Toys / Comics to Toys

Abe Sapien Qee Chain

By Hervé St-Louis
July 10, 2007 - 00:07

Abe Sapien is one of the BUREAU FOR PARANORMAL RESEARCH AND DEFENSE (BPRD)'s agent, featured in the Hellboy comic book series created by Mike Mignola. First introduced in Hellboy:  Seed of Destruction in 1994, Abe Sapien can breathe underwater and is very intelligent. Dark Horse Comics asked the Hong Kong collectors’ toy manufacturer Toy2R if they could distribute both Hellboy and Abe Sapien Qee action figures in North America. The toys had been previously only available in China with Chinese reprints of Hellboy graphic novels.

Likeness
 
Of course, this is a tiny version of Abe Sapien with streamlined featured and stock parts, used in all Qee toys. Nevertheless, the action figure still retains the distinctive inverted triangular head of Sapien and gills on his neck. The rest of the details are painted on to give a baby-look to Abe Sapien. The turquoise hue used on the action figure may be too light, but logical due to “cuteness” factor of the product.

Sculpt

The sculpt is simple. The feet, arms and torso are stock parts from the Qee toy line while the head is a new sculpt. The figure looks better than the Hellboy version and is cuter.

Paint

Abe Sapien is completely covered in paint, and considering the colour is light and could easily show the plastic’s real colour, the application is excellent. It shows that this is a deluxe collector’s toy. There are no blotches or any defect related to the paint. With such a small toy, it could have been so easy to botch the job. As this toy is meant to be used with a key chain and a set of keys, I strongly advise about not doing so. The paint will chip and the figure will be scratched the moment it shares space with a set of keys in your pocket.



Scale

Abe Sapien is about 2 ½ inches. And will fit with a number of small action figure toy lines on the market and of course everything from Qee and his fellow associate, Hellboy. Smaller than the latter, Abe Sapien is not as bulky.

Stability

The feet of this action figure have flat soles and peg holes. Although the feet are easy to mis-align, A few rotations will be all that is necessary to fix them properly and provide needed stability. Once set Abe Sapien should never fall.

Articulation

Abe Sapien has but six articulations at the shoulders, wrists and hips. The head looks like it can twist, but doesn’t easily. It’s supposed to be removable, but I don’t want to find out because it seems it could easily break.

Plastic

This toy seems to be made of PVC. It’s hollow inside so it’s very light. It doesn’t seem like there are metal pins used for its construction.

Props

The figure comes with a key chain accessory that slides in one of the Abe Sapien’s wrists or between its neck and body. Add your keys to the metal pin attached to the small chain. I don’t like having to attach the key chain accessory on the action figure’s wrists. In terms of design, it feels asymmetric. As for removing the head, it doesn’t seem like it will slide in easily, so I would rather not play with that either.

I would have preferred something like a peg hole in the action figure’s back where the key chain accessory could be plugged in.



Packaging

Conveniently, the promotional artwork with the legal and security warning information comes on a postcard sized cardboard which leaves very little space to write a message to someone, let alone write their address and insert a stamp. The front side of the postcard features an Abe Sapien illustration by Mike Mignola.    

The packaging is optimized to use as little space as possible but is not very solid. There are no glue or pins holding the figure in place. Instead, all the plastic pieces and the postcard help keep the entire package assembled. Although not very resistant, it does consume less material that can end up as non environmental friendly waste. It’s a good move.

Cost

This toy costs $7.99.

Availability

This product can be ordered through Dark Horse Comics’ Web site or through Diamond Comics by a regular comic book store. This toy was released in June 2006, but seems to be in stock still. The Chinese version may probably be available only in China or through select Hong Kong stores that cater to North Americans. Save yourself the hassle and order this locally.

Rating: 10 /10

Last Updated: July 21, 2024 - 13:40