Review of Aldo Raine - Inglorious Basterds
Sixth Scale Action Figure

Introduction

I'm a big Tarantino fan. He's not my number one director right now (I think that distinction goes to Christopher Nolan, at least until we see how Inception turns out), but he's damn close. And yet I didn't see Inglorious Basterds when it hit theaters. In fact, I screwed up and didn't see it when it hit DVD at first, because my Netflix queue was full, and I forgot to send that week's movies back. And once this film hit the dreaded Very Long Wait status, I knew it would be awhile.

And it was. Weeks turned into months, and finally a friend who could no longer stand it just loaned me his blu-ray. Big surprise, I love the film, but I have to admit that my least favorite part was Brad Pitt's rendition of Aldo Raine. He seemed...out of place. I hadn't ordered the Hot Toys figure, but even with his character being less than I'd hoped, I still had to have the action figure once I'd watched the movie.

Aldo shipped a couple weeks ago, but there's been no additional announcements of any other figures in this license. While Brad might have been the big name on the marquee, it was Christopher Waltz as Hans Landa that stole the film. Most fans are hoping we see a figure of him as well, but there's been no announcement yet. SDCC maybe?

Aldo runs around $150 at most retailers, and is available through the international sellers now. U.S. distributors should start seeing him soon.

Packaging - ***1/2
The package is very bare bones this time, at least in terms of graphics and text. But rather than just continue to use the same style with each license, Hot Toys tries different things almost every time.

Here we get a fairly standard box, with a slip top just like I used to get with my old Marx Best of the West figures. Once you have the top off, you'll find two layers inside. The top layer includes Aldo and his extra hands, while the lower tray has the many accessories.

Of course it's all collector friendly, but even the trays have a new design that makes them even studier and easier to work with. It's this sort of constant innovation that keeps Hot Toys ahead of the competition in every category.

Sculpting - ****
I wasn't sold on the expression when I saw the original prototype photos of Aldo. The head sculpt was the usual exceptional portrait, but the slightly open mouth wasn't working for me.

The final version is terrific though, and looks even better in person than in photos. They have captured Pitt as Raine perfectly, and I am once again amazed by how realistic the sculpt is. I gave you a close up of the face this time to point out the finer details - look at the tiny wrinkles, skin texture, and realistic hairline, even in the extreme closeup!

Nobody does hair like Hot Toys, but they even outdid themselves this time. I complain a lot about hair sculpts that are too soft, too thick and too clumpy. No problems here - they sculpted practically every strand on his pretty little head.

Aldo even has the scarring on his neck, reminiscent of Clint Eastwood in Hang 'Em High. As I recall, it was never explained in the film where he picked up the rather unique scar, but it gives him that extra edge.

If I have one complaint about the sculpt, it's the hands. They are a bit too big, and the gun hands have long, skinny trigger fingers that make E.T.'s look stumpy. It's a minor quibble though, and most folks won't notice because of the overwhelming cool that's rolling off the rest of the figure.

Paint - ****
It might be an amazing sculpt, but it's the paint that makes all the difference. A great paint job allows a great sculpt to shine - a poor or even mediocre paint job could ruin a Michelangelo. That's why David is just plain stone - Mike knew better.

Using the close up again, you can see the amazing details in the paint. Look at the tiny freckles, soft color transitions in the eyebrows and mustache, and sharp, wet eyes. The gloss on the eyeballs allows them to create their own catch lights, and while they are recessed deep into the sockets, there's no slop along the edge to ruin the effect.

I don't know how Hot Toys is managing production paint work like this, but I suspect it has something to do with a contract for someone's soul.

Articulation - ****
Aldo is on the usual Hot Toys TrueType body, and as you might expect, he can take just about any natural human pose. He stands fantastic on his own, although they did include a display stand if you want to use it.

There are specific pluses about these bodies that make them stand out from the pack. You can bring the bent elbows in tight at the body, the head can take all kinds of funky tilted poses, and the center of gravity can be shifted to either or both legs.

The hands swap pretty easily, but they've thrown in a couple extra wrist pegs just in case. I know I appreciate it!

