Product Review: McFarlane Sports Figures

The McFarlane sports figures are one of my favorite collectables.  Back in the day all we had were smaller starting lineup figures if you liked to collect figures of players.  These were standard body type figures like this Robin Yount Starting Lineup figure.  Not the smooshed body variety or bobble heads just good old action figures of sports folks.  Now we have McFarlane figures.  McFarlane started in the early 2000's producing sports figures and releases updates every year to include current players and legends.  The line covers the major sports to include the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB players as well as former college football players.  The McFarlane site can be found here.  It is actually www.spawn.com.  This is in reference to Todd McFarlane's comic book character Spawn whom he created and is maybe most famous for. 

The figures themselves have great detail and the poses are very good ranging from action shots to sideline and non-action poses.  There is a good variety of players and teams that are represented.  There are always players you wish they had but nobody is perfect.  Some players also get more love than others which again isn't a surprise.  This means you'll see multiple Peyton Manning and LeBron James figures.  Not a bad thing just part of the deal since they have to make money.  You can check out what has been produced for each sport by clicking on the league's logo on the front page of the website or by choosing the appropriate sport from the Toys drop down at the top of the page.  This will allow you to browse each wave of figures by year as well as see those upcoming. 

Each wave has the base figures and will normally have some figures that have different paint schemes.  Usually home and road jersey options or even the uniform of a player's former team.  There are also chase figures and figures that can only be purchased through memberships in the collectors club through the website.  Their store is here.  Most figures are still found easily through online retailers and auction websites.  Local retailers also stock them but it is hit and miss.  Toy-R-Us, Hastings and Target are your best bets though I still see them at some of the bigger Wal-Marts.  Some of the older more rare and/or more popular figures may come with a hefty price but the base figures can start at anywhere from $7 to $20 but again that is based on popularity and availability.  McFarlane also offers different licensed action figures such as Halo, Walking Dead, Assassin's Creed, as well as music artists. 

The figures themselves are great.  I am that sports guy who is a big fan of my teams and favorite players.  This gives me one more way to show my support.  I only wish I had more room to put them out.  Still I love the detail, poses and variety.  They are also durable but watch out for some of the smaller or thinner accessories like balls, bats, sticks and helmets.  I highly suggest these to anyone who is a big sports fan or knows one and might want to give one as a gift.   The figures are typically 6 inches but with accessories definitely can be bigger.  McFarlane also produces a 12" line on a much smaller scale.  There are also special edition figures that come out from time to time for an event such as the World Series or NBA Finals winners three packs.  Also customer figures can found or requested on the auction sites or with a quick search of the internet of "custom McFarlane figures" via Google or your favorite search engine.  Again don't hesitate to check them out. I don't think you'll be disappointed.