Review of Harry Potter, Ron Weasley sixth scale action figures
Casual Clothes Variants

Introduction

Star Ace is cranking out the Harry Potter sixth scale figures, proving that when they go after a license, they go after a license.  The latest to ship is Ron and Harry from The Sorcerer's Stone, wearing 'casual' outfits. These come with fewer accessories than the original releases, and the price point reflects that. You should be able to snag them for around $100, maybe a little less, depending on the retailer.

Star Ace has made some pretty big license announcements for 2016, showing off prototypes for 300, Hunger Games (finally!), and Underworld at the recent NYCC. Make sure you check out their FaceBook page for all the latest info on all their lines.

Packaging - ***
One of the hallmarks of all modern sixth scale packaging is its collector friendliness. In other words, can you remove the figure from the packaging without serious damage, returning it to the box for storage or sale without any major issue. The first figure to make this a major selling point was the Flatt World Figures Dracula (which was 1/9th scale), but it was quickly incorporated into every line produced by high end sixth scale companies.

Star Ace takes a small step backward on this pair. The attractive (but identical) boxes that Harry and Ron come packed in are shrink wrapped. This means you have to tear off the shrink wrap to just get started, making them far less collector friendly than the normal release.  I suspect I know why, and it has to do with the rest of the box design.  The only indication of who is inside the box comes on a cigar band style rectangular ring around the cover, and this ring isn't a super tight fit.  It slips off the package pretty easily, making it important for them to secure it, and the easiest, safest way to do that was with the shrink wrap.

Inside each box is a single covered plastic tray that holds the figure and accessories. Nothing too exciting, but considering the price point, it's appropriate.

Sculpting - ***1/2
These are re-issues of the original sculpts for both Ron and Harry, done in variant costumes.  If you were expecting a different portrait, you'll be disappointed.

That's not to say that these are bad portraits - they aren't, and both get the same score here that they did the first time around. They compare very favorably to the on screen appearances of both characters. The hair still has the amazing amount of detail in the strands and texture, something that is so crucial to creating a realistic look, and yet gets overlooked and short changed far too often.  The soft skin has depth, and the lips and eyebrows have just the right transition to their rougher texturing. Harry's metal frame glasses are even and straight (and permanent), and both have a perfect mischievous expression. I mentioned this before but it's worth mentioning again - going without lens in Harry's glasses was a smart move.

Along with retaining all the good, these also retain the couple minor nits. Harry still has chubby cheeks - Ron's eyes are still too almond shaped. But these things were minor nits the first time around, and they remain merely minor nits here.

Paint - Ron ***1/2; Harry ****
Again, they've carried the same paint operations and quality from the first release to this second release, and the scores reflect that.

Harry is spot on, particularly in the eyes, lips and eyebrows. The skin tone has a slight translucence to it that gives it that realistic look of depth and warmth, making it a little less doll-like than it could have been. One of the problems with kid figures is the notable lack of texture and blemish on their baby soft faces, which tends to result in a look that is like a doll or mannequin when translated into a figure like this.  Star Ace has done a terrific job avoiding that issue, much better than we've seen from most other companies.

Ron has great quality paint as well, particularly in the hair, eyebrows and lips.  They eyes are clean and straight, but I do still have an issue with the amount of dark eye shadow, and how it tends to exacerbate the aforementioned shape of the eyes.

Articulation - ***1/2
I'm actually dinging them slightly from their previous scores here for a couple reasons.

All the same joints are here, and the majority work great.  I really like the range of movement in the chest, arms and legs, even though the butt design doesn't allow for the legs to bend too far back at the hip. You can argue that yours don't bend backward at your hip very far either.

Both figures stand great on their own, and being sixth scale, come in at about 9 3/4" tall. But there's two joints that did bug me a bit more this time around.

First, there's that neck.  Like their larger adult bodies, this smaller version has a lot of trouble bending backward and forward at the neck.  Side to side tilt is decent, but you aren't going to get much backward or forward lean out of this head/neck assembly. Since the head and neck are separate pieces (a joint at the jaw, a joint at the torso), it's particularly frustrating.

The other joint that I found oddly annoying was the ankles.  The shoe/post design doesn't allow for much lateral movement in the ankle, so keeping the feet flat on the ground in any stance that's wider than their shoulders is a problem.

This is the same body, so I'm not quite sure why these two 'features' are more obvious to me this time. Perhaps I was merely overwhelmed that someone had finally produced a high quality body in this height.

I had another minor issue as well that didn't seem as problematic last time. The wrist posts are very, very short, making the hands pretty easy to pop off.  When trying to pose him, I found I had to constantly reattach them, and you know how much I dislike that.  Not as much as I dislike a broken wrist, but it's still annoying.

Still, this is a very sturdy, well designed body in this size.  Asmus should be talking to Star Ace about using these for Hobbits.

Accessories - ***1/2
Here's a category where both figures take a step back in quantity, but considering the big step back that the price also took, it makes complete sense.

