It’s that time of year again…and I received my very first Christmas present from a student. General Mills Count Chocula Action Figure by Jada toys.
Now I have eaten this cereal, and if you read the SpartanNerd blog, you also probably have also. It is WAY too chocolate…more like a dessert really. Chocolate cereal pieces with marshmallows. So much nutrition! And if you haven’t eaten it (plenty of international readers it seems,) check out this article, that when I read I learned a lot myself.
I am going to review this figure, but not offer a rating as it is a Christmas gift, and I am very appreciative! (Check out my review of the San Diego Comic Con Ninja Turtles from last year)
PACKAGING
The packaging looks like a more squat and fat version of the cereal box.
You have an image Count Chocula and the General Mills branding featured prominently.
As you turn it around, you can find the nutrition labels, which aren’t that at all, are they? Instead more like a contents list.
On the back you have some Jim Lee DC Comics featuring the Monster Cereal characters up to the point of the early 2020’s. (Carmella Creeper has been added to the family in the past couple of years.). But there is Count Chocula, Franken Berry, Berry Boo, Frute Brute, and Yummy Mummy all featured in this comic, which actually doesn’t seem to pull together a coherent story. But it does kind of show off the personality of each character.
There is a flap that you open to see the figure on the inside. And a large “groovy” image of Count Chocula on the back of the flap. (It turns out that this was a mask to cut out on vintage cereal boxes. I didn’t know! Keep reading!)
You can see Count Chocula inside the window, stuck in his blister card. He has an alternate head with a more surprised expression, and a box of Count Chocula cereal.
FIGURE REVIEW
Normally I would give a photo about what is in the package, but this time the above items are it.
Jada toys made this, and as far as I know the only thing I have with Jada toys is a carded set of micro-machine style GI Joe vehicles.
If Jada would make more of these, I would buy them.
But I know that Jada has been putting out high-level Street Fighter figures for awhile. This action figure is supposedly 1/12 scale, so in scale with vintage Masters of the Universe figures for a small comparison, but kind of in scale with Mythic Legions for a large comparison.
PICTURED: Masters of the Universe Origins TMNT Stealth Ninja He-Man, Jada Toys General Mills Count Chocula action figure, and Mythic Legions Legendary Barbarian. Showing off the 1/12 scale of Count Chocula with the variance of sizes in that scale.
The box says 21 points of articulation on the nutrition panel. So here they are…
Rotating head on a ball joint that can also look up
shoulders that can swivel up and down and out
swivel-hinged elbows
Rotating wrists
waist twist
Upper-thigh joints
thigh cuts
double-jointed knees
Vertical up-and-down ankle
Rocker feet on a swivel at the ankle
So I only count 20 points. BUT, they could be counting the cape. By the way, it is a removable cape and probably should count as an accessory. You could put it on almost any other figure.
ACCESSORIES
Count Chocula came with an alternate head that shows an expression that he seems to make a lot in animation. It is a google-eyed surprise face…the same face a kid is making when served this food of course.
What is happening here?
There is a miniature box of cereal with images on the front and back but no side labels or nutrition facts. One side basically is the same image from vintage boxes. The back is the same mask from the inside of the package, but this time with the instructions “Cut out mask! Fool your friends! Play monsters!” And that is how I knew this mask was a feature.
PICTURED: Figura Obscura Father Christmas brings joy to the orphanage, while MASTERVERSE Revelation Orko babysits. Looks like Count Chocula is donating some cereal! (Last year’s gift, Loyal Subjects San Diego Comic Con TMNT set is shown here)
PLAYING WITH COUNT CHOCULA
You just don’t get more 1980’s than this.DC Comics literally did the comic panels on the back of the box. It is funny…this is a different kind of Batman Off-World. Count Chocula fits right over Batman.
SPARTANNERD RATING
I am going to rate this…FUN/FUN. That’s right! Thanks for the gift! I love it, and Count Chocula isn’t anything but fun. Spending time with this action figure made me think of how actually goofy this character. Is. I mean…a vampire with no fangs…instead buck teeth. He kind of looks like a 1950’s host of a show or something, but then you see all the chocolate coloring all over him. he has an instant appeal as a cartoon character. So many vampires instantly look threatening. No fear is possible when looking at this guy. And now I am getting too philosophical!
So let me know in the comments Hub City Geeks if you eat this cereal. Do you have other action figures in this line? Let me know in the comments! Merry Christmas!
