As one of those legendary unproduced figures from the 1980s, Eldor as a toy seemed like something that would never happen, until this new line started. After that, it seemed inevitable - especially since we got the goofily named He-Ro pretty early on as a Comic-Con exclusive. The question wasn't if, but rather when this figure might come to pass - and the answer is now! Well, it was two months ago. But that's close enough to now. The Fauxbi-Wan Kenobi is a very dark, I daresay realistic interpretation of the original prototype. That 1987 figure would have been a little more chipper with a whiter, fluffier beard and depending on how you squint, brighter tights and a matching shirt. The boots, belt, and general feel of the figure have been preserved save for the modern figure's oddly muscular arms inside the sleeves. It's almost disturbing - like he's been juicing, and is doing a bad job hiding it.
The accessory is notable in that it's both well done and not well done enough. The Book of Living Spells is exquisitely painted and sculpted, easily making it the best book accessory in this or perhaps any other action figure line. The binding is actually jointed, rather than the book being a solid piece or given the plastic which bends and shows stress marks over time. He-Ro's cross is on one cover, He-Man's is on the other, and on the inside... isn't much of anything. Some worn pages, but no pictures or lettering. It's very well done, but any sort of illustration would have been nice - after all, the vintage prototype seemed to have something in there.
Also included is a swell staff, complete with a clear gem. It's tough to get in my sample's hand as the fingers are incredibly stiff, causing the accessory to bend a bit before fitting in there. This worries me a bit - but it fits. There's a fair amount of gnarled detail and it wouldn't surprise me if actual bits of found wood were used to create it. It's quite nice - and fairly simple. Rounding out the accessories is a removable hood, which fits into his armor pretty nicely. When it is removed, the clamshell jacket looks like the hood was lowered over his back - it's quite clever. I daresay it's more clever than this line gets, so it seems a little out of place.
Speaking of out of place, the texture on the clothing is ridiculously good, as opposed to being a fairly smooth action figure like the bulk of the line. The level of fabric detail is distractingly impressive - it doesn't fit with the rest of the figures, but it does show just how amazing these figures could be if they tried to do them again down the road. The hood fits amazingly well, but it will fall out if you flop the figure around. His face is similarly impressive, with a copper cap under his hood that glistens under the lights. This, folks, is an impressive action figure.
The figure is, in and of itself, neat but strange - too smooth in spots, ill-fitting in others, and with exquisite detail in parts. Some elements are great, many are just OK - and that probably says a lot about the figure. It exceeds its reach in spot but is generally pretty good, especially if you don't get too close. As heads go, though, it's one of the best and I'm pretty happy with it. Of course, maybe a classic-style 1987-esque figure would have been better, now that we're in the era of ReAction.
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