Funko Mystery Minis: Fallout – Deathclaw

Good heavens, I got a chill when I opened the packet and found this guy inside the box. No matter no high a level you get in Fallout, Deathclaws are always a terrifying sight. Towering over the player character like some kind of bastard hybrid of lizard, werewolf and devil, they can kill you within a swipe or two, wiping out hours of gameplay if you’ve forgotten to save…so finding one in such close proximity to yourself is a daunting prospect!

While I liked a couple of the Fallout POPs, I found the Deathclaw to be a bit underwhelming; the paint scheme was good, but I didn’t love the head sculpt. Mystery Minis are sculpted in a very different style to POPs, and in this case, it’s substantially better. He looks appropriately menacing, retaining key features like his back spikes, titular claws and long tail – yet he’s cutesy enough that he wouldn’t look too out of place in a kid’s toy collection, which is the balance I tend to think these figures should strike.    

Fallout Mystery Minis are packed at a 1:12 ratio. In theory, this means that buying one case should ensure a complete set – but there’s actually a little bit more to it than that. Y’see, there’s a Gamestop exclusive set too. It’s got most of the same figures, but it’s replaced a few with some Gamestop exclusive ones – including this Deathclaw. Certain EB Games stores seem to be stocking the Gamestop exclusive figures, but not all – check the box carefully before you buy, to make sure you’re getting one from the set you want. As with most blind-boxed things, I’m kind of irritated that there’s no way (that I’m aware of) to distinguish which character you’re getting. EB Games is selling them cheaper than most other places ($12 each) but that’s still too expensive for something blind boxed in my book. Cool as they are, release these as normal figures (maybe in a blister pack or something) and we’d be on to a much better thing. 

Nonetheless, this figure is a really good rendition of the Deathclaw – I actually think he should have been included in the regular series, rather than being a Gamestop exclusive. Just make sure you get a Vault Dweller to partner with him!