Tag Archives: Hot Toys

#0800: Two-Face/Harvey Dent

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

TWO-FACE/ HARVEY DENT

THE DARK KNIGHT (HOT TOYS)

TwoFaceHT1

Wow, it’s kind of a big day here. I’ve actually managed to write 800 of these things, AND it’s the last day of 2015. How about that. Well, let’s close out the year in style, with another Figure In Question “deluxe review!”

I’ve got quite a large selection of Hot Toys figures, and the vast majority are based on various Marvel Studios properties. However, the property that actually got me into the realm of high-end collecting was their rather impressive selection of figures from The Dark Knight. Wait, didn’t I just talk about how I only thought Dark Knight was okay, not great? Why, then, would I start shelling out the big bucks on figures from said movie? What can I say? My buying habits are an enigma! While everyone always praises Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker, I’ve always found that one of the unsung parts of the film is Aaron Eckhart’s turn as Gotham District Attorney Harvey Dent, known in the comics as Two-Face.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

TwoFaceHT2Harvey Dent/Two-Face was released as part of HT’s Movie Masterpiece Series, as number 81 in the line. He’s the fifth figure from the Dark Knight sub-set, after Begins-style Batman, Joker, Dark Knight Batman, and Bank Robber Joker (and, if you count the Tumbler and the Bat-Pod, he’s the seventh Dark Knight item to carry the MMS label). Two-Face stands about 11 ½ inches tall, placing him at a height just below Batman and Joker. Going by the actor’s heights, this isn’t too far off. Going by the solicitation for the figure, he has “over 30 points of articulation,” which is the best count you’ll get barring actually stripping the figure down to count the joints (which I won’t be doing). Harvey is based on his appearance in the last half or so of the film, from right before his capture by the Joker, up through the end of the film.

Appropriately for a character such as Two-Face, this figure includes a pair of head sculpts. The first is based on his scarred look from the last third of the film, which is his more distinctive “Two-Face” look. The right half of the face is a very good likeness of Eckhart, looking rather intense and angry. The texturing on the face is a little softer than a TwoFaceHT3lot of other HT figures, but it’s actually fairly realistic, and helps to further highlight the differences between the two sides. The hair is very finely detailed, and a pretty good match for the look from the film, if perhaps a bit too neat and tidy. The left side of the face is a fairly impressive sculpt purely from an aesthetic stand point, however it has a number of inaccuracies, particularly around the nose and chin. Given how closely the figure was released to the film, one assumes a certain degree of this has to do with the final look from the film changing from preliminary designs. The overall effect really isn’t bad, though, and the sculpt truly is a nice piece of work. The second head presents a pre-accident Harvey. While you might think that the two sculpts would be more or less the same on the right side, this doesn’t appear to be the case. They’re certainly similar, but there are a few differences. The hair is (unsurprisingly) parted a slightly different way, and the general demeanor of the face is less intense. While this is in keeping with the character from this point in the film, the end result is a sculpt that I don’t feel has as strong a likeness as the scarred head. Nevertheless, the sculpt is still a very nice piece. Both heads sport some excellent paintwork, in keeping with the usual work from Hot Toys, and they both showcase incredible realism.

Harvey’s outfit is made up of seven different pieces. He has a jacket and dress pants, a tie, button down shirt, belt, and sculpted shoes. The jacket is probably the weakest piece here. The tailoring isn’t terrible, but it’s a little bunchy and oversized. To replicate the burnt nature of the left side of the jacket, it’s been coated in a rubbery sort of material. While this is nice in theory, and perhaps the most plausible way of creating the look in a mass-TwoFaceHT5produced sense, it only further bulks up the jacket, and makes Two-Face look a little flabby. The tie is oddly plastic-y, but it looks reasonable enough and does a pretty fair job of replicating the look. The shirt, pants, and belt are all pretty nicely tailored and serve their purposes pretty well. The shoes are a fairly often used piece, but they fit the part and are quite well sculpted.

Harvey is an older HT figure, so he has less extras than some other figures, but he does still have a few. He includes:

  • 2 pairs of hands
  • An extra jacket
  • 2 coins
  • Campaign button
  • Revolver
  • Display stand

The hands come with one relaxed pair, plus a right hand for holding the gun and a left hand for holding either a coin or the campaign button. Both sets of hands are pretty well sculpted, and decently sculpted, though the thumb on the left hand has a somewhat visible seam on it.

The extra jacket is the same as the regular jacket, but without the rubber coating for the burnt side. The tailoring could still use a bit of work, but it’s a better piece overall than the other coat.

TwoFaceHT4The two coins are actually the same piece twice. It’s supposed to represent Harvey’s lucky double-sided coin. In the film, the piece is scarred in the accident that scars Harvey’s face. The coin here is small enough that it’s not really clear which version of the coin it’s supposed to be.

The campaign button is one of the ones worn by various characters in the film, which says “I believe in Harvey Dent.” It’s well scaled and well painted, resulting in a very faithful piece.

The revolver is a fairly standard piece. It’s nicely sculpted and scaled. The cartridge swings out and can be removed, which is a nice touch.

Last up is the display stand, which is just the standard piece, which “Two-Face/Harvey Dent” printed on the front, as well as the logo from Dark Knight at the center.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Two-Face was my second Hot Toys figure. After getting Joker, I wanted to have a companion figure, so my parents offered to chip in half the price of the figure as part of my Christmas gift for that year. Though the figure might be worth a small fortune now, I actually got him for well below retail, since nobody seemed to want him at the time. While he’s not the greatest offering HT ever put out, and I don’t really think he warrants the high prices he goes for now, he’s a pretty solid figure, and I’m certainly glad to have him.

#0700: Joe Colton

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , ,

JOE COLTON

G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (HOT TOYS)

Colton1

Hey! I made it to 700 reviews! Cool! Alright, it’s another milestone, so, faithful readers know it’s time for another Deluxe Review! Let’s take another dip into the world of high-end collecting, courtesy of Hot Toys.

