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Sculpt - ***1/2
Triad's sculpting continues to improve, although it hasn't yet reached
a level to compete head to head with Hot Toys or Enterbay.
This was a relatively young McQueen (late twenties), and there are a
number of good reference photos out there, like this
or this.
The expression is a bit off for me, simply because it seems like the
eyes are too slitted for the character, looking more like Randall as
played by Clint Eastwood instead of McQueen.
But the accuracy of
the face itself is extremely good, especially the nose, lips and
jawline. They've also added in some subtle skin texturing, and the
wrinkles and lines in the face are very realistic, although he probably
looks a little older here than he did on the show.
My big
complaint is with the hair. Both the eyebrows and the hair
itself
are a bit too soft, with fairly thick strands. Modern sculpts from the
top companies are getting the hair to look finer and finer, and this is
a critical distinction that Triad will need to take to reach the next
level.
The hands are sculpted of a softer material, and work
well with the gun. There's only the one pair, but they work with most
poses.
He
stands great on his own of course, but at hair over 12 1/2 inches tall,
he's just a smidge bigger than most other sixth scale figures on the
market currently. It's the boots.
Paint - ***
The paint work on the eyes, skin and lips is very good, with clean
lines and good color. The face is a little darker than the body though,
which is most noticeable at the neck.
Like
the sculpt, the real paint issues are with the hair. They've attempted
to capture the dirty blond look with a yellow and black mixture, and
it's not working for me. The two colors are just too distinct from each
other, without enough blending, and even in person it stands out.
Articulation - ***1/2
The underlying body is the Triad Omega, and I'm very happy with the
quality, number of joints, and range of movement.
I
did find that the neck is a little too thin for this and several other
head sculpts. The long neck can look cause a character to look a bit
like a giraffe, and that's true here if Josh is not wearing the heavy
jacket.
But the body can take very
life-like poses, with the
ability to hang very naturally. The joints were also all tight enough
to hold poses for extended periods, and I had no worries about the
figure falling over easily.
Accessories - ***
Most of Josh's extras I'm counting as parts of his outfit, rather than
as separate accessories.
The
main accessory is is Mare's Leg gun. It's very well sculpted, and the
paint work is decent. It could use a little more detailing in the wood
stocks to set them apart from the gun metal, but that's a minor nit.
The
lever moves, as does the hammer, and it fits in the included holster in
the same manner as on the show. Unfortunately, the lever won't stay
snapped in place, so it tends to drop down when the gun is in the
holster.
The
other true accessory is the included shells, which fit in loops on the
belt. There's plenty of them, and they are made out of metal, not
plastic.
Still, considering the $90 price
point, that's a tad
light. Some additional hands designed for other poses are a
much
needed touch.
Outfit - ***1/2
While the accessories are a bit light, there's plenty of extra outfit
goodies.
The
hat fits well for a separately sculpted piece. It's still a little big
though, as it's impossible to get away from that size issue when the
head and hat are not a single entity.
On
the other end of the
body is his cowboy boots, done up in a very traditional style. There's
also metal spurs (that actually spin!) that attached with the use of
two straps. Take a look at the last photo showing the
location of
the buckle on the outside of the foot if you have any problems figuring
them out. They are VERY tough to get on, and I spent quite a bit of
time trying to find the best way without damaging the leather straps.
You'll have to bend the spurs outward (they are metal, but be careful),
and take the top strap out of the buckle as far as you can. Once you
have it on (the strap over the toes and then the spur over the heel)
you can tighten up the top strap.
There's also the belt on his
pants, as well as a second
belt/holster combo. These are made from leather, and have real working
buckles, even on the leg tie-down. As previously mentioned, the
cartridges fit nicely in small loops around the belt.
The holster
is definitely different. There's only an interior flap of leather
against his leg. and the barrel is held in place with the bottom strap.
This is the same strap that goes around his leg. This is actually
accurate to the show, and works pretty well.
His cloth pieces
include a traditional blue flannel shirt, blue jeans, and a heavy
leather and sheepskin jacket. The jacket is a tight fit, but when it's
completely snapped closed, I think it really makes the figure stand
out. The quality of the stitching, materials and style is excellent,
and the tailoring makes it one of the nicest coats in this scale I've
seen in some time.
My one nit here is the large
snaps used to
hold it closed. Since the female pieces of the snaps are attached to
the front of the left side of the coat, they extremely obvious and
unsightly when the jacket is left open. Closed is definitely the way to
go.
Fun Factor - ***
While cowboys might be passe now, they were once all the rage, and they
are still damn fun. Hey, pirates managed to make a comeback, and I
think cowboys will too - with the right movie or television show. Of
course, my opinion might be a bit twisted here, since the favorite toys
of my youth were my Best of the West action figures.
While
Josh is clearly aimed at the collector market, the quality of the
figure, outfit and accessories is high enough that breakage or damage
is unlikely with normal handling and even play.
Value - **
At $90, Triad is floating around in the higher end sixth scale market.
While this figure is good, it's still not quite at the quality that can
demand that price point. If you can pick this guy up in the $60 - $70
range, you'll be much closer to the average.
Things To Watch Out For
-
If you mess around with
the shells in the holster, be sure to keep an eye on them. Once freed
up from their slot, they tend to fall out, and they are mighty small.
Overall - ***
I'm a huge fan of westerns and western action figures, so picking up
this guy was a no brainer. He's going to go quite nicely with other
figures like the Six Gun Legends, and the overall quality is quite high.
The
$90 price tag is still a bit much to take though, considering what
other companies are producing. Much of this price is due to the small
size of Triad, and the limited number of figures they produce, and as
they have more success, I expect their costs will come down.
Score Recap:
Packaging - ***1/2
Sculpting - ***1/2
Paint - ***
Articulation - ***1/2
Accessories - ***
Outfit - ***1/2
Fun Factor - ***
Value - **
Overall - ***
Where to Buy -
You can pick this up directly
from Triad,
or you can look for a deal on
ebay.
Related
Links -
Other Triad reviews include my
review of Agent Indigo
and the Otaku body,
and guest reviews of Lola.
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