Henchrat with Evil the Cat
Earthworm Jim (Playmates)
I’m a massive Playmates fan. I didn’t know it at the time I bought my first Earthworm Jim figures, but they’ve had a hand in bringing some awesome cartoon and comic characters to life all in a 5″ scale. You can check out my full Earthworm Jim collection here.
The mid-90’s was a strange time for Playmates toys. They had some great figures and franchises under their belts, like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Star Trek and the Toxic Crusaders but by the middle of the 90’s, Turtlemania was slowing down and the Toxic Crusaders were long forgotten. Little did I know when I first bought Henchrat, that Playmates had a hand in bringing Earthworm Jim to consoles (you can check out my Earthworm Jim review here) and the TV screen, who better to bring him to life in plastic?
Henchrat with Evil the Cat
Earthworm Jim
Playmates Toys 1994
Appearance – 5 out of 5
If I had to start picking favourites from the Earthworm Jim line, Henchrat (with Evil the Cat) and Psycrow (with Major Mucus) will be the two figures contending for top spot, but who will win out?
Henchrat appears a lot rougher with more earthy-tones, a grizzled exterior and battle-damaged armor but he continues the noble tradition of awesome Playmates action figures with a moderately dynamic posture. Unlike some of Playmates earlier attempts, Henchrat maintains a lot of playability and his dynamic posture feels like it adds to the character.
Right from the get-go, Henchrat has the best stance out of all the Earthworm Jim figurines I own. Big, flat feet with lots of surface area to keep him propped up. It’s a major plus for a toy-line with such enormous, over-the-top weapons.
Articulation – 5 out of 5
I love the squat, hunched figure of Henchrat. He stands well with his large feet, good centre of balance and his gnarly arms and head make him look incredibly stylised and sinister.
Henchrat has articulation at the base of his head and his neck with swivel in the hips, shoulders, tail, swivel waist, right wrist and left elbow. A pretty awesome amount of articulation for a Playmates figure but like a lot of other figures in the Earthworm Jim line, there’s no movement below the waist.
One of the things that really struck me with Henchrat was how his armor is cut in a manner that allows the most arm movement possible, but the way it’s cut makes it look like battle damage. This is a really nifty compromise between cartoon accuracy and figure playability and it works really well here.
Secondly, that head and neck swivel combo. I love it so much because it really compliments Henchrat’s personality. You have this smaller, buddy figure that stands quite proudly with its head up (Evil the Cat), next to Henchrat who is hunched over with his crooked neck ready and willing to take orders.
I should explain why Henchrat received a five in articulation. A standard 90’s Playmates figure tends to have between 5 and 7 points of articulation. Shoulders, hips and neck, sometimes with a wrist or forearm swivel. That would have earned Henchrat a 3 (being standard). Henchrat adds three extra points of articulation; one in the tail, a swivel torso and an extra swivel in the neck (so there’s one at the base of the neck and one at the base of the head). That’s a total of 10 points of articulation with special consideration in his armor sculpting to allow more movement. For me, that indicates an exceptional score for articulation, especially because the extra points of articulation don’t ‘weaken’ the figure or take away from the overall design.
Evil the Cat, being more of a buddy figurine lacks any articulation outside of his head on a simple ball-joint. May require some wriggling to get it unstuck.
Accessories – 5 out of 5
Henchrat comes with three weapons; a dagger, a massive spring-loaded cheese firing gun and a smaller shoulder mounted cannon (though it can be argued once the cannon is attached, it’s no longer an accessory).
Earthworm Jim figures tend to have some awesome details in the accessories and Henchrat’s gear is a great example with scuffing and chips in the knife, Swiss cheese molded onto the spring-loaded gun and something worth noting; the gun consists of two different coloured plastics. The body is a bright orange but there’s a piece of grey plastic on the side with some sculpted hoses and aim-assistance.
Like a lot of the Earthworm Jim series, Henchrat comes with a buddy figure (even though the ‘buddy’ figure is one of the main villains in the series). Evil the Cat is fully painted and shares an awesome likeness with the game and cartoon.
Value – 5 out of 5
For $35 posted from the US, I managed to pick-up Henchrat with Evil the Cat, #4 with Bob the Killer Goldfish and the Deep Sea Underwater Mission Earthworm Jim, all mint on card.
This was my first foray into Earthworm Jim action figures and so far, one of the cheapest. I spent $27 for a posted Earthworm Jim (MOC) and $37 on a MOC Psycrow, so I consider $35 for a lot of three excellent value with Henchrat being my pick from that lot. As far as I know, the Earthworm Jim toyline never made it to Australian shores so naturally, postage costs are expensive and yes, they’re a necessary evil since it’s unlikely I’d ever find anything like this in the wild and my options are limited to US Sellers willing to post internationally.
Coolness – 5 out of 5
It’s a giant rat with cheese themed weapons and battle-armor. Henchrat is ticking all my boxes and even though the main villain is relegated to a small buddy figure statue, he’s got a great look to him and he stands well on Henchrat’s broad shoulder pads. It doesn’t sound like a big deal, but I’m a big fan of action figures that can hold or carry all their accessories and Henchrat with Evil the Cat can do it effortlessly without looking too awkward. When it comes to displaying Henchrat though, I believe he looks effective just holding his dagger, it gives him a really brutal, sleazy look.
I don’t have many figures with sculpted fur, but Playmates seem to know what they’re doing. It’s a great look between rat and man with some awesome design flourishes that Playmates are known for. As usual with Playmates action figures, some additional paint applications like a fleshy coloured tail would have been awesome but they have gone out of their way to apply different colours to knee pads, straps and wraps in green, black, purple, yellow and silver.
Overall – 5 out of 5
A 5 for my first proper action figure review!? I may be an easy marker, but I chose Henchrat for a reason; I consider him to be my benchmark. This isn’t my favourite action figure and maybe that’s what makes him a 5. The closer I looked at Henchrat, the more impressed I am with him. Unlike with Psycrow, I didn’t have my heart set on owning Henchrat, he won me over because he’s just a really cool figure.
Henchrat with Evil the Cat is a great package; cool weapons, good articulation and just an overall great sculpt (even from behind). I haven’t got all the Earthworm Jim figures (missing Princess What’s-her-name and Battle-damaged Earthworm Jim) but from what I’ve seen, Henchrat is a great example of what this toy-line is capable of. If you’re thinking of starting your own Earthworm Jim set, I’d be putting Henchrat with Evil the Cat somewhere at the top of the list.
Personally, I think Psycrow has an overall better look with his hook gun and bright yellow spacesuit (that’s just my opinion) but I do believe Henchrat’s sculpt is better, he comes with more points of articulation and he was far cheaper to purchase. Overall, I have to score Henchrat and Evil the Cat higher than Psycrow but when it comes to picking up some bad guys from the Earthworm Jim toy-line, you can’t go too wrong.
If you like the Earthworm Jim games, you might be keen to check out my review on the last 2D (and often forgotten) Earthworm Jim game on the Game Boy Color; Menace 2 the Galaxy. Evil the Cat and Henchrat even make an appearance as a boss fight.
This review format has been ‘violently robbed’ from Dork Dimension. I did that because it’s a great blog with some awesome toy reviews and in my humble opinion, it’s a great ‘standard’ for action figure reviews. All words and photography contained within are my own. Scores are out of 5. 1 = Poor, 3 = Average, 5 = Perfect.