.

Aah, the Minimates Rock Star line. Such a good idea, perhaps came it just the wrong time, in 2002, when hyperdetailed statues were the norm for rock figures. Here is Ozzy Osbourne, who before he became a star of his own reality TV show, actually was a frontman for a hugely influential Heavy Metal band, Black Sabbath, and later a solo star.

Packaging

The majority of the 2002-era Minimates came in plastic tubes. These were no doubt very expensive to produce and must have added a lot to the unit costs, and later 3″ Minimates would be carded. Some lines, like Star Trek and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, have Minimates that came in both styles of packaging. Each Rock Minimate I have has been in the tube, so I’m not sure if carded versions ever came out. Certainly if they did, they aren’t as prevalent.

Ozzy Osbourne

Ozzy has the most stylised facial detail yet seen on a Minimate. The red eyes are outlined with big black lines, far wider than the usual thin detailing seen on the 3″ Minimates. However, to emphasise the crazy, wild look, it does work. He also has a gaping mouth with several large teeth bared. Ozzy has a brown shaggy hairpiece that has been sculpted with a good amount of detail for the flowing hair, especially around the back.

The concept of the cover to the “Bark At The Moon” album is that Ozzy is a werewolf. So here the costume has to try to reproduce this, and is quite successful. Over the shoulders, Ozzy has a fur “pelt”, which looks excellent but does limit some of the upward motion in the arms. A cross is sculpted onto the front of the pelt, with the necklace sculpted around the neck. To complete the look, Ozzy has furry, claw-filled feet and hands. A really nice touch is the left hand claw has the word OZZY tattooed on his knuckles.

Ozzy comes with no accessories, but generally the 3″ Minimate lines were never blessed with many, so it’s a disappointment, but not unexpected.

Overall, this is a pretty good figure, although perhaps the weakest of the Rock Minimates. However, like Rob Zombie, Ozzy in his werewolf persona could easily be a villain to take on your other good-guy 3″ figures from Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, or even be used as a foe for your Lord of the Rings figures.

MMC Score – 7 out of 10

Agree? Disagree? Why not vote for yourself below, or comment further over at the Minimate Multiverse MMC Review Forum.

Review and pictures by Danny Mills.

[starratingmulti id=”1″]