It’s DCUC month over at Toy a Day and I’ve opened up my second wave of figures.  Which means that there’s a new CnC figure to be put together and reviewed.  Since I did Kilowog here last week, and got a handful of positive comments (Thanks guys, much appreciated!) I thought it would be a treat for the Poesters to enjoy this next figure from the the first Wave of the Green Lantern DC Universe Classics, Arkillo.

Arkillo is a figure that was newly (and recently) created for the Sinestro Corps.  He was the first character (shown within the comic) to be recruited to the Sinestro Corps.  Supposedly, it’s his huge size that instills fear into those that crosses his path.

He hails from the same space sector that Kilowog is from, namely Space Sector 674.  However, he’s not from the same planet nor is he the same race as Kilowog.  Still there are similiarities with Kilowog.  They are both huge, they are both drill sergeants to their respective Corps.  Arkillo is also a slave-driver that drives the Qwardian weaponers to create more yellow rings for the Sinestro Corps.

Packaging: Arkillo is a Collect and Connect figure and does not have his own packaging.  His parts are distributed across the six different figures of DCUC’s Green Lantern Wave 1.

Construction: Arkillo consists of seven different parts and has to be assembled to become a complete figure.  The torso and the groin connects with a pop and feels a lot more secure and tight than Kilowog.  The limbs are easily plugged into the respective hexagonal orifices on the trunk of the figure.  The head has the typical Mattel ball joint and also plugs in easily.

Design & Sculpt: Arkillo seems to reuse parts of Kilowog, particularly his legs.  The torso is similar to Kilowog in terms of size and construction, but obviously it lacks the wrinkly skin at the shoulders that Kilowog has.  the upper arms are also similar to Kilowog, but the lower arms and the hands are different from Kilowog and are probably a new design.  The head and groin are also different from Kilowog and are definitely new.  Because of the parts sharing with Kilowog, Arkillo looks and feels similar to Kilowog.

The head sculpt has an open jaw and it makes him look fearsome, but I do wish they could have given him a hinged lower jaw because I’m not sure I want to display him with his jaw open 24/7.

His yellow Sinestro Corps ring is sculpted onto his left hand.  The design of his hands with the fingers splayed is also a curious choice.  I do wish that they could have given us an interchangable fist like they did with Low/Maash and Sodam Yat so that those of use who’d like to display him with a fist could do so.

Paint & Plastic: Let me start out with the good parts of the paintwork.  I was a bit fearful that the paint on the ring would be too thick to the point where it would obscure the sculpted ring design, but that’s not the case with Arkillo.  The armband and the Sinestro Corps logo on his chest is also nicely painted on the figure.  The teeth and the face is also nicely painted right down to the small details.

Generally the paintwork on his torso and legs are well done.  However the metallic yellow used for his bracers has a tendency to chip and flake off.  Mine has a few “holes” on his bracers due to the paint flaking off, which makes it look rather ugly.

Articulation: Arkillo a ball jointed head, hinged-ball jointed shoulders and hips, a twist waist and twist wrists and hinged elbows, abs, knees and ankles.  I have no issues with the articulation joints on Arkillo – they were tight, but not too thight that I would have broken them while moving them.  I’ve already mentioned that I would have liked a hinged jaw on the head.

Accessories: Like Kilowog, Arkillo has no accessories.  Unlike Kilowog, he does not even have a stand as there are only six figures in the Wave instead of the seven that was present for Kilowog’s wave.  Without a fist though, ring constructs that would fit on his hands would have been a bit odd, doable, but still odd.  Ring constructs that are independent of the figure, for example a separate animal or vehicle of some sort would probably have been beyond Mattel’s budget for the wave.

I’ve already mentioned that I’d like to have an interchangable fist for the left hand.  I would also settle for an interchangable yellow head with a closed mouth instead of a hinged jaw.

Quality Control: I have no complaints with the figure other than the less than perfect paintwork on the bracers as have been already mentioned above.

Overall: Again, I’m surprised that I like the figure overall.  He adds a lot to my Sinestro Corps display.  Like Kilowog, he literally stands heads and shoulders above the rest of the rest of his Corps.  I hunted down the entire wave of figures at three different airports to get the figures tax free (they do cost quite a bit individually) and I must say I’ve no regrets at getting the entire wave because this figure does live up to my expectations of it.

I’m only giving him half a raven more than Kilowog though, because he has better joints and looks less stoic and more dynamic than Kilowog.  He does have paint issues though, but those aren’t that noticable and could have used a few accessories or interchangable body parts.

[raven 3.5]