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Packaging - Gwyllm ****, EI
***1/2
These may be the best boxes so far. I know, I know, I keep raving
about Sideshow packaging, but still they somehow manage to get better.
Both boxes have terrific
graphics, with lots of shots from the show. Even better is the text,
with the actual opening and closing remarks, and a detailed synopsis of the
episode. This is the most detail I've seen them put into the text of
any licensed property, and it's a welcome addition.
The only reason the Ebonite
Interrogator (EI) gets a slightly lower score is because his isn't quite as
collector friendly as others. There are small plastic tabs holding the
'wings' of his costume in place, and you'll have to clip these to remove
him. He'll never quite look as good back in the box again.
Sculpting - ****
I can't find anything to complain about on either head or hand sculpts of
either figure.
Both may seem to have rather
large heads, but look at the pictures and you'll realize that matches the
source material. All these make up devices had to go on over regular
sized heads, so of course the end result was bigger than normal.
EI is a great head sculpt,
matching the show extremely well, but he has a tough time going up against
Gwyllm. There isn't as much detail there, through no fault of
Sideshow, since that's the character design. Gwyllm is absolutely
wonderful, and is perhaps the best single head sculpt in the entire Sideshow
universe so far.
Both have detailed hand sculpts
as well, matching the character. The hand sculpts also hold the
accessories well, particularly EI. He hold both accessories perfectly,
and it's obvious they sculpted them with this in mind.
Paint - ****
The majority of the paint ops are on the faces here, although the hands
have some work as well.
Both faces are done extremely
well. There's a lot of detail here, in terms of texture, color and
shading. Maybe I just got a good set, but the faces were perfect.
The body of EI is entirely jet
black, and it looks like it's paint work, rather than the color of the
plastic. This is very important, since you could see the flesh color
through the black material of the uniform if they had left it unaltered.
Articulation - EI ***1/2,
Gwyllm ****
I like the Sideshow body quite a bit, although some folks may prefer the
Dragon or bbi style. It has excellent articulation, and I had no
trouble getting either character to stand on their own.
For those unfamiliar with this
body, they have all the expected joints - neck, ball jointed shoulders, cut
joint biceps, double jointed elbows, waist, chest, ball jointed hips, cut
joint thighs, double jointed knees, and ankles. Plus, both these
figures have the 'special' Sideshow wrists, which allow for both a twisting
range of motion, and a complete forward and backward range of motion.
Gwyllm does slightly better
than EI because he has the 'sorta' ball jointed neck, giving him more range
of motion and head poses.
Accessories - ***1/2
Neither figure comes with any accessories that are too exciting, but
that relates back to the source material.
EI comes with the control wand
that allowed them to do pretty much anything to humans. He also comes
with a hand held electronic box, perhaps his Ebonite PDA, and both pieces have solid sculpting and paint ops.
Gwyllm comes with two books,
both of which we've seen in other versions. One is the Descent of Man by Charles
Darwin (so appropriate to this character) and the other is Music for Piano by Bach.
Both figures also come with one
of the cool new stands that Sideshow has developed. Unfortunately, the
one for EI doesn't work particularly well since his 'wings' are in the way,
but they still both look great.
Outfit - EI ***, Gwyllm ****
Once again, Gwyllm rocks. The lab coat and pants look exactly like the
source material, and are actually much more detailed than might appear at
first glance. The buttons at the neck, the front pocket, and the belt
across the back are all nice details that really look great. The
quality of the outfit is also above average, with metal snaps all around,
even at the wrists. Gwyllm has a
shoe sculpt that's a re-use, and a pair of black socks as well.
EI's uniform is slightly
disappointing after the terrific head sculpt. It is jet black, with
highlighted areas on the thighs and chest. The wings under each arm
look good, but there needs to be a hem on both wrists and along the edge of
the wings. The wings tend to cause the sleeves of the costume to ride
up the arms, exposing the wrists.
Another touch that would have
really looked great would have been thin wires in the wings, as they appear
to be in the photos of the actual creature. Without them, and without
a hem, the wings are difficult to pose.
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