Premier Toys Wasteland Gladiator 1/6th figure

[shells075]

Im looking forward to picking up the various parts to make my ultimate MM fig. I got my eye on the can of dog food that comes with the Dark Toys Max.
Thats one of my favourite scenes in MM where Max is chomping on the dog food.

I wish we could get more characters from MM2 in 1/6, like the Feral Kid, Lord Humungus or Wez. I dont know if any of you remember the custom of Wez by Elvis1976. That was a great custom piece.
Those 3 figs with Max would make one epic display. Oh well I can dream.

 

[Wor-Gar]

remember the custom of Wez by Elvis1976.

YES!!!!

 

[FlyAndFight]

Great custom of Wez by Elvis1976. I saved a couple of pics of that one.

 

[Asta]

Im looking forward to picking up the various parts to make my ultimate MM fig. I got my eye on the can of dog food that comes with the Dark Toys Max.
Thats one of my favourite scenes in MM where Max is chomping on the dog food.

The dog food can is the highlight of Dark Toys' set. That and the sculpts were the only things I would've wanted from it.

Since none of the sculpts from the three sets looked that good I didn't but the Dark Toys. I went for the Present as it offered more usable pieces, and at the time the leathers seemed like they might be the best. They have the only jacket out of them where I can see the correct pair of zipped pockets on the front, plus it has the larger shoulder armour and padded section.

I might end up keeping the Present as is, apart from swapping the gloved hands.

 

[kam veitch]

Hope

rd Humungus or Wez. I dont know if any of you remember the custom of Wez by Elvis1976. That was a great custom piece.
Those 3 figs with Max would make one epic display. Oh well I can dream.

Hope one of this companies makes a custom Humungus, even if it is a set without body (an m35 or m34 to use). It will be easy (Head with dettachable or non dettachable mask, + boots, cape, leather clothes and gun + case)

Nice article about Humungus complexity character

 

[FlyAndFight]

My Wasteland Gladiator figure shows as being "out for delivery". I will soon see first-hand how the figure came out.

By coincidence, my Art Figure Mad Racer figure appears to also be out for delivery. Will be interesting in comparing the two, quality wise.

 

[Wor-Gar]

I didn't realize Geewhiz made Humungus. That's pretty cool. Just need that head.

 

[JacktheRipper]

I think you'll like the Mad Racer a little more. Overall it's a bit better quality. Even with all the issues the newer Max was more satisfying since I don't have a Mel Max.

 

[FlyAndFight]

I think you'll like the Mad Racer a little more. Overall it's a bit better quality. Even with all the issues the newer Max was more satisfying since I don't have a Mel Max.

Good point. These will be my first renditions of each of the "Max's".

Based on all of the reviews that I've seen, both here and on YouTube, I was figuring that I would possibly just need a replacement head sculpt for the Mad Racer, if the stock one didn't win me over. As for the "Mel Max", I thought a body update would be all that was needed initially. Asta has clearly shown that isn't the case...

 

[JacktheRipper]

As a figure the Wasteland Ranger is a better figure, but there are things about the Mad/Crazy Racer that I think look more "screen" accurate. There are Hardyesque aspects on the Mad Racer sculpt but it isn't great. A swap would help.
As far as this newer Max goes it's workable. It is still the best sculpt of the three, but that's not saying much. I think how you feel about the figure will depend on how much they messed up on your individual figure. I hate the fact that my leg brace doesn't not have a straight edge.

 

[shells075]

Hope

Hope one of this companies makes a custom Humungus, even if it is a set without body (an m35 or m34 to use). It will be easy (Head with dettachable or non dettachable mask, + boots, cape, leather clothes and gun + case)

Nice article about Humungus complexity character

Yes, I was thinking the same thing. A Humungus fig would be pretty straight forward for a company to produce. All you need is the S&M clothes and boots he wears, the helmet with a generic sculpt in and possibly the pistol and box. You could use a phicen M34/35 body to finish the look off. It could be like an accessory pack, like Kaustic Plastik did with their Conan fig.

 

[Wor-Gar]

If Geewhiz stuff wasn't so expensive I'd consider building my own Humungus.

 

[kam veitch]

If Geewhiz stuff wasn't so expensive I'd consider building my own Humungus.

We could always go with, Gustavo.he is cheaper. the problem would be the sculpt, boots and extras....

 

[Wor-Gar]

I'd give it a little bit of time... just in case one of these 3rd party companies decides to make their own for $170.

