SEARCH      FEATURES    NEWSLETTER    EMAIL     HOME
Captain Toy/Michael's Review of the Week

Review of Thanos - Guardians of the Galaxy
Sixth Scale Action Figure

Hot Toys
Date Published: 2016-04-04
Written By: Michael Crawford
Overall Average Rating: 2.5 out of 4

Please share with your friends!

Guardians of the Galaxy Thanos sixth scale action figure by Hot Toys

Dividing Bar

Dividing Bar

Introduction

It's been quite awhile since Guardians of the Galaxy thrilled audiences. Hot Toys was quick to announce the team in sixth scale format, but ran into a snag or two when it came to the production of Drax. Thankfully, those issues appear to be all cleared up, and he is now scheduled for a 2016 release.

Outside of the team, there was only one announcement - Thanos. This big bad will play a critical role throughout many of the near term Marvel Cinematic Universe films, as he labors to complete his fancy glove and rule the Universe.

Thanos has been shipping for quite some time, and I actually received mine several weeks ago. I was a little slow in getting around to reviewing him - he hit at the same time as a ton of other sixth scale product - but about 3 weeks ago, I popped him open to shoot.  And 30 seconds into the un-boxing, his right hip snapped.  I packed him up and returned him to Sideshow, and they promptly replaced him with one that didn't have a single issue for me. It did further delay things, however.

This guy can be had for around $415 at most retailers, but I have one suggestion in the Where to Buy section that will save you $35.

Click on the image below for a Life Size version
Guardians of the Galaxy Thanos sixth scale action figure by Hot Toys

Dividing Bar

Packaging - ***
The large box contains a double set of trays for the figure and large diorama.  It's all collector friendly, and everything is well packed and safe.

I did deduct a bit though for the sheer amount of plastic wrap used in the various joints - shoulders, elbows, hips, ankles...some of it is easy to remove, like the wrists and ankles, because the feet and hands are intended to pop off. But areas like the shoulders and hips are more annoying, and I was plucking out pieces of plastic through out the photo shoot. I understand the intention with the wrap, but it needs to be easier to remove.

Guardians of the Galaxy Thanos sixth scale action figure by Hot Toys

Dividing Bar

Sculpting - ***1/2
He's big, he's bad, he's super detailed.  The armor sports the usual Hot Toys level of detail that gives it a very metallic, solid appearance, while the skin on the face has the perfect, life-like texture.  The proportions are generally good, although I could see someone saying that the head is *slightly* undersized. I think it's close enough, but your mileage may vary.

The armor looks terrific, and the key is that combination of small details and varying textures. I particularly love the look of the fake chain mail, which is a nice offset to the large chunks of smooth armor. This mail peeks through in a variety of places, lending a lot of depth and detail to the otherwise broad, smooth look.

On his own, he stands a solid 14 1/2" tall.  I've included a shot with a regular sixth scale figure to show how tall he looks when sitting in the suspended throne.

Guardians of the Galaxy Thanos sixth scale action figure by Hot Toys

Dividing Bar

Paint - ***1/2
As always, Hot Toys crushes the paint job.  Everything here is very realistic, even for a guy with a rather unrealistic skin tone.  Colors match on screen pretty well, and there's a nice use of wear, abuse, and damage that's added to the armor with the paint.

The damage is actually the one area that pulls him down slightly, however.  The use of this wear isn't quite as even or consistent on mine, although I'm betting this is a very specific situation, with the wear added by hand to each figure. On mine, the rusty, dirty appearance is quite obvious on the head, shoulders, and torso, but the extremities, particularly the legs and feet, are much cleaner. He needs to go all in one way or the other, particularly since the legs and feet would be an area where wear and tear were more likely.

Guardians of the Galaxy Thanos sixth scale action figure by Hot Toys

Dividing Bar

Articulation - ***
This is not a super articulated figure, thanks to the restrictive design of the armor.  The ball jointed neck has only a slightly amount of tilt and lean action, and the shoulders, elbows and wrists can manage just the basic arm poses.  The torso can turn, but there's no ab-crunch movement, and while the hips and knees do allow him to sit, the ankles are quite restricted, making it difficult to get the feet flat on the lower stone section of the chair.

The hands swap easily, however, and everything was solid and sturdy.  My first Thanos did end up with a snapped hip, so you might want to keep that in mind when you first start working with yours.  My replacement didn't have any issues at all, and all the joints worked smoothly.

Guardians of the Galaxy Thanos sixth scale action figure by Hot Toys

Dividing Bar

Accessories - ***
When it comes to the accessories, there's one huge elephant - or more specifically, throne - in the room.

His large, 'floating' chair comes in pieces to be assembled.  It's very sturdy, and can easily hold his weight above the ground with no fear of wilting or toppling over time. The sculpting on the hollow rocks is good, although I think the design could have matched up a little better with the figure itself. His butt, legs, and feet all don't quite align to create the perfect sitting pose. It's not terrible, but considering the seat was built for this figure, you'd expect perfection.

I also expect something a bit better than a cardboard cover on the base itself.  The very bottom of the throne is a standard plastic display base, but rather than having a sculpted surface - something I'd expect at this price point - it's just a cardboard insert, designed to match the stone pieces that hover above it.

