There’s no getting away from the fact that licensed characters are usually an easier sell, as they have an instant audience, but I really like to see these ‘original’ figures released, ZC Girl, Da Joint and Takara have all given us many original characters, hell, toy manufacturers set the die years ago with everything from Johnny West and GI Joe through to The Micronauts and He-Man, so now it’s cool to see hi-end figures given a little more free rein, I guess it’s in answer to us overindulged toy collectors growing up (note to self, do ‘grown up’ and ‘toy collector’ belong in the same sentence?).

So far there are 4 G4H figures available, Agent Crimson, Agent Indigo recently reviewed by Michael then there’s the very cool Vanity and lastly Lola who we have here. There is also a character called Tyrus due soon and he looks pretty darn cool as well, he’s just crying out to be bashed into a Wez  from Mad Max 2. But back to this femme fatale, will she blow your mind or just your budget?

Packaging - **1/2
Lola’s packaging is a pretty ‘no frills’ affair, it’s your classic 5 panel flap fronted box, constructed of good quality thick laminated card. It has no images at all, instead just being a bright bubblegum pink background with black, red and white-out wording, this typography is simple but nice, it’s obvious their ethos was to save money on the packaging so they could invest more in the contents. For a relatively young company this doesn’t bother me too much, but I still think some more interesting design could have been utilised. Even with a limited palette it is possible to convey a little more about the contents. 

Once you open the flap you will see her accessories are in a shallow tray attached to its inside. I found that the flap opened up pretty easily on mine by lifting the inside edge and slipping the contents out. So it should be relatively pain free to put it all back when you want to without having to destroy everything. Inside the main box, Lola lies in a clear plastic tray beside her teddy… yes teddy, a ‘cartoon’ style bomb and a match.
So, it’s not going to win packaging of the year (unless they enter the minimalist category), but it’s robust, uses no twisties, has a lot of quirky charm and I’ll bet it’ll look cool if you collect the whole range, providing of course they choose more primary colours for the rest of the series.

Sculpting - ***1/2
I really like this sculpt, she’s a generic character but has the feeling of being loosely based on a ‘real’ person. The overall style appears to be the result of sticking Britney Spears and young Madonna in a blender with a little of Kate Nuata thrown in for good measure, and funnily enough her character in The Transporter 2 was called Lola, (rubs chin) Hmmmm…

But who ever you think she does or doesn’t resemble, she is certainly a hot looking minx, and the sculpting on her mouth, nose and eyes is all very attractive, and whilst she’s not as hyper real as some of Hot Toys and Enterbay’s recent offerings, she is still much more based on a real world aesthetic than the ZC or Cy-girls for example. However, like many of their figures, they have also gone for rooted hair. This seems to be a big divider amongst collectors, I have to admit as long as it’s done well I have no problem with it, and prefer it on many figures as it can often add more interest to the final look. But some seem to think it swerves too close to the ‘Barbie’ camp of ‘dolls’ hair, it’s not a concern I share, and it looks pretty darn cute on this figure.

The plastic the head, and indeed the whole body is cast in has a semi translucent waxy quality to it, this make the flesh tones very convincing for a woman sporting a clear complexion without the need for too much paint. That said there is still some wonderfully subtle work around the eyes and on the cheeks… but more on that later.

She comes with her gun grip hands fitted, an extra right hand to hold the bomb (or to cup something else should you choose!) and a left hand to hold the match, or any other small accessory you may want to place there. The overriding feel I got when I took her from the box for first time was how ‘perfect’ she looked, so if you’re after a flawless foxy hit woman for your shelf, you can not go wrong with Lola.

Paint - ***3/4
Because of the choice of base plastic this figure is sculpted in, the use of paint is kept pretty minimal, but where it is used it’s virtually faultless. I’m very impressed with the face, the eye brows are flicked in beautifully as are the glossy lips, showing a lighter body colour with a darker lip liner to give emphasis to their shape, the line between the lips also has a deeper tone, giving good definition to the look of the whole mouth. 

The eyes are also very accurately carried out. I’ve scrutinised them closely with my linen tester and I think they must be done mechanically, but the finish is fantastic, admittedly there is a hint of the ‘accursed’ doll dot, but they are very small and the overall effect does work very well for her style (that said, I’d rather they dropped the dot and simply added another coat of varnish to the already glossy eyes, for a more convincing final look).

Apart from her face everything else is pretty straightforward. Her nipples have an airbrushed blush of pink (yes you did read that right, so moving swiftly along), the guns have some nice weathering, the bomb has a skull and cross bones decal and the match is painted to look like it has some scorching and singeing. All in all a very nice job for this more stylised character, the only thing holding her back from perfection is that hint of a doll dot, but it’s still a pretty superfine job from a young company, and shows great promise for future releases.

