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Packaging - ***1/2
The figure comes entombed in a huge box, with graphics of the figure itself
along with some basic text. The boxes look great, and there's no need to
destroy anything taking him out.
The Styrofoam inside does a nice job protecting the figure, and the cape is
packed separately, folded neatly to avoid any wrinkles.
Sculpting - ****
This is not just a fantastic Lugosi sculpt - it's a fantastic Dracula
sculpt. Other sculpts have managed to capture Bela's facial appearance
extremely well, but what Sideshow has also done is capture the creepy 'evil eye'
look that he created for Dracula.
They didn't do this just with sculpting, but with a combination of sculpt and
paint. The left eyebrow is slightly raised, and the left eye opened
wide. The pupil of the left eye is centered, staring through you in a very
mesmerizing manner.
The skin has a very realistic texture, including various imperfections such
as the mole on his left cheek. The wrinkles around the eyes, the slight
pock marking of the face, and the dimple of his chin all work to make this an
excellent likeness.
The hands are also very well done, with long thin fingers, posed in
traditional Dracula style. The veins stand out on the back of the hands,
and the famous crest ring is included on his left hand.
The hand poses work very well too - I didn't play around with them enough
when I was shooting the photos, but you can position both hands either up or
down around the cape or waist, and get a great looking pose.
There's one spot that could be a matter of contention - the depth of his
"widow's peak". Many times Dracula has been portrayed as having
a very pronounced peak of hair, with a receding hair line on either side.
In this version, there is a slight peak, but not nearly as obvious as some past
figures.
This is much closer to reality though, and I searched around for some photos
to make that clear. Here's one of Dracula ready
to pounce, and another of him standing
on the stairs. As you can see, this hair line is much closer to the
style he had in the film.
One thing that's altered in this series since the release of the first
figure, Nosferatu, is scale. The Lugosi Dracula is much more in scale with
Frankenstein than he is with Nosferatu. The Nosferatu is much larger, and
isn't really in scale with Frank. Future figures should match up better
with this scale than with the older Vampyre.
Paint - ****
This is one of those rare times when my photos did something weird - they make
the face look more glossy than it is.
Keep in mind that I'm a big complainer when I get glossy paint jobs.
Dracula isn't as glossy as the photos make him appear, and in reality the finish
is just about right.
The hair line is extremely clean, and as I mentioned earlier, the paint ops
on the eyes and eyebrows works in conjunction with the sculpt to give him his
trademark expression.
The skin tone is slightly green, although not as green as some of the photos
make it appear. Once again, the figure is much better in person than I can
possibly translate.
Another area to note is the small detail work on the hands. The veins
show through with a bluish appearance, and the tiny fingernails have a dirty
appearance.
Articulation - **
These aren't intended as super poseable figures, and future versions will only
have enough articulation to make it possible to dress them.
Dracula has neck and wrist joints, and has a bendy wire frame for his arms
and legs. It will allow you to pose him in a number of ways, but I suspect
once you get him just right, you'll leave him that way.
Outfit - ****
The other truly amazing piece of work here is the outfit. The outfit
consists of his shirt, pants, vest, jacket, shoes, cape, and various
accoutrements.
Technically I should have discussed the shoes under the sculpt, since they,
like the hands and head, are sculpted polystone. They look terrific, and
are very realistic.
The shirt, vest, jacket and pants are extremely well tailored, fitting him
just like a glove. Using the soft body gives them an advantage in this
department over the sixth scale figures, and also gives them the opportunity to
alter the body shape and style to fit the license.
For example, you'll notice that Bela has a bit of a paunch, and a bit of a
back porch as well. He has exactly the body type I'd expect from a middle
aged Hungarian actor in the 1930's.
The material they've used is very high quality, and the stitching and hems
are top notch. Metal is used where appropriate, such as the medallion,
watch chain and cape chain.
And speaking of the cape, what a cape it is! Fortunately, it's the
correct gray on the inside, rather than the often used but very incorrect
red. The cape is even weighted at the corners so that it always hangs
perfectly! The chain and hook allow you to position the cape in just about
any manner, or remove it all together.
Accessories - **1/2
There aren't really accessories, other than the base. I've counted the
cape as part of the outfit, so that doesn't leave anything else.
However, the base is extremely nice. It's a very heavy polystone, with
a nice detailed sculpt of the stone floor. It also has the edition number
on the bottom along with the usual Sideshow info.
Fun Factor - **
Okay, this isn't a toy by any means, so this category won't factor into the
overall score, but it's still worth pointing out. Don't go giving this to
your four year old to bang up against his 18" Spider-Man.
Value - **1/2
This Lugosi Dracula isn't cheap by anyone's standard at $200 - $225.
This isn't an action figure, and it's not a simple statue. This is art,
and as art tends to draw a value higher than the simple costs of manufacture.
Still, there won't be many collectors who have a houseful of these
figures. It's much more likely that you'll find one or two that represent
your most favorite movie or character, and those will make a fantastic
centerpiece for the rest of your collection.
Overall - ****
This is a 'qualified' four stars. Why qualified? Because it's
such an expensive item.
These aren't for the casual collector, but are designed for hardcore fans of
Dracula, Lugosi or Universal Monsters. If that's you, then this is truly
an item that you should consider adding as a centerpiece to your collection.
The sculpt and outfit are amazing, and by bringing together both polystone
and clothing, they've managed to create an amazing new medium of art.
I'm giving Dracula four stars, when Frankenstein only received three and a
half and the Vampyre only got three. This is due in part to the
exceptional outfit, which fits better and looks nicer than the previous
two. It's also due to the exceptional sculpt on both the head and
hands. Sideshow seems to be improving the quality on even these already
high end items. My overall score is also based on a heavy weighting for
sculpt, outfit and paint ops - if you're expecting articulation, accessories or
amazing value, then your score will be lower.
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