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Update: for the new Kaustic Plastik Conan Masterclass set, see HERE.



Introduction
It seems like this is ancient/fantasy action figure review week, what with the Rome Imperial Army Legionary (HERE) and Centurion (HERE) figure reviews posted earlier, and now my Conan the Barbarian set from Mr Toys finally arrived yesterday. As a fan, it was not something I could easily pass up, although I already own the two fantasy barbarian warrior sets from Kaustic Plastik and was also going to pick up Kaustic Plastik's new Conan set, which is essentially an upgrade on their previous work and a variation of the Mr Toys set. In fact, Mr Toys seems to have redone a version of Kaustic Plastik's old sets with a selection of the items and some new additions, basically trying to replicate Conan's iconic look from Conan the Destroyer (by far the worse of the two Conan Arnold Schwarzenegger films, in my book). The Mr Toys set is available in two variants, one without (A) and one with (B) the TBLeague (Phicen) M35 seamless action figure body. Since I had M35 bodies to spare, I ordered the smaller, less expensive set A. Because this is not a complete action figure set, I am going to simplify the review and not assign point values, while providing as many images as usual. For the M35 body itself, you can check out my detailed review and a zillion images HERE.



Packaging
The set I ordered (without the M35 body) comes in a tidy black rectangular cardboard box with a slip-on cover showing off the product, the Mr Toys logo, and product number. Inside the box there are two black foam treys (always appreciated) with the various items that come in the set stored safely and easy to access. Nothing mind-blowing but certainly neat and collector-friendly.


Sculpting
This category includes a number of items, but of course the most focal one is the head sculpt. Mr Toys appears to have used a head sculpt of Arnold Schwarzenegger that seems just a little more youthful than what we usually see, and is therefore appropriate for the film-based character; nevertheless, it features a sufficiently stern expression. This is the first "real" hair Conan head sculpt we have gotten, and that is a big plus in my book. The sculpting on the head appears to be of excellent quality. It is also very well done on the remainder of the sculpted elements: from the soft plastic headband with its ornaments, to the two pendants, to the ornamented over belt, the utilitarian dagger, and the ornately decorated sword. This category leaves nothing to be desired, and although many of the pieces appear to have been copied directly from the old Kaustic Plastik sets, there are also improvements -- including quality (especially durability -- nothing fell apart as I was handling it), the "real" hair head sculpt, the removable head band, the teeth added to one of the necklaces (although they actually go with another pendant that Kaustic Plastike had not yet produced and was therefore substituted with one that they had made, but didn't go with the teeth).



Paint
In terms of quality, the paint work appears to be excellent. The face looks realistic, the eyes are precisely painted and glossy, the metallic elements -- whether actual metal or painted plastic -- are convincing and precisely executed. Accuracy is a slightly different matter: for example, parts of the sword should have been given a gold or bronze coloring, but like the old Kaustic Plastik set we get the same clean steel look; the leather strings wound round the boots and fur leggins should have been black. There is little in the way of weathering here, except perhaps on the dagger, the buckle on the back of the ornate belt, and the metal pendant. More weathering would have lent the figure's appearance added realism.



Articulation
Technically, since my set was the version that came without a body, there is none; the recommended M35 body (HERE, although M34 would probably work just as well) has pretty much all the articulation you could possibly expect and the rather skimpy outfit does not get in the way much. The boots allow for excellent ankle articulation, making wide stances easy to achieve. It is great that the boots include feet (or perhaps they are integral to them), and these fit well onto the TBLeague body. Nevertheless, the stainless steel plus silicone body is heavy and with a high center of gravity, meaning it is not going to be overly steady on its ankles. Take precautions against the figure toppling over, and perhaps stuff something in to tighten the fit of the ankle peg into the hole inside the boot.





Accessories
The set includes the following accessories: the metal pendant on a string with four teeth or fangs (inaccurate, both because of their placement and because they were paired with a different, golden sun pendant that is not provided here); the green stone snake cult pendant; the decorated battle (?) headgear with "noseguard", which is tied with string at the back of the head; the dagger which fits into a sheath attached to the belt (it fits well, but perhaps a little too high); the long sword which comes with its own sheath with imprinted design and has a couple of hooks on its back, allowing it to hang from either the decorated belt (again, rather too high) or to attach to a leather-like belt that goes across the chest and back and is buckled on the front. There are several other items, but I am keeping covering them under Outfit below. The accessories are of high quality in terms of durability and execution, but again not always entirely accurate (most notably the pendant paired with the teeth/fangs necklace or the lack of gold treatment on the decoration of the sword).



Outfit
The outfit is minimal, but that is the look we saw on screen for most of Conan the Destroyer. There is a furry (wolf- or bear-skin?) kilt, held in place by leather thongs (called "leather pants" in the product description), over which goes the wide belt decorated with "metal" strips and a dragon crest in the middle; all this is very well executed. The lower arms are protected by a couple of vambraces. On the right lower arm there is a brown leather vambrace with gold- or bronze-colored round studs (which represents the much more numerous and more closely set spikes in the film -- the simplification is carried over the old Kaustic Plastik set). On the left lower arm there is a black leather vambrace with thongs, held together by velcro (I'm not sure it should have been quite black as opposed to dark brown, except perhaps for the thongs wound over it; and it should have been made a little wider to allow a more comfortable fit). Finally, there are the brown leather boots with grey fur trim on the top, and brown leather straps (should have been black or much darker brown leather) wound around both boot and trim. These constantly move out of place and require some futzing to get halfway right; nevertheless they do not fall apart like those in the original Kaustic Plastik set, which is a relief.



Fun Factor
The absence of other character from the Conan films does not help, but nevertheless, the fairly complete outfit and accessories makes this a fun set. This is augmented by the excellent articulation potential and by the quality and durability of the items included in the set. Still, not something you would want careless children to mess around with.



Value
The set I bought, without the M35 body included, retails for anywhere between around $85 and $100 (USD), often with shipping included, if you're buying on eBay from China. This is not exactly cheap, but it is not horrendously more than the price of the old Kaustic Plastik sets from years back, partly reprized by Mr Toys. If you are buying the set with the M35 body included, the price jumps to closer to $180, but that includes the $80+ for the body. Overall, the price is not inconsiderable, but also not horribly exaggerated compared to earlier and similar practice. But of course if you are buying multiples, or also looking forward to picking up Mr Toys' He-Man set and Kaustic Plastik's new and improved Conan set, the costs will add up.



Things to watch out for
If you are treating the figure with the usual amount of care appropriate for high-end collectibles of this type, there should be little or nothing to worry about. As I mentioned, the figure can be a bit top-heavy and lose its balance, so take precautions about that. I do worry that the little round metallic studs on the leather vambrace on the right hand might fall off, as they did with the Kaustic Plastik version, but on the whole the quality seems to be better, so perhaps it should less of a concern.



Overall
All told, this is a very good set. It is not perfect (occasional mistakes with the pairing and painting of accessories, etc), but it is fairly complete as far as what we can associate with this look of the character, and it is durable and beautifully executed. Don't get me wrong: I love the old Kaustic Plastik stuff, and between their two sets, you do get more than you get here; however, I am weary and wary of everything I touch coming apart in my hands, and Mr Toys' set is like a breadth of fresh air in that respect. Moreover, with the new head sculpt, the "real" hair, and the removable headband, we get some real and unprecedented improvements in terms of the selection, functionality, and appearance of the items making up the set. I am very pleased overall, and I think most others who go for this set will be too. One should note that it looks like the new Kaustic Plastik set will correct some of their earlier mistakes and omissions (including some carried over into the Mr Toys set) -- but the new Kaustic Plastik set is much more expensive, does not include a body, and features a beautiful but one-piece sculpted head (the hair and headband are part of the head sculpt).



