Review – Go Hero’s 12-Inch Scale Skeleton

Manufacturer: Go Hero * Year: 2010

I really hate writing reviews like this. It’s bad enough to write a negative review about a toy from a massive manufacturer, but to have such terrible feelings toward a toy from a small manufacturer makes me feel a bit terrible because I know even one bad review can cost sales. I had considered not saying anything at all, but the more I played with the toy the more I felt it important to get this review online.

I will say, though, that if you want a great-looking skeleton statue at a low price then this piece from Go Hero (website) is a good deal. The sculpt is fantastic, and at $50 you’re not likely to find a better price for a poseable statue.

Starting With the Good

This is a gorgeous 12-inch scale skeleton sculpt. Every bone detail, and especially the skull, is excellent and the skeleton would make a great opponent for a 12-inch scale Hellboy or Indiana Jones. When I first spotted the toy (mentioned here) I drooled on the sculpt, and holding the toy didn’t make me love the sculpt any less. It’s as close to perfect as I could hope for, and if it wasn’t for the bad I’d be out there buying a second skeleton right now.

And Moving Quickly to the Bad

There are a few major negative points that make me consider packing the toy back in the box and dumping him on eBay. I’ll take each point one at a time, but keep in mind that I’m looking at this as a toy rather than a collectible so my expectations may not be your own. For an alternate (and more favorable) opinion on the toy see Michael Crawford’s review in which he writes:

I like these quite a bit, and may have to pick up a couple more to create an army, or at least a small mob.

I simply cannot agree with that statement.

Poor Articulation

The toy is mostly ball-joints, but a few sculpted details and lack of specific articulation points makes what little articulation is there practically useless. The neck has what appears to be a simple swivel joint — I cannot get the toy to do more than look side-to-side — though it’s very possible a ball-joint is locked in one position with excess paint. The jaw is hinged, but the hinge on mine is so loose that the jaw hangs open and can never be closed.

The waist has a ball, but between the neck and waist there aren’t any other joints at all. Very sad, since it would have been nice to have seen at least one mid-torso joint to give the skeleton a wider range of torso poseability. And the shoulders and hips are ball-jointed, but again there’s not a lot of range of motion here.

The absolute worst articulation, though, has to be the ball-joints in the elbows and knees. The knees have almost no articulation at all — the sculpt greatly restricts the movement — while the elbows are the biggest single offending point on the toys; turn your own arms so that your elbows point out to your sides and now bend your elbow. Done? Okay, that’s how the skeleton’s elbows move. Only he can’t turn his arms so that his elbows swing his arms out in front of him. Nope, this poor guy can only swing his arms at the elbows in toward his body.

Terrible Hands and Accessories

The skeleton comes with a total of four hands, but when I tried to swap out the right sword/lance-grasping hand for the pointing hand I found that the peg/socket is super-tight and the pointing hand snapped a thumb as I maneuvered the hand into place. And it never did go in. Which sucks, since I wanted to display this guy without his weapons or shield. If you buy one of these then I suggest trying a hair dryer when swapping the hands; maybe you’ll have better luck than I did.

And the accessories are merely okay. The shield, which is permanently attached to one hand, looks great. Nice sculpt, good paint, but since I can’t even get that hand to remove from the arm socket I’m stuck with a great shield that I wasn’t planning to display.

The sword and lance are decent, but neither fits snuggly into the hand and the lance just slides all over the place and falls out if I try to have him raise it a little off of the floor. All in all the accessories are a huge letdown . . . and that’s before even getting to the “cape” which I did not photograph. Again, see Michael Crawford’s review and you’ll get a close look at the black cloth and cheap velcro. The cape could have been cool, but if I wanted a square piece of black fabric and tiny bits of velcro that won’t stay in place I could have gone to Hobby Lobby. A huge disappointment.

One More Good Point

Before I wrap this up (and box up the skeleton) I want to say that the paint on this toy is beautiful. There’s not a lot there, but the color choices are excellent and the washes really bring out the sculpted details. The accessories aren’t as nicely painted as the skeleton, but if you can manage to get his alternate hands into place then you’ll have one great poseable statue for your collection. Just don’t ask too much of the articulation.

Closing Thoughts

As I said, I hate writing reviews like this. I was so excited when I ordered this guy that I kinda regretted not ordering the three pack. I was certain that this was going to be an amazing 12-inch scale action figure that would go great in my collection, so the fact that there are so many problems makes the negatives even worse.

I cannot recommend this toy. Yes, the price is low for a 12-inch scale action figure, but the articulation problems and too-tight wrist connections make this a frustration. I’m hoping Go Hero can improve their articulation and accessories, because the sculpting here is great and I’d love to get a playable design from them for my collection.

Philip Reed will now try to switch to something less stressful than playing with a $50 toy. Maybe it’s time to review some capsule machine toys; at least those are cheap and if they suck it’s not all that painful.