Review of Jack Burton - Big Trouble in Little China
Sixth Scale Action Figure

Introduction

People who visit my house probably assume I'm a big fan of the film Big Trouble in Little China. You see, I collect movie posters, particularly 80's stuff, and I have the original for this film on the wall. A big reason for that is I'm also a huge fan of poster artist Drew Struzan, but most folks won't realize that right away.

I'm actually not a huge fan.  I love Kurt Russell, and he's great in it. But this was one of those goofy, silly 80's movies that appealed to kids of that decade...and not so much to us adults who were hoping for something more Escape from New York and less Escape from Witch Mountain.

But, as a big fan of Russell, there was no way I was passing up the chance to get a sixth scale figure of his character. Sideshow put this guy up for pre-order a VERY long time ago, and he finally started shipping in the last couple weeks. Expect to pay around $240 for him.

Packaging - ***1/2
The package looks great, although it's just a simple shoe box design. They've used graphics that complement the movie designs perfectly, without simply stealing off the poster. It's all collector friendly too, and you'll have no trouble getting him and the accessories in and out of the box. There is that newer cigar band style cardboard wrapper on the trays, but it keeps things tight without being difficult to remove.

Sculpting - ***
This is the third Kurt Russell sixth scale sculpt I have now. Once again, I think it will get a lot of crap from fans, but it's not the sculpt - it's the paint.

That's not to say there aren't some sculpt issues. I think the eyes are too closely set, and this hair style isn't quite on the money.  The detail in the hair is good though, and the nose, facial shape, and mouth are definitely Russell. If you're looking to compare, this is a better - much better - Russell than their Escape version.  They got the nose right this time, and it makes a world of difference.

Like the Hot Toys Doc Brown, I'm not sure if this open mouthed expression was the best choice either. It's a little too specific, and doesn't work great with every pose.  The detail on the lips and teeth is nice though, and the realism in the portrait is there.

In fact, I'd go three and half stars here but for two issues. First, the giraffe neck on the body. It's clearly too long, and while you can mess around with the pose to try to hide it (or take out half of the neck adapters inside to somewhat shorten it), out of the box it looks pretty ridiculous.

The other big fail on the sculpt is the hands. The sculpt and scale are good, but the plastic they've used is closer to full on rubber.  These are some soft, floppy hands. While I don't like when the hands are made from such hard plastic that you can damage the accessories, these are so soft as to be preposterous.

Paint - **
I've been pretty happy with the last several releases from Sideshow. Dengar, Freddy, Lobo, and even the Escape from New York Plissken are better than many give them credit for.

But this time the paint falls well short, particularly for a figure costing $240.  The face is pretty flat, and the variation in the beard and mustache looks more like smudges than five o'clock shadow. The eyes aren't quite even, with one iris higher than the other, and the very even edges on the eyebrows show up in stark contrast to the skin, making them look painted on. Yes, they are, but they aren't supposed to look like it.

Top this off with some extreme freckling on the neck that doesn't match the face, and you have a paint fail overall. This is a portrait that will really improve with a repaint.

Articulation - ***
I'm betting a lot of folks will swap out the body as well. The articulation is pretty good, but there's enough issues to make a swap worthwhile.

The neck is fine, other than the elongated look that I already docked him for.  The rubbery skin doesn't allow for a lot of tilt or lean, but you can add some personality with a little effort.

The rotating hinge shoulders are hidden in the jacket, but more obvious in the tank top.  The elbows have less range of movement than you'll be accustomed to, with the muscle sculpt interfering with the simple rotating hinge. The wrists are the norm, and the hands swap quite easily. Every hand comes with its own wrist peg.

The tilt, lean, and turn movement in the torso is great, and the hips, knees, and ankles allow for mid range stances without any issue. The pants are a little restrictive, and of course the tall boots are as well, but the softer material allows for some ankle bend.

Kurt Russell isn't a huge dude, but I'm not sure this body has the bulk you really need for this particular character. Something with slightly bigger arms and chest would work better with the scale of the head.

