Review of the Deadpool Sixth Scale Action Figure

Introduction

I love the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but I love some of it more than the rest.  Some films, like Guardians of the Galaxy, Ant-man, or Captain America: Civil War, I can watch over again any time. Others like Iron Man 2 or Thor: The Dark World, are better remembered through a fog.

But my favorite, beyond a doubt, is the most unconventional of the bunch - Deadpool. When you bring together an actor, a director, and a screenwriter who all clearly understand and love the source material, you get a movie like this. I can't wait for the second installment, and it's one of my most anticipated flicks to come, superhero or not.

Hot Toys picked up the license fairly early, but it took them awhile to get the main character to market. It took them even longer to fulfill all the orders, and mine finally just arrived this week.  These have been shipping internationally for months now, so this is the opposite of an early review.

This guy originally sold for $225 - $235, depending on the retailer, but it's getting harder to find one at that price point. I would expect this guy to sell out and become the next Blade.

Packaging - ***1/2
Overall, it's a pretty basic design. The inside window box is covered with a slip cover, and inside are double plastic trays holding the figure and accessories. Everything is collector friendly, and it's all quite sturdy.

The slip cover is the highlight of course, with bullet holes and attitude. It's a nice design, and gives the package its edge.

Sculpting - ****
One of my biggest issues long term with the Sideshow Deadpool was the smooth mask.  Not an issue here, and this guy has a very realistic texture to the mask itself, creating an almost perfect match between the sculpted mask and the cloth outfit.

Other areas that should be smooth, like the eye sections or the shoulder armor, are smooth, with just a slight dappling. The various accessory sculpts look great, particularly the guns, and the hands are designed to work with the various accessories and a ton of poses. The head is in scale, with no problems with a giraffe neck or weird proportions.

Paint - ****
There's not a ton of paint, per se, but what's here is excellent.  The work on the head has the right amount of shading, and every one of the white eyes is clean and sharp.  There's no slop or inconsistencies, and the paint work on the accessories (like the guns) or the outfit (like the belt) is about as good as it gets.

Articulation - ***1/2
There's all the articulation you expect from any TrueType base body, with a good range of movement and plenty of posability.

I do think this is one of those cases where a separate neck and head would have been quite useful.  That's not to say they both shouldn't be sculpted to match - they should. But as separate pieces, you could have gotten a little more realistic tilt to the head and broken up that straight line. It's not a huge issue of course, and you can still get some decent personality by tilting the entire head and neck. But considering the amount of attitude this character has (and how easy it would be to hide the seam between the head and neck), I think it's a joint that would have been worth adding.

Everything else works great, including the ankles, thanks to the two piece boot design. Hands swap easily, although there is a cuff issue...more on that later. While the costume is a bit restrictive, particularly in the torso, you can still get some very dynamic stances.

My one other nit is more around the scale of the base body, rather than the actual number or usefulness of the joints. I could have included this with the Sculpting section, but since it relates to the body chosen, I felt it fit better in this category.

My issue is with the bulk of the underlying body. While the arms look good, the chest and thighs seem a little thin. He looks great in photos, but in hand these two areas are just a little less thick than I expected, making him look more gangly than I remember on screen.  Again, this is a very minor nit, but it's worth noting.

Accessories - ****
This guy comes LOADED with extras, all of them useful and fun.

Let's start in the usual spot, the extra hands. He has 12 in total, six full sets. From the obvious, like gun grip and sword grip, to the some of the better gestures, like the 'ok' sign, you can use these for a ton of unique and interesting poses.  Of course, he really needed a couple that are flipping you off, but there are some great customizers out there that can help you out with that.  The hands swap easily, but there are extra wrist pegs just in case.  There has been an issue with the suit and the hands, but  more on that in the Outfit section.

Next up - eyes. Yes, eyes.  Or more specifically, eye plates. Each entire black eye section is removable, held in place with a magnet. They've included 5 sets of eyes with slightly different expressions, from open wide to narrow slits. You can mix and match, using the same set for both eyes or slightly different expressions for either, giving you a whopping 25 potential expressions! Some combinations work better than others of course, and I messed around with a few in the photos. What you think fits your selected pose will be highly personal, but having these options elevate this figure well above the norm.

