Review of Captain Picard
  Standard Version

Introduction

Star Trek fans have been anticipating a few very key releases from EXO-6 more than usual. Some of the main characters on the most beloved series are still waiting in the wings, but one of those has finally made his appearance - Captain Jean-Luc Picard.

That's not to say they haven't done any Picard figures. They have, including old man Picard from the more recent series, First Contact Picard, and even Locutus. But the only straight up TNG tv show Picard we've gotten in this style is the one from Qmx, and that was almost eight years ago.

Until now. The latest release is the good Captain in all his glory, and in fact, you get three versions to choose from, depending on your personal needs.

First up is the Essentials Edition. This is a very stripped down release with only a few accessories, but he comes in his classic duty uniform, especially important for those that missed out on the Qmx version. At just $190, it's the best way to add him to your shelf on a budget.

Then there's the Darmok Edition. Also stripped down when it comes to accessories, he comes wearing not his duty uniform, but his more casual 'Darmok' outfit, with a grey shirt, casual jacket, and specific pants. At $205, it's a great option for those that have the Qmx, but want this newer release.

Finally, there's the Standard Edition. This is the one I'll be reviewing here, and it comes with a ton of extras, including both the duty and Darmok outfits. At $245, it's more expensive, as you'd expect.

Packaging - ****
EXO-6 used the newer, specially designed shipping box for this release, and mine arrived perfectly intact. This new box should withstand most abuse from the mail carriers, but they can always find new ways to crush even the strongest box.

Inside, the art box looks great, and follows the standard style. It will say which version you bought, and once opened, you'll find all the accessories and figure packed in plastic trays. Everything is collector friendly of course, and you won't have to damage anything when removing the figure or extras.

Sculpting - ****
Wow. I really liked the Qmx version, but almost eight years have passed since then, and the quality of portraits has increased over time. This release is the perfect example. This portrait of Picard blows away the older release.

First, there's the realism. The finely detailed skin texture, the softly sculpted hair, the realistic wrinkles and aging, it's all scary good. This is one of those sculpts where on first glance, a photo (even a macro photo) can fool you into thinking it's a real person.

Then there's the likeness. Everything about this version improves the likeness, from the shape of the head to the shape of the nose and jawline. The head is also better in scale to the body and shoulders, and these internal proportions make it a more accurate likeness.

Finally, there's the emotive quality. Here we see a serious yet not overtly emotional Picard. This look is the best for the greatest number of poses, avoids looking like a mannequin, and adds even more realism to the overall presentation.

Paint - ****
A beautiful, realistic paint job can take a good sculpt and make it great, but a poor paint application can ruin even the best sculpt. Thankfully, this is the former.

The skin tone is life-like and appropriate, with just enough spotting and aging to look natural. The hair is perfectly colored, somehow getting each individually sculpted bit the right color without affecting the surrounding skin. The lips don't have that 'lipstick' look, but have a very natural color, and the eyes...the eyes are piercing. They also have just the right amount of red, just a little blood shot at the corner, to give it that final human touch.

EXO-6 has really gotten their paint work in line with the big boys on these last few releases, and I can't wait to see it on figures like Kirk.

Articulation - ***1/2
The underlying body has all the articulation you expect, since it's the same as the other releases. With the neck, shoulders, biceps, elbows, wrists, torso, thighs, hips, knees, and ankles you get plenty of natural poses, and some of these joints - like the shoulders - are specially designed for improved posing.

It does have the slightly taller, hard boots, and these can be a factor in very deep poses. The head and neck are also a one piece design, which was necessary to get that perfectly sculpted turkey jowel, but it does mean slightly less head movement.

Accessories - ***1/2
Sometimes, accessories get the short straw with EXO-6 releases. One reason is to keep costs in line, but another is that many of the figures are naturally going to re-use key components, like phasers and tricorders.

Remember, I'm grading the Standard Version here, with all it's extra goodies. It starts with a ton of hands, mostly rights but a few lefts too. There's 11 in total, with a pair of fists and a pair of relaxed grips being the most obvious. The other 7 are different grips designed to work with different other accessories. They swap easily enough, but remained in place when I was posing him.

The Standard Version also has both costumes. He comes wearing the duty uniform, but you can swap him into the Darmok costume, which includes pants, shirt, jacket, and undershirt. I'll get into the details of both costumes in the Outfit section, but this full extra set of clothes is a huge plus.

As with any Trek character, there's an appropriate phaser and tricorder, and both of these have holsters which can be attached to the pants (both duty and Darmok) thanks to magnets. The fit of the tricorder is a bit tight though, so don't force it down too far. The tricorder opens up of course, and as with past releases, the top and bottom are held together with magnets.

He also has his PADD, and like the tricorder, it has some very small, very detailed graphics. To complete the necessary extras, he has his clear glass with plastic handle (separate pieces) half full of Earl Gray tea.

Then there's three very unique and unusual items.The Risian Horga'ho fertility idol is my favorite, just because it was such a wild episode. This is from "Captain's Holiday".  Then there's the Ressikan flute, which comes with it's case. This was a much deeper episode - "The Inner Light" - and this item remained an important keepsake to Picard through out the series. The third item is also key to his personality - a Captain Picard Day banner. I haven't quite figured out how I'm going to get this one into the display, but I definitely am. It was a running joke that he didn't like children, and yet in this episode ("The Pegasus") we see the connection he does have with them.