Now, G.I. Joe is the very first action figure, and it’s also completely owned by toymakers Hasbro. It’s very rare that one toy company allows another to make toys from an in house property, especially Hasbro, who are notorious for not even letting other companies anywhere near licenses that they merely hold, not own outright. So it was a bit of a shock when they allowed Sideshow to make 12-inch versions of their A Real American Hero characters, and even more of a shock when they let Hot Toys have the license for 2013’s G.I. Joe: Retaliation. They only made a small handful of figures, one of them being Bruce Willis’ Joe Colton, namesake of the G.I. Joe team.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Colton3Joe Colton is another figure from HT’s main Movie Masterpiece Series. He was technically an exclusive to San Diego Comic Con 2013, though he wasn’t actually available at the con; he just went up on the Sideshow site shortly after. So, he really wasn’t much different from a normal release. He’s figure number 206, putting him right between fellow exclusives “Star Spangled Man” Captain America and Evil Superman. The figure stands roughly 12 inches tall and has “over 30 points of articulation” according to Sideshow’s website. I’ll trust them on that. Joe is, obviously, based on his appearance from G.I. Joe: Retaliation. Specifically, he’s presented as he looks during the film’s big climactic fight scene (more or less).

Let’s start things off by taking a look at the head sculpt. It’s another fantastic piece of work from Hot Toys. The likeness is absolutely spot-on to Willis, right down to his slight, sarcastic sneering, grin. The lack of any sort of hair adds actually adds to the realism of the figure, and it helps that HT’s managed to get Willis’ head shape down pretty much exactly. The paint on the head lives up to the sculpt, further enhancing the likeness, and adding even more to the realism.

Colton2Joe’s costume is a pretty cool little nod to the history of G.I. Joe, actually. It’s based on the uniform of the Adventure Team Commander from the G.I. Joe: Adventure Team line from the 70s, who, by extension of appearing to be the same guy as the original Joe, is the guy Colton is supposed to represent. The outfit is made up of three main pieces, a t-shirt, a pair of combat pants, and jacket, as well as an assortment of additional parts, including two different belts, hip and shoulder holsters, and a pair of boots. The boots are sculpted pieces; they’re pretty nicely detailed, though they seem harder and less movable than previous boots. The holsters are also sculpted, and they fit their corresponding guns pretty well. The rest of the outfit is made up of tailored parts.  Everything fits pretty well on the body, though maybe not quite as perfectly as I’d like. The jacket in particular feels just a bit bulky when placed on the figure. That said, most of outfit sits very nicely with a minor amount of futzing. In an odd move for a HT figure, the pants of Joe’s uniform are just a bit inaccurate to the film; the right leg is permanently tucked into the boot, which is odd, and the left leg sports a kneepad not seen in the film, which cannot be removed. I’m not sure why HT decided to do these things; one would assume the more accurate straight green pants would have been easier to produce.

Joe makes use of one of HT’s more posable bodies. It also happens to be the body that balances look and posability the best of HT’s standard bodies, which makes it a good choice. The only real drawback is that the body uses a rather obvious set of double joints at the elbows, which is a bit of a bummer if you want to display him without the jacket. That said, the movement allowed by these joints is essential to him properly holding his weapons, making it a worthy trade-off.

Colton5Joe includes a decent selection of extra pieces, though he was lighter than some others. He included:

  • 6 different hands
  • Machine gun
  • Spare Magazine
  • Shot gun
  • 3 pistols
  • 5 ammo clips
  • Display stand

The hands come in a nice variety of poses, with basic relaxed (R and L), trigger finger (R and L), gun holding (R), and fist (L). The hands are very realistically sculpted and painted, and each fulfill their intended purpose quite well. Willis is left-handed, so I was happy to see the gun grip hand was his right, allowing him to hold the guns as he actually would. That seems like it should be a given, but the poor T-1000 didn’t even get a proper left-handed trigger finger, so you never know.

The machine gun is very nicely handled. It’s exact model is a SCAR-L*. It has a removable clip and a folding stock, as well as a strap, allowing it to be slung over his arm. It’s impressively detailed, with tons sculpt and paintwork, all of which do a good job of passing this off as a miniaturized version of the real thing.

The shot gun is my personal favorite of the weapons, mostly due to it being his most used weapon from the film, and it just working very well visually with the figure. It’s the Benelli M4*. It’s admittedly not quite as exciting as the machine gun, since it’s a more simplistic design to begin with. Still, it’s got a moving stock and a spring-loaded breach and it looks pretty cool in his hands.

The three pistols are mostly just there to fill the three corresponding holsters. Two of the three are identical, and the third isn’t far off. All three are Colt 1911s*. They’re well sculpted, and they have moving slides and removable clips, which is always cool. Unfortunately, the included trigger fingers aren’t really optimized for a smaller weapon, so he really can’t hold them all that well.

The ammo clips are the same as the ones in the three pistols, placed into nice little sculpted holders. They can be hung on is belts, or removed if you so choose.

The display stand is fairly run of the mill. It’s just the basic black oval stand, with a little tag for his name and the film’s logo printed on the base.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like so many of my Hot Toys figures, Joe was pre-ordered from the online store of Sideshow Toys, the North American distributor for HT’s stuff. He ended up being the last thing I ordered from their site, and in fact, I almost cancelled the pre-order. Not because I didn’t want him or anything, but because I had gradually been moving away from HT. I’m glad I never got around to cancelling it, since he’s actually a pretty cool figure.

*Thanks to Tim Marron, of Timsical Thoughts, for helping me ID the specific models of the guns.

Colton4

#0600: Tony Stark – Mech Test

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

TONY STARK – MECH TEST

IRON MAN (HOT TOYS)

TonyMechTest1

Holy crap, I’ve actually written 600 of these things. Wow. And people are still reading, like, at an increasing rate, even. I think I’m actually not scaring people off! Yay! Anyway, another milestone means another “Deluxe Review.” So, we once again dive into the world of high end collecting, with another figure from renowned toy makers Hot Toys.

