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Packaging - ****
Enterbay have already proved
that they really know how to make a nice box. From their first release
of Bruce Lee in Game of Death, right through to their last, which was
Bruce again, but this time as Kato from the Green Hornet, all of their
packaging is a master class in overstatement…but in a good way!
It’s one of those things that
you hear people say from time to time, and working in design I hear it
a lot, ‘You can’t re-invent the wheel’, but I disagree, you can
re-invent anything, and a good designer will always do it better. Of
course there are constraints laid down, and sadly we all have to comply
with the laws of physics. But the thing that impresses me with a lot of
Enterbay's packaging design is that it doesn’t follow any preset
pattern, and once again with the Godfather, Vito comes in his own
unique container.
First a silk finished outer sleeve meets you, this has a photo from the
movie above the Godfather logo, and the back has a photo-shopped image
of the figure along side the care instructions and the Enterbay
holographic sticker. This sleeve slides off to reveal a matte black
box; the top section frames a golden rectangle with the Godfather logo
and character name. The top and bottom sections don’t butt-up
completely and in effect expose a golden band, but once you lift the
lid off you will see that this is the edge of the inner box. The
standard of the board used throughout the package is all first class,
giving a very sturdy construction and high quality feel.
Inside the box the figure and
his accessories lay swaddled in die cut foam, I have to admit I like
this approach! Enterbay have been using it since day one, and Hot Toys
utilise it on their M-Icon range, but although I like it, I do wonder
how much it adds to the price of each unit… if it’s not too much, and
its not too damaging to our environment then it’s the way to go, but I
have a feeling that the vac formed trays used by virtually every other
manufacturer might help in keeping their prices a little lower.
But… and it’s a big but, this
isn’t what Enterbay is about, I’ve said in my reviews for them in the
past that part on Enterbay’s mission statement to themselves, seems to
be about maintaining a level of extravagance and the whole ‘retail’
experience, but also about ‘lifestyle’, and when you look at this
package from that angle, it certainly gets the message across that this
is a luxury item… and we all deserve a little luxury in our life now
and again!
Sculpting - ****
If you’re lucky enough to have either the Enterbay Jack Bauer or Pres
Palmer figure in your collection, then you will already be familiar
with the work of master sculptor YJ Park. He has an uncanny touch for
giving his work a spookily life like appearance, and he’s managed it
again here. It’s one of those strange occurrences that both Enterbay
and Hot Toys decided to produce this figure at the same time, and
although competition is generally a good thing, it also creates a
situation where comparisons will be drawn, and both the artists
involved here deserve for their work to be viewed on it’s own merits,
so that is the course I was going to try and take in this review… and
I’m glad to say it will actually be pretty easy, as although these two
figures inhabit the same space within popular culture… they are
actually two very different figures once you hold them in your hand.
YJ Park has created yet another
breathtaking sculpt, and I defy anyone to not see Brando as Vito here,
it just captures the character so well. Here he wears a solemn, even
contemplative expression with a lot of sadness coming through in the
eyes. Those eyes are beautifully carried out, they are super glassy and
glossy and are constructed as separate pieces that are inserted within
the head, where they peer out of two eye shaped holes giving them a
very realistic final appearance. The overall shape of the head is very
good, working especially well in profile, but that’s not to belittle
how great this looks when viewed straight on as well.
The slight droop of the lip, the
weight of the jowls and that distinctive bridge of his nose are all
observed beautifully, as is the superfine detailed work on the ears
that blends seamlessly into the hair, and the detail on his hair has to
be viewed up close to be appreciated. It’s fair to say that YJ Park has
created another mini masterpiece here, and it’s one any fan of the
movie would love on their shelf.
I do wonder if the width of the
head could do with slimming down slightly, as the jowls seem to remove
some definition from the shape of his chin,
and it’s a shame that the Don couldn’t utilise the moving eye technique
made famous by their Bruce Lee figures, but as he required a much more
subtle hair line I guess that wasn’t a realistic option.
He also comes with three hands, two in relaxed positions plus an extra
gesturing/pointing right hand, the detail on all of these is solid,
with the left hand also having his wedding band sculpted on the
appropriate finger. So, even though I have a very slight misgiving that
the jowls are ever so slightly too heavy, this is still a hugely
impressive sculpt deserving of a full score, without a doubt!
Paint - *** 8/10
The paint work here is virtually faultless, and indeed the skin tones
are quite simply jaw dropping, the only area that lets it down, and
keeps it a whisker away from perfection is his hair. I will even go out
on a limb and say the paint app on the face is slightly superior to
earlier Hot Toys one, though having seen the special limited figure, in
the tiny edition of twenty that they produced for the Taiwan charity
auction, it does look like if you are among the very lucky, and indeed
generous winners of one of them, then they did manage an even better
job there.
