Movie maniacs 4/ Spawn.com

This Product rocks!! Its something Fin Fans would of never dreamed was going to be produced, especially for a film that's got no current tie in merchandising campaign or re-release pending in the near future. The folks over at McFarlane have obviously done this as an homage to film greatness rather than just another calculated marketing move. Kudo's must be extended for the effort! Although with the enduring appeal and cult classic stature of the film it certainly will be no surprise if a profit windfall is also achieved.

The humorous part is that it took somebody with guts like McFarlane to make this a reality, when all along Uni was sitting on this license and never even tried to do something near this level of effort. Instead until recently, they've been busy destroying/removing the last remnants of related props like the "Orca" and the "Bruce" mechanisms that once stood as monuments to film greatness.

None the less here it is, a collectors piece for the masses that can be readily displayed anywhere with great effect. The nice part is that the entire piece is constructed in durable vinyl and hardened plastic construction whereby it should withstand the most deliberate manipulating and, or weather conditions should you decide to put one in your backyard pond or tubside. The customizing options are endless depending on where you want the Quint figure (see pics). There's also a bizarre feature that has been built into the figure that I wont give away so as to lessen the surprise.

I'll mention a few more items like the gracious and extreme attention to detail like the shattered flotsam, the interior cabin paraphernalia, and the real rope lines, but I'll leave the rest for you to discover. Show your support for an endeavor like this and buy as many as you can find, cause they definitely wont last long. Besides you'll be put'n American businesses back on a pay'n basis.

At first glance the piece is a work of art, but upon closer inspection there are a few weak details that alternately I might have expected on a non-Mcfarlane product. Its a forgone conclusion that the product had to be approached from the standpoint that it needed to be produced on a mass scale in order to justify production costs. But that's where I had always thought McFarlane had distanced his products with an un-before seen attention to detail, unlike the dime a dozen cheapo mass producers that crowd the market. While there are a few manufacturers transcending this realm like Dragon, McFarlane has cornered the market on quality by which others are trying to keep up. With high expectations, it's for that reason the oversights become more apparent. Don't get me wrong, this is still a masterpiece in toy-making available at a more than reasonable, average retail price of only $24.95. Yet there are several small items lacking. Most would go unnoticed by the average consumer or person wanting a souvenir to take home from a Uni. studios vacation. But those that are film-mongers and know the film like myself the mistakes, while not necessarily apparent, are there.

For instance the rear cabin door should have been hinged, because while you want to get a better peek inside the richly detailed cabin, it's a bit difficult. More than likely you'll be tempted to break the door free and make your own hinge. The cabin interior while richly detailed is slightly off. The vinyl cushions should be red and were separate cushions attached by snaps to the wooden paneling rather than one long bench style restaurant seat ( I warned you there'd be inconsequential nitpick'n). There's also a missing support post inside and no cans of Narragansett to be found.

Additionally, there also appears to be a problem with scale of the Orca versus Quint. When Quint is on the forward walk plank on the bow you can clearly see the scale differential problem. It appears the bow and mast were foreshortened to some extent in order to fit everything in. Quint also doesn't fit in the crows nest.

The shear challenge of making a display on this scale is to be majorly applauded. But in choosing to create a piece of this size, details are more difficult to pull off. I for one would of been just as happy to see a set at half the size and scale as this one with more attention to dimensional characteristics and detail. Much the way a Danbury or Franklin mint piece is presented.

While the price might of had to retail at a bit higher price, who cares? Probably the mass consumer would be swayed by the price of a premium set but then who knows? If this set goes gold then we could be seeing something more accurate and, or an expansion of available merchandised figures or sets from the realm of Amity sometime in the near future.

In McFarlane's interview the suggestion wasn't out of the question. When studying the piece it's easy to ignore the detail inconsistencies, but why are they there at all? While there are great details like the little fragments strewn about the stern of Orca and the infamously broken Motorola that can be seen inside the cabin. Why are there other things that don't make sense like the way the real rope lines tied to the mast flares out at the sides where they are tied to the hull. Or why the lower bow hull of the Orca is not the correct shape? This can only be blamed on a lack of accurate research material and not on the craftsmanship of the artisans. After all the Orca was already missing from the back lot by the time this product was being commenced at the drawing board.

In conclusion no matter how much nitpick'n is done about this product, it stands as a breakthrough in what can be done and made available as a licensed miniature rendition to what is a monumental classic of film. All for a price that would barley get you one tank of gas. Make sure you buy at least three because this'll surely be a collectors item. Besides, more than likely you'll need backups after your friends break pieces off while it sits on the dining table in the middle of keg parties.

Fred