Retro Review: McFarlane’s Monsters Dr. Frankenstein Playset
For the second series of McFarlane’s Monsters playsets, McFarlane revisited Dr. Frankenstein’s laboratory with the Dr. Frankenstein playset. Does this set hold up as well as the first one?
Just like series 1, the series 2 playsets came with two figures. Given the name of this playset is Dr. Frankenstein, it’s no surprise that one of the figures in the set is the good doctor himself. Frankenstein has the same outfit as Igor, a bloody labcoat, but unlike Igor, Dr. Frankenstein has some techno glove/hand with a cable running into his goggles. The figure has the same 8 POA as Igor.
The second figure is a new Frankenstein’s monster. This creature looks to be a couple of bodies fused together giving it two spines and heads. Both heads have swivel necks (though the attached cables can limit that movement) The figure also has swivel shoulders and a waist for a grand total of 5 points of articulation.
One head is very gaunt and has large jutting teeth while the other head is a large bruiser type.
The accessories include more lab tools, a saw, meat cleaver and a mound of guts.
The full set is a raised platform style with an operating table, shelves and an adjustable side table.
Like the other sets there are nice sculpted details all over this set including the gargoyle seen here.
The shelves have a couple of notches in them to fit the test tube and other bottles, the guts have a sculpted hole to allow them to hang from the hook attached to the shelves (or the monster’s fingers)
The operating table can be raised and is designed to stay in place no matter what height you raise it to. There is a translucent electricity piece that can be bent to go through the holes in the electrodes at the top of the playset.
The monster fits well on the operating table.
Dr. Frankenstein’s left hand is sculpted to hold the syringe accessory in a natural position as if he was about to push the plunger. I love the way the accessory fits and it adds a lot to the figure’s appearance.
There is just enough room on the playset to fit the monster and the doctor on it with all of the accessories.
While putting the legs on the playset, you might notice an odd angled notch sculpted on the bottom of the platform. This allows you to replace one of the included legs with the first Frankenstein playset to create an even bigger Dr. Frankenstein laboratory! The bookcase from the first set fits into the notched area. It’s small details like this that can make a toy one of the best around. The two playsets fit really well together and create a nice scene using all of the figures.
Seriously, the two Frankenstein playsets are the best around in this series and the joining feature is one of the main reasons for that. The Dr. Frankenstein set has a lot of nice accessories, the playset itself has some nice playability and the included figures are very well detailed. If you have one of these two sets, you really need the other one to complete the full scene.