Finally, as with all the regular releases, there's a display stand with two covers that mimic transporter bases, a support rod, and an autograph card.

Outfit - ****
As mentioned earlier, we get not one but two full outfits with the Standard Version, and I mean full.

The duty uniform includes the tunic, pants, boots, and an undershirt with padding. This shirt is a white tank top with a velcro crotch to keep it form fitting, and the padding fills out the body a bit, making it look more natural.

The tailoring is fantastic. The pants are smooth and even, with suspenders to keep them up. Thanks to the stirrups under the shoes, they have a tight, clean look. The shirt has the pips and badge attached, and is styled perfectly. The sleeves are a smidge short, but that's a very minor complaint. This costume is a massive improvement over the Qmx release as well, at least in terms of tailoring. I haven't tried swapping it to the older figure yet, but if I do I'll be including the white undershirt to add some thickness to the torso.

The Darmok costume also includes pants and a padded undershirt, black this time. There's a gray shirt as well, and the casual red/black jacket. Again, the tailoring is outstanding, and the quality of the materials is amazing, especially the jacket. No one in the business - no one - is doing better costuming. The pips are on the collar of the grey shirt, and the comm badge is on the jacket.

Swapping between these two outfits is a bit tricky, but not dangerous to the figure or outfit. There's an instructional video available, and I'd recommend watching it. I'll lay out the way I did it as well, if you prefer reading, or want a second opinion...

First, remove the head and hands. You'll need to remove the head anyway to get the plastic wrap off the neck.

Taking the tunic and pants off is easy peasy, as you'd expect. This tunic has a snap in back and a zipper. Take the tunic off before the pants, since the pants have suspenders holding them up that you need to slide off the shoulders. The pants go off over the boots, so you do not have to remove the feet. The white undershirt has a velcro closure at the crotch, so opening it allows you to take the shirt off easily.

Now put the black undershirt on, padding towards the front. I raised his arms, and pulled it down over his head. They also did something really smart - the hard velcro side of the closure actually has a little piece of loose velcro attached to it. That covers the harder 'needles' that could snag the material of the t-shirt. Just pull that off to attach the two pieces together at the crotch. Since I was storing the white t-shirt now, I put this little extra piece on that to protect it the same way.

Now the pants go on over the feet. There's no stirrups or suspenders with these, but there is elastic at the ankles. Just where you want the top of the pants on the boots is up to you, and you can create more or less 'blousing' at the boot tops, depending on your preference. In the photos you'll see I have it in at least three different locations, creating three different looks. In the end, I like the look in the very first photo of the review, where they are just over the tops of the boots and poof out a bit.

Next, put on the grey shirt. Again, I put the arms up over his head and brought the shirt downward. Be careful with the wrist pegs to avoid damaging the material. You'll want to adjust the shirt and get it where you want it before you put the jacket on.

Finally, put on the jacket with the arms out behind his back. Lots of additional adjusting to get the line across the jacket and chest straight, and get a natural look. In hand, I'm pretty happy with mine, but I'll do some more adjusting based on the pose I finalize for the shelf.

The trickiest part of this whole operation will be getting the head back on. The collar will want to get pulled down inside, and you'll just have to carefully work it back out.

Fun Factor - ****
Now that we're getting more TNG figures, it's getting more fun. Bring on the Riker!  I'm keeping my Qmx version on the shelf in the duty uniform because I really like the Darmok outfit, but I may swap the new duty uniform for the old, and see how it looks. And all of that goes towards the fun!

Value - ***
This is a solid value, in all three versions. If you're just looking to get a nice, standard uniform Picard, the Essential Version at $190 has you covered. That's a very good price for any high quality sixth scale figure, even a stripped down version. It does have the tricorder and phaser, which is all you absolutely need.

For about $200, you can get the Darmok edition, which switches up the uniform. This uniform is more complicated so the slightly higher cost isn't a surprise, and while this one is still stripped down, you get a really unique look, particularly nice if you already have the QMX release.

Finally, there's the one I've reviewed here, the Standard Edition. He's got all the bells and whistles, including the two uniforms and the additional accessories. At $245, he's more in the realm of an average sixth scale figure on the market right now, but considering the overall quality still deserves the above average value rank.

Things to Watch Out For -
Pay attention to the video for swapping outfits, and be particularly cognizant of the pips and badges on the shirts/jacket. You could pull them off, and you definitely don't want to do that.

Overall - ****
Now that they are getting to the big names, the line is really starting to roll. While those of us that had the Qmx version of Picard weren't worried about this one getting here sooner rather than later, I know that a lot of collectors have been anxiously anticipating it. Even for those of us with the previous figure, EXO-6 has made this a must have. The overall quality is miles above the Qmx, from the sculpt to the paint to the costume.

2025 should be another banner year for the company, and I can't wait to get more figures on the shelf!

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

Where to Buy 
This guy was available as the Darkmok Edition through the EXO-6 online store for $200 plus shipping, the Essential Edition was $190, and the Standard Edition (reviewed here) was $245. Of course, both pre-orders are long gone, but they should be doing a 'immediate sale' offer soon. Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth is sold out of the Standard, but has the Darkmok for $200. They also have the Enterprise-E Captain's Chair, perfect for Picard, on sale for $139. Use my link and get an additional 10% off, plus free shipping!

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
I've covered pretty much every release - almost - but the most recent are Saavik, Kruge, and Ro Laren.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

Enjoyed this review? Be sure to head back to the main page to find thousands more just like it!