Action Figures & Their Beers -- Romp in the Swamp

by Beedo Sookcool
on 2024-02-13, 10:54:27

ABITA’S ANDYGATOR

It’s Mardi Gras, so laissez les bon temps rouler, mes amis, and let’s tuck in to a Cajun-themed AF&TB!

Abita Brewing of Abita Springs, Louisiana, really caught my eye with the label of their Andygator Helles Doppelbock when I was browsing one of our local booze emporia, back when we lived in Georgia. I mean, how can anyone who was young in the 1980s look at a rampaging, hat-wearing alligator in a bayou setting and not immediately think of a certain Swamp-Stompin’, Ragin’ Cajun Gator from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Happily, because I love the character so much, this Leatherhead is one of the few figures I brought back with me after my visit home to England in 2022, and was thus able to pair him up with this beer.

The blurb on the label reads: “Andygator is a fearsome beast. Don’t let his toothy grin, slightly sweet flavor and subtle fruity aroma fool you: this cold-blooded creature is a Helles Doppelbock that can sneak up on you. This unique, high-gravity brew is made with pilsner malt, German lager yeast, and German Perle hops. Sip, don’t gulp, and taste the wild of Abita Andygator.”

And, yeah, this is a beast, all right! It's a good ’n’ hefty 8.0% ABV, and it’s rich and dense and thick and heavy, with a sweet (but not candy-sweet) taste, so it’s rather like drinking alcoholic gingerbread cake where they left out the spices. I am definitely getting more of this, at the next possible chance! Highly recommended!

But what of Leatherhead, the action figure partner for this beer, though? Everything single thing about this guy is something I love. He’s a TMNT Ultimates! Super7 figure sculpted by The Four Horsemen Studios, so you know the people who made it are big fans and really wanted to do the character justice. He’s Cajun-themed. He’s a reptile (a ’gator, no less)! He’s a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles character. He’s a big chunky, painstakingly-sculpted action figure with lots of paint applications and articulation, a bunch of swappable extra hands for all kinds of poses, and boatloads of cool accessories.

So what went wrong?

Well, for starters, he tends to flop. His limb joints are a little too loose to make him able stand or pose easily (a problem that was apparently common in his entire wave of figures, and is attributed to the factory this wave was made in, while earlier and later waves made in other factories apparently had better joints). He was jammed into his packaging so that the paint on his front teeth scraped off, which is REALLY distracting. And when I tried to holster his shotgun in the loop on his belt specifically designed to hold it, the glue holding the loop broke. None of these are catastrophic failures, and I can easily fix them, but they’re all annoyances that add up to detract from what should theoretically be one of the greatest action figures of all time, in my eyes.

But having said all that, even with all those faults, he’s still one of my favourite action figures. Leatherhead has always been portrayed as an absolute tank, but his previous action figures have always been on the small side – even the original Leatherhead figure barely came up to a Star Wars figure’s chest, or the original TMNT figures’ waists. But this guy? At just over 7” tall to the top of his jauntily curled-up hat brim, this guy not only towers over a standard 3.75”-scale figure, he’s finally taller than the Turtles in the line, too. He has so many accessories and spare hands, I left most of them behind in England, and just brought his “original” gin-trap (with hinged jaws) and shotgun (with “working” pump action on the forestock) with me so I wouldn’t have so many things to keep track of.

An amazing beer, teamed up with a great action figure. Henny!

Drink this if you also like: Rich, heavy, high-octane ales, or alcoholic cake.