PlayMates Toys Skull Crawler With HEAV (Review)
Updated: Sep 29, 2020
Welcome back, collectors. In this review, I will be taking a look at the last figure (hopefully) of the wave 1 PlayMates Toys Godzilla vs Kong figures: the Skull Crawler. The Skull Crawler first appeared as the main antagonist in Kong: Skull Island and looks like it will be making a return in Godzilla vs Kong. Ever since Lanard Toys released their Kong: Skull Island figures, fans have been praying for an articulated and highly detailed Skull Crawler figure. Has PlayMates Toys answered their prayers or has PlayMates Toys flushed their hopes and wishes down the toilet? Let's dive in and find out if this is worth the $10 purchase at Walmart.
Packaging:
By now, you know the drill for these figures. The Skull Crawler comes in an open box type packaging. On the front of the box, you will find the movie's title, the promo image for the battle damage gimmick, the logos, and the name of the figure. The movie's title is on the left side of the box and the name of the figure is on the right side of the box.
Doing the same dance with the back of the box, you can find the movie synopsis on the top right corner. In the middle is another promotional image for the figure with the HEAV. The name of the HEAV is a spoiler, but I will go over what it is in the "Accessories" section of the review. On the left of the promotional image is the toy's description, which reads, "The most dangerous superspecies on Skull Island, the ferocious SkullCrawler attacks with razor-sharp claws and whiplash tail to dominate opponents in battle!"
On the bottom of the box, you will find more promotional images for other figures. Some of them are already out except for the two new figures, Kong with Jet Fighter and another monster that I cannot reveal yet. If you know the name of the monster that is censored then please don't spoil it in the comments section in consideration of others that want to watch this movie blind.
Sculpt, Paint, and Articulation:
This Skull Crawler figure is not based on any known toys that were released by previous companies. This means this toy is all brand new and it looks pretty good. Even though some details like the chest are smoothed out the details are still noticeable. Most of the body is painted with regular grey color, but the first thing you will notice is the red highlight that starts from the head, runs down the spine, and stops at the base of the tail. To have the red stop at the base of the tail does look a little odd to me. I would've preferred to have red run down to the tip of the tail. In Kong: Skull Island, the Skull Crawlers did not have this red highlight in the movie. So could this version be a new species or could it be a design choice from PlayMates Toys? We will have to wait and see when Godzilla vs Kong arrives in theaters.
If you remove the back end of the Skull Crawler, it will reveal the battle damage gimmick like on the other figures. It would've been cool if the spine was painted bone white instead of the whole inside being just red. This is just so the spine is more noticeable and not hidden from the muscle part of the battle damage gimmick.
The Skull Crawler's face has a lighter shade of grey or a bone white color that really gives the meaning to the name. The creature literally looks like a skull that crawls. As for the eyes, they're okay, I guess. It is so small that it is hardly noticeable unless you got a closer look. The eyes are painted yellow with a black dot for pupils. As you can see on mine, one of them looks misaligned with the area where the eye is suppose to be painted, but like I said. They eyes are hardly noticeable unless you got a closer look.
When it comes to articulation, this Skull Crawler has a few points of articulation. The jaw is on a hinge so it can open really wide and close. The shoulders and elbows are on swivel-hinge combo joints so it can stand taller or shorter or have running, charging, or reaching or you can have it re-enact a scene from Titanic. The tail is on a stationary ball joint so you can twist and turn the tail, but you're not going to make wag or tail-swipe another monster. Despite having a small amount of articulation, plenty of fun can be found with this figure.