Pirates of the Caribbean:
Dead Man's Chest
Zizzle 3 3/4" Figure Series 1 Review

Press Shots from Zizzle

Yo Ho Ho, and a bottle of rum, Yo Ho Ho…a Pirates life for me! The folks at Zizzle have come a long way in bringing the upcoming sequel to Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black pearl to life in the art of toys and action figures. The first wave of toys and playsets from Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, are now showing up on store shelves across the country (mostly in Target stores, but whispers of Wal-Mart showings are making their way to the boards and news sites).

What follows here is a review with loads of imagery of the first wave of 3 ¾” figures based on the upcoming DMC movie. This first wave contains no less than EIGHT figures…which in and of itself is a statement that Zizzle is not messing around with just the basic characters. For this first wave of figure we have 2 versions of Jack Sparrow (one with a coat, from CotBP and the other from the Prison Escape scene in DMC), Davy Jones, Bootstrap Bill Turner, Elizabeth Swann in a Pirate Disguise, Will Turner, Palifico (we still aren’t sure what side he is on), and one famous half of the oddball pirate couple Pintel (Ragetti is sure to come sooner rather than later).

Retail for these figures is roughly $7 ($6.99 at Target stores, and cheaper at Wal-Marts according to reports…somewhere around $5-$6). Also included in the current offerings are deluxe 7” figures (these are action feature toys with sword slashing type action features), Playsets (Water Wheel for about $30), and Roleplay toys (Jacks Cutlass and Pistol for about $20), and other related merchandise (pocket games, M&Ms, and loads of other tie-ins).

For now, though, we will cover the 3 ¾” figures to start and add to our coverage as we get the products and find the time to get imagery taken and uploaded:

Packaging..........

Card Front: While the packaging is very similar to other figures of this size (bubble glued to a card back), the card front is very well done graphically. The card is basically the POTC standard Skull with crossed Torches in the background (Black Pearl was crossed cutlasses). Each bubbled figures also has a small cardboard insert with a picture from the movie of that character and a brief description of the accessories included. The die-cut of the card is very cool…looks like an old ragged parchment treasure map cutout!

Card Back: The back of the card is fairly standard. It has a brief description of the movie or plot line, a picture of the character in action with a brief write-up on their characteristics (Origin, Skills, Possessions, and Affiliation), and images of the REST of the line-up for that particular wave of figures.

Sculpt Work..........

The Overall Sculpts and Facial Likenesses: The beauty of the sculpting with these figures is the amount of detail on such a small scale. Even though this is Zizzle’s first adventure into the world of action figures and knowing these are MASS MARKET toys, the detail on these figures is very good and nearly comparable to the 7-inch POTC figures from NECA.

The BAD: The only real drawbacks for the sculpting are proportion and likeness. Some aspects of the figures are simply out of proportion. Jacks hands are too big, Pintel’s Belt (scabbard) is a bit out of scale, and the cutlasses and swords are a bit too big (thickness). But these are all necessary evils in attempting to make detailed figures in 3 ¾” scale. Another drawback on these figures is the likenesses of the sculpts. While the Will Turner actually looks like Orlando Bloom and the Davy Jones looks pretty much like the press shots of the character, the good for the likenesses pretty much ends there. Elizabeth is a pretty generic female head, Jack’s likeness is simply ‘off’, and the Pintel just doesn’t feel right (could it be paint).

The GOOD: I know, you may think I am crazy here, but the details for Will Turner, Jack Sparrow (both figures), and Elizabeth are very crisp and well thought out. While we don’t have a Bootstrap Bill, Davy Jones, or Palifico to compare with NECA’s figures (but they are on their way this month), the amount of detail on these small figures is pretty darn good. You can see the barnacles all over Bootstrap and Davy Jones and the ‘coralizing’ effect on Palifico is very cool. The detail on the calamari beard of Davy Jones is pretty cool as well. The deterioration shown on the figures of Davy and Bootstrap are very authentic looking and do a good job of showing what years under the sea’s surface can do to one’s clothing. Finally, and perhaps the best aspect of the sculpting of these figures…SCALE. They are well scaled amongst each other, which is a often overlooked feature when creating figures in the 3 ¾” range! The Pintel figure looks fat and one look at him and you know who it is supposed to be. The girth of Davy Jones is well done as well as the skinnyness of the Palifico figure. The best of the bunch may be the Elizabeth Swann figure. Just from one quick look, you know that this figure is female…the boots, the hat, the shapeliness of the overall presentation…very convincing.

