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Introduction
You're going to find this hard to believe, but I've gotten almost as burned out on Hot Toys Batmen as I am on Hot Toys Iron Men. Not quite, but damn close.
But the Tactical Suit version from the Justice League movie intrigued me, with enough difference in the suit design - and those damn cool googles! - to entice me to pull the trigger. And if you're going to buy another expensive Batman, you might as well get the exclusive version, right?
The exclusive includes one additional accessory, and was only available through Sideshow in the U.S. It cost about the same as the regular release
- around $270 depending on the retailer. Costs about the same, get one more goodie, I'd say that's pretty simple math.
Packaging - ***1/2
The box is very sturdy, and very attractive. Sideshow has included their special 'exclusive' sticker on the front, and inside the figure and
accessories are held safe in a plastic tray. It's all collector friendly of course - no need to damage anything to free the figure or his extras.
They went with a slip cover design this time (it's interesting how they mix it up from line to line and even at times between figures) and they
included some simple but useful instructions.
Sculpting - ****
Another terrific, detailed sculpt from the masters. Sure, there's no unmasked Affleck head to REALLY show off their skills, but the amount of detail
work on the costume itself is really amazing.
There is a lower face of course, and this is about as clearly Ben as you can get. There's actually three of them - one with a simple, determined expression, one with a slightly open mouth, and one with a toothy grimace. All three have an amazing skin texture, and the teeth on the two open mouth portraits are just about perfect. These things look so much like Affleck that it speaks to the weakness of any superhero mask that doesn't cover the entire face - you'd be an idiot not to know who it is, mask or not.
There are also three sets of eyes. Rather than go with an adjustable single set of eyes (like PERS), they have three 'plates' which can be removed from the inside. One is a straight ahead look, while the other two look off to one side or the other. Again, these eye sculpts are the usual uber realistic design we've come to expect with every Hot Toys release.
But it's really the armor, cowl, and other pieces of the costume that boost this score through the roof. The textures, details, cuts and wear - it's a truly impressive piece of work. He's a big boy too, which makes sense considering the pointy ears and big boots. He comes in at about 13" tall, right to the tip of his ears.
Paint - ****
It's critical for a great sculpt to sport a great paint application. Great paint ops can elevate even a mediocre sculpt, while poor ops can drag
down the most accurate portrait. Of course, Hot Toys nails the production paint work once again.
The eyes are life-like and emotive, while the skin color is realistic right down to the beard shadow. And as with the sculpt, it's the amazingly realistic variation in tones and finishes that makes the largely black costume really pop. You can mistake this figure for a real person at first glance - it's that good overall.
Articulation - **1/2
Unfortunately, he's not the most mobile. You can argue this suit makes it impossible for him to be mobile, but we've seen Hot Toys do amazing things
with suits others have said the same thing about - think Iron Man.
The neck and head, all the way down to the section covering the top of his traps, is one solid piece. That means no lean or tilt in the head itself, although you can get more turn in the entire head and neck than I expected. The edges of the cowl over the shoulders may stick up from the body a bit when you turn it, but you can get the fit tight enough for most poses to look decent.
The shoulders can make it up to about chest high, but not much further. Of course the elbows and wrists are pretty unrestricted, but the tight shoulders limit the number of arm poses you'll get.
The torso and waist are even less mobile. The heavily armored upper body is almost rigid, taking away some of the realism in most poses, but probably accurate to reality. And yes, I used those words on purpose.
The tight body suit under the armor limits the hips, but you can get natural short and medium stances. Deeper stances are tough, and he's not going to be sitting any time soon. The ankles are the least restricted of the bunch, thanks to the two piece design to the armored boots. You can slide the calf armor up further on the leg to get more rocker and bend in the ankles as needed.
In the end, he's going to end up in pretty static poses on most shelves.
Accessories - ****
This guy is loaded up big time, just the way you like your sixth scale figures.