HT first got into the Marvel game with the first Iron Man film. Over the last few years, Iron Man’s kind of been HT’s bread and butter. It seems like no matter how many versions of the guy they release, the demand just isn’t dying down. I’ve already looked at one of their more conventional Iron Man variants, but my personal favorite is actually a Tony Stark figure. Let’s check that one out!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Tony is part of HT’s main Movie Masterpiece Series. He’s number 116 in the line, and he’s numerically the fourth Iron Man figure in the line. He stands roughly 12 inches in height and has…ummm….a bunch of articulation. As with lots of HT figures, the clothing covers the majority of his joints, and since I’m not really in the habit of undressing these guys, I don’t really have an exact count. It’s worth noting that the movement in the arms is somewhat restricted, due to the armature on his arms. The figure’s appearance is based on the sequences of the first Iron Man film where Tony is testing out the mechanics of the armor, specifically the flight systems. Not the lengthiest portion of the film, but certainly an important one.

TonyMechTest2Let’s start things off by checking out the head sculpt. RDJ has one of those likenesses that seems to be difficult to capture, especially for Hot Toys. That being said, even though it was only their second attempt at a full RDJ sculpt, I actually think it holds up as one of HT’s better attempts. There are still a few issues here and there. I think the biggest issue with the likeness is the eyes, which seem maybe a little off. I can’t put my finger on it, but they just don’t seem right. Regardless, the sculpt is certainly of a high quality.  It’s full of some great texture and it really looks like a real person’s head. The paintwork just enhances this, with the expertly handled detailing for which HT is best known.

Typically, an Iron Man figure from HT is going to be a fully-sculpted venture. However, this one’s a little bit different. His costume is made up of a short-sleeve t-shirt, a long sleeve t-shirt, a pair of pants, knee pads, a few belts and straps, his boots, and his arm exo-skeletons. The short-sleeve shirt is a little too big to be in proper scale, especially around the collar, but it’s passable. The pants are pretty nice, an feature working pockets and belt loops. The kneepads are a nice hybrid of tailored and sculpted parts, as actual kneepads would be. The big work here is on the armored parts, which feature some tremendously detailed sculpting. You could almost be fooled into believing they’re actually made up of many smaller parts, but they’re just solid pieces. They are also exquisitely painted, which just helps to further the realism.

TonyMechTest3Under the costume is a fairly standard narrow-shouldered True-Type body, with a few main changes (that I know of, anyway). The biggest is the upper torso, which has be reworked to feature Tony’s signature Arc reactor. In addition, the arms (and torso) have been slightly re-worked in order to facilitate a light-up feature. The arms are wired up and can be plugged into the battery pack cleverly hidden in one of Tony’s pouches, and the torso features its own battery pack. The light-up feature works decently enough, however the batteries don’t last very long.

Tony was a little on the light side as far as extra pieces went, though he included one fairly large accessory that made up for it a bit. He included:

  • 2 pairs of interchangeable hands
  • A pair of shoes
  • Dummy
  • Display stand

The hands come in “repulsor” and relaxed varieties. Both pairs are gloved and allow for use of the light-up feature. It’s certainly nice to have the option of relaxed hands, but they really aren’t that different from the repulsor hands, making choosing between them somewhat pointless.

The shoes are a fairly standard pair of HT dress shoes. They’re molded in matte black. Truth be told, I didn’t keep track of the ones included with my figure, hence them not being pictured. I guess they’re meant to allow you to display a more casual Tony, though, it’s somewhat pointless, since the arm pieces can’t really be removed.

TonyMechTest4Dummy is definitely the coolest of the accessories. He’s integral to the mech test scene, so his presence here is much appreciated. He’s very nicely sculpted and painted, and matches up pretty much perfectly to the machine from the film. He isn’t perfect, though. A lot of his pistons and joints are just mock pieces, and don’t actually move the way they’re supposed to, which is somewhat frustrating. Also, he’s rather fragile. The bottom piece of mine just snapped one day, sending the poor bot tumbling. Hence the carefully cropped photo. Still, he’s a fun enough piece.

The display stand is actually different from the normal HT stand. It’s a flight stand, which is nice, considering the scene this figure is replicating hinges on Tony flying. The base is designed to look like a section of Tony’s workroom floor, which it replicates quite nicely, and there’s also a nice little engraved name tag at the front. I do wish it were just a little bit more compact, as it’s quite a shelf-hog as it is, but it’s not the worst thing ever. He also included a tri-fold cardboard background depicting the rest of the workroom. It’s rather simple; just a screen shot of the room, which can be stood behind the figure. Not the most exciting thing, but it’s there.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Tony here was a combination birthday/graduation present from my parents. Some kids get a car or something big to take off to college. Me? I got an action figure. Not that it’s really that surprising, right? Tony was only the third HT figure to be added to my collection, and he was the first Marvel HT I got, which makes him pretty special. Truth be told, he’s still one of my favorites, and I find him to be far more interesting than just a basic Iron Man.

TonyMechTest5

#0459: Robin

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

ROBIN

BATMAN ’66 (HOT TOYS)

Alright, here we are with the second part of our little break into “Ethan reviews someone else’s toys.” Yesterday, I took a look at the Hot Toys version of Adam West’s take on Batman from the popular 60s TV series. It’s only fitting that I follow it up by taking a look at Batman’s partner in (fighting) crime, the only bird more dangerous than a sparrow with a machine gun, Robin the Boy Wonder!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Like Batman, Robin is part of Hot Toys’ Movie Masterpiece Series. He’s figure MMS 219, which places him directly after Batman in the numbering of the line. Robin is about 11 ½ inches tall, which makes him just a slight bit shorter than Batman, and (going by the Sideshow website) he has 30 points of articulation. He’s based on Burt Ward’s portrayal of the character in the 1960s TV show and Movie, though according to the solicitations, he’s specifically movie based.
One of HT’s claims to fame is their incredible likenesses. In all honesty, Robin isn’t one of their more spot on ones. While Batman was very clearly Adam West, the likeness is a bit more debatable on Robin. From certain angles, it definitely looks like Burt Ward, but from others it’s not quite as clear. However, the sculpted mask does a lot to fill in the blanks, so I don’t think anyone will be lost on who this is supposed to be. Overlooking the minute issues with the likeness, the sculpt features all the fantastic detailing we’ve come to expect from Hot Toys. In a similar fashion to Batman, the mask has been done as a separate piece, which gives the head sculpt the right amount of depth and layering. The paintwork on the head is nothing short of amazing. There’s absolutely no slop or bleed over, and the detailing is superb.  It looks like a real person.

