Review of Daisy Domergue - Hateful Eight
Sixth Scale Action Figure

Introduction

One guarantee with every Tarantino movie - there will be great debate. His western The Hateful Eight is no exception, with many people loving it, and plenty hating it as well. I love westerns. I love Tarantino. Guess which camp I fall in?

Yep, I loved it, with one exception. The name of that exception is Channing Tatum. I generally don't have a problem with him as an actor, but he was so miscast here that it was jarring, at least to me.

Still, 80% great is fine by me. When Asmus announced they had the license, I was thrilled. While Asmus is not Hot Toys - and they aren't trying to be - they do some terrific sixth scale figures at a much, much better price point. They are shooting for the best quality they can while still getting the figures out at a reasonable price, and have been succeeding more often that not in the last year or so.

They've released two figures based on the film - John "The Hangman" Ruth, and Marquis Warren. Daisy Domergue is the third and probably last, and she's now shipping. The results were mixed with the first two, with a very positive response to Ruth from me and a much more lukewarm reception for Warren. Can they pull off another winner with Daisy?

Packaging - ***
The packaging matches the other two of course, and is based on one of the poster designs. The cardboard sleeve and box are a little thin, but it's all collector friendly, and the interior trays keep the figure and accessories safe.

The Asmus website claims they produced just 500 of this figure, which would make it pretty limited long term. There's no indication of edition size on the packaging however.

Sculpting - **1/2
Jennifer Jason Leigh had a rough, tough, mean look in this film, exacerbated by the beating at the hands of John Ruth. Capturing it in this scale is no easy task.

I think they did. Let's ignore the rooted hair for a minute, and focus on the face itself. The eyes, nose, and lips are very accurate - I did side by side comparisons with a ton of movie stills. The jawline is slightly sharp, and the overall facial shape is a little more triangular (less round) than I think it should be. But they really do have a good Leigh portrait, based on this film.

It's also very realistic, with a great skin texture and finely defined eyebrows. I think the lips could use a little more texture, as they are a little too smooth, but in general it's a very realistic head sculpt.

The expression is good as well, with a slight squint to the eye and tightly drawn lips. She's calculating her next move, and you know it.

But there's also something still very wrong, and I think it comes down to the rooted hair. I think going with rooted hair was a good move, because it has to be wild and matted to look like it did in the movie, and a sculpted hair style would have been too heavy and thick. But the style of the hair, and the high forehead, is hurting the overall portrait. The high forehead is giving her more of a male appearance as well. Probably the best argument for the hair causing an issue is that she looks best when wearing the hat.

She's shorter than the male figures of course, coming in at about 11 1/2". She looks a little too tall in photos, but in hand the height difference is reasonably. I included a shot of her with Ruth at the end of the review.

Paint - ***
Asmus has been improving the realism of their paint work, and they almost got another half star here but for two issues.

The quality of the overall paint application is excellent. I particularly love the life-like eyes and the bruising around the right. The lip color is good, and the skin tone is realistic and even, with just the right depth to make it life-like.

The blood on the cheek, on the forehead, and under the nose looks good, particularly in photos. But in hand the bloody nose isn't quite as realistic. It looks more like dark nostrils, less like intentional blood. This is one of those situations where a little more blood, down onto the lip, would have helped make it more clear. This one is a minor nit, however.

The bigger problem is the hair color. It's a light blond, and very clean looking. Her hair on screen was dirty, bloody, and matted. It was a darker color, closer to brown. I think a good customizer is going to be able to really improve the appearance of this figure by working with the hair and creating a more screen accurate appearance.

Articulation - ***1/2
Nothing to really complain about here - she has all the joints you expect, and the outfit isn't very restrictive.

The ball neck could use a little more lean and tilt though, and I'm not sure why it doesn't. The rooted hair doesn't get in the way like sculpted hair would, so I'm assuming the jawline is too low on the neck.

The shoulders, elbows, and wrists will give you plenty of arm poses, including with the guitar. The torso leans, turns and tilts a bit, and the hips, knees, and ankles are quite mobile. While the boot sculpt is well above the ankles, the softer material still allows some rocker movement.

The hands swapped easily, stayed in place while posing, and I had no fears of breaking a peg.

Accessories - ***
She has a few extras, although she's not as well outfitted as the other two.

She has eight hands in total: she comes wearing a pair of gloved, relaxed hands; there's a set of bare fists; a set of relaxed hands; and a set of gun grips. Yea, nothing that really works with the guitar, although you can make do.

And yes, she has her guitar. It's a very nice one too, with real metal strings and plenty of detail. The only problem - it looks very little like the on screen version. What's with the pick guard?

She needs a stool to play the guitar, and one is provided. It's basic furniture, but the scale is good and the paint work realistic.

There's a basic display stand too, with a support rod. The marketing info had a set of handcuffs, but those came with John Ruth. Ruth also had the coffee pot and coffee cup, so there wasn't much left to give poor Daisy.

Outfit - ****
Asmus is crushing it on the costumes these days. Their more recent Lord of the Rings releases have had excellent outfits for the money, and while I wasn't thrilled with the boots on the earlier two Hateful Eight figures, Daisy does it up right from head to toe.

Let's start at the head with the hat. It was huge in the movie, and it's huge here. It looks too big in photos, but in hand it is much more in scale and appropriate. You can actually pull it down quite far, even covering her eyes, so finding the spot you like it best will be a personal preference.

The outer coat is very thin, with a nice, big furry collar. The lapels are a little out of scale, but it's tough to find fur material that's a perfect scale match. This looks good, and is very sturdy. The tailoring on the rest of the coat is excellent, and the soft material mimics worn, old leather nicely.

The underlying skirt/vest/shirt combo isn't actually three pieces but rather two, creating the proper appearance but reducing the number of layers. The weathering and dirt on the bottom of the skirt looks fantastic, and the overall fading of the material is extremely realistic.

The scarf is properly wrapped and folded around her neck, and the material is soft and stretchy. If you remove it, as I did, you'll want to ensure you pay attention to how it is wrapped to get it right when you put it back on.

Finally, there's the soft plastic boots. The sculpt looks great, and they do allow for some good ankle mobility.

Fun Factor - ***
Add her in with John Ruth, and you'll have plenty of fun creating cool displays. Asmus is also releasing a diorama for these guys, and once that's in your hot little hands, you'll find even better poses and set ups for the pair.

Value - ***
Hot Toys is routinely charging $230 - $250 for a standard release now. Other companies are usually in the $200 - $220 range.  For Asmus to continue to produce figures like this for $180 - $200 is quite a feat.

She's not perfect, but the costume looks great, and the portrait is passable, particularly when she's wearing the hat. This lower price point makes a few warts far more acceptable.

Things to Watch Out For -
Those guitar strings are metal - they will bend. On the plus side, they are pretty easy to bend back into place, but you'll want to take some care.

Overall - ***
The big winner here is the costume, thanks to an excellent choice of materials and terrific tailoring. The hat might look big in photos, but I assure you the scale is much better in hand.

The portrait is the issue of course, but even that is not the disaster I can guarantee some people will claim. Asmus is my favorite bargain priced sixth scale company right now, and I can't wait to get the diorama for this series to go along with John, Marquis, and Daisy.

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

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Asmus has her at their own online store for $180.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
I covered the other two Asmus Hateful Eight releases - Marquis Warren and John Ruth.

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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