Review of Hawkgirl - DC Bombshells statue

Introduction

DC Bombshells is a popular series of statues from DC Collectibles based on a simple but unique concept. Take a famous female DC comics character, hero or villain, and re-imagine what she might look like as a 1940's pin-up on the side of a bomber plane. The designer is Ant Lucia, and it's been extremely successful over the last couple years.

The latest release, at least for me, is Hawkgirl. I'm not sure why it took so long for mine to ship, as others have had her for weeks now, but the lovely lass is finally here.  I was also very much anticipating this one, because I particularly like the overall design.

Hawkgirl will run you around $100 at most retailers, which seems to be the current price for most of the releases. She's a limited edition of 5200, and is individually numbered as well.

Packaging - ***
Hey, it's a box!  I've never been a big fan of the peel away "secret identiy" DC logo or art style that they use with these, but it's grown on me, sort of like a fungus. The interior foam trays are dense, and keep the three pieces of this statue safe and sound. While this is a limited edition and there's a number on the bottom of the base, there's no Certificate of Authenticity, a disappointment at this price point.

Sculpting - ****
Hawkgirl's look has gone through plenty of iterations over the years, just like every other superhero in the DC (or Marvel) universe. From her animated look, to her classic Golden Age style, to something a bit more modern, she's always been a hero to be reckoned with.  I've said it before with this series, but I'll happily repeate myself - for me, these statues need to start with the superhero, and then add the elements of the 40's pin-up. To be successful, I must first be able to immediately identify who they are as DC characters, and without that, they fail.

That is why I've been looking forward to Hawkgirl. While some of the past releases have done the line proud, none were quite as appealing to me in their fusion of all the necessary elements as Hawkgirl. First and foremost, you know who this is immediately, thanks to the creative inclusion of key features.

Most obvious among those are the addition of wings on her helmet and sides of the jet pack, as well as the hawk insignia on the pin on her chest and in the center of the pack. Less obvious is the subtle use of color to emote her more classic look, as well as the hawk face design of the helmet. Even the expression, with the devilish eyes and bubble gum bubble, screams Hawkgirl to me.

The use of the jet pack for flight, along with the goggles around her neck and flight suit she's wearing, work with the 1940's aviation theme.  By putting her up on her toes, they've given her some separation from the base that adds to the feeling of flight, and the translucent 'flames' coming out of the back of the rocket look terrific. She's sexy without being over the top, and I can easily see her on the side of a B-52.

Paint - ***
The paint work isn't terrible, but there are a few areas where I think they need to improve.

There's still some slop at the edges of many of the colors, and at this price point, that needs to be addressed.  The eyes are terrific though, and the slightly hazy pink color of the bubble works great.  The colors are consistent, and there's no dirt or glop that I see. They did end up with a bit too much wash left over in her cleavage, which is supposed to provide a fake shadow but ends up being too obvious.

Final assessment - the paint is a solid B, but needs some work to qualify for a better score on a $100 statue.

Value - **1/2
While I'm not going to tell you that $100 is cheap, this time around I think I got what I paid for. The value ends up a wash, and won't improve - or damage - my overall assessment.

Things to Watch Out For -
As I mentioned earlier, this is a three piece statue.  There's the base, designed to give you that 'aircraft' feel, along with the separate name plate, held in place with a magnet. When you move the figure, you'll want to remember that it's only held on with a magnet - don't drop it!

It's also important to take a lot of care when attaching her to the base.  The metal posts on her legs didn't quite line up with the two holes in the base, which means you have to put some pressure on her legs to get them to fit. Be EXTREMELY careful when doing this - I've broken statues before applying too much pressure in this very same situation.

Overall - ****
I'm extremely happy with this release, as you can tell by my final Overall score. While I have some issues with the paint - and they should really be trying to up the quality to a more consistent level in this area - the overall impression that I'm left with is the statue deserves the full rating. This is the sort of release that has me looking forward to the next, and hoping the line runs a very long time.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - ****
Paint - ***
Value - **1/2
Overall - ****

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth is also at $100.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
I've covered a number of the Bombshells, including Stargirl, Black Canary, Batgirl, Harley, Poison Ivy, Supergirl and Wonder Woman.

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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