Eeveelutions Multi Pack #2

Espeon, Umbreon and Sylveon

I learned of this packs existence from Multi Pack #1 with Jolteon, Flareon and Vaporeon. I waited for some time in hopes that this pack would show up in stores eventually, but it never did. So, to my knowledge, this pack was never sold in Finland, or I at least never came across one. As I was writing about the Battle Figures (the sold separately ones), this pack came to my mind and I was inspired to check out what it would cost me to buy it online. It was sold out in most places I checked, or really over priced like anything between 70 - 120 dollars. Eventually  I did find a listing on Amazon where it was for 35 euros and free shipping. Sold! It took only about a week for the package to arrive from Italy.

The rubber bands holding the figures in the box unfortunately left some marks on the sides of both Umbreon and Espeon. 

Umbreon

My figure has some tiny white speckles all over it, the most noticeable is right next to the eye. I wish there was a slight curve in the tail, now it looks so stiff and awkward. Umbreon lacks expression, or maybe it's just because you can't see the mouth as clearly as on the others. I think a more angry expression would have suited better, now it looks too neutral to my taste. The head viewed from the profile is more in the shape of a droplet, the nose and mouth almost disappear completely. The left hind leg is shorter than the others, but Umbreon still stands firmly on its own.

Espeon

My first Espeon figure! Woo! Espeon's ears are HUGE! The tail is soft and very thin, I fear it may break off easily. I have the same opinion about Espeon's head as I do about Umbreon's, it's too rounded. It doesn't help that Espeon's nose has been painted just a few millimetres too low. Because of the big ears, Espeon is very top heavy and it doesn't help that the paws/feet are so tiny. I have to pose Espeon's legs very precisely if I want it to be standing straight, otherwise it would only be falling over every few seconds. I swear every leg is shorter than the other. Ever since I bought these figures, I have picked Espeon up from the floor three times now, because it just refuses to stay on the shelf. 

Sylveon

Sylveon is the only one to escape the box without marks left by the rubber bands. I don't have any big complaints about the paint job either. Sylveon is the newest eeveelution, and I haven't really formed a strong opinion about it. It's cute for sure! The only thing I'm unsure about are the bows and ribbons, does it really need them? But then again, it would look very plain without them. The "flow" on the ribbons is nicely sculpted. The ribbons do, however obscure the tail a bit too much on this figure. Sylveon shares the same problem as Espeon with the big ears and tiny feet thing. Sylveon has hit the floor a few times, but it does stand on its own much better than Espeon.

If I had to pick a favorite out of these three figures, I guess I would have to pick Sylveon. I really like its happy expression and for the fact that it doesn't have any of them unfortunate factory defects the other two have.

Here's the whole gang together:

Flareon looks so tiny!

checklist

Eeveelutions Battle Figures

Pokémon toys have pretty much vanished from every toy aisle in every big store I have been to. I was really surprised to find these figures when I totally didn't expect it. There weren't a lot of them, and when I saw that there was only one Jolteon left, I knew I had to get at least that one. The cost of one pack was 15,99€. Maybe a bit overpriced, but then again, they are quite big too. With a heavy heart, I left without buying Vaporeon and Flareon.

I didn't last long. I waited for four days, before returning to the store to get the two others. I was in luck as seemingly nobody else had been interested in the Pokemon toys. There were still two Vaporeons and three Flareons on the shelf, the same amount there was the last time I was there. I picked the figures that looked to be in the best condition. The other Vaporeon had paint splatters around its ear, and two of the Flareon's had their eyes placed a little wonky. The Flareon I picked had the best looking eyes, but it unfortunately has some tiny black paint splatters too. I haven't tried it yet, but maybe I can remove them with some nail polish remover or maybe they could be just scraped off.

Once I took the figures out of the packaging, I noticed on Vaporeon and Jolteon that one of the hind legs is shorter than the others. No matter how I try to place the legs to make them stand evenly, that one leg never touches the ground. I don't really see a point to why the legs even need to move at all. Moving the legs too far apart will only make the figure fall over.

My Vaporeon has a tiny streak of paint going down the eye and the eyes themselves aren't really perfectly placed. Looking past that, I think it does have a really cute expression, I like the open mouth, it almost looks like it's smiling. That tail though, I'm not sure I like that. I would have preferred if it had just nicely curved beside Vaporeon instead of being raised so high.

I really like this Jolteon! The pose and everything. I only wish they could have given it some more expression. Its eyes have this spaced out look. With the aggressive looking pose, I wish the eyes reflected that. Or close the mouth maybe? Or putting some teeth in the open mouth? Even though I like it, it needs some "oomph",  because as it is, it borderlines looking a bit derpy. Or yes, it does look derpy with both eyes visible. But if you view it from an angle when only one eye visible it looks great! Also, I think Jolteon's spiky collar is a tiny bit over sized, or it appears to be if you look at it straight on from the front.

Oh Flareon, what did they do to you? I hate that clearly visible seam on the tail. And that fur collar is too big which makes Flareon's legs look even shorter than what they already are. This Flareon is a chonker.

Let's compare these new figures to the figures from the Eeveelutions Multi Pack 

I bought three years ago.

The new figures are overall slightly larger than the old ones. I like the expression more on the new figure and the general shape of Vaporeon's head has also improved, especially the nose, if you view its profile. I do like the old Vaporeon's fin collar and ears better, the ridges stand out much better, which in turn makes it look more detailed. Also that little crevice on the tail makes it look less flat like the newer one does.

I can only give praise to the new Jolteon here. I see nothing but improvements. That the spikes on the collar are more varied in size is a good thing. And that the spikes on the back are layered! It looks so much better! The old figure looks very flat now in comparison. Old Jolteon's ears also slightly curved inwards, but the new one has straight ears, which look  a lot nicer.

The new Flareon looks like a downgrade, now when comparing the two figures side by side. I recall me saying that the Flareon was my favorite figure out of the Multi pack, and I stand by my opinion. The old Flareon has those big cute eyes, vibrant colors and the sculpt on the flame-like tale flows much better. Also, the fur collar is the right size, which doesn't make Flareon look fat. However, I give the new Flareon credit for also improving the side profile view of the head, making the nose more defined.

Although I really liked this new Jolteon, now when I compare them all side by side. I actually think I'm leaning more towards choosing Vaporeon to be my favorite out of the new Battle pack figures. I would have preferred a little more detail on the fins and a different pose for the tail, but otherwise it's very proportionate.