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Manufacturer Information:
M & C Toy Centre LTD.
Unit 813
8th Floor
Peninsula Centre
67 Mody Road
Tsim Sha Tsui East
Kowloon, Hong Kong
Website
The Package:
The officer comes in a colorful, predominately blue/black/green, windowed box (13 inches high x 9 1/4 inches wide x 2 3/4 inches deep) that gives you a good view of the contents. The back of the package shows photos of other SWAT figures and vehicles that are available. [Please note that, on the back of the box, the individual figures, including this one, are shown with various diorama pieces--tires, barrels, boxes, barriers/traffic cones, a ladder, etc--those items only come with the more expensive, 'deluxe' versions, which are packaged in a larger box than this one. Also, said picture depicts this figure wearing elbow and knee pads; he does not come with these items.] The box is taped shut, which a single pull from a knife/scissors easily rectifies. The figure and his shotgun are secured to the interior plastic tray with two twisty ties. Most of the accessories just pop out of the tray, but a few are taped to secure them. You could put everything back in the box with relative ease, which makes them pretty collector friendly. And, as the basic shape of the box is rectangular, they're easy to store for those that like to keep their toys unopened and in mint condition.
The Officer:
Head sculpts and ethnicity generally vary for these Power Team Elite figures, so the one you find in the store will probably look different than mine (however, that said, I've never seen a PTE SWAT that wasn't Caucasian--M & C Toy seems to reserve their more ethnically diverse heads for the World Peacekeepers line). Mine has short, dark brown hair (which is accented with a lighter tan-colored paint wash to bring out the detail in the sculpted locks) and black eyes. There's a small spot of silver paint next to his left nostril--usually the paint jobs on PTE heads are very neat, so I was surprised to see this. The black gloves are permanently sculpted on and have a fair amount of detail such as a textured surface and seams. He has the usual impressive M & C Toy 3rd-Generation body articulation: Ball-jointed neck, shoulders, chest, waist, and hips; triple-jointed knees and elbows; cut joints in the biceps, thighs, and wrists, and pivot ankles. Some of the joints are a little on the loose side, but he stands on his own and poses well, even when fully geared-up.
Accessories:
The Breacher comes with a good selection of stuff, including some pieces that you can't get with the other five SWAT figures, which is a plus for me. Unfortunately, there's still a LOT of accessory re-use between the SWAT figures (they all come with the same knife, sheath, pistol, etc). Now, realistically, I understand that a police unit would look a lot alike, uniform-wise, and carry a lot of the same gear, but I like variety/individuality in my figures. You get:
- A pump-action shotgun (the pump doesn't work, I mention this because another PTE SPAS shotgun I have does feature a working pump action). The gun is molded in black plastic with the stock painted brown. An elastic band is attached via two metal rings and allows your officer to carry his weapon over his shoulder/back if you like. It can also be stored in the straps on the back of his combat vest.
- A sledgehammer. It's molded in brown plastic with the head painted black. Wood grain/patterns are sculpted into the handle, which is a nice attention to detail. Scale-wise, this seems a bit on the small side to me.
- Two pry-bars. Both are molded in gray plastic. One sports the shape most people think of when it comes to crowbars. The other is more exotic: It has pick and adz type heads set at 45 degree angles from each other on one end and a hammer claw design on the other. Between these, and the sledgehammer, Mr. Breacher is all set to show you how he got his name!
- A black M1911 pistol. It fits snugly in his leg holster. This sports quite a bit of sculpted detail, including a flashlight/laser sight mounted below the barrel.
- A knife. It's molded in black plastic with the blade painted silver. There's some nice detail, including a blood groove, serrations, and handle/butt indentations.
- An olive/tan sheath, with black painted highlights, for said knife. The fit of the knife is pretty good. A slot on the back allows you to attach it to any belt/strap of your choice.
- A dark blue helmet, with transparent yellow face guard, that pivots up and down. An elastic chin strap, and two foam pads, glued on the interior where the ears would be located, ensure a secure fit on different head shapes/sizes. Scale is definitely on the large size here.
