Mortal Kombat Deluxe Shao Kahn, Jazwares action figure review

MORTAL KOMBAT!! That universally known phrase lets you know the bloodiest fight of the century is about to begin. The franchise changed video game fighters as we know it and Jazwares has the license to produce the characters. Today we look at Shao Kahn as he appears in Mortal Kombat 9. The packaging is very nice desgin, great graphics and a bio on the back. You are also teased with the other figure in the line everyone will want, Goro.


Sculpting for Shao is fairly detailed, a step up from your DC Universe figure but not quite yet at Marvel Legends texture. Standing at 7 inches tall his skull-faced helmet has great detail and so does his armor. The hands are a bit odd with the left one being scaled larger than the right for some reason giving the fingers a hot-dog look. Nice spikes and a flowing loincloth complete his He-man-esq look.

Articulation is plentiful with ball-n-cup joints for all the major articulation spots including wrists and ankles. There's a upper thigh cut that works great tho he won't be sitting on a throne any time soon due to the rather stiff loincloth. This means his hips need to angle out to the side to step. Shao Kahn has an ab crunch which pops apart to reveal empty holes for a ball post. Perhaps they were going to go with that before the change. Except for lack of ankle rockers he's nicely articulated.

Paint applications are a little iffy here. While his mask, armor trim, and overall uniform look great his spikes have slop and aren't painted all the way against the armor. Shao's detailed cat-eyes have a vicious look to them. There's a great tanned highlight to the head and upper body...but unfortunately is missing from the rest of his skin. The lower arms.legs are a completely different color than the main body looking like a reverse farmers-tan. Hopefully this will be corrected in future assortments as it's really noticeable here and looks as if the plastic has faded.

Shao Kahn comes with a large hammer as his accessory with a nicely tampoed Mortal Kombat symbol on it. He can hold it in either hand though his left hand is a bit tight due to the enlarged fingers. Paint work on the hammer is great and it's quite menacing looking to behold.

So what's the verdict? If you're wanting the ruler of Outworld for your collection he's pretty large and in charge. I'd take a close look at him in person to see if all his flesh is colored correctly tho. Jazwares had a great first series with Scorpion and Sub Zero, here they missed the mark on a few counts. An avid customizer could easily shave down the larger hand and repaint him however. Our sponsor Big Bad Toy Store has him for preorder as does Past Generation Toys including a special Shao Kahn with throne and arena.

Adventure Time Deluxe 10" Finn with Changing Faces action figure review

Adventure time, c'mon grab your friends, we'll go to the neighborhood, toy store. Well that's not exactly how the title song goes but it's close enough if you want your Adventure Time fix. Jazzware's 10" Deluxe Finn with changing faces is one rather large figure and is shipping now.  There's a 2" line of pvc figures, a 5" line with stretchy arms, and plush toys as well. If you're a fan of the show then you'll be in hog heaven. Don't forget the role-play sword, it's actually rock hard plastic, not some Nerf weapon.

Finn is a very large figure and something that's going to stand out on your desk. He has an articulated neck, waist, hips, knees, and ankles. His arms are bendy tho his sword arm is molded at an angle so you can't straighten it all the way. You can however get them all wavy like Finn does them in the show or get basic poses out of them. Oddly enough the shoulders don't turn but that really doesn't get in the way.

Finn comes with his removable backpack and sword. The backpack goes on pretty tight and opens up so you can store items in it. There's two small pegs inside the backpack so perhaps a version of Jake attaches there that you can buy later. His sword is made of hard rubber and looks perfect. He has a little trouble holding it due to the bendy rubber the hands are made of.

Finn's paint applications for the most part are spot on and the decos on his multiple faces are great, sculpted into the face not just painted. Watch out because his head and pants are matte and will pick up EVERY SINGLE MARK if your hands aren't clean or you bump him against something. The faces are like the old Battle Armor He-Man figures, just rotate them up/down and a new one locks into place.

Watch out when buying your Finn, every sword was loose in the package as it didn't have a twistee-tie and one didn't even have a sword. I suspect it had fallen through the 'try-me' hole in the window or some kid fished it out. Check all the faces too before you buy, they're matte paint and some had marks. Overall Finn is a solid figure and will run you $18. But if you act now Toys R Us has all AT figs 25% off at the time of this writing!

Jazzware's 6" Mortal Kombat Sub Zero action figure review

Normally Jazzwares and the phrase "hey that's awesome!" aren't associated with each other. They're not know for making Marvel Legends or NECA quality figures, but rather more kid-oriented things like with their Sonic line. Until now, so wasn't sure what I was looking at when I first picked up Sub Zero from Jazzware's Mortal Kombat line...

That being said I was pleasantly surprised, though I still have a hard time paying $15 a figure which is what TRU was charging. Sub Zero has a great sculpt. His armor is detailed and you can see all the folds in his gi, his narrowed gaze, and mask detail. The hands look a little oversized but that might just be me. Even his pants look nicely sculpted which wasn't the case with the last series. 

Sub Zero comes with a nifty looking ice sword that would have really looked amazing clear, but instead it's just painted blue with a white drybrushing for highlights. He can hold it with both hands! This is pretty rare in figures but Sub-Z has ball jointed/hinged neck, shoulders, elbows, waist, hips, knees, and ankles having great range of movement. He can high-kick and look great doing so.

I saw Raiden and Scorpion who looked particularly cool and came with more weapons but Sub Zero has always been one of my faves. He's just a tad shorter than your average DCU or Marvel Legends but still fits in. So, great paint apps, nice sculpt, great articulation, has Jazzwares redeemed themselves? Snag one of the new Mortal Kombat figures and see for yourself.