Kingdom of the Crystal Skull 12" INDIANA JONES

**JeffSaylor** · 05-14-2010, 07:29 AM

Nuked fridge optional...

Two versions of the 12" Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Indiana Jones figure are currently available, in limited quantities, via Sideshow Collectibles. These include the Standard Edition priced at $89.99 and the Sideshow Exclusive Verison with Nuked Refrigerator priced at $174.99 (FLEXPay is also available).

Admit it. You enjoyed the fourth Indy film. Okay, maybe you didn't, but Sideshow took a frown and turned it upside down. You see, they took one of the most controversial scenes and turned into a collectible. "Nuking the fridge," meant absolutely nothing two years ago but it sure means something now!

Getting to the meat of the matter though, is that there's a new Harrison Ford figure from his most recent role in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Sideshow has released quite a handful of Indy related figures already but this is our first and only release from the fourth film (no figures are currently announced for Temple of Doom).

The regular release of Indiana Jones without the fridge can be bought for $89.99. Regular Indy is still available with an edition size of 1250 units. Be aware that there are less than 100 pieces available!

Indy with nuked fridge is limited to 600 units. It's an exclusive that won't come cheap, priced at $174.99. This is also still available, but with less than 100 units as well, better start deciding if you want to own a piece of movie history!

If you buy the exclusive, a large thick carton will contain both the Indy figure in one box and the refrigerator accessory in another. The figure itself is packaged just like every other Sideshow Indy figure that you've seen in the past. Colorful graphics and photography grace each side as a magnetized opening flap reveals a look at the figure as well as the accessories. You'll also get quite a lot of text and back-story so that's always nice to have. Everything here is collector friendly as you can take it all out, put it back in and preserve it until itself belongs in a museum.

The fridge is packaged in a plain white box with two large slabs of Styrofoam to protect it. This is a heavy piece so I can understand the foam but how about a little more on the box? There’s absolutely nothing on it.

After pulling Indy out of the box, you'll notice quite immediately that you'll need to futz around with his outfit (Note: All images taken prior to any futzing). If proportions look off, that's because they are. The narrow shoulders and large noggin don't help and his super thin legs and waist really add to the awkwardness. My Indy had an Urkel thing going with his pants hiked way up high and belt was super tight. It has molded his shirt so that it appears as if Indy is constantly sucking in his gut (I added small pieces of tissue into his shirt to pad things out and it looks MUCH better). Not helping matters, his belt came undone and refuses to hook back up.

But while we're on the topic of his outfit, let's get it out of the way. Indy's outfit is built up of his shirt with two snaps on the front and a thong to keep it from untucking itself, pants (snap on the back), faux leather jacket, standard belt, detailed belt with working holster. A pair of boots and a satchel with magnetic flap completes the number and as a whole, it all looks great. Dirt/sweat stains have been applied to Indy's pants to round out the "worn out" look. It's done very well. The shirt is relatively clean so if you want to add sweat stains to enhance the look, have at it.

The hat is sculpted onto Indy's head and it looks very good, although it would have been nice to have an interchangeable head for those scenes without his hat (there are a few). And what can I say about the head? It looks far better in person than any photo can show you, that's for darn sure. My first impression of it was leaning more negative as his mouth just looked incredibly odd. But it's all in the angles! Looking at this sculpt from other angles and better lighting, it's fantastic. It's a far superior likeness over the Raiders Indy by a long shot.

Paint on the face is also steps up above the Raiders Indy. Gone is the shiny, glossy, nobody home expression. This is a natural flesh-toned figure! Except there's one big problem: the body underneath is a much duller flesh tone so there's a disconnect where the neck meets the head. It's less noticeable when wearing the jacket but it's definitely still visible.

Aside from the authentic outfit, there's a plethora of accessories to make this Indy worth getting. Let's start with the basics involving the figure itself. There are two sets of hands included with this Indy; one set of fists, the others with open hands to hold the various weapons. Sideshow's website lists two sets of gloved hands included but that isn't accurate.

Indy's bull whip comes in both coiled and uncoiled varieties. The coiled version can hang on his second belt but it does seem to be too wide for the latch. The uncoiled articulated whip is bendable, making it easy to create your own poses. Indy also gets his trusty revolver that fits into his holster. The revolver comes with both empty gun barrel and fully loaded gun barrel. Swapping them out is easy but you might want to be careful as it is an easy thing to lose.

Lastly, Indy comes with three items specific to Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. There's the Orellana mask, Crystal Skull, and Nazca Dagger; all items found in the cemetery. The detail, sculpt, and paint on all three pieces are very well done. The Crystal Skull of course doesn't have paint but it's a perfect likeness. The only thing I would say about it is that it doesn't look blue enough when compared to the film.

There's also the standard issue Sideshow display base with the Indiana Jones logo.

Oh, and how could I forget: the refrigerator! If you buy Indiana Jones by itself, the accessories detailed above is what you get. If you went for the exclusive, you also have this fine appliance made from polystone and metal. And as mentioned earlier, it is HEAVY. The exterior is detailed to represent the already nuked fridge. The inside of course is pristine with shelving on the door and the motor on the top right. The door seals via magnet and stays closed decently. There is a small paint detail on the door. Not all of the words are legible but you can make out "LEAD LINED".

The door is secured with hinges and depending on how you display this, you may encounter the loosening of screws. For example, if you want to display the fridge on its side with the door open, the weight of it all can loosen the screws a bit so be careful. Otherwise, this is a great little souvenir of one of the worst moments in film history. And don't worry, Indy can fit in there just fine.

Moving backwards a bit, we haven’t discussed articulation yet. This Indy is using the Pro Male Body Version 1.0 and features over 30 points of articulation. The joints are a lot stronger than my Raiders Indy so that's a plus.

In the end, this version of Indiana Jones started off as something I was very skeptical about, but seeing it in real life changed my mind. The sculpt really is incredible and the pictures just don't give it the justice it really deserves. Yes, the refrigerator is a very expensive add-on and isn't quite as important as say, the Ark of the Covenant, but it's still a very functional accessory that looks fun on any display shelf. Even if you don't get the fridge, I highly recommend this Indiy figure. It really is a great deal of fun.

For even more images of the 12" Indiana Jones figure, CLICK HERE!

Two versions of the 12" Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Indiana Jones figure are currently available, in limited quantities, via Sideshow Collectibles. These include the Standard Edition priced at $89.99 and the Sideshow Exclusive Verison with Nuked Refrigerator priced at $174.99 (FLEXPay is also available).

Review and Photos by David Yeh

Review Sample Courtesy of Sideshow Collectibles