Review of Stan Lee Guardians of the Galaxy 2
Sixth Scale Action Figure

Introduction

I'm checking out an older figure tonight, but it's one of my favorites from 2019. Hot Toys followed up their first terrific Stan Lee figure with a second, based on his appearance in Guardians of the Galaxy 2.  I have two reasons for doing this review - 1) Hot Toys has just announced as one of their 2020 'Toy Fairs' exclusives a third version of Stan, making a review of their previous release timely again and 2) this guy was sent along to me by the terrific online retailer Zavvi.

If you don't know Zavvi, they are an electronics retailer with their site (and shipping) based in the U.K. I've bought many steelbooks from them over the years. They now have a U.S. based website as well, and are looking to get the word out as widely as possible that they are carrying collectibles like Hot Toys, Funko, and others.

So do me this favor - head over to their site and check it out. This guy will run you about $270 there, which is $30 cheaper than he was at Sideshow last year. They have a ton of other great Hot Toys figures as well, so give them a peek.

Packaging - ****
The package used for this figure is very unique and unusual. Much like the old DX packaging, Hot Toys really went above and beyond.

Stan himself - along with most of his accessories - is actually in a pretty standard Hot Toys box. The graphics are great, and it's collector friendly, but this box comes packed itself in a very large clam shell hanger. It's designed to look like a blown up version of the packaging of a smaller mass market toy, and it's a terrific concept. The graphics are great, the design works extremely well, and again, it's all collector friendly.

It's worth noting that there are actually two versions of the packaging - one with a 'Sideshow exclusive' sticker, and one with a 'Hot Toys exclusive' sticker.

Sculpting - ****
If this portrait looks familiar, it's because it is.  This is the exact same Stan Lee head sculpt that Hot Toys used with their previous release. However, they nailed it the first time around, so I'm not complaining.

The detailing is fantastic, with a subtle, fine stranding to the hair, an age appropriate skin texture, and almost perfect teeth. Of course, having age gives him character, and the more character a person has, the easier it can be to create an accurate portrait. Still, Hot Toys deserves the kudos for their exceptional work here.

The rest of the sculpting is pretty much on par. Since the hands are all wearing spacesuit gloves, there's no problem with them being oversized. The glasses look great, and the large rock formation has an alien yet familiar appearance.

Stan stands about 12 3/4" tall with the helmet on.

Paint - ****
Production paint is their forte, but this is one of those cases where they truly crush it. Again, this is nothing new with this head sculpt - the first release was outstanding in this category as well.

The skin tone is a little lighter this time, which may be slightly more accurate. The eyes and teeth  look extremely realistic, with that glossy translucence that gives them depth. They also nailed the very hard to do gray hair, with just the right variation and shade. This is one of those portraits which, when photographed, can easily be mistaken for a real person at first glance.

Articulation - ***
This guy isn't going to be as posable - he's wearing a bulky space suit. However, I'd hazard a guess and say he can move as well as an actual astronaut can in their full gear.

The ball jointed neck works quite well, with little restriction from the clothing. You do have to pop off the helmet every time you want to adjust it, but thankfully that's less painful than it sounds.

The shoulders, elbows, hips, and knees are in that middle ground area. They can bend and lift, but the costume tends to push them back. The ankles and wrists are better, both with normal movement. In fact, the ankles are much better than I expected, fully able to keep the feet flat on the ground thanks to the boot design.

On the worse end of the spectrum is the chest and waist, where the thick suit makes the joints less useful. I was still able to get a little crunch out of the abs, but that's about it.

Accessories - ***
He's not packed, but he does have some nice extras.

There's two additional sets of hands, both in open poses. These swap easily, although there is an extra set of wrist pegs just in case.

Stan needs his glasses to see, and the pair they give him are accurate and properly scaled (he likes them big). They fit pretty well, although I had to mess with them a bit to get them to sit just the way I wanted. However, they don't fall off easily, which is a plus since you'd have to remove the helmet every time they did.

The helmet is made from a super clear plastic. The two halves fit into the collar of the suit and snap together. It goes on and off much easier than I expected, and you should have little worries about damaging it over time.

To create a diorama style set up, he comes with a hunk of extraterrestrial rock to sit on. It's designed as the perfect chair, and I had no trouble getting him into natural looking sitting poses with it. The sculpt is detailed, although it does have a bit of the terrarium accessory look to it.

To go behind him, there's a large(ish) cardboard backdrop with triangular legs.  This one is an improvement over most of the others Hot Toys has provided, being a bit wider and taller, and made from heavy lenticular stock. It did have a pretty serious warp right out of the package, but a heavy weight resting on it for a few days should flatten it out nicely.  The surface is highly reflective and glossy, and will look terrific on the shelf.

Outfit - ****
Stan is wearing the brightly colored space suit, complete with helmet and pack. The stitching and materials are top quality, and the design - how the helmet and pack fit and can be removed - is smart. The tailoring is excellent as well, with a perfect fit overall.

This isn't a suit with tons of small details, but it does look amazing on the shelf. For those of us who are not just Stan Lee fans or MCU fans, but also fans of cool space suits, this guy is a triple threat.

Fun Factor - ***
Add him to the rest of your GotG line up, and you'll have a terrific display. He's not someone you'll probably re-pose a lot, even though you could. His iconic look is sitting on the rock, and that's the final disposition most folks will go with.

Value - **
He was originally around $300, but Zavvi has him for $270 right now.  While that's more expensive than the $230 or so most Hot Toys figures are running right now, he does have a much more complex costume than most, and was released in limited numbers as an exclusive.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing. I had no worries when working with the helmet, glasses, or hands, and everything is sturdy and well made.

Overall - ****
This is one of the nicest figures Hot Toys produced in 2019. In fact, he won the Poppies award for Best Male Figure in this scale, beating out some tough competition.

Now with the announcement of a third Stan Lee, the incentive to pick this guy up is even greater. Having one is neat, having two starts a collection...and having three? Now we're talking a set. And where there is three, there's the potential for several more. If you're picking up the 2020 version, you'll kick yourself if you pass up the opportunity to snag this guy at retail to have the set.

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

Where to Buy 
This figure was provided by Zavvi, a terrific online retailer in the UK and US. You can find it at their U.S. site for $269, or at the UK site for 250 pounds.

Related Links -
If you're a fan of Stan, check out the earlier Hot Toys version, or the very recent Marvel Legends figure.

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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