Articulaton - ***
Lola comes on the Otaku 1.0 base body that Michael has already reviewed here. It’s a very, very good looking base figure and the joints are well engineered to be as camouflaged as possible, and that base plastic I mentioned earlier really helps with its flesh like aesthetic. She has what can best be described as a centrefold physique and is as anatomically correct as you can get before crossing too far into the ‘speciality’ figure arena.
So above her midriff everything is pretty much good to go, we don’t have any movement at the waist or the chest and the shoulders aren’t quite as flexible as the TT or RAH but they are much more aesthetically pleasing, which is important for a figure of this type. The only problems you may encounter are below the waist, as Michael described in his breakdown of the body there is no ability to twist the legs where they join the pelvis, this limits the positions the leg can achieve quite a bit. However, don’t let all this put you off too much, because as I said the figure does ‘look’ really nice, just don’t go expecting to get any extreme deep poses with her. It’s also worth noting it’s a very tightly jointed body, about as far in the opposite direction from Sideshows Prometheus as you can get. So don’t go forcing the limbs into any extreme poses, instead I’d recommend an over all gentle hair dryering for a few minutes then gently work the joints one at a time till they move more freely, because as I say, she is pretty stiff when fresh from the box and I fear any pulling and yanking could cause problems.

I still have very high hopes for the new Triad bodies coming out soon, the EVA looks really nice, and from examining the proto pics it would seem they have improved all the areas that are lacking on the Otaku. However this original body is still damn fine for any figures you want to show semi clothed, or even naked, so once the EVA is available they will have all bases covered, well at least first, second and third, and third base is really quite detailed!

Outfit - ****
You get the feeling that Lola is a gal that knows how to turn heads, just as easily as she can snap necks, she’s basically the kind of woman your mother warned you about (and if you had any sense you would have ignored her… your mother that is!).

Here she’s dressed as wanton jail bait, in knee high lace-up boots, white silk stockings with lacy elasticised hold ups, a pleated tartan mini-skirt that incorporates some black briefs, a black bikini top and a cut off tie-fronted white blouse, she’s basically a questionable fantasy made 1/6th reality.

All these garments fit well and hug her curves in all the right places. I love her boots, they’re soft silicone/rubber with metal eyelets that lace up tight to her calf, the soles are solid and conceal a very strong magnet in each, this means you can literally display her walking up your fridge or if you have a sheet of metal, there’s no need for a stand as you can position her however you want, even standing on one leg or in an extreme ‘bullet time’ moment leaning as far back as you like, as long as her feet, or a foot is squarely planted on the ground. 

The stockings fit well, but do have a tendency to slip and need to be pulled up occasionally, the skirt is well tailored and the pleats are all carried out perfectly, they have some sheer black panties sewn in, to cover her modesty. Her bikini top is basically two triangles of black material with an elastic thread, I might leave this garment off as I worry about the black dye staining the base figure over time, but for now she’s fine, and it does look cool when just glimpsed under her clothes. The shirt is also very well put together with good quality edging and seams, no loose threads at all. So a relatively simple outfit, but very well executed, and it has to be said, pretty eye-catching!

Accessories - ***1/2
Lola comes with-

2 ATAC Submachine Guns with aim-point, top and bottom rails, ammo clip, silencer, stock and flashpoint

1 Brown Dual SMG Leather Gun Holster

1 Pair Pistol Grip Hands

1 Pair Bomb and Match Holding Hands

1 Teddy Bear Backpack – features functional zipper, pouches, and removable Teddy Bear

1 Custom Bomb

1 Match Stick with Removable Flame

Lola is a girl on a mission; she travels light, just carrying what she needs to get the job done with the minimum fuss, but the maximum carnage.

In her inventory she has a cute plush teddy bear (probably stuffed with plastique or Semtex) two ATAC machine guns these have many articulated elements with pull out shoulder rests, removable magazines and removable bullets (I kid you not, this was a first for me, but the magazines are spring loaded and you have to feed the rounds into them… cool or what!). There’s a pleather shoulder harness for the transportation of said weapons, these have pins that insert into the sides of the guns rather than actual holsters, then there’s a comic book style bomb with a fuse and a match. The match even has a small removable flame, this is constructed of opaque orange plastic, its pretty cute and is a good representation of a lit match for this scale. The toy bear can also fit in the back of the openable plush rucksack provided, adding even more to her ‘Lolita’ look. 

So not a bad selection and considering her competitive pricing I’m pretty happy. But being a ‘hit woman’ you kind of expect a few knives and perhaps a pistol… maybe even a bazooka, and being ‘Lola’ a small lollypop would have been cute (I made the one in my photos by sticking a small bead on a whittled match). However all these things are relatively easy to pick up from your favourite 1/6 military supplier on line, so you can consider this a starting point and arm her to the back teeth should you want.

Fun Factor - ***1/2
Hey, what did you expect from me, she’s a very hot looking scantily clad femme fatale packing two huge weapons, there is very little not to like here. In fact the only thing pulling her back from perfection is the lack of articulation at the hip. You will still find a whole raft of positions she looks great in though… the only problem will be reining back your inner ‘perve’! I have a feeling she may find a permanent position on my desk at work, can’t think why?

Value - ****
For $74.99 this really strikes me a good deal, sure the body has a few minor issues but for the price you’re getting a pretty ‘unique’ solid figure, she works great as a standalone or background character, is ripe for any number of kit-bashes and it’s the first time I’ve had a 1/6th weapon where you have to actually feed bullets into the magazines, its just a very cool looking figure, and for this price is quite a steal!