Where to buy?
This is a tough one. Most outfits carrying these here in the States have long sold out their pre-orders, although it is to be expected that they might get some additional sets. I don't like to pre-order, but when I saw so many venues sold out, bit the bullet and pre-ordered from GianToy (you can do so directly or via eBay). If you want one and haven't pre-ordered it, check where you would usually check (just in case), or look on eBay.

For comparison purposes, here are a couple of photos of this set alongside my custom Conan the Barbarian (also based on the appearance in Conan the Destroyer) and the much more loosely-inspired "Conanesque" figure.





I hope you found this useful. What do you think?

Update: for the new Kaustic Plastik Conan Masterclass set, see HERE.

#conan #barbarian #arnold #schwarzenegger #mrtoys #film #fiction #fantasy #warrior #male #productreview #review

Like so many of us, I wasn't completely satisfied with Hot Toys' Aquaman head sculpt in terms of both likeness and molded hair sculpt (which is very nice in and of itself, but hair this long should not be sculpted for various reasons). So I decided to modify it with a re-hairing and partial repaint. Here is a little summary of the progression of the project.

Although Hot Toys made the questionable decision to go with sculpted hair, it tried to improve its appearance by installing it in layers, which helps customization by easing removal and allowing for a more or less complete fully-realized head beneath. I began by carefully tugging on the soft plastic hair of the original head sculpt (1). In this instance it is composed of four different pieces glued to the head proper and to each other. Luckily, they weren't glued very strongly, and with just a little bit of persistence and repetition, I was able to begin pulling off the largest, enveloping exterior hair piece (2).



This left the pieces hanging over the sides and back of the neck (3a-3b). They were removed the same way.



Removing the pieces hanging over the side (4) and the back leave us with a bald head (except for a bit of the hairline over the forehead, which I decided to keep) which features some useful goorves carved into it (5a-5b). The reason these are useful is that without them you would end up with an even fuller, puffier hair after you glue it onto the head, and they help diminish this problem a little bit.



Next I used three different colors of hair to glue onto the bald head in tiers -- starting with a line just above the neckline running around the back of the head and moving upwards. When this step was completed, the look was a dramatic mess (6). After the glue had cured, I weeded off loose strands and rinsed the hair to make it fall a little more naturally, and painted some highlights and color variations (to match the hair) onto the molded beard, mustache, and forelock, as well as over those parts of the hair where the glue was visible; I also tried to lighten some of the painted stubble on the head (where the mustache and beard part going upwards along the jawline) to increase the likeness to Jason Momoa (7).



Finally, I cut down the hair to the correct length (with locks reaching as far down as about the armpit) and treated it with a mixture of water and shampoo+conditioner that I did not rinse off, to give it a more natural fit (8a-8b). And with that my modifications are complete.



Here are three views of the resulting appearance.



And here are some more close-up ones.



Here is a comparison between the HT set (Aquaman from Justice League) and the same with the modified head. I should point out that I was modifying the head on principle, not specifically for this figure set or look. I am also aware that the screen look has much more emphatically bleached locks towards the lower reaches of the hair, but I wanted a slightly more organic and subdued look.



I think it turned out ok, and I hope you liked it or found it interesting. What do you think?

#jasonmomoa #hottoys #aquaman #custom #kitbash #mod #hair #head #headsculpt #superhero #scifi #fiction #film #movie #actor #male

Given all the hype about HT's newly announced and amply overpriced Avenger figures, I thought I'd share with you this leaked deleted scene from one of the recent films. (Still haven't seen Endgame, so no spoilers or accept bad karmic consequences.) (As far as I can tell, this scene does not contain any spoilers...)

























I find it comforting to know that superheroes need counseling and conflict resolution, too.

How did all this happen? I wanted to showcase the closest I will ever get to an HT Thanos -- a third party Thanos body with an HT Thanos head and neck sculpted by me (so it would fit). Of course, the Thanos body was modeled after the undersized first HT Thanos figure (which also had an even more undersized head), whereas the nice head came from the correctly-sized second HT Thanos. The result is, well, a bit on the bobble head side, although I think Thanos' head is actually undersized in the original design and since this matches the hands, you might almost call it an improvement. However, it didn't help that the photos above were mostly shot from overhead, making the head look even larger. So here it is, with the rest of the set (which offered more than HT, barring the throne).



Hope you liked it. What do you think?

#thanos #avengers #thor #starlord #peterquill #captainamerica #steverogers #tonystark #ironman #doctorstrange #drstrange #blackwidow #natasharomanoff #rocket #satire #parody #film #movie #superhero #comedy

Note: For the ready-made fully-articulated new Hasbro Rogue One figure, see HERE.

Stormtroopers were among the original set of Star Wars action figures, but have encountered a long string of imperfections in any common collectible scale. Of those based on the films set in the time of the Original Trilogy, the Rogue One 1/6-scale version by Hot Toys probably came closest to capturing the precise appearance of what we saw onscreen, but that version of the imperial stormtroopers was itself slightly modified from the basic original design (you can check out my detailed review HERE). I am not talking about these here and today.

I am talking about the "classic" or "vintage" scale of figures (generally about 3.75 inches tall) established by Kenner and continued by Hasbro. First, a brief journey through a few of the more important stages of Stormtrooper action figure evolution at that scale. Kenner's original Stormtrooper (1978) was nicely sculpted for its time, but unfortunately under-articulated even then: the usual five-point articulation (swivel shoulders and hips and head) was brought down to four points, because the helmet was sculpted as part of the torso. A sparse and often sloppy paint application made the figure's appearance even more unfortunate.


(More photos and brief review HERE.)

Kenner's figures became more and more sophisticated in sculpting and paint, but the Stormtrooper was not revisited and continued to be produced on the basis of the same molds. Until, that is, the Power of the Force collection included with a hideous, misshapen, and standing-challenged figure (1995). The less said about this, the better. The one improvement was that the head could now swivel around on top of the neck, and the waist could swivel around its axis.


(More photos and brief review HERE.)

After that travesty, things looked up when Hasbro acquired the license. In 1999 it produced its first Stormtrooper (with battle damage), complete with a gun rack and 10 points of articulation (admittedly, of the rather basic, swivel kind, except for the ball-jointed neck and shoulders).


(More photos and brief review HERE.)

Hasbro's improved model took off, and was reiterated and occasionally slightly modified over the following years. By 2011 (Vintage Collection # 41), the little Stormtrooper featured not only a removable helmet and an underlying battle-scarred human face, but also 14 points of articulation and ball-jointed neck, shoulders, elbows, waist, hips, knees, and ankles. I had started collecting action figures again.


(More photos and brief review HERE.)

What more could you ask of a 3.75 inch action figure? These figures were not perfect, but for the most part the issues were the preciseness (or lack thereof) of paint application and the often soft or distorted sculpt of the helmets (and not just those that were designed to be removable and made of softer plastic). Then Hasbro went backwards instead of forwards, abandoned the excellent articulation it had achieved, and reverted to... five points of articulation (except for the 6-inch Black Series Collection). And that was enough to get me stop collecting Star Wars action figures in the Classic scale.

But while the articulation went back to Neolithic, Hasbro's sculpting improved dramatically and so did the resolution of its paint application (I say resolution, because it is not always applied with absolute precision or correctness). The sad under-articulated Stormtroopers produced for Rogue One appeared perfect until you tried to pose them. This made me think: is it possible to combine the excellent head (i.e., helmet) sculpt of these new figures with the nicely articulated Stormtrooper bodies of Hasbro's more felicitous products? In almost all cases, that proved impossible -- not without serious alterations (whittling off parts of the neck pegs) and compromises (like having exceedingly wobbly heads or sacrificing neck articulation completely). But there was one combination that worked perfectly, and that is the point I have been getting at.

You would need a Hasbro Rogue One 3.75-inch Stormtrooper (either the ones carded by themselves HERE or, better yet, the ones in the two-pack with Baze Malbus HERE -- these have a better/more complete paint application) and a Hasbro 3.75-inch Spacetrooper (Legacy Collection # 32, HERE and HERE).



