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But right now we have the first release, James Dean as the young Jett
Rink from the movie Giant. Now I’d guess Howard Chan the CEO of HT must be a
fan of Dean, as this is the second time they’ve visited the actor. I’ve been
looking forward to this one since I first saw the proto pics, I already have
the HT Eric So one from 4 years ago, how will the new one measure up?
Packaging - ***1/2
As this series was devised to give us some of the classic actors (and
musicians) from the past, they’ve steered clear of bright, gaudy, in your
face packaging and have gone for a far more subtle bit of graphic design.
This is a lovely box, and as the first in this series it’s destined to
become a bit of a classic in its own right.
We have a simple shoebox design that opens sideways designed and printed
to look like denim. On the front there’s a picture of Deans face made to
look as if it’s worn/bleached out of the denim so you can still see the
weave in the fabric. The bottom left corner has a small blurb/bio of Dean
and the top right has a rather nifty cast metal badge with the flaming Hot
Toys logo set into it.
The back has more blurb but no production credits, so I’ll let you know
that on this production we have Kang In Ae on sculpting duties with
prototype paint production once again from J.C.Hong, but we shouldn’t forget
to mention the Harue Creative team as well, as this figure has another
outstandingly tailored outfit by them.
Sculpting - ***1/2
James Dean was THE poster boy for the 1950’s and like Monroe his premature
death elevated him to the status of icon.
In his brief professional career he had about 30 television appearances but
only made 3 movies, firstly as Cal Trask in John Steinbeck’s East of Eden
(1955), then as Jim Stark in perhaps his most iconic performance alongside
Natalie Wood in Rebel Without a Cause (1955) and finally as Jett Rink in the
epic and hugely budgeted (for it’s time) Giant (1956) opposite Elizabeth
Taylor and Rock Hudson, and it’s from Giant that this figure is based (Giant
and Rebel were also two of Dennis Hoppers earliest big screen role’s,
there’s something for you trivia buffs!). Dean was famous for always playing
brooding outsiders, but all his directors said he showed great range, that
was sadly never given time to develop.
If you are a fan of the 50’s as an era (or perhaps you lived through
them, don’t want to be ageist) you’ll know how magazines featuring all of
the ‘movie stars’ of the day were big business, and Dean was one of the most
photographed leading men of the time, considering his few staring roles.
He was also something of a chameleon changing his appearance and look all
the time, which means it’s difficult to say what ‘the James Dean look’ is,
for many it’s the turned up jeans and red Harrington jacket
from Rebel,
for others the iconic pose with the
rifle slung across his shoulders from Giant , and for others still, it’s
the off duty actor strolling through a rain drenched Times square,
cigarette in mouth but what ever your favoured image is, there’s no
denying he was cool, hell, he practically invented cool.
It’s those chameleon qualities that make it so hard to pin Deans’
features down. From some angles this is spot on, from others it’s good, but
not as perfect. Four years ago HT released a different version of Dean by
the celebrated toy designer Eric So, his work is far more stylised than
Kang’s, but it’s still fair to say that this version is an improvement and a
lot more subtle. Now four years ago I gave that
old version 4 stars where as this one gets 3 ½, just goes to show how
much this art-form has improved in the last few years. There is still a lot
to really like about this sculpt, the eyes have that brooding intensity,
this was mostly caused by Deans poor eyesight, as soon as the cameras
stopped rolling he’d put his glasses back on, the hair is also beautifully
sculpted in his trademark style and the overall proportions mean this is
undoubtedly Dean. The only slight problems I have are in profile, his
jaw-line, the distance between chin and ear should be slightly shorter and a
more acute angle and his nose has a slight curve not present in the sculpt.
But apart from that, this is a very, very impressive sculpt and I’m hoping
Kang gets to visit Dean in his other movies as well (unofficially it looks
like HT did some warm up work on the HT Modern Military CIA Commando figure,
sure looks a little
like Dean to me.)
Paint - ***3/4
This is a very subtle paint job bringing to mind their earlier work on the
Prison Break figures. Nice crisp work on and around the eyes, subtle
variations in general skin tone work around the chin, mouth and cheeks. The
hair looks like it may be a little too red, but it’s difficult to find a
good accurate colour photo of Deans hair, as you can see it can look
very blonde or
very dark
or somewhere
in between. So I guess to be fair Hot Toys have found the middle ground.