Accessories - ****
I didn't really pay a lot of attention to what accessories he came with when I ordered him. Hey, he had his huge Bowie knife - what else did he really need?

But when I popped open the box, I was pleasantly surprised. He comes with a ton of stuff - so much that I couldn't even figure out how to use it all.

There's THE knife of course, with an excellent sculpt and paint. It fits great in his tight gripping hand, or in the perfect sheath on his belt. The straps on the back of the sheath used to attach it to the belt are angled just right to mimic the way he wore the weapon on screen.

On his other hip is his Luger. The holster is one of the nicest I've ever seen, made from a very thin, hard leather and with a strap and metal loop that works perfectly. The gun fits in snugly, and looks great on the belt.

There's a second knife, this one a bit more of a bayonet type, although it doesn't have the slots to attach it to the gun. This smaller knife also has a nice sheath, but you should take a little care with the strap. Once I had the knife in the sheath and buttoned down, I left it there.

I also wasn't sure what to do with it, as I didn't remember it from the film, so I tossed it in his man purse.

Speaking of which, the brown leather bag fits over his shoulder and can hold several accessories. The flap doesn't snap down, but looks terrific nonetheless.

One of the extras I wasn't sure what to do with was his canteen kit. Again, Hot Toys is doing up these accessories with a level of quality that only a few other companies can match.

He also has both a machine gun and an M-1 rifle. The machine gun has a spring loaded action, and you can slide it back and lock it in place, or let it go and it snaps back. All three guns are designed so you can see a round from the top of the open chamber, a cool new feature. I've included a photo of the Luger open, but it's the same for the other two guns.

Of course, both the handgun and machine gun have removable clips. The hammer on the Luger moves as well, and the sculpt and paint on all three guns is amazing. The terrific TrueType body will allow you to pose him with these guns in a ton of great ways.

To help even further, there's two extra sets of hands. One set is designed to hold the guns, while the other set is a tighter grip. He comes wearing a pair in a relaxed pose.

I mentioned the display base, but there's also the blue cap. I don't think there's any good way for him to actually wear it, but having it in his hand looks just as good.

Outfit - ****
As much as I like the accessories, the outfit is even better.

Everything is here - Hot Toys never skimps. There's a short sleeved shirt at the very bottom, with a ascot around his neck, sweater shirt over that, and blue coat topping it all off. Every stitch, every button, every snap is in scale and the highest quality.

It would be easy for all those layers to end up too bulky, but by using very thin (and yet top quality) material, they are able to keep it all in scale.

He's wearing corduroy pants, with a leather belt holding them up. These tuck into heavy winter military style socks, and then into the boots.

While I like other aspects of this outfit, easily my favorite is the boot sculpt. These might be my favorite boots of all time, with a sculpted sagging upper, metal buckles, and worn toes. They fit over the socks and pants perfectly, and look great doing it.

Over the coat is a larger leather belt, which has a sturdy metal buckle. Both the holster and the large knife sheath fit on the belt perfectly, and the straps and stitching is sturdy enough to hold up to years of posing and handling.

Fun Factor - ***
While this figure isn't intended for kids, it is almost playable. There's still too many small and fragile pieces, but adult collectors will have a great time setting him up and reposing him on occasion.

Value - **1/2
Hot Toys figures are never cheap, but getting this much stuff for their average price point - $150 - is a decent deal. However, you might even get a better deal on him over the next couple weeks, before folks realize just how damn cool he turned out.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not much. There's nothing here that is any more fragile than expected, and most of the buckles and straps work better than usual.

Overall - ****
I wasn't expecting much out of this figure, but it blew me away. Fantastic sculpt and paint, amazing outfit, and a metric ton of cool accessories! It just doesn't get much better than this, and I wish every license got this kind of treatment.

I'm going to pose Aldo with my Hitler and FDR figures from Drastic Plastic, at least for now...but I sure hope that Hot Toys gives us at least a Landa to accompany him.

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

Where to Buy 
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Hot Toys hasn't produced any other Inglorious Basterds figures...yet. Let's hope they give us a Landa!

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