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Introduction
I'm a big fan of the re-adaptation of King's IT. While no one can ever top Tim Curry's Pennywise, Bill Skarsgard made the character his own, and created an iconic evil clown for the ages.
The character has been covered by a number of companies, from Mezco to Star Ace to NECA. But there's been a hole in my collection on the sixth scale horror shelf. Hot Toys finally stepped up and put their version up for pre-order, and I was on it like hair on a bear. And then we waited...and waited...and waited.
I ordered mine in September of 2019. That's 2 1/2 years! At the time, he was around $260, and there are still some places on line you can pick him up, now in stock. He just started shipping, but was it worth the wait?
Packaging - ***1/2
They've gotten a bit more creative this time around, giving the box
an outer plastic shell that creates the balloon effect. It's a great
looking graphic, and the overall collector friendly design works
well. It's sturdy, everything is held safely, and it should hold up
to shelf wear.
Sculpting - ****
The figure comes with two portraits, always a big plus. With an
expressive character like this, it's pretty much required.
The first has a standard expression, still human, but extremely creepy. The hair has amazing detail in the strands and style, and the crinkly forehead texture looks great. He's scary, but in the same way all clowns are scary, with his weird buck teeth and arched eyebrows.
The second portrait is full on evil. He has a wide open mouth with multiple rows of fangs, extremely realistic and dangerous. All the details are here as well - textured skin, finely detailed hair, perfect eyes - but it's this gaping mouth of razor sharp teeth that makes the look.
There's a number of different hand sculpts as well, including a monster pair, and they work well with different poses and accessories. He's a big boy, standing about 12 1/2 inches tall.
Paint - ****
A great sculpt gets even better with great paint. That's the case
here.
The white skin contrasts perfectly with the red hair, and the transition between the two is subtle and realistic. The black, soulless eyes are clean and perfect, and the work on the teeth and gums is really amazing. The fangs have a slight color variation from tip to base, and the gums are glossy and wet looking. It really is impressive work.
Articulation - ****
While the base body is pretty much the same as always in terms of
articulation, this costume is very unrestrictive, and it maximizes
the poseability.
That's also particularly useful here, with a character that does improve with weird, askew poses. He can manage deep stances, keep both feet flat on the ground, and maintain the poses long term. The head has lots of lean and tilt, allowing you to give him plenty of evil intent, and the torso articulation can be used to break up lines in the upper body.
You should have no trouble getting a great movie accurate pose, and keeping him in it. Add in the display stand, and you can go really nuts!
Accessories - ****
The figure is extremely well outfitted, and most of the accessories
are quite useful.
I mentioned the two heads earlier, and of course that goes a long way to boosting this score as well. There are nine hands to go with the two relaxed hands he comes wearing, including a terrific set of monster claws and a perfectly designed right hand for gripping the balloon string. They all swap easily, although there's a couple extra wrist pegs just in case.
Yes, the balloon is here, with a wire string covered in fabric. There's no printing on this one, and the red color is translucent.
There's a couple scene specific goodies, like the skateboard and jack-in-the-box. The latter can either be closed, or you can open it and place the clown on top. The paint and sculpting on these is excellent.
There's also a severed arm, George's I assume, as well as his tiny paper boat. The arm is a bit large to be George's though, a minor issue for me.
While all this is great, it's the display base that really takes him over the top. Instead of only giving you a simple black base and support rod, they went with a diorama style. The base appears to be the sewer drain, with grass above and swirling rain water sculpted at the entrance. The best part? The base opens up, and you can place the second head - whichever one you decide not to use on the figure - inside, peering out! This makes both heads useful in the display, something we don't get often enough.
Outfit - ***1/2
The costume is the usual high quality, with excellent materials and
construction. There's plenty of tiny details, from the puff balls to
the fine lace collar. The costume is also all cloth - no pleather or
plastic to degrade or deform - so not only can he take great poses,
you can leave him that way without fear.
I do have one complaint though, centered around the cleanliness of the outfit. There's some discoloration around his waist, sort of a sweaty look, but otherwise there's no real dirt or grim. Sure, the white is off color, but it's consistently off color, making it look less dingy and more just the actual color. It's the one area where a little more detail and attention would have paid off.
Fun Factor - ****
Thanks to a ton of good accessories, a very poseable body with a
very expressive character, and two great head sculpts, you'll have a
lot of fun setting this guy up in the display, and you'll return to
him regularly. Giving us a way to display both heads is also genius,
and very much appreciated.
Value - **
The one area where he fails is pricing. At $260 - particularly 2 1/2
years ago - he was very much on the high end. I only dinged them a
half star off average here since the costume is so unique and
detailed, and there's such a good assortment of extras, but it's
still a very premium price point.
Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing. Everything was sturdy and I had no worries about
breakage. Of course, you'll want to pay attention to some of the
smaller costume bits, particularly when swapping hands, but with
just a little care you'll be fine.
Overall - ****
It's only February, and I already have my figure of the year. He
looks fantastic on the shelf, and is a great addition to any horror
collection. And since it's unlikely we'll ever see any other
characters from the film, or any new version of even this character
for years, the time to jump on him is now.
I just wish they'd follow this up with a Tim Curry edition, but sadly, I suspect it's merely wishful thinking.
Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***1/2
Sculpting - ****
Paint - ****
Articulation - ****
Accessories - ****
Outfit - ***1/2
Fun Factor - ****
Value - **
Overall - ****
Where to Buy
Online options include these site sponsors:
- or you can search ebay for a deal.
Related Links -
I've covered a ton of Pennywise figures, including the 7" Dancing version, the Tim Curry version, the vinyl version, the One:12 Collective version, and the quarter scale version.
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.