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Packaging - ***1/2
I like the POTA work quite a bit, and I was very surprised to not find the
neck twisty running all the way through the cardboard insert. However,
there's so many of them damn little nylon strings holding stuff in...they
aren't my favorite.
Still, the graphics are great, and the box is fairly collector
friendly. Nice work once again, and if they could replace the strings
with a top tray to hold stuff in, I'd be thrilled.
Sculpting - ***
The POTA line has been plagued by one problem with their sculpts - they
are simply too soft. This is gorilla hair folks, and should have some
depth and sharpness to its detail.
I mentioned this with the Zaius sculpt, but cut them slack on Zira and
Cornelius because they managed to capture the overall likeness so well.
But here we are back to a more generic gorilla sculpt, and the lack of
detail and definition in the hair really hurts what otherwise could have been
a fantastic sculpt.
The hand sculpts work well with the accessories, especially the
rifle. You'll have to play around a bit to get the club to work right,
but it's still possible. The thinner Man Catcher has issues, but if you
use the softer fingers to your advantage, you'll manage to get the Marauder to
hold that as well.
There is NO difference in the sculpts between these two, and Sideshow used
the smaller male body once again so that these characters will be shorter than
Taylor.
Paint - ***
The paint ops don't help the soft sculpt in this case, since black tends to
wash out detail in the best cases.
The prototypes for these apes had a shinier gloss finish on the face, with
a matte finish on the hair. This was a good move, because it visually
differentiated between the two textures. Unfortunately, the final
versions don't have much difference, and the matte black appears to just be
all one identical color. This means the hair and face tend to look all
the same, and that doesn't help the lack of detail or add to the realism.
In general though, the paint ops are clean and neat. The eyes are
well done, and what color there is, is clean and consistent.
Articulation - ***1/2
The smaller male Sideshow body is used, and works quite well. The joints
were slightly loose, but not bad enough to cause any issues with standing. The
head sculpt and hair tends to make the neck less useful, but in general the
body has all the articulation you could want plus some.
Accessories - ***1/2
Both Apes come with two main accessories, plus the usual Sideshow display
stand. You won't need to use the stand with either, but it's nice to
have for consistency.
The Enforcer comes with the rough looking rifle, and it has a moving bolt
action. The strap fits well over his shoulder, and the gun fits
perfectly in his hands.
He also comes with his club, which is made from a soft rubber rather than
stiff plastic, making it seem more like a black jack than a standard
club. The rope on the handle can be attached to the hook on his shoulder
belt.
The Marauder comes with the 'man catcher', a pole and noose similar to
those used by animal catchers to curtail dangerous creatures. The nifty
thing is that it actually works! The rope runs inside the length of the
plastic pole, and can be pulled tight or loosened up from the end. This
was a big surprise for me, and is a very nice touch.
He also comes with a whistle, used to call the other apes. It's
really a bone whistle, hanging on a string that can go around his neck.
Outfit - ***1/2
Both apes sport identical black outfits, looking quite oppressive in their Fascist
duds.
There's the black pants and black shirt, which are well tailored and made
from very high quality material. The shirt has black pleather cuffs,
which match the appearance of the black vest.
The vest buttons down the front, and also fits extremely well. You'll
have to fluff it out a bit after you remove him, as he has a plastic tie
around his waist that crunches it up, but it will look great with a little
effort.
The boot sculpts are excellent, and they are made from a soft rubber.
The buckles look extremely realistic, and they fit quite tightly.
Finally, they both have a shoulder belt with ammo and a clip for a
club. Of course, since only the Enforcer has a club, it's only really
useful for him. The exclusive Marauder has three clips, while the
Enforcer only has two.
Of the POTA line so far, these two sport the best costumes. I'm
hoping we see this kind of work on the various Taylor versions as well.
Fun Factor - ***1/2
Even kids that have no idea about the films should find these big monkeys a
lot of fun. They have cool outfits, great weapons, and can be the bad
guys in just about any scenario. The only thing cooler than robot
dinosaurs is monkeys dressed up like people.
Value - Enforcer **1/2; Marauder **
Unfortunately, this line remains one of the more expensive. At $40
and $45, these two are certainly on the high side, especially the
Marauder. His exclusivity drives up the price of course, but it also
means you won't be able to pick him up at other dealers for cheap, unlike
the Enforcer.
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