But, when it comes to mass
produced factory apps, then on this occasion Enterbay do nudge ahead by
a nose, as the observation of the details coupled with the execution of
the gentle flesh tones, showing the aged skin, subtle shading and
delicate application of the liver spots is just fantastic. The mouth is
also a master class in how to paint lips, and where the opening
disappears into the mouth proper is incredibly convincing. It’s a model
case of a sculpt and the paint apps working perfectly together, and as
YJ Park is responsible for the art direction on this, he was obviously
determined to get it just right. But sadly the hair just doesn’t quite
live up to the lofty standards of the skin tones. What should be gently
greying sideburns
end up far too pale, in fact they look snowy white at the leading edge.
It’s a shame, as the work on the eyebrows and thin moustache are just
fantastic and you can actually see individual hairs picked out, as are
the aged effects on his hands with their slight mottling and veins,
even the fingernails are gently painted in.
So, in many ways this is
deserving of a full score, and had those greying areas of the hair been
carried out with just a little more subtlety then it would have got it,
so I’m shaving off just a tiny whisker to reflect this!
Articulation
- ***1/2
I think I’m right in believing that this is the first outing for the
RM-2 body, and I have to say I was finding it difficult to work out
quite what was different from the RM-1, but then it occurred to me…
ankles!
Yes the RM-2 now uses the same ankle joint as the BL3.5, if you have
either Jack Bauer or Mr Bean
you will be aware that their ankles had a joint that could be
manipulated to either point or tilt where as this new joint can do both
at the same time. It’s kind of ironic that this ability is now there
for an old duffer like the Don, while poor Jack has to make do with his
slightly more limited range… I think I can sense a few body swaps going
on in the future.
So we have the new swivelling universal joint at the ankle, double
knees, swivelling and rotating ball joints at the hip, some limited
movement at the waist and a similar amount at the mid torso. The
shoulders can lift out from the body to just over 90 degrees and can
spin a full 180 whilst the elbows can also bend to just over 90 degrees
and also have the ability to freely turn by 180. The wrists have a
great range and follow the same design as most hi-end 1/6th bodies. The
neck is fixed where it joins the shoulders but offers a good degree of
pose-ability where it joins the head. It can look down well and tilt
from side to side, but can’t look up. It still suffers a little from
the Enterbay ‘wobbly’ head syndrome, but as I’ve said before a little
Blu-Tack packed around the post and it’s easily rectified.
The only real problem I encountered was that the fat suit the figure is
fitted with makes it difficult to keep him in a good sitting position,
as the thighs tend to push back against the padding, but rest assured,
with perseverance and futzing you can get some very good poses, both
standing and seated.
So to sum, for an old fella in his twilight years this body is more
than adequate, and it hangs really well for natural poses.
Outfit
- ***1/2
For both Pres Palmer and Mr Bean, Enterbay used their unique way of
tailoring a 1/6th suit, meaning the lapels were cut and stitched to lay
flat, but for this dinner suit they have gone down the more traditional
route.
I have to say I’m glad, as it makes for a pretty convincing
suit, it all seems to be made of two types of synthetic fabric, both
have a silky finish, but the one used for the lining and the lapels on
both the vest and jacket catches the light in a more satin like way.
The fit is good to the body, but because of the fat suit it does give
the illusion of making him look a little more narrow shouldered than
perhaps he should be, but this is emphasised more in some poses than
others. The trousers are quite high waited (as old men and Simon Cowell
seem to favour) and they have a leather belt with a working metal
buckle threaded through the belt loops. His dress shirt has a button
panel up the front with tiny black buttons glued on to it, this is held
shut by three press studs that stop well shy of the collar, this means
the collar is held closed by the bow tie. When mine arrived the wing of
the left collar of the shirt was trapped between the head and neck, so
I completely stripped him down and ironed the collar flat again, after
doing this to both wings, it now looks much better. The bow tie is
again made of the silky material and is stitched to a simple black
elastic strap. I advise taking your time and futzing for a while here,
it’s worth it as after much tooing and frowing I did eventually find a
position that looked symmetrical and pretty convincing. Lastly he as a
pair of black socks and shiny black patent dress shoes. These appear to
be the same as Kato’s, but are still perfect for this character, the
soles are even painted a duller dark grey to give the appearance of
sole grade leather.
So, all in all the suit fits great, the thinness of the fabrics used
works very well at this scale but because of its silky nature it does
require quite a bit of futzing and tweaking, but with patience it can
look fantastic.
Accessories
- ****
Enterbay were always facing an uphill struggle in this category… why?
Well, if you own the Hot Toys version, you’ll know. But to their merit
Enterbay stuck to their guns and delivered what they originally set out
to, and they have delivered it well.
The biggest and most impressive accessory is his chair. Enterbay’s
scaling is slightly more diminutive than Hot Toys, but this is still a
cool item, it has quite a bit of heft, as the stand and adjuster are
made of die-cast metal, this then attaches to the base of the seat. The
chair part itself is made of two types of material, the wooden frame
part is a hard solid plastic, maybe ABS, but all the cushioned bits on
the arm-rests, seat and back are made of a softer rubberier material
which has a slight amount of ‘give’ if you compress it. The paint apps
on the chair are very impressive with a well-applied dark wood colour
on the frame with some of the carved and inlaid areas subtly
high-lighted in a copper colour.
