Review of Captain Harlock sixth scale action figure

Introduction

When I was a kid, I lived right down the block from my elementary school, so I often came home for lunch.  I fondly remember watching Kimba the White Lion along with the other cartoons of the day, never considering that the style of animation it represented would one day become a passion for millions of geeks.

About a decade later, Space Pirate Captain Harlock hit the airwaves. There's nothing particularly unique about his story, but the designs and artwork proved a hit.  Harlock has since been reprised in a number of films, most recently the CG 3D movie Space Pirate Captain Harlock. If you're interested in checking it out, it's currently available for streaming on Netflix.

Hot Toys picked up the license, and is producing two versions of the protagonist.  The basic version will run you around $230 - $250, depending on the retailer, while the special release, including one very large extra accessory, will come in closer to $420.

Packaging - ****
I'm boosting the score here and giving them extra props for one very specific reason.

Of course, everything here looks great, keeps the figure and accessories safe, and is entirely collector friendly. In the high end sixth scale market, all those things are the basic expectations.

However, like the recent Thor and Loki releases, the top interior tray is designed to keep the cape much neater and wrinkle free. There's a slit in the plastic that allows the cape to hang freely on the lower side. To help support it, a piece of plastic is taped in place, acting as a hammock of sorts. It works extremely well, and creates a much better look for your figure right out of the box.

Sculpting - ***1/2
While Harlock is certainly young to be a space pirate, he has all the required features, including a nasty scar below his right eye, and an eye patch covering his left.

He has the big 80's anime hair that you expect, and it's actually more finely detailed than the on screen version. In fact, there's more realism in the sculpt and paint overall than you see in the animated character, but that's not a bad thing.

The hair is a bit too much though, at least for me. Because it's so thick it looks an awful lot like a hat, and over powers the face sculpt, drawing your eye away from everything else.

There are several extra hands, and these are sculpted to work with a number of poses and the accessories.

He's a tall, lanky figure, and stands great on his own in just about any pose.

Paint - ***1/2
The paint work here is well above average, but because of the source material, is more basic than we usually get from Hot Toys. It's appropriate for the license, and the quality is top notch.

Articulation - ***1/2
The underlying TrueType works terrific, even in the tight fitting clothes.

The double ball jointed neck allows for plenty of tilting and leaning, allowing you to add extra personality to any pose. The neck is long enough that the hair and armor do not get in the way.

The cape does get in the way a bit, however. It's made from a stiffer material, which restricts the shoulders. If you want more extreme poses, you can remove the cape quite easily, and I've added in a couple photos of him without it.

Accessories - ****
Both the normal and special releases come with a healthy assortment of extras.

There's the aforementioned extra hands, including one set of relaxed hands, one set of action posed hands, and two rights designed to hold the gun and sword. These all swap easily, but they did include a couple extra wrist pegs just in case.

Both versions have two weapons: a pistol and a saber. Both have a serious steampunk vibe, much like the costume, and the gun even includes a moving 'hammer'.

There is a double belt assembly to hold the weapons, that includes both holsters. The fit is good, and the snaps that hold the belts in place work well.

He also has Mr. Bird, his version of Polly. The huge beast looks like a cross between a pelican and a crane, and not a very happy one at that. The detailing on the feathers is extremely good, much better than what we saw with the crow that came with either the Crow or Tonto.

Mr. Bird has a clear rod assembly that attaches to his butt, and then attaches to the basic black base. This rod will hold him at shoulder height, so he can remain stable and yet appear to be perched on Harlock. That's the way he's positioned in the first photo, but in the second photo I actually have him holding on to Harlock. It is possible, but it's not particularly stable.

There are three small buttons that come with the figure as well. These buttons are intended to be worn on the armor when the cape is removed - more on that in the next section.

That's it for the basic release. The special release includes the Throne of Acadia, a huge, heavy, stately perch of red and gray complete with human skull decorations.

It's all sculpted - that's not actual red velvet - and very solid. It has a pirate look, thanks to the skull and crossbones prominently displayed front and center, but you could also use it for characters like Jack Sparrow, Loki or even Odin. It's a fantastic display piece, with an intricate sculpt and beautiful paint work, making the deluxe figure far more attractive than the basic version.

Outfit - ****
His outfit is made from a somewhat stiff, pleather material. That being said, it's surprisingly pliable, and restricted the articulation far less than I had expected.

The high top boots look great, and allow the legs to bend adequately for both deep stances and sitting poses in the throne. Under these are pants of course, as well as a jacket with bronze colored armor pieces attached and a great skull and crossbones on the chest. Over it all fits the long, flowing cape.

This cape is attached to the body with three snaps - two in front, one in back. Remove the head, unsnap these three snaps, and the cape comes off easily. As I mentioned earlier, there are three buttons included that pop in the exposed holes, living you with a clean look once the cape is off.

Jeff, Eamon and I were just discussing this figure on the most recent HotToyCast, and Jeff said he looked a lot like Adam Ant - I think that's an accurate assessment. There's plenty of steampunk influences here as well, especially in the costume.

Fun Factor - ***1/2
It's always great fun to pose and re-pose a well articulated figure that has a nice assortment of accessories. Throw in the very cool chair, and you add another layer to your 'play'.

Value - *1/2
If I were looking at the regular release version, this guy would get another half star here, taking him to an average value. That's because you can find him in that $230 - $240 range, which seems to be more and more common for Hot Toys, but unlike recent releases like Loki or Captain America, he's got a ton of very cool, very unique extras. Add in a detailed, layered costume, and I can see the price point making a bit more sense.

However, I'm looking at the deluxe version with the throne. That one will run you $420, which is jaw dropping. That means they are charging $160 for the chair...wow. It's a nice chair, there's no doubt about that, but it's a very, very expensive chair as well.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing!

Overall - ***1/2
I haven't seen the new film yet - I let my Netflix subscription slide until they get their new series cranking - but the basic design of this character is damn cool. The outfit looks terrific, and allows him to still take some great poses. While he probably won't be a huge seller in the U.S., I'm betting the Asian market goes crazy for him.

The chair is a great diorama addition. It's awfully expensive to get it though, making it tough to recommend unless you're also a big fan of Harlock.

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

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Sideshow has the regular at $250, and the version with the throne at $420.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Another classic manga/anime figure from Hot Toys was 20th Century Friend and they've done some great Appleseed figures. Takara did a great sixth scale Cutey Honey, and check out this cool Macross figure as well.

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