Welcome to our review of the 2015 release of John Diggle from Arrow by DC Collectibles. John was the 9th figure in the DCC Arrow figures, released alongside Arsenal and Felicity Smoak.
Packaging 3/5
The DCC packaging for John Diggle is made up of the plain white box with angled side panel. The window wraps round this paneled section, and the character name (John Diggle) is printed directly onto the window.
As an Arrow release, the Arrow TV show logo sits under the window. There is then a green band wrapping the bottom of the box into which sits the various warning messages. The figures number is in an arrowhead symbol on the corner piece and John is number 9.
The side panel to the left of the box as you look at it carries an art panel and this is a shot of John Diggle from the TV show. Oddly this image shows John in a black tank top, not the shirt and jacket he is wearing as a figure. Under this the green bar wraps and stretches upward and has a further Arrow logo (now in white) with the character name and numbering repeated.
On the rear of the box we have a third, and now larger, Arrow logo and beneath this the three figures from the wave positioned against a window overlooking a city scape. Each figure is numbered and named, but there is no background text or character bio.
The figure is released via either of the two side panels and slides out in an inner cardboard tray with the same cityscape as the rear of the box. John is secured in place with three twisty ties, and these can rub paint of the figure so be careful when removing. Similarly the hands are taped over with sticky tape and this can also remove the paint type DCC use on these figures.
Paint & Sculpt 1/5
The immediate likeness to actor David Ramsey is pretty good, one of the better ones on these DCC Arrowverse figures. The skin tone is good with a wash to bring out the definition around the eyes, lips and nose. The eyes are painted neatly and realistic and the cropped hair has a texture and is not just painted onto the head.
The big issue is that the head is far too small for the body. The head is almost the same as you'd find on a 1/12 Marvel Legends figure - but the body is made to a 6 3/4 inch scale, somewhere between 1/11 and 1/10 scale.
The proportional issues don't stop there sadly. The body has problems too with a giant pair of feet and arms that are a touch too short. Arms should, on most humans, be touching the mid thigh not the waist? And to top it off we then have tiny hands to further worsen the figures position.
The outfit itself, if you ignore the proportions, is well done with a purple shirt complete with buttons and creased detail. Over this is his grey jacket, complete with dry brushing to give it some depth and dimension. The trousers are a dark blue, but again with some washed detail to bring out the sculpt.
Articulation 2/5
Diggle has 15 points of articulation, which is fairly consistent with the other Arrowverse figures. The head is seated on a ball joint so it can rotate as well as look up and down a few degrees. The arms are ball jointed at the shoulder and can be raised and rotated fully. The elbows are disappointing with a single joint that only just gets past 45 degrees when bent, this joint is also terrible for paint wear with flakes of grey paint coming off the first time you bend it.
The arms end with plugged hands that rotate. John comes with two other pairs of hands on top of the fists he comes fitted with. While the gripping hands make sense for the weapon the other set, a wider pair of gripping hands, have no use at all and there inclusion is therefore an odd one.
There is no waist or torso joint, so the body remains fixed when posing. The legs are a little more mobile with T-joint hips that swing out to the front and the side. Beneath these are a rotating thigh and the double jointed knees. While the knee movement is great, the ankle joint is far from useful being a rotation joint only with no rocker. That means while Diggle can get in crouched and action stances thanks to the hips and knees, his giant feet are often not planted to the floor and look even worse.
Accessories 2/5
John has one accessory, a basic black plastic cast handgun with no discernable paint apps. It fits in either of the two gripping hands we saw earlier, both of which are designed with trigger fingers that slot in place.
With limited arm articulation the firing poses for the weapon are slim, and there is no holster or anywhere to keep it when not in use (other than the bits box).
Summary
I must admit I had avoided John Diggle for some time in the Arrowverse figures and was concentrating on the more visual "heroes in suits". John came up in a Sale recently for a fiver including postage. We must remember however this is a £20 figure when released at retail and while I can look past the articulation issues on these DCC figures, this one is so disproportionate I am almost embarrassed to have him on display.
With the paint job and likeness I can stretch to a two star review, scoring John Diggle a disappointing 2 out of 5. One for completists only.
