Review – Adventure Kartel Junglevet

If you’re a fan of the Adventure Kartel series (Amazon.com search*) then the retailer wave of 12-inch scale action figures isn’t at all new to you. But if you’re unfamiliar with the line of Ashley Wood action figures then you may not be aware that while most of the toys are initially (and, sometimes, only) released at the Bambaland store, eight figures were a special retailer subline (see the 3A Wiki) All that is my long way of saying: This toy should be a little easier to track down than some 3A releases . . . should be, but isn’t.

Hello, Ankou with Hands and a Hood!

Beneath the camo jumpsuit is the same 12-inch scale buck body we’ve seen from 3A before. The Ankou head (see my outdoor shots) is great, and for reasons I cannot explain swapping the claw hands for more human-like hands really adds to the fun of the toy. I suspect it’s because Junglevet can hold weapons . . . guns and such always make a toy more, right?

Constructed out of the parts of existing 3A Adventure Kartel series (Amazon.com search*) action figures, the Junglevet impresses me both because of the look of the finished toy and the creativity in parts reuse. As the review at Luv Life Toys points out:

There isn’t much in this figure that is original, as it is really a kitbashed sum of parts of earlier figures that were released by ThreeA. The head, base body and boots were from the original Ankou, who’s traded their iconic clamp-hands for hands with articulated fingers, belonging to the WWRp Armstrong. He carries a pistol, borrowed from Bleak Mission.

Hands!!!

The above photos show the Junglevet armed with an axe taken from the Bits & Pieces accessory set (review here)>. This is why the claw hands — as cool as they look — are less impressive and fun than actual hands. And using the individually-jointed fingers of the 6-inch scale World War Robot Armstrong means that the toy can grab and use almost any properly-scaled accessory out there . . . except for his pistol.

Junglevet No Fire Gun?

The hand design doesn’t quite work with the included pistol since the toy cannot slip his finger through the trigger guard to actually get the finger on the trigger. As that review at Luv Life Toys tells us:

Good luck trying to fit Junglevet’s index finger in though, cause either the pistol or the finger is going to break. They’re just not designed for one another… so Junglevet can never fire his pistol, and can only hold it in “safe” mode with his finger out of the trigger guard.

The hand/pistol issue is a serious design mistake with Junglevet, but I love the look of the action figure enough that I’m not too bothered by the problem. I suppose what I should do is get out there and start searching for a replacement weapon for the toy.

Weathering Without the Stinkering

The stench of a new 3A action figure is often overwhelming and detracts from the fun of the toy, but 3A either changed their approach to weathering toys or this Junglevet was aired out before it was sent to me. Either way, the toy features the dirty, lived-in and war-torn look we love without smelling like an oil refinery. There’s a slight stench behind the toy, but it’s nearly nothing when compared to other Adventure Kartel series (Amazon.com search*) action figures that I’ve opened in the past.

This is a very good thing.

Fantastic Work!

There’s something truly fun about the toy that I can’t quite place my finger on, but I suspect that it’s a combination of the design with the fact that it arrived so quickly after I ordered it. I’m currently experimenting with the direct 3A ordering experience again (see “3A Adventure Kartel Astronaut Releases Tonight”), but I can say that ordering from a retailer when the toy was in-stock made a world of difference when it came to my happiness level with the toy’s delivery. The 3A toys sell through too fast for that to be a usual approach to things, but the emotional difference in the experience may be worth and extra $10 or $20 per figure. I’ll just have to wait and see how the astronaut goes.

Closing Thoughts

I have no clue how well the Adventure Kartel series (Amazon.com search*) retailer wave worked for 3A and the toy retailers, but I’m hoping it performed wonderfully for everyone because I’d like to see this happen again. The Junglevet stands out to me as the best of the eight figures in the retailer wave — see the list at the 3A Wiki — but looking over the options I can say I do want a Tommy Red and am looking forward to the arrival of AK Johnson.

These stylized, attractive 12-inch scale action figures suit me a lot better than the smaller 6-inch scale Action Portable line, and in the future I think I’ll sell off my 3A 6-inch scale action figures and try to snag more of the 12-inch scale toys. The larger size looks better, feels more durable, and seems to be a bit less frequent and overwhelming than the smaller toys so I think the change fits me and my collection quite well.

The Junglevet is awesome and I really should take the time to drag this guy and Dropcloth (review here) into the wild to get some shots of them fighting. They look to me like they should fight each other . . . but maybe I’m just too violent at times.