SMDM Zica Toy Review

Paul has mentioned on the podcast several times that we are in the middle of a Bionic Renaissance. There are a number of merchandising opportunities that have helped to spark the nostalgia of The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman. Whether it's Dynamite Comics Bionic Man and Bionic Woman comics or Rittenhouse's new collectable card series or items like the Six Million Dollar Man vanity plate cover for your car, there is more than enough out there to make an old or new bionic fan happy.

And one of the big releases that tugs on the toy collector's heartstrings is the release of not one, but two toy lines tied into The Six Million Dollar Man. First came Bif Bam Pow! with their Mego-esque line of figures. They have the obvious ones, like Steve and Oscar, and Maskatron (Mr. X), but they also have a Rudy Wells doll that you can change the face of to reflect which Rudy you want. (Remember, there were three who played the role.) They have fourth season Steve with a mustache. It's clearly a labor of love when you see products like this.

For myself, I wasn't impressed with the line. Most Mego figures were of superheros, characters with masks, so you really can't screw something like this up. There were the Star Trek line of figures, but they did a pretty good job of making them look like the characters on TV. Plus, the mini phaser, communicator, and tricorder were well designed. And that's where the flaw lies with the Bif Bam Pow line. They don't really look like the characters. In addition, the clothes are oversized and the figures look ridiculous in them. In my opinion, not worth the cost.

Zica Toys has started a line of figures as well. They decided to go the route of the Kenner Star Wars figures with smaller versions of our bionic characters. And it works.

The Steve Austin figure is passable. It has bendable knees and waist. You can't do a lot of posing with it, but it resembles the character enough to work. They released two versions so far - one with the red tracksuit and the other with the blue tracksuit. I was disappointed that the blue tracksuit one did not have highwaters for pants, which would have been a nice touch, because otherwise it's the exact same figure, just a different color.

There is also a Bigfoot release. This is the gem in the series so far. It's a nice replication of the Kenner Bigfoot figure from the 70s. It feels solid. It has the same points of articulation that the Steve figure has. If you miss your Kenner figure or never had one, this Zica Toy replication makes a nice replacement.

Based on the back of the toy's packaging, it says that this is part of a line that promises an Oscar, Rudy, Mr. X, and Seven Million Dollar Man figure. I hope that when the latter is released, the packaging will identify him as Barney Miller and not has Barney Hiller like it says now. The show had to change his name when the TV comedy Barney Miller was released. It's 40 years later. There shouldn't be an issue with confusing Barney's name with the TV show. I also have to wonder how they will release the figure as Barney wore a blue track suit similar to the alternate Steve figure.

Overall, based on the first three releases. I'd say go for the Zica line. It's what I'm doing and I'm looking forward to seeing what else they might be able to release. Venus Probe maybe?

John S. Drew