AEW Unrivaled Series 9 Eddie Kingston review
Eddie Kingston was one of those indy guys I’d heard about over the years but didn’t bother checking out any of his work. Upon arriving in AEW, I became a big fan thanks to his intense, relatable promos and rugged brawling style.
He’s been one of my more anticipated figures for Jazwares to tackle in its AEW Unrivaled line, so I happily scooped him up the first time I saw him on the shelves. Let’s see if this figure is fitting for a king or will turn me into mad royalty.
Packaging: Yawn. I’ve got nothing new on this packaging. It’s still poorly arranged with the layouts, the tiny side portrait and lack of figure name on the left side.
The back is just as boring with an action shot and no stats beyond the event Kingston wore this attire. Bios and actual stats would enhance these greatly. I do still like the gold foil, which helps class up the presentation significantly.
There is a new feature here with the addition of a tab for three exclusive Upper Deck trading cards.
Likeness: At first glance the Kingston likeness is off. It’s not as the problem stems from the paintjob, more on that in a sec. The nose, scowl and light bags under the eyes are faithfully represented.
Jazwares has done a good job of diversifying the figure bodies. Eddie is a thicker dude and his figure reflects it. He’s got a bit of a belly and his arms appropriately lack much definition.
Jazwares gave him a broader body befitting his beefy frame. He had a simple outfit, but it’s captured properly right down to the accurate length of the “wifebeater” top and baggier pants.
Scale: Eddie is 6’1” so he looks solid paired with his old running mates the 5’10” Fenix and 5’11” Pentagon.
He shouldn’t be looking up as much to the 6’2” Jon Moxley, but he’s the scale outlier for the line.
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Paint: It’s wild how paint affects a likeness so much but that’s certainly the case with Eddie. Jazwares went too thick on his hair and facial hair.
Check the reference pic for a better example of how tightly cropped his hair should be and it’s clear how far off this turned out. It’s one of those deals where I’m almost tempted to try some acetone/nail polish remover and tamper the hair down more.
Yellow is always a tough color to use especially against black as it requires too many applications to avoid the bleed through. That’s the case here as well specifically with the belt. The singlet lining is better though there’s still some fading with it.
Eddie’s wrist tape and thumb tape is applied properly.
Articulation: Eddie is a brawler who’ll bust out the surprising suplex to keep his opponents off guard.
Suplexes remain the one major move that’s hard to pull off with these figures since they lack butterfly shoulders. Beyond that limitation, Eddie is able to hit most of his moves.
Eddie Kingston has:
- neck
- bicep
- ball-jointed shoulders
- elbows (double-jointed)
- wrists
- wrist hinge
- torso
- waist
- hips
- thighs
- knees (double-jointed)
- ankles
Accessories: Eddie doesn’t have a lot of accessory options, but Jazwares did their part to load him up. He’s got two swappable sets of hands — fists and grasping — for extra versatility.
I continue to appreciate Jazwares making alternate portraits a semi-regular accessory option. These tend to be for guys that are very expressive. That’s definitely the case with The Mad King.
His alternate portrait is a sneering, angry expression. Like the default portrait the paint on the hair and facial hair is too thick. Lighten it up and the likeness would be right on.
Finally, he has his chain necklace. These are way too thick to look good. Given their size it would have been better for Jazwares to either ditch it or at least include some painted detail.
He also comes with an exclusive Upper Deck trading card.
Worth it? The Unrivaled line has gone back and forth at retail alternating with each wave between $19.99 and $21.99. Clearly the former is the better option but isn’t a terrible deal if you get him for the latter.
Rating: 8.5 out of 10
The head sculpt paint and the detail on the yellow lining takes the likeness down. I wish the necklace were executed better as well, but overall this is one of Jazware’s better figures in the Unrivaled line.
Where to get it? Target has definitely improved on getting these guys on the shelves and is your best option. Amazon has him in stock now for $20.
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