The Spacetrooper is nothing more than a Zero-Gravity-kitted-out Stormtrooper, let loose on the surface of your friendly neighborhood space station. He has been given a removable rebreather tank system with a hose and an additional blaster rifle.



The face, which has been described in somewhat unflattering terms, is actually a decent attempt (given the scale and the time when it was made) at capturing set photos of none other than the versatile Star Wars designer and occasional extra Joe Johnston preparing to be filmed as a Spacetrooper.





At any rate, the crisply sculpted and (usually) precisely painted new Stormtrooper helmets fit perfectly on the "Spacetrooper" neck peg, making for the simplest custom of all time (I am sure it's a draw, but it is one of them). Now you can get a good looking (as in screen-accurate) and well-articulated Stormtrooper all rolled into one.



Can it get any better? Yes. If you used the helmet from the single-packed Rogue One Stormtrooper, you'd probably want to paint in the two trapezoidal areas on the back of the helmet (if you used the helmet from the two-pack, they are already -- and correctly -- painted). More importantly, while the "Spacetrooper" has 14 points of articulation, unfortunately the hips are swivel rather than ball-jointed. My attempts to swap out the legs with those from even better-articulated versions failed, although they should have worked in theory.



I helped myself to a bunch of both figures some years ago and did some army building. The under-articulated bodies would act as holders for the unused heads and helmets and could always be used for background characters in formation (which would be more authentic than painting them in as they did for the emperor's arrival scene in Return of the Jedi).



Now here's the possible rub: these figures are getting rarer to find, but are still available and often inexpensive (even the 2-pack). But Hasbro has re-launched its Vintage Collection and started putting out some excellent and (even more encouraging) excellently-articulated 3.75-inch figures. Not yet available at the time of writing but advertised to appear this year is the Vintage Collection Rogue One Stormtrooper. If it is like the others in the series, and if its sculpting is on a par with the earlier under-articulated versions, it would obviate the "need" to kitbash the perfect Stormtrooper. Of course, you might prefer a real Original Trilogy figure (I think we all would), but the differences -- especially in this scale -- are largely too minute to notice (unlike with the sixth-scale figures). And you can never have too many Stormtroopers. So if you happen to have a bunch of these already in your collection, you could still apply this easy kitbash to make them more compatible with the new ones you might be interested to get. That, at least, is how I see it.



As always, let me know what you think.

Note: For the ready-made fully-articulated new Hasbro Rogue One figure, see HERE.

#starwars #hasbro #stormtrooper #stormtroopers #spacetrooper #film #fiction #scifi #rogueone

Introduction

In the grand tradition of Bond Girls (should really say Women), Spectre featured established or rising European actresses, including Monica Bellucci and Lea Seydoux. The latter played the part of Dr Madeleine Swann, and Black Box's set purports to provide what is necessary to kitbash that character in sixth scale. With so much time having passed and so many other films having been seen, I barely remembered Spectre, but the promotional images for this set caught my attention. I ordered it even after I saw a brief review/caution by an eBay customer that the product does not match the promotional images exactly. And I am happy I did. The product is quite nice, even if it is not an exact replica of either the onscreen appearance of the character nor the promotional images; rather it is like one of those Hollywood epics that are "inspired" by a true story (or an actual piece of literature). Given that this is not a complete action figure set in the normal sense of the word, I am foregoing any ratings for the various categories.



Packaging

The set comes in a basic white rectangular box. The head sculpt is carefully tucked inside a little plastic bag and an inner, smaller rectangular box within; the larger box also contains the dress and the handgun. Everything is safe and collector friendly.



Sculpting

In and of themselves, the sculpt of the head and the accessories (handgun and detachable box magazine) are excellent, with plenty of precise detail (including an inscription on the gun handle). Whether or not the head sculpt is a spot on likeness of actress Lea Seydoux is harder to tell. Certainly, Black Box got plenty right, including the characteristic shape of the nose and the specific curved edges of different parts of her face. While I assume it is mostly an impression caused by the paint application, it is possible that the eyes have been sculpted a little too big/open and just a little too close together. The hair is rooted and generally pretty fine. In the promotional images it was darker and I liked that look even better, but the product comes with a mid- to dark blond hair that was more accurate to the appearance on screen. The hair style is a bit longer than what we saw in the film, perhaps because of the difficulty of making it look right if it were a bit shorter. I don't know if this is an issue limited to my own set, but the hair wig has been placed in such a way that if you brush the hair back over the right ear (as seen in the film), you would end up seeing the way the wig attaches (or not quite) to the face.





Paint

Here is where things get a bit trickier. The paint job is fine and precise, which is generally a good thing. The gun and its box magazine don't look weathered, but the first bullet in the box magazine looks metal and brass-colored, and the chamber (?) looks metal and silverish-colored. The eyelashes and eyebrow hair strands are painted individually which, combined with the large eyes and eye shadow give a doll-like effect. It is the eyes that throw off the likeness, as far as I can tell. The actress rarely opens her eyes this much, and she rarely wears this much eye shadow. As a result, the likeness suffers, although the visual effect is beautiful. On the head sculpt that came with my set the eyes are painted a little misaligned, but you have to look carefully to notice.



Articulation

The set comes without a body, so the articulation would depend on whatever body you use for your kitbash. I tried the head and dress on both a TBLeague/Phicen S17B and an Jiaou Doll 3.0 detachable feet KT; the head worked fine with both, but I stuck with the Jiaou body because it happened to have a fuller bust that looked better with the cut of the dress (see below). There is no restriction on any of the articulation except the degree to which the legs can spread sideways (because of the dress, wide stances would be impossible).



Accessories

Depending on how you count, the figure comes with only one or two accessories: the handgun and the detachable box magazine. They are sculpted perfectly well and painted very well, perhaps too cleanly (if you like your guns weathered). But she is a neat lady dressed to kill, so we can only assume her gun would be kept in perfect condition. The box magazine can slide in and out of the gun's handle just fine, and the first bullet at the top is sculpted and painted perfectly. The slide of the gun is also articulated.



Outfit

The outfit consists of a single item, the slinky white dress the character wore in the film (HERE). While the fabric does not quite move the right way and the proportions are not quite right, it is a brave effort and conveys the general look. The dress opens and closes with a velcro section along the left seam. For the most part it works well and nearly seamlessly, but at times the seam turns and becomes more apparent, looking like the dress is about to rip open. Another problem is the way the back of the dress drapes (or rather fails to drape naturally) over the small of her back. Perhaps some water treatment might overcome this problem, but it will not work right straight out of the box.

Whatever body was used on the promotional images appeared to work better with the dress than the ones I tried. The main problem is that the high waist is a bit too low and the dress appears to be designed for a taller and larger-busted body than would have been appropriate for the character/actress. My Jiaou Doll's 3.0 KT body worked reasonably well, but it is hardly perfect for the reasons mentioned above. The taller female bodies, especially on heels, fit best; but in terms of screen accuracy it may help to leave her without the shoes (which would not really show because of the long flowing dress anyway). If you are getting this set, remember to have one of the taller and larger-busted bodies available for it; the petite and middle-busted bodies will not work well with the outfit.



In the image below she is not wearing shoes and the kitbashed James Bond uses a Soldier Story body:


Fun Factor and Overall

The set has all the fun factor that a stunningly beautiful elegant female figure could bring to your sixth-scale collection, complete with its intended compatibility with a Daniel Craig James Bond (or any other of your choice). But if you wanted a perfect representation of Madeleine Swann or of Lea Seydoux, you might be somewhat disappointed.

As always, I hope this has been useful and am curious what you think.



Things to watch out for

Not a thing, provided you know how to handle high end action figures and accessories reasonably well.



