Review: BifBangPow! Benjamin Linus (The Others)

Ben Linus is sold in a 2-pack with Kate Austin and is in stock now atEntertainment Earth.

Ben comes on a card under the theme of The Others. The art feature silhouetted Others on an Island ridge. Ben comes dressed in his Others disguise from the Season 2 finale (never really got a good explanation about the disguises, but whatever...) So I have the same complaints about costume choice as I do with Hurley, but that said, it's a cool costume. The fabric choice is perfect, the rips and holes and details perfectly illustrate the grimy pajamas he wore. He is barefoot.

The head is awesome. I'm not sure it's a perfect Michael Emmerson likeness, but it's close enough for Mego and has a lot of character in the sculpt. Particular detail was paid to the eyes and this is one character where the Mego stare that some people find creepy really comes in handy!

Of all the custom projects on the Island of Lost Megos, Ben in civilian clothes is the easiest as I outlined in an earlier post. Thank goodness for Al Bundy, eh?

Lost Kitbash #2: Benjamin Linus in civilian attire

The rest of the Wave 1 figures are finally about to ship out, so now's the time to share some of my thoughts about customizing BifBangPow's Lost figures. Almost all of my custom projects require some work and a little skill to carry off, but I try as much as possible to offer solutions that are as simple and cost effective as possible. This is by far the easiest of them all.

I wasn't thrilled with this costume choice which was apparently pushed by ABC. It makes some sense in that it's the most "colorful" outfit for the character, and thus has more toy-like qualities that normal civilian clothing does. But he was in this outfit for exactly one scene in the Season 2 finale, so it's not totally satisfying for a Ben Linus fan like me.

Thankfully, Classic TV Toys line of Married With Children Mego-style figures are readily available. I've put Ben in Al Bundy's shirt, pants and shoes and it's a nearly perfect look for Ben. You can buy the Al Bundy figure complete on the card for $12.00 or you can actually just buy the headless body with the outfit for $8.00. He even comes with a khaki jacket that you can save for a Dharma scientist project (Pierre Change had a khaki Dharma jacket in Season 5).

The shoulder bag is a little trickier. The one pictured here is from the late 90s/early 2000s Playing Mantis Action Jackson WWII Ranger.

There are other possibilities for shoulder bags, Cotswold Toys has one that's 12 inch scale, but might work just fine. This bag for $1.00 is totally worth a try but might need a strap. This one is cool too. I'll probably do a more in depth post about bags and backpacks later. Gonna need backpacks!

The Plan B plastic solution that is also extremely MEGO is Dr. Mego's reproduction of the $3.00 Green Goblin satchel bag. If you're going to be doing some Mego customizing you'll be ordering from the good Doctor, so might as well save on shipping and get some gear.

The bunny I made myself out of white Sculpey, I didn't want to spend any money on it and I wanted it in a crouching pose. I have yet to find the perfect white plastic bunny, you'd think that'd be easy enough. The best bet on the market is the Schleich brand, but they are a bit large for Megos.