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RM4-02 body and Wardrobe Set Style 312
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 checks in tonight with a
look at the new body from Enterbay -
along with some discussion on just who that 'generic' head sculpt looks
like. Take it away, Jeff!
When it comes to the very pinnacle of high end 1/6th, especially in
the arena of licensed movie, comic and game related figures, Hot Toys
have reigned supreme for the past five or six years with few
detractors. There are other companies emerging that are certainly
pretenders to the thrown, but the main competition in terms of quality
during that time has come from Enterbay.
They started out
focusing primarily on their much coveted Bruce Lee license, working
closely with his estate and showcasing the talents of master sculptor
Arnie Kim. And as time goes on they are announcing more interesting
licences, with an eye on the more leftfield ‘cult’ subject matter, and
of course remaining loyal to Asian Kung Fu action movies.
They
also recently announced that they would be venturing into fully
articulated ¼ scale figures, kicking off with a great representation of
Arnie as the T-800 from Terminator 2, can’t wait to see how he turns
out.
But right now I’m looking at their new base 1/6th figure
which goes by the name of the Real Masterpiece 4. This is the second
version, hence its designation RM4- 02.
The first one had more
than a touch of the ‘Matt Damon’s’ about it , but this one has a heavy
hint of a certain Argentinean Marxist revolutionary… But just how much?
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Packaging
- **1/2
This
is just a simple plastic container, designed to show off the contents
and hold it secure whilst it in transit. It’s a no frills affair, but
robust enough to protect the figure well.
The whole container
is made of thick transparent acetate with black and white printing. It
is minimalist and tasteful, but not exactly the stuff that makes you
weak at the knees. Inside the figure is held in a vac-formed tray and
is completely collector friendly.
Sculpting - ****
Now if you know anything about Ernesto Guevara, and have seen photos of
the man (like this
and indeed this),
you will know just how very strong this portrait is. I even think it
has the edge over the Dragon in Dreams one that came out a few years
ago. I also have the old Medicom BAPE figure that must be about ten
years old now, it came with a ‘Planet of the Apes’ Che head and a
straight Che head, needless to say this one is again stronger than that
earlier incarnation. The expression is relatively neutral, but still
serious enough to suit a great many poses. The detailing on the skin
texture is deftly handled as is the fine work on the hair and beard.
This is not credited to a named sculptor on the box, but after asking
the powers that be at Enterbay I was informed that it’s by their
resident master sculptor YJ Park and his team, and he’s done a
fantastic job.
Paint
- ****
I recently
mentioned Enterbay in a review when comparing the quality of various
companies paint apps. In it I said that when firing on all cylinders
Enterbay were up there with the best, and here they are certainly
pulling no punches. The skin tones are all very realistic with subtle
and naturalistic spotting. The hair is painted in accurately with no
slop and the work on the beard and tash is worthy of special note
because of the super subtle feathering where it graduates into the
skin.
The eyes look wet and glossy and are looking off
slightly to the left (and lets face it, this guy certainly favoured the
left). I would have preferred the eyes to have been looking straight
ahead on this occasion, but the quality of the actual application is
not in question. The paint app like the sculpting was overseen by YJ
Park again, obviously a very talented multitasker as this is definitely
a four star job!
Articulation
****
At last
we have the Enterbay body we have been waiting for. This can actually
be considered an equal to the True Type which has held a dominant
position for many years now. It’s still not 100% perfect, but let’s
face it there isn’t a base body available yet that is. However if you
approach this with realistic expectations, much like you would the TT,
then you will be pretty happy.
So, from the ground up we get a
pinned joint at the mid point of the foot, then a universal joint at
the ankle that can both point and rock a little from side to side and
with careful manipulation you can get them into pretty much any angle
you need. The knees have a double joint so can bend right back to a
kneeling position and next up are double pinned universal ball joints
at the hips. The groin area is joined to the abdomen with a free moving
and rotating joint, as is the abdomen to the chest, there is only a
limited amount of movement here, but it helps greatly in getting more
subtle and natural poses. The shoulders have a fully functioning
universal joint that can turn forward and back and also shrug up and
down. The arm itself can rotate a full 180 degrees and the bicep joins
the upper arm with a disguised cut/peg joint. Next is a double elbow
which leads onto the classic double pegged cut ball joint. Lastly there
is the neck, it is jointed both where it joins the head and at the base
of the neck. The range here is fair, but had the hole the neck fits
into been just a smidgen bigger we would have got an even better range
of motion, making it able to tilt from side to side and also look up
and down more acutely.
