JakaBrick's MCU Matt Murdock (Patreon)

Well aren’t I lucky! Jaka’s been disappointing a lot of folks recently, and this fig was no exception! ...sorta!

This little Matt Murdock was poorly advertised before launch, then sold-out faster than I had any chance to get a hold of it! Within 24hrs of Jaka telling the world it was ready-to-ship, it was gone forever!

Naturally a lot of the community were a little miffed! Myself included!

But Jaka messaged me (yes, they went out of their way and contacted me) to sell me one of the spares they hold on to for “just in case” purposes. So I was like “yeah sure let’s do it!” and also a little bit of “hey Jaka this new ready-to-ship model isn’t working, stop limiting figs and just make them until they stop selling”

But did they listen to me? Nope! I’ve now missed out on their last three figs and counting! 🙃

Anyway this review isn’t about any of that drama! It’s about mere mister Mathew Murdock minifig! I just wanted to provide a little context as to why this fig didn't include the collectors card with the “limited quantity” number on it because the whole thing is arbitrary and makes this hobby extremely expensive and frustrating! 

Gaaaahhhhh! 😡

So that being said 😊

Part of me feels weird about reviewing this fig. Jaka’s “ready to ship” fumbles caused me to miss out on the Daredevil two-pack that pairs with this Matt Murdock.

Essentially, Jaka released the ultimate package of MCU Daredevil stuff about a week after Matt dropped. But of course with their new ready-to-ship model, it also sold out within five minutes of its drop. Everywhere. No reseller held onto it more than five minutes tops.

I made the mistake of refreshing the page at eactly 9:00am on the dot to make sure my internet was working okay for me, and by the time I went to order, it was snagged from my cart.

It ALSO happened to me with their recent brown-suit MCU Wolverine that I wanted REALLY bad!!! 🤬

Frankly… I keep trying to talk about this Matt Murdock fig, but all that comes to my mind is how annoying this was just to get a hold of it at all! I’m not a fan of the mad dash to buy figs from big brands like this that continue to artificially limit their stock. Just make more guys! CitizenBrick does it all the time!

Jaka of course did not reissue or add more Daredevil’s or Matt Murdock’s of Wolverine’s to sell. Jaka also didn’t even contact me a second time to confirm I was able to get those other Daredevil figs!

However I did message them a few more of my thoughts, and at the very least, they finally replaced my broken Blue Suit Wolverine Claw!

So instead of a full week long JakaBrick Daredevil promotion with my complied thoughts, here’s just the screenshots of what could have been in my hands right now... for the sake of... I don't know... completion, and closure.

There were lots of fun goodies included here, and it’s a shame I couldn’t get a hold of any of them. All because Jaka underestimated the demand, then limited their own product after the fact, then continued to do so for multiple releases afterwards… 🙄

Okay okay okay… with aaaalllllll of that context out of the way, let’s finally look at the one fig I did manage to acquire!

We’ve actaully looked at another Matt Murdock before, but this one is one waaaay better! For one thing, the whole fig just looks very clean with that simple design work. It isn’t overly complex or eye-catching, because that’s part of the point of a hero in disguise, right?

Go figure!

We’ve also got some nice 360° print around all four limbs, but the tips of them are all unprinted. So the sleeves only look like white bands around his wrists, the shoes blank on their underside. However the hip element is interesting to note; there's full 360° linework around the entire circumference!

This fig, from what I initially assumed to include four different faces... turns out it only included two identical heads. Woulda been nice to have gotten something with his glasses off, but clearly that was reserved for the two-pack I missed out on... 😑

As for the custom parts...

The custom hair is nice and foofy! It’s got really great shaping and design work! Very clean on the inside too! Looks very Lego-like and could see it pop up in new sets easily! Very nice indeed!

The walking stick is good too! I’m liking the fancy silver ink used for it, rather than just standard white. Makes it stand out a little more! It’s application of the silver bleeds up into the handle a little though. But the red is perfectly applied at such a small size!

$50 is what Jaka requested of me to pay when they first messaged me for this fig. Which I’d say that’s a fair price when you consider the collection of custom parts. Even if a majority of the fig only has two layers of ink. I certainly didn't need two of the same heads though... 🤷🏻‍♂️

idk man.

Reviewing this fig just keeps bringing me back to Jaka’s odd (and rather clunky) pivot into their “ready to purchase” figs that has really pissed off a lot of collectors. It’s a decision that leaves a lot of their fans like myself frustrated to get what they want when they want it.

I remember being cautiously excited about this pivot back when they dropped the Deadpool and Wolverine two pack, but my tune is slowly changing as they too have changed. All while they’re leaving tons of extra Jaka figs in the marketplace collecting digital dust (like their chase-variant red Guardians of The Galaxy wave 👀 ...aint nobody buying those!)

I’m on the fence about this pivot though. Because on one hand, yes, preordering can be frustrating to wait one. It can be hard to justify for newer brands without previous releases or reputation to not just take the money and run.

But Jaka is neither of those. Jaka’s been in the field for the better part of five or six years now. They are a trustworthy brand I have no problem with preordering from if that guarantees I’ll get their product. So these last several fumbles feel a bit too rookie for what I’ve come to know them for.

Maybe one day I’ll get my grubby mitts on those DD figs or the brown suit Wolverine (no doubt for a huge frustrating secondary markup). Something that shouldn’t have needed to happen at all!

Matt Murdock was solid custom fig though! Jaka made a great product! Regardless, this minifig review included a ton of baggage that just didn’t need to be lugged around with it 😞