Jazwares Sonic 3 Inch Action Figure Line

Sonic Gear Main * Jazwares Small Line 2 *
Jazwares Small Line 3 * Small Line 4 * Small Line 5 * Small Line 6

This page covers the "3 Inch Line" Sonic figures. More than 1 line is planned. Several different characters are planned as well, because the small size for the figures allows for more different people to be made. Despite the size, these figures are quite well articulated as well as well sculpted. All figures should retail for around $4.99 USD (a good price!) and are so far Toys R Us Exclusives in Fall 2009. (Toys R Us in Canada & Australia should have all of these figures!)

Here's a size comparison shot for these 3.75 inch figures. Here, he's compared with the JW 5 inch regular Sonic and the old Super Poser Sonic. Don't write these off due to small size, they're VERY articulated!

You can see he's articulated at the knees, hips, elbows, shoulders and waist. The ankles, wrists and head are all turn-able. All figures on the line should have the same approximate articulation as Sonic himself.

Archie 200 Issue & Figures Advertisement

Archie Comics is doing a cross-promotion with Jazwares exclusivly at Toys R Us stores with this triple pack of items to be available late august 2009. Both photos discovered by BleachXVizard.

Likely the first way to get 2 figures from the Jazwares 3 inch line, will be with this triple pack. You get the clear blue Sonic, plus Knuckles from the line as well as the 200th issue of Archie Sonic Comic all in 1 clear plastic pack with paper front-piece. Above, is

the advertisement piece for it, and to the right is a close-up of the actual pack. It's interesting that the actual product pack is the FIRST to be photographed rather than a company shot, especially of the special clear Sonic. Is this collectible? Yes. It WILL however also cause the rarity/value of Sonic 200 to plummet as everyone will likely want/hold onto this set whether or not they collect the comics at all. This should be approx. 12.99 and is available at TRU online in 2009.

Full text figure review is located at the bottom of this page.

The boxes for this line are quite nice. As you can see the bubbles are textured and they do have an inner part to keep the figure safe. With bright colors and attractive stickering, the figures are appealing on the shelves, while being very hard to bootleg, with the fancy bubble (much like ReSaurus was)

For these, the TRU sticker has changed to metallic silver, and the "New!" sticker boasts either SBK, or that the figures have over 12 points of articulation, despite the small size. Photos discovered by Sonicfan2525

This figure looks almost like their larger line, which is impressive at such a small size. With the comparison shots you can tell that the SBK figure is identical to their 3 inch normal Sonic, except for the gauntlet & hand pose. (reg. has 2 closed fists) Photo at left by Jazwares, discovered by SupeSonic. Other photos by JSHedgehog.

The gauntlet is still nice and detailed at this size! They even have the finger joint screws and jewel on the cuff too! Do note that some figures may not be able to grip the sword that well.

"Plain" 3.75 inch Sonic looks great here. See all the different poses dispite the small size! Just like their larger figure, his head sculpt is quite well done and the eyes are well painted.

3inch Sonic 12 pts of articulation figure

This figure does not suffer from 'werehog legs' as you'll notice his versatile poses. The figure is quite proportional and very Sonic-Like. Right photo by Jazwares, others by MichaelB218

With these close ups, you can see they still got his smile on, and that the figures shoe-bottoms are textured. All of the figures have near identical shoe bottoms, with number/maker and tread texture. You can also see the green paint for his eye didn't quite go on where the texture was stamped, but it still looks good and the face is very Sonic Like.

3 inch Tails is another spot-on figure. This is Jazwares first attempt at Tails, and they've done well. He is proportional and has good face detail. The head is not too big or small, and he does not suffer 'big body' like others did. The problem he has is

His tails will NOT TWIST. While all other Tails figures have tails which turn as part of their articulation, this one is mis-made and does not. They're also applied upside-down. Future releases HAVE CORRECTED this problem as there are already incidents of them snapping off. December/November 2009+later versions have rotating tails that do not snap off. (see bottom of page for detail) Left shot by Jazwares, other photos by JSHedgehog.

