A few months ago, when I reviewed my first World of Warcraft Mega Bloks set (the Orc Warrior, Ragerock), I truly did not know what a Pandaren even was. But I found out about the World of Warcraft Mists of Pandaria expansion very quickly after, and I’ve been dying for some kung-fu panda Warcraft Mega Bloks ever since. This week, I got my first ones, and was immediately drawn to the Pandaren Hunter Rojo 91050…

The Right:

It’s an odd place to begin, but I think that the display base diorama Rojo comes with is by far the coolest one of any of the ones included with the Factions figures so far! The column in the middle can spin, and the punching bags on both sides of the column can be swiveled back and forth. The display bases that came in the first series of World of Warcraft Mega Bloks sets were nice-looking, but very static. Rojo’s display base adds functional features and a whole lot of fun to the figure, and I absolutely love it. Nice work, MEGA Brands!Secondly, I think that MEGA Brands is doing a great job making the Pandaren figures come off as less of a joke. Both Rojo and the Pandaren Monk with the Dragon Turtle belong the more-aggressive and violent Horde faction, which makes them feel a little bit more hardcover. And while Rojo’s body attire looks very oriental and subdued, he also comes wearing the awesome Beast-Tamer’s Shoulders. Nothing counteracts your image of being a fluffy, comical bear more than having a pair of giant, creepy eyeballs on your shoulders!

The Pandaren mold itself looks pretty great. It is suitably husky all-around, and I think the sculpted sandals and goatee look terrific. Rojo even has paint apps underneath his army, showing off his white tummy! An unexpected but very welcome detail. This set is your standard value-priced 31-piece build that’ll take less than five minutes to put together, which is great for kids who just want some Pandaren figures to play with.

The Rojo Warcraft Mega Bloks has the standard 12 points of articulation for the line: ball-jointed head, ball-jointed shoulders, hinge elbows, swivel wrists, swivel waist, ball-jointed hips, and hinge knees. He comes with the same bow as the Tauren Hunter did that came with the Swift Wyvern in Series 1.

The Wrong:

World of Warcraft Mega Bloks Rojo 91050 is a very nice figure that has just a few nagging things holding him back.

First, I’m really disappointed in the poor range of motion of the Pandaren mold legs.Because of the thickness of the Pandaren hips, Rojo’s legs can only be raised about 45-degrees to the side. That means that any kind of crazy kung-fu Pandaren side-kicking dreams you might have had are totally out the window. Rojo might be able to kick some figures in the thighs, but that’s going to be the extent of it. I totally understand the challenges MEGA Brands faced engineering this design and getting it as flexible as possible, but for a martial arts race, having such limited leg flexibility is hugely disappointing.Secondly, the quality control on this figure is not the best I’ve seen on MEGA Brands products at all. Many of the Rojo figures I rejected had black paint blops on the white of this face or his feet. While I managed to get one that’s mostly perfect after a lot of looking (mine still has some paint slop on the shoulder eyeballs), the brown pieces of Rojo’s base came badly scratched up. I don’t know if they were abused at the factory or made of a slightly cheaper plastic or what, but they don’t look good at all.

“Where Can I Buy It?!”

World of Warcraft Mega Bloks Rojo is part of the 2013 WoW Mega Bloks lineup, but some of the set have been released early to Toys R Us stores. You can try to find Rojo at your local Toys R Us, or check ebay for him, where he’s been available pretty consistently lately.

Overall: Rojo the Pandaren Hunter is a very solid entry in the World of Warcraft Mega Bloks line. He has what I would say is unquestionably the most fun display base with the spinning training machine, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to add a Pandaren figure to my collection without having to buy a larger set (though I’m buying the larger Mists of Pandaria Mega Bloks sets anyway). The only real downsides to this figure are the limitations of the hip articulation due to the mold’s design, and some questionably quality control issues. If you’re like me and have been waiting patiently for the Pandarens to arrive in Mega Bloks form, you’ll be very pleased to add Rojo 91050 to your collection. Recommended.

GRADE: B+