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Captain Toy/Michael's Review of the Week

Review of Gellert Grindelwald - Fantastic Beasts
Exclusive Sixth Scale Action Figure

Hot Toys
Date Published: 2020-05-11
Written By: Michael Crawford
Overall Average Rating: 3.5 out of 4

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Gellert Grindelwald Fantastic Beasts sixth scale action figure by Hot Toys

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Introduction

Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them had a twist at the end. And not the usual kind of twist. Instead of being surprised by which character was the bad guy, we were surprised to find who was playing said character - Johnny Depp. They did a relatively good job of keeping it under wraps, and so for many, his appearance on screen was a surprise.

His evil character is key to the overall Potter-verse as well. A predecessor to Voldemort, his complex relationship with Dumbledore was the stuff of legends. Hot Toys added him to their Fantastic Beasts line up, the perfect companion to Scamander. Now we just need a young Dumbledore...

There are two versions - the regular and the Sideshow exclusive. I'm checking out the exclusive tonight, which includes one extra accessory, and will run you about the same price as the regular - $235.

Gellert Grindelwald Fantastic Beasts sixth scale action figure by Hot Toys

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Packaging - ***
Attractive, sturdy, and collector friendly - can't argue with that. The cover photo is a bit odd, with it being of the figure, but clearly heavily edited. Still, it looks good overall, even if it is their simplest shoe box style. The biggest drawback is the instructions, which do a terrible job explaining the use of the pendant. More on that in a bit.

Gellert Grindelwald Fantastic Beasts sixth scale action figure by Hot Toys

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Sculpting - ****
I had a few reservations on the Newt sculpt, but I think they pretty much crushed it on Grindelwald. It's clearly an older Depp, although I will say that the skin texture could be a little more age appropriate.

But the realism is killer, as usual, with some terrific stranding on the hair, a subtle skin texture, and a soft transition between the facial hair - eyebrows, mustache - and skin.

The likeness accuracy is great as well, with a very Depp nose, eyes, and lips. The shape of the hair matches nicely, and even the cheekbones are just about right.

The expression is slightly more character specific as well, an issue I had with Newt. Here, we see an evil glare, with the eyes looking upward and a tightness to the mouth and jawline. It's not overly dynamic or silly, but rather emotes the intensity of the character's personality.

The hands aren't bad, although one is a bit on the E.T. side. I'm not sure when we'll ever see properly scaled hands across the board.

He stands right at 12", just a hair shorter than Newt.

Gellert Grindelwald Fantastic Beasts sixth scale action figure by Hot Toys

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Paint - ***1/2
This category is usually a slam dunk for Hot Toys, but I had a few nits this time around.

The skin tone is washed out, as you'd expect - he's a very white dude. But there's something a bit too chalky, too 'fake', with this particular application. The variations in the tone are realistic though, and add to the life-like nature of the sculpt.

They hit a good compromise with the hair color, and the eyebrows and mustache match nicely. The eyes and lips look great, but my one other nit is with the hairline, where it's less subtle and a bit thicker this time around.

All that is not to say this is a bad paint job - it's most certainly not. It's just not quite the perfection we've come to expect in this particular category.

Gellert Grindelwald Fantastic Beasts sixth scale action figure by Hot Toys

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Articulation - ***1/2
The underlying TrueType has all the joints you've come to know and love. He can hold natural, flowing poses, and while the costume is a tad tight, it doesn't restrict him any more than a similar real life costume would restrict you or I.

The one piece head and neck does limit some of the tilt, but I was able to get at least a little personality in most poses.  The shoulders and elbows are a bit restricted by the coat, but you should be able to still get reasonable, natural arm poses. The wrists work great, and the hands swap easily.

The torso and waist can turn and tilt, breaking up some of the straight lines, but the tight clothes do limit it a bit. Likewise, the tight pants keep the stances to the shallower side of the equation, but the two piece boots allow more ankle movement here than with Newt. You should be able to keep the feet flat on the ground in any stance the legs can manage.

It's also worth noting that there is a wire in the lower edge of the coat, which does allow you some ability to pose it. It's actually best for getting a natural hang, but you can get some dynamic movement out of it as well.

Gellert Grindelwald Fantastic Beasts sixth scale action figure by Hot Toys

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Accessories - ***1/2
This is the deluxe version - the regular would lose a half star here.

Both versions come with four extra hands to go with the two he comes wearing. There's a pair of gripping hands, as well as a loose grip left and a wand holding right with the wand already attached. The hands swap easily, but there's a couple extra pegs just in case.

