Review of Mad Eye Moody
Harry Potter sixth scale action figure

Introduction

I'm a huge Harry Potter fan. I'm a huge sixth scale figure fan. These two obsessions never collided...until Star Ace released their Harry Potter figure less than one year ago. Star Ace talked a lot about all the amazing things they had planned for this series, but any collector that's been around the block knows not to take too much stock in something like that. We hear it all the time, especially from new, untested companies.

But Star Ace has an ace in their pocket. While they were a new name in the sixth scale market, they are an off shoot from a much older, larger company - X-Plus. They've been in the action figure/collectibles game for a long time, and it's clear from what's happened over the last 12 months that this has helped Star Ace quite a bit.

But that's not to take anything away from the folks at the smaller division. They've focused on their licenses and they've gone after new ones with an aggressiveness that I wish we'd see across the industry. Since releasing Harry in November of 2014, they've released Ron, Voldemort, Sirius Black, and now Mad Eye Moody, with second versions of Ron, Harry and Sirius already shown, as well as two versions of Hermione. Dumbledore? Snape? It's only a matter of time.

The prices have risen a little since Sirius, who was around $180.  Moody is around $200, depending on the retailer, still well short of the $220 - $250 that seems to be the current norm.

Packaging - ***1/2
Star Ace is upping their game with the quality of the boxes. Their first release or two used thinner cardboard, but the more recent releases seem sturdier, and it looks like they are taking the importance of attractive packaging serious.

It's not the most flattering image of Moody on the front of the box, but it will help highlight one of the difficulties with the sculpt that I'll mention later in that category.  It's also all collector friendly, and the single covered plastic tray inside keeps everything safe and sound.

Sculpting - ***1/2
Mad Eye has seem some tough times, and is a battle weary wizard.  The scars on his face look great, matching the on screen appearance closely. The hair isn't quite as wild, since it's sculpted and not rooted (a smart move here), but the detail on the hair is outstanding. This is really one of the strong points for Star Ace over some of the other new sixth scale companies, who have thicker stranding and less detail in the hair sculpts. Star Ace does an amazing job, and it adds a ton of realism to the sculpt in hand.

That's not to say there aren't a few issues, however. This image of the character, similar to the one on the front of the box, is a good illustration of my two major problems.

On the portrait itself, the only real nit I have to pick is with the nose, which is slightly too large. It seems a bit more generic, and Moody has a fairly unique snoze.

The other nit is a tough one due to the simple fact that this is a sixth scale figure with a standard neck.  Moody has a fat neck, normal for a man of his age.  The sagging skin is part of his look, and because they went with a sculpted head on a normal neck post, that thickness below the chin and jawline is missing. They could have gotten around this by sculpting the entire head and neck as a single piece, not unusual in the market (they did it with Voldemort), but it would have meant a less articulated joint.  Personally, this is one of those situations where I would have gone with less articulation to get the more accurate look.

The hands are standard sculpts, but they work fine with the accessories. The boot sculpt looks terrific, and the lower left leg is his mechanical prosthetic, with a good sculpt on the moving parts. We never got a great look at the specifics of the leg in the film, but I'm assuming they got a look at the actual prop to create this one. I'll be discussing this leg and some issues with it a lot more in the Articulation section, but the sculpt is excellent.

Paint - Original: ***1/2; Revised ***
Star Ace is working on the paint operations, upping the quality on the application with each release.  The skin tone, eyes and hair are excellent here, almost at that level that we see with the very best work in the market.

The floating eye with painted iris is great, but the gold ring around it is a smidge sloppy. It's the only area on the overall figure that exhibits any issue however, and it's really all about getting more and more realistic to snag that extra half star.

Revision Note - after I published this review, a reader pointed out the weird work on the blue of the false eye.  Those lines...what's up with that? This should have been a realistic iris, but instead it's a weird pin wheel design, and once I saw it I simply couldn't unsee it. Because of that, I lowered the paint score a half star.

Articulation - ***
The sculpt took a hit for the lack of the baggy neck, but the articulation is the better for it.  The neck has both joints, one at the jawline, one at the torso.  They allow for any tilting and lean pose, and the neck works better here (thanks to the second, higher joint) than on something like the recent Steve McQueen.

Speaking of the Steve McQueen figure, I included a shot of the underlying body with the most recent review. Check that out, and you can see all the usual joints are present, and the engineering allows for a good range of movement across the board.

This figure has two unique aspects that effect this category.  First, he has a moving left eyeball, just like in the movie.  Moving this eye can be tricky, and I had a lot of trouble with it at first. The hard, glossy eye is like a marble, or cue ball - very, very smooth and slick. That means getting a grip on it to allow you to apply enough pressure can be frustrating. I found a very easy way to manage it using poster tack.  A small piece on the end of your finger makes it stick to the eye, and you can easily move it left or right, up or down. The tack won't stick to the eye of course, but does give enough friction to make working with it much less annoying.

The second unique feature is the mechanical leg, attached at the thigh. The ankle and knee are both articulated, and by using two pieces to create the calf, both articulated at the top and bottom, you get a great range of movement out of both the ankle and the knee.

