Review of Newt Scamander - Fantastic Beasts
Sixth Scale Action Figure

Introduction

The new trailers for the second film in the Fantastic Beasts franchise have succeeded in their purpose - I'm interested. I'm a huge Harry Potter fan, and while the first film wasn't as good as some of the original series, it did capture the feel and fun for me.

Much of that is due to the lead, Newt Scamander, played by the very talented Eddie Redmayne. Odd, goofy, and unwilling to follow the conventions of his already rather unconventional world, Newt is the heart of the new series.

Star Ace has produced a number of sixth scale figures for the Harry Potter license, with at least a couple more coming. They showed off their Newt quite awhile ago, but he'll be shipping very soon now. He'll run you around $240, depending on the retailer. So far, he's the only Fantastic Beasts character they've announced.

Packaging - ***
The box is quite attractive, with a nice backdrop for the figure itself. The interior is completely collector friendly, and nothing needs to be damaged in the process of removing the figure or accessories. There's some basic instructions too, although it's all pretty straight forward.

Sculpting - ***
I used several shots of Newt to do my comparison, including this one running up the stairs, this one looking surprised, and this one looking thoughtful.

Let's get to the three aspects of a great sculpt - accuracy, realism, and emotion.  Starting with realism, we can see that Star Ace is working on those skin textures and fine details. Areas like the lips and teeth are extremely realistic, and there's some very fine wrinkles and lines around the eyes, further increasing the lifelike nature of the portrait.

One thing that does hurt the realism a bit - the two piece head/neck. When his collar is up or the scarf wrapped around it, you won't see the joint below the jaw. But without these things hiding it, the back of the head protrudes over the neck itself and it's fairly obvious in photos and in hand.

The big drawback is the hair.  Newt has a really hard hair style to capture in sculpted plastic. It's thick and wild, and is a big part of his signature. I think they did the best they could with the medium, at least in terms of style and detail.  However, the hair does sit quite a bit forward on the face, leaving a gap between the wild bangs and the forehead. I know what they were going for here, but it didn't quite hit the mark.

The accuracy is quite good, although I'm sure some people will say it looks nothing like him. I popped the head off and handed it to a Harry Potter fan who has no interest in action figures, and they recognized Newt immediately. Again, the lips and teeth go a long way to capturing his specific look, but the shape of the jaw, chin, and nose do a good job of supporting the overall likeness.

Finally, there's the emotive aspect, the expression they've chosen to emulate. It's not super dynamic or extreme, but it's not a simple wax museum look either. The slightly parted lips and wider eyes give the impression of slight wonder or surprise, and it's a look the character often had.

He stands about 12" tall, fitting in fine with most other sixth scale figures and series.

Paint - ***
This score almost gained another half star, but for one nit I have to pick.

The skin color looks good, and there's a nice match between the head and neck. It's slightly mottled, slightly translucent, so there's a depth and realism to the appearance. The color of the lips is good, and even the teeth are super clean and accurate.

The hair is tough, again. It's hard to get the variations in color, but they did a reasonable job with the wash. The eyebrows are great, and while the painted eyelashes can be obvious in macro photos, they look great in hand.

Yep, I'd go another half star...except for a slight laziness to the right eye. You can't see it in the photos, but the two eyes don't *quite* line up. It is very minor, and it's also something that is likely to vary figure to figure - yours could very well be dead on. But it's a pet peeve of mine, especially at this price point.

Articulation - ***
The base body that Star Ace uses is utilitarian, but not exceptional.  The joints are all there, but some aren't designed for maximum fluidity.

The two piece neck does allow for good tilt and lean, and you should be able to get plenty of realistic personality in every pose.

The shoulders, elbows, and wrists work great, and while there's a lot of layers of clothing, he can still maintain natural arm poses. The hands swapped easily, and stay in place when posing him.

The torso can turn and lean, but the multiple layers of clothing tend to force him back to center. The hips are one of the weaker joints on this body in terms of mobility, but the knees can make up for some of the restrictive design.