Robin’s costume is made up of nine parts in total. He has his signature shirt (with different colored sleeves), a cape, a pair of shorts, and a pair of flesh tone tights, as well as a sculpted belt, boots, and gloves.  Overall, everything is pretty well tailored, though there are a few minor issues. While Ward’s costume was a little off in the movie, the shirt and shorts overemphasize this. The shirt is too short, and the shorts are too long. However, with some futzing, this could be mostly fixed. The cape also seems just a bit too short, which is even more noticeable, given the thickness of the material. The sculpted pieces are all excellent, and they match up pretty much exactly with the pieces from the show. Robin’s body is a better fit for him than the body on Batman was for that figure. Perhaps it’s due to Ward having had a more basic body type, but it seems the standard slim TrueType worked out well.

Robin is armed with a nice assortment of accessories, though not quite as many as Batman (in all fairness, Robin retailed for $15 less.) He features:

  • 8 interchangeable hands
  • Batarang
  • Bat-cuffs
  • Bat-Radio
  • Bat Rope
  • Display Stand

The figure’s hands include the following poses: a pair of fists, a pair for gripping, a pair with a two finger gesture, one looser grip, and one for receiving a fist (to replicate one of Ward’s signature poses.) Unlike Batman, these hands are more meant for posing than for accessories. Each of the hands is well sculpted, and they all swap out pretty easily.

At first, it seems like the Batarang is a piece of re-use, however closer examination shows that it’s actually a different, smaller Batarang than the one included with Batman. It’s well sculpted, and has the same hole for the Bat Rope that the other Batarang has.

The Bat-Cuffs represent another fairly standard Bat-accessory. It’s nice to see that HT thought to give Robin something not included with Batman. The cuffs are nicely done; they open and close like real cuffs, and even have a metal chain between them.

The Bat-Radio and Rope are the same as the ones included with Batman. The Bat-Radio is still a cool little piece and the Rope is still just a piece of string.

Finally, Robin includes a standard display stand. It’s been decorated with his name and the Batman ’66 logo.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, this is another figure belonging to my friend Lance, which he’s very kindly allowing me to review. Overall, the figure has its issues, but it’s pretty good. At first, I was a little let down by Robin, especially after the really fantastic Batman. However, placing the two figures side by side, every problem fades away. These two really make for a killer display. For once, I’m rather envious of someone else’s action figure collection.

#0458: Batman

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

BATMAN

BATMAN ’66 (HOT TOYS)

Okay, so today and tomorrow I’ll be doing something a little different for the site. As I’m sure readers are aware, the reviews I post here are of my own personal collection. Of course, I do have the occasional guest review, but that’s still the owners reviewing their stuff. Today, I’ll be doing my first review of an action figure that isn’t mine.

I’m no stranger to Hot Toys figures, and I even have a rather large collection of them. However, in the last year or two I’ve had to move away from them. The figures are rather expensive, and they keep getting more so, to the point that I really couldn’t keep up. This meant missing out on a number of figures I’d been looking forward to, such as today’s subject, Batman.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Batman is part of Hot Toys’ Movie Masterpiece Series, and he’s figure MMS 218 in that particular line. Batman is roughly 12 inches in height and, according to the Sideshow website, he has 30 points of articulation. The figure is based on Adam West’s portrayal of Batman in the 60s TV show and movie. Going by the accessories, this is specifically based on the 1966 movie.

Let’s kick things off by looking at the head. Simply put, the head sculpt is phenomenal work. The cowl is an expert recreation of the one worn by West in the movie, down to the slightly droopy ears, and the underlying face is the spitting image of Adam West. The use of separate molded pieces makes it so that the figure has all the proper dimension, resulting in a sculpt that really looks like a guy wearing an actual mask. The paintwork is just as fantastic as the sculpt. Everything is incredibly clean, and the work on the skin makes him look like a miniaturized person. All of the detail work is done with the appropriate level of subtlety. The cowl has been painstakingly painted to match the actual cloth of the cape in color and sheen, which is certainly no easy feat.

Batman’s costume is made up of nine pieces. He has a basic gray bodysuit, with a cloth cape, shorts and lower cowl, as well as sculpted boots, gloves and utility belt. The bodysuit is pretty well tailored, though some of the stitching is a bit bulky. The shorts seem a little loose, but they’re better than some of HT’s previous attempts, so they’re learning. The cape is decently tailored, though it seems too thick. They’ve also placed snaps in a few places to help with placement, which are a bit cumbersome. The gloves, boots, and belt are superbly sculpted, and very nicely painted as well. I particularly like the actual metal belt buckle, which is a wonderful recreation of the original prop. Perhaps my biggest issue with the figure’s costume isn’t actually the costume, but the body beneath it. HT tries to make use of the current version of their TrueType body whenever they can, which is understandable. However, the body is definitely too fit for Adam West as Batman. So, they’ve decided to add padding to mask this. The thing is, West wasn’t overweight, or anything, just not super cut, so the end result is that the figure looks a bit too chubby for West’s Batman.
Like any good Hot Toys figure, Batman comes with a very nice assortment of accessories. The figure includes:

  • 11 interchangeable hands
  • 2 interchangeable face plates
  • Batarang
  • Shark Repellant Bat Spray
  • Bat-Radio
  • Bomb
  • Bat Rope
  • Display stand

The figure’s 11 hands include: a pair of fists, a pair for carrying the bomb, a pair for doing the Batusi, a pair for the batarang, a hand for the Shark Repellant Bat Spray, a hand for the radio, and a hand gesturing with two fingers. The majority of the hands are made for interacting with the accessories, which they do superbly, and the remaining hands allow for a lot of really fun poses. The hands are all very well sculpted, matching up to the glove pieces very well. They also swap out a lot easier than most HT hands, though they still threw in a spare set of wrist pegs, just in case any accidents happen.