However that is a little fine tuning that
I’m sure will be revisited with future incarnations of this body, but
even as it is I’m impressed enough to give this a full score.
Outfit
- ***1/4
This
section is a mini review within the main review. The reason being that
the base RM4 body is sold as a nude, but there is this rather snazzy
‘Wardrobe 16: Style 312’ available direct from the Enterbay website as
well. It’s aimed specifically at this body because of his ‘ahem’
passing resemblance to a certain ‘Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara’. Mine came
polly bagged within the box for the figure and consists of-
- Long sleeve white T-Shirt with front print
- Cargo pants
- Combat boots
So,
a relatively simple and compact selection that would have benefited
greatly from a black beret, though as a top tip the Barney Ross beret
does actually fit pretty well and I used it in a few of my pics. I also
used a green military shirt and gun belt that I had in my spare bits
and pieces box to show how he looks if you decide to go for a more
authentic look.
All the garments are well tailored with good
seams and no loose threads at all, and the trousers have working patch
pockets on the thigh, cut pockets at the hip and draw-strings at the
ankle. The white T-shirt bares the classic stencil style image that has
adorned a million student’s shirts, badges and posters for the last 40
years. Based on the classic photo taken by Alberto Korda it is now
‘officially’ recognised as the most famous photo in the world, based on
the findings of the Maryland Institute College of Art and the
V&A
Museum in London. It’s an image that has come to symbolise revolution
and people power the world over, and could still be seen held high
during the Arab Spring uprising earlier this year. Of course it’s a
bone of contention as to how worthy the man actually was to hold the
lofty position of global icon for freedom, but regardless of your
politics, you can’t deny the beauty and power of the image.
Lastly
he comes with some lace up combat boots. I warn you now that these are
a tight fit… no, a VERY tight fit. To get them on I actually dropped
them one at a time in some boiling water, then while still soft and
pliable I quickly pulled them on over the feet and to remove them I did
the same thing in reverse.
As I said above the outfit is
available separately from the Enterbay site at a price of $37, which
again includes the world wide mailing. I have to admit the price is a
little high for this set, and had it included a military style jacket
or shirt, along with the iconic beret it would have seemed a far better
deal, but it’s still a great set (with more than a slight hint of
irony) to display him in.
Accessories
- N/A
Well, you get some extra hands, but that’s it.
Fun
Factor - ***
It’s
a base figure, so as such it could be said that ‘fun’ is a bit of a
moot point. However, just like many other manufacturers they go the
extra mile with the inclusion of a celebrity ‘looky-likey’ head sculpt.
Dependant
on your ‘politics’ this particular ‘celebrity’ may be pretty divisive,
but threes no denying it’s a strong sculpt, and it comes on a body that
is up there with the best!
Value
for money - ***1/2
This
is available direct from the Enterbay site for $52, which is hardly the
sale of the century, but that price does include shipping to wherever
you happen to be on the planet. I do tend to think of most classic
‘high end’ base bodies being about $40 to $45, but I guess that having
world wide shipping included counts as quite a bonus, especially if you
happen to be on the other side of the planet.
If you decide to get this from OSB they are selling it as a set with
the outfit included for £58.50.
Overall-
****
I’m hugely
impressed; this really is the base body I have waited for from
Enterbay. This will allow their new 1/6th figures to shine much more
brightly, as not only does it have far better range of articulation
than any of their former bodies but it also hangs and poses in a much
more natural way too. Being a Brit I based my score on getting this
from Onesixthbruce where he can be picked up as a set with the outfit
at the price listed above. Now I just need to see if I can hold of
their Leon figure and put it through its paces, it looks pretty good!
Where to buy
There are a few options on where to pick this up, but the most obvious
is direct from the Enterbay
Website,
just go to collections and choose the miscellaneous option where you’ll
find this figure and the outfit set available. They also still have the
other clothing set on offer that goes with the first release of this
base figure. You know, the one that had a slightly more than passing
resemblance to Matt Damon as Jason Bourne.
If
you are in the UK or Europe you can’t go wrong with a trip to onesixthbruce.co.uk
where as I said above the full set can be bought for a very reasonable
£58.99 (not often you get a hi-end figure of this quality for that
price). I didn’t find it with any of the sites sponsors, but eBay also
has the base figure (no outfit) for around $60.
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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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