- A black ski mask. There's some gray material around the eyeslot that tends to poke out when you slip it over his head. You'll have to mess around with this a little bit to keep it inside where it belongs.
- A rubbery, combat vest. This item is well sculpted with (non working) pockets, buckles, shotgun shells, seams, and a material-like, micro-textured surface. Both sides have three flaps that unhook beneath the arm openings; these facilitate taking it off/putting in on. There are three adjustable belt straps on the back that let you secure an item (I like to stick the shotgun or tools here). A slot on the back of his vest, behind his left shoulder, accommodates his walkie-talkie, and a notch on the front gives you a place to clip another part of the communication system. The eight shotgun shells on the left breast are painted bright red, but other than that, the vest is just the black color it was molded in.
- An earphone/radio communication assembly. The earphone plugs into a hole in his left ear, a cord from this connects to an elastic ring that goes around his neck, and more wire leads to a small box (which has a small clip so you can attach it to a pocket or something else), and then, finally, to the radio itself.
- A dark-blue, nylon, jump-suit. It opens and close in the front via a velcro strip. It also has a stretchy hood connected to the collar. By itself, it doesn't look too exciting, but it looks great with all the other gear on top of it. You probably won't use the hood much, if at all, due to the head already being too 'busy' with the helmet, radio, and ski mask--that's just too much stuff to have on all at once. There's a loose thread here and there, but generally, the tailoring is good.
- A fairly-complex belt/strap assembly. It wraps around the waist, groin, and thighs. The belt opens and closes via a triangular buckle on the front. A black plastic holster (for the pistol) is strapped around the left thigh. Three, black, rubbery gun clips (this is one, solid, sculpted piece--the clips aren't removable) are secured to the left thigh. You can adjust the fit on many of the straps, via the buckles (they tend to be loose when you take the figure out of the package). I recommend not taking this off, if you can help it, as it's a bit of a chore to get off and put back on again.
- Black, rubbery boots. Nice sculpt on these with such details as laces, treads, stitching, etc.
Cost:
The price on these single, boxed, PTE figures went up a dollar ($7.99 to $9.00) compared to last year (2006). It's a modest increase, especially compared to some of the insane prices other toy manufacturers are trying to get away with these days. These are still one of the best values you can find on the toy market today, and I wholeheartedly recommend their purchase.
Final Analysis:
PROS:
- Excellent price. There's lots of play value here for $9.
- Large, highly articulated figure.
- Good selection and quantity of accessories
- Adding/removing the helmet, ski mask, radio assembly, vest, and hood give you several different display options.
- Nice, inexpensive fodder for 1:6-scale kitbashers/customizers.
- These are also great for those that want to purchase an entire sixth-scale SWAT team for little money [the entire set of six figures (Sniper, Breacher, Cover-Man, Pick-Up Man, Rear Guard, and Point-Man) will only run you $54 + tax--cheaper than what some companies charge for a single 1:6-scale figure].
CONS:
- Price went up a buck.
- That sledgehammer is a tad small for my tastes.
- The SWAT figures, in comparison to the World Peacekeepers, tend to look a little too much alike, as they wear pretty much the same gear and share a lot of accessories. Granted, a squad of officers should have some uniformity, but, I'd still like to see some more individuality between figures.
- Same accessories/design as previous years. The individually-boxed PTE World Peacekeepers got an overhaul this year, it would have been nice if the SWAT line shook things up a little too.
- These figures tend to have some loose joints, particularly in the legs and arms, that may make posing/standing troublesome.
- Overall quality is relatively lacking compared to more expensive 1:6-scale figures made by other manufacturers. However, the price does much to compensate for this.
Where to Buy:
I've only seen them at our local Big! Lots, but M & C Toy's official website (see link at the beginning of the review) has an international list of stores that are supposed to carry these, so you'll want to check that out if you're having trouble locating some in your area.
In addition to these 1:6 scale figures and vehicles, M & C Toy also makes 1:18th-scale military figures/vehicles/playsets which may be of particular interest to 3-3/4 inch G.I.JOE: Real American Hero fans.
For Parents:
M & C Toy recommends this figure for ages three and up.
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