Review of Snake Plissken - Escape from New York
Exclusive Sixth Scale Action Figure

Introduction

John Carpenter has been responsible for some of the greatest movies of the 70's/80's, including Halloween, the Thing, Assault on Precinct 13, They Live, Big Trouble in Little China, and of course - Escape from New York. This sci-fi action flick was a hit for Carpenter, and it made Kurt Russell an action star.

There have been a few attempts at recreating the protagonist Snake Plissken in action figure form, but the success has been questionable. I have the sixth scale version done by Sideshow, and it left a lot to be desired. Now Asmus is releasing a new, very high end version complete with 'rooted' hair and moving eyeball, all for the high end price of about $350. This is part of their Crown Collection, their top line series. 

There's actually more than one version - there's a version with sculpted hair that will run $280, one with rooted hair that runs around $350 at retailers, and an exclusive version (reviewed here) only available through the Asmus website, that includes a diorama base and costs $375.

Packaging - ****
We've seen high end sixth scale figures up the ante with their packaging, creating a visual and textual impression of quality. Asmus went all out with their set up for this release, starting with a heavy duty labeled shipping box, which holds the art box inside.

The art box starts with a plastic sleeve with graphics and text that slips over a wrap around fifth panel box. This box has the Statue of Liberty artwork and bullet holes, but the logo you see in the photo below is actually a separate piece that comes inside the package and can be attached to the cover with velcro dots. This creates a nice back drop for the figure.

Inside the box there's soft, foam trays that hold the figure and accessories, everything super safe and cushioned. The smaller, harder accessories are also kept in small plastic trays, inside the bottom foam tray. The rooted hair head comes in it's own smaller box, also held in a foam tray. This sort of presentation is becoming the norm for the $300+ market.

Asmus goes further by including a magazine sized instruction booklet. It includes some great photos of the figure, the accessories, and instructions on how to set everything up, including the use of the PERS eyes. The head is a bit different than you've seen before, so it is useful to review this document carefully before you start trying to put everything together.

Sculpting - ***
Kurt Russell is one of those actors who is really hard to capture perfectly in any static sculpt. How do I know? Because NECA, Sideshow, and Mondo have all tried, and none of them truly got it right.

Asmus does better - I'll happily say this is the best Snake sculpt we've gotten, and is better than the Mondo MacReady or the Sideshow Snake or Jack Burton. It's still not perfect, but it gets closer to it.

Regular readers know I look at three factors with any portrait - realism, accuracy, and expression. Asmus gets a big bump here from that first one, because the realism is excellent. The skin texture is perfect, and the stubble, mustache, and eyebrows are subtle but evident. His one good eye is movable, and you know that in the past these could be set too deeply in the head - not so here.  The sculpted patch is the appropriate thickness, including the strap, even though it is a permanently attached feature.

And of course, there's the hair. The hair comes with a lot of product, which will flatten it but also keep most of it in line with only a few fly-aways. The hair is also layered, because of the unique way the head attaches to the neck. These two layers fit together cleanly. Remember, while they call this the 'rooted hair version', this is the glued wool style of hair.

The neck is a separate piece from the head, and the lower half of the hair is attached to a neck plate inside. This plate attaches to the ball post on the neck, and then the top half of the hair and the head attach to this plate with a magnet. This makes moving the eyeball around much easier, since you don't have to pop the head off the ball post every time. The layers in the hair are hidden extremely well.

You can work out the product with a soft brush, and do your own styling. I haven't done that for the review, since I want you to see what you're getting out of the package, but I do plan on doing it for my final look on the shelf. It's going to be tricky, because it looks about right on the sides, but it's a little flat on the top, and I haven't quite figured out how to get just the look I want. Nice thing about wool hair - you can try yourself, rather than being stuck with the sculpted style.

The figure also works on an emotive level. The expression they've chosen works perfectly for the character, with a serious, bad ass attitude that's not over the top. They avoided anything too dynamic that can end up looking goofy, and kept those teeth hidden. Smart move.

Then we get to accuracy, always a killer with Russell. I looked at a lot of stills of the character, and I have to say that from some angles this sculpt is dead on. It's clearly Russell as Plissken, and it's a huge improvement over past releases.

However, from other angles, it's more like a really good cosplayer. I think the biggest issue is the jawline, which should be strong, but sticks out a little too far at the edges. This is largely because they went with a separate head and neck, rather than a one piece head/neck design. They did this because it makes accessing the moving eyeball easier and it improves posing in some instances, but there's always a downside too. It usually means the neck looks skinnier than it should, and the jawline wider. That's what we see here.

In hand though, it's actually a pretty small nit. It's not as obvious as it can be in macro photos, and on the shelf he blows away the previous versions.

Paint - ****
The realism I mentioned in the previous category is due in no small part to the amazing paint work. The ruddy skin tone, the perfect facial hair, the combo paint/hair hair line, it all adds up to a very realistic portrait.

It's not really a flaw, but I will mention that the dark edge to the facial hair along the jawline - which is accurate to his look in the film - highlights that wide jaw even more.

The skin tone on the head, neck, arms and hands matches pretty well, making it look good when he's not wearing the jacket over the bare arms.

I know you're wondering - is the tattoo there? Yes, it is. You have to remove the head, arms, belt and pants to get the shirt off, but once you do you will be rewarded with a glimpse of the snake.

Articulation - ***
There's all the usual articulation, although some of it works a bit different than you might expect.