In addition to the regular expression already present on the figure, he includes two more face plates with differing expressions. One features gritted teeth, allowing for a variety of more intense poses. The other is closer to the regular expression, but with the mouth open, as if Batman is about to speak or is in quiet contemplation. It’s a rather signature look for West, so it works. Both faceplates are just as good as the regular one, and they swap out with relative ease.

The Batarang is a rather standard Batman accessory, so it would be criminal for it to be excluded. The batarang is well sculpted, and fits well in the figure’s hand. It has a small hole on one end, allowing for the rope to be fed through it.

The Shark Repellant Bat Spray is one of the two very movie specific accessories included. Essentially, it’s just a spray can, but it’s well sculpted and very well painted. It fits very nicely into the appropriate hand, and it makes for a rather cool display.

The Bat-Radio is a neat little accessory, even if it doesn’t have the gravitas of some of the other accessories. It’s very well sculpted, and very accurate to the source material. It even has an actual metal loop at the top.

The Bomb (which sometimes you just can’t get rid of) is the other movie-specific accessory, and it’s probably my favorite accessory included. It’s a pretty simple piece, but it’s spot on to what it should be.

The Bat Rope is, well, rope. I didn’t take it out, but I assure you, it’s just some string.

Lastly, Batman has a display stand. It’s just the standard display stand, with his name and the Batman ’66 logo on it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like I said in the intro, Batman’s not mine. I had wanted one, but I just couldn’t justify spending the money. At my family’s New Year’s Eve party this year, my friend Lance noted that I hadn’t reviewed the figure, and asked if I’d like to borrow his to review. I should point out that he said this while handing me the figure. I believe my response was a series of sounds that approximated a yes. While I’m bummed that I didn’t get one of my own, I think getting to mess around with the figure has helped dull the pain a bit. The figure has a few small flaws, but it’s a fantastic figure, and it’s easily the best West Batman on the market, perhaps even the best Batman period.

#0300: The Hulk

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

HULK

AVENGERS (HOT TOYS)

hulkb

I still have two more Avengers Infinite reviews to do, but I’ll be taking a break from them today. Why, you ask? Because, surprisingly enough, I’ve made it through 300 of these reviews.  I can honestly say I haven’t stuck with any of my projects for this long. I think the most surprising thing here is that you guys are still reading my reviews. Maybe I don’t suck after all! In honor of another milestone review, I’ll be doing another “Deluxe Review.”

This is another figure from Hot Toys, a company renowned for their high-end action figures. Their bread and butter in recent years has been super hero movies, and one of their most successful licenses was 2012’s The Avengers. I’ll be looking at the biggest (in more way than one) release of the line, the Incredible Hulk!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Hulk is part of HT’s Movie Masterpiece Series, which is their primary line. Hulk is number 186, which places him right after the previously reviewed Iron Man Mark VII in the numerical sequence. Hulk is just about 18 inches tall in height, and he features 18 points of articulation. 20 if you count the individually moving eyes. He’s based on Hulk’s design in The Avengers, obviously, but more specifically Hulk’s look during the final battle, which can be determined by the darker color of the pants.

Aside from a pair of tattered pants, the Hulk relies mostly on sculpting for his look. This is different from a lot of HT’s figures, but makes sense with the Hulk’s design. Hulk has a fairly unique body type, which means he got an all new sculpt to reflect that. The design is undoubtedly based on the 3D model designed for the movie, but it was sculpted by hand, so there’s a few areas that are a little off. Let’s start with what is on model. The head sculpt is virtually indistinguishable from the Hulk in the movie. You can definitely see some of Mark Ruffalo’s likeness shining through. It’s truly a magnificent head sculpt. The arms and legs are pretty similarly accurate. They have superb detailing, that makes this figure look possibly more lifelike than the CGI version in the film. The knee joints are a bit distraction, but they aren’t too had to hide with some careful positioning of the edges of the pants. This big issue is the torso. It’s just too… defined. One of the nice things about Hulk in The Avengers was that he looked like a real person. He had a certain degree of, for lack of a better word, flab. This figure doesn’t have that, and it diminishes the overall look ever so slightly. It doesn’t ruin the figure by any means, but it is a bit disappointing.

Paint work is one of HT’s strongest suits, and this figure is no exception. Every surface has amazing detail. There are beads of sweat on his face for Pete’s sake! That’s a serious commitment to detail. The teeth look like real teeth, minor yellowing and all. His skin is a bit uneven, his veins are a slightly different color from the rest of his skin. Everything looks absolutely spot on.

Perhaps the figures one downfall is accessories. Given the immense size, it’s forgivable, but it’s a bit of a bummer compared to other HT releases. As it stands, Hulk’s only accessories are a pair of alternate hands with poseable fingers. They aren’t a bad addition, but it would have been nice to at least get a stand with his name on it, just so he could fit in with the rest of the Avengers. Oh well.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As is the case with most of the HT figures I own, Hulk was obtained via a pre-order on Sideshow Toys’ website. Like Iron Man and Captain America before him, Hulk was a figure I wasn’t quite sure I was going to get. But as pictures started to come in of the prototype, I got more and more impressed. I eventually folded, but not before the figure had sold out through Sideshow. Fortunately, they have a very helpful Wait List tool, which allowed me to get on the list in case someone else cancelled. Sure enough, someone did and I was able to get the jade giant for my collection. He’s the most I’ve ever paid for a single figure, but I don’t doubt for a minute that he was worth it. He’s definitely a stand out piece, and he makes The Avengers display work.

#0250: Iron Man Mark VII

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

IRON MAN MARK VII

THE AVENGERS (HOT TOYS)

markvii3b

Alright, I’ve gotten to 250 reviews. Amazingly, people are still reading these things. I guess I don’t drone on too much, right? Well, it’s been another 50 reviews, which means it’s time for another “Deluxe Review.”

