The other drawing is a replica of the Hood's wanted poster sketch seen in the series, I didn't draw that one. ;)

I had seen online that this Statue was due out in April, but hadn't heard anything about it's release, so I assumed it had been pushed back. Imagine my surprise to be given it as a present out of the green... uh, blue. Aside from one glaring, noticeable difference of everything I had seen about it online, does it live up to my expectations? Will the Arrow Statue fail this city or will it's Destiny leave it's mark? Read on to find out and, as always, I apologize for the cruddy photos.

Packaging - ***1/2
The box is a little over 15" tall and aside from a little text and few photos, it's pretty basic, but then again, most statue boxes are. The box does what it's supposed to do: show off the details of the statue and keep it protected inside and does both well. The outside of the box has the Arrow logo on the top flap, a few photos of the statue from a couple of angles and a small blurb on the back about the character, statue and show. The inside consists of the standard Styrofoam trays taped together. Michael often mentions how much he hates the cheaper Styrofoam that explodes on touch, but thankfully the Styrofoam used here didn't flake or break like the cheap stuff. The statue is packaged in one piece with a single arrow packaged separately. Both were wrapped in plastic to protect them from paint rubs or damage. Sadly, there's no Certificate of Authenticity or Numbered base since this isn't a limited run.

Sculpting - ****
This is the crowning part of the review and I'd give it more stars, if I could. Being a little over 13" tall, the statue is distributed by DC Collectibles and is sculpted by Gentle Giant Studios. I haven't read anything about them using Real Scan to make the statue, but looking at the details of it, I would assume they did. The details are very photo realistic and from every angle, every crease of his outfit and details of his face and bow are spot on. I'd be hard pressed to even find a flaw in the sculpting, because it's exact in every way to Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen. Down to the shape of his nose and mouth, all the way down to the texture of the "leather" of his suit, it's absolutely perfect. In fact, the closer you look at it, the more details jump out at you. I just noticed that the zipper pull at the top of his jacket is present and that's just one small detail that can go missed at first glance. The base he's standing on is different that the initial photos I saw of this statue online. In the first photos, he was standing on a huge Arrowhead and the final product just has him standing on a simple round, flat base with the Arrow logo etched in. The huge arrowhead was cool, but would be a lot harder to find space for on a shelf, so I'm fine with the change. I'm not even sure the initial photos were of the product as they intended it, I'm just pointing out that they were different. More on that in the Accessories section...

Paint - ***
As awesome as the sculpt is, the paint could be better.

Bear in mind, the paint looks a lot better than my photos show and from a distance, the paint looks flawless, but up close is a different thing. I think we've all been spoiled on Hot Toys and Enterbay quality when it comes to paint on a figure or statue and we we view them differently than we would've a few years back. The paint on this statue is no worse than any other statues I've seen from Gentle Giant in the past and still looks great, BUT the sculpt is so good that I feel like the paint brings it down a bit. An example of this is in his face. It looks very doll-like and simple, no real highlights to bring out realistic details that are actually sculpted there. His eyebrows are just a shade of brown splashed on there and all of the colours just seem muted. Don't get me wrong, what's there is great, it just could be better. His suit has a couple different shades of green, with a darker green wash to bring out shadows and details. The lighter green "stitching" is the sloppiest part of the paint and on his lleft wrist is quite messy. The feathers on his arrows are half painted yellow and the other half green and his bow even has the little symbols painted all over the "wood" parts of it. A very nice detail to not be overlooked! Like I said, the paint is still great, but if it equaled the sculpt, it would be outstanding. 

Accessories - ***1/2
Ok, here's the part that I've been waiting to mention.

In early photos, one of the things that I absolutely loved about the statue was the fact that he was pictured with TWO heads: one hooded and the other with the hood draped over his shoulders. Looking at the sculpts, it looked like the heads would swap where the collarbone meets the chest like some Sideshow 1/4 statues do. Looking at the box and failing to see any mention or photo of the unhooded head, I got a little worried. Upon opening the box and seeing no extra head, I was beyond saddened. The reason was simple, the sculpt on the unhooded head was spot onto Stephen Amell and I would've loved the option to change the head occasionally. (although picking which one to start with would've been hard, so I guess I should thank Gentle Giant for making it simpler on me.) That wasn't a deal breaker for me to not like the statue, but it was something I was looking forward to getting.

That said, his only accessory is a single arrow to pose with his elastic string drawn back. The arrow itself is made out of metal and was a little bent and had a couple of scratches on it when I received it. I think this statue was used briefly as an in store display, so that might explain it. I doubt anyone else will have the same problem, honestly.

Value - ***
Being that this was a gift, I'm not sure what the actual price was. Online lists it between $130 to $150 and the hint I was given says this one cost lower than $150. Being the fan of the show that I am, I would've paid more than that to get one, so I consider it a deal. It seems to be on par with how much stuff like this costs these days. 

Things to Watch Out For -
The statue itself seems very sturdy, but I can see his bow breaking if bumped the wrong way. (I bumped it wrong during the review and got a quick scare that I broke it. Thankfully, I didn't.) The same goes for the arrows poking out of the quiver on his back. They're very long and thin, so handle with care. His single arrow has the tendency to fall out of his hand if tilted the wrong way. Since it's thin metal, it could bend easily. 

Overall - ***1/2 (but I'm giving it ****)
Was there ever a doubt that this was a four star statue at least to me? Yes, the paint could be better, but what flaws it might have are not noticeable from a shelf, only upon closer inspection. Aside from the paint, I can't find any flaws. Yes, I would've loved an extra unhooded head, but it really didn't need it to make this statue a new favourite of mine. This arrow has definitely hit the mark!

Thanks again to Michael, one of the coolest guys on the planet and until the next review. Same Bat time, Same Bat Channel...

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

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