After taking off the red and white costume, and putting it in the terrific packaging for storage until Thanksgiving or Christmas In July…(or maybe some other reason, who knows?) you have a generic elf knight body that you can continue to use all year. YAY!
This thing is just great! Amazing sculpt and green paint. He fits the MOTU need for Whiplash very well. It is just too bad that neither head that he came with really looks like Whiplash. I can find a customized version out there, or maybe eventually something will come out that will work.
I could have put any of my Conan action figures here. I chose the king because he is really different…one of the most “clothed” versions of the character. I could have thrown Thulsa Doom in here easily, though. I have him holding the axe (in the video) from the Battle of the Mounds Conan, just because I like my Conan figures to hold an axe 75% of the time!
I almost passed on this. He was available for so long, and I kept waffling. Then I finally pulled the trigger on the Mattel Creations purchase and I am glad I did. He is HUGE. And that sculpt doesn’t look anything like a “sad Dumbo.” I had the chance over the weekend to pick up the 200x Staction version, but this version is better simply because it is an action figure. It’s true the Four Horsemen sculpt is better, but this MASTERVERSE version takes design cues from that and is superior in articulation and accessories.
You can see that my Mekaneck has more neck than he came with stock. I’ll get to the reason why later…
Mekaneck is just great. That we got all of those neck joints…great! His paint is flashy and his armor is just right. And how they are presenting him story wise is also different, with him now taking on underwater responsibilities, getting him away from just “reconnaissance,” as if that wasn’t important. (reconnaissance is VERY IMPORTANT, Hub City Geeks). And that he fills the essential role of Mekaneck in the lineup of heroes is also very nice.
Cosmic Legions Wal-Torr the Mad and T.U.5.C.C. Pilot (review link)
Hey. My list and my rules. I am including Carolina and Clemson on this one! Both have terrific sculpt, paint, and accessories. AND if I was rich I might army build these guys.
MASTERVERSE New Eternia Skeletor’s Throne (review link)
I could have considered Conan’s throne or Boreus (the horse at the top with Santa) as Diorama pieces, but Skeletor’s Throne is the best. It generally sits in the middle of the bad guys, and any of the many versions of Skeletor that I have can fit well on it.
WHO ELSE SHOULD I HAVE INCLUDED IN MY VIDEO? Probably Snake Sorceress Teela, (who I call the Green Goddess.) (review link)
Remember when I had more necks for Mekaneck? That’s because Mattel Q.C. Sent me another copy of him to atone for the missing mask on Sy-Clone. Mattel didn’t bring us a product that matched past versions…no lenticular sticker on the chest like the vintage one, no ring on his back like the 200x and Classics version. What was supposed to be new and different was that mask. They included these fire effects that can fit on the shield or on his wrists, and they are cool, but they should be IN ADDITION not in place of. He just feels uninspired to me, and with the missing mask, I feel this figure is one of the lowest of the year.
He looks like the salesman for beef jerky or the Geico caveman. He doesn’t look like the movie representation. They should have gone with rooted hair and more of a Grizzlor approach to have done him right. Now we probably won’t get another version of this in the next 15 or 20 years. And that makes this an extra bummer. The design choices of making those hair-mats out of plastic armor pieces…I hope we don’t see those again. And that armor is kind of crappy. And the face sculpt is off. I hate to be negative, but WHY? Probably has to do with rights, etc.
SO DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE, HUB CITY GEEKS? LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENTS! Also, please support the new YouTube video formats coming for 2025.
I remember when I first heard the words “Figura Obscura.” This was two years ago in 2022 when they announced this product. I thought it was great, but if you have been following the SpartanNerd Blog for awhile you know my interest was more in the now extinct MEGA Masters of the Universe.
Since then I have bought in heavily to MASTERVERSE figures and Mythic Legions. As the years (really only two years) have waxed on, they released a Headless Horseman, which I think I might actually get now. But the specific reason I haven’t (besides price) is that … when will you use a Headless Horseman outside of the Halloween season?
This isn’t a problem with Father Christmas. Read on to find out why!
PACKAGING
Really. No question. Of all of the packaging I have ever opened or reviewed on the SpartanNerd.com blog, this is the greatest I have ever seen. And I’ve seen some great stuff. This stands like five heads taller. Seriously…let’s go ahead and drop a 5/5 rating on this whole product just based on the packaging.
Father Christmas comes in a Saran wrapped windowless box. I don’t have any idea what sad person would leave that plastic on it. I took it off to minimize the glare for the photo.
