Palisades' Super Grover Convention Exclusive
by Mr. Stinkhead

Palisades recently sent us their convention exclusive Super Grover box set to kick off their new Sesame Street line they introduced at Toy Fair. We've loved their Muppets action figures and playsets, and now they're ready to tackle Jim Henson's other family, and apply their incredible likeness, articulation, and playability to Sesame Street.

The introductory wave of Sesame Street figures starts with Oscar, Ernie, Guy Smiley, and the Two-Headed Monster. This Super Grover will not be available in stores, but as an exclusive at this summer's conventions that Palisades visits.

The thing about Super Grover is that he wasn't really a super hero, his mom made him the cape for him to pretend to be a super hero. Palisades honors this imaginary hero with an inspiring box set.

The Box
The box is huge. It's got a fantastic painting by Alex Ross splashed across the cover. Super Grover gets the Ross Treatment and looks dynamic and sharp. I like how you can remove Grover from the packaging if you're an opener like us, or use the opening front flap to see the figure and accessories inside. Who am I kidding, how can you keep this beaut trapped under plastic, suffocating instead of saving the day?! You get Grover dressed as Grover Kent, a cape, and a changeable head that has the SG Helmet, so you essentially change mild-mannered reporter Grover into SUPER GROVER. But he wouldn't dare do this in broad day light and jeopardize his secret identity. So use his phone booth!

The Toy
You'll immediately notice the great likeness that this action figure holds to the actual Muppet. We expect nothing less from Palisades. But in addition to a great likeness, he sports some cool articulation too. His arms are a soft, pliable plastic with a posing wire inside, but his shoulders are ball-jointed, so you can get some sweet poses.

His texture looks just like fur, and the paint job is spot-on. There are some limitations to his posability range however. The bendy arms aren't as "reliable" as elbow joints, however this method does give a better looking arm for Grover. He doesn't have knees or waist articulation, and that's just something I've come to be used to. That's all. There are swivel joints at his hips, and he stands pretty easily.

I love how the SG Emblem on his chest has a small texture to make it actually look like sewn felt like his mom made for him. Small details like this are part of the Palisades' seal of excellence. Yes, I'm gushing a bit here, but nothing takes you back to five-years-old like a Sesame Street toy. Well, that's not true, ever "shot-gun" an oversized Pixie stick? Wow.

The Phone Booth
I love the prop phone booth they include. The door swings open and closed, the telephone receiver has the retractable qualities of a real phone cord (like the Muppet News Man phone), and the painted on details help give it a bit of realism. I like how this is great for play or for display, depending on your mood.

The Accessories
Well, costume additions aren't always considered accessories, but I will consider them such in this review. The trench coat has a real cloth and sewn-on buttons. You can easily remove and replace the whole thing at once, as it is Velcroed in the back. The super-hero cape ties on very easily, and there are small elastic loops you can work around Grover's wrist's, which are nice when posing him in different positions. I loved how the cape was just "starchy" enough to make it look like it was blowing in the wind a little bit.

Overall
If you've purchased anything from Palisades, you know what it's like to be a satisfied customer and be unexpectedly surprised at the same time. No difference here. And if you're not able to make it to a convention this summer, join the Palisades' Collector's Club for a chance to possibly pick up a Grover later this summer. Stay tuned to MPb as we hope to bring you coverage of the upcoming Sesame Street figures. And still not hooked on the phenomenon called Palisades? Check out the rest of our Palisades coverage.

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