Where to buy

You can try various eBay sellers (search for Black Box and Lea Seydoux or Spectre Girl) or the following (they might still be at the preorder stage):

Cotswold Collectibles - $58
Timewalker Toys - $60



#blackbox #blackboxtoys #bbt #spectregirl #leaseydoux #female #jamesbond #007 #danielcraig #spectre #film

Sideshow Collectibles: Big Trouble in Little China: Jack Burton



Introduction

It seems like an eternity ago Sideshow announced that it will be producing a sixth-scale figure of Kurt Russell as Jack Burton from Big Trouble in Little China. The goofy but entertaining film seems to encapsulate some of the more likeable features of 80s cinema, as does its protagonist, who was played by an actor once almost cast as another lovable scoundrel, Han Solo. This is Sideshow's second Kurt Russell figure, following in the wake of their Snake Plissken (you can find Michael Crawford's fair review of it HERE). As the first in-hand photos of the new product became available, there was much disappointment among collectors over the way it turned out. I did what I could to hang in there, and am rather pleasantly surprised. I have come to the conclusion that the final product is not substantially worse than what was shown in promotional images and, despite various problems, is a good representation of the character. That said, much could have been done differently.



Packaging: 4/4 stars

The figure comes in a basic true shoebox-type container with a fully removable lid. Unlike many other products, the box is elaborately decorated on all sides with colorful graphics, including images of both the Jack Burton and revolting guardian creature figures that are contained within. Inside the box are two plastic trays, each with its own transparent lid. The top one contains Jack Burton and some of the accessories, the bottom one contains the guardian, the stand, and other accessories. The two trays are wrapped by a wide cardboard cigar-wrapper band held together with tape, which needs to be undone. Otherwise, everything is completely collector-friendly. Without being particularly mind-blowing, the packaging is unique, attractive, and does its job. Added bonus: the box is somewhat smaller than those for most action figures in this scale (about 3.5 x 7 x 14 inches or 9 x 18 x 36 cm).



Sculpting: 3/4 stars

The sculpting of the figure and its accessories is very good (if at times just a little on the soft side), and represents an improvement on the production quality of Sideshow's Snake Plissken. For example, the hair strands are considerably finer, and so is the texturing of the skin. There are also plenty of wrinkles and moles and other natural details on the face (including the busted lip), finely sculpted veins on the arms and hands, and plenty of such detail on the non-human guardian figure. There are aspects of the design that are questionable: the hair around the face was sculpted separately from the hair on the rest/back of the head, and if you look carefully, you can detect the joint easily enough in the hairline; similarly with the seam between the two halves of the guardian. More obviously, the choice of hair style (it changes slightly throughout the film, due to circumstances) and especially the expression are not necessarily the best, depending on one's expectations. I would have preferred a more smug or smirking look myself, but it cannot be denied that Jack Burton had plenty of occasions for a concerned and confused look like the one chosen for the facial expression here. This is a legitimate choice, though perhaps not the most popular or recognizable. Look at it with the right shadows, and you will realize the sculpt is almost perfect; I think perhaps they made the back corners of his jaws a little too massive, but that is the only inaccuracy I can put my finger on -- if I am right. The hands are made of relatively soft plastic, which is a good thing in my book, but I wish all the fingers had been made separate. The soft plastic boots are also very nicely sculpted and textured.



Paint: 3/4 stars

Like the sculpting, the paint work is good, but not perfect. However, it might be that whereas the sculpt suffers from production decisions, the paint suffers from the execution. That said, there is plenty here that is done right: the eyes look glossy and moist, the strands of hair are given some nuances of brown, there is a little bit of light coloring on the face, the neck, and veins on the arms. There is some weathering on the gun's magazine, and the whole thing looks like dull metal; the watch face looks near perfect given the scale; the boots and the guardian were given a wash that makes them look more realistic. On the other hand, Jack Burton's eyes look a bit too bloodshot to me, some of the guardian's multiple eyes are not painted very precisely, and I can't help but feel that the eyebrows are painted in so light a color that they detract from the realism and recognizability of the face. Then there are some shinier bits in the hair -- some of them appear to be on purpose, but others might be surplus glue from putting together the head along the seam in the hairline; I also found some unexpected shiny spots on the otherwise matte arms.



Articulation: 3/4

As so often these days, companies seem to settle for decent rather than excellent articulation -- whether by the design of the jointed body or the clothing and equipment placed on it. This seems to be the case here. Like Sideshow's Snake Plisken, Jack Burton sports a jointed muscle body designed to show off the elbows. Perhaps for this reason, they went with single joints, which are less of an eyesore, but allow a bend of only about 90% at the elbow; the knees are slightly better. I can't tell whether it is the boots or the ankle design that restrict the ankle articulation in this case -- the boots are made of very soft plastic, although it might not be soft enough to allow the ankles to hold a bent position; but it could be the ankle design after all, as the ankle peg pops out when I try to bend it too far. As a result, Jack Burton can sit but not squat, and action poses are rather difficult. Otherwise the articulation is quite good.



Accessories: 3/4

The accessories that come with this figure include a knife, a gun with a removable magazine (featuring nicely sculpted and painted shells), the watch, extra pairs of hands, extra buttons, the guardian, and the stand. The watch is a tiny work of art, with a shiny transparent cover over its face. There are three pairs of hands in total: the relatively relaxed pair that come on the figure, the gun- and knife-grip pair (the right hand for the gun, the left for the knife), and a pair of fists. Each hand comes with its own wrist peg, which is a nice Sideshow tradition. The hands swap relatively easily and are nicely sculpted despite being made of fairly soft plastic. In case some of the buttons on the outfit disappear, Sideshow has provided three extra buttons (2 brass and 1 silver) in a little reclosable plastic bag. The guardian is technically a separate figure, or rather statue, nicely sculpted and painted (see above), but understandably unarticulated. The hexagonal black stand features the film title on its top, but being executed in black on a black background, it is difficult to read or even notice. A special bendable metal rod is provided to attach to the stand's stem (there are three little openings you can choose from, but you might need to open up the holes in the rubbery cover before you could insert the rod); attach the guardian on the outer end, and he can hover around and spook your figure. Is this a lot? Spare parts and stands are not exactly accessories, which leaves us with the knife, gun, watch, and guardian. And while the guardian is a cool extra, it is not exactly an interactive accessory. So that is not all that much for a $240 figure. Besides, there were other items (sunglasses, guns, bottles, etc) that could have been provided.



Outfit: 4/4

In this category, the product is pretty much impeccable, although once again one could question some of the choices. The denim jacket is beautifully executed and looks realistic and worn; the only drawback is that it was not featured much in the film. The jeans are not only nicely tailored, but give the appearance of a fashionable acid wash; they are perhaps a little too clean, and the white velcro closure for the fly is a little bit too obvious. Note that only the back pockets are functional. The little caps used as buttons on the jacket and pants are the right colors and size. The signature white tank top from the movie is reproduced in beautiful detail, the printed design matching what we saw onscreen perfectly, as far as I can tell. I have discussed the leather-like plastic boots above, but the only problem with them applies to the articulation category.  



Fun Factor: 3/4

This is somewhat more difficult to determine than usual. The limitations in articulation and the absence of other figures from the film are likely to get in the way of a perfect score in this category. Admittedly, Jack Burton comes with the guardian which can be placed to hover by him if you are using the stand, but there wasn't that much interaction between the two in the film. Nevertheless, you should be able to find a few good poses for the figure and display it on its own or alongside other similar collectibles.



Value: 2/4

At $240, this is an expensive collectible even these days. Given the good but not outstanding paint quality, the articulation limitations, and the small number of accessories proper, this is not much of a deal. On the other hand, there is the guardian, technically an extra figure. I like its inclusion, though I could have easily lived without it and with a lower price. If it wasn't for it's inclusion, I would have dropped the rating in this category a little lower.