Some reader out there is crying “foul!” SpartanNerd, you hate windowless packaging. Hang on, o cynic.
What you have is an outside “cap”. It removes from the box…it is actually an encasing booklet! It works magnetically, making this an optimum collector friendly package! You get a description of Father Christmas on the back…(did you really need that?). But I am glad they did it!
We have some Nate Baertsch artwork depicting Father Christmas, an owl flying overhead, and a caribou behind him. The words Father Christmas are in beautiful Christmas card font, with the four horsemen studios symbol beneath. On the “spine” there is Figura Obscura with a key symbol.
And if all of this wasn’t enough, let’s flip this capper around.
The other side is another beautiful illustration, this time providing a backdrop for your Father Christmas figure! Absolutely over-the-top.
So now onto the box. Yep. We haven’t even seen Father Christmas in package yet!
Here he is, in box. You can see everything clearly. They have him in package with a longer beard than most American versions have…that is because the Four Horsmen went with the widest interpretation of Father Christmas that they could. This isn’t a modern-pop “fat Santa”… this Father Christmas recalls the SpartanPapaDavid (he’ll have to read this blog from heaven) and the stories that he told of the rough life growing up in rural Pennsylvania. Santa Claus would bring the Christmas Tree on Christmas Eve, and “Mr. Take-back” would come and get it on “Old Christmas.” He also would take back your presents if you were being bad. As an adult I understand all of this to be Father Christmas, Epiphany, and Krampus, interpreted in the country ways of the past.
You can see that he comes with a ton of accessories. Notably a drum, a doll, a trumpet, a lantern, an alternate shorter beard head, and a Christmas Tree. This is a double blister…It has the shepherd’s crook, two identical wreath crowns, a plastic-sculpted toy sack, soft goods hood, and a soft goods sack with presents inside on the bottom.
Now there are two versions of this product…I have seen the green Father Christmas at a store before. I was very pleased to see the red version released on Storehorsemen again for this 2024 season in red. That version has the same illustrations but with green on Father Christmas’s robe. And if you get that version, you will have the same opening experience as me with that main difference only.
One more thing about the packaging. If we didn’t have enough diorama with this, we also get an inside illustration that you can use for an “in the house” photo.
AND ONE MORE THING STILL…A Christmas card of the artwork. These are not expensive if you wanted more from the StoreHorsemen.
FIGURE: HERE’S WHAT YOU GET IN THE PACKAGE
Father Christmas comes with: (I’m going to photograph in pieces.
Father Christmas figure
Soft-goods robe, hood, and inner robe.
Rubber belt
Two heads, one with a long wizards beard and the other traditional (pictured above)
Two wreath crowns
Toy drum
Toy trumpet
Doll
Rubber duck
Dog…it is up to your interpretation on these three. Are they cartoons…toys…characters…is that dog a live dog? That duck one to annoy you when fishing or one to put in your jeep?…that doll an elf worker, or a child stowaway?
Shepherd’s crook
Lantern
Christmas Tree, which is a wire tree, plastic trunk, and white stand
Additional sack of items.
SO…the duck and dog came in that sack. And because it is 2024, I assume I am not spoiling the “surprise” items in the sack. So if you are sensitive, time to go look at a different blog entry…try the SpartanNerd.Com home page for starters. Where you can see recent reviews of New Eternia Mer-Man and Mythic Legions Boreus.
….
Turn back now if you don’t want to be spoiled
…
OK.
Here
Is
The
Spoiler!
Knight’s head with pointed faceplate
Knight’s head with back neck protector
These are the two heads. One is on Sir Godfrey, and the other on Father Christmas, sans robes, with added armor. This is Father Christmas’ surprises for Mythic Legions collectors!
Impressive amount of accessories, really.
HOW DOES FATHER CHRISTMAS WORK
Essentially, the robes are doll clothes. They are very well made. The hood and the outer robe are different pieces, both having a clasp on the front. The purple underdress is basically the same thing that MASTERVERSE Revelation Tri-Clops came with, only in purple. That has Velcro down the back.
The good thing is that when you take off the robes you don’t have a naked Santa. What you have is a really skinny knight. After looking into it, this is actually a Mythic Legions elf body. I don’t have any of those (yet…)
But because Mythic Legions have entirely modular parts, you can put any head on there. So this body can be on display all year, while the Christmas items can go back into that terrific package for storage! YAY! VALUE!
