Review of Terminator T-800
Sixth Scale Action Figure

Introduction

Fans of the Terminator franchise have been pretty damn happy with the work produced so far by the exceptional Hot Toys. But most of their focus has been on the final film, Salvation. What fans really want (not that they don't love them some T-600's) is Terminator 1 and 2 figures, the two classic films that overshadow the two that followed.

Hot Toys is smart enough to know that, and is going to do up the earlier films as well, starting with this Arnie Terminator from T2. I suspect this is just the beginning even for Arnie, since there are so many potential variants, and because a truly battle damaged version would make for an excellent Deluxe Edition.

This one doesn't have any exclusive variants or specials, which also leads me to believe that we'll see them produced in larger numbers. Because fans are so happy with the Hot Toys work so far on this license, and because this version of the Terminator is THE version to have, this figure sold out as a pre-order at most online stores long before he started shipping.

But started shipping he has, and those that ordered early should be seeing him soon. I picked mine up through an international dealer, who tend to get them sooner than the U.S. distributors, so they'll be trickling in for several weeks.

Originally, Arnie cost around $150 - $160 or more depending on the retailer, but that's about the current going price for most new Hot Toys releases.

Packaging - ***1/2
Hot Toys tries not to do the same thing twice very often, and they've switched up the packaging once again. Instead of a slip cover, the outer cover is actually a box with only the bottom flap missing, allowing it to slide off. Inside is the tray containing the T-800 and all his accessories, safely packed up tight.

I like the silver color, and the shot of the toy on the front looks great. It's a bit thin on text and graphics this time around, but it is sturdier than the packages we saw with the Watchmen figures.

Sculpting - ****
I was pretty impressed with the Sideshow Premium Format T-800 head sculpt, but this guy blows even that one away. It's the best Arnie sculpt I've seen to date, even better than the Predator Dutch Hot Toys released last year.

Every time I think they can't get better, some how they do. The last few releases have been perfect miniature versions of the actual characters, right down to the finely textured skin and human eyes.

That spiky hair on top of his head is so sharp it almost drew blood when I pulled him out of the package. The hands are designed for multiple poses and work well with the accessories, and they swap pretty easily.

I took a lot of flack when Sideshow's PF came out for complaining that it was simply too skinny. THIS is the way the body should appear, at least for me - this is Arnie at his best. The heavily muscled, thick body with the rubber coated skin over the torso looks fantastic in the leather outfit.

Paint - ****
Part of the reason why the Hot Toys sculpts are getting more and more realistic is that the production paint ops are getting better and better. The eyes on this figure are so life-like it's scary, and they're an improvement over even what we saw with the Dutch figure. The glossy plastic eyes reflect light, and give the lids and sockets a much more 'human' appearance, even for a Terminator.

The skin tone is excellent, as are the lips and eyebrows. There's a smidge of slop at the hair line, but I'm really picking some tiny nits at this point.

Every other company needs to figure out the secret to Hot Toys production paint work and then copy it - soon. If they can't, then they'll never rival them for best. The only company coming close right now is Enterbay, although a couple others (like DiD) are getting there.

Articulation - ***
The thick, muscled rubber skin that he has covering his torso is a bit restrictive, and some of the other joints (like the elbows) are not designed for as great of a range of movement as the standard TrueType. All the joints you'd expect are here, they are just slightly less posable.

The rubber coating on the neck makes it pretty thick as well, and the head pops off somewhat too easily. In the instructions, it says to always put the head looking straight out, then turn it - never turn it while it's bent down. I'm assuming that's to avoid breaking the housing on the inside that holds the ball joint in place, or perhaps it's to avoid scratching the neck.

However, if you're careful you can get the head into some very realistic, personalized poses. The Terminator might have been a pretty stiff guy, but this figure isn't.

Accessories - ***1/2
The T-800 is well equipped, although I could see folks looking for one or two more items.

As you'd expect, he comes with the usual Hot Toys display stand, although you won't really need it.

There's also two extra sets of hands to go along with the fists he comes wearing. These are designed to hold the weapons or be relaxed hand poses. They swap pretty easily, but Hot Toys is smart enough to include an extra set of wrist pins just in case.

