Review of Thanos - Infinity War
Sixth Scale Action Figure

Introduction

It took me way too long to see End Game, after having my opening weekend interrupted with other life duties.  But I finally saw it this weekend, and I was definitely entertained. Oh, that's not to say it's not a hot mess - it is. But it was still tremendously entertaining.

And of course, we get to see Thanos again in this film.  The Infinity War version was recently shipped by Hot Toys, and they have an End Game version coming early next year as well. I've got the Guardians of the Galaxy release too, and I'm hoping the IW release will be the only one I ever need to get again...

This guy will run you around $375 - $400, depending on the retailer, and just started shipping a couple weeks ago in the States.

Packaging - ***
The box has some nice Thanos artwork on the cover, but it's a bit flimsy considering the weight it has to contain. Mine showed up a bit smooshed, due to a battle between thin cardboard and a heavy figure.

There are decent instructions though, and everything is collector friendly. You'll need to pop off the hands, feet, and head to remove some plastic wrap, but it's nothing major.

Sculpting - ****
The figure comes with two portraits, and both are four star work.

The basic head has a stoic, determined look, perfect for sitting on the porch and contemplating your role in ending half the universe. The skin texture is just about perfect, and the realism is off the charts.

The second head has a battle face, with open mouth, gritted teeth, and squinted eyes. Thanos doesn't get mad a lot, but when he does, bad things happen. Really bad things.  The teeth look amazing, some of the most realistic (if you're a Hollywood type who can afford the dental work) I've ever seen.

The heads swap easily, as do the hands. There's not a ton of hands, but the few here work well with a variety of poses.

The sculpted armor bits are terrific, with lots of detail and plenty of realism. Overall, it's a fantastic look. I have one nit, but it's going to affect the Articulation section more than this section. The arms are covered with the fake skin, hiding the elbows. While that looks great with the arms straight, because the figure is quite large, the buckle of skin when the elbow is bent is quite obvious. This isn't the softer, rubbery material, but the thinner, stiffer material, which is why the buckling is this extreme. While the rest of the sculpting keeps this category score high, this issue with the elbows will be a factor in my Overall.

BTW, it appears as though Thanos grew slightly since GotG. That figure was around 14 1/2" tall, while this one is almost 16 1/2".

Paint - ***1/2
Terrific production paint isn't a surprise with Hot Toys, it's an expectation. Once again, they capture the look of the character beautifully.

The quality is excellent of course, with no slop or error anywhere. Those pearly white teeth are a stand out because they are made from a very tooth-like material, with a slightly translucent surface that gives them depth, just like the real thing. But the work on the costume pieces is excellent as well, and you can't overlook the clean, piercing eyes.

So why the slight bump on the score? Because the mottling on the skin, so effective in figures around 12" tall, is a bit much here. Remember, this guy is over 16" tall, with a lot of bulk and brawn. What was subtle on a smaller figure is pretty obvious here. It's particularly obvious on the arms and neck. This isn't any sort of end of the world, gnashing of teeth and wailing of voices sort of thing, but it does hurt him slightly.

Articulation - ***
The suit's a bit restrictive, particularly in the torso, but it's really those shoulders that hurt him here.

The heads swap pretty smoothly, and there's decent lean and tilt movement. The shoulders have a good range of movement, but the elbows are very restricted. The skin has the buckling issue I already discussed, but it's also makes it tough to get very much bend in the joint. The wrists are good, especially the wrist inside the glove. I was surprised by how much movement I got in that wrist, and the upper part of the glove turns as well. Each finger has a couple joints too, but I couldn't get the middle finger to reach the thumb in a perfect finger snap pose. I'm going to settle for the index finger, I suppose.

As I mentioned, the torso doesn't have much movement - no crunch, and just a slight bit of turn - but the hips, knees, and ankles allow for shallow to deep stances. In fact, I suspect I'll put this guy on the throne we got with the GotG version. The ankles could use a bit more rocker movement, but it's a minor nit.

In fact, my biggest nit here is the obvious shoulder joints. The armor doesn't hide these well at all, and the big gap around the arm is quite obvious in many poses.

Accessories - ***
At almost $400, you expect a lot. You don't really get too many extras, but a couple are quite nice.

He has the second head we already discussed, as well as two additional right hands. These are in different open hand poses to go with the fist he comes wearing. They swap easily, and remain in place while you're posing him.

The right arm he comes wearing has an articulated elbow, but as I mentioned, you won't get a ton of bend out of it. To solve that problem, they give you a second left arm with a permanently bent elbow and closed fist hand. This glove lights up, as does the first one. Swapping arms was pretty easy, and I suspect this second arm will be the one I use on the shelf. You can also swap the two glove hands, but just the hand, not the gauntlet.

Oh, there's a standard display stand with crotch support rod as well, along with a thick cardboard backdrop.  While this backdrop is wide enough to wrap all the way around three sides of the base, it isn't tall enough to rise much above the top of his head, making it pretty useless in my opinion.

Light Feature - ***1/2
We all know the stones light up when energized - both sets do the same here, thanks to a small switch and three batteries.

The compartment and switch are hidden under a removable section of the upper glove. Pop it off, unscrew the compartment cover, slip in three batteries (included), and flip on the switch. There's a single LED incorporated into the wrist joint that lights up the six colored stones. Some are brighter than others thanks to color (yellow versus red) and some are bright due to proximity (the big stone is right next to the light - the stone in the thumb is pretty far away), but overall it looks good and can be seen in a normally lit room. It's a little annoying getting to the switch, but it's not as difficult as it might sound.

Outfit - ***
I really like this design - it's less armored, more bad ass, at least to me. Of the three figures done by Hot Toys for him, it's my clear favorite in this category.

The armored torso looks great, with a ton of texture and nicely done faux metal paint work. It blends in cleanly with the belt and pants, and the cloth works well for posing the legs. The chunky two piece boots look great too, and this costume is way less gaudy than the other two. This simplicity combined with the muted colors are more in line with the character, at least for me.

However, I'm going to ding them pretty hard for the exposed shoulders. The torso armor rides quite high on the body, making the gap around the shoulder even more obvious.

Fun Factor - ***
You won't do a lot of posing and re-posing with this guy, simply because the articulation doesn't really lend him to it. I'm probably going to go with the extra bent left arm, and keep the right arm fairly straight to avoid long term damage to the skin.

Value - **
This guy is a little cheaper than the other two incarnations, and he's actually my favorite look. At $375, he's still a little high, but not nearly as bad as the $400+ you can spend on the GotG or EG releases.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not much. Not something to watch out for, but something worth noting - you can swap the two gloved hands around if you'd like, as both the fist and the articulated fingers version pop off the LED post pretty easily.

Overall - ***1/2
I wasn't too thrilled with the GotG version of this figure. He was pretty overpriced, and the light up feature on the rock throne was weak at best. This guy is a big improvement, and I really, really like this costume. While I have two issues - the gap at the shoulders and the buckling skin at the elbows - neither of these are deal breakers, and this costume is my preference over the heavily armored versions.  I'm glad I grabbed this one, and have no real desire to get the EG release. Obviously, if you like that costume better, your mileage will vary.

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

Where to Buy 
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Related Links -
This isn't the first - or last - Hot Toys Thanos. I checked out their Guardians of the Galaxy release several years ago.

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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