Things to Watch Out for

No much. Take the usual precautions swapping hands, although it is not much of a challenge, and be careful attaching the magazine to the gun. As mentioned above, it may be difficult to insert the additional support rod for the guardian to the stem of the base, so take your time and open up the holes in the rubbery cover in that area. From previous experience (which could have been an exception), be careful with the paint, especially on the face. I noticed a little bit of flaking on the elbow joints, although there was no change in actual color.



Overall: 3/4 stars

Given the negative reception of this figure by so many, I was surprised to arrive at so positive a rating (and it is not an exact science). But while I might not have made the same choices in every instance (e.g., the facial expression), on the whole the product is faithful to the prototype (which was photographed at some distance and in a very specific light environment), very well sculpted, quite decently painted, excellently outfitted, and decently articulated. It is not perfect as a whole, or as a likeness of Kurt Russell in particular, but it is also not really bad. This might not be quite cool enough to do justice to a very cool character, whether it meets your expectations or needs would be up to you; I do not regret getting the figure (except maybe its price). I hope this review and its photos have helped inform you about it.



Where to buy:

This product is a Sideshow exclusive, and retails at $240.

So far, there are a couple of ridiculously overpriced listings on eBay, which I did not see fitting to include.



I hope you enjoyed this review, and am happy to answer any questions. Meanwhile, three more for the road...







#review #sideshow #jackburton #bigtroubleinlittlechina #male #film #productreview #kurtrussell

Time for one of those slightly controversial reviews tonight. I'm checking out Star Ace's new Audrey Hepburn, as seen in the film Breakfast at Tiffany's where she portrayed Holly Golightly. This is a portrait that is much, much better than other recent releases from them, including Artemisia and Marilyn Monroe. Unfortunately, I still have an issue with her neck...and with the price tag. I think people have a sour opinion on Star Ace right now though, and many won't give this sculpt its due because of it. The figure has a couple other issues holding it back, but the portrait isn't one of them.  You can find my full review here:

http://www.mwctoys.com/REVIEW-061118a.htm

or with the rest of the reviews at the usual:

http://www.mwctoys.com

Thanks for reading!

Michael



#productreview #female #film #audreyhepburn #breakfastattiffanys

As there is a thread about the potential Threezero version of major Motoko Kusanagi from Ghost in the Shell, I thought it could be useful to share some pics of the CAT TOYS take at the same character.

The outfit is nicely tailored even if it doesnt have a lot of detailings, the shoes are made of leather with wool gaiters, and the jumpsuite is tight but not restrictive for posing.

The headsculpt is the positive surprise of that offer, Cat toys went the rooted way for the hair, and the result is beyond my expectations, I didn't have to work it as much as some hot toys to get an accurate look. The eyes have the HT gloss which adds some realism, and the headsculpt itself has a great likeness, my guess is it's a clone from the HT civil war one.

The big let down of the figure are her accessories, an automatic rifle looking good from far but cheaply molded in one single piece, not what we usually expect at that size. You can't take of the mag or anything, which is surprizing as the side pistol has these features... it is still cheap execution too.
In the same way there two lower leg armor pieces that have a nice shape but a very cheap finishing for the strap and the color (I discarded them 10mn after unboxing lol)



















#ghostintheshell #custom #film #cattoys

Review of the just-released boxed outfit set from JX Toys, which is inspired by Tifa Lockheart from the "Final Fantasy" franchise. Click any image for full-size versions, or visit the JX Toys TiFa Female Fighter Photo Review album. No outtakes or anything -- everything I took is posted here.


JX Toys TiFa Female Fighter Photo Review by Ed's Toy Box, on Flickr

Before covering anything in the set, let me impress the importance of looking over the instructions and EVERYTHING in the box, and figuring out what the instructions are trying to tell you. It would help if you could read Chinese, but if you don't then I hope my experience can help you out.

Most importantly, hiding at the bottom of the box will be 3 sheets of fairly thick, transparent plastic. What they're trying to say in steps 1 and 4 are to use these sheets in strategic places.


JX Toys TiFa Female Fighter Headsculpt Portrait by Ed's Toy Box, on Flickr

Portrait shot of the "TiFa" headsculpt. Matches the S23B suntan pretty well, although I think you could also probably get away with using it on a pale figure as well. Might get a shot of that to show what I mean. Lovely, in a little more of a cartoon-y sort of way.


JX Toys TiFa Female Fighter Photo Review by Ed's Toy Box, on Flickr

The product pre-release photos looked like they put this set on the standard large-bust Phicen/TBLeague body (an S12D if you want to get particular about it), and while I think it's probably a pretty good match to the character model in the original game, I wanted to put her on the more muscular S23B body. While other characters in the game use swords and staffs and guns and other weapons to fight, Tifa is a martial-arts fighter who pounds enemies with her fists, and I thought the S23B body would be more appropriate. This does mean some stuff doesn't fit quite as well as it could.

The outfit starts with Tifa's trademark cropped tank top, adding in a pair of black panties. Nothing hugely out of the ordinary, but nicely executed.


JX Toys TiFa Female Fighter Photo Review by Ed's Toy Box, on Flickr


JX Toys TiFa Female Fighter Photo Review by Ed's Toy Box, on Flickr

Closer look at the fit of the top and panty. No visible staining afterwards from the panty, but soaking it to remove any excess dye isn't a bad idea.

You can see a bit of the fuzz left behind by the shirt and the panty, but it's not a stain.


JX Toys TiFa Female Fighter Photo Review by Ed's Toy Box, on Flickr

The leather mini-skirt with suspenders is a very snug fit on the S23B. It is a stretch vinyl fabric, so it will give a bit while getting it on but should snap back into place once it's in position. Still, a bit of wax paper or plastic wrap around the legs and hips will help a lot in getting the thing on.

There are ornamental buckles on her suspenders, which I would have preferred to be real ones to customize the fit. The suspenders are permanently attached to the skirt by those little loops, which are plastic that looks like elastic.


JX Toys TiFa Female Fighter Photo Review by Ed's Toy Box, on Flickr

The skirt is very, very short, same as in the game, and the suspenders help emphasize a specific part of Tifa's body. The panty can help the figure avoid stains and inadvertent flashing of naughty bits because that is a very, very short skirt.

FWIW, the box contains a larger plastic sheet which is intended to go on under the skirt, both to help get it on easier and to protect the body. The tight fit of the skirt means there's a lot of close contact between the skirt and the body and that can lead to staining very easily.


JX Toys TiFa Female Fighter Photo Review by Ed's Toy Box, on Flickr

Make sure the criss-cross in the suspenders goes in back and not in front. It's also not too easy to see here, but I think the first problem the set runs into on the S23B body is that the rear waistband leaves a pretty big gap on the back.


JX Toys TiFa Female Fighter Photo Review by Ed's Toy Box, on Flickr

There are 2 arm sleeves that are made of the same stretchy material as the skirt. The first mistake I made in dressing the figure was putting some plastic wrap on her arms to help get the sleeves on, but not going all the way up the arm. This is what two of those clear plastic sheets in the box are for.


JX Toys TiFa Female Fighter Photo Review by Ed's Toy Box, on Flickr

Whatever you use to get those sleeves on, they look pretty good once they're in place and the material is flexible enough that a Phicen body can still hold bent-elbow poses. At least with plastic wrap under there -- I think the plastic sheets in the box are VERY thick and might impair elbow functionality more than the sleeves do.

The box also comes with three pairs of hands, which will be seen later.


JX Toys TiFa Female Fighter Photo Review by Ed's Toy Box, on Flickr

There's a pair of dark socklets that are supposed to go on the leg under the boots, but I found them to be completely useless. I just couldn't get them over the ankle peg and onto the legs, so I ditched them entirely.


JX Toys TiFa Female Fighter Photo Review by Ed's Toy Box, on Flickr

The boot is a solid piece of semi-hard plastic, with an ankle socket at the bottom of the foot. It fits the Phicen/TBLeague ankle ball perfectly, but the stiff structure of the boot means you get limited ankle articulation and therefore limited posing possibilities.