Once again, the figure is one of those produced by Hot Toys, producers of extremely high-end action figures. They like to pick up the licenses to super hero movies, so it was no surprise to see them pick up the license to The Avengers in 2012. Today I’ll be looking at a version of a character that has been HT’s bread and butter the last few years: Iron Man Mark VII!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Mark VII is a part of HT’s Movie Masterpiece Series, number 185 to be specific. He stands a little over 12 inches tall and features 68 points of articulation in his default set up. The figure is based on the Mark VII armor, which is the armor that Tony wears during the final battle in Avengers.

The Mark VII is different from most HT figures in that he is a fully sculpted figure, instead of relying on different materials for a costume. The Mark VII features an entirely new sculpt to accurately reflect the armor’s design in the movie. The sculpt is based on the 3D models of the suit created for the movie, so it should be pretty much spot on. However, there are a few areas that are noticeably off. The wrists are a tad too skinny, as are the elbows, which makes it hard to believe a person is actually inside the suit. Also, the eyes are just a tad too large to be accurate. It’s not terribly noticeable in person, but quite obvious in photos. Their only the slightest bit off, but it makes quite a difference at this scale. Those issues aside, the rest of the figure’s sculpt looks pretty much dead on.

The paintwork on the figure is phenomenal, but is once again different from most HT work. On this figure, it’s absolutely imperative that the paint be exactly on the mark, otherwise the figure won’t have the appropriate machined look to him. HT has pulled this off excellently, with nothing out of place. They’ve even added a few small dings and scratches to make the armor look slightly used. Everything looks really great!

The Mark VII includes a huge selection of accessories, even getting more than the usual HT faire. He features:

  • An unmasked head w/ armored collar
  • 6 interchangeable hands
  • Extra wrist armor for repulsor hands
  • Battle-damaged faceplate
  • Battle-damaged chestplate
  • Interchangeable arms with lasers deployed
  • Battle-damaged shoulder pads
  • 3 interchangeable sets of Thigh armor
  • 2 Wrist rocket launchers
  • 3 interchangeable sets of shoulder mounted armor
  • A display stand

The unmasked head is not unexpected, as it has become the standard for a HT Iron Man release. Robert Downey Jr must have a difficult likeness to capture, as HT has never quite had his look down. This one ends up being a bit off the mark. It’s an odd case where it’s not a bad Tony Stark sculpt, but it has only a vague resemblance to the actor who plays him in the movies. I don’t hate it, but it’s not HT’s finest work. From a technical standpoint, it’s great. There’s some wonderful texture work, and it looks like a real person, just not the one they’re going for. The paint is up to HT’s usual standard, which is certainly nice to see. The collar piece slips fairly easily over the neck and the whole thing attaches to the MVII body without too much trouble.

There are six hands: two fists, two articulated, and two repulsor. All of them look great, and match the rest of the body wonderfully. I like the articulated ones in particular, as they provide the greatest variety of poses. The repulsor hands have been specially sculpted to allow you to depict Iron Man with his hands in blast mode as shown in lots of promotional material, and they have their own set of wrist plates to aid in this effect.

The figure also includes several pieces to allow him to be displayed in a “Battle-Damaged” mode. These pieces range from simple repaints of normal pieces to complete resculpts. They swap out with relative ease, and look pretty good when in place.

The thigh and shoulder armor come in three possible sets: closed, fully deployed, and removed. The closed is what the figure comes wearing, as they depict the default look. The deployed fit well with the Battle-Damaged set-up, for that middle of the battle look, and the removed allow for the figure to be streamlined. All of the pieces swap out pretty easily, though they’ve also included a small tool to help remove the pieces without risk of damage.

Lastly, Tony includes a basic display stand with Mark VII printed on the front and the Avengers logo on the base. It’s a simple piece, but it helps connect him with the rest of the figures from the set.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like most of my other HT figures, the Mark VII was ordered via Sideshow Toys’ website. I had not initially planned on picking this figure up, as I had intended to make do with my earlier Mech Test Tony Stark from the first Iron Man. However, as I got further into the Avengers line, I realized that the display wouldn’t look right without a proper Iron Man. So, I waited until I was certain I’d have the money and placed a pre-order for the Mark VII. I’m glad I decided to go for it. The figure was definitely on the expensive side, even for a HT figure, but I honestly feel he was worth it. He’s the best version of the character available, and he has a lot of display options to keep things interesting. And the truth is, he is Iron Man…

#0200: Selina Kyle/Catwoman

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

SELINA KYLE/CATWOMAN

DARK KNIGHT RISES (HOT TOYS)

Wow, looks like I’ve made it to 200 reviews! It seems like just yesterday I was writing my last Hot Toys review for my 150th review. Since this is another milestone review, I’ll be doing another “Deluxe Review.”

It’s another figure produced by Hot Toys, a Hong Kong based toy company known for their very high-end action figures. They have a tendency to pick up the licenses for the various Super Hero movies, and this time around, I’ll be taking a look at Catwoman from their subset of Dark Knight Rises figures.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Selina was released in HT’s Movie Masterpiece line, designated as figure MMS 188. She’s a little under 12 inches tall and features 28 points of articulation (At least, according to Hot Toys. I haven’t undressed the figure to check this, because that seems weird.). She’s based on Selina’s Catwoman look from the film.

THE HEAD IN QUESTION

The head is a very nice sculpt. HT’s strong suit is usually how close to the actors they look. I’m not sure if Catwoman’s head is a spot on Hatheway likeness, but it’s very close. The paint may also be a contributing factor to the somewhat off likeness. Typically, HT excels at paint, but in Selina’s case, they seem to have done something wrong with the eyes. Maybe the pupils are too small. The hair is not sculpted, but instead is rooted, in a similar fashion to a Barbie doll. Yeah, I know, it even further blurs the line between doll and action figure. However, it was the right call here, because sculpted hair would have severely limited the neck pose-ability and made the removable goggles impossible. Speaking of the goggles: yes, I’m sorry about the lack of sans-goggles pictures. I forgot to take them before putting the goggles on, and I certainly wasn’t going to try to take them back off.

