(If you haven't already, feel free to check out my
Introduction and
Review (Part 1) posts)
In my last Post, I went over 12 of the 21 figures in the Horror Classics Series 3. I'll go over the last 9 in this post, with a conclusion at the end. Also, there is a bonus discussion about the 2017 Walgreens distribution. Here we go!
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Character:
Terror Dog (Vinz Clortho)
Appearance:
Ghostbusters (movie, 1984)
Rarity: 1/12 (Walgreens only)
This figure is great and I was so happy to see it made! They teased this when Series 3 was first released (along with Tiffany and Masked Alex), and then prototypes started coming out for this mold. I was happy we got Slimer, yet wished we got this too. The figure looks great and captures that same style of the other Horror Classics figures! The paint in the mouth looks great too, which is something very commonly messed-up for figures in general. Note that based on the horns, this Terror Dog is the one which was manifested by Vinz Clortho. I could see someone customizing the horns to make one based off Zuul.
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Character:
Terror Dog (Vinz Clortho) (Stone)
Appearance:
Ghostbusters (movie, 1984)
Rarity: 1/36 (Walgreens only)
This was a variant of the Terror Dog figure when it was a gargoyle/statue. It's a nice variant and they did a great job making it look like stone. The pictures online may not do it justice (like mine), but trust me when I say it looks good in person! The other neat thing is they painted the eyes so it looks more lifelike. Usually I'm not fond of variants (especially rarer ones), but this one is cool in my book!
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Character:
Freddy Krueger
Appearance:
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (movie, 1987)
Rarity: 1/72 (Retail, Hot Topic), 1/36 (Walgreens)
Like Jason, I'm not the biggest fan of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies. This Freddy is based off a brief appearance in the third movie. Compared to the previous Freddy in Series 1, he looks more like a peanut than badly burnt person in my opinion. I think they should have made the scars less pronounced or larger. He is also slightly larger and harder to balance (due to how he's posed). They added more detail to his shirt and to his face. I think the detail to his face more hurt than helped. He's still a neat figure regardless, and I'm sure Nightmare on Elm Street fans were happy! I'd be happy to see him show up in a future series honestly, just hope they fix that face texture a bit.
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Character:
Adam Maitland
Appearance:
Beetlejuice (movie, 1988)
Rarity: 1/24 (Retail, Hot Topic)
Now here was a choice that made me go 'what?' at first. What an interesting choice for the line. He's a more obscure character I think, as Beetlejuice really steals the spotlight throughout the movie. When I saw that movie as a kid this design kind of creeped me out. It was neat to see them go with him for this series! I think they did a great job capturing him and you can tell quite a lot of work went into getting those eyes painted correctly. He is one of my favorites of the line!
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Character:
Barbara Maitland
Appearance:
Beetlejuice (movie, 1988)
Rarity: 1/12 (Retail only)
When Series 3 was first revealed many people pointed out the oddity of making Adam but not Barbara. They also correctly predicted she'd be an exclusive later on! I am glad they were right as this was a really neat figure choice too. She is more static than Adam, but I think that's fine. Maybe if they had her posed slightly differently she'd stick out more. Either way, if you have Adam I'm sure you'll want Barbara too!
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Character:
Jason Vorhees
Appearance:
Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (movie, 1988)
Rarity: 1/24 (Retail, Hot Topic), 1/12 (Walgreens)
This is the second Jason figure we received in this line of figures. It is Jason from the 7th Friday the 13th movie. The details on this figure are spectacular, even going so far as to detail the spine on his back! His head also has texture to it. I think they did a better job on this figure than the first Jason figure personally. The paint can sometimes be spotty, otherwise it's a great figure. I'd like to see more incarnations of him in the future if they continue to make more Jason figures in the Horror Classics line.
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Character:
Tiffany Valentine
Appearance:
Bride of Chucky (movie, 1998)
Rarity: 1/12 (Hot Topic only)
A character people were wanting since Series 1, it's Chucky's wife/bride! It's cool to see a figure from Series 3 that matches a figure from Series 1. The downside is the Chucky she matches with from Series 1 was very rare. However on her own she still is exceptional and captures the personality and design of the character well. I noticed she felt a bit simplified in the face compared to newer figures, but when putting her next to Chucky I can see this was intentional. They look like they came from the same Series standing side by side. I'm glad they made her a common exclusive so fans of her didn't have to struggle too much.
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Character:
Patrick Bateman
Appearance:
American Psycho (movie, 2000)
Rarity: 1/72 (Retail, Hot Topic), 1/12 (Walgreens)
A character with quite a fan following due to his odd nature. Although more of a comedy/slasher than anything, he was most likely added to this line in a similar fashion that he was added to the Cult Classics line by NECA. This was why I think they made a figure of Crow in Series 2. I think he's a welcome addition! The raincoat is a transparent, harder plastic that really makes the figure stand out. The figure captures the character wonderfully in his iconic scene many know him from.
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Character:
Twisty
Appearance:
American Horror Story (television show, 2014)
Rarity: 1/24 (Retail, Hot Topic), 1/12 (Walgreens)
Not familiar with this character, or American Horror Story. I heard he's popular and has appeared several times in the tv show. The figure itself I think does the character justice with how colorful and menacing he looks. It's a bit bigger in size compared to other figures in the series, similar to how Pennywise and Spalding were in Series 1. Those clown outfits really bulk him out (adding to another reason the fear of clowns is so common). Regardless, the figure was an indifferent addition to the series imo, yet one that was put much care and attention into.
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Walgreens Differences/Discussion
Like stated in the Introduction post, Walgreens re-released Series 3 in late 2017 with four new figures and new rarity odds.
There were a few very subtle differences between a few figures due to the new production. The biggest giveaway is the number marked underneath their feet (not 100% sure what the numbers correspond to). The 2016 Releases have the numbers FM 2253, while the 2017 Re-Releases have FM 170610. Some figures are nearly identical besides that marking. Others have some paint differences with the two most obvious ones being Elvira and Jason. You may not notice until you compare them back to back. This was something I wanted to mention to get that information out there. It's not a big deal, but if you run into figures with these paint differences then it's good to know why.
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Conclusion
So to wrap things up, I was pretty content with Series 3. There were some okay additions, and some really great ones. It felt like an expansion pack to the previous two Series, which I think really helps boost the collection aspect. I'd like to see Series 4 go back into more classic characters and ones which don't get as much love these days. At the same time I know going into more obscure territory can hurt a line as people otherwise not familiar may not go after them. There aren't as many heavy hitters left besides more variants of Freddy, Jason, and other popular characters like the Universal monsters. As fast as I saw these sell, I think they are still going strong in the eyes of the market. As long as they keep making them I'll still be around to hunt them down!
Onto the rankings! Here are what I'd consider my favorite figures and the best (quality, bang-for-your-buck, etc.) figures of the series:
Top 5 Best:
1. Slimer
2. Jason Vorehees
3. Jack Torrence
4. Patrick Bateman
5. Tiffany Valentine
Top 5 Favorites:
1. Slimer
2. Jack Torrence
3. Terror Dog
4. Jason Vorehees
5. Adam Maitland