While the one hand has the wand already permanently attached - and which is a smart move on their part with both these figures - there's also a second Elder wand you can use in other ways.

Gellert Grindelwald Fantastic Beasts sixth scale action figure by Hot Toys

Gellert also has a pair of skulls. Really, it's the same skull but they give you one with a light feature, and one without. The sculpts and paint work are great, and there's a vape tube you can attach to the back of either one. More on the light feature in the next section.

Both releases also have his pendant. Now, I never did figure out how the Hell you're supposed to attach this thing. The instructions are worthless, and after looking at a ton of photos and comparing them to what you have, I couldn't figure it out. There is a small hole with an eyelet on the vest, which you're clearly supposed to use, but I never did figure it out, hence you won't see any photos with him wearing it.  If you do decide to work on it, be careful with the eyelet - it seemed like it would pop out of the vest pretty easily.

Gellert Grindelwald Fantastic Beasts sixth scale action figure by Hot Toys

Finally, both the regular and deluxe come with a small display stand, complete with name plate and crotch support.

The deluxe adds in one more accessory, and it's a big one - Augurey!  He's nicely scaled, and has some 'real' feathers on the tail. The sculpting of the features overall could be a tad more detailed, but he's an impressive bird, and he stands pretty well on his own.

Gellert Grindelwald Fantastic Beasts sixth scale action figure by Hot Toys

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Light Feature - ***1/2
The light feature is pretty simple - it's the skull. Insert two tiny batteries (included) into the base of the skull, flip the switch, and a bright LED lights up. It works great, and is easy to use, but the light is intense in a small area, and coming up with a way to defuse it a bit more so there wasn't a hot spot would have taken things to the next level.

Gellert Grindelwald Fantastic Beasts sixth scale action figure by Hot Toys

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Outfit - ***1/2
Right out of the box, I liked this outfit quite a bit more than Newt's. The collars were the big selling point - these are much more in scale.

The material is very high quality, and the layers are perfectly tailored. The tight 'leather' pants look great, and all of the extra baubles and buttons have terrific sculpts and detailing. The two piece boots, the watch fob with dangling extras, the different chains and buckles - it's pretty amazing at first glance.

But I did end up with two issues that pulled down what should have been a four star score. First, the shirt - and therefore the collar - is not properly lined up. The shirt is twisted slightly to one side, which raises the collar up and out on the left. I'm sure it's correctable, but you'll have to remove the vest and potentially the pants to get it fixed. That's not something that looks easy or fun.

My second issue is with the damn pendant. I couldn't figure it out. And even if you could, why would something like this not be already attached to the outfit?

Gellert Grindelwald Fantastic Beasts sixth scale action figure by Hot Toys

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Fun Factor - ***
It's a rather limited character, since pairing him with Newt is your best option. Of course, Depp fans could also add him to their display of his other figures, which has gotten pretty vast at this point. While I plan on putting Newt with the other Potter figures, I just might do a Depp shelf, and have Newt hanging out with Tonto, Sweeney Todd, and Ichabod Crane.

Gellert Grindelwald Fantastic Beasts sixth scale action figure by Hot Toys

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Value - **1/2
The deluxe is $235, and the large extra makes it worth the $15 you'd be paying over the normal $220. However, the regular release is $235 as well, so if you go with that version, you can take off a half star in this category. This is one of those situations where picking up the deluxe is a no brainer, unless you can get a great deal on the secondary market for the regular release.

Gellert Grindelwald Fantastic Beasts sixth scale action figure by Hot Toys

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Things to Watch Out For -
I'd take a lot of care working with the pendant, if you decide to try to attach it. Otherwise, you should be good to go.

Overall - ***1/2
I'm glad Hot Toys stepped outside of the Star Wars/MCU bubble for a bit, giving us some characters not in the big licenses. These two turned out quite nice, and are going to look great on the shelf. I'm also thankful that we actually got both, and this didn't turn into a Lone Ranger situation.

Still, I'd love it if they finished things off with a young Dumbledore. He's really the only other character from Fantastic Beasts that I really need at this point, and you'd think there'd be even more Harry Potter crossover with him than with Newt and Grindelwald. C'mon, Hot Toys!

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

Gellert Grindelwald Fantastic Beasts sixth scale action figure by Hot Toys

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Where to Buy 
The place to get the exclusive is Sideshow of course, where he's $235. Online options for the regular release include these site sponsors:

- has him for $234.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Last week I checked out the exclusive version of Newt Scamander as well, and you can check out the Newt Scamander produced by Star Ace for comparison.

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

Discussion:
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This product was purchased for the review by the reviewer. Photos and text by Michael Crawford.

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