REVIEW: SLUG Zombies Series 2 - Gator Jones

Produced by JAKKS Pacific | Released August 2012

Survival Skill: Can skin a gator in 16 seconds!
Likes: A sharp blade & Walkabouts
Dislikes: City Folks & Cell Phones
Favorite Quote: ''He'll be sleepin' with the gators in no time!''

SLUG Zombies Series 2 - Gator Jones

Struth! It's everybody's favorite Antipodean survivalist, Gator Jones! And look, he's the subject of today's Review! 

Sculpt and Design

As we've mentioned before, many figures in the SLUG Zombies line-up are homages to/parodies of well-known TV and movie characters and Gator Jones is no exception. From his oversized ''no this is a'' knife to his gator-skin jerkin and tooth-rimmed hat, the inspiration behind Gator Jones is obvious. Not that there's anything wrong with the obvious sometimes and in this case it works, as it means we can all get behind the joke.

The sculpt is, like all the SLUG Zombies, superbly executed. For figures so small (each stands at under 2'') the precision of the casting continues to impress me and Gator Jones is no exception (I just wish my fuzzy photographs could convey it properly.) There are some great tiny touches to the figure, such as the creases in his pants, the scale effect on his vest, his accessories and even the musculature and detail on his fingers and hands that really pop, despite the figure's scale. I've mentioned in the past that the MUSCLE/Peach colorway works really well to highlight detail and that's certainly the case here.

The only minor criticism I would have of Gator Jones' sculpt is that his face appears to sport a smile more akin to the rictus grin of the undead than the kind of expression I'd have expected from a still-living character. It's a small point but were it not for his colorway identifying him as a survivor, he could be mistaken for one of the living dead.

Gator Jones' pose allows him to stand with ease, although there is a slight ''rocking'' to his balance. Not enough for him to fall but it is present. My advice would be to stand him in a way that provides some form of support - just on the very slim off chance that he needs it.

Final Thoughts

I'm beginning to feel like a stuck record when I come to the SLUG Zombie Reviews, but for all the right reasons: the quality of sculpting, character concepts and production quality on these figures continues to impress and if you're not already collecting them, you should be.

As for Gator Jones himself, he's a strongly-designed character, a neat homage that - surprisingly - you could actually see working in the post-apocalyptic wastes of the zombie invasion. Detail on the figure is excellent, with some nicely-tooled touches such as his bracelet and hair demonstrating just how detailed these figures can be.

It's also great to see another survivor added to the range. Although the line is called SLUG Zombies, it's nice to have a few humans to battle the undead hordes and add a little variety to the line-up. I'm certainly looking forward to the other zombie-battling homages the upcoming Waves 3, 4 and 5 promise.

All in all, another great addition to not just the human line-up but also the toy line as a whole.

Final Score: A-

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