The Walking Dead Aaron figure review Walgreens exclusive

Before Rick and company took over, Aaron was one of the few useful Alexandria residents. As more and more of the old guard got killed off, Aaron remained and proved a solid addition to The Grimes Gang.

McFarlane Toys has the 5-inch Walking Dead line on life support thanks largely to an exclusive deal with Walgreens. Aaron is one of the few TV characters I’d like in figure form so I was happy he got selected. I was fortunate enough to snag the one and only Aaron at my local Walgreens.

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Packaging:  This is a fairly dull package set up in comparison to earlier waves. If you’re a MOC collector, Aaron’s going to stand out for the minimalist packaging. But considering this is a line giving a second lease at (retail) life, I’m not going to get too worked up about the lack of a season theme backdrop.

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I wish McFarlane would ditch the plastic tie keeping the figure in place. I’m never a fan of needing to delicately cut out my figure to free them from their plastic prison.

Likeness:  I always have to judge this line on a curve. To get the likeness down at this small scale is tough and then sometimes the paint job distorts a strong sculpt. Fans of the show should be able to reasonably make out Ross Marquand in the head sculpt. Clearly this scale won’t get the amount of detail of its larger, less articulated Color Tops version, but this is pretty solid.

As usual, McFarlane crammed a slew of details with the clothing. Aaron’s jacket has great texture without an abundance of wrinkles. In a nice realistic touch, Aaron’s shirt sleeves stretch past the jacket sleeves. The knife in the sheath is not removable.

Scale: Aaron stacks up just about right to the adult males and is taller than females like Maggie and Michonne.

Paint:  This is the most ‘problematic’ area with the figure. The sculpt of Marquand is clearly there, but the caked-up paintjob does just enough to distort it slightly. Aaron seems to have a brighter skin tone than other figures in the line. Not lighter, but a more peach shade.

This line has never had the best skin tone paint work and that doesn’t change here. In fairness, the sloppy paint work is only noticeable up close. From a reasonable distance, you’d probably not notice it.

Since Aaron is from Alexandria and not on the wild like Rick’s gang, his outfit is in much more pristine condition. The paint wash on the jacket is a bit overdone, but the work on the plaid shirt is exceptional.

Articulation:  If this category was improved I truly believe this line would still be thriving. Aaron has the standard close, but no cigar articulation. The elbows and knees really suffer the most from the limited range of movement however.

You won’t be able to get the most lifelike poses for dioramas without some stiffness. As we’re now Sasha away from being able to re-enact the gang’s first meeting with Negan and Lucille, I’m kind of annoyed I can’t the figures to kneel.

Aaron has:

• neck
• ball-jointed shoulders
• bicep
• elbow
• wrist
• wrist hinge
• torso
• waist
• hip
• thigh
• knee (hinge)
• ankle

Accessories: Aaron isn’t lacking for accessories either. He comes with a rifle, a pistol, a satchel, headphones, a listening device and a license plate. I’ll need someone’s help to refresh my memory on the significance of the license plate, but it’s here. All of the accessories are scaled properly and fit securely in Aaron’s hands without fear of breakage.

In a nice chance of pace from other figures, Aaron can actually store all of his accessories. But be warned, the pistol will actively try and leap from the holster the second you put it down/turn away. It’s going to be the one accessory you’re going to be chasing after if you don’t keep it in his hands.

Worth it?   Aaron will run you the standard Walking Dead figure price of $15. Catch a store on the right week and that’s the same price as a larger, better articulated Marvel Legends figure. The price point being a little too high also hurt this line’s long term success.

As a retailer exclusive however, the $15 price tag doesn’t feel like such a blow to the wallet. Aaron is probably at a less lower production run than when the line was readily available elsewhere.

Rating: 8 out of 10

If only this line had 2015 standard articulation. Aaron was one of the remaining TV cast members I really wanted in figure form and he largely doesn’t disappoint. I’m glad McFarlane has held off this scale’s execution to give us a few more essential figures.

Where to get it?  This is a Walgreens exclusive so that’s your first, second and third best option. You can always grab him on Amazon.com from a reseller. But I’d exhaust my local Walgreens first.