Review of Artemisia - 300: The Rise of an Empire
sixth scale action figure

Introduction

The unique film 300 was a surprise hit, with its wild style and design juxtaposed against a very old story of heroism. Like most surprise hits, it spawned a sequel, called 300: The Rise of an Empire, starring a number of exceptional actors, including the very talented Eva Green as Armetisia.

Star Ace picked up the license for sixth scale figures awhile back, and have already produced a King Leonidas and Thermistokles, and are shipping Artemisia (Eva Green) in the next few weeks. Expect to pay around $235 depending on the retailer.

Packaging - ***1/2
The package has a great shot of the character on the cover, and of course, it's all collector friendly. The interior plastic trays keep everything safe, and there's no need to damage anything when retrieving the figure and accessories.

Sculpting - **1/2
Ms. Green is a talented and beautiful actress. However, she has a very distinct look. Her high forehead, wide piercing eyes, sharp jawline, and cheekbones that could cut glass allow her to stand out from the crowd.

Those features also mean the sculptor has something to work with, something specific and unique that they can anchor their likeness on and create a recognizable portrait. Alas, they missed the opportunity.

They got the forehead, I'll give them that. The eyes, nose, and jawline are close...but cosplayer close, not the kind of accuracy that the market demands. The features are softer, less angular than they should be, and this hurts the recognizability of the sculpt.

The life-like nature is a bit better, with a soft skin texture, and a nice variation on the lips and eyebrows. The rooted hair is thick and very long, making it pretty easy to work with. She has long straight hair - there's only so much you can mess up with long straight hair. I messed around with it quite a bit from shot to shot - sometimes behind the shoulders, sometimes in front, sometimes half and half - so you should be able to find a look that works for you.

The emotive aspect is alright, but not something that makes up for the other issues. She's not a zombie, but there's a blandness to the expression that doesn't quite convey the true nature of the character.

She stands about 11 1/2" tall, and should fit in pretty well scale-wise with your other sixth scale figures.

Paint - **1/2
The paint work on the skin tone is reasonable, and the lips look quite good. I think the darker makeup around the eyes looks good, but the eyebrows lack variation in tone, making them less realistic.

The biggest issue is the eyes themselves. They aren't quite straight, with the left focused on something a little different than the right. She's not quite cross eyed, but she's moving in that direction. It's more noticeable from certain angles than others, but at this price point, it simply can't be an issue.

The paint work on the armor is quite good, with a nice burnished appearance to the gold areas. The paint on the portrait could be better, but I don't think getting it repainted is going to do a lot to improve the likeness this time.

Articulation - ***
The underlying body works great, but the costume does impose some limitations. The neck has a little tilt and lean, but less than I expect. The shoulders, elbows, and wrists work great however, and allow for a very natural, flowing bow firing pose. That's a pose that can be very difficult to achieve, but here it was almost effortless.

The armor keeps the torso from doing much, and the lower skirt inhibits the hips and knees. The biggest offender is the boots, which make the ankles almost useless.

Accessories - ***
Artie comes with four hands to swap in for the two relaxed hands she comes wearing. There's two tight grips, designed for the dagger and swords, a bow string right, and a left that is a permanent part of the bow itself.

Yep, the bow is already in the left hand. The bowstring is sturdy and can be drawn neatly by the included right. There's one arrow, all she needs.

As I mentioned, there's two swords and a dagger. The hands that hold these weapons are sculpted into tight circles, and the fingers and thumb are attached. This might appear to be an issue at first glance, but all three hilts are designed to come apart, making inserting the weapons in the hands quite easy.

The hands swap easily, but they do tend to fall off when you're posing, thanks to the hard plastic gauntlets. It's a minor issue though, and you can still use the wrist articulation to your advantage.

Her final accessory is a standard black display stand with waist grabber support and the 300 logo on the top.

Outfit - ***
The outfit matches up pretty well with the onscreen look, and the overall quality of the materials is good. I've already discussed the sculpt and paint on the armor, but the underlying cloth is well crafted. I particularly like the spikes on the armor running down her back, although it would make sitting down awfully uncomfortable.

She's wearing mesh nylons under the skirt, and a pair of awful boots. Really awful boots. Bad sculpt, worse paint, they are not the sort of thing you find on a figure at this price point.

The only other negative is the skirt tends to give her a Morticia Adams thing, but that's more of an issue with the original costume design.

Fun Factor - ***
You can get some nice bow shooting poses, and she'll fit in well with the other Star Ace releases for the movies. Working with the rooted hair can also be fun, depending on your point of view.

Value - *1/2
Here's where she really takes a hit.  If this figure was $180 - $200, I could see it. But at $235, she's pushing the top end of the current market, and she simply doesn't have the same level of detail or quality. I suspect a lot of the price point is being driven by the volume, since I'm willing to bet they made very few of these when compared to something like a Captain America or an Iron Man. Still, it's going to be hard for buyers to justify the price point.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing. The weapons and costume pieces are sturdy, and I had no fear of breakage or damage.

Overall - **1/2
While the sculpt and paint weren't quite where I want them to be, the costume, articulation, and accessories were generally B work. I didn't double check her original cost when I first received her and started working with her. As I was futzing and posing, I thought "If she's $180 - $200, I'll go ***, but anything above $220 is going to be a serious problem". Sadly, $235 is above $220. If you need a reminder of what a sixth scale female figure with rooted hair can look like in the current market, go back and look at Wonder Woman. And yes, she was about $235 as well.

To justify that price point, they had to nail the sculpt and paint. They didn't, and the score suffered for it. While the sculpt isn't atrocious in terms of realism or emotion, it's not accurate, and I don't think doing a repaint is going to help this time.  If someone does and gets a much closer look to Eva, I'd love to see it.

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

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
As I mentioned, Star Ace did their own King Leonidas and Thermistokles before this.

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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