Paint Application......

The Paint Scheme: Here in lies one of the biggest industry problems with small scale figures designed for the Mass Market. The sculpt can be superb and the detail outstanding, but if the paint application is sloppy in the least, the figure is nearly ruined. For this series of figures, the paint application is okay on most figures and pretty bad on others. The paint on the Bootstrap Bill, Davy Jones, and Will Turner is pretty good. Details are not overdone, there are even some washes on these figures that are decent.

The paint application on the Pintel, Jacks, and Elizabeth are a little worse. Elizabeth looks just so generic and the Jack figures just don’t look right…too much color? Too much shininess? Can’t put my finger on it…but something just doesn’t fit. One figure that may be the best sculpt but be overblown by paint application is the Palifico figure. The amount of detail in the sculpt is very good. Coral, barnacles, hands molded into swords, etc…but when the paint was applied, it just looks like it all blends together into a massive jumble of color. The details are nearly lost with all that color washing and changing mixtures of paint. Granted, still a great figure, but a little overdone nonetheless.

 

Articulation......

Articulation: For these small scale figures, the articulation works very well. One great feature of all 8 of these figures is the fact that they all can stand on their own…even that one-legged monster of a Captain…Davy Jones (although that cane comes in handy in a pinch to get him to stand up). This fact alone is a great selling point and shows Zizzle’s effort to make these more than just a silly toy.

Each figure has a ball-jointed neck which presents pretty good motion of the heads. In some cases (e.g. Davy Jones, Elizabeth and Jack to some extent) the beards and lengthy hair make the head not quite as poseable. All of the figures have the standard V-crotch or T-crotch allowing for a little leg rotation, cut shoulders, cut waist, and pin elbows. The jointed elbows are a great plus and allow for more playability than the NECA figures. Additionally, since the Jack Prison Escape figures (jacketless) has a ‘row-boat’ accessory, they gave him jointed knees as well. A great added feature for this figure which enable him to STEP UP on things and even sit down and not look silly doing so.

The Accessories......

Accessories: The amount of accessories with each figure is appropriate. The Jack figures each come with the pistol, while the Classic Jack has his hat and cutlass and the Prison Escape version has an oar-shaped bone for his escape coffin. The Elizabeth figure has 2 swords, Will Turner has 2 swords, Pintel has a pistol and a sword, Davy Jones has his chest, the key, and his cane, Boostrap has a sword and pistol (how that thing works under water is a mystery that only the movie can reveal), and Palifico has NO ACCESSORIES (he has 2 swords, but they are part of his hands…years under water has melded them together it appears).

The Classic Jack has a spot for his pistol (in behind his belt) and a scabbard (but the scabbard cannot hold the cutlass…disappointing to say the least) and his compass is there as well, but non-removable). The classic Jack also has a hard time holding BOTH weapons due to the open-handed sculpt of the figures Left Hand.

Despite all the swords and cutlasses in this first series of figures, there is almost no reuse among them…the detail on each is pretty distinct and each is separable from the others. The chest that comes with Davy Jones is highly detailed, but does not open (now that would have been very cool!!).

 

OVERALL..........

These are comparable to the 3 ¾” Star Wars figures from about 3-4 years ago…decent articulation, decent sculpts, slightly questionable paint application, and appropriate accessories (poor Palifico). Having said that, however, this is Zizzle’s first attempt in Action Figure land and they must be lauded for making a great start. One can only see what the future holds for our swachbucklers from Disney. Perhaps the folks at Zizzle are talking to Hasbro and gathering all their lessons learned so that they can start ahead of the game.

Series WINNER: Davy Jones. This figure has great detail, great likeness, great sculpt, and very good paint application. The accessories are pretty good and the figure stands very well despite being half lobster and half octopus!

Series LOSER: Pintel. Despite good accessories and good figure scale, the paint app and the facial detail just make this the lesser of the 8 figures from the wave. That being said, it is still a very good figure and well representative of the POTC line!

For More Imagery...Check out The Zizzle Archives here at The Green Dragon!!