bang Pow! Venture Bros. Dean Venture Action Figure
Day 666: Bif Bang Pow! Venture Bros. Hank Venture Action Figure
Day 699: Bif Bang Pow! Venture Bros. Molotov Action Figure
Day 732: Bif Bang Pow! Venture Bros. Dr. Mrs. The Monarch Action Figure
Day 771: Bif Bang Pow! Venture Bros. Brock Samson Action Figure
Day 867: Bif Bang Pow! Venture Bros. Unpainted Test Shot Monarch Action Figure
Day 970: Bif Bang Pow! The Twilight Zone Henry Bemis Action Figure
Day 1,003: Bif Bang Pow! Venture Bros. Monarch Action Figure
Day 1,027: Bif Bang Pow! The Twilight Zone Kanamit (Work Uniform) Action Figure
Day 1,054: Bif Bang Pow! Star Trek: The Next Generation Lieutenant Worf
Day 1,063: Bif Bang Pow! The Twilight Zone Talky Tina Action Figure
Day 1,388: Bif Bang Pow! Peg Pals Batman Armored
Day 1,928: Bif Bang Pow! DC Comics Pin Mate Wonder Woman
Day 2,134: Bif Bang Pow! The Twilight Zone Gremlin

See more The Twilight Zone figures in Figure of the Day:
Day 970: Bif Bang Pow! The Twilight Zone Henry Bemis Action Figure
Day 1,027: Bif Bang Pow! The Twilight Zone Kanamit (Work Uniform) Action Figure
Day 1,063: Bif Bang Pow! The Twilight Zone Talky Tina Action Figure
Day 2,134: Bif Bang Pow! The Twilight Zone Gremlin

HTML Comment Box is loading comments...

Click Here for 2013
Figure of the
Day 2014
January 2014
1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031
February 2014
1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
232425262728
March 2014
1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
3031
April 2014
12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
27282930
May 2014
123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031
June 2014
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
2930
July 2014
12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031
August 2014
12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930
31
September 2014
123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
282930
October 2014
1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031
November 2014
1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
30
December 2014
123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28293031
Click Here for 2015

16bit.com is best not viewed in Apple's Safari browser, we don't know why. All material on this site copyright their respective copyright holders. All materials appear hear for informative and entertainment purposes. 16bit.com is not to be held responsible for anything, ever. Photos taken by the 16bit.com staff. Site design, graphics, writing, and whatnot credited on the credits page. Be cool-- don't steal.
We know where you live and we'll break your friggin' legs.