I’ve been a big fan of Ben 10 ever since the original show debuted in 2005. When the new rebooted series was announced I was apprehensive. When it aired I was unsure of my feelings towards it. Recently I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s not a bad show, it’s just not interested in telling the same kinds of stories as the original (for example, the Plumbers have yet to mentioned). This makes it seem smaller, with lower stakes. I’m sure there are many fans who will simply see the show as inferior to the original without really giving it a chance. However, even those fans would have to admit that the toys are a vast improvement.
I recently got my hands on the new series Diamondhead figure (now by Playmates, taking over from Bandai) and I… almost love it.
The new Diamondhead is a significant improvement over the old one, especially in the articulation department. The old figure had simple hinges at the knee and swivels at the hips, shoulders and neck. The new one replaces those with ML-style swivel hinges, a ball-jointed neck and a swivel waist. It’s also translucent. And I have a serious soft spot for translucent toys (also light-piping). Translucent toys automatically get bonus points for me.
Unfortunately, the sculpt limits the range of motion. Like, really, really limits it. The elbows just barely make 90 degrees, while the knees and hips can’t quite hit that mark. The shoulders have almost no side-to-side movement at all. The neck might as well just be a swivel as it can really only turn.
It comes with one accessory, a spike that fits over either hand. It doesn’t really stay on very well.
Even though it sounds like I’m trashing it, I really dig this figure. It looks fantastic, dead-on to the show’s design. The sculpt and articulation are leaps and bounds over what Bandai put out a decade ago. While this isn’t a fun toy to play around with different poses it looks great on the shelf. I’ll probably end up getting the rest of the line. I’m weak and they’re under $10.
Note – This figure was provided by Playmates for review.