The padded areas are all in a warm tan leather tone, and again have
very impressive paint apps to mimic the streaks of the grain and a
darker patina towards the edges, just in the way antique leather
furniture discolours with constant use. Even the back of the chair has
grain details with rich browns and reds making it look very mahogany
like.
He also comes with a small delicate rose for his button hole, a tiny
wrist watch with a black strap, silver case and white face, then
there’s the extra hand I described above, a metal ‘certificate of
authenticity’ which is golden in colour with die-cast wording, and
lastly the figure stand. This is the same as the one Kato came with,
known as the RM FS200, it is completely constructed of metal, has a
very sturdy feel and even has an opening hinge to give it a bigger
surface area when doing a leaping or mid air action pose… not something
you’ll need for Vito, but it’s a cool addition anyway.
Ahh, I did just say lastly for the stand, but what I should have said
was penultimately, as although the stand is the last thing that can
actually be used by the figure, there is actually another ‘bonus’ item.
A bit like the opera glasses that came with Kato, but much posher, you
get a ‘Mont Blanc’ style roller-ball pen, its black lacquered with gold
accents, which are engraved with both the Godfather and Enterbay logos.
It’s a nice addition, but I have to admit I would have rather had
something more pertaining to the character… or perhaps a few $’s
knocked off the price. But they do say never look a gift horse in the
mouth, and at the end of the day Enterbay announced it was to be one of
the features with the figure when they first unveiled the prototype…
but it still seems a little strange.
Fun
Factor - ***1/2
OK, even if little Luigi does want a 12” replica of Grandpa Vito, it
doesn’t bear thinking about how much Lira $170 would translate to, but
you’d need a whole line of zero’s ( actually I did the conversion, it
would be about L 225,000.00, I know they have the boring Euro now in
Italy, but indulge me for comedy value!).
So, it goes without saying this is not a play thing. This is a small
‘objet d’art’ to stand on your shelf, or in your Detolf and
admire!
But this is also a figure made for 1/6th lovers by 1/6th lovers. So
expect to unpack him and futz for a while… however once you have futzed
and got that pose you want, this does look pretty damn exceptional.
Value - ***1/2
Enterbay figures are always the hi-end of hi-end. Reassuringly
expensive (as a leading Belgium bière likes to market itself in the
UK!). But it has to be said, for a relatively small company to be
delivering a figure of this quality, (even for this price) is pretty
cool, and certainly deserves a certain amount of kudos.
In this day and age, many quality 12” figures cost $150 as standard. So
to be getting a well made chair alongside your, amazingly sculpted,
phenomenally painted and elegantly dressed figure on a solid vinyl
body… and lets not go forgetting that pen… well, it certainly makes you
feel like you got something approaching value for money, especially
when you take all the factors into account!
Overall
- ****
The price is pretty high, the head sculpt is ‘nearly’ perfect and the
outfit will need a little futzing (but in all honesty what 1/6th fabric
dressed figure doesn’t need a tweak here and there), however this is
still a pretty groundbreaking figure.
Sadly, a lot of collectors will want reviewers to come down on one side
or the other when looking at the Enterbay and Hot Toys figures, and
pass their judgement like the hand of god, praising one whilst
condemning the other!
But in my opinion that would do a great disservice not only to both
companies, but also to all of the artists involved in bringing these
figures to full 1/6th life!
Both companies have distinctive house styles, of which these are good
examples, and I for one would genuinely hate to choose, if god forbid I
had that choice’ to make… luckily I don’t.
Yes, there are strong points on each, but to mix and match would dilute
how they were designed to be exhibited, and I do like my figures box
fresh… a little futzing is fine, but no major mods. And I’m glad to say
neither of these need any major mods. As long as you don’t mind messing
and futzing with your figures.
So this just has to be a full score figure. It is a small work of art,
and takes us up another rung of the ladder to making the rest of the
world recognise 1/6th figures are a worthwhile collectable and don’t
just have to be super heroes and space monsters… not that I have any
problem with Super heroes and space monsters, but diversity is the
spice of life!
Scoring
Recap:
Packaging - ****
Sculpting - ****
Paint - ***8/10
Articulation - ***1/2
Accessories - ****
Outfit - ***1/2
Fun Factor - ***1/2
Value - ***1/2
Overall - ****
Where
to Buy -
You can still get him direct from Enterbay
for $170 or go to the official US importer Yes Anime. Alternatively try
one of Michael’s sponsors (remember to link from the homepage!).
Urban Collector
- $169.99
Big Bad Toy Store
- $179.99.
Alter Ego Comics
- $179.99
If in the UK you can try out onesixthbruce.co.uk
(tell Wai Man that Wookster sent you!) where he’s available for £
129.99 or lastly you can always hit eBay, maybe you can make a trader
an offer he can’t refuse!
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