Out of the Box: The Normandy Crew (DC Direct's Mass Effect series)

L-R: Grunt, Mordin, Tali, Thane

I mentioned having unpacked one of these figures (Tali) back in January, but now they've all been put out on display - I suppose I missed them!

Unlike the higher-priced (and higher quality) Play Arts series that includes many of the same video game characters, DC Direct's Mass Effect line are fairly simple figures.  Each has a reasonably (but not spectacularly) sculpted face, a single weapon accessory and a simple black stand.  The figures and weapons are sturdy (they were packed loosely for the move and all arrived intact), but the stands are surprisingly flimsy for such simple pieces - two of my four broke in transit.

Mordin: Probably the best figure in the series

The quality of the figures themselves varies: Mordin and Grunt look solidly like their in-game counterparts and can pose fairly naturally.  Tali is reasonable, but is painted with non-game colours while Thane is well-sculpted, but awkwardly posed, and isn't articulated enough to compensate for that awkwardness.  There were several other figures in this series that I passed on altogether because they were both poor likenesses to the characters and awkwardly posed (I had the opportunity to buy the Miranda figure for $5CDN and still stayed away).

Grunt and Thane, with weapons

If these figures hadn't been released more than a year prior to the Play Arts line, I probably would have skipped over them entirely due to the poor quality of all but a handful of the figures (and in retrospect, I should have skipped buying the Thane figure).  But ultimately this is a case where my fondness for the franchise overcomes my dislike for the actual products in question - I keep the toys on display because I more because I loved the game series than because I consider the figures to be works of art on their own.  Still, the ones I have do work as talking pieces, so at least three of them will be staying on display.