As a big Indy fan, the now defunct Indiana Jones Stunt show at MGM Studios at Disney World was a must see for me.  I actually had went twice on one visit, one once on another visit.  One of these visits was very special, though.  I got picked from the audience to become part of the show.  I don't get picked for anything.  Not even to be a dodge ball target.  So, this was very special for me. 

My involvement, with three other audience members, was to run around in a certain area yelling or pointing out dangers to Indy.  To make this look a little better, they dressed us all as extras from the market place scene.  Robe, turban and sash.

Which brings me to this review.  I have a bit of facial hair, and have had a full beard at various points of my life.  So, when I saw this Adventure Heroes pack with Sallah, I had to get it.  It's about as close as I'll get to having a figure made of me from the Disney show.

Appearance:

If you're going to buy any of the Action Heroes lineup, chance are you're not looking for screen accurate depiction of your favorite character.  These little guys are all about a cartoony stylized version of the on screen characters. 

These little guys are also the modern replacement for some of my favorite little kid toys.  Weebles  and Little People.  Both have came back in the modern era, but in a cute sculpted way, that takes away from the simple look of the vintage items.  But for today's kids, I'm sure these look simple.  These sets generally come as two packs.  In this case, it's actually a three pack if you include the cobra. 

I remember a number of creepy dead looking things in Raiders, but I don't remember a mummy that looks like this guy.  He actually reminds me of something from "The Mummy."  The snake wrapped around his body provides the only real Indiana Jones reference. 

Overall, the mummy is sculpted well.  He's got bandages hanging here and there.  You can see his ribs, as well.  The bandages have come loose from his face, leaving a skull showing.  This is one place I think could have been done a little better.  Instead of nice deep eye sockets, he's got shallow little bowls that have been painted black.  I think if they had been a tad deeper, he'd have look just that much better.

The mummy has an orange snake wrapped around him.  The snake reminds me of the worm from Popcap games "Bookworm" game.  Kind of a cute little guy. Would have been nice if you could remove him, but he's probably needed to give the mummy some structural integrity. 

The other thing about the mummy that I was a little disappointed in was his right foot.  Either mine is bent or sculpted strange.  He can stand fine on his left foot and and right heel.  I would think he would stand better, though, with both feet solid on the ground.

Sallah reminds me of a character from the the old black and white Mickey Mouse or Popeye cartoons.  He's definitely recognizable as Sallah, though.  The little vest is pin striped here, while neatly done, I'm not sure is completely accurate.   Overall, though, I have to say, he's well done.

Sallah does have his ubiquitous torch.  It's seems like every plastic version of Sallah has to have one.  I would imagine when we finally get him in his fez outfit, he'll come with a torch.  It's done here in translucent material, and in my opinion, looks better than most of the painted torches I've seen.

Fun:

There is one accessory here, but it's more of a third figure.  A red cobra.  The snake, not the terrorist soldier.

I had to think about the cobra, for a second.  But yeah, there was one in the Well of Souls.  Indy drops to the ground in front of it.  If you have an older version of the film on VHS (i.e. before DVD home movie media), you can see Mr. Ford's reflection in the glass used to separate him from the critter during filming.

The Cobra shares a same basic anatomical look as the mummy's snake.  It's nice they kept them looking similar.  However, while the mummy's snake looks cute and cuddly, the cobra with his fangs has a bit of an evil look to him.  Or at least as evil as the Adventure Heroes get.

He's got a bit of greenish yellow paint airbrushed on his belly.  His eyes seem to be looking in to different directions on mine, but aren't all that bad.  Overall, as an extra in the package, he's pretty cool.

The thing that's great about these guys is their durability.  I know I would mind little hands on this portion of my collection, where as my Vintage Indy collection would be off limits.  Remember collectors, it's always good to have something for little people to handle when they visit.  Keeps their hands of your good stuff.

Overall:

For the very young or young at heart, these little guys capture the essence of Indiana Jones, but present it in a way that is fun.  I can see a lot of the action figure collecting set using the Adventure Heroes as a way to get their kids interested in Indy.  And if kids and adults can play together with them, all the better. 

Engineernerd Score: 95/100

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