It’s a fact of life these days that most action figures are sculpted and tooled with multiple uses in mind in order to offset the costs of creating the tooling, and Bucky O’Hare is no different. What matters is how those parts are reused and to what effect. With a line like Vitruvian HACKS, the parts are designed to be interchangeable, so being able to swap in and out various parts goes a long way towards giving the figures new life, even if there isn’t a whole lot of new tooling. This is far more challenging with a line like Bucky O’Hare, which have characters very uniquely styled and sculpted, so repaints have to be done in an effective way.
So far, so good.
“Stealth Mission” Bucky O’Hare is a great looking update to the initial release of the Bucky figure. According to the file card, Bucky’s suit contains holographic technology that allows it to be put into “stealth mode” with the various shades of green and black, including some really awesome camouflage on the green, furry flesh.
Stealth Mission Bucky O’Hare is an exceptionally fun (and functional) repaint. His base uniform is an awesome darker green/teal color which looks dark and looks as if it would blend with a stealth mission, but still has a fantastic shade of green that looks excellent and meshes with the lighter green of Bucky’s skin well.
Where the original Bucky is vibrant and bright, the Stealth Mission upgrade is more subdued, yet still very colorful. I love the black trim and offset on the gloves, belt and boots, and I really dig the face camouflage as well, which helps bring the color pallet of the entire figure down into a more stealth aesthetic. He looks really gorgeous, and I dig the idea of a tech oriented uniform that can shift in and out of stealth at a whim.
Like the original figure, this update has immaculate sculpting, posing, balance and articulation, a perfect example of what an amazing toy design team are capable of. He can stand on one large foot, move seamlessly, pose well, and the interchangeable hands and faces work very, very well. You may have to use a little heat to soften the material, but beyond that, the way this figure moves and balances is close to perfection. It’s incredible to me that a figure designed to be so animated in aesthetic manages to maintain such a supreme sense of articulation, but the capable folks behind Boss Fight Studio simply make it work, every single time. Great stuff.
Accessories
Stealth Mission Bucky comes with the same gear as the first release, only in darker colors (and with the appropriate face paint) and work just as well as the previous ones. I love the different facial expressions along with the different posed hands, they are awesome conceptually and in execution.
Like the original release, the packaging is spectacular with a really appealing layout and brand new file cards written by the man himself, Larry Hama.
What a great action figure line this is. Each release is chock full of fun, character, personality, and style, all while being flat out greatly executed action figures. Huge continued kudos on these, Boss Fight.
Stealth Mission Bucky O'Hare
Character
Sculpt
Articulation
Paint Deco
Accessories
4.5
Summary
As Boss Fight Studio’s first “non canon” Bucky O’Hare figure, they did a really great job putting a new coat of paint on an already amazing action figure. I love the Stealth Mission concept and the paint applications manage to be “stealthy” without being drab or boring and balance both angles remarkably well. All the fun of the original release with a little twist. A great update, for sure.
NOTE: Boss Fight Studio has informed folks that the connecting joints for the replaceable faces and hands are a bit tighter than anticipated. You will want to apply some heat to ensure safe removal. Either a quick burst with a hair dryer or some warm water will do the trick.
As I mentioned in my review of First Mate Jenny, I had very little exposure to Bucky O’Hare prior to Boss Fight Studio acquiring the license, but I didn’t hesitate in jumping on board, because I’ve grown intimately familiar with how well developed their toy lines are, and had no questions in mind that Bucky would be any different.
Now that I’ve actually got the first two figures in hand, I can say with assuredness that Boss Fight Studio knocked these out of the park. The fact that BFS is able to design, sculpt, and produce figures as realistic as their Vitruvian HACKS line, then turn around and do an animation-accurate line like Bucky O’Hare is pretty astounding, and they execute it to near perfection.
The sculpting of Bucky is very much like he appears in the vintage action figure line, but with loads more articulation worked in. Ball joint shoulders and hips, jointed knees and elbows, and swivel forearms at the glove (not to mention jointed ankles and toes for crying out loud) allow for nearly any pose you can think of, and the joints are all rigid and move fluidly.
Bucky’s color scheme is great as well, an awesome combination of especially vibrant and animated green, red, and yellow looking as if he just leaped right off the comic page or right out of the TV screen. I absolutely love the color selection of the first two figures in this line as they very nicely match an animated aesthetic and compliment each other well. There’s a definite art to color selection, and Boss Fight has it nailed. From look to sculpting to articulation, Bucky O’Hare has it all.
The best thing about Bucky specifically is the sheer playability of the figure. He just feels like a fun toy to play with, yet still manages to capture a collectors’ style.
Accessories
NOTE: Boss Fight Studio has informed folks that the connecting joints for the replaceable faces and hands are a bit tighter than anticipated. You will want to apply some heat to ensure safe removal. Either a quick burst with a hair dryer or some warm water will do the trick.
Like Jenny, Bucky’s got a mixture of external accessories as well as additional body parts for the figure itself. His swappable hands attach at the glove and allow for clenched fists, pointing fingers or hands that grasp his laser pistols. He also comes with three facial expressions that are swapped (courtesy of a little heat) and look really great, conveying all sorts of fun emotions. The two aforementioned pistols also fit on the knobs on his belt and hook into his grasping hands perfectly as well.
Packaging for Bucky O’Hare looks spectacular. Great artwork, very nice layout and a collector friendly separating bubble give you anything you could possibly want from a presentation perspective.
This line has already started out strong. Captain Bucky O’Hare and his First Mate Jenny launch this new Boss Fight Studio line in style and set a new standard for animation accuracy without sacrificing functionality. Really great stuff, even for fans who aren’t super into the Bucky O’Hare property.
Bucky O'Hare
Character
Sculpt
Articulation
Paint Deco
Accessories
4.5
Summary
Bucky O’Hare is one of those toys that I didn’t even realize I wanted until I had it. Fantastic sculpting and articulation combine with gorgeous, vibrant colors and ingenious accessories to give us a great, great toy. And that’s the best thing about it. He looks and plays like a toy, yet manages to cram a ton of collector value in there as well. Truly the best of both worlds.