The ankles are quite inhibited, due to the high, hard plastic boots. The boot sculpt looks good, but you won't get an movement out of the ankle joint inside.

All the joints are tight and solid, and I had no fears of breakage while working with him.

Accessories - ****
This is one of two sections where this figure really shines.  I love great accessories that are useful in a display and super character specific, and he has several that fit the bill.

There's two extra hands to go with the relaxed set he comes wearing. The extra right is sculpted to hold the wand, while the sculpted left works with the suitcase. They swap easily, as I mentioned earlier.

This is a Potter Universe wizard of course, so he has to have his very specific wand. It's very sturdy, and fits neatly in the intended right hand.

He's also the dude known for all the beasties, and he comes with several. There's the Occamy egg, painted in bright silver. Then you get a Demiguise, or at least enough of one to place inside the suitcase, peeking out. There's also half a Niffler, also perfect for placing inside the case.

This suitcase is particularly sweet. It opens of course, and you can place the half Niffler and Demiguise inside. But inside the case is also a portal, designed to appear as though you can drop through to another location.  This plastic piece can be removed from the case as well.

Back to the creatures - there's also a full size Niffler, holding onto some pearls, as well as a tiny Bowtruckle. I'm assuming this is Pickette of course.  He stands nicely on his own, and you can get him to stand on Newt's shoulder or ride in a pocket.

Finally, Newt also has one of the standard display bases with a crotch support rod.  The early Star Ace Potter figures didn't include a stand, so it's interesting to see them add one with this figure.

Outfit - ****
And here's the other category where this figure really steps it up.

This is a multi-layered costume, and the tailoring and fit are really impressive. It starts with socks, pants, and a white shirt. There's a bow tie of course, a light brown vest, and a brown jacket. Over this tweed suit is a blue coat. There's a Hufflepuff scarf as well, and the boots I mentioned earlier.

The tailoring is excellent, especially considering the number of layers. The clothing hangs on his body naturally, and the scale is great. The collars, buttons, and pockets are all properly sized, and the quality of the material is pretty amazing. It's the sort of quality you have to feel to really appreciate.

Fun Factor - ***1/2
While the articulation can be a little limiting for this category, the amazing accessories make up for it. There's plenty of ways to display this figure with the various extras, and you'll come up with new ways over and over.

Value - *1/2
This is a very expensive figure, running $240 - $250. You can see where some of that money went, particularly in the accessories and the costume, but it's still a lot of money on the current market. I suspect that two other factors have gone into driving up the cost on this particular release: the license and the run size. I'm betting Warner Brothers expects serious cash for what is supposed to be the next big thing in the Harry Potter world. I'm also betting that the number of this figure produced is quite low, comparatively speaking. I'd go a full star higher here, giving him an average score, at $220 - $225, but I also bet he ends up selling out even at this higher price.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing. Everything is sturdy and well made, and you shouldn't have any issues with normal handling.

Overall - ***
Had this figure made it in closer to $220, I would have gone another half star here overall. while the sculpt isn't dead on, it's much better than I suspect a lot of people will give them credit for. And the accessories and outfit are as nice as anything on the sixth scale market right now. But the price is still premium, and the quality of the portrait can't quite command a premium price.

I'd put this guy in the same category as Voldemort, Hagrid, Snape, or Sirius Black. He falls into that middle ground, certainly better than figures like Teen Hermione or Mad Eye Moody, but he's not at the very top with others like young Hermione or either Dumbledore.

I'm really interested in seeing whether we get another Fantastic Beasts figure announcement this summer.  You'd assume that if they did any it would be Grindelwald, but they'd have to go up against Hot Toys directly with comparisons on any Depp sculpt. Perhaps a third Dumbledore?

I'm hoping the demand for this figure will be enough to help drive further releases, not just with the new films, but the older ones as well. I'm still holding out hope for McGonagall and Bellatrix LeStrange...pretty please?

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

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth has him for $250, but with free shipping.

- Sideshow has him at $242 as well.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
This is the first Fantastic Beasts figure from Star Ace, but they've produced a bunch of Harry Potter figures, including 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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