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Packaging - **1/2
The statue comes packed in a box, and the good news is that it does job
one - keeping the contents safe and sound - just fine.
The
bad news is not all that bad. The graphics and text aren't exactly
inspired, being about as basic as you can be. There's no Certificate of
Authenticity, but the statue is numbered on the bottom.
Sculpt - ***1/2
As fans know, Teal'c is the heroic Jaffa Warrior, and he is portrayed
here in his armor and carrying his staff. He's standing on a mini
version of the gate, but does not require this base to stand. The pegs
are part of the base, not his feet, giving you a bit of flexibility in
how you display him.
When
it comes to an animated style, you either hate it or love it. That's
particularly true with something like this, where there's no other
reference material - this is the original design itself. I think
they've translated the look of the actual Teal'c to a cartoon style
extremely well, maintaining enough of the appearance of the character
to be recognizable, yet adopting the traditional aspects of animation,
like sharp lines, smooth surfaces, and slightly caricaturized
proportions.
There is an appropriate amount
of detail, and some
areas that didn't require sculpting have been, like the eyebrows, the
pattern on the armor, and even the symbol on his forehead. They could
have gone the cheaper route and simply painted in these details, but
instead added extra depth to the statue by sculpting them.
As I
mentioned earlier, the statue is separate from the Stargate base, but
the pegs are on the base and not the feet. That allows Teal'c to stand
independently of the base, which is a nice feature. He stands about 7"
tall, and would fit in scale-wise with other 7" figures of a similar
style.
Paint - ***
The paint is fairly clean and neat, and the best work is in the most
important place - his face. The eyes and eyebrows are very
clean
and sharp, and the skin tone is consistent and smooth.
The
armor is fairly consistent too, but I did have a few of the pattern
lines that were lighter or darker than the others, and some lines that
seemed to be missing a little paint completely.
The deeper blue
of the gate looks terrific, but the gray edging doesn't quite have the
realism that you'd expect. Overall the paint work is solid, but not
exceptional.
Design - ***1/2
As I said earlier, you either love an animated style, or you don't, and
I'm digging this one. Teal'c is looking up and to his right, and
whenever you attempt such a specific expression, you can easily miss
the mark. Here, it works, and is much more visually interesting than a
simple straight forward stare.
There's
also something sort of 'Disney' about his look here, almost like he'd
been a star of one of their more traditional 2-D animated films,
especially their 90's library, like Mulan or Aladdin. Then again,
maybe it was just being at Disney earlier in the week that poisoned my
brain.
Value - ***
With some mini-busts running as much as $70, I was nicely surprised to
see this medium sized statue selling for about that same price. Quite
often a 'limited edition' is not so limited, but at just 1000 this one
really is, adding to the value a bit.
Things To Watch Out For
-
With statures and busts,
you always want to take extra care putting weapons or other items in
their hands. Breakage is always possible, and even with the fairly
sturdy two piece staff, the potential is still there with Teal'c.
Overall - ***1/2
It's
always tough to tell how fans of a much beloved sci-fi show are going
to react to caricaturized versions of their favorite characters, but I
think the response will be quite positive to this style. They started
with a strong character, and they did him up right, getting him out at
a price point that fans could afford. The big question will be how far
the line runs, because no one really wants only one or two statues on
the shelf, they want the full cadre. I think the small edition size
will allow this one to sell through, boding well for more releases.
Sideshow has also begun distributing for QMX, which should help them
quite a bit.
The statue was produced by Gensen Figures for QMX, and I've
reviewed their Rappellz statue as well. They've done a nice job for QMX
here, and I'll be watching for more of their work in the future.
Score Recap:
Packaging - **1/2
Sculpting - ***1/2
Paint - ***
Design/Quality - ***1/2
Value - ***
Overall - ***1/2
Where to Buy -
You have several online options:
- Urban Collector
has it up for order at $77.
- Things From Another World
has him at $81.
- Entertainment
Earth has him at $90.
- UK Collectors can pick him up
through Forbidden
Planet for 50 GBP
- or you can hit
ebay.
Related
Links -
This isn't the first time we've seen Teal'C in collectible form, as
he's been in series 2
and series 4 of the action figures from Diamond Select Toys.
Other QMX reviews include the Rappellz
statue.
Discussion:
Want to chat about this review? Try out one of these terrific forums where I'll be
discussing it!
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