It wasn’t until the final season of Breaking Bad that Mezco started making action figures (mini-statues might be more accurate) for the show, and it wasn’t until well after the show was over that they made a figure for Walter White’s assistant, Jesse Pinkman. So I suppose that announcing a figure for Saul Goodman ahead of the start of his spinoff, Better Call Saul, is a bonus. You can pre-order the figure now with expected delivery in June 2015. Better Caul Saul premiers on AMC in February.
Mezco Presents Breaking Bad: Saul Goodman
New York- Finding yourself in a precarious situation? “‘S all good man”! We have just the right criminal… lawyer for you.
This classic character provided more than just legal loopholes and comic relief. Known for his nonchalance and questionable advice, Saul quickly won over fans worldwide. Walter and Jesse narrowly made it through their troubles with his legal counsel and now this 6″ figure can stand as a reminder when you’re in a bind, “Better call Saul!”
His pinstriped business suit is complimented by his token wireless headset and light blue Wayfarer 515 awareness ribbon. Saul Goodman comes complete with his business card in a display friendly blister card package.
Although his work with our dynamic duo is done, we know we haven’t seen the last of him just yet…
Last week, a Florida mom petitioned Toys R Us to stop selling Breaking Bad action figures, using the tried and true family values argument. Nearly ten thousand people voiced their support, and then Toys R Us blinked. This helped fill out an otherwise uneventful news day (if you discount the news of Ebola landing on US soil) with a story that resonated widely by bringing together pop culture and human interest angles. The story was picked up by everyone from ABC News to Zimbio.
Mainstream media came out largely in support of the Florida mom and the actions taken by Toys R Us, and this prompted fans of the TV show and action figures to protest the protest. Action Figure Insider’s Daniel Pickett launched a counter-petition, keeping the story in the news cycle for another revolution. The petition to keep Breaking Bad on toy shelves has garnered over forty thousand signatures, but despite this, TRU has not reversed its actions. This leads me to today’s topic: who actually won this fight?
You might be surprised (if you already forgot the title of this article) – almost everyone comes out ahead.
As much as I love Breaking Bad (after resisting year after year, I finally binge-watched it during the final season), Mezco’s offerings in the Breaking Bad action figure line (or perhaps “6-inch action figure-sized statues” would be more appropos) were a bit sparse. How many different color variants of Walt can we get? Now that there’s a Jesse Pinkman sculpt, we get to ask that question for him. For Gus Fring, there’s just two – and to keep from spoiling it, at least in this post, you can see them in our album for Mezco’s Breaking Bad and Sons of Anarchy lines.
While I don’t watch Sons of Anarchy, it looks like fans are getting a little bit more in terms of character selection. However, if you’re hoping for articulated figures instead of mini-statues, you’re in the same boat as Breaking Bad fans.
There’s lots of characters I’d like to see in a Breaking Bad action figure line, but at the heart of the show, it was Walter White and Jesse Pinkman. Mezco has made a few figures of Walt / Heisenberg, but it wasn’t until this Toy Fair that they revealed Pinkman in action figure format (they’ve had him in their bobble-head and plush line-ups previously).
While I think they pretty much nailed it on Walt, the Jesse Pinkman head sculpt is a bit off, particularly under the harsh lights of a camera flash; I think it could use some more tweaking. Meanwhile, Mezco is going to leverage the crap out of that Walter White lab suit sculpt, releasing it in every possible color variant from the show. They’ll also be making 12-inch figures of the duo in their lab suits – although I wonder if it’s just terminology for the license, because the 6-inch figures of Walt have no articulation. Are those shoulder swivels on Pinkman?
Photo credits: ToyArk.com and Figures.com – plenty of pics of the entire Breaking Bad line-up
There’s one auction for custom action figures that I want to focus on this week. It’s for a set of figures from the latest show I was powerless to stop myself from binge watching – Breaking Bad.
1/6 Scale Breaking Bad Lab Set with Walter White and Jesse Pinkman by Leftover Zombies – the two figures may not have the best likenesses for Walt and Jesse that I’ve seen, but that’s not discouraging fans of the show from bidding – one thing that distinguishes this set is that it comes with a lab table, assorted flasks and beakers, and a tub of the blue meth – this really begs the question… why hasn’t some toy company picked up the Breaking Bad license for 1/6 figures?
Several more pictures follow.
In AFP’s Border Patrol, we scour active eBay auctions for customized action figures that you won’t want to let slip by!
