Review of Hit-Girl, Kick-Ass action figures

Introduction

One of my top films for 2010 is Kick-Ass. The weak of heart might not enjoy a 10 year old girl killing bad guys in gruesome ways and cussing like a drunken sailor on leave in a Bangkok brothel, but I loved every minute of it.

Unfortunately, when the film was released there were no collectibles to be found. Several months later when the DVD and Blu-ray hit the streets...still no collectibles. There was the silly water bottle or goofy key chain, but nothing a big fan could sink their teeth into.

Mezco picked up the rights for action figures back when the film was first released, but making toys is a complex and long process. To get the toys to market with the film, companies have to start way in advance of the release, something Mezco couldn't do. And so we've had to wait patiently, or at least as patiently as an OCD collector possibly can. Mezco helped tide us over with the release of the Mez-itz back at SDCC, but it simply wasn't enough.

The 6" and 12" figures are now starting to hit, with the 6" showing up first.  In both series there's just two characters at this point - the lead Kick-Ass, and the show stealer Hit-Girl. The 6" figures run around $12 - $15 each depending on the retailer, and once the 12" figures are here (and yes, I'll be reviewing them as well), I would expect to see them in the $35 - $40 range.

Packaging - ***
The card stock is heavy and sturdy, and the bubble is attached well. These should hold up to any peg wear - or storage wear - quite well.

The graphics are right from the film, and look great. The text is a little on the light side, but you get the general drift.

It is amusing to see that both of the Kick-Ass logos on the front of the package are obscured so 'ass' is illegible. I assume that means Mezco is trying (or has succeeded) in getting Toys R Us to pick these up.

Sculpting - Kick-Ass ***; Hit-Girl **1/2
These are done in a 6" scale, with Kick-Ass himself almost exactly 6" tall (but remember, he's crouched slightly), and Hit-Girl at 5", again in a crouched stance.

Both portraits are acceptable, although KA's is slightly better that HG's. Let's face it, it's tough to capture a little girl's likeness, especially in this small scale. They do a reasonable job, but Kick-Ass has more distinctive facial features, making it a little easier for them to call them out.

KA's battle damaged portrait is even better, at least in terms of the sculpt. The bloody damage suffered at the warehouse looks quite realistic, an effect accomplished through both sculpt and paint.

Kick-Ass also stands pretty well on his own, although I'm not a huge fan of the bent neck look. Both figures are looking downward too much, and it's worse with Hit-Girl than Kick Ass.

It's not her Quasimodo neck though that pulls her a half star lower than Kick-Ass in this category. Regular readers know that one of my pet peeves is figures that don't stand well on their own, and in this regard HG is guilty as sin. Work the three leg joints just right and you can get her to stand upright...momentarily.

The hands on both figures are sculpted to work with the accessories, and the figures look best when holding their respective weapons.

One of the interesting and unexpected features of Hit-Girl is the cloth costume pieces. Both her skirt and her cape are made from cloth, rather than sculpted plastic. It adds a nice look to the figure, and they managed to use thin enough material that there are no real scale problems. The cape is removable as well, held in place with a simple wire inside the collar.

Paint - ***
Both figures sport pretty nice paint ops, although the eyes are problematic.

In fact, Kick-Ass himself would have gotten another half star here if not for the lazy eye on his unmasked portrait.

As I mentioned earlier, the bloody mess on his face looks great, and even the lesser damage he has on the masked portrait has a good, realistic appearance.

The yellow lines on the costume have very clean edges, and there's almost no bleed.

Likewise, the detail work on Hit-Girl is quite good, including the small zipper and pouches on her belt. She has a little sloppiness in the eyes though, just holding her back from that extra half star.

Articulation - ***
How articulated can you make a figure with nothing but cut joints? That seems to be what Mezco was trying to figure out with these two.

They both have ball jointed necks, but the post is so short that there's very little tilt motion available to you.

Both the arms and legs have three cuts - shoulder and hip, elbow and knee, and wrist and boot. For Kick-Ass, the wrist articulation is at the top of the glove, making it more of a forearm cut.

The arm joints work better than I expected because the sculpts work well with the style of joint. The legs allow you to get KA in a solid stance, but as I mentioned earlier, all the futzing in the world with the six leg joints didn't keep poor Hit-Girl upright more than a few seconds.

Kick Ass also has a cut waist joint, but it looks like that's missing on Hit Girl. I tried twisting her, but it looks like the belt and skirt required the joint to be glued tight.

Accessories - ***
There's not a ton of extras here, but critical items are accounted for.

Hit Girl comes with two small butterfly knives, open of course. These fit in her hands well, and the scale is actually quite good. Knives like these are often done too small, but these are just about right.

She also has her double bladed staff, which can be a solid piece with the help of a small connector, or can be used as two individual weapons.

Kick Ass has his batons, which fit in his hands or in the pack on his back. He also has the second beat down head sculpt, and swapping the two is fairly easy.

Fun Factor - **1/2
Since it was a R rated movie, one can assume that most 8 year olds haven't seen it - at least that's what I'd assume. These aren't really designed as 'action' figures either, with the articulation really just there to get them in a slightly personalized pose.

Value - **1/2
These figures will run you $13 - $15 singly, but buy the pair and you should be able to find them for $25 or under. That's a decent enough value on the collectible figure market right now, considering how expensive even the mass market stuff has become.

Things to Watch Out For -
I had to use some cold water to free up the hips on Hit-Girl, and most of the joints were tight with paint. Be careful not to twist so hard that you rip a peg. You can always use cold water/hot water baths or the old freezer trick to avoid breaking anything.

Overall - ***
I'm not ecstatic with the poses, but these figures are solid B work. Had Kick-Ass not had the lazy eye, and had Hit-Girl been able to stand on her own successfully for any period of time, then the scoring might have been slightly better, even with the hunchback syndrome.

The 12" figures should be here any day now, and I have my fingers crossed that those will be THE figures to have, unless Hot Toys ever decides to take on the license. Hey, there's a second film coming - you never know!

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

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth has the 6" set for $25.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

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