Last year I kicked started my reviews on this blog with BB Senshi Sangokuden Bacho Blue Destiny - very normal, and the year before that, it was 1/100 scale Gundam Exia - even more normal. XD So this year I decided to strike from left field with something different. It's so unique that I didn't think I would want to write a review about it when I first got it. ^^
This is an action figure of Kane, a wrestler from World Wrestling Entertainment for those who don't know him. ^^
A very odd item in my collection this is. He was an impulse purchase I made in my Singapore trip back in 2010. Thus far, he is:
(1) the first and only wrestler action figure in my collection,
(2) the first and only item I purchased that came without any sort of packaging whatsoever,
(3) the first and only incomplete item I purchased.
I never regretted the purchase, since the figure itself is pretty interesting, but it does feel strange from time to time when I looked back and wondered why I would decide to make the purchase in the first place. ^^ Besides this figure, I don't purchase loose items (collectibles which had been taken out of their packages, evidently been played with a couple of times, and with or without missing accessories). Not that all loose items are bad, but I treasure the moment when the items are taken out the first time. Like getting a brand new book or CD or anything, taking off the plastic wrappers, breaking the seal and taking the collectible out for the first time is ceremonially fun. ^^ It's that feeling I'm chasing after. ^^ So, it's kind-of strange (to myself ^^;) that I would knowingly get an item that has the second and third property listed above.
The absence of any sort of packaging proves to be a huge problem when doing this review, especially when I'm a total stranger to this "genre" of action figure. ^^; It's very difficult identifying the product name and release date of this action figure of Kane, especially when some of his accessories are actually missing. ^^; After a bit of searching, the closest links I got point to either the Wrestlemania Heritage series or the Basic series.
(Left) Kane of the Wrestlemania Heritage series (image is from WrestlingStore)
(Right) Kane of the Basic series (image if from Wrestling Shop Dotcom)
The two biggest clues I used for the comparison are his face and the red barbed wire pattern on his pants. Still, I don't know for sure where he's from. ^^; Then again, I don't think I really care about that either. ^^;
More images of this action figure: ^^
Closeups on the details:
Comparing between the actual figure and images of his two possible product versions, the absence of his elbow pads, left wrist band and a gloved right hand is obvious to see. ^^; The elbow pads would help to cover up the elbow joints, but it's not too important in my opinion. The greatest loss on this loose item is the missing right hand. ^^; It's obviously designed for one of Kane's finishing moves in the ring, the Chokeslam (the other one is the more deadly Tombstone Piledriver ^^). It's almost like a mandatory item to have for this action figure, but I missed it completely when I made the purchase. ^^;
All the finishing moves' names certainly bring back quite a bit of nostalgia I had with watching wrestling. ^^ I watched quite a bit of wrestling back in my younger years, and Kane was my favorite wrestler back then. He is still my favorite WWE superstar now, but I've not seen the show for a good two or three years now, so it's not exactly a valid statement I think. ^^; As the Undertaker's younger brother, the blood red and black color motif of Kane was very eye-catching. True to his nickname of "the Big Red Machine", Kane dominated the wrestling ring with brute strength. Because of his mask and long hair, it was impossible to sense his emotion. The aura of mystery around him really intrigued me. ^^
The "default" costume of Kane was black on red with red mask. I actually like the "variation" of that costume he occasionally wore, which was just the reverse of the original color scheme. ^^
(Left) Kane in his default suit, shown with his father Paul Bearer.
(Right) Kane is his alternate suit, shown with his girlfriend at the time, Tori.
Images are from WWE: Image 1, Image 2.
Eventually the drama of WWE unfolded to the point when Kane unmasked himself and started wrestling without any of the body suits mentioned above, which is the look this action figure is based upon.
Image is from Ugo.
Apart from the brute force mentioned earlier on, the unmasked Kane added craziness and evilness to his in-ring persona. I caught the show on and off during that period of time and I didn't really like what I saw. ^^; Eventually I stopped watching wrestling altogether. However, Kane did use his crazy and evil characteristics to play a Jason Voorhees-like killer in the movie "See No Evil". I saw that movie and I didn't really like what I saw either. ^^;
Image is from Wikipedia.
A look at the articulation design of the action figure:
Ball-type joint for the neck I think), as the head can be tilted in a whole wide range of articulation.
Swivel and hinge joints for the shoulders. The upper arm can swivel around the shoulder as well.
Large exposing hinge joint for the elbow that bends for about 90 degrees.
Besides the hinge joint that allows it to bend inward and outward shown earlier on, the hand can swivel at wrist level as well.
Waist swivel that "eerily" "splits" the upper and lower bodies when moved. XD
Strangely, forward bend for the hip is severely limited while a 90-degree backward bend is possible. ^^;
Also, as shown in the right image, the knee can bend for 90-degrees.
The pad-like design for the knee helps to hide the joint very well.
It's great to see that the barbed wire pattern is painted even on the hinge joint section of behind the knees.
Swivel joints for the lower legs.
Hinge joint for the ankle is a major limitation to the figure's poses, just like the his hips which use the same type of joint. ^^;
Some action poses of this action figure after the introduction on his articulation design:
Not having the open-type right hand unit to show Kane readying his Chokeslam move is quite a pity, but the left hand seems capable of performing some "destructive" poses as well. XD
The beam saber from Master Grade Ground Type Gundam fits the left hand perfectly. XD
It's Kane wield a beam saber, your argument is invalid. XD
Another accessory that is missing is the display base, in which the two slots on the heel are meant to connect to.
For fun and occasional laughs (XD), this figure is actually not bad at all. The articulation may be very limited, especially when compared to Revoltech or Figma figures, but there are other aspects that I find to be very well done, mainly the face sculpt and details of the pants and boots. It's quite a pity that being a loose item with missing accessories, it's not really an accurate representation of the character in real life. Then again, since the figure was the result of an impulse purchase which I'm still trying to figure out how it happened (XD), I'm willing to look beyond its limitations and appreciate it for what it it. ^^
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Kane Action Figure
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