Review of Lucius Malfoy - Harry Potter
Sixth Scale Action Figure

Introduction

Just last week I was discussing the fate of the Star Ace Harry Potter series while I reviewed their 1/8 scale Voldemort. It's definitely confusing, and while it seems like Star Ace has abandoned the sixth scale versions, this is most definitely not the case.  They have several new figures coming out, including tonight's review - Lucius Malfoy. I'm looking at the normal outfit, while a second 'prisoner' outfit release is slated as well.

This figure also comes in two varieties. On his own for around $205, or packed with the sixth scale Dobby figure for $275.  I'm reviewing the latter, but Dobby is the only real difference.

Packaging - ***
The box is pretty standard stuff, with some nice spot glossing and a great photo of the actual character front and center. It's all collector friendly, and while the instructions could have been a bit more elaborate, there's nothing here that's really confusing.

There is a bit of plastic wrap around his neck you might not see at first, probably in place to keep the black clothing from staining the skin.

Sculpting - ***
Here comes an unpopular opinion - this is a good sculpt. The portrait itself hits on all three of my criteria - accuracy, realism, and emotion.

The realism is quite good, particularly for Star Ace recently. There is a nice skin texture, and the fine detail in the eyebrows and lips is excellent. They've even added a little extra roughness on the upper lip to add depth to the five o'clock shadow.

Accuracy is much better than expected as well. The nose, eyes, eyebrows, facial shape, even the size and shape of the lips matches extremely well. I have no trouble seeing Malfoy here, and he's immediately recognizable.

Finally, there's the emotive aspect of the expression. Malfoy's lips are slightly pursed, and he is looking down his nose at you with slightly raised eyebrows. It's a classic expression for him, and works with lots of poses.

So why the average score? It drops for me because of two issues. First, the rooted hair. It's not that they went with rooted hair - I think that was absolutely necessary. But they didn't capture the swept back appearance that you see on the cover of the box, and was his normal look. Because of the way it's rooted, pulling it back too far exposes the rough hairline edge. However, you can get it back a bit, and it really improves the look. I think the biggest problem the marketing photos have is the hair is pulled forward too much, even draped over the front of the shoulders, a look you won't really connect with the character.

The other issue is the size of the head. It's slightly too big for the body. It's not a bobble head situation, and the wider shoulders on the costume help balance things out a bit, but it's still noticeable in hand.

Paint - ***
The paint job is solid, with very few issues overall. The skin tone looks great, with a slight translucence that gives it depth, and the shadowed beard is very realistic.  The eyebrows are a little rough, but the lips are great, and while there's a little bleed into the eyes, the stare is even and centered.

Again, the only real issue is the hair. They've almost got the pure white look, but it's not quite there. While some of the tones of the face are sharper and more defined than I like, this is not unlike many of the Hot Toys figures these days.

Another plus - while this is a two piece head/neck design, the head and neck match in color and texture.

Articulation - ***
The underlying body is not the best on the market, but it serves the purpose. The only real issue is with the ankles, and I'm sure you know why.

The head does tilt and lean, but it's a bit more restricted than I expected based on the two piece design. The shoulders, elbows, and wrists are quite mobile within the costume, as is the crunch waist. He can turn and tilt at the midsection quite well, and the stretchy outfit allows quite a bit of posability.

The pants are stretchy too, and the hips and knees can do about as much as they could at their best.  That's not as good as some better bodies on the market, but you can get decent stances. They won't be too deep, but that's due to the restricted ankles. While I really like the sculpted boots, a two piece design (or at least softer boots) are necessary at this price point.

Accessories - ***1/2
Remember, I'm grading this guy with the inclusion of Dobby - the regular set wouldn't do quite as well.

He comes with just three extra hands. He comes wearing a set of relaxed hands, and there's an extra tight grip left, loose pointing grip right, and wider grip right perfect for the crystal ball. Swapping hands was a bit tough a first, but after a few exchanges, they worked much better.

The small crystal ball is very marble like, but has no imperfections on the surface or interior. There's also the regular brown wand, which fits neatly in the provided right hand.

He also had a wand hidden in his cane, and that is reproduced nicely here. The top of the cane is sculpted beautifully, but it could use a paint op on the eyes.

We all know Lucius is a Deatheater, and he comes with his mask. It has elastic loops to fit over his ears, and it looks great in place. I'm quite impressed with it, so much so it might be my go to look for the character on my shelf.

This version comes with Dobby, and it's the same basic figure they released for $90 awhile back, just with fewer accessories. He has the all important sock with him, but that's about it. The Dobby figure is really nice though, and the quality is pretty much the same as with the initial release.

Finally, there's a basic display stand with crotch support rod. Nothing exciting, but unusual for a Star Ace release.

Outfit - ***1/2
I'm really liking this outfit - Malfoy had a much cooler costume than I realized, at least in Chamber of Secrets. It consists of pants, boots, a belt, a pleather shirt, and an outer robe.

The pants are basic stuff, but they fit tightly and are stretchy enough to allow for decent posing. The boot sculpt looks great, but as I whined earlier, they are quite restrictive due to the one piece design and hard material.

The pleather shirt looks terrific, with a cool stitched design and great tailoring. Over it, the cloth robe hangs cleanly, and the stitched patterns again look great. While I didn't use it with the mask, you can flip up a pretty big hood on the robe to cover the hair.

The plastic belt is intricate, with a nice sculpt and paint work. It fits about waist high too, riding at about the right spot.

Fun Factor - ***
The articulation and design of the base body is a little restrictive, but you should be able to find some great poses for this character, both with Harry and with his son.

Value - **
At first, the price tag here can be a bit overwhelming. The regular figure is about $205, which I'd go ** stars on based on what we're seeing from some other companies in the $180 range or so. The $275 for this special release almost dropped him another half star, until I considered that the original Dobby cost $90. They dropped a couple of the accessories here, but you're getting the key figure and key accessory - the sock - for $70. That's not bad, and while I'm not willing to go a full **1/2, he's still not a terrible value.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing. Everything was sturdy, and I had no fears of breakage or damage while working with the figure. I got rid of the plastic wrap around the neck - time will tell if the black dye in the clothing has set enough to not stain the neck underneath.

Overall - ***
This figure has two real issues - a slightly oversized head, and a hair style that doesn't look a whole lot like the on screen appearance. The actual portrait, the paint work, the accessories, and even the costume, are all nicely done.

I do think the marketing photos allowed the hair to create too much of an odd look for this character, and you need to work on getting it back and out of his face to really appreciate the sculpt. Fans of the license are going to be happier with this figure in hand than they might expect based on those photos, and I'd put him on par with releases like Hagrid, Sirius, or Moody. He's certainly not going to rival their best work in the series, but he's much better than figures like the teen Hermione.

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

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Sideshow has him for $205 without Dobby.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
It's been awhile since I reviewed a Star Ace Harry Potter figure. Up last was Newt Scamander, and before that we had teen Hermione, Dobby the House Elf, Dumbledore (Gambon), Teen Harry,  young Draco Malfoy, the Draco/Harry two pack in their Quidditch gear, the casual dress Hermione, the Casual Ron and Harry, Dumbledore (Harris), Hagrid, Snape, Tri-Wizard Harry, the young Hermione, young Harry and Ron, Voldemort, Sirius Black, Mad Eye Moody, and Sirius in his Prison Garb.

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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