There’s also some solid work on his hat and boots, nothing too taxing or
complex for Hot Toys, but all carried out to their usual standard.
Articulation - ***3/4
JD comes on the standard HT True-Type bar the fact he has the newer modified
neck, this means it’s the same configuration as the recent Will Turner from
Pirates of the Caribbean. It definitely improves the aesthetic of his open
shirt, but does mean you can’t tilt the head as far forward as I’d have
liked, especially in the iconic ‘rifle’ pose. This is still one of the best
performing and sturdiest base bodies out there though, and can pose in
pretty much any position a human can and hangs well to boot.
Accessories - **1/2
A stand and a cigarette…that’s it…well you get a cool hat, but that’s more
part of his outfit.
To be fair it’s difficult to know what he could have had, but an
alternate hand position, a couple of spare cigarettes would have been nice
and perhaps even a rifle to sling over his shoulders (I borrowed mine from
the HT RE4 Leon) and the glasses are from the earlier Eric So version so
don’t expect to find them in the box.
Outfit - ****
This outfit is just beautiful, simple but expertly executed, and as the old
adage goes, it’s better to do something simple, well, than something
complex, badly. We get western style ankle boots, expertly tailored and
weathered jeans, all the pockets are working and have mini metal rivets, a
working patterned pleather belt, a western styled cotton shirt with working
flapped breast pockets, white detail stitching and clear plastic poppers to
do it up, these are concealed by small pearl effect buttons. Over this he
wears a black waistcoat with four working patch pockets, working adjuster at
the rear, fully lined in grey with two white cords on the front to tie it
shut, in the movie these cords are much thinner and less visible, so if
accuracy is your thing, these could be swapped out for finer sewing thread.
That is my only minor quibble with the clothes, but the detailing and
stitching are all so expertly done that this has to be a four star outfit.
Fun factor- for kids *, for your usual 1/6 fan-boys **1/2, for discerning
eclectic collectors ****
This ain’t ever gonna be on ANY kids wish list, hell this isn’t even one for
a lot of your usual 1/6 geeks (I mean you no harm, I am very much one of you
as well). This one is for fans of the classics, and as such HT has delivered
a classic figure, roll on Brando!
Value for money- ***1/2
Most eBay traders are offering a buy it now price of between $120 to $140, a
few chancers are asking for up to $200, but hey, let’em ask!
SST still has him up for $114.99 on pre-order and for that price I think
this is a very nice package, as I said above a couple more accessories might
have been nice but you’re still getting a well sculpted, finely painted,
expertly tailored figure in some very nicely designed packaging, I have a
feeling this will still be one of my favourite figures come the end of the
year, but that said, there is still a lot of incredible stuff due to hit
this year.
Overall - ***1/2
I’ve made no secret of the fact I think there’s a gaping hole in market for
more classic and eclectic figures to be made in 1/6. The trouble with many
of these figures is that it can be high risk, I’m interested to see how the
new Amok Time figures will do, the
Rondo Hatton figure looks great but how many people will want it… a lot
more than 500 I hope. And so I’m very, very pleased with this figure, it’s
not ‘spot-on’ perfect, but it’s close, and is the best 1/6 Dean I’ve seen so
far.
I now hope this line continues to bring us more classic actors and musicians
and perhaps a few more out of leftfield as well.
Score Recap:
Packaging - ***1/2
Sculpting - ***1/2
Paint - ***3/4
Articulation - ***3/4
Accessories - **1/2
Outfit - ****
Fun Factor - for kids *, for your usual 1/6 fan-boys **1/2, for discerning
eclectic collectors ****
Value - ***1/2
Overall - *** 1/2
Where to Buy -
SST the official importer still have him on pre-order for $114.99 and some
of Michael’s sponsors also have him for over $10 cheaper,
Sideshow
$114.99 - PRE ORDER
Amazing Toyz
$103.49 - PRE ORDER
Dark Shadow
$103.50 – PRE ORDER
Alter Ego
$103.99 – PRE ORDER
Or if you’re in the UK
Forbidden Planet
£89.99 - PRE ORDER
Or you can use Michael's sponsor
www.MyAuctionLinks.com to find a good deal as well.
Discussion:
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