BUT what they have done with the neck is out of proportion to the body. Essentially Father Christmas has kind of a “giraffe” neck if you put his head on the neckpiece and armor. This makes the knight heads look strange on this body without some additional bulk. This is a non-complaint because Mythic Legions neck pieces are also modular. I DID have to use the hairdryer to loosen up Father Christmas’ neck joint enough to pop off.
Still, the utility of having an extra Mythic Legions for the rest of the year makes this Figura Obscura mean so much more.
PICTURED: MASTERVERSE Revelation Evil Lyn alternate head and hands on Figura Obscura Father Christmas body. She is feeding Boreus.
I find that female heads in the same scale work very well with this body. It’s true that Evil Lyn here has no neck, but can you tell? The hands were a perfect swap for this photo.
You can see above that Father Christmas is actually very articulated. He can sit on a knee and give out presents to the good little boys here. (He-Man might be the bad one…he is holding a sword after all.)
The toy sack is very detailed. These toys are not removable…but you get the drum sticks, teddy bear, nutcracker, toy lion, toy bugle, three balls, and a book that Reverend SpartanNerd has to assume is a bible.
I am showing Father Christmas holding that trumpet. Be very careful, Hub City Geeks. This is one delicate item. It fits very well in the robe pocket, and probably should stay in there or in the sack. Father Christmas didn’t come with any additional hands, so he can’t finger the valves or anything like that. He can hold it, but be careful getting it into the hands. With the robes on, he can’t have two hands on it as if to play it, and if he can I was too afraid to try, not willing to bend the instrument. Incidentally, the doll also can fit in the robe pockets well. AND, the drum has a chain with a hook on it so that it can clip to his belt.
Ah. SpartanPapaDavid’s story, kind of.
The Shepherd’s Crook and Lantern…Father Christmas doesn’t need a weapon, does he? Of all the Mythic Legions figures made, I bet this is only one of a handful that didn’t have some means of attack. BUT, the shepherd’s crook could be a weapon that someone else might use all year long.
I have only one singular, true gripe with this whole product. And that is that when you have the lantern on the crook, the heaviness of it causes the wrists to buckle, knocking him off balance. He doesn’t really have a counterweight. If ever a figure could probably have come with a stand, it is Father Christmas. Just think, someone might only ever own this product from the Four Horsemen Studios. He is a fine Santa Claus. Maybe the best I have ever seen anywhere. But if he has trouble standing as a long-term display that is kind of a problem. For me, he has face-planted several times while holding the hook, usually with the lantern. And that lantern comes right off and goes who knows where. I wasn’t there when he fell over! And as I type this, one of those wreath crowns is missing. I believe he fell over, his crown landed in the floor, and a SpartanPet got it. Or it went down in the AC vent. Or something else. All I am saying is it is good that it came with two of them. (Dork Lair seems to think this was an accident, all of them coming with two wreath crowns.)
PICTURED: Mythic Legions Boreus and Figura Obscura Father Christmas. Boreus seems to be the perfect match with Father Christmas.
SPARTANNERD RATING OF FIGURA OBSCURA FATHER CHRISTMAS
Are you kidding me? Seriously?
If I could award 6 points I would. This thing is incredible. If you are a Mythic Legions fan and also like Christmas, this is for you. If you do Christmas and want a nice Santa decoration, this is a great choice. He could also sit on top of a tree…he’s about the same size as one of those angels. (Rev. SpartanNerd wouldn’t do it, but you could…)
And the value here…just take all those Christmas pieces off and put them in the collector friendly package for storage, and you have another Mythic Legions that you can use all year.
Which brings me back to the Headless Horseman. I have punted on that for two main reasons. Price and functionality. But I got to thinking about it. His body can be used all year. Just put a different head on it. That horse is ghostly, so who could ride it all year…OH YEAH…Skeletor. Scare Glo. Blah blah blah. Why was the SpartanNerd so unimaginative?
So not only has Figura Obscura Father Christmas delivered so much awesomeness, he has convinced me to move on the Headless Horseman, and also…The Monkey KING! Figura Obscura is where it is at, people! I won’t ever get the Egyptian Gods on religious grounds, but I might actually go for Greek Gods if they make them.
So the SpartanNerd rates Figura Obscura Father Christmas a solid 5/5. The packaging is superior. The sculpt, paint, and soft goods superior, and the accessories varied and awesome. He delivers the Christmas joy and so much more!
Please post your agreeing comments, Hub City Geeks. (How could you complain?)
spartannerd 