Sideshow Toy has been producing a variety of sixth-scale action figures based on the show. They include the "Eye of the Beholder" Doctor and Nurse set, Kanamit (reviewed here), and the Gremlin (reviewed here) from "Nightmare of 20,000 Feet." The most recent release is the Invader from the episode “The Invaders.”

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, you can always reach me at mwc@mwctoys.com. If you enjoy this review, take a minute to check out my other site at Michael's Review of the Week, and let me know what you think. Now on to the review!

"The Invader from Sideshow Toy"

There were many cool episodes on THE TWILIGHT ZONE, but one of the most famous is “The Invaders.” Agnes Moorehead played an old, isolated woman, living alone in a dilapidated cabin, who is chased around the house by some little tubby aliens. The guys are about a foot tall, and clearly haven't missed a meal in some time.

There's a big shocking twist at the end of the episode, and I won't spoil it for you even if the show is a bazillion years old and every human on the planet should know the outcome by now. The episode was unique also in that there is almost no dialog through the entire half hour. During the last few seconds there are three or four lines, and that's it, quite a risky idea for a 1960s television show.

In college, I roomed with the nephew of Agnes Moorehead, so I've always felt a weird sort of one degree of separation from the episode. And since that's the closest I've ever come to actually knowing a REAL celebrity, I mention it whenever I can. Truly pathetic.

Packaging - ****

Sideshow does some of the nicest packaging in the business, and their work on the TWILIGHT ZONE figures is some of my favorite. Great black and white graphics, excellent text, and shots right from the show highlight this terrific looking box. On top of all that, it's completely collector friendly.

Sculpting - ***1/2

I'm pretty sure Mat Falls did the work here, and as usual it's above average quality. This particular character isn't exceptionally difficult to sculpt, though, since there's not a tremendous amount of detail, and I believe the original prop still exists for reference, or at least decent copies of it. It's a fairly straight forward sculpt, and nails the original almost perfectly. There are some slight differences - check out the size and shape of the “visor” area in the pictures on the box - but it's just about as perfect as you can get.

It's also important to point out that this figure is not a sixth scale toy, but in 1:1 scale. The Invaders on the show were about 12" tall, and like the Zanti Misfits, Sideshow did him just like a prop from the actual episode.

Paint - ***1/2
This one might depend on how you look at things. The figure is in a gold paint, with a wash to bring out some of the basic suit details. I'm assuming that this is the correct color based on the actual puppets used on the show, but since it was filmed in black and white most people were expecting silver.

That means you might not like the paint color choices quite as much, although they may very well be accurate. I don't mind the gold, and the wash works very well, giving him a slightly aged look. He's a perfect example of 1950s-early 60s Sci-Fi design.

Articulation - **1/2
Oooo, this is a problem. This figure is a rotocast vinyl toy, which means that he was produced by spinning the mold and introducing the liquid plastic, using centrifugal force to coat the inside walls. These means the final toy is hollow, good for something this size, since he'd be extremely heavy and cost prohibitive to do in a traditional injection mold.

But that also means that there's almost no articulation. This is due to two factors - the nature of rotocast parts, and the overall design of the Invader in the first place. He's a very stocky, thick figure, so providing hip, neck or leg joints would have been very difficult.

There are actually three points of articulation - one on each arm, and the satellite dish on his head can turn. It's not a huge issue, but does hurt the overall value of the figure later on along with the possibilities for poses.

Accessories - *1/2
There is only one accessory here, which is extremely light for a figure in this price range. He comes with his “wand.” If you were looking for an accessory for your Jenna Jameson figure, I believe I've found it. The shape and appearance of this weapon will be no surprise to the feminists that believe modern guns are a phallic symbol of power. The designers pretty much skipped the whole “symbol” idea and jumped right to the point.

While it's a show-specific, well-done accessory, the fact that it's the only one hurts the overall figure. Perhaps a basic kitchen knife (1:1 size of course) could have been done, or even a section of the ships hull. At this price point, they really needed to include something additional.

Value - *1/2
And this is where the entire figure takes a major hit. I love the look of the figure, and I'm thrilled that Sideshow is doing such a great job on both the Twilight Zone and Outer Limits series. But $40 is far too much for this figure.

Even if you shop around, as you should, and manage to find these for $25-$30, you're still spending about $5-$10 too much. Rotocast figures are cheaper to produce than regular figures - that's why the cool 12" Nightcrawler and 13" Hulk from Toybiz were only $10 each - and even though this figure is limited to 5000, I'm betting that's a few thousand more than they'll be able to sell any where near MSRP.

Overall - **1/2
For the serious ZONE’er, this is a must-have. He's a great-looking prop sized replica from one of the most famous, if not best, episodes from the show. But for the average collector, the price is going to cause problems. Things that otherwise wouldn't have been an issue for the buyer - like only one accessory, or the gold color - will suddenly seem like good reasons not to spend the money.

Where to Buy -
I haven't seen these any where at a regular retail location. On-line:

- Sideshow has them for $40 plus shipping.

- Aisle Sniper has them in stock and ready to go for $32 each plus shipping.

- Big Bad Toy Store has them for $30 plus a five buck flat shipping fee.