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Packaging - **1/2
After the great packaging on the Phantom, and getting oh so close to
having one that looked good and was collector friendly, we've taken a huge
step backward.
No box flap this time - this package is
another window box similar to Nosferatu. And this type of box is
glued shut on the ends, so it's the worst possible style for anyone that
might like to reuse it later. I'm hoping we move quite a bit forward
with the next release!
Sculpting - ****
This figure was done by another Sideshow regular, Mat Falls.
Beautiful work as always, and both the head and hand sculpts show the
attention to detail and quality that Sideshow is pursuing.
This time they went with rooted hair,
rather than sculpted hair, and it was an extremely wise decision.
With straight hair that's supposed to be wild, the rooted hair works
perfectly. Also, the hat isn't removable (more on that later) so it
controls the hair.
Accessories
- ***
This figure has the least amount of accessories of any release so far from
Sideshow. The one accessory that is here - the lantern - is simply
fantastic. The smoky plastic/glass, style and detail make it a
fantastic accessory, but unfortunately it's the only one.
Well,
there's also the usual stand, but this one doesn't even fit his heel
properly. It appears to be intended for a Frankenstein Monster boot,
and is useless with this figure.
Paint - ****
The paint application on the face and lantern is terrific. Sideshow
has perfected the combination of a great head sculpt and great paint ops.
Articulation - ***1/2
The standard Sideshow body is employed once again, and is one of the most
articulated bodies on the market. But some of the figures, like
Phantom, have an inferior neck joint. Fortunately this time they've
used the ball jointed neck, and Chaney's head can swivel forward, back and
side to side.
The only other negative on
this body is the looseness of some of the joints. On this figure I
had trouble with the ankles again, although it wasn't as bad as with the
Phantom.
Uniform - ***
The only place that I feel Sideshow can really improve - if you ignore how
close they are to perfect packaging - is in the outfits.
The hat here is permanently
attached, as I mentioned earlier. I don't have a problem with that -
as a matter of fact, I think it was an excellent decision. The hat
fits perfectly, is never funny looking, and controls the hair. On
top of it, the style and fuzziness look great.
The shoes are a great sculpt,
and fit well. The pants look good, the jacket fits well and the
small buttons look great. Even though the inner shirt/vest combo is
a little on the cheap side, I'm not complaining because it's not something
you'll be showing very often.
The overcoat is also fairly
nice, but here I do have two issues. First, they've done some
additional stitching in the box to hold the coat and 'webs' under the arms
in certain poses. There are two stitches holding the over coat
closed, and that doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. If you
want to have the coat closed, then put in a couple small snaps. They
put them in the coat, and they can't be that much more expensive then
doing the stitches themselves.
The second area that
disappointed me was the webs themselves. You can see that the gray
material is not hemmed, and it's likely to fray over time. Come on
Sideshow - that's something Hasbro would do.
Value - ***
As always, just how good a value these figures are depends on where you
buy. I picked mine up directly from Sideshow for $30, so it's not
quite as good of a value, but if you shop around on-line you should be
able to find one for $25, and that's a pretty good deal.
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