Still, the throne is a cool extra, and one that you will definitely use in your display.  It includes a light up feature, but more on that in the next section.

His only other accessories are one set of hands - open, to go with the fists he comes wearing - and a second codpiece, sculpted for a sitting pose.  This piece is easy enough to swap, if you press the outside corners inward first. That allows the posts on each corner to pop out easier, and isn't really mentioned in the instructions. Play with it a bit and you'll see what I mean.

BTW, in the photo below, I actually have the chair back on backwards. It goes on either way, and it's not a big deal. In some of the photos you'll see it this way, with the notched edges toward the front, and in others you'll see it with the notched edges in the back. The difference is that with the latter (notched edges in back) the armrests will stick out about 1/8" further, and his arms and hands will rest on them a bit more comfortably.

Guardians of the Galaxy Thanos sixth scale action figure by Hot Toys

Dividing Bar

Dividing Bar

Light Feature - *1/2
And here's where he fails, and fails miserably.  Hot Toys has had some problems with recent light and sound features, which usually comes down to not thinking out the placement of the batteries and switches.  It's been annoying in the past, but not insurmountable. This time, they've rendered the light up feature nearly useless.

There are lights in all three tiers: bottom of the armrests, under the seat, and under the foot rest. These mimic the rocket flame that we saw in the film, holding the pieces in the air.  The lights are bright, and they look great...when they are on.

There are four battery compartments, with three batteries each.  These batteries are all included.  To insert the battery, you unscrew a VERY long screw holding the rock sculpted cover in place, put the batteries in, and return the cover and screw. No big surprise there, and it works well enough.

The problem is where the switches are located - inside the battery compartments! Yep, that means every time you want to turn the lights on or off (although to be fair, leave them on long enough and they go off on their own) you have to unscrew that honkin' huge screw and remove the cover, then put it all back! That's insane, and an obviously poor design.  I have no idea how Hot Toys let this one slip by them, or who screwed up, but I'm sure it was apparent to everyone - once they were produced - just how bad an idea this was. It renders the light feature useless, at least as it is out of the box.

You do have some options.  A couple of the covers fit tightly enough that I was able to fore go the screw. The other two wouldn't stay in place without it, so I used a small bit of poster tack to keep them closed. It's less than ideal - remember, you paid over $400 for this figure - but it is workable.

Guardians of the Galaxy Thanos sixth scale action figure by Hot Toys

Dividing Bar

Outfit - Bupkis
No real outfit this time around, although if you were so inclined I suppose you could count the sculpted armor pieces. I've already discussed them in the earlier sections, so no need to repeat here.

Fun Factor - **1/2
While the light up feature will leave you frustrated, you will have a decent time working with the figure himself.  Because he really looks best in the chair, it's unlikely that you'll be doing much posing and re-posing. Find a good sitting pose and stick with it, but that reduces the Fun Factor quite a bit.

Guardians of the Galaxy Thanos sixth scale action figure by Hot Toys

Dividing Bar

Value - *1/2
This guy isn't cheap in any estimation. But if he had a great light up feature, along with another accessory or two, the price point would have been justified. He's north of $400, and there's no metal or other mixed media pieces here to justify that kind of cost.  While the chair is nice, the light up feature - which I'm assuming is a decent chunk of the cost - is practically useless as designed.

Guardians of the Galaxy Thanos sixth scale action figure by Hot Toys

Dividing Bar

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing.  As I mentioned, I had a broken hip on the first one I received, but I'm going to assume that's a one off since I haven't heard a lot of complaints from other collectors on that particular issue.

Overall - **1/2
I'm betting there will be readers that don't agree with me on this one - lots of them.  And he is a very nice figure, onto himself.  It's also great to get a villain once in awhile, something that is rare in the Hot Toys Marvel Universe.  While we are likely to get a second version eventually, it's not going to be any time soon.

If I were grading this figure by himself, with no diorama or light up feature, and he cost $250, he'd be closer to a ***1/2 star release.  His sculpt is great, the paint looks good, and while he's not the most articulated, it's a reasonable design considering the restrictive armor.

But he's not by himself, and he sure doesn't cost $250. Instead, he comes with the large stone throne and light up feature, all for a hefty $400+, and the light up feature is poorly executed.  You're paying for that feature, and letting them off easily when something is designed this badly is just doing yourself a disservice. Hot Toys doesn't screw up very often, but that's one of the reasons they command a high price. This time they missed the mark, and it's important to call the issue out clearly.

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

Guardians of the Galaxy Thanos sixth scale action figure by Hot Toys

Dividing Bar

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Sideshow has him in stock for $415.

- comes in at just $382.

- has him on stock at $415.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
The Guardians of the Galaxy is almost complete - at least the Hot Toys versions - and we are just waiting on Drax to ship. We already have Rocket and Groot, Gamora, and Star-Lord.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

Discussion:
Want to chat about this review?  Try out one of these terrific forums where I'll be discussing it!

Enjoyed this review? Be sure to head back to the main page to find thousands more just like it!

Dividing Bar

Dividing Bar

Please share with your friends!

Guardians of the Galaxy Thanos sixth scale action figure by Hot Toys

Back to Main Page
This product was purchased for the review by the reviewer. Photos and text by Michael Crawford.

This page copyright 2000 - 2017, Michael Crawford. All rights reserved.