Warning:
ALL EARLY released Tails figures have a defect in that they put his tails on upside-down and made them non-turn able. If you try to turn them they will BREAK off. Later figures fixed this problem, so ReBuying him may be a good idea in 2009/2010 Info by: Berzerker

EARLY Figures ONLY: As seen above the tails fit into the rectangle slot in the figure. This figure fell from a height of 17 inches into a plastic bag, which caused the tails to break off. They are extremely flimsy, to the point of nearly being a defect. They did not even seem 'attached' to the figure. Of course, they're also easily glued back in so don't let it deter you from this great figure, just be-aware that it can occur.

The one thing they did not scale these figures to is eachother. Tails should be smaller than Sonic, but here, he actually appears taller! Sizing the figures among themselves may have brought on some kind of manufacturing problem as Tails might have gotten too small or something. Photo by JSHedgehog.

With this shot of the 2 Caliburns, one from the 3 inch the other from the standard, you can see that despite the size it has nearly all the same detail including the blade design at the tip. The red paint in the hilt-twist is missing from the smaller one, but the texture is still there, making it hard to notice.

"Well how does it stack up against ReSaurus"? One might wonder. This photo shows the new guy is smaller but better designed. Not only is he more articulated, but it looks more Sonic-like as well! Remember, BOTH of these guys are supposed to be SA-Style. ReSaurus does edge out in 'hand pose creativity' but Jazwares easily beats that back with the mega articulation and very great head sculpt. Photo by creatureofthedepths3

Here is 'clear Sonic'. He is identical to their regular Sonic in every way, except that his plastic is semi-transparent blue and he is not painted at all. Yes, it's a gimmick figure, but seen here, it is actually pretty cool to look at. The light shines through him, and the details become visible (shoe straps, eyes, glove cuffs etc) This transparent plastic actually highlights different aspects of the figure, making it a neat collectible!

His shoe tracks are wavy rather than streight like the other figures.

Their 3 inch Knuckles is just as good as the Sonic & Tails. With big, 3D fists, and detailed shoes he's no slouch in design. His spikes do limit his arm and head movement ability but there's nothing that can be done against that in design. He IS still articulated just as much as everyone else, the waist spin is harder to see because he's all 1 color--this works in his favor! This LOOKS like video-game Knuckles. He does not suffer 'thin body' or a too-steep head like other figures had in the past. There's not 'saucer head' either where it is enormous and flat. (evidenced by proportional side view) All photos of above 2 figures provided by LarryInc64

Figure Line Review:
EXCELLENT LINE. Period. There is ZERO excuse to not pick these guys up. The sculpts and articulation beats practically everything else out there, except their own larger line figures. They beat ToyIsland at anything. The price point is also *fantastic* at only $4.99 each or 12.99 for the 2 pak/comic bundle. With figures this small they really pulled out all the stops. There are 0 mutant figures on the line and even the 'clear blue Sonic' does not dissapoint just because his material is cool to look at. Many people consider a figure like that a 'gimmick' since it's exactly the same guy, just with different material, but the photos above prove he's still worth while to get.

See how far the figures have come, as these 3 inchers pose with the standard TI bendies. NO CONTEST. Knuckles' smushed up face, Sonic's goofy look and their barely-action bending cannot measure up to these new figures. Photo by LarryInc64

Problems:
The problems are really really minor. They nearly count as 'nit picks' because everything else went so well.

Weakest Link--Literally WAS Tails. If this figure can't survive a 17 inch fall into a cushioning bag then yes, he is defective in more ways than just 'they put the tails on upside-down'. But this was actually fixed in later releases of him. The new Tails features rotating tails that don't just snap off. (See bottom of this page) This really helps to perfect the line, as it eliminated any all-out defectiveness to him. The only other beef is he's not scaled at all, so he appears huge, as tall as or taller than Sonic.

The joints can be loose- Sometimes the figures don't stand very well because of loose joints. Naturally, their heads are heavy because they are so large, but that just means making all joints very tight to support them.

Figures packed with backward arms- My figures came out of the box with knees and elbows backward. This encourages breaking if they're not inspected before movement is attempted.