 

[FlyAndFight]

As a figure the Wasteland Ranger is a better figure, but there are things about the Mad/Crazy Racer that I think look more "screen" accurate. There are Hardyesque aspects on the Mad Racer sculpt but it isn't great. A swap would help.
As far as this newer Max goes it's workable. It is still the best sculpt of the three, but that's not saying much. I think how you feel about the figure will depend on how much they messed up on your individual figure. I hate the fact that my leg brace doesn't not have a straight edge.

Both "Max's" arrived today. I did not set up them but just took a quick look at them with initial impressions being the key.

The Mad/Crazy Racer arrived first and to be honest, I was pleasantly surprised with it. While I think I prefer the VTS sculpt, mostly for the hair sculpt, there is enough Tom Hardy in this one that I can wait a while before addressing that aspect.

The Wasteland Warrior arrived just a few minutes ago. I was expecting a train wreck and while not a great rendition, I have to admit that it has enough decent parts to help offset some of the negatives.

Every critique previously mentioned by everyone is absolutely correct and applicable, especially when posed next to another figure, for scale comparisons. For example, the head sculpt could have been a little larger and the body used should have been better than a 1/6 Hasbro body from the 1990's. It definitely will be immediately replaced. And yet, when the figure is looked at alone, it doesn't suck...

The sculpt and most likely accentuated by the paint apps, make it look like a caricature of the character. It is easily recognizable but there's an obvious cartoony-ness to it. Will eventually require a replacement, for sure.

I haven't done a deep dive on either figure and the accessories yet but first impressions were good on the Mad/Crazy Racer (unsure why I'm including his review here except for the fact that he was also arriving today) and not as bad as expected, on the Wasteland Ranger.

Final analysis: The real question is: Was he worth the money? Well, as I don't have any previous rendition of the character and its one of my grails, I suppose he was worth it. But because he is a grail, I'll be throwing additional money into it, in order to get it to a level that I can really be happy with it. If you are looking for a quick representation of "Road Warrior" Max, then I can definitely recommend it. It's definitely a Mel Max that will be displayed on your shelf.

A few quick and crappy pics...

 

[Cocoboloboy]

I tend to see this guy when I look at pics of the sculpt but a repaint may help that out. Most everything else looks good to me but a body swap as Asta has shown really improves it.

 

[superado]

As a straight-up stock figure, the common issues brought up by most, the body vs. head proportions, don’t look too bad. Based on those pics, it’s the paint app that looks off and I think that can be remedied either by an entire repaint or a touch-up.

 

[kyekye]

It's pretty close to prototype images. I was going to swap out the head anyways, so no surprise there.
The metal leg brace was let down, but it works and looks OK.

Shoulder pad wasn't that small, but glued to the pleather - so it was angled down.
I'll swap out the body and head. then It will be 95% there.
Looking forward to the Warlord now

 

[Asta]

It's pretty close to prototype images. I was going to swap out the head anyways, so no surprise there.
The metal leg brace was let down, but it works and looks OK.
View attachment 554015
View attachment 554016
View attachment 554017
Shoulder pad wasn't that small, but glued to the pleather - so it was angled down.
I'll swap out the body and head. then It will be 95% there.
Looking forward to the Warlord now

These are good, sharp photos.

They illustrate the issues well with the stock figure: the pinhead, barrel chest, awkward arms and elongated body which makes the jacket too short.

There's only so much you can do with the figure, because as good as the leathers look and feel, the jacket inaccuracy won't satisfy those looking for prop accuracy.

A head swap would've helped some of the areas, but the body swap rectified more issues, incorporating the sculpt (as iffy as it is) and the clothing. It might've been better to go the custom route, as there's very little that's accurate on the figure, but I usually shun customs. They often take years, and sometimes end badly when the customiser disappears off the face of the earth with all the money. I prefer to go for third party figures, and mess with them. They can be more fun than a Hot Toys that virtually goes straight from the box to the shelf.

The Premier figure scratches an itch, putting the idea of Max in 1/6 onto display.

I ended up gluing the shotgun closed yesterday because even with the tape inside it was still opening by itself.

Immortan Joe is a different animal. It might be that there's less wrong with the figure because his design is so unique, rather than a fabric suit ill-fitted on a poor quality body. Though if he is wrong he'll be harder to fix, as the armour is moulded for the body, and the body is specially painted.

 

[kam veitch]

What would be the best body switch option? I dont see the ganghood option, looks too bulky for Mel or my taste.