Harry has one extra hand, a right designed to work with his wand.  Of course, he also has his wand, with a very screen accurate sculpt.  Since these figures are from the first film, it makes sense that he includes the Philosopher's Stone, and he wouldn't be a happy camper without his owl, Hedwig.  Considering the much lower price, that's a very good assortment of extras, even if they are all re-uses from the first release. Since this is the outfit Harry wore in his battle with Quirrel when he had the stone in his pocket, that accessory works particularly well with this costume variant.

Ron also includes all re-used accessories from the first release, but again, you can make an argument that the appropriateness might be in their favor here.  He has the extra right hand, as well as his nicely sculpted and scaled wand. He also has his pet rat, Scabbers, who plays such a critical role in the later films. And he comes with his complete chess set, with the board and 36 pieces. It looks fantastic, and is a great addition for those that didn't buy the original Ron. And as I said, it's a more appropriate accessory with these costumes.

Have your patience ready to be tested when you set up the board, however.  These are tiny pieces, and the slightest bump will knock them over. I pray for your soul if you have serious OCD, because you'll be old and gray before you can get them all even and straight at the same time. A better course of action is to pose them mid-game, in various appropriate squares around the board, with at least half of them already captured by either side.

Finally, both figures come with one of the clear plastic display stands. While it's still very adjustable (and could be combined with pieces from other stands) there are fewer extensions here since its only purpose is to hold them in an upright standing pose.

Outfit - ***
Star Ace is calling these 'casual' outfits, but they are from a very specific part of the film. As I mentioned earlier, this is the outfit Harry wore in his battle with Quirrel, and Ron's outfit is from this same trek down to confront him.

I don't know if Harry had the shirt on underneath the red sweater on screen, but I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt here.  He also has the tan pants, black shoes (which are actually the feet), and fake socks.  I say 'fake', because there is no foot for them to cover. Instead, they are just a tube that goes up the calf from the ankle to appear as though he's wearing socks.

Ron has his shirt, pants, and shoe-feet as well, along with those funky socks.  He also has the long sleeved plaid shirt, always a stylish look and one he wore quite often.  I'm not positive the colors are all correct here (for example, the gray might be too white), since most of the scenes were dark, and he ended up pretty dirty, but once again I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt. I do think the plaid design is off, with various stripes not matching in width and pattern. It's also worth noting that this is not the plaid shirt they originally solicited him in, but a design and color that more closely matches the whole final scene a bit better. While the plaid they originally were using was in the film, I think they went with this design for consistency with Harry and that climatic set of events.

While the tailoring and fit is generally good, I did think the clothing was a little thicker and baggier - particularly the shirts and sweater - than ideal.  I also couldn't really decide on a great look for the collar on the undershirt with Harry - I tried it complete out (like in the head shot above) and wasn't thrilled, I tried it completely in (like in the chess playing shot) and was lukewarm about it, and I tried it half in and half out (like in the Hedwig shot) and still wasn't completely feeling it.  The problem is the shirt collar is a bit baggy, and looks stretched out if you don't have it very near the torso.

Fun Factor - ***1/2
Lots of posability, a nice assortment of useful accessories, solid sculpts and paint - yep, you'll have plenty of fun finding different ways to pose this pair, both together and independently. Now all you need is the casual Hermione (which I have no doubt we'll get), and maybe a Quirrel...

Value - ***1/2
When was the last time you got a great sixth scale action figure from a popular license for $100? Yea, it's been awhile. And yet, Star Ace is doing it with these.  While it's very, very true that there's a lot of re-use here from the first release, that didn't mean an automatic cost savings for you.  We see lots of companies re-use pieces from earlier releases and still charge exactly the same price, over and over. The fact that Star Ace is passing the savings along to you is worth a major pat on the back.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing.

Overall - ***1/2
Star Ace has solidified their reputation in the sixth scale community with their work on the Harry Potter license. Not every release has garnered the same level of accolades - there's always ups and downs - but overall the quality and price have convinced collectors that they are a company to watch.

This pair further cements that not because anything here is particularly unique or earth shattering, but because they were able to produce a worthwhile variant of a main character(s), and pass the cost savings of the re-use on to the buyer. That's not to be sneezed at, and it's certainly not a common situation in the market.

If you didn't pick up the first Harry and Ron (perhaps because you were looking for the older versions instead), you might want to give this pair a hard look. You're getting a pretty cool scene specific outfit, along with some very appropriate accessories, all for almost half what the first pair cost.

If you did pick up the original release, these still provide quite a bit of value.  I can envision displaying the first two standing with Hermione, all in their school uniforms, both Harry and Ron holding their Quidditch brooms to the side, while she clutches her books in the center. Then this pair can be playing chess, with a casual outfit Hermione looking on.  Considering the price point, it's a doable option.

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

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Sideshow comes in at $100 each.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
The most recent release in the Star Ace Harry Potter line was the variant costume Sirius Black in his Prisoner's Outfit. Before that, we had Mad Eye Moody, the regular Sirius Black, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Voldemort.

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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