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Sculpting - ****
There are several things about this figure that I'm going to whine
over, but the sculpt is definitely not one of them.
This rendition of the Joker is
as good as any that's came before. It's not too likely that
it will be outdone any time soon, either.
Does that mean that fans won't
find something wrong with it? If you think so, you haven't been paying
too much attention. I'm sure that some people will take issue with some
aspect of the likeness, but I think it's an excellent portrait of
Ledger in the Joker make up.
Unlike the DX sixth scale
figures from Hot Toys, there's no movable eyeballs here. He's looking
upward at you, requiring you to tilt his head downward for a straight
stare. Since that was such a key look for him, I'm fine with it, but
some people may have preferred the eyes more centered.
The eyes are a glossy,
translucent plastic, making them very spooky and lifelike. The pocked
skin texture looks amazing, and the threading on the hair is thin and
detailed. The scars along his cheeks look painful in their realism, and
the shape of the head, chin and nose are dead on Ledger.
The hands are sculpted to work
with various poses, and I do have some issues with them...but I'll save
that for the Articulation and Accessories sections.
Remember, he's quarter scale,
which translates to almost 19 inches tall.
Paint - ****
Hot Toys has some amazing production paint ops. But this isn't Hot
Toys, you say? I wouldn't be surprised if you couldn't tell that just
by looking.
Enterbay seems to be dipping into that same pool of talent, and they
are coming up with the same high quality work. The make up looks like
make up - the eyes look like actual human eyes - even the hair has just
the right mix of colors.
You can have the best sculpt in
the world, but without this kind of paint work, it just can't shine
through. Put a subtle, lifelike paint application over it, and an
amazing sculpt turns into art. This is art.
Articulation - **
As I said with the recent Bruce
Lee, this is the best articulated 18" body on the market.
The ball jointed neck is
critical for the Joker, and it works great. You'll be able to use the
double ball joint to tilt and lean the head, adding a ton of foreboding
personality to every pose.
The shoulders, hips, elbows,
wrists, knees and ankles all have the pin/disk style ball joint, but
the usefulness is mediocre. The wrists are very tight inside the
forearms, and I ended up cracking one just trying to adjust it. Most of
these joints are clicky style - they click into spots on gears, rather
than having a smooth movement. That also restricts what kind of poses
you can do. For example, the hips were either straight, or very wide. I
had a very hard time managing anything in between.
To top it all off, there's those
hands. When I reviewed Bruce Lee, I mentioned that the hands swapped
easily. Too easily in fact, and you could knock them off with a bump.
Not so with the Joker. The hands are almost impossible to get off and
on, and I found the process tremendously frustrating. You have to heat
them up to get them on, but once you do, you'll be screwed. Trying to
heat them up while he's dressed is tricky at best, but if you don't you
can easily damage the figure removing them. Gah!
Accessories - ***
He has plenty, and they have some really nice features, especially the
weapons. Too bad using them is so damn hard.
Let's start with the simple -
his display base. Silver top, logo, nameplate - all the usual. It's in
the same style as the earlier Masterpiece HD bases for consistency.
Then there's the assortment of
hands. Three ungloved (a right and left fist, a right shooting hand),
and eight gloved hands. Some are pretty standard (like the right and
left fist) but others are very pose specific.
I've already mentioned how
difficult it is to swap the hands, and a big part of that is because
the material they are made from is so very, very hard. That hard
plastic has a second consequence - it makes it nearly impossible to fit
the accessories inside.
There's a gloved right hand for
holding the grips of the guns, but sadly, actually getting the gun into
that hand is a Herculean effort. It is possible - notice the photos
where he's holding the machine gun - but once you manage it, you'll
have no desire to remove the weapon.
The other hands are just as bad,
particularly when it comes to holding the knife or the Glock. I ended
up using the hand designed for the grenade rig to hold the Glock in my
photos.
That makes all these cool
weapons a whole lot less useful. Not being able to easily swap them is
a huge problem, and really hurts the score here as well.
I mentioned that there's a Glock
(removable magazine and moving slide of course) as well as a machine
gun. The machine gun is largely metal as well, and has a folding stock
to go along with the moving action and removable magazine. It's a
beaut, but again, it was almost impossible for him to hold it.
The small knife is a switchblade
of course, and the blade does extend and retract, although not with any
spring mechanism.
