There’s been a lot of RoboCop talk these last couple weeks with the announcement of new figures from both Hot Toys and NECA.  It was a nice coincidence that I ran across my old Mez-Itz figures while going through storage, so I thought I’d make a Retro Review out of it.

Back in the day Mez-Itz weren’t your typical single body vinyl toy.  They were actually a line of minifigures that shared similar body designs, but also had plenty of new elements that made them unique from each other.  Their short bodies and simplified articulation was countered by well detailed pieces and a caricature-like head, making for a truly distinctive look.

In 2004 Mezco issued a RoboCop three pack under their Mez-Itz brand.  The set included squash down versions of RoboCop, Officer Lewis, and ED-209.  I like RoboCop as much as any kid from the 80’s, but my favorite character from the series has always been ED-209.  There’s just something incredibly fun about his mech-like design and deadpan voice, so a shrunken version was a definite buy for me.

The sculpt on these figure is pretty fantastic, especially when compared to today’s version of Mez-Itz.  Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against vinyl figures.  I usually like their stylistic design and creativity.  But no matter what design is drawn on the body, it doesn’t compare to actual sculpted details.  The original Mez-Itz were full of these details and it helped give them a very unique feel that’s full of personality.

RoboCop and Lewis do share the same underlying body, but he has original shoulder, chest, and leg armor.  Each piece has been made of a softer plastic that’s been glued on.  There’s even relief sculpting that gives him armored plates, access ports, and even a couple of odd wires here and there.  Robo also has an entirely new head sculpt and he helmet is actually a separate piece.  Unfortunately it’s been glued on, so you can only see his nose and eyes if you look at him from the bottom.  I’m not really sure why Mezco did this, especially since we see RC without his helmet all the time.

Officer Lewis is a bit plainer with her riot vest being the only new piece on the standard body.  She does have a completely new head though.  They even made the visor translucent so you could see her whole head.  Unfortunately they painted her eyes in this odd looking up/cross eyed expression that looks pretty bad.

Another issue I have with her figure is that it’s apparently not aging well.  These figures were stored at normal temperatures and nothings setting on them to cause stress to the plastic.  But when I pulled her out of the box, her left arm stayed behind.  Apparently the plastic just cracked and a small piece broke off.  I used Sticky Tack to hold it on for the review, but it’s pretty much busted as is.  Continue to page 2…