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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:
This vehicle and figure set comes in a fairly large (approximately 15 inches wide x 12 inches high x 6 inches deep) and sturdy windowed box that is taped shut. The soldier is pre-posed riding the bike in the package, which is a good choice for making it look more attractive on the shelf and being economical about space. When you open it up, you'll find that there are a lot of wire twist ties and transparent rubber bands holding the bike, soldier, and shotgun in place. It's rather annoying and frustrating to get them all off, even with the aid of scissors and nail clippers. The other accessories are sealed to the back of the package in a plastic bubble. In case you're wondering, this is an officially licensed Kawasaki product, the back of the package bears Kawasaki's seal of approval, in addition to photos of other figures and vehicles available in the Power Team Elite World Peacekeepers toy line.
The Motorcycle:
For this price range, the sculpting and detail on the motorcycle is quite nice. You can see individual bolts, links in the chain, line designs in the gas tank cap, etc. The reflective mirrors on the handlebars are decals, but all of the lights/reflectors are made out of red, orange, or clear transparent plastic which lends a lot of realism to the bike's look. The vehicle feels very solid, but I imagine you could break off some of the projecting parts (footrests, lights, etc.) if you were to handle it roughly or carelessly. The scale between it and the included soldier looks good to my eyes; it's about 14 inches long and stands about 9 inches high. He fits well on the bike, but getting his pre-posed hands to grip the handlebars is a bit of a chore, as it's quite a tight fit, but that's also good, because it assures he'll stay put. Please note that the left handlebar came warped/bent out of the package, which seemed to be a problem with all of the ones I saw on the shelf at Big! Lots. M & C Toy should have allowed another half an inch of space in the box design to prevent this. The left handlebar guard was also warped, which makes it quite loose, but that looks like a manufacturing error to me, rather than the packaging issue that affected the handlebars. There isn't a lot of paint, most of the color comes from the use of differently-hued plastics. However, there is a subtle, airbrushed effect on the olive body of the bike and a small amount of detailing in orange and silver. Some more paint operations would have went a long way towards making the bike look even more believable and less toy-like. In the articulation department, the front and rear tires rotate smoothly, the kick stand moves up and down (and holds the bike up quite well, even with the added weight of the figure sitting on it), and the handlebar protectors swing in and out. This is all well and good, but one important joint is glaringly missing--you can't turn the front wheel, it if forever destined to point forward (unless you feel like doing some fairly extensive customizing work). Granted, if that articulation was there, it might have made the bike more difficult to keep standing, especially if said joint was loose, but, still, it is arguably the most important joint to have on a toy bike, after the wheels, and its exclusion is disappointing.
EDIT!!!: Unfortunately, I recently discovered (months after writing this review) that the bike's kick stand will wilt and warp over time, if you store/display the bike with it supporting the weight of the vehicle (even without a figure sitting on it). My advice, if you're going to display it upright for a long time: leave the kick stand up. You'll probably have to lean it against a wall, figure, or some other kind of support though, as it doesn't stand very well without the kick stand to hold it. M & C Toy should have made this part of the bike out of metal, as that would have supported weight a lot better.
The Soldier:
All of the ones in Big! Lots had the same head sculpt, I mention this because M & C Toys often switches around the ethnicity and head sculpts of these figures. He's Caucasian and sports short brown hair. His left ear has too silver earrings in it--this is the first World Peacekeepers sculpt I've seen sporting those. 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. Often times, the joints on these figures are loose, particularly the cut joints, but I was fortunate enough to get a pretty good one this time.
Accessories:
Compared to other sets and figures I've bought, this one seems a little light on accessories. The kayak set I got a while back cost two bucks less and came with more gear--I think they could have thrown in some grenades, a knife, or some of the other Power Team Elite accessories that see a lot of re-use with this set.
You get:
- A black M15 rifle. It seems a little on the small side, but the detail work is nice. An elastic strap is attached to this so that you can sling it over his shoulder.
- A black scope for said rifle. This thing just does not want to stay on and falls off VERY easily; I've almost lost is several times already. Looks cool though.
- A black M203 grenade launcher for said rifle. This comes in two pieces and snaps together around the barrel of the M15 after you slide it on. Similar guns I've seen from M & C Toy always had the grenade launcher permanently sculpted on, so I was quite impressed to see them go with a removable one this time around. Now, if only it came with shells you could load it with . . .
- Black goggles. The lenses are transparent and they stay on his noggin via an elastic band. Good for protecting his eyes while driving and stylish to boot.
- A gray and black SPAS-12 shotgun. The black pump action slides back and forth which is a nice addition. An elastic strap is attached to this gun as well.
- A black plastic helmet with material covering. The material matches his outfit and looks very nice. An elastic chin strap keeps it on his head and another elastic strap, stitches around the circumference of the helmet, will let you attach twigs, cigarette packs, or any other junk you'd like to customize him with.
- Metal dog tags. One has "Power Team" stamped into it, the other "World Peacekeepers". These hang around his neck on a metal ball chain. Scale is good.
- A camouflage jacket. The colors are predominantly green and brown and would work best in a woodland or jungle environment. It opens and closes in the front via three snaps and it has four, small, working pockets on the breasts and shoulders. It sports quality stitching and workmanship--some customizers buy these World Peacekeepers figures just for the outfits, and it shows.
- Camouflage pants. Same camo design as the jacket and helmet. They open and close via two snaps at the crotch. There are two working thigh pockets. Again, very nice tailoring. The legs are long enough that they'll stay in the boots, even with the knees bent.
- An olive and black belt that's made out of rubbery material. It opens and closes via a triangular buckle on the front. While this guy doesn't come with anything for it, many of the other World Peacekeepers come with gear you can attach to it (canteens, pouches, knives, etc).
- Black, rubbery boots. Nice sculpt on these with such details as laces, treads, stitching, etc. There's a bit of paint applied to the front to give them a dirty look.
Cost:
This set me back $14.99, plus tax, from my local Big! Lots. Now, while this is an excellent value, it seemed like it cost a little more than it should have in comparison to the cheaper Kayak set I bought which also came with a figure and an equally large, although simpler, vehicle, but with more gear. I'm guessing the slightly higher cost is the result of the Kawasaki license and/or the more complex vehicle design.
Final Analysis:
PROS:
- Excellent value. You get a good quality 1:6-scale figure, vehicle, and an assortment of gear for a mere $15! To my knowledge, nobody beats M & C Toy on price vs. value when it comes to 1:6-scale military figures. There's lots of fun and play value here for little money.
- M & C Toy gun design shows improvement with removable grenade launcher.
- Highly articulated figure.
- Very good quality clothing.
- Nice, inexpensive fodder for 1:6-scale kitbashers/customizers.
CONS:
- Somewhat light on accessories compared to other World Peacekeepers figures/sets.
- Front of bike doesn't turn.
- Left handlebar and handlebar guard on bike came out of package warped/bent.
- Kick stand will wilt/warp if it has to support the weight of the bike for an extended period of time.
- Gun scope is very loose and just doesn't want to stay on. It's small size and its tendency to fall off make it very likely you'll lose it.
- Paint work is very basic.
- While it wasn't a problem this time, these figures tend to have loose cut joints.
- Overall quality is relatively lacking compared to more expensive 1:6-scale military 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 set for ages three and up.
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(Above photo is from package)
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