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RM-5 Sixth Scale Body
Enterbay
"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 wrote this review quite
awhile ago, but I'm just finally getting it posted - my fault! Take it
away, a bit belatedly, Jeff...
I recently wrote my low-down for the two ENTERBAY Scarface figures and
the outstanding Che Guevara, all of which utilised variations of the
new ENTERBAY RM-5 base body. I spoke of how impressed I was with its
new features and just how versatile it was in terms of meeting up with
the exacting requirements of the modern 1/6th collecting world. Lets
face it we are a hard to please ‘precious’ and sometimes precocious
bunch, and standards are getting increasingly higher as more and more
companies enter into the lucrative market of base 1/6th bodies.
Sometimes it seems the world and his wife are chancing their arm, and
many are delivering solid and cost effective alternatives to the now
classic (and it has to be said much copied) Hot Toys True Type, and the
many variations it spawned.
This body delivers on pretty much all counts, as not only is it well
designed, engineered and constructed, but it also has a rather cool
celebrity likeness. Of course this is not marketed as such, but the
plain fact of the matter is that this is without a doubt Shih Kien
(real name Shek Wing-Cheung- 1913-2009). To many in the west that might
not be a name up there with cream of Hollywood’s glitterati, but to
fans of Asian cinema he was something of a legend.
During a long and prolific career he received numerous awards for his
portrayal of many varied and diverse characters, but is most fondly
remembered for his roles as the bad guy. In fact the Chinese term 奸人堅
(the greatest villain) became synonymous with him for often stealing
the show with his ‘oft copied’ trademark villainous laugh.
So if his portfolio of work was mostly revered in Chinese cinema and
television, why should he be so popular in the West? I have to say, I’d
imagine that with the geek credentials of most readers of this site
being well documented I don’t need to answer that, but for all others I
have one word… Han!
If you are still unsure, or Darwin forbid are thinking ‘did he get
Ford’s role in the Chinese remake of Star Wars?’ you might as well
leave now.
No, Shih Kien was the one handed… one metal clawed arch nemesis to
Bruce Lee in the seminal ‘Enter the Dragon’… now do you realise why
this figure is so sought after and desired! If you happen to own the
Hot Toys, Medicom or indeed ENTERBAY figures of Bruce Lee, then this is
the guy you want to stand opposite him (OK, I admit a Chuck Norris
figure might be cool as well, but lets just concentrate on what we have
in hand!).
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Packaging
- **1/2
Enterbay have consistently proven themselves outstanding when
delivering licensed figures, but like most others they tend to try and
keep packaging costs to a minimum when making base bodies. Preferring
to spend any extra outlay on their side against a bonus ‘celebrity’
sculpt and killer paint apps. After all, unless you are an anally
retentive collector who keeps every piece of useless ephemera included
with your figure (hello… that would be me then) you probably put most
of the packaging in the bin.
As such this is a basic affair, consisting of clear acetate box with
black printing and a clear vac formed tray to hold the figure in place.
No frills, no gimmicks just a simple carton designed to get the figure
to you unharmed and in one piece, and mine managed to do that job just
fine.
Sculpting - ***3/4
This was the work of ENTERBAY’s new golden boy/boys ‘Scuderia’ ;) under
the watchful eye of their ever-present chief artistic director YJ Park.
They have captured well that sly Machiavellian look that Shih Kien made
his own. Mouth tight shut, lips pursed and eyes looking furtively off
to one side. All the detailing is up their with the best quality, as is
now expected as standard from high-end companies working at this scale.
The skin has masterful texturing on the skin pores, the hair is well
defined with crisp detailing and the general likeness is just great for
all those who have wanted a solid version of this character for so
long… your wait is over
He comes with a selection of four hands, two fists and two relaxed and
all are sculpted well and look to be at a good scale. It would have
been rather cool to include the metal claw as well, but I guess that
might have opened up a whole ‘licensing’ can of worms, and I’m sure
there will be plenty of people selling bootleg custom ones on the Web
if you look hard enough!
Paint
- ****
ENTERBAY have always had a solid reputation, but lately they have made
quantum leaps in their quality control and that is most evident in the
striking paint apps they are now delivering.
This is another occasion where they have managed to knock the ball
clean out of the park. The skin colouration and detailing compliments
the sculpt perfectly with rich deep hues that graduate tonally over the
surface of the face most convincingly. His devious eyes are narrowed,
and as such don’t allow for much detail to be shown, but what we do get
manages to be convincing, capturing that evil, calculating expression
that Shih Kien made his own. The paint on the hair is relatively flat,
but with its semi glossy finish it helps the light falling on its
surface bring all the detailing to life.
