Review of Ron Weasley (Teen) - Harry Potter
Deluxe Sixth Scale Action Figure

Introduction

The Harry Potter franchise remains strong, with millions of fans of the books and movies.  You can count me among them, and I've got plenty of action figures based on the property in just about every scale.

Star Ace has been producing sixth scale figures for several years now, with various levels of success. Early on, they produced a very good Harry, Ron, and Hermione from the first film, but demand for Hermione and Ron put into question whether we'd ever get older versions. Fans were pretty vocal about it though, and after Teen Harry was released they did follow up with Teen Hermione, and now Teen Ron.

This is a bit of an early review, but he should be shipping widely very soon. You can actually order this guy one of three ways - casual (with just the t-shirt/sweater outfit) for around $200, school uniform only for around $210, and the deluxe version with both outfits (reviewed tonight) for around $230.

Packaging - ***
The packaging has a great photo of the actual Ron right on the cover, which allows you to compare this figure directly to the source material. It's always a gutsy move.

Inside, the double plastic trays keep everything safe and sound, and it's all collector friendly. This versions sports a sticker on the cover declaring its 'deluxe' nature.

Sculpting - *1/2
You never know what you might be getting these days with a Star Ace sculpt. Their best work last year was the Newt Scamander from Fantastic Beasts, but Teen Hermione was scary.

Unfortunately, Ron is in the same camp as the Teen Hermione. Other than having red hair, there's little here to remind you of the character. Pop the head off, hand it to the average person, and they'd never guess who it was supposed to be.

That's not to say the detail work is bad - it's not. The hair is thinly stranded with a nice overall sculpt, and the soft skin texture looks appropriate and realistic. The expression is fine as well - not extreme, but with enough emotion to avoid looking like a mannequin.

But the accuracy is awful. The nose is off, the shape of the head is off, the shape of the jawline is off - it looks very little like Ron.  Worse, he suffers from 'warping syndrome'. We've seen this with a couple other Star Ace figures in past years, like Selene from Underworld, but this is the worst example yet.  His eyes are pushed back from the front of the face, across the bridge of the nose and temples. It's as if the head contracted inward while it was still soft, and hardened in this misshapen way. It's not as obvious in photos, but in hand it's unavoidable.

Paint - ***
The paint work is decent - nothing to write home about, but nothing to lose your mind over either. The eyes are sharp and straight, and the star pattern they use works well. In macro photos it's a little too obvious, but in hand it creates an interesting effect.

The skin tone is slightly freckled, not over done but enough to add some additional realism. I don't love the black shadow line in the lips, but everyone uses it and it's only obvious under certain conditions. The hair line could be a little better, particularly around the ears, but overall it's solid B work.

Articulation - ***
I was pleasantly surprised by the body - the ankles improved with this release, and I *almost* went another half star here.

The ball jointed neck leans and tilts at the jawline and the torso, and the shoulders, elbows, and wrists can create most natural arm poses, including plenty of spell casting stances. Swapping hands was simple, and the head pops off easy enough to make changing outfits simpler.

The torso turns and bends nicely, with little restriction from the clothing. The hips and knees work pretty much as they have in the past - you still can't bend the legs backward very far, due to the low butt sculpt on this base body - but it's the ankles that work better this time.

The posts are quite long, allowing him a little height over Harry (Ron comes in at about 11 1/4", but you can vary that slightly with how deep or shallow you push the ankles). Be careful swapping feet however, as getting the black shoes off took some effort. The entire ankle post comes out, and it takes some force. You will want to heat up the calves first, or at least turn the assembly as you pull it down to break free any black shoe paint that might be caught up in there.

This long post allows you to play with the height slightly, but it also means the ball joint in the shoes isn't restricted by the calf. You can get good rocker movement, and keep his feet flat and stable on the ground in most stances.

Accessories - ***
While the deluxe version isn't packed, he does come with some good extras.

There are two extra hands to go with the relaxed set he comes wearing. One is a wand grip right, while the other is a posed left. They swap easily, and remained in place while I was working with him.

And yes, he has his wand, with the proper sculpt and paint job.  Like the other teen characters, he comes with his 'pet', the rat Scabbers. The rat sculpt and scale are good, and he's in a simple stance.

A rather unique extra is the large (thanks to the Engorgement spell) spider on which the Cruciatus Curse was placed by Mad Eye Moody. Not sure how this relates to Ron - it was Neville and Hermione, along Moody that were key in this scene - but it's nice to have for the group.

The final extra with the regular release is the basic display stand with a crotch support rod.

The deluxe version adds in a second costume consisting of his 'casual' outfit - t-shirt, sweater, pants, and brown shoes. More about these in the Outfit section.

Outfit - ***
The deluxe version comes wearing his school uniform, properly tailored to the taller teen body. There's the white shirt, striped tie, dark pants, boots, school sweater, and hooded robe.

The outer robe is very nice, with a thin wire along the bottom edge for posing and a thin hood that flows over the shoulders and down the back neatly. I'm not sure if they actually changed the size of the Gryfinndor logo or it simply looks smaller on the teen body, but the scale has improved.

The rest of the clothing is well tailored and made from good materials. I like the sweater in particular, but the tie lays flat and has a properly scaled knot.

As I mentioned, taking off the shoes can be tough so be patient. You should also pop off the hands and head to swap clothing, both much simpler tasks.

The second outfit consists of an orange t-shirt, outer sweater, pants, and brown shoes. The fit on the t-shirt and pants is good, and the shoes are a decent sculpt with reasonable paint work. I don't love this second sweater though, and I thought the tailored fit on this one was a little off. The sleeves are slightly too short (not a problem with the school sweater), and the neckline is off.

Fun Factor - ***
While none of the Teen versions were as good as their younger counterparts, the three together will look better on the shelf than any single one on their own. And they are posable enough - with some good accessories - to create a variety of diorama displays.

Value - *
This deluxe version will cost you around $230. That's a lot of money, even if this was a Hot Toys figure. It's clearly not, and the price tag is an absolute killer.

Things to Watch Out For -
I mentioned swapping the feet - that was the only issue I had, and with a little patience you should be okay.

Overall - **
Some reviewers - movies, tv, toys, etc. - delight in giving a bad review. You can hear it in their voice and read it in their words. I'm not one of those. I'll give them when it's appropriate because the integrity of every review is critical, but I don't enjoy it.

As I mentioned earlier, things have been up and down for Star Ace with this series, especially in the last 18 months.  I think the recent Malfoy is much better than most people give him credit (the head's too big, but the likeness is good), but this Ron was a big disappointment. They have a ton more up for pre-order at this point, including Ginny Weasley, Griphook, Bellatrix Lestrange, a Dementor, and even Luna Lovegood. I'll be buying them all, but I'm hoping we see them get these problems with the portraits under control.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - *1/2
Paint - ***
Articulation - ***
Accessories - ***
Outfit - ***
Fun Factor - ***
Value - *
Overall - **

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Sideshow also has him for $230.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Other Star Ace Harry Potter figures include Lucious Malfoy, Newt Scamander, teen Hermione, Dobby the House Elf, Dumbledore (Gambon), Teen Harry,  young Draco Malfoy, the Draco/Harry two pack in their Quidditch gear, the casual dress Hermione, the Casual Ron and Harry, Dumbledore (Harris), Hagrid, Snape, Tri-Wizard Harry, the young Hermione, young Harry and Ron, Voldemort, Sirius Black, Mad Eye Moody, and Sirius in his Prison Garb.

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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