Hasbro The Adventures of Indiana Jones Indiana Jones Hasbro, ???
Day #2,566: May 18, 2023
Indiana Jones Trust Him?
The Adventures of Indiana Jones Retro Action Figure
Item No.: No. F6076 Manufacturer:Hasbro Includes:Whip, pistol Action Feature:Quick-action arm for whip and pistol Retail:$11.99-$14.99 Availability: March 2023 Other: The Remake
This is not a very good toy and it's not a very good reproduction of the original. But it's $12 and you have a chance of getting it without having to set aside some money, so it'll sell and people will probably look at it and rightly say "I thought this was going to be a little bit better."
As pop culture institutions go, Indiana Jones is a big deal. Or rather, people say it is - much like Ghostbusters, the first movie has megafans and sequels frequently have apologists. People say they love these things, but you'd be surprised how many people thought it was dumb that Hasbro made The Adventures of Indiana Jones figures, not realizing that these are remakes of figures from 1982. But you're smart, you know that - you also know that they're quite expensive now, and that Hasbro made a bunch of changes to the cardback so it's easy to distinguish them from the increasingly expensive originals.
If you just want to know if this is a good remake, it's like a variant made by a new factory that is really trying to copy the original, but has failed to do so on pretty much every level other than the general size and form of the figure. It might be good enough for most fans. But if you want the very best, this isn't it - just save up for an original. If Hasbro decided to change the figure to make it distinguishable from the original (and I don't know if that's the case), I'd suggest they think on that and consider making it better than the original. The abundance of text on the back? Worse. The head? Worse. The accessories and action feature? Worse. The hands? Worse. The colors? Worse. Matching the colors to the movie is a no-change-in-cost improvement they could have done (or still do) to fix him up. They could try to make the head a little better, and the soft detailing is something I think they could spring a few bucks to improve. It's just so sad to finally get this figure, and it's of a lower quality, and will still be hard to find, and will no doubt slowly climb on the secondary market while not actually filling the demand for a good reproduction of the original.
While I never owned an original one, I came close to buying one multiple times in the 1990s - if the price was right, the condition wasn't, until I finally got one in my hands that I just wasn't feeling like paying to own. And that scrutiny is what made me look at this new rerelease from Hasbro in 2023 and say that while it absolutely looks like an old Kenner action figure and does a great job capturing the feel of the memory of the toy, the head just plain doesn't sit right. It's like finding a new bootleg or end-of-the-line, the-molds--are-worn-out variant. But it's not the genuine article and Hasbro could come back and say "we're sorry, we'll try again" and I'd probably throw down the money to buy one that looks and works better.
Much like most Hasbro remakes of retro figures, the colors are match that looks pretty good until you compare it to the original. The body sculpting is good - but the detail is softer. The figure took one of the shortcomings of the original - two lines of text on the back - and increased it to six lines of words and numbers. It's ugly, and the head isn't even close to the 1982 Kenner figure.
His whip handle is now too big to reasonably hold. The pistol fits but is a lot thicker. I think Hasbro could have improved the colors a bit, they don't quite match the original figure or the movie.
His extremely wide crotch was designed with sitting in mind - there's an Arabian Horse figure from the 1980s that, so far, we're not seeing reissued. He has knees for this reason, and he also has a spring-loaded "quick draw" arm that can supposedly draw his pistol from his holster. Good luck getting it lined up right - and if you put it in his hands, he just flings it across the room. He can use this to crack his whip as well, if you can get him to hold it. The handle just isn't good, and this figure makes a compelling argument that most retro toymakers consider the "packaging to be the product." It doesn't hold together as a great toy, despite having a pistol on one hip and a hook to hang his whip awkwardly on the other. This is a real toy that got funneled through collectibility, meaning it's just a tiny bit less fun and with the head, looks a little more like some of Kenner's not-quite-Harrison-Ford Han Solo heads.
I On one hand, I should just be happy that I can get Indy and it's not costing me a hundred bucks or more - but if someone goes through the trouble to remake an old figure, why not do a slightly better job? The seam on the shirt is washed out, the original's slightly pouty lip is toned down, and the hat looks like it changed shape a bit. All of the general elements of the original are here, but altered enough to nobody that owns an original will feel slighted nor "forced" to pick this one up. I would much rather see Hasbro make alterations to make it better - maybe paint the zipper or belt buckle, or improve the grip of the hands to better hold the accessories. That was it can be different and easily separated from an original 1982 release, but absolutely everybody who could be interested in these has a compelling reason to pick them up. As of now I'm not sure if I'm going to buy more at full price - some of the exclusive characters like Sallah and Short Round are quite exciting, but I didn't want Belloq in Ceremonial Robes when I could buy hundreds of them in mail-in boxes for under $2 each.
This figure is the perfect gift for your non-collector dad or grandfather, particularly if they don't look at it very closely and will never open it. As beloved as Indiana Jones is, it's a brand that continues to fail to inspire collectors and long-term merchandising plans. It seems cursed to be forced to have figures that were done by a factory that just didn't quite get it right. There's a lot of stuff out there and before it gets expensive - like those LEGO sets from over 10 years ago - almost all of them took a trip to the clearance racks. While it's unlikely we'll see a lot of this figure on markdown, the non-Indy characters will probably pay a visit to Ross before the secondary market does its thing. So get this Indy at retail price if you can, even though it's a poor substitute for the original. Because of how badly Indy turned out, I probably won't be picking up the rest of the line. Certainly not at full price. (Hey, I'm a sucker when things hit $3-$4 some day.)
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