Something unexpected and absolutely stupefying happened this week: not only did the Marvel Select Silver Surfer ship out on time, it actually shipped out early. While most retailers were listing a December 2013 release date for the Silver Surfer Marvel Select action figure, Diamond Select Toys snuck him out the door and into stores–even before the Thor 2 Jane Foster that’s still delayed! Though I’m waiting for the Diamond Select Toys Silver Surfer I ordered online to arrive, I ventured out to a local comic book store today to snap some photos and see him in person…

I love Diamond Select Toys and I love Marvel Select, but the toy business is full of delays and Marvel Select figures rarely arrive on-time. One month, two month, and on very rare occasions even three month delays are the name of the game with Marvel Select action figures. So I was utterly mystified when I got my shipping notice on the Marvel Select Silver Surfer figure that I had ordered online, despite the fact that he was originally expected to arrive in December 2013.

I’m not the most patient guy in the world, so as usual, I decided to hunt down the Marvel Select Silver Surfer action figure at a local store so I could see how he turned out in person. They had one Silver Surfer Marvel Select figure in-stock at the first Newbury Comics I visited, so I snapped some photos of him in the store and made some mental impressions of the newest version of Norrin Radd.

For the most part, I’m feeling pretty happy with how this Silver Surfer action figure turned out. Galactus’ favorite herald looks a little bit silly in his silver tighty-whities, but that’s the way the Silver Surfer looked for decades in his most classic appearances, so you certainly can’t fault Diamond Select for that. What you can fault them for, however, is the Silver Surfer’s lack of swivel thighs!

I know Marvel Select isn’t allowed to make super-articulated action figures and need to keep their figures limited to 16 points of articulation, but seriously–what the heck, DST? The double-jointed knees on the Surfer are rendered virtually useless by the lack of swivel thighs here. Cut a different point of articulation if necessary, but don’t implement articulation that’s useless because of other flexibility not being there. This is another weird articulation scheme choice for Marvel Select.

On the bright side, the Diamond Select Toys Marvel Select Silver Surfer figure does include a highly impressive and varied assortment of accessories, including: his perfectly-proportioned intergalactic surf board, two translucent energy blast attachments, a pair of alternate hands, a rocky base with “swoosh” you can prop the surfboard on, and even an Infinity Gauntlet! Whatever else this figure may lacking, it’s certainly not accessories!

The Marvel Select Silver Surfer figure has now been released and is available online for about $21. While the articulation isn’t ideal, he really is a great looking figure with a tremendous amount of cool accessories. I’m definitely looking forward to mine arriving in the next few days, as this figure looks like it’s going to be a lot of fun to play with, despite a couple of articulation faux pas.