Back when Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was released, there followed a torrential flood of Indiana Jones merchandising. Hasbro had the license to produce the everyday toys for the toy aisles, but a whole number of higher end collectible companies also landed limited rights to produce figures of their own. If you were in the market for a 1:6 scale Indy figure, you certainly had no limit of options and a wide range of prices to choose from. All of these figures had their good points, and yet all of them also had at least one or two glaring problems that kept me from blowing a stack of cash on any one of them. In the end, I decided that if I was going to buy a 1:6 scale Indy that I wasn’t going to be completely satisfied with, I might as well take the low cheap road. So, let’s take a look at Hasbro’s attempt.

The packaging is typical of what I expect from a mass market figure in this scale. You get a window box that is pretty collector friendly, although the accessories have to be removed from the back of the cardboard insert. Most of them are just twisty-tied on it, but the Fertility Idol is sealed in a bubble, so I opted to leave it there. I like the deco of the box, especially the illustrated map background on the insert tray. Although I could have done without the adverts for Hasbro’s National Geographic Win A Trip contest. It doesn’t play well years later. There’s a Try Me hole in the window so you can reach in and poke Indy’s chest to make him talk, which is great if you plan on keeping him MIB or just want to entertain yourself while you’re in the store waiting to check out. More on this gimmick later.

Out of the box, I think this figure makes a pretty good first impression. He has a removable softgoods outfit and a plastic removable fedora. The body is pretty close in line with Hasbro’s mass market GI JOE bodies in this scale. That is to say the articulation is pretty good, but not up to snuff if you’re used to picking up a lot of figures in the $100+ scale or even the more affordable Triad Toys figures. I realize that articulation is king when it comes to 1:6 scale figures, and I do not collect a lot of figures in this scale, so I’m bound to be a lot more forgiving than the enthusiasts out there. The head sculpt is not bad, although it’s definitely been compromised a bit to include the moving mouth gimmick. It seems a little rounder in the face, and while it’s impressive the neck still has articulation with the gimmick, the neck seems a tad short. It’s not quite Harrison Ford, but maybe close enough to be his stunt double. Even still, I honestly think this sculpt is more acceptable than at least one or two of the higher end Indys I’ve considered. I definitely applaud Hasbro’s decision to not sculpt the hat onto the head. The paint is pretty good everywhere except on the eyes, which are rather sloppily done.

While the sculpt might be hit-and-miss, Indy’s iconic outfit is a home run. The pants and shirt and boots are spot on and the leather jacket is really good, albeit a bit chunky in the arms. At first I was bummed that the hat was plastic and not felt like it was in the old Kenner figure, but then I caught some pictures of the old Kenner figure and without my nostalgia I realized it didn’t look so hot. In the end, I think going with plastic was the better idea. His belt includes a loop for his whip and a removable holster for his revolver. I do really wish the shirt closed a little higher up on his chest to conceal the speaker in his chest, but this can be easily fixed with some tape or a simple stitch.

Indy comes with the basic accessories. You get a revolver, a coiled whip and an uncoiled whip, and the Fertility Idol. It’s not a huge number of accessories, but not bad. Besides, it’s plenty easy to find a 1:6 scale assortment of WWI or WWII era weapons on the cheap. The whips are made of rubbery plastic and are both really well done. The issue I have here isn’t with the accessories but with the figure’s hands, which are not designed to hold any of this stuff really well. Hasbro really should have gone with the hinged fingers they’ve done on this scale of GI JOE figures in the past. You can get him to hold the stuff, but not really well. This is undoubtedly where the multiple hands usually included with the higher end figures helps out.

The electronic gimmick is pretty good, and doesn’t hurt the figure too much. The button is situated really low on his stomach, so activating it is like poking the Pillsbury Doughboy in the tummy. You can keep pressing the button to make Indy’s mouth move, but it’s kind of a creepy looking effect. The sound on the voice clips is nice and clear, and while the package proclaims this figure is from Raiders of the Lost Ark, the voice clips are sampled from all of the original three films. The quotes include:

• My name is Indiana Jones
• Snakes, Why’d it have to be snakes?
• Oooooh, Rats!
• I hate these guys
• I think we got a big problem!
• Archaeology is the search for facts.
• Trust me
• I don’t know, I’m making this up as I go
• Fortune and glory kid, fortune and glory.
• That’s why they call it the jungle, sweetheart.
• No ticket!

Indy retailed at $29.99, which wasn’t bad. It was certainly the cheapest of the 1:6 scale Indy figures by a long shot. It’s not perfect, but for a mass market figure I think Hasbro did a pretty fine job. I definitely would have preferred less electronics in favor of better hands, but apart from that I don’t have a lot of complaints about this figure at all. The best thing about this figure is that he’s still easy to find online and can often be picked up for less than his original retail. If you don’t want to drop $100 or more on one of the “better” figures, this one is a decent compromise.