Review of Jack Sparrow - DX06
Pirates of the Caribbean Sixth Scale Figure

Introduction

Last week, I covered the latest in the Hot Toys DX series - the 1989 Batman. But just prior to that, Hot Toys released another amazing DX figure, their latest in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. Yes, it's another Jack Sparrow, but it seems that every time they go back to this character they do him up even better.

Jeff actually covered this guy back in the fall as an early review, and the one I bought showed up in mid-December. Since then however, my schedule has been packed with other items I wanted to get reviewed asap, pushing my look at Jack back further and further. Better late than never, and it's also timely as this figure is likely to be very high on people's lists when they are selecting their choices for the best 12" male figure of the year as part of the People's Picks voting.

As a DX, he's going to have the PERS feature, which is the abbreviation for Parallel Eyeball Rolling System. The eyes are posable, a feature loved or hated by collectors, but rarely ignored.

A DX figure also comes with a ton of extras, and that adds to the allure...and cost. Picking up this Jack is going to cost you $215 - $240 or so, depending on the retailer. As always, I have some reliable sponsor recommendations at the end of the review.

I added in a ton of photos this time around, because there are a TON of extras that I wanted to cover. Be sure to scroll all the way through to see them all!

Packaging - ****
"There should be a 'captain' in there some where". The packaging emotes all the character of both Sparrow and the general feel of the Pirates franchise.

Like most of the newer DX boxes, this one is quite large complete with several layers of foam. On the very top is the thin cardboard lid that contains that little something extra - with Batman it was the clear plastic 'bat signal', and with Jack it's his pirate flag.

Each layer is made from very durable foam, and all the accessories are very safely contained. The package is completely and utterly collector friendly, with no need to damage anything when removing everything.

I will admit that I'm not a huge fan of the bright silver/gray finish on the cover, but that's a pretty minor nit.

Sculpting - ****
You don't get just one PERS head this time - you get two! That's pretty amazing, considering the complexity of the mechanism.

I've included a photo that shows the two faces alongside the top of the head and hair. Each face is a complete PERS system, and pops on and off at the ball jointed neck. Then the hair pops on the top, held in place with a magnet.

I found that it's easiest to pop the head off, then take off the hair and work with the PERS. Put the hair back on, then put the entire head back in place. Trying to put the hair on the lower half of the head while it's on the neck is trickier, but can be done.

Both face sculpts are exceptional. This is Depp as Sparrow, not some cosplay dude. One of the faces is serious, the other smirking, and both work great with a ton of poses.

The detail work on the hair and face is amazing. The skin texture is subtle but realistic, and the fine hair sculpting is some of the most detailed I've seen. Some people have complained that figures with PERS have eyes that are too deeply set - I don't think that's a valid complaint this time at all.

The hands are designed to work with the accessories, and while they are a bit over sized (a common Hot Toys issue), there's some great specific poses taken right off the screen.

Some of the hands have the gloves, all have the rings. Again, the detail is just outstanding.

Paint - ****
There's nothing new here - just the same perfection.

The eyes are the window to the soul, and these eyes almost make you believe a soul is somewhere inside this little plastic figure. Taxidermists wish they had eyes for their work that looked this good.

The eye makeup looks exactly like what it is supposed to be - makeup, not paint. It has a soft appearance, with the skin showing through just slightly.

The skin tone is perfect, just ruddy enough to imply that pirate complexion. The facial hair fades smoothly into the skin, and the lips are just the right shade.

With this character, there's also a fair number of paint ops in the hair and hands. The small trinkets and doodads threaded into his long locks are all painted cleanly, and his rings stand out on the fingers with sharp cut lines.

I was originally leaning toward Sweeny Todd for my choice in the Poppies for the Eddie Wires award. I'm rethinking that position now that I've had time to live with Jack for awhile.

Articulation - ****
Yep, it's a TrueType underneath all those layers, and it poses about as well as a sixth scale body can.

There's something about the design of the joints in the TrueType that allow it to flow more naturally than other bodies.

Because the boots are made from a soft suede-like material, the ankles have almost full movement. The ball jointed neck is n not impeded by the hair at all this time around - it's made from a very soft material that bends around the shoulders easily.

The hands swap cleanly, and I didn't feel like I was in danger of snapping a peg at any time. They do include a couple extras though, just in case.

Accessories - ****
While this might be another Jack - we have three now - the number of extra accessories is really amazing.

As I mentioned earlier, there's the two complete faces with full PERS mechanism and magnets to hold the hair in place.

There's also seven extra hands to go along with the two relaxed hands he comes wearing. There are gripping hands for the sword and pistols, a couple very specific hand poses that are sort of trade mark Jack, and a couple others that work well with the bottles and other goodies.