He has two weapons - the lever action shotgun, as well as the automatic pistol. As you'd expect, both chambers open, and you can see the 'chambered' round inside. The clip also comes out of the handgun, and the slide moves forward and back. The hammer moves forward and back as well.

The shotgun can also fit inside the box of roses, a nice touch. There is a bundle of roses as well, just for Sarah Connor.

The final key accessory is the swappable left arm. While there's still plenty of battle damage potential, they did give us this stripped down forearm and hand. Removing the normal arm the first time can be a little tricky, and fitting the robotic arm in place even trickier. You absolutely, without a doubt, want to NOT hold any of the 'robotic' parts when pressing the arm in place. It's much too easy to break them, so hold the arm near the elbow on the fleshy section.

The extra arm is articulated at the elbow and at the edge of the flesh where it can turn. The fingers also have a ton of joints, several for each finger, that allow for lots of cool, menacing poses.

Outfit - ****
Remember when I whined about the too large sunglasses with the Tony Stark suit? Hot Toys has managed to finally make me a perfectly happy camper with these sixth scale shades. They look just like the movie version, fit his face perfectly, and actually improve on the appearance of the figure - how often does that happen with glasses in this scale?

Another of my more common complaints is with zippers that are too large for this scale. And if they're working zippers? Forget about it.

Hot Toys manages to pull it off though, with perfectly scaled zippers on the terrific looking leather jacket...and they work! The jacket also sports excellent stitching, itty bitty rivets, and a precisely tailored fit for this over sized body.

Underneath the jacket is the tight gray t-shirt. But wait! What about the black t-shirt? Fear not, psycho fan, they're both here, so you can take your pick. Personally, I prefer the gray, but for those that want the Johnny Cash look, Hot Toys has you covered.

The tight leather pants have a real working belt, as well as a thin velcro zipper. Hot Toys has improved their Velcro too, and this stuff holds much better than what we saw with earlier lines.

On his feet are the dirty boots, and the sculpt is another great one. The realism and attention to detail that they pay to every aspect of a figure like this is truly impressive.

Fun Factor - ***
Okay, you aren't going to give this to your 9 year old to play with in the sand box. But this IS a true toy, just a very expensive one. The articulation is sturdy, as is the outfit and weapons, certainly sturdy enough for the normal adult to pose and manipulate without damage.

Value - **1/2
If you were smart enough to pick this up on pre-order, it was pretty easy to find him for under $160. That's about the going rate for a figure with this level of quality and accessories.

Things to Watch Out For -
Number one on the short list is the tiny parts on the robotic arm - they are very easy to break if you squeeze them while pushing the arm on or removing it. Hold onto that fleshy nub!

Overall - ****
I thought that my all time favorite Hot Toys license would be Batman - after all, it's one of my favorite characters, and the Dark Knight is one of my favorite films. But the work that HT has done with the Terminator series to date is really outstanding, and with more on the horizon, I think this set of figures is going to be my favorite on display.

This guy sold out quickly, and I'm betting that other characters from the original two films will as well. If you're smart, you'll pick up their version of Sarah Connor soon. And while you might have missed out on this T-800, I bet we get a battle damaged or deluxe version very soon. everyone knows he did say "I'll be back".

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

Where to Buy 
Your options are surprisingly limited - this guy sold out fast when he went up for pre-order. Sideshow is sold out, but you can get on their Wait List which often works.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Lots of other Terminator goodies have been produced over the years:

- a recent release was the Premium Format T-800 from Sideshow.

- Hot Toys has a number of other Terminator sixth scale figures, including Marcus Wright, John Connor and the T-600, the T-600 with skin, as well as the T-700 and T-700 Diorama. They also have a T-800 Endo.

- also in the 12" range is the Sarah Connor sixth scale figure from Sideshow.

- then there's the guest review of the Hot Toys Kyle Reese, T-1000, the Kotobukiya TX, the Aoshima T-800 skeleton, Mcfarlane 12" Terminator 3.

- NECA also did a smaller version of the Endoskeleton with their Cult Classics, and McFarlane included one with the fifth series of Movie Maniacs. McFarlane also did figures based on T-3.

- and for the fans of smaller figures, there's the T2 mini-figures.

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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