Knuckles Shoes not Silver- His shoes are gray and not metallic where most versions of him do use the metallic paint (see above bendy) This is a nonsense point.

Articulation- EXTREMELY Great. They spared no joint with these guys and went all the way. They also finally ditched the "werehog leg" problem that encouraged breaking and replaced it with a useful and realistic joint.

The Bottom Line:
Don't let anything stop you from getting these figures. Great packages, great price, great pose-ability, great sculpts...you'll have a lot of fun with these.

Look at this boxed Tails figure. You can notice some differences right away! Why is it different? The CMDStore.com is selling it...for starters. First, you can see there is no "R" sticker but the raised area of the plastic remains. Does that mean Toys R Us is losing their exclusive?? One can certainly hope so! More ways to get the figures is always better!

Next, you can see the tails are at a more natural angle, and the bands on his gloves and socks have been painted in. (they were left off before, so this is an improvement in accuracy) Will TRU get these 'fixed figures' as they re-stock? Are ALL figures sold by CMDStore of this improved variety? Several questions do remain, but this is positive news.

Toys R Us is getting this fixed figure in on further re-stocks, starting in Mid October 2009. The "R" sticker will be present, but the straps and tails will be proper. Info by

Of course, you should always always INSPECT any figure you're going to get while you're still in the store, if that's at all possible. No figure is immune to mistakes. This all-backward Tails demonstrates that they have added his glove and sock bands, as well as placing the tails on the proper way...however this particular figure has the hands and the feet on backward. (ie left is right, right is left) Photo provided by GolfGuy801

Tails with ROTATING TAILS:
On some of the later versions of this figure, you'll find him not only with painted glove/sock belts but also tails which rotate and do not just drop right off. They actually re-engineered part of this figure to make him work. This is absolute proof that Jazwares cares about the figures they produce and the fans who want them. At such a cheap price point, this figure will be easy to re-buy to get a rotating-tails version. Photo by Thessa the Cat.

If you own this Sonic figure, you may notice that it can fall down frequently due to the heavy head. A solution for this can be the use of flat tacks driven into the shoe like 'heels'. For some reaon this really increases his stability, allowing for more poses that are free-standing. (he's unsupported in this picture) The tack will make a pin-hole in the shoe-bottom, so it is at own-risk. Another method for this can be never-harden clay. The clay has the added effect of sticking him to a surface, but watch out for staining. Photo & concept by SONIC RANGER!!!

Not satisfied with Sonics' fist-hands? He can be modified.
*NOTE- any attempt at modifying a figure has the chance to break it.
This Sonic has Tails' hands from the same line. If you can get a Tails who has the colorless glove-band, you can switch their hands, and it will still look like Sonic hands (as the figures were not to scale) The hands are likely somewhat like a bead on the end of the arm since his wrists can rotate, so if you can get them off both figures without breaking the arm or glove, they can be swapped out, either one hand, or both. Figure photo and modification by SupeSonicBoom

Comic 2-Pak Notification-
On the Clear Blue Sonic / Knuckles with Archie 200 pack, you may occaisonally find that the comic is in upside-down. This is highly unlikely to increase the value, and may actually even lower the collectible value of the item (so avoid it) because it doesn't display as well.

This Tails has a problem that's not super devastating, but nothing you'd want, either. His forearm is a shin. Clearly, they just mixed up his parts when assembling him, somehow. With the photo, you can see that it's thicker than it should be, and matches the leg that's out to the side, rather than his other arm. It doesn't affect his proportions that much, but it's still strange to see. Photo by:

Look at this Tails figure in his box. It's like when he was made, they just threw him into the packing without regard for anything. His tails have come off, he seems to be either all the way twisted or the lower part of his white (on the hip area) is missing, and his legs and arms are just kind of flopped in there. It is a sealed package, so whatever this error is, happened when he was made. The right photo illustrates another odd 'thrown in there' pose. Always inspect all figures thoroughly BEFORE you buy. Left Photo discovered by SONIC RANGER!, Right photo discovered by Berzerker