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TrueType 19 - Muscle Body
Hot Toys
"The
following is a guest review. The review
and photos do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Michael Crawford
or Michael's Review of the Week, and are the opinion and work of the
guest author."
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Jeff is back tonight to check
out one of Hot Toys new base bodies, available to collectors for
upgrading figures or making their own customs. Tell us all about him,
Jeff!
I’m gonna keep this brief, why? Well because it’s a body I have covered
in various guises many times over the last few years. It was utilised
on many characters from Wolverine to Indy with varying degrees of
success.
This is however the first time it’s been available as an undressed base
figure so it warrants a breakdown in its own right.
It also helps that we have a rather cool celebrity likeness, meaning
any fans of Source Code out there may have just had their wishes
answered.
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Packaging
- **
Base True Types always come in very minimal packaging; well the
commercially available ones do anyway! So expect no frills here, what
we get is a simple clear plastic vac-formed clamshell box with a
sticker. It’s more than up to protecting it’s contents and has a simple
purity to its design that though not thrilling is certainly pleasing.
Sculpting - ***1/2
As a base body this is not sold as having a likeness, however as past
TT releases have resembled everyone from Prince Harry (not so good)
through to Barrack Obama (pretty impressive) by way of Taylor Kitsch
(lets face it, your best chance of bashing a movie based John Carter
figure) we can pretty much guarantee that each new TT will now have
more than a passing resemblance to someone in the public eye.
On this occasion we have Jake Gyllenhaal, and its pretty darned
impressive, especially as it looks more like him than the official
portrait that was on the Prince of Persia figure a couple of years
back. The detailing and skin texturing is as good as many of their
officially licensed sculpts and the hair is also expertly crafted to
resemble his ‘off camera’ style, though I have to admit I would have
preferred the cropped look he sported in Source Code just a little more.
The body also shows far more detail than an average TT, with skin
texture and even nipples on the rubber sleeve that covers the torso and
neck, and further texture being applied to the solid vinyl arms. He
comes with four hands, two relaxed, one right gun grip and one left
general grip/gesturing, all are sculpted to the usual high standard.
So, to sum up, it’s obviously not an official likeness, but still
manages to dump on much of its competition.
Paint
- ****
The portrait is just a bonus, so the fact it has a cracking paint app
as well makes this even more of a steal.
You can expect all the usual subtle variations in colour on his skin
tones and the eyes are as crisp and shiny as always. The hair is
accurately applied with gentle feathering at the hairline… top job
There is also a deftly executed application on the upper half of the
body, and as this is intended for shirtless or semi-clad bashes it’s a
good job too.
Articulation
- ***3/4
I’ve covered pretty much
every version of True-Type so far and most can be seen here and here.
So here we find ourselves once again in the familiar territory of
aesthetic versus function, and Hot Toys have hit the middle ground at
just about the right note. From the waist down all is as good as on a
classic TT, but from his hips up we have more limited range in favour
of a more visually pleasing sculpt and use of materials that aide in
disguising his joints far more effectively. There is some tilt forwards
and backwards under the rubber torso, and the neck shows a good range
also, allowing for some subtle posing (a tiny head tilt can make all
the difference). The shoulders have a well-disguised rotating hinged
joint that can shrug a little under the rubber covering this joint. The
elbows can achieve about a 90-degree bend and the wrists have the usual
pegged and cut fully rotating ball joint.
So spend just a little time familiarising yourself with its mechanics
and weight/centre of gravity and you will have it standing… or even
sitting, in pretty much any position you could wish for, and it hangs
well too, even when fully clothed. Of course you need realistic
expectations because this is a muscle bod, if you need extreme
articulation go get a regular TT, but if your chosen character plans on
getting his shirt of, or wearing some skin tight spandex, then this is
the one for you.
Accessories
- ****
I don’t really expect to get anything with a base body other than an
extra set of hands, so the fact we get a figure stand as well is a nice
touch… even if I NEVER use them!
Outfit
- N/A
He’s naked as a Jay Bird!
Value
- ***
I couldn’t find this on the Sideshow website so don’t know what the
official RRP is in North America. I did however find it on the BBTS
site for a reasonable $55. Admittedly not the bargain of the month, but
for a non-too extortionate outlay you have a finely crafted Hot Toys
muscle bod with a great celebrity likeness thrown in for good measure.
But get it while you can because the eBay prices are looking much
steeper.
Fun
Factor - ***1/2
This is up to you, at the end of the day it’s just a base body, but the
Gyllanhaal sculpt opens up a whole other board game. I’ve been a fan
since Donnie Darko so for me this gets a solid score.
Overall-
*** 3/4
Sculpt- very good
Paint- excellent
Articulation- solid and well engineered
Price- fair considering the quality of build and finish.
So, no problems to report, a great new addition to the Hot Toys stable
of base bodies.
Where to Buy -
I couldn’t find this on the Sideshow website, but it is available with
the sites sponsor BBTS
for $54.99.
Or hit ebay
where the BIN prices are between $60 to $80.
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This product was provided free for the review by the manufacturer.
Photos and text by Jeff Parker.
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