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Sculpting - **1/2
Rene Belloq was played by Paul Freeman,
in perhaps his best known role. This sculpt is supposed to be that
character...I suppose that if I don't wear one contact, dim the lights,
and squint just right, I might see Belloq in this sculpt. But the
reality for me is that while the head sculpt is realistic, clean, and
attractive, it looks very little like Belloq.
There's lots of
reasons for this. The lower face and jaw line is much too fat, the eyes
are too wide set, and the overall size of the head is slightly
misproportioned.
Now, I do want to say that he is
not a bobble
head by any means. But the head is slightly too big for the Prometheus
body, especially with the slooped shoulders.
There are four hands
included, two sculpted as fists, a left in a simple grip, and a right
in a pistol grip. These look good, work well with the accessories, and
are easy to swap.
Paint - ***
While the head sculpt is not ideal, the paint work is solid. The lips
are clean, the skin tone even, and there's a good hairline. The eyes
have the catch lights - 'doll dots' - that I've found more annoying
over time. I still don't hate them as much as some folks, but I
certainly do prefer the more lifelike paint work on the eyes of many of
the newer Hot Toys figures.
There's
something about the eyebrows that bugs me as well, and that seems to be
a consistent issue with Sideshow figures these days. Perhaps it's
because they have improved the overall paint quality, making the
caterpillar look of the eyebrows that much more apparent.
Articulation - ***
The first use of the new Prometheus body was the aforementioned Indiana
Jones, and it was big disappointment. In fact, looking back on it, I
should have docked it another half star. While it wasn't as loose for
me as it was for some, the breaking hip that forced me to replace it
was just too frustrating considering the price we're paying for these.
Fortunately,
I did not have any real issues with the Prometheus this time. The
joints are tighter, but to get another half star higher they have
tighten them up just a bit more. The hips are still a little looser
than I think they should be, although getting him to remain standing in
most poses shouldn't be an issue.
He also has a much, much better
neck joint than Indy, who's head tended to flop around. Belloq can tilt
and turn nicely, adding tons of personality to any pose, and the head
can hold that position even with the hat in place.
These bodies
are a huge improvement over the Buck, no doubt about it. Tighten them
up just a smidge more, and I'll be giving them a half star more each
time. Getting that coveted four stars might be tough, because I'm not
thrilled with the shoulder design, which makes most clothing hang
funny, but perhaps some minor tweaking can improve that as well.
Accessories - ***
Belloq comes with a reasonable assortment of goodies, including the
liquor bottle (with appropriate label...but empty of 'liquid'), his
machine gun, that extra sets of hands, his pocket watch and chain, and
display stand.
The extra hands are the fists,
which swap easily, and fit tightly.
I've
mentioned in other recent Sideshow reviews that their weapons continue
to improve, and this machine gun is a fine example. The detail work is
excellent, the folding stock is much sturdier and works much better
than some previous attempts, and the spring action slide actually
works. I accidently broke the small handle on mine, so be careful, but
the gun looks amazing right down to the leather strap.
There's a separate clip for the
gun, and for some reason it comes packed external to the gun this time.
The
pocket watch isn't much to write home about, reminding me of something
you'd see with a Hasbro figure, but the metal chain and hook look
great, and it fits nicely from his belt to his pocket.
While the liquor bottle isn't
exactly complex or detailed, the scale is good and it is a scene
critical extra.
The
display stand has the emblem on the base, and works well enough with
the figure. Fortunately, the body is tight enough this time that you
won't require it, but I suspect many folks will use it out of fear of
the legs collapsing over time.
I do wish there was more here,
like perhaps a box with the white dress, especially at this much higher
price point.
Outfit - **1/2
I had several issues with the outfit this time around, most of them
surprises.
It
looks like the costume team doesn't quite have the unique personality
of the Prometheus body down yet. The tailoring is off a bit, with the
jacket not quite fitting the sloping shoulders. I found that I liked
the jacket much better NOT buttoned, although when it is open the large
silver snap is quite obvious. However, when it is snapped, it fits
across the chest much too tightly, pulling the shoulders down even
more. With some futzing it can get better, and perhaps a good soaking
treatment would help further, but out of the box it's not particularly
pretty.
I
know what you're thinking - you'll just take the jacket and tie off,
open up the neck and roll up the sleeves, and go for desert Belloq. Not
quite. The first issue is the large obvious snap that will be there
when you open the collar. Let's say you get rid of that, and you'll
still have the issue that there aren't any snaps or cufflinks at the
wrists, so there's no way to 'roll up' the sleeves. You can push them
up on the arms, which I did in the photo on the left, but its'
not
quite the same thing.
The tie looks better than the
usual Sideshow tie, but the
shirt collar still suffers from being slightly oversized. The pants are
tailored way up on the chest, old man style, and you can't really bring
them down further because they already hang well down on the shoes.
The
pockets are real, which is not only nice but necessary for the pocket
watch to work correctly. The thin belt looks good, and you
can
easily attach the watch hook to it.
The hat and shoes are both
sculpted, with very different results. The shoes are fantastic, with a
great looking sculpt and fairly decent paint. It seems that Sideshow
does footwear better than anyone.
The hat isn't as good,
unfortunately. I don't think it's too large, a complaint I've heard
from some folks. But it does only fit his head ONE way, because the
inside of the hat is sculpted to fit the hair exactly. This makes the
hat sit on the head very straight, but the character usually tilted the
hat slightly to one side on screen. You can't get that look here
because of this interior sculpting, and that was a bit disappointing.
My
biggest issue overall though is that I have a seam that is coming apart
on the inside of the left arm. I've never had this situation with any
past Sideshow figure, so it was quite a surprise, and not a good one.
Fun Factor - **1/2
It's a middle aged white guy in a suit. Sure, it's a white suit...but
it's still a suit. While the figure can handle play, it's not one that
is really designed for it.
Value - **
I'm glad I bought this figure. I'm particularly glad I bought the
exclusive, because I really like the environment it came with (more on
that next week). But that doesn't mean I don't realize that this guy is
overpriced. The body is better than the Buck, but with the bad seam on
the uniform, the generally non-descript sculpt, and the light number of
accessories, there's simply no way he's worth the extra $20 - $30 over
the older Sideshow figures.
Things To Watch Out For
-
As I mentioned, I snapped the handle on the slide the first time I
pulled it, so take some care there.
Overall - **1/2
As I said, I'm glad I picked him up, and I
suspect that the uniform and accessories are going to be used for some
very nice Belloq customs. But this is not a figure you have to have,
especially if you aren't interested in the environment. If you need a
single villain to go up against Indy, that should be Toht, as he's just
so much more visually interesting...and recognizable.
I've
only returned two 12" Sideshow figures out of the hundreds I've bought
over the years. This is one I SHOULD return, because of the bad seam
and the broken gun...but I'm not sure I will, since insuring I get the
exclusive back might be a problem. Still, the fact that there have been
three figures out of hundreds really requiring a return, and two of
those three were Indy figures, and they've only released two Indy
figures...well, that's not a particularly good sign. Just bad luck? I
certainly hope so.
Score Recap:
Packaging - ***1/2
Sculpting - **
Paint - ***
Articulation - ***
Accessories - ***1/2
Outfit - **1/2
Fun Factor - **1/2
Value - **
Overall - **1/2
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