Kick-O-Mania Action Figures Review

I've had my eye on these figures for a long while now. They are being sold at incredible price (around $8 per fig) on Home Link Japan (www.hlj.com) and the only thing that was stopping me from buying them was shipping. Then, HLJ had a free shipping promotion, so here they are!

I know they are not the most wonderfully gorgeous (or even true to the originals) action figures, but still, they are decently articulated, fairly alright-looking, so I thought I'd post this review for people who might need a couple of fill-in guys for their stories or whatever.

The figs are fairly poseable, though you have to watch out for the wind-up leg - the right leg is rigged to a button on their backs (so I guess no nude shots? ^_^ ) so that it kicks if you press it. Their hands are soft plastic, so it is possible to bend them, though they do not stay in bent position on their own.


Now, the faces - I'm posting the mug shots of the 6 figs that I bought, and you can make your own conclusions. The pictures on hlj.com are rather small, and you can't always tell what the face really looks like. (I feel compelled to poke fun at some of them, but it's not in any way a comment on the athletes, just on their plastic counterparts)

Roy Makaay


Oliver Kahn


Kevin Kuranyi


Alesandro Del Piero (aka Cousin Vinnie from New Jersey >_> )


Benjamin Lauth


Michael Ballack (maybe the not so bright but enthusiastic somebody's younger brother?)


Finally - clothes. The uniforms are not that well-fitting, but are pretty decently made. They come with shin guards that (OUCH!) fit through their socks into little holes in their shins. The cleats are really well made and now I have an idea where that influx of Adidas 1/6 shoes came from that was on ebay some months ago ^_^
They also come with a soccer ball and a stand.

All in all, they should serve alright for the purpose that I had in mind - patrons of Jack's dive bar, extras on various sets, maybe even I'll do a scene or a story from James and Dasha's college soccer days, before I change the dudes into "civilian" clothes.