Accessories - **1/2
There's not a ton here, and certainly not as many as you'd anticipate for the price point.

There's six hands in total. He comes wearing a set of relaxed grips, and there's a set of fists, a right gun grip, and a left knife grip. They swap easily, but they suffer from the use super rubbery, soft material.

There's one gun, with a removable clip. This was the machine gun he used in key scenes, so it's a perfect choice, but it's still only one gun. There's also his knife, which is nicely scaled and fits neatly in the intended hand.

You won't notice it at first, because he comes wearing it, but there's a terrific watch included on his left arm. Lots of detail in the face and band, and it fits tightly.

The big extra is the Guardian, the floating ball of eyes.  This has a metal support rod to position it behind him on the display stand. The Guardian looks great - excellent sculpt and paint - but the use of the rod is pretty wonky. I expected an additional hole somewhere in the stand, or better yet, a separate small base so you can put it anywhere, but instead it looks like you have to put the rod inside the crotch grabber support for the figure. If you don't want to use the crotch grabber, or in my case, the stand at all, you're pretty much stuck.

And yes, that basic stand with crotch grabber support is the final accessory.

Outfit - **1/2
My biggest surprise - and disappointment - wasn't the paint, or the amount of accessories, or the body they used. All were pretty much as I expected, because those expectations were rather low.

But costuming has been great in recent releases, even when other factors were not. This one was simple - jeans, boots, jean jacket, and tank top.  They crushed the jeans on Lobo, so I had high hopes here.

It did not live up to my hopes. The best feature, by far, is the boots. The sculpt and paint are great, and the softer material allows for some movement in the ankles. They are the highlight of the costume.

The jean jacket is almost perfect as well. The tailoring is good, and the materials and overall quality are great. There's a couple extra buttons included in the package too, just in case.

He really needs to have his sleeves rolled up slightly - anyone that has ever worn a jean jacket, and yes, I still own one, knows this - but the amount of material left over on the inside of the seam is bulky and distracting, certainly out of scale for the figure.

The tank top shirt is fine, with a iron one style graphic straight from the film. But those jeans, those high waisted jeans...they throw the whole thing off.

I tried tugging them down further, although that made the crotch baggy. It looks a little better, but they'll climb right back up on their own as you handle him. They are tailored for the waist to ride high, and getting them to stay any other way is a trick. I think if you wet them down, pull the waist down and force the crotch up, creating deeper wrinkles in the hips, once it dries it will look better.

Fun Factor - ***
He might have his issues, but I still enjoyed working with him. I didn't have any frustrations, and there was no danger of breakage or damage while I was posing him. You won't get a ton of looks out of him with the limited elbows and accessories, but you should get a few satisfying poses.

Value - *1/2
I know I harp on price, but man, this figure is $240. The recent aforementioned John Ruth was $200 from Asmus, and is easily as good or better of a figure overall. Snake was just $160 three years ago, and is very similar in quality (although this head sculpt is superior). This guy is at least $40 too much, really hurting what could have been a better Overall score for me.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing.

Overall - **1/2
This is a solid Russell sculpt, even if the hair isn't quite as Big Trouble as I think it could have been. The paint is killing it though, and I'll guarantee that when we see the inevitable repaints of this one people will realize that's where the real issue lies.

Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of accessories, the body is mediocre, and those damn jeans - why couldn't they get the tailoring as good as they did with Lobo?

This one will end up requiring a lot of futzing and replacing to create the best possible Jack. I think you can stick with this portrait, and it's actually much better than a lot of the customs I've seen. But it has to get repainted, and swapping out the body is a likely change as well. You can use a water treatment to try to get a better fit on the jeans...or you can probably find a custom pair out there that will fit even better.

If this guy were $200, I'd go another half star on my Overall, but the price point is simply too high for this level of quality.

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

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Sideshow has him for $240. He's their exclusive in the U.S.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
If you're a fan of Kurt Russell and are looking for other sixth scale opportunities, check out the Snake Plissken also from Sideshow, or the John "The Hangman" Ruth from Asmus.

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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