JX Toys TiFa Female Fighter Photo Review by Ed's Toy Box, on Flickr

The completed figure, along with the spare hands she has in the box. She's sporting her fist hands (why oh why doesn't Phicen/TBLeague make fist hands themselves?), a pair of flat-palmed hands, and then a semi-open right hand and a fist left hand with a band. Of the hands, only the left-band fist had trouble getting on or off the wrist peg.


JX Toys TiFa Female Fighter Photo Review by Ed's Toy Box, on Flickr

"It'll be better for you if you go limp when I knock you out. Otherwise, you might hurt yourself worse when you fall."


JX Toys TiFa Female Fighter Photo Review by Ed's Toy Box, on Flickr

Pow!


JX Toys TiFa Female Fighter Photo Review by Ed's Toy Box, on Flickr

My problem with the boots is that they're stiff enough that you lose ankle articulation, but not so stiff that they can support the figure on their own. This is about as deep a stance as you can get before you lose stability. The socklets might help by removing some of the slack in the ankle, and maybe I should have just been more patient (or used plastic wrap) to get them on. But I'm generally not a fan of sculpted boots overall. If they were doing this, I'd have preferred one of those two-section designs like Hot Toys has been doing lately, though I don't know if her boots work with that design.

Overall, I think there's a whole lot to like about the clothing set, and mostly minor quibbles about the things I don't (the specific tailoring, potential for staining, and the boots). If you're a fan of the character, I think it's a pretty good buy for the money.


JX Toys TiFa Female Fighter Photo Review by Ed's Toy Box, on Flickr

And here's the reason why you should really pay attention to the stuff in the box. I used plastic wrap on the arms, but only up to the elbow, and this left stains on the inside of both elbows from the sleeves. Considering how tight the fit is, I'm a little surprised it didn't go higher. I'm not holding this against JX Toys since they do include SOMETHING in the box to keep this from happening, and I'm pretty sure I can get those out on my own. So let my impatience be a warning to anyone who gets this set.

#jxtoys #tifa #finalfantasy #productreview #female #film

Just sharing these past works with one of my fav figure, I think it was my first hot toys in fact... Anyway, the headsculpt was a lot criticized, it could be better for sure, but with the right angle there is something of harrison Ford, definitely... I tried to recreate various moments of that iconic trilogy, hope you'll like!

















#diorama #indianajones #film #male #harrisonford

The 1/6th Scale Katniss Everdeen (Leather version) Collectible Figure Features:

1:6th scale body, approximately 30 cm tall with over 30 points of articulation
Fully realized authentic likeness of Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen in the Movie “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” with accurate facial expression and detailed skin texture
Each head sculpt is specially hand-painted and has sculpted hair.
Three (3) interchangeable hands including:

One (1) left hand for holding the bow
One (1) right hand for holding an arrow
One (1) right open hand
Costume:

One (1) black inner shirt
One (1) brown jacket
One (1) pair of brown jeans
One (1) arm guard
One (1) grey sweater
One (1) pair of brown boots
Accessories:

One (1) bow
Four (4) arrows
One (1) quiver with shoulder strap
One (1) banner
One (1) Plastic stand with clip
**PROTOTYPE SHOWN, FINAL PRODUCT MAY BE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT
**PRODUCT DETAILS SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE
THE HUNGER GAMES TM & 2018 Lionsgate Entertainment Inc. All Right Reserved.
2018 Star Ace Toys Limited. All Rights Reserved.













#newproduct #hungergames #female #movie #film

POPTOYS EX016 1/6 Agents Couple Series-- Mr. Smith Action Figure
List:
Head*1
Body*1
Shirt*1
Bulletproof vest*1
Armed belt (including holsters)*1
Pants*1 pair
Leather shoes*1 pair
G17*1(including long cartridge holder)
Beretta*1(including long cartridge holder)
Shotgun*1
Submachine gun*1
Bandage*1
Watch*1
Sunglasses*1 pair








POPTOYS EX017 1/6 Agents Couple—Mrs. Smith Battle version
List:
Simulate head*1
Body*1
Shirt*1
Bulletproof vest*1
Armed belt (including holsters)*1
Pants*1 pair
Leather shoes*1 pair
G17*1(including long cartridge holder)
Beretta*1(including long cartridge holder)
Shotgun*1
Submachine gun*1
Sunglasses*1 pair







POPTOYS EX018 1/6 Agents Couple Series—Mrs. Smith SM Version
List:
Female head*1
Up-do head*1
Body*1
Black leather skirt*1
Panty-hose*1 pair
High boots*1 pair
Handcuffs*1
Whip*1
Arm sleeve*2
Wool Jacket*1
Scarf*1








#newproduct #movie #film

Okay, before I start posting some of my really long and complex past project threads, I thought I'd do another short quickie. This one's from about two or three years ago, so much more recent than that fally I just posted. HFRO is still one of my all-time favorite action dramas, and I had always wanted to do a 1/6 Marko Ramius.

---

"...My officers and I request asylum in the United States of America."





More pics under better lighting to show details:









Headsculpt and body: COO, from the Teutonic Knight set
Tunic: Toys City school uniform set
Pants: Dragon K-19 set
Shirt: DiD (don't remember which, one of the white collarless ones)
Shoes: DiD (don't remember which)
Shoulder boards, chest ribbons, gold buttons, star and bars on sleeves: K-19 set
Peaked cap: ITPT black SS, with Dragon German chin cords (painted gold) and K-19 cap badge
Medals on right breast and wreath insignia on cap: scratch-made by me (talk about eye strain!)


I managed to pick up the Dragon K-19 set for a decent price on ebay a while ago, and I always had wanted to use it on a Marko Ramius figure. That set's uniform is totally wrong for Ramius, though, but the overcoat and fur hat works. Then the COO Teutonic knight came out with a decent Connery sculpt, so I got that. And finally someone on this board [OSW] in another thread mentioned the Toys City school uniform as a good match for Ramius' uniform, so I purchased that as well and pretty much had all my parts to get started, minus shirt and shoes which weren't too hard to find.

I took whatever insignia I could use from the K-19 set, including those nice gold buttons. Cutting off the stars and bars from the sleeves meant destroying that tunic, however, so I was committed. I had to modify the bars by reducing the number from four to three and also painting in the gaps with gold paint to better represent Ramius' markings. Shoulder boards are modified with one gold stripe painted out and one star added to the existing two (from the extra shoulder boards on the overcoat). Unfortunately the medals on the K-19 tunic were just stickers and not realistic at all, so I redrew and cut them out of styrene and painted them and coated them with Future (fortunately I had a little gold star left over from the shoulder boards I could use on the diamond shaped medal).

The tunic is a very close match in cut and shape, except for lacking the breast patch pockets. I didn't end up trying to make those because a) I didn't have any matching material to make them out of b) I was lazy and c) you can barely see it in pics because of the black uniform. The material by the way is very fine and smooth and the tailoring is really sharp with nice padded shoulders and fully lined. However the pants were very modern and skinny, which would have looked wrong for the mid 80s uniform look so I used the K-19 pants. The material doesn't quite match but the black color hides it well.

I like how the cap turned out even if it's oversized and not the perfect shape. The black SS cap had the correct white piping (the one on the bottom was painted out), and when you add the gold insignia and details and also a styrene stiffener in the crown it looks okay. (cutting out those little wreaths and scribing them really tested my patience!) Good enough for a prop accessory. Ramius never wears his cap during the movie—the only scene where he has it is pictured above when he meets Jack Ryan and Capt. Mancuso for the first time.

The headsculpt needs a little work to better look like Connery in the film. It's not a perfect resemblance but not bad IMO. I repainted the beard and hair and eyebrows and lowered the hairline just a bit. What I should have done was also resculpted more hair around the widow's peak, but I was lazy and just wanted to try it with paint. The skin tone is lightened with some airbrush work as well. Here's a before pic, courtesy of Rattlesnake Toys, from whom I bought an extra sculpt as insurance and to practice on.


