Review – Magic: The Gathering (Legacy) Jace Beleren

Funko’s Magic: The Gathering Jace Beleren* is the first figure in the Magic: The Gathering Legacy series I’ve opened, and up close the incredible sculpt holds up very well. I’m not too surprised, since the toy’s the work of two masters — Gentle Giant and Funko — but I must report that the paint isn’t quite up to the same quality level as the sculpt. It’s mass market-quality paint apps, sure, but I would have liked something more masterful to complement the great sculpt from Gentle Giant.

Articulation

The very first thing I know many of you are asking when you see this 6-inch scale Jace Beleren* action figure is: How’s the articulation? Well, running through the joints we find that the toy’s on par with many other modern 6-inch action figures.

• Head – Ball-jointed neck, though the motion is obstructed a bit by the soft plastic cloak.
  
• Torso – Ball-jointed segment just above the abs, but again the range of motion is a bit blocked (this time by the sculpt.
  
• Arms – Swivel/hinge shoulders and wrists, swivel biceps, hinged elbows. The cloak strikes again, and the wider you position the arms the more the soft plastic cloak rides up the body. The cloak in two pieces instead of one would have helped with poseability.
  
• Legs – Swivel/hinge hips and ankles, double-hinge knees, swivel thighs. The feet don’t have as much movement as I was expecting, with the sculpted pants blocking some of the motion of the feet.

Overall, I feel that Jace Beleren* is right up there with most other 6-inch scale action figures when it comes to articulation. There are minor issues here and there, but in general this is no worse or better than what we get from Hasbro and Mattel. Definitely fits neatly in most collections of 6-inch scale figures.

Paint

I mentioned that the Jace Beleren* action figure’s paintwork isn’t as great as the sculpt, but what I should have said is that the face paint apps aren’t of the same quality as the sculpt. Most of the toy’s paint is clean and looks great, but those big eyes make the figure look scared as all hell. We’ll just pull the cloak down a bit more and hide those eyes in the shadows . . .

Closing Thoughts

Funko’s Jace Beleren* is a strong opening to their Magic: The Gathering series and if this is where the company starts with 6-inch scale action figures — remember, this is the first year Funko has made toys in this form factor — then I cannot wait to see how much they can improve with experience.

The figure almost mixes in neatly with Mattel’s Masters of the Universe Classics series, but the true 6-inch scale of Jace Beleren* makes him look small next to Mattel’s toys. In terms of design he could almost be one of the Masters of the Universe characters, but instead the best I can now hope is that Funko announces a Dungeons & Dragons action figure series to stand alongside their Magic figures.

I’m not about to collect all of the releases in this line, but if you’re a fan of the Magic: The Gathering trading card game then you need to buy at least one figure in this series and check them out for yourself. Nice work, Funko, now get me some Dungeons & Dragons 6-inch scale action figures!