I also mentioned the grenade
rig. There are five grenades attached to each other with a blue string,
and that string then can be held in his right hand, ready to pull all
the pins at once. These grenades are made of metal as well, and there
are different colors and designs. However, this is one of those times
where the use of metal wasn't the best choice. It makes them very
heavy, and far more difficult to keep in the cloth rig over time. I
would have preferred a set done in plastic, and this is one of those
rare times where the lighter weight material is a better choice.
The rigging itself is removable,
and includes the pins he had attached to it in the film. I left mine in
the coat - it doesn't create an annoying bulge. I put the grenades away
pretty fast however, since I knew they'd be a problem long term.
This is the Joker, which means
he has to have his playing cards. There's 11 done in scale, and with
the appropriate jokers included.
Remember when the Joker blasts
the lead police car with the RPG from inside the trailer of the semi?
Yep, this version comes with an RPG launcher and missile, made largely
of metal once again. The projectile slides down into the barrel, and
the trigger even moves. It's a terrific weapon, perhaps my favorite of
the bunch. Too bad the hands had just as much trouble with it as
everything else.
There's also an exclusive
version of this guy, and he had the extra rubber bank robber mask.
That's not the one I picked up, but it's worth noting that it's out
there.
Outfit - ****
The outfit is gorgeous - one of the advantages of a larger scale figure
is finding material in scale. It's much easier to produce realistic
costumes at this scale than even sixth scale, especially when multiple
layers are required.
Here you have the shirt, vest,
gray jacket and outer purple velvet coat. Every layer is top quality
material, with excellent stitching and snaps. The outer jacket is
particularly nice, with a beautiful red lining and a thin wire in the
bottom edge to pose it.
He also has his purple pants and funky colored socks, and sculpted
shoes. The shoes have real laces however, giving them that extra pop.
Let's not forget the tie, as well as the real metal watch fob. The
overall presentation is exceptional, and this is a costume that can
stand along side your best Premium Format statue and fit right in.
Fun Factor - **
Generally, I'd think these large figures would be a ton of fun. While
the outfit and accessories are high end, they are also quite high
quality, and won't damage with normal handling. Obviously, nobody is
going to be 'playing' with this figure, but general posing and
accessorizing could be tons of fun.
Except for those damn hands.
Between being too hard to fit the accessories inside, and being
impossible to swap, they created way more frustration than fun.
Value - **1/2
I'm going to assume you'll pay around $375 for this guy, although
you'll
see it on either side of that price tag. In fact, my local comic book
shop is trying to get $500!
Eve at $375, you'll feel like you got your
money's worth. The metal accessories are nice, and there's no doubt
you're getting an outstanding sculpt, paint and outfit. For a full
$100 less, you can get an outstanding 12" version, complete with two
head sculpts (one of them with PERS), a ton of hands and other
accessories, and even several diorama pieces. But there's no denying
the coolness factor of figures in this scale.
Things to Watch Out For -
Those damn hands are almost impossible to get on and off - be careful,
or you can crack the wrists.
Overall - ***
I had completely expected at least another half to full star in my
Overall scoring of this figure, and I'm betting a lot of other folks
did as well. Unlike Bruce Lee, who I beat up (figuratively of course)
over his price, the Joker has the kind of complex costume and
accessories to warrant the cost. Instead, it was the execution on the
hands that really hurt him.
It might seem like a small thing
- until you try working with them. The hard plastic means they are
tough to swap, and that hurts the posability, the accessories, and the
final overall feeling toward the figure. Too much frustration equals a
less happy collector, and that was definitely the case here for me.
I am glad I picked him up, and I
plan on displaying him (without the stand) alongside my Premium Format
statues of other iconic movie characters. I just wish that I had more
flexibility with which hands and accessories I can use, and how often I
could change them around. As it stands now, he'll be holding that
machine gun in his right gripping hand for a very long time.
The Joker was an early release
for Enterbay, and the Bruce Lee (a more recent release) did
not have this issue. In fact, they may have gone a little overboard in
making them easy to swap, but that's better than not being able to use
them at all.
Score Recap:
Packaging - ***1/2
Sculpting - ****
Paint - ****
Articulation - **
Accessories - ***
Outfit - ****
Fun Factor - **
Value - **1/2
Overall - ***
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