LEGION TOYS: Timber Wolf (DC Direct 2004)

If he's not saving circus-goers from stampeding Camelephants, he's off pummeling Lightning Lord for the honor of his gal, Light Lass!  It's Brin Londo a.k.a Timber Wolf, back when he still cleaned up really well in his classic Silver Age costume! Kind of like Mon-El, I remember being introduced to this character when he got his own mini-series in the early 90's that sprung out of the Quiet Darkness Saga.

Sculpt:
While most DC Universe Classics are around 6.5 inches and fit within the 1/12 collector scale, typically adult-sized DC Direct (and now DC Collectibles figures) fall into more of a 7 inch scale. Having said that, Timber Wolf is more of a teenage-sized figure and comes in exactly at 6 inches. Although the Mattel practice of buck re-use doesn't always come into play in these lines, you can see that Timber Wolf shares some parts with the DC Direct Ultra Boy and Star Boy. Like those figures Timber Wolf has a pair of closed fists. Also, he has some specialized original sculpt pieces, such as the shoulder tubing he shares with Colossal Boy. The head sculpt is an original piece, and has a sculpted collar, with a stern and determined expression on the face. The hair has a nice little bouffant at the front and fits the hairstyle that the Silver Age version of the character has. The buckle on the belt is a downward triangle around the waste which is also original to this figure.

Articulation:
DC Direct figures are better known for their sculpts than for their articulation. There are 11-points of articulation that I count on Timber Wolf. The head is on a swivel joint and can move 360 degrees. It cannot tilt, nor move up or down. Arms can only rotate at the shoulder, up or down, in a circular fashion in 360 degrees.  Arms cannot move out to the sides, but there is a 90 degree elbow cut, so the arm can go from being straight to a 90 degree angle. The closed fists can also rotate in a in 360 degree circular fashion. There is a "T-Crotch" which allows for only forward movement of the legs at a 90 degree angle. If needed, Timber Wolf could be seated. Finally, the knees also articulate from straight to a 90 degree angle.

Paint:
The paint job is okay and while the tampos of the Wolf emblem and black trimmings on the biceps and shoulders are fine, the whites on the "T-Crotch" area seem to have been caked and splotched on. There are some speckles of white that bled over onto the orange-ish legs. The Silver paint on the belt buckle piece is great, though maybe it's just a separate silver piece glued onto the figure. The flesh tones are also good and the eyes are painted with the same aplomb. The light brown paint on the hair is maybe a tad too light for my taste. Maybe some kind of wash with blacks or a darker brown could have helped.

Overall:
While I prefer my DC Universe Classics representation of Brin Londo, the DC Direct Timber Wolf is by no means a poor figure. Much like Invisible Kid or Colossal Boy, Timber Wolf has a nicely sculpted and painted face. If I wasn't more used to the later, more wild, "wolfman" hairdo version, I could see being perfectly content with this interpretation had Mattel not included Timber Wolf in their Legion set.