However, this leg was also the cause of my greatest frustrations. The leg is keyed to the upper thigh - it only fits on one way, and it doesn't turn. But the leg falls off with the slightest touch, and every time I tried to repose the figure I had to reattach the leg multiple times.

I suspect the leg was supposed to be glued in place, since there's really no reason for it not to be. My only concern would be getting the pants on and off, but I don't think permanently attaching it wouldn't make it impossible. The only real downside to gluing it is that it is no longer exactly movie accurate, since it's clearly possible to remove a prosthetic like this 'in real life', and Moody even does it at one point. By the time I was done with the shoot, I was determined that I'd be gluing it in place for the final display.

Accessories - ***1/2
Considering the price point - and the character - there's the right number of accessories here.

He doesn't get a ton of extra hands, which is a bit unusual for the market. Still, he has what he needs with the relaxed pose left and right he comes wearing, and the one wand gripping right hand in the box.  Between these three he can hold all the accessories, and manage a nice number of poses.

Mad Eye must have his walking stick, and they've done a lovely job on the sculpt and paint. It's about the right height too, and you'll have no trouble using it with him in just about any pose.

Obviously he has to have his wand, and the miniature version looks great. They've also added in another of the blue bolts which can attach to the end of the wand itself. The blue flame is very heavy though, and while it works short term just fine, I suspect it will wilt the wand over time unless you use some sort of support.

You can do that with the enclosed clear plastic stand. This is the same highly adjustable, customizable version we've seen with Harry, Ron and the others. They even included one with the new Steve McQueen, so I'm betting it's quickly become their standard.

His final accessory is his personal flask that held the polyjuice potion that was so critical in the movie. There's some beautiful detailing on the sculpt and paint, and it fits nicely in either of his relaxed hands.

Outfit - ***
The outfit consists of the shirt, leather vest, overcoat, and pants. There's also a little padding to fatten him up a bit.

The shirt is good, but you won't see much of it.  It's thin enough to not create an issue for the other layers.

The leather vest has a couple open straps at the top with the zipper slide down about half way. The lower straps are closed, but you can open and close them as you wish.

The overcoat has large lapels and a similar set of straps. These straps on both the vest and the jacket seem a little too wide to me, and the overall thickness of the material is just a smidge too much. These are minor nits however, and the quality, stitching and tailoring are all excellent. I did have to work with the coat a lot to keep the lapels looking good, as the jacket liked to slip down the back with normal handling. But a little futzing goes a long way, and you should have no trouble getting a great look on the shelf.

The pants have a unique feature to allow you to show off the mechanical leg.  The lower half of the left leg is held in place with Velcro. It's a smart solution, since it really isn't noticeable in most poses (and with the long coat in place), and it's quite easy to work with. It also matches with what we saw in the movie, where his lower pant leg came off with the mechanical leg.

I think he's too skinny, especially in the upper torso, but adding a little more padding on your own is an easy enough fix.

Fun Factor - ***1/2
You should be able to pose and re-pose this guy in a ton of ways, and add your own style to the look on your shelf. That's the 'fun' when it comes to a collector's figure like this.

The left leg will add some frustration, but it's nothing a little glue can't correct...

Value - ***
This guy is at the top end of the Star Ace releases so far, coming in at $200. That's still $20 - $50 below the current norm for the market, and a solid value.  There's some unique items here, like the mechanical left leg and moving left eye, adding to the cost to produce. You can find him for as little as $190 from my sponsors, and that's a great price.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing. As I mentioned earlier, using something with a little tackiness to it will make posing the eye much easier - I used Poster Tack - but that's more of a tip than something to worry about.

Overall - Original ***1/2; Revised ***
I'll admit my bias here - I love both the license and the format.  Harry Potter collectors have actually had it pretty good over the years, with both the Gentle Giant busts and the Noble Collection wands being great collectibles.  But those of us that love sixth scale have always wanted a line like this, and Star Ace is delivering.

That being said, I'm still waiting for a four star release.  Here, the lack of the jowls hurts the sculpt, the un-glued mechanical left leg is frustrating, and the outfit has a few minor issues. I do love the moving left eye, the articulation on the mechanical leg (once it's glued down it works great), and he looks terrific on the shelf with the rest of the line.

I also can't overlook the speed at which Star Ace has gone after this license, making other companies in the market look sluggish. I'm sure there's a million excuses why this figure or that figure takes months and years from prototype to production, but with other companies it seems to be the norm.  Star Ace is turning that concept on it's head, getting figures out quickly after announcement. That's a big plus in my book, and I hope it's something we see them continue with other licenses like 300 and Underworld.

Revision note: I did something with this review I never, ever do. In fact, you could probably count on one hand the number of times I've revised a review after publishing it, because I simply don't believe in the concept.  And that's out of almost 4000 reviews! But when someone pointed out how odd the iris and pupil looked on the fake eye, I realized I'd missed that, and once I saw it I couldn't not see it. Obviously, it's not as big of a deal in person, but even in hand it's clear once you realize the issue is there.

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

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Sideshow comes in at $205.

- Entertainment Earth has him at $206.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
I've been keeping up with the Star Ace Harry Potter figures, covering Sirius Black, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Voldemort.

This isn't the only Moody figure either, with one produced by NECA.

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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