For an unlicensed bonus sculpt this manages to put many other companies
attempts to capture the portrait of fully licensed actors in the shade,
and when viewed alongside the amazing Che Guevara figure they released
at the same time it shows how dedicated ENTERBAY are to delivering the
very best they can in paint department. It has to be said, if you are
manufacturing 1/6th figures that top the $100 mark, and your paint apps
aren’t as good as this…why? This is now the standard, shape up, or ship
out!
And having seen some preview shots of the figures they have released
from Men in Black 3, the quality of sculpts and paint looks like it is
just gonna keep on improving. They just keep on scoring goals!
Articulation
- ****
There is a checklist I
mentally go through, and a few key poses I demand to even consider
giving a full score for articulation, and this guy passed with flying
colours. I shan’t bother with going through the joints one at a time
because –
A- I already did for the Scarface figures reviewed here (and Che Guevara for that
matter).
B- I’m guessing you can get a pretty good idea from the pics included.
So it’s all good, in fact it’s excellent, and the cool engineering on
the ankle joints works fantastically with the karate slippers and
socks. An all round winner that moves smoothly and poses naturally with
a good centre of balance! If I had to find a negative, then the paint
app on the vinyl sheath covering the chest and neck is marginally
lighter than the tones used on the face, but it is slight, and as I
intend to keep him fully dressed it’s not an issue for me anyway.
Accessories
- N/A
Not a lot, two spare hands and that’s it, but as far as base figures go
that is par for the course… the big bonus here is that celebrity
likeness.
Outfit
- N/A, Officially!
However… being a jammy git who is fortunate enough to often get some
review samples sent to cast his eyes over, I was lucky enough to get
the bonus navy blue long shirted kung-fu outfit sent along with the
figure. This was originally only available for a limited time if
ordered early and direct from their website.
It’s a relatively simple affair, but the tailoring and finish is still
solid. It consists of a pair of brown soled, black cotton Kung-Fu
slippers, white socks, a pair of long blue Karate trousers with ankle
bindings and a press stud waist, then finally we have a long blue
Karate jacket with contrasting white cuffs and tiny working Chinese
tied rope buttons. I admit that if push comes to shove I would have
preferred the iconic Nehru styled suit that Han wore in the movie… but
as a bonus I ain’t gonna look a gift horse in the mouth. So if I had to
give it a score it would certainly merit at least ***… maybe ***1/2.
Value
- ***1/2
Though not ‘officially’ licensed this is an outstanding tribute to Shih
Kien, the Dr No to Bruce Lee’s Bond in the classic martial arts movie,
and as such the standard price when ordering direct from the ENTERBAY
web site of $51 isn’t too eye watering at all.
Of course we are not fools, and we fully realise that the ‘accidental’
likenesses we have received in the past from ENTERBAY, be they Matt
Damon, Che Guevara or Shih Kien, do push up the price slightly. Not
because of the license… that is a moot point, but the artisans working
for the company have to spend more time producing a thing of this
quality… and time is money, especially in China’s burgeoning economy!
Fun
Factor - ***
Essentially this is a base-body; the celebrity likeness is just a
bonus.
So how much fun can a base-body be?
Well, as you ask, it poses well, is sculpted and painted fantastically,
providing a great quality alternate body for what ever bash you may
have in mind… but I’m guessing that over 80% of these will be keeping
the head they arrive with… and the other 20% will be parted out on eBay
returning a tidy profit on the loose heads… get it while you can!
Overall-
*** 1/2
Although officially just a body, this is pure gold dust for any fans of
Bruce Lee, especially fans of ‘Enter The Dragon’. The build quality and
finish is up there with the best, and for a trifle over $50 we have
something approaching a bargain. Not something we can often say in the
world of hi-end 1/6th collecting these days.
So when I get round to setting up my Enter the Dragon diorama again,
you can guarantee this guy will be very much part of it, now I just
need to nip off to onesixthbruce to find out when he’s getting that
clawed hand and that Nehru suit in stock!
Where to Buy -
The figure (no outfit included) is available from the ENTERBAY site for
$51 here.
If in the UK or Europe you can also order from onesixthbruce.com for
£47.99 here
Or try ebay
where prices are hovering between $60 to $120 (but some of the higher
priced figures do come with the exclusive kung fu suit).
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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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