I got one of my FCBD O'Neill's in the mail today. For the most part I’m pleased with it, mainly because it is the first Stargate figure I own. But like any other figure it’s not perfect.
PROS-
For the most part the paint application is pretty good on mine. They weathered the pants nicely and the t-shirt has some really nice subtle highlighting on it. All the paint seems to be in the right place, there isn't any smudges or extra blobs on mine where there shouldn't be. There is a very nice variety of coloring too. They have got the bases green and then the belt was done in its correct lighter color, with all the belt loops nicely painted on. The little buckle is also done in black to the skin is all smooth and one color and they did a good job on the hair. The highlighting is very well done
The body sculpt is fantastic, the wrinkles and folds in the clothing look perfect. The collar on the T-shirt has all the little ripples and stitching that real shirts have. The belt is very nicely textured and has all the little loops and buckles sculpted on. The face doesn't look exactly like RDA from the front, but when you look at it from the side it is dead on. He comes with a good amount of accessories, a P-90, a zat gun, a radio, and a GDO. The paint on the accessories is pretty good as well. They captured the silverish-purple of the zat perfectly. The radio's speaker has a nice bit of paint on it that really adds another layer of texture, and makes it look less plastic. The GDO's keypad is painted in a darker shade of grey giving it the same effect. Various little screws have been colored in on the P-90 which is pretty cool, but its paint app will be addressed more later on.
POA
1 Head/Neck (Ball jointed)
1 Waist (Swivel)
2 Shoulder (Standard Swivel)
2 Bicep (Swivel)
2 Elbow (Swivel)
2 Wrist (Swivel)
2 Hip (Standard Swivel)
2 Knee (Swivel)
That's 14 total. The lower arms, where the skin is showing, are done very nicely. They have a good amount of articulation without having so much that the sculpt is compromised. The swivel elbow and swivel bicep combo is actually preferable to ball jointed elbows in this case. The bicep articulation is hidden by the T-Shirt sleeves and the swivel is less of a detraction on the sculpt than a ball joint would at the elbow. The neck, like the lower arms, is fine. All figures should have ball-jointed heads, especially in this scale. It really is nice to be able to give the head a little tilt when posing it, it can really give the figure more personality. I would have liked to have seen the waist be ball jointed as well, but that is really just a minor nit-pick and I can live without it. This figure has 14 POA which is as many as one of Hasbro's SA figures, but it certainly doesn't feel that way.
CONS-
O'Neill doesn't hold the weapons, mainly the P-90, very well. It is hard to tell if it is the hands or the weapons themselves causing the problem. I believe it is more the fault of the P-90 though. The sculpt looks a little goofy and isn't that accurate really. It appears to be a little too large as well. And considering the detail the added by painting the little screws they missed the biggest paint difference, the clip. It should be a different color than the rest of the gun. I wish the sculpt had been as good as Marauder’s 3 ¾” scale P-90, they really seemed to capture the feel much better than DST.
I’m used to thinking of 14 POA as Super Articulated. Then again I’m also used to collecting 3 ¾” figures. The shoulders are just plain old swivel joints, this would be ok on a smaller scale figure but on something this size it is much easier to add ball-joints and really is inexcusable. Without them it really is hard to get the arms to look right while he is shooting at the invisible bad guys on my desk. The neck, like the lower arms, is fine. All figures should have ball-jointed heads, especially in this scale. It would have been cool if the waist had been ball jointed as well, but that is really just a minor nit-pick. My major gripe with the articulation comes with the legs. The standard hip joints are perfect acceptable. I’ve got no problem with them. DST seems to have taken a page out of Hasbro’s book lately though and has elected to give the legs the short end of the stick for whatever reason. Like some of the latest TSC figures, namely Sora Bulq, Veers, and Jerjerrod, there is a knee joint but it is swivel. Having a swivel joint at the knee is absolutely pointless. All it does is allow him to have a foot facing the other way when he is standing there. When O’Neill is wearing this particular outfit he is usually on base, either at a briefing, eating some food, or he is in someone’s lab talking with them. In almost every one of these places he is sitting down. Without ball-jointed knees this is impossible. Not have a ball joint there really detracts from the figure in my opinion. At the same time some type of ankle joints would have been nice too, preferably ball-jointed ones. There is no excuse for not having these joints really. Lord of the Rings figures are done in the same scale and have up to 32 POA, without compromising the sculpt. So it is possible to make these SA without them looking horrible. I’d have been fine with 16 if they had been done right. The standard articulation for these Stargate figures should look something like this:
1 Head/Neck (Ball-jointed)
2 Shoulder (Ball-jointed)
2 Elbow (Ball-jointed)
Or
2 Bicep (Swivel) and 2 Elbow (Swivel)
2 Wrist (Swivel)
1 Waist (Swivel)
2 Hip (Swivel)
2 Knee (Ball-jointed)
2 Ankle (Ball-jointed)
And then every once-in-awhile they can throw in some SA figures with more than the standard 14 or 16 POA.
While for the most part the paint is really, really good I noticed mine had a scratch on the tip of the nose. And I heard that this may be a recurring problem, due to they way it was packages, so that is kind of a shame. It would have been nice if the shoelaces had been given a grey dry-brush so they stand out a bit more, but that is also just a minor detail.
One other thing I noticed is there are no peg-holes in the feet. The figure stands fine without them but it is always nice to have them there just in case.
OVERALL-
While the figure suffers from crappy leg articulation and a funky P-90, I still think this one is worth picking up. He can stand around, and hold his P-90 with two hands and look good while doing it. Unfortunately there will be no sitting down for him anytime soon.