Review of Shao Kahn - Mortal Kombat statue

Introduction

Mortal Kombat remains a beloved video game after all these years. Even today, it's one of my son's favorite X-Box 360 games, and its basic concept still works with the intended audience.

There were plenty of fighters over the course of the many versions of the game, as well as bosses. Shao Kahn started out as the latter, but eventually became a playable character. Pop Culture Shock Collectibles has produced a very cool quarter scale statue based on the character, complete with both a masked and unmasked head sculpt.

PCS did two versions of this statue - the one I'm reviewing, swinging a hammer and limited to just 350 pieces produced, and a special 'Konqueror' edition, limited to just 150. The latter is holding a spear, but it is one of the few times where the lower edition statue isn't as impressive - there's something weird about the overall pose. He looks much better with the hammer, making it a little less frustrating if you missed out on the lower run edition.

Packaging - ***
It's a big, sturdy box with Styrofoam inserts - just about what you'd expect. The graphics are decent, and there's a basic Certificate of Authenticity included.

I did notice that the detached arm/hand piece is resting in the tray at a little of an odd angle. Both heads are also a very tight fit inside the foam, so take care removing the parts and don't rush it.

Sculpting - ****
I love the dynamic pose here, complete with a deep stance and the back foot raised up on the ball. He looks like he's mid-swing, and the flowing loin cloth matches the implied motion. It also means that the gritted teeth actually works for me as the appropriate expression, just as he is mid-swing on a head smash.

There's plenty of small detail work, and in this scale, that's important. With a large statue, if there is too little detail the piece looks plain and unimpressive. They've avoided that by including textures on the clothing, hammer and skull helmet, and a ton of small details every where you look.

As I mentioned, there's both a bare head (complete with his funky head tentacles) and a helmeted head. Both have that stern, you're going to die expression, but the sculpting on the intricate helm is really impressive. While it's nice to have the bare head, I'm betting most folks will stick with the more complex armored look. The heads swap easily and are held in place with a magnet.

The right arm and left hand, both holding the hammer, come as a single, detached piece. These are also held in place with strong magnets.

As I mentioned, this statue is a considered 1/4 scale. He stands about 18", including the base, but the hammer and helmet stick up a bit further than that.

Paint - ****
This is one of those perfect situations where a terrific sculpt is backed up and improved by an excellent paint job.

The skin tone is a *smidge* too much like a spray on tan, but it's a minor quibble. The color is consistent, and the cut lines between the skin and costume are very clean. 

That's true of all the colors - clean, consistent, bright - and the overall impression is one of very high quality.

There's a few areas that really stand out. The lizard-like eyes are striking, with their glossy, wet appearance, and the teeth look terrific. The bony spikes on his armor look great as well, due in large part to the subtle transition from dark to light on each.

Value - ***
While $350 might seem like a lot (and it is), when compared to other quarter scale statues, it's a solid value. Pricing is comparable to others in the market, and you're getting exceptional quality and a very low production run.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing. Of course, you always want to take care with the resin arms and heads when attaching them, but I didn't see any reason here to be cautious beyond the norm.

I do want to reiterate that removing the pieces from the trays should be done with care. It's a tight fit for some, and you don't want to put too much pressure on the wrong spot.

Overall - ****
If you're a major Kombat fan, you're going to love what Pop Culture Shock is doing with the license. Along with this amazing statue, they have companion statues of Jade, Sub-Zero, Goro, Smoke and Maleena out or coming soon. Can you imagine how great this entire series would look on the shelf? It would have to be one Hell of a big shelf, too...

This is one of those rare times where I really prefer the 'regular' release over the 'special' release. The production numbers are very low on both, but the overall pose works much better with the hammer than the spear. Obviously, your mileage may vary. Either way, this is a high quality statue.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - ****
Paint - ****
Value - ***
Overall - ****

Where to Buy 
This is an exclusive to the Pop Culture Shock website, where he'll run you $350. You can also search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Other cool statues and busts from Pop Culture Shock include Judge Death, Judge Dredd, and Sub-Zero.

Other Mortal Kombat reviews include the smaller action figures of King Lau and Liu Kang, Sub-Zero and Baraka, and a guest review of Raiden and Scorpion.

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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