You remove the eyes with a little magnet tool - use it.  It's one of the rare cases where the included tool is actually worth it.

Let's talk weapons.  He has two long katana swords, both made of thin, brightly polished metal. They look fantastic, and they are light weight enough for him to support in any pose.  They slip effortlessly into the duel scabbard on his back. This scabbard is also held in place with a magnet, an ingenious design that looks great and works even better.

There's a couple small cutting weapons as well, including two shurikens and a long bladed knife. The knife can fit neatly in a sheath on his left boot. Again, the blade of the knife and the shurikens are metal.

He wouldn't be Deadpool without some guns, and he comes with his trademark Desert Eagle handguns. These look fantastic, with an excellent sculpt and paint job, and they fit cleanly inside the holsters on either hip or in his gun wielding hands.

Last - and for me, least - is his display stand. The base is quite large, with the Deadpool logo and a crotch support.

The beauty here is that not only are there a ton of extras, but they all have real value to you when creating any display set up.

Outfit - ***1/2
On to the Outfit, and we can finally discuss those cuffs.

This is a great looking outfit, with a well tailored tight fit. The material has enough stretch in it to allow for dynamic poses, although I suspect that if he holds that pose over time, it will effect the fit of the material. There can be a little bagging around the crotch or knees, but nothing that isn't realistic or expected.

They've weathered the outfit a bit too, with some nice dirt and grime effects and a little damage here or there. The majority of the belts, holsters, and straps are not removable, which means they got the fit right at the factory and it should stay that way.

The one thigh belt is removable though, and tends to drop down around his calf.  Getting it to remain in place can be tricky, and it can get in the way of the holster as well.

The belt and pouches look great, and rides perfectly on his hips. I mentioned how ingenious the magnetic attachment of the sword scabbard is, but it's worth mentioning again. And of course the two piece boot design looks great and allows for more mobility in the ankles.

The gloved hands fit down over the cuffs of the suit in most poses and when swapping. This led to the material being rubbed and damaged with the first shipments of the figure. I'm not sure if it's been corrected (God knows they've had plenty of time), but it was much less of an issue for me. It's still possible though, and there's a couple things you can do to protect the suit long term.

The easiest solution is to widen the wrist of the glove.  You can do this by heating the glove with a hair dryer or with hot water, and then inserting an appropriately sized dowel rod, wooden spoon handle, or extra large pencil. Either dip the glove in cold water to cool, or keep it in place until it fully cools on its own.

Another option is to protect the material itself. Some people have used a layer of clear super glue, but you'll want to take extra care if you go this route.

Fun Factor - ****
With some solid posability and a ton of extras - especially all those cool eye plates - you have a multitude of possibilities with this figure. Posing, re-posing, and re-posing again will become a regular habit. That's good too, since it will ensure the suit doesn't get stretched out in just one pose long term.

Value - ***
I'm going to assume you picked this guy up for around $225 - $230, and at that rate, he's a solid value. The metal blades are great, the swappable eyes are an excellent design, and the overall quality of the costume, sculpt, and paint make this one well worth the cost.

Things to Watch Out For -
We've already discussed the cuff issue, and that's really the only thing you need to take care with. Everything else is sturdy and well made, with little chance for breakage or damage.

Overall - ****
I'm loving this figure, and I suspect he'll end up on the top of many 'best of 2016' lists. It's going to be a tough choice for me - this has been an amazing year to be a fan of sixth scale - but I know he's on my short list. With a terrific number of very cool accessories, a unique design for multiple expressions, solid articulation, great costuming, and lots and lots of attitude, this figure captures all the style of the movie character.

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

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Sideshow had him for $235, but it's now on Waitlist.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Sideshow did their own interpretation of the comic book character awhile back, which was also an outstanding figure, but for different reasons.

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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