At the end of it all I had a spare head, extra pants, overcoat, and fur hat, so all I needed was another pair of shoes, a scarf and some gloved hands to represent Ramius when he stands on the bridge in that iconic opening scene.


I added binoculars to give him something to hold, even though he's just holding on to the edge while Borodin scans the horizon with his binoculars. You'll notice how tan his skin is (I didn't do any airbrush work on this one) and that my beard/hair repaint was not quite as finished, since this was the "practice head." BTW I only have one of those cap badges, so it's attached by Blu-tack to the peaked cap in case I want to put it back on the fur hat.

#film #jackryan #tomclancy #coldwar #coomodel #custom #kitbash #male

Actor Ryan Gosling has been in a large number of films and, although he has not portrayed a major blockbuster superhero (unless I'm having a senior moment as I write this), has received at least six sixth-scale treatments. Between two boxed sets and three loose head sculpts, I have picked up five of the six. The one that got away is Redman Toys' driver, which I never sought out after some disappointing reviews and photos, featuring what looked like some very roughly sculpted hair strands.

Roughly in chronological order, the five Ryan Goslings here are:
1. DID LAPD SWAT Assaulter Driver (boxed set)
2. K-Hobby (head sculpt only)
3. BBK Drive (boxed set)
4. Elite Clone K (also marketed as Officer K) (head sculpt only)
5. Blackbox Replicant Killer (boxed set, although I only picked up the head)



So, whether you want to showcase the actor's character from Drive or from Blade Runner 2049 or kitbash the character from The Nice Guys or The Place Beyond the Pines, you ought to have plenty of options to work with.



Ironically, as you can probably tell from the images (and see the zoomed-in photos below), while each head sculpt is fairly decent, none is a truly exact or outstanding likeness of the actor. While the frontal looks are dubiously successful in various ways, the profile looks tend to be quite good in each case.



The Elite head sculpt appears to be almost identical to the BBK one, except that the Elite version has a much thinner face and neck. The Replicant Killer head sculpt by Blackbox suffers in part from the atypical darker hair color and the different, relatively unfamiliar more wearied look of the actor, and has been received some dismissive comments. While I agree that something is off (again, especially in the frontal look), I am impressed by the extremely fine texturing of the skin and hair on this (most?) recent head sculpt.

What do you think?

#head #film #blackbox #bbk #elite #did #khobby #productreview

I found the movie quite poor except for Margot Robbie which saves the thing with Jared Leto, so I had very little interest in the figures, but my girlfriend gifted me the prisoner version of Harley Quinn.

I was so surprised by this refreshing and awesome figure while it is very basic, so I decided to build myself a more "iconic" version, just grabbing the head and a few extras to mix with my prisoner Harley.

Anyway, here is my queen of Gotham! Hope you'll like!























#custom #kitbash #female #film #suicidesquad

Next up in Hot Toys' extensive 1/6th scale collection of Avengers: Infinity War figures is Spider-Man wearing his new Tony Stark designed suit: Iron Spider!

Hot Toys – MMS482 – Avengers: Infinity War– 1/6th scale Iron Spider Collectible Figure:


- Authentic and detailed likeness of Iron Spider in Avengers: Infinity War
- One (1) newly developed interchangeable masked head with LED light-up function (white light, battery operated)
- One (1) newly developed masked head sculpt with four (4) sets of interchangeable eyepieces that can create numerous combination of expressions
- One (1) newly painted interchangeable head sculpt with authentic likeness of Tom Holland as Peter Parker
- Newly developed body with 30 points of articulation
- Approximately 28.5 cm tall
- Twelve (12) pieces of interchangeable hands including:
· One (1) pair of fists
· One (1) pair of relaxed hands
· One (1) pair of palms for cobweb shooting
· One (1) pair of palms for cobweb swinging
· One (1) pair of open hands
· One (1) pair of gesturing hands


Costume:

- One (1) newly developed metallic red and dark blue colored Spider-Man suit with gold trims, embossed cobweb pattern and dark blue spider emblem on chest
- One (1) pair of red-colored boots with gold trims and embossed cobweb pattern
- Two (2) pairs of detachable gold-colored articulated Iron Spider pincers


Accessories:

- One (1) Spider-Man mask (not wearable on figure)
- One (1) open spider web effect accessory
- Four (4) strings of spider web in different shapes and lengths, attachable to the web-shooters
- A specially designed Avengers: Infinity War themed dynamic figure stand with movie logo


Artists:

- Head Sculpted by Yulli
- 3D Design by Da Hye, Kim
- Head Painted by JC. Hong
- Head Art Directed by Kojun

Release date: Approximately Q1 – Q2, 2019

** Prototype shown, final product may be slightly different
**Battery included for collectible figure, button cells are required.
**Product details could be subjected to change without further notice






















#newproduct #spiderman #infinitywar #MCU #Marvel #superhero #male #film

While waiting for QMX to get around to following up their stellar series of Firefly and Star Trek captains and crew (Mal Reynolds, James Tiberius Kirk, Jean-Luc Picard, Spock, McCoy) by releasing the new Kirk, I couldn't help but kitbash my own.

Most of the outfit is from the 12" Playmates Star Trek Command Series Kirk (partly modified), on a new body, with a new black undershirt, and new boots. The head is new too, partly repainted (eyes, sideburns, eyebrows, hair). It was ironic that I darkened the hair to make it look more like Chris Pine, but then had to lighten it up with highlights to approximate his appearance in the films (the hair sculpt is not quite exact but I wasn't going to recarve it).

Here are a few photos of the custom/kitbashed Kirk, with the other Star Trek characters produced by QMX (except for George Hamilton).



















#custom #kitbash #startrek #kirk #male #film

I've always considered myself more of a customizer/kitbasher and never really bought many boxed sets. Even those would always get tweaked/modded/weathered/painted/taken apart/parts swapped/etc. And until recently I had never bought a HotToys set, they just seemed too pricey and I wasn't that interested in their licenses. But this past year I actually bought several, and aside from Wonder Woman the rest were all Star Wars female characters. Jyn and Rey were pretty much perfect out of the box. Sure they could use a little extra weathering but for once I didn't feel the need to do anything with them other than "play" with them, a very strange experience!

The Jyn deluxe set is especially great, because all the extras are just so cool, but I like the basic look the best, because she kicks total @ss in that scene on Jedha! She can hold a very dynamic pose because she's so solid on her feet, so I had some fun with posing her through some motions. Too bad I don't have a stormtrooper for her to bash!








Rey is not quite as steady on her feet but I managed a couple of poses inspired by movie stills and online images of her.




Nice to have some figures I can just enjoy out of the box instead of steeling myself for weeks/months of work!

#starwars #hottoys #female #film

thumbnail_IMG_1006 by Peter Miles, on Flickr

thumbnail_IMG_1004 (2) by Peter Miles, on Flickr

Thanks for looking.

Cheers,

Peter.

#custom #dwarf #head #lordoftherings #lotr #film #male

Stryker asked about this figure in another thread so here is a little review of the SideShow Tusken Raider from their Scum & Villainy range.

One of my favourite Star Wars characters this one, the Sand People. I think they look and sound just right for what they are meant to be, a great piece of creative magic.


This is the SideShow Tusken Raider, which seems to have only been produced in fairly low numbers, and so can be quite hard to get hold of now.


This is a really great figure though, and I would say well worth the premium on price you are going to pay because of the scarcity.

The materials used are really nice and drape perfectly to achieve the look from the films. All the pouches have a leather like finish to them and there is some light weathering applied too.

I think the head sculpt is spot on.

The accessories are all nicely finished too, and as well as the Gaderffii stick shown here there is also a long barrelled Tusken cycler rifle for those pod race sniping scenes, and a second Gaderffii with a sort of paddle end to it instead of the curved spike end.