I already mentioned the three eye plates and the three mouth/chin plates. You can swap these in any combination. The faces are held in place with a magnet, and swapping was pretty easy. The eyes actually pop in and out from inside, and it's a little trickier. The head comes off of course, attached to the body with a very long neck post. They supply a small tool to remove and replace the eyes, and this time I recommend using it, particularly to pop them out. You'll probably have to shake the head awhile to get them to drop through the neck, and wrangling the new plate into place can take a second. Be patient and you'll get the hang of it. Once you do, it goes much quicker.
To increase the options, there are actually three different looks for the googles as well. He comes not wearing any, and the two quadrilateral shapes on either side of his head are removable so the two different sets of goggles can be attached. One set has the googles over his eyes of course, while the other set has them sculpted to rest on his forehead. I love these glasses, and they give this overall suit design the final touch.
Of course he has some additional hands. He comes wearing fists, and there's a set of open hands, a set of wide grips, and one tight grip right. They work pretty well with the various accessories, and you can swap them without any fear of damage. They did include a couple extra wrist pegs just in case.
But these swappable parts are just the beginning. He has three batarangs, three bat-grenades, and two different types of grappling gun! These grappling guns look amazing, particularly the one with the wood finish handle. To improve the look even further, there are five different grapples you can attach, from un-fired (which also fit on the side of one of the guns), to extended, to someplace in between.
The exclusive includes the Human Mother Box. While this big cube has a plastic exterior, it's not hollow. There's something heavy inside there, giving it a nice heft and feel. Since you'd spend about the same on the exclusive as the regular release - initially - it only made sense to get this version with this extra goodie.
Finally, he has his display stand. This is not the small, basic version, but a large elevated stand with his nameplate and the Justice League logo featured prominently. This is the sort of base that gives other figures 'base envy'.
Outfit - ***1/2
This outfit has some amazing qualities - I've already discussed the amazing paint and sculpt on the plastic bits, but the cloth looks every bit as
good, especially the cape. But there's negatives too, since the outfit is very restrictive overall.
That cape is pretty amazing, though. There's a pattern in the fabric, and it has a nice weight to it. It hangs naturally in most poses, and the bottom edge is worn and rough, just like you'd expect. Because you can re-position the head and neck, you can actually re-position the top of the cape as well, leaving it across the shoulders or bringing it farther forward or farther back. You can even go one shoulder back, one shoulder in front, or just about any combination you can come up with.
I ended up liking it the best when it was draped more down the back and less over the shoulders, but having the ability to work with the cape like this is a huge plus.
Another plus - the belt rides low on the hips, rather than riding up the torso. It's a better look in most poses, and the armor on the stomach tends to keep it in place.
Fun Factor - ***
Lots of accessories help boost his fun score...but the lack of articulation drags it back down again. The face and eye plates make for some nice
variation in your display, but I wish you could get some more dynamic looks with the body.
Value - **
When you spend close to $300 on a figure, even in today's market, you have a pretty high expectation of what you'll be getting. This guy is *almost*
worth the cash. At $250, I would have gone the average of **1/2, but even with the extras I'm not sure I can justify the extra twenty bucks. It's a
close call though, and you may find there's enough here to make you feel comfortable with the cost.
Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing. Swapping eyes, googles, faces, and hands was easy and straight forward, and I had no fear of damaging anything while I was working with
the figure.
Overall - ***1/2
You can love or hate the DC movies, but you gotta admit this is a sharp looking Batman design. I love the overall look, and the goggles are the
capper.
For a figure to get a full four stars from me, the whole has to be more than just the some of the parts. There has to be a feeling I get from the overall figure to set it apart, and make it truly stand out. This guy isn't *quite* there, but I'm very, very pleased with the purchase, and he'll hold a place on the display shelf for years to come.
Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***1/2
Sculpting - ****
Paint - ****
Articulation - **1/2
Accessories - ****
Outfit - ***1/2
Fun Factor - ***
Value - **
Overall - ***1/2
Where to Buy
Online options include these site sponsors:
- Sideshow has this exclusive for $266.
- or you can search ebay for a deal.
Related Links -
Other great Hot Toys DC figures include the training version of Wonder Woman, Suicide Squad Harley, Armored Batman, and the Knightmare Batman, among many others.
You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.
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This product was purchased for the review by the reviewer. Photos and text by Michael Crawford.