The version I'm showing you here is the 'special edition'. This is also the Sideshow exclusive in the U.S. and that means he comes with not just one but TWO telescopes. The regular release comes with a small, normal telescope, but the exclusive includes the large telescope Jack retrieved to prove his...superiority. Both telescopes have actual plastic lens on both ends, but neither collapses.

There are several items you can attach to his outfit. There's the duck foot, which looks more like a dried monkey foot to me. There's also the compass of course, which opens and has an actual latch. On another small string are several tiny bones, and on a larger string is the shrunken head of his mother.

These attach to the belts in a very easy way - there's a loop in the string, and you slip it behind the belt, and then slip the compass, head, whatever through the loop. That means you can put these items on the belt or buckles without removing them - a but plus with such a complex outfit.

Already attached to his belt for you is a hunky of furry feathery stuff, and the directions contain a warning that over handling the fur can damage it.

Jack has three weapons as well. There are two flintlock pistols, with very unique and very complex sculpts. They fit in either belt, or he can hold them in one of the included hands.

He also has his sword, and this time Hot Toys went with a material they don't use a lot - metal! Yes, the bright silver blade is real metal, while the hilt is plastic.

The sword fits inside the scabbard cleanly, and the scabbard fits inside the shoulder band perfectly.

There are two bottles as well. One is a basic brown rum bottle, a staple for Jack. The other is the clear bottle that contains the Black Pearl. This one has a very cool sculpted cork, and the ship inside is fairly well done considering the small scale.

For those that use the normal Hot Toys display stand, you won't be disappointed. There's one included of course, but even better is the large rudder base. The rudder turns, and includes a rope that wraps around the center. This rope can also be tied through the plank-like base, if you want to keep it in one place. To finish off this diorama, there's a stand up Pirates of the Caribbean sign, which stays in place with a couple magnets.

Finally, there's the flag I mentioned in the Packaging section. This flag, which includes both a unique skull and cross bones AND a red sparrow, fits on the long black staff contained in the very bottom of the package.

That's a tremendous number of additional accessories, and I haven't even gotten to the outfit yet...

Outfit - ****
Layers, layers everywhere. Like all good pirates, Jack starts out with his puffy shirt, and Hot Toys was nice enough to add the dirt and sweat stains at no extra charge.

Over the shirt is his blue vest, and he is wearing brown pants. these pants tuck into a pair of the coolest boots I've ever seen in sixth scale - they seem to be made from suede, and are very soft. The sole is hard though, and the soft material allows the ankles to work extremely well. I've included a shot with a deep stance to show that the feet can be posed flat on the ground even then, another big plus.

The outer jacket is very high quality material, including the separate nylon lining. Everything is tailored to fit tightly, excellent work all around.

There's two faux leather belts of course, as well as his 'scarf' that wraps within them. Another nifty touch is the inclusion of two wrists bands, one black with white markings, and one made from lace. Take care with these when swapping hands to avoid having them fall off and get lost.

Jack looks great with or without the jacket, but he also has his soft leather-like hat. I'm not thrilled with it, but after you work with it a bit you can get it to fit properly. Scale is pretty good too, but I prefer Jack hat-less.

Fun Factor - ***
I wouldn't 'play' with a $200 figure, but this one is definitely fun for the adult collector. You can swap poses, faces, clothes - you'll be able to make this guy your own.

Value - **1/2
Yep, Jack is expensive at $215. But I gotta say that with two complete PERS heads, a diorama, and a metric ton of extras, he's worth it. You won't feel like you got a deal, but you won't feel like you were ripped off either. Regular readers know that a value score of **1/2 - *** is my average, and means that the price of this figure has no positive or negative effect on the overall.

Things to Watch Out For -
As always, there's plenty of small items that can be broken or lost if you're not careful. I didn't have any trouble, and nothing came apart or broke, but you'll still want to take care.

Overall - ****
I've been a bit behind on getting this guy out of the package. He was shipping back in mid-December, but since Jeff had already hit him up early, I figured I could wait. Now that I have him out, I may have to reassess my choice for best 12 - 18" figure for last year. I though for sure I'd be voting for the Reeves Superman (I really do love that figure), but I'm beginning to have second thoughts.

For the fans of Pirates or Jack, this is the ultimate figure. Sure, the previous two were great (and who can resist Cannibal Jack?), but if you can only have one, this is the one to have.

And remember - there's a ton of photos of the various accessories, so be sure to keep scrolling down!

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

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Other Hot Toys Jack goodies include:

- one of my favorites is Cannibal Jack, who you can see here with Davy Jones.

- the very first Jack they did was still pretty sweet, reviewed here with Sao Feng.

- Will Turner is another to receive the HT treatment.

- Jeff checked out the second release of Feng as well as Elizabeth.

- and if you prefer your toys cuter, check out the Cosbaby sets based on the franchise.

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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