THE COSTUME IN QUESTION

The costume is made up of six pieces: a jumpsuit, a belt, gloves, and boots. The jumpsuit is made of a nice textured cloth, and looks overall accurate to the one from the movie. My one complaint would be that the zipper seems a bit too bulky to be in proper scale. This is unfortunately one of the downfalls of attempting to work in this scale, but I feel it would be better served if they hadn’t actually made it a working zipper. The belt is a nice sculpted piece, and sits appropriately for the character. The gloves are simple slip-over pieces, held in place by the hands. The seam is cleverly hidden in the folds, which helps with making the figure more convincing. The boots are an impressive piece of work, being made of a leather like material, with a set of feet in the bottom, and plastic soles placed to keep the whole thing together. One issue I do have is that the costume does seem to look rather bulky around the torso. It’s not a huge issue, and it can be alleviated with a good pose, but I wish it was a little better.

THE ACCESSORIES IN QUESTION

Selina features a decent assortment of accessories, but not quite as many as some of the previous HT figures I’ve reviewed. They are:

  • Goggles
  • 7 interchangeable hands
  • Hand gun
  • Batman Cowl
  • Display Stand

The goggles are the most important accessory, as they complete Selina’s costumed look. They are a bit difficult to get on the figure, and quite fragile, so take care. Once they’re on the figure, they fit pretty snuggly, and look accurate to the source material. The arms allow you to flip them up out of her face, re-creating her “cat-ear” look from the film. It’s a nice feature, but it does mean that the piece is quite prone to breaking if you aren’t careful.

There are seven hands: two fists, two open gesture, one with a trigger finger, and two gripping. The fists and open gesture allow for a nice selection of basic poses. The trigger finger holds the hand gun pretty tightly, which is nice. The gripping hands were meant to work with the Bat Pod released around the same time. I don’t have it, so they aren’t of much use to me, but they are a nice inclusion nonetheless.

The hand gun is the usual HT fair. Moving parts, removable clip, and crisp details. Not much new here.

The empty Batman cowl was the item included with the release of this figure available exclusively through Sideshow Toy’s website. It’s based on The DKR Batman figure released around the same time. It’s a nice piece, and it is surprisingly sturdy. Not really of much use to Selina, but a great add-in if you have the complimentary Batman.

Lastly, Selina includes a display stand with her name on it. It’s a pretty cool stand, designed to vaguely emulate the early teaser posters featuring the character smashing a batarang under her heel on a rainy surface.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Selina was ordered from Sideshow’s website pretty much as soon as she was up for pre-order. I knew I wanted the figure as soon as I saw the movie, and I definitely wanted the extra Batman cowl to display with my Batman figure. Overall, the figure isn’t perfect, but it’s a good figure overall, and she really looks great when displayed with Batman and Bane.

#0150: T-1000

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , ,

T-1000

TERMINATOR 2: JUDGEMENT DAY (HOT TOYS)

Would you check that out?  I made it to 150 reviews!  I think that’s pretty cool!  I’m gonna continue the trend with the milestone reviews and do another one of my “Deluxe Reviews”.

This is another figure produced by Hot Toys, a toy company based in Hong Kong who are renowned for their almost life like 1/6 scale figures.  They cater strictly to those with a large amount of money to spend on such things, as each figure costs anywhere from $200 to $300 on average.  They do a lot of figures to recent popular movies, but they also do some older films, like Terminator 2.  My 50th review was a look at the recently released Battle Damaged T-800, and today I’ll be looking at T2’s antagonist, the T-1000!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

This figure’s pretty much a catchall of all of the looks of the T-1000 in T2.  This figure was released as part of HT’s Movie Masters Line.  He’s designated as figure 129 in that line.  He stands about 12 inches tall, and has a bunch of assorted articulation.  Like with other HT figures, the costume covers the joints, and I don’t have any plans to undress him.

THE HEAD IN QUESTION

The T-1000 actually includes two heads, but as with the T-800, I’ll be looking at the undamaged head here, and the other head down in the accessories section.  So, this head is obviously what the T-1000 looks like for most of the movie.  It’s a very good sculpt.  Perhaps not as spot on as some of HT’s efforts, but it’s undoubtedly Robert Patrick as the T-1000.  The expression is dead set determination, which is perfect for the character.  The paint is up to the usual HT standards, which means it’s pretty darn phenomenal.

THE COSTUME IN QUESTION

The costume features a few sculpted parts, namely the badge and shoes, but for the most part, the costume is done through actual cloth pieces.  The tailoring on the uniform is superb, with everything very carefully handled.  Everything is well scaled, and he’s even got working pockets on his shirt.  .

THE ACCESSORIES IN QUESTION

T-1000 features an enormous selection of accessories, allowing you to duplicate just about every look he sports in the movie.  They are:

  • Split Head
  • Helmet
  • Sun Glasses
  • Coat
  • Biker pants
  • Boots
  • Hook Hand Constructs
  • Stabbing Construct
  • 6 interchangeable hands
  • 7 magnetic bullet wounds
  • Police belt
  • Handcuffs
  • Walkie Talkie
  • Flashlight
  • Machine Gun
  • Handgun with two extra clips
  • Display Stand

The alt head depicts the T-1000 after the T-800 splits his head with a shotgun and the T-1000’s head begins to reform.  It’s a really cool head, and looks pretty close to the scene.  I really like the way the eyes are staring off to the side.  It switches with relative ease, which is nice.

The Helmet, sunglasses, coat, pants, and boots allow you to change theT-1000 into his “Biker cop” look that he sports later in the movie.  These pieces, plus the extra head pretty much mean that you get a whole second figure included, so long as you can find a spare body, which HT just happened to sell around the time of this figure’s release.

The hook hands and blade are really great add-ons, and are very true to the character.  The transition from metal to uniform is a bit iffy, but it’s just a limitation of the medium, so I can’t really fault HT there.

There’s six hands: trigger finger (R and L), flat for running (R and L), finger wagging (L), and stabby-finger (R).  They all look really great, have some really nice poses, and offer some nice scene specific looks.

