Post by KeBen Owens on Aug 19, 2011 19:30:28 GMT -5
Hey guys, I came across this today while doing a little light shopping.
First, let's put on a little music to celebrate the Mattel release of this new item, and who better to do it, than the current holder of said item, Dolph Ziggler!
(I cannot stand his Downstait version.)
WWE United States Championship (Mattel Version)
I was pretty happy to find this, as I am a big fan of the way that Mattel has given us so much detail to our figures, and they did just that in the previous release of the kids' belts (ECW/WWE/WWE Tag/WHC/IC) So, I had to pick this one up to, since the others hang on my wall at home.
When I got it home, the first thing I did was compare it to the Jakks version. So far, my other belts have won the battle against Jakks rather oversized and lackluster belts. But would the US title become the new...er..US Champion? Let's find out.
(NOTE THE JAKKS US TITLE THAT YOU SEE HAS BEEN MODIFIED BY ME. I ADDED TWO EXTRA MEDALLIONS TO THE SIDES TO GIVE IT A MORE REALISTIC LOOK. THESE WERE NOT INCLUDED ON THE ACTUAL BELTS.)
The first thing I automatically noticed about the Mattel US Title is that the middle plate is of a heavier, wider, durable plastic. It has a feel and a texture of a real championship belt.
The second thing I noticed was the engraving of the flag in the background of the plate-Jakks' version was just cardboard with a stenciled flag emblem.
The Mattel piece is one whole part of the title, and the flag is embedded into the plastic, with enamel painting similar to the real US Title.
The US belt has a "raised" portion in the middle giving it a 3D effect where it says "United States Champion". Jakks made a conscious effort to replicate this in their version of the belt, letters, the actual plate, and the faux "screws" on the sides.
Mattel's, however, is just one single piece.
The flag/star designs are also of interest:
Jakks version has the white in it's flag and stars.
Mattel's does not.
The side plates-there's not really much to talk about here, they're rather more or less the same; but once again, Jakks beats Mattel with sheer detail, putting little touches where it was needed.
Mattel's plates are a solid gold color except for the star medallion-it's painted blue.
Jakks' version is raised plastic with a red cardboard insert on the bottom, used for the ribbon art engraved into the plastic, giving it a 3D effect, the WWE Logo is fully painted, and the star is painted white, but with a black border(As far as I know, this is legit-When Eddie won the title in 2003, the border was black-now, somewhere down the line, it became blue, along with blue in the ribbon area, but neither belt has this.)
Finally, the WWE logo on the top of the plates.
Mattel has the basic WWE logo engraved onto the belt itself-no white.
Jakks, once again, has a whole seperate piece-the medallion consist of two plastic pieces, the WWE Logo is colored. and a ribbon with red detail like the side plates.
Overall, I was pretty disappointed with this belt-it's grown on me as one of my favorite designs-but Mattel missed the boat with this one pretty much. I do however, love the feel and weight behind it-but that doesn't really matter much when it's the visual aspects that sell these things to collector's and older fans like myself Jakks wins this one, in my opinion, but I'm still going to put the Mattel version on my wall, as that is what I bought it for.
Hope you guys enjoyed my review.
-BEN
First, let's put on a little music to celebrate the Mattel release of this new item, and who better to do it, than the current holder of said item, Dolph Ziggler!
(I cannot stand his Downstait version.)
WWE United States Championship (Mattel Version)
I was pretty happy to find this, as I am a big fan of the way that Mattel has given us so much detail to our figures, and they did just that in the previous release of the kids' belts (ECW/WWE/WWE Tag/WHC/IC) So, I had to pick this one up to, since the others hang on my wall at home.
When I got it home, the first thing I did was compare it to the Jakks version. So far, my other belts have won the battle against Jakks rather oversized and lackluster belts. But would the US title become the new...er..US Champion? Let's find out.
(NOTE THE JAKKS US TITLE THAT YOU SEE HAS BEEN MODIFIED BY ME. I ADDED TWO EXTRA MEDALLIONS TO THE SIDES TO GIVE IT A MORE REALISTIC LOOK. THESE WERE NOT INCLUDED ON THE ACTUAL BELTS.)
The first thing I automatically noticed about the Mattel US Title is that the middle plate is of a heavier, wider, durable plastic. It has a feel and a texture of a real championship belt.
The second thing I noticed was the engraving of the flag in the background of the plate-Jakks' version was just cardboard with a stenciled flag emblem.
The Mattel piece is one whole part of the title, and the flag is embedded into the plastic, with enamel painting similar to the real US Title.
The US belt has a "raised" portion in the middle giving it a 3D effect where it says "United States Champion". Jakks made a conscious effort to replicate this in their version of the belt, letters, the actual plate, and the faux "screws" on the sides.
Mattel's, however, is just one single piece.
The flag/star designs are also of interest:
Jakks version has the white in it's flag and stars.
Mattel's does not.
The side plates-there's not really much to talk about here, they're rather more or less the same; but once again, Jakks beats Mattel with sheer detail, putting little touches where it was needed.
Mattel's plates are a solid gold color except for the star medallion-it's painted blue.
Jakks' version is raised plastic with a red cardboard insert on the bottom, used for the ribbon art engraved into the plastic, giving it a 3D effect, the WWE Logo is fully painted, and the star is painted white, but with a black border(As far as I know, this is legit-When Eddie won the title in 2003, the border was black-now, somewhere down the line, it became blue, along with blue in the ribbon area, but neither belt has this.)
Finally, the WWE logo on the top of the plates.
Mattel has the basic WWE logo engraved onto the belt itself-no white.
Jakks, once again, has a whole seperate piece-the medallion consist of two plastic pieces, the WWE Logo is colored. and a ribbon with red detail like the side plates.
Overall, I was pretty disappointed with this belt-it's grown on me as one of my favorite designs-but Mattel missed the boat with this one pretty much. I do however, love the feel and weight behind it-but that doesn't really matter much when it's the visual aspects that sell these things to collector's and older fans like myself Jakks wins this one, in my opinion, but I'm still going to put the Mattel version on my wall, as that is what I bought it for.
Hope you guys enjoyed my review.
-BEN
Very disappointing considering how "replica like" their previous plastic toy belts were...
