We’re half way into the first year of Hasbro’s six-inch Fortnite Victory Royale Series and getting to the third wave already. There’s been some weird delays such as the G.I. Joe x Fortnite Snake Eyes figure that still isn’t out, but overall they’ve been steadily pumping out product. You wouldn’t know that since Hasbro doesn’t really promote the line, but I’ll get into that at the end of this review. The third wave includes Cluck, Red Lynx, Llambro, and Unshackled Kondor. I believe Mancake would be the deluxe release lining up with this wave since he’s also begun shipping now. I don’t have the other guys yet, so lets just dive right into the giant chicken man Cluck.
First off, I did it again, I threw away the box. I don’t know how you people that do this professionally wait to take pictures, I need to open these things the instant I obtain them. If you were curious, Cluck uses the same packaging design as the first and second wave, minimal plastic but we do get to see the figure through a window. I’ve grown to like this style because I enjoy seeing the art on the box. I’m also aware that there are people out there who vehemently hate it, but I throw away the boxes so it doesn’t really matter how it gets to me.
Cluck includes his harvesting tool, the Drummies. In general you wouldn’t think a pair of drumsticks would be used to harvest building materials and you probably also would not assume a chicken person would be handling cooked chicken limbs, but this is Fortnite baby! Anything goes! He also has his skin specific back bling, the Hatch Pack. If you were concerned about balancing Cluck in general, the Hatch Pack is going to add a whole new level of frustration to that equation. The figure has tiny legs and a giant upper body, throw a heavy egg-shaped backpack into the mix and you’ve got quite the balancing act. Finally he has a weapon, one of my favorite Fortnite weapon designs, the Primal Shotgun. It’s just cool, a big beefy gun that would look great in the hands of the Doom Guy. Until I can get a decent Doom Slayer, I suppose The Foundation will do.
My only issue with the Primal Shotgun is that it has no paint, the plastic is molded in the colors needed. Which is fine but it makes the shell of the gun look more like chocolate and less like the shell of a post-apocalyptic shotgun. A slight dark wash would have probably done wonders. I think we’ve seen many times throughout the years that you can make a killer sculpt, but a lack of paint or bad paint can straight up sink it. The shotgun isn’t ruined by the lack of paint, but it could have been so much better.
Remember that all of these accessories are wrapped in paper. So make sure that everything is accounted for and don’t throw any of them away by accident.
Cluck’s sculpt is great, it looks like it hopped right out of the game. They also made a lot of smart choices in regards to articulation. I found the layering they did around his shoulders and neck particularly clever because it allows a great range of head movement. I believe the biggest pain point for most people with this figure is going to be balance. It’s unfortunately just a reality of staying true to the in-game model, he has extremely skinny legs. He needs to be balanced, and even then the weight of his upper body is eventually going to tip him in one direction or the other.
It’s also noticeable in the paint applications where budget concerns may have reared their ugly head. For the most part, Cluck is large swaths of yellow plastic and that’s fine. A slight wash would have probably brought out that feather texture a bit more. The biggest offender here are the boots and shin guards which are just brown plastic. They definitely could have benefited from a pass of black deco to color the laces or the straps around his shin.
Cluck was introduced in Fortnite Chapter 2: Season 6. In-game he has two additional styles: Eggsplosive and Slurp. Both of these looks use the same base model so they would be particularly easy repaints for Hasbro to do down the line. Cluck has a listing on Amazon (affiliate link) that goes in and out of stock, right now he’s hard to get but I’m sure as time passes that will get easier and more retailers will have him.
In closing Cluck is a really fun figure with a great silly design, but he’s probably going to drive you nuts trying to balance him for your display. Every time the temperature changes a bit those legs are gonna give out under his giant upper body. He may be one figure that is worth setting up with a glider for display purposes.
One final aside that I’d like to get one thing off my chest. I absolutely adore Hasbro’s Fortnite line, as far as quality and variety it’s the best line Hasbro is currently working on. It feels like an experimental research and development project where their creative minds go to find new and better ways to make neat action figures. That said it’s infuriating how there is COMPLETE SILENCE from Hasbro regarding this line. This third wave has never even officially been announced. Mancake has never been announced and I have him in my hand. Target and Walmart got exclusives earlier in the year that were never announced, I could keep going. Every other brand under Hasbro has regular live streams with product previews, announcements, and preorders. Not Fortnite, figures just randomly appear on online shops and we just have to hope somebody sniffs them out.
Generate some hype for this line Hasbro! It’s amazing and you should be damn proud of it! I love this line and I hate feeling like one day you are just going to abandon it like you did with Overwatch. I’m hyped for this line and I know there are a lot of people like me out there that are also excited too, I just wish we could talk more and know what’s going on.