The underlying body is a little different than some. That starts at the neck, where I already discussed the two piece head. Inside the head is a plate, with some of the hair in back attached, which snaps down on the ball joint. The top half of the hair and head attach to this plate thanks to a magnet. The neck joint allows for some tilt and lean, and the hair offers no resistance. I did want a bit more backward tilt though, considering the design.

The shoulders, elbows, and wrists all work as you might expect, at least with the uncovered arms. There's two sets - one set with jointed elbows, and the usual ball shoulders and rotating hinge wrists. These are designed to work with the jacket, where they are hidden. However, they aren't that ugly if you're an old school collector who is accustomed to seeing elbow joints. The jacket will offer some resistance, but you can get some really good poses with these arms and the weapons.

The second set of arms is covered in a thin but very durable plastic, which is probably best described as automotive grade. This plastic is not going to break down like some rubber skins, but it is also very stiff, making bending the arms at the elbow difficult.

I also think these nekkid arms should be a bit more buff. It's a minor nit as well, but just a little larger would have looked better.

The torso can crunch and twist, and the hips, knees, and ankles can all move as you'd expect. These are largely ratchet joints, where the joint locks in at various positions. The two piece boots allow the ankles some movement, but it was less than I expected.

I didn't do a lot with the moving eyeball, but it does work pretty easily. Two big pluses with it on this figure - you don't have to worry about getting two eyes lined up together, and there's less issue with fear of breaking a complicated mechanism.

Accessories - ***1/2
He comes with a great number of extras, many of them useful on the shelf.

There's the usual set of hands of course, eight in total. These swap easily, and are soft enough to put the weapons in without damage. There's no extra wrist posts, but it's unlikely you'll need them.

There's also a second set of arms. He comes wearing the bare jointed arms, but there's a second set covered in 'skin'. I was able to swap them easily, and this second set looks good without the jacket.

He has both his classic weapons - his SMG and revolver. Both of these also come with a detachable scope, and the SMG also has a silencer. The weapons, scopes, and suppressor all fit in the two holsters provided.

The SMG has a movable slide action, as well as a removable magazine. The revolver has a swing out cylinder, with sculpted bullets inside. They aren't individual though, which is a plus, because they won't fall out and get lost.

There are three more pouches that can be attached to his belt, as well as the radio (with two different antenna, retracted and extended), wrist tracker, timer, and homing device. All of these look great, and are a much better match and finish than the old Sideshow version.

Finally, there's either the basic display stand that comes with the retail version, or the more complex diorama base shown in the next photo. It's very detailed, including little touches like actual paper used to create the newspaper on the side. It's not too large to use on the shelf, but has plenty of visual pop. There's a waist grabber support, with some padding to ensure it doesn't affect the costume.

Outfit - ****
This is one of the weaker areas with the Sideshow figure, but Asmus picked it up here.

There's the black sleeveless tee, which is fitted down around the crotch to keep it tight and neat. Over this is the camo pants, with a leather belt to attach the various packs and holsters. On his feet are the two piece boots, much higher quality than we've seen before, but still with some articulation issues.

The final piece is the leather jacket. This is advertised as real leather, and it certainly appears to be just that. Big advantage to real leather is it is much, much thinner than pleather, which means it can be tightly fitted and look better. It also has a very nice lining, with excellent stitching and wear. It's still not perfect - the collar/lapels are a little big, as are the zippers, but it's a huge improvement over the past attempts. Unlike pleather, this jacket shouldn't have an issue with peeling over time.

Fun Factor - ***1/2
While the skin covered arms aren't very posable, you can still get some good looks out of them. And with both types of arms available, you can swap things up on the shelf and have some fun. It's a bit of a conundrum though, because I really, really like the jacket...but I also really like how he looks not wearing it. I'm not sure which way I'll go, but it's nice to have problems like this.

Value - **
This is a high end, $300+ release. These are getting more common, particularly from InArt and Hot Toys, with Sideshow getting in there when they can. But many of those are even more expensive, coming in at $500 or more, making this on the low side of high end.

The quality fits pretty well with the price. It's not cheap, but the quality overall matches up pretty well. It's not InArt, but it's pretty close, and it's much better than any Plissken or other sixth scale Kurt we've gotten so far.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not much, but there's a couple things to be aware of. First, the metal clips on the back of the pouches and holsters can come off - I managed to have that happen with one of them. I reattached it by squeezing the pack on the sizes to push out the pins and pushing it back on, but you'll want to avoid that. Also, take your time putting the pouches on the belt. I didn't damage mine, but I could see it happening if you got a little too forceful.

Overall - ***1/2
I'll admit I waffled around a bit on this final score. In hand (which is always different than in very unforgiving macro photos) I'm really happy with the result. I have nits, including the jawline, minor issues with articulation, and a price point that's painful even for a character I love this much.

But the paint work and hair are excellent, and the costume is such a major improvement over the past attempt. Even the accessories look more realistic and less plasticky, something I would have expected Sideshow to do better with. Asmus didn't release a perfect Snake Plissken, but they've released the best so far, and it's a nice addition to their Crown Collection.

In fact, I've pre-ordered the Saruman now, having seen this guy in hand. I'll also be buying the InArt LOTR figures for key releases, but I have no fear that they won't blend in together on the shelf.

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

Where to Buy 
The only way to get the exclusive with the diorama base is through the Asmus online store, where it is $375. The other versions are available from various online retailers including these site sponsors:

Related Links -
Sideshow did the other sixth scale figure you see in the comparison photo.

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