The belt attaches with little difficulty, and can hold the handcuffs, walkie talkie, flashlight, handgun, and spare clips very nicely.  All of these pieces are scaled properly and nicely sculpted, and the handgun even has all the proper moving parts.  The machine gun is also nice, and goes great with the biker look.

The bullet wounds are a neat idea.  They have magnets on them, and the figures torso has metal plates, so you can place the impact points anywhere on the front of the torso.  I wish they had put some plates on his back, so you could mix it up a bit, but it works really well as is, and makes for some cool displays.

Lastly, the T-1000 includes a black display stand with his name and the T2 logo.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The T-1000 was a Christmas gift from my parents a few years ago.  He was my fifth Hot Toys figure, and I consider him the one that officially pushed me over the edge on HT figures.  I’ve gotten quite a few HT figures since, but he still holds up as one of my very favorites from my collection!

#0100: Captain America – Avengers Version

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

CAPTAIN AMERICA

THE AVENGERS (HOT TOYS)

Hey look!  100 reviews!  That’s not too shabby, is it?  Like with my 50th review, I’ll be doing another “Deluxe Review.”

For those of you that don’t know, Hot Toys is a toy company based in Hong Kong who are renowned for their almost life like 1/6 scale figures.  They cater strictly to those with a large amount of money to spend on such things, as each figure costs anywhere from $200 to $300 on average.  They tend to pick up the licenses for big block buster movies, and last year they released figures from The Avengers.

Today I’ll be looking at their take on Captain America from that film.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

So, like I mentioned before, this figure is based on Cap from the Avengers movie.  He was #174 in Hot Toys’ Movie Masterpiece Series.  The figure stands about 12 inches tall, and has a whole lot of articulation.  I don’t know exactly how much, as most of it is hidden by his costume.  So I’m gonna just go with a bunch.

Cap-AvengersCloseUp

THE HEAD IN QUESTION

I’ll look at the basic head here, and the extra head in the accessories section.    The basic head depicts Cap with his helmet/mask on.  The helmet appears to be a separately molded piece, but it’s not removable.    Sculpt wise, all the details look great.   I’m not sure that they’ve quite gotten Chris Evans’s likeness down, but they’ve came pretty damn close.  The helmet is pretty much a miniaturized version of the actual one from the film, with pretty much every little groove and detail included.  The under-the-helmet-hood is also well done, simulating the texture of the fabric impressively.  Paint is one of Hot Toys’ strong suits, and this figure doesn’t disappoint.  The level of detail and the lifelike quality is nothing short of amazing.  Viewed from the right angle, this figure could pass for a real person.

THE COSTUME IN QUESTION

This is kind of a new category for me, as the costume features few sculpted pieces and very little paint.  That isn’t to say he has no sculpted pieces.  He’s got his hands, boots, gauntlets, the chevrons on his shoulders, his belt buckle, and the star on his chest.  These are all fairly well executed, although, the boot and gauntlet sculpts may be a bit on the soft side, sculpt-wise.  All of the sculpted parts are painted quite well, with no slop or bleed over.

So, I’ve looked ate the sculpted parts, now I’ll move on to the rest of the figure’s costume, which is all cloth.  Cap’s costume is tailored specifically to fit his body, and is handled with two main pieces:  Shirt and Pants.  Most of his uniform is made from the same coarse blue fabric.  I find it’s a bit on the dark side for Cap’s look from the movie, but it isn’t too bad.  The costume is assembled from multiple layers, which really adds to the realism.

THE ACCESSORIES IN QUESTION

Cap comes with quite a hefty selection of accessories.  They are:

  • Unmasked Head
  • Pulled down Hood to display with the unmasked head
  • 7 spare hands
  • 2 shields: Regular and Battle-Damaged
  • Chitauri Arm Cannon
  • Display Stand

The alternate head is pretty good.  Once again, I’m not sure they’ve completely captured Evans, but it’s hard to tell given the choice of expression.  I don’t really know why they decided to go with an angry expression for the unmasked head, since that isn’t very characteristic of Cap in the movie, but I guess it looks okay if you’re going for more of a battle-damaged, end of the movie look.  The head switches out at the base of the neck, and does so with relative, which is nice because it means you don’t have to man handle you’re $200+ action figure.

The alternate head is complimented by a hood piece to replicate what Cap’s hood looked like when he pulled it down in the movie.  It’s pretty much just a piece of blue cloth.  It’s okay, but it has difficulty hanging properly, which can look a bit awkward.  It’s attached via two snaps that hook on the inside collar of the costume.  They’re unreliable, and don’t tend to hold well.  Overall, this is kind of an extraneous piece.  I’m glad they included it for those that want it, but it’s not something I ever plan to use.

Cap includes seven hands in addition to the relaxed pair he has on in the box.  The hands include: gripping(R and L), Pointing(R), splayed(R and L), and fists(R and L).  They’re all sculpted well, and offer a nice variety of gestures.

Cap’s most important accessories are his mighty shields.  He includes both a clean and polished one and a scuffed up, battle-worn one.  The clean one is vac-metallized, which is a decision I question, as it doesn’t really accurately depict what Cap’s shield looks like in the movies.  Also, if you’re unlucky, all to paint might start flaking off like some people have experienced, so there’s that.  I much prefer the BD shield, as I feel it looks more like the one Cap carries in the movie.

Cap also includes a Chitauri arm-cannon thing.  He takes one from one of the aliens during the movie’s climactic battle, so it fits.  It’s pretty cool, and can be plugged into Cap’s hand peg if you so desire.

Lastly, Cap includes a black display stand with his name and the Avengers logo on it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

When Hot Toys announced their Avengers line, this was a figure I wasn’t going to buy.  I planned on getting the rest, and need to save the money for them.  Plus, I already had Cap from his solo film.  That should be enough for me, right?

Well, as you can see, no, it wasn’t.  I broke down and bought the figure because I really wanted that really cool Avengers set up, and First Avenger Cap just wouldn’t look right.  I’m glad I bought him in the end, but man I am such a push-over on these figures.

Cap-AvengersUnmasked