Background
McFarlane’s Sports Picks has become one of the company's most recognizable figure lines (perhaps second behind Spawn). They currently produce figures for the four major US sports – hockey, football, baseball and basketball.
Their NBA line is now in it’s sixth year, with Series 12 being released in March 2007. Many of the most recognizable names in the sport have been immortalized in action figure form. Series 12 includes the following players: Gilbert Arenas (Wizards), Chris Paul (Hornets), Elton Brand (Clippers), Dwayne Wade (Heat), Allen Iverson (Nuggets), Tony Parker (Spurs) and Ben Wallace (Bulls).
Packaging
McFarlane uses it’s clamshell packaging for the Sports Picks line. Once your remove the figure, you won’t be able to replace it in the packaging for display. Collectors are often conflicted with clamshell, because it protects but it’s a pain to open.
The Figures
Series 12 has a combination of veterans and up and coming stars. Chris
Paul, Dwayne Wade and Tony Parker are some of the best young players in
the NBA. Will these players continue to be worthy of a McFarlane
figure? Probably. Iverson and Wallace definitely deserve the Sports
Pick treatment.
The line is 6” scale and most figures have limited articulation. All
of the figures come with a piece of fake hardwood floor, emblazoned
with their name, number and team logo.
Our Opinion
It must be difficult for the McFarlane sculptors to continually come up
with new poses for their Sports picks figures. Of this line, most of
the poses work perfectly. The only one I have an issue with is Elton
Brand. I get the feeling that is due time, there might be issues with
Brand bending and tipping over.
We actually didn’t receive a Ben Wallace figure to review, but of the
six remaining figures our favorite sculpts are as follows: Dwayne
Wade, Chris Paul, Tony Parker, Gilbert Arenas, Allen Iverson and then
Elton Brand – in that order. The Wade figure is also impressive,
because his extended dunking sculpt makes it necessary to package him
with his legs unattached.
You can pick one up at the following:
Amazon.com: $9.99 - $16.99
NBA Series 12 Grades:
Quality: 8/10
Paint: 9/10
Durability: 8/10
Hype: 6/10
Fun Factor: 6/10
Value: 9/10
Overall: 8.6/10