I wanted to go for that classic pose of the Tusken Raider shaking his gaderffii above his head while attacking Luke Skywalker in the original film. I hope I have done it justice.


I love this figure and I am really pleased that I didn't let this one go when I saw it for sale.





As always please feel free to comment.

#starwars #tuskenraider #sideshow #film

Stryker asked in another thread about these so.........Yes, its those disgusting creatures, Jawas  


These again are one of my favourite Star Wars characters, I love their scenes in the original film.


This is a set of 2 Jawas by sideshow.
Very nice detail indeed and lots of extras and options. They come with the droid caller and Ion blaster shown here, but also have an ion blaster pistol, hand held welder and retraining bolts which they could be holding, along with a variety of different hands.
The figures have light up eyes, and of course are smaller in stature as you would expect. One is also slightly taller than the other.
The joints are a bit sloppy and they can be tricky to get to balance standing up, but not excessively so.
The costumes are great and the material choices are good.


I love these little guys.







As always any comments are very welcome.

#starwars #jawa #sideshow #film

TBLeague 1/6 Scale Hercules Action Figure

Item No: PL2018-115
Bar code:0 614614 988656

Hercules, son of Zeus and the mortal Alcmene is one of the most famous Greek heroes of all time. Angered by Zeus’ betrayal, Hera sent two snakes to kill Hercules in his crib while he was still an infant. But Hercules was so incredibly strong and fearless that he strangled the snakes before they could kill him. Later Hercules was ordered by Apollo to perform 12 heroic labors that made him famous and granted him immortality among the God of Olympus.

赫拉克勒斯（Ηρακλής），是古希腊神话中最伟大的英雄。
是主神宙斯与阿尔克墨涅之子，因其出身而受到宙斯的妻子赫拉的憎恶。
他神勇无比、力大无穷，后来他完成了12项被誉为“不可能完成”的任务，
除此之外他还解救了被缚的普罗米修斯，隐藏身份参加了伊阿宋的英雄冒险队并协助他取得金羊毛。
赫拉克勒斯英明一世，却最终遭第二任妻子误会，并在他的衣服上涂了毒，难耐痛苦而自焚身亡，
死后升入奥林匹斯圣山，成为大力神，他惩恶扬善，敢于斗争。

在如今的西方世界，赫拉克勒斯一词已经成为了大力士和壮汉的同义词。

Packing List:
1) 1 x head sculpt
2) 1 x TB League male seamless body with metal skeleton
3) 3 pairs x interchangeable hands
4) 1 x lion headgear
5) 1 pair x feet in shoes with long shafts
6) 1 x belt
7) 1 x waistband
1 pair x forearm armors
9) 1 x right shoulder armor
10) 1 x strap for upper body
11) 1 x shield
12) 1 x men’s brief
13) 1 x leather skirt
14) 1 x long sword
15) 1 x wolf's fangs mace
16) 1 x dagger with sheath
17) 1 x base
1 product/individual box
GW: 2 .6kg
Measurements: 24 .5cm * 15cm * 38 cm

4 products/master carton
GW: 11.6 kg
Measurements: 51 cm * 32cm * 40 cm



















#newproduct #tbleague #phicen #myth #film

I confess I have a crush onScarlett, I grabbed nearly all versions of her through the years, mainly the headsculpts...
Just sharing some shots from various set ups I made for her character in the MCU.

Hope you'll like!























#custom #superhero #female #film #avengers #civilian #diorama #blackwidow

Yesterday my Pre-ordered Zuckuss and Dengar figures arrived

I have already reviewed the Dengar figure here:  https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t111-product-review-sideshow-dengar

The figures were both pre-ordered here in the UK from:  https://www.dandyisland.com

So now its time to look at Zuckuss.

I was cautious about buying this figure because I have had a Hasbro 12" Zuckuss for a while and thought he was actually ok, and so I did not know if I wanted to pay for the SideShow figure for whats is a very background character.  In the end I obviously did buy him, and whilst this is definitely more detailed than the Hasbro offering I don't think it is such a big upgrade as Dengar is.

Packaging
This is much the same as Dengar, and all other SideShow Star Wars packaging so I won't dwell on this here.  I will however say that again on this box the cardboard used seems slightly thinner than previous SideShow boxes, and the overlapped seam which forms that box did not appear to have enough glue applied and was separating straight out of the brown packing box.  It just does not feel as good a quality as previous boxes from SideShow have.  Quite disappointing for a collectors model at this price point, as for many, including me, the packaging is part of the whole.





The Figure

Let me start by saying that this is a good figure.  I probably don't think it warrants the asking price but that is unfortunately the 1/6 world we live in  

I think the sculpt of the head is very good and it has those lovely sort of translucent eyes similar to those seen on the earlier 4-LOM figure.  From certain angles they really bring the head to life.  It is difficult to tell from movie stills how accurate the colouring is but it looks right to me. The mix of organic and mechanical elements in the head has been handled very well and the overall impression is very convincing.

The figure itself seems to me to be slightly to tall.  Only by a few millimetres, but I think it is noticeable.  To my eye the extra height is found in the chest area, it just seems to long. This can be mitigated when posing the figure by bending the torso forward a little, but this is not that easy to do and only partly solves the issue.  The extra height also seem to make the figure look too slim, and he does not have the quite squat, dumpy, look of the film character.

The costume is very good, and I like the leather belt and harness which has magnetic closures on the pouches. The leather could have been made to look slightly more "used" but it is ok as it is really.  
The long coat is superb, and looks just like it should.  It has a slight silver sheen to it, and looks worn and used to a perfect finish.  To me it does feel a little freaky to the touch I can only describe it as "crispy", and every time I touch it I fear that I will damage it in some way but it does seem to be able to deal with being handled normally though.  
There are some really cool boots under that coat which are sadly all but covered up.
The pipes and breathing apparatus are all sculpted very well and are flexible enough to pose without feeling fragile.  I particularly like the back panel which given the available pictures of the film costume must be "imagined" by SideShow and they have done a grand job of it.

Extras are limited to the blaster and spare hands.  There is the usual hexagonal base as well but as this is included with every figure it is hardly an extra.  
That said what extras could have been added for a character that has as limited a screen appearance as this one.  I suppose that at the price asked for this figure I expect a little bit more, but then I guess I am really paying SideShow to complete my collection
The blaster is very nicely done.  I believe the movie prop was made with an Enfield rifle as the base, and this can be seen well in the model too.  Parts of it do look quite fragile, especially given the shape and size of Zuckuss' hands, but it is actually quite robust.

The articulation of this figure is not great, although I think this is largely due to the limits of movement in the costume.  That said SideShow's Jawas have a good range of movement and similar costumes so I think SideShow could have done better in the articulation department with this one.  If you are looking for the pose from the movie then you are ok, but anything more might be a bit more of a challenge.

Conclusions
This is clearly an improvement over the Hasbro figure, but I do think the price is a little excessive for what you get.  
You can achieve a reasonable movie accurate look with this figure but the extra length in the chest area is apparent whatever you do.  
Achieving more action poses will be a challenge given the limits imposed on articulation by the costume (and the fear of damaging that crispy feeling coat )

I am very pleased with this figure.  Would I buy it again given that the Hasbro is actually pretty good (with a bit of extra paint on it)?  Yes I think I would, but I do think SideShow are asking for a high premium on this figure because they know that some collectors will pay more to complete their collections.  It does feel like I have been taken advantage of a little bit because of my penchant for collecting Star Wars Bounty Hunters









And a couple to compare this figure with the Hasbro 12" figure.  Some of the height difference is the extra height of the SideShow base.




Thank you for reading this review, and I hope you found it interesting and helpful.

As always any comments are very welcome.

#productreview #sideshow #starwars #empirestrikesback #film #bountyhunter