Review of Ghost sixth scale action figure

Introduction

I don't get to read many comics these days. But back in the 90's when I still had time, one of my favs was Ghost, a Dark Horse imprint. Eilsa Cameron, recently deceased reporter, becomes the ecto-based superhero Ghost, wandering the world of Arcadia looking for answers to her own death and helping others along the way.

The early issues featured the work of Adam Hughes as well, and for me, Mr. Hughes has a way with drawing the ladies.

Triad Toys has released a sixth scale action figure based on the character, now shipping from them direct as well as from various online retailers. Expect to pay around $100 for her.

Packaging - ***1/2
The small box looks great, with well done photos and nice graphics that look much like the early artwork. There's some good text on the back, and the design is smaller than most current 12" figure packages.

It is collector friendly as well, with no need to cause damage when removing the figure and accessories. There are a few twisties though, and you know how annoying I find those.

Sculpting - ***
Like Hot Toys recent Black Widow, Triad is working with rooted hair on their female figures. This isn't anything new for them, but rather a continuing theme on their ladies.

They do a fairly good job with it, certainly with plenty of tight roots. You can't see the scalp, and the hair is held tightly in the skull. It's a tad too wild, but this figure has a wrap and hood that tends to contain it a bit better than other characters.

The head is sculpted with a very feminine, soft appearance that matches the comic version extremely well. The expression is serious, but not extreme. She's pretty, but deadly. She's also more feminine than the recent Triad Helga.

Triad isn't up to the level of Hot Toys or Enterbay when it comes to the realism of their portraits, but the comic based nature of this character fits their style extremely well.

Paint - ***
The paint ops are very clean, but sparse. The eyes, eyebrows and lips make up the majority.

The eyes are looking upward, which works extremely well with many poses. They're clean and straight, but not as realistic as we've come to expect.

The light skin is almost translucent in certain light, which would look cheap on some characters, but not when you're dealing with a ghost.

Articulation - ***
This is the female Alpha body, which we've seen them use on most of their recent releases. It poses well, and certainly has sufficient articulation, but the joints can be a tad loose.

I particularly like the ball jointed neck, which allows for lots of great tilting. This works well with the upcast eyes, giving you the potential for some excellent poses.

Also quite good are the ball jointed ankles. These allow the feet to stay flat on the floor even in some pretty extreme stances. However, while the articulation of the ankles is great, the tightness is not. I found it tough to keep her standing because the ankles were a tad too loose.

My biggest gripe with the body was the short, tiny wrist pegs. These double ball joints (a ball inserted into the hand and one into the forearm) allow for good movement, but make swapping hands dicey at best. The pegs fit tighter in the hands than the arms, so they pop off with the hands. I had to use some needle nose pliers to pop them out of the hands, and to fit them back into any of the three sets of hands, I had to whittle out a bit of the peg hole. Take care!

Accessories - ***
The number of accessories is a little light, but all are extremely well done.

There are two .45's, sporting great sculpts and paint. The slides work of course, and there's removable clips. They are properly scaled, too.

They fit in both the gun hands, and in the holsters. Speaking of the gun hands, there's also a set of fists, and a set of relaxed, open hands. Swapping is tricky as I said earlier, but they all look great.

I was surprised that there was no stand, but it's not a major issue for me. I don't use them, but if you prefer a little extra support for your...figures...then you'll need to find another source.

Outfit - ****
The outfit is the highlight of this figure. They've managed to capture the comic look, and with a costume like this it's not that simple.

There's the tight body suit, which includes the lace up bustier. There are no straps holding the front up, however, and that means she tends to have wardrobe malfunctions. The cups stay up better than I expected though, even without any sort of wire support.

The boots are separate, with tight elastic tops. The overall effect is excellent, right down to the high heels.

There are two holsters with separate belts. These are made from pleather, with metal buckles. The holster straps do not open, but the holsters are deep enough that you can push the guns down far enough to fit back up underneath them.

The belts look great crossed in front, with the belts running from high hip to thigh, and they are easy to work with.

There's also a cape with hood, and a scarf. The scarf can be simply wrapped around the neck, or around the head in a variety of ways. As I recall, sometimes you saw more of her black hair than other times, so just how you do the wrap is really up to you.

The cape is the proper length, almost to the ground but not quite. There's a clear plastic snap at the neck, and the hood is large enough to cover the hair and the wrap. The scarf and cape are both made from a stretchy, Lycra type material, and with a little work (okay, maybe a lot), you can get it looking just right. There's no wires to pose it, but they aren't really necessary.

Fun Factor - ***
The figure, accessories and outfit are surprisingly sturdy, but I wouldn't give this figure to a younger child. At $100, she's a tad too expensive to end up getting a hair cut or a magic marker make-over.

But if you have a teen that has a hankering for those 90's Dark Horse titles, she'd be a great gift.

Value - **
Smaller companies like Triad have to charge more for their figures. Smaller runs, expensive licenses, and less control over the manufacturing process means higher costs for them, which means higher costs for you.

Still, this figure is about $20 more than I'd like to pay. If you can find a deal for her at around $75 - $80, you'll feel much more in line with an average value.

Things to Watch Out For -
My biggest worry was around the small wrist pegs. As I mentioned earlier, I had to whittle out the holes in the hands to allow the pegs to pop in without damage. Be careful, especially since Triad didn't include any extra pegs.

Overall - ***
I have a number of Triad figures, but this is my current favorite. The outfit is the real kicker, although the accessories and portrait work well.

Triad's female figures are their strong suit, and Ghost is just about a perfect fit with their style of body, sculpting and clothing. I'd be quite pleased to see them delve a bit further into the 90's Dark Horse titles, especially X, another of my favorites.

This figure was almost cool enough to snag another half star, but the price is still a bit too much. At around $80, I'm betting I would have gone that extra bit.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***1/2
Sculpting - ***
Paint - ***
Articulation - ***
Accessories - ***
Outfit - ****
Fun Factor - ***
Value - **
Overall - ***

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- you can pick her up from Triad for $100.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Other Triad figures include:

- figures like Helga, Taki, Josh Randall, Lola, Agent Indigo, and the Otaku female body.

- and Triad does some cool dioramas too.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

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