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Packaging - ***1/2
Okay, I'll admit it - the shine has worn off the Terminator Salvation
boxes a bit for me. It's not like they're terrible, but the initial
cool factor of the etched foam has worn off, and I miss the graphics
and text that we get with other lines from Hot Toys.
This are still very collector
friendly though, even with a few bits of tape that you'll probably toss
out. Everything is very safe, and the exterior foam is much, much
sturdier than you might expect.
Sculpting - ****
The T-600 without the skin and clothes got four stars in this category,
so it should be no big surprised that this version, with added drapery
and doodads, gets a full score too.
Like his predecessor, this big
bad had all the cool texturing that gives the plastic that wrought
iron or rough steel appearance. The detailing around the nose, teeth
and eyes is truly impressive, and while it's unlikely you'll display
him sans skin, you certainly could and he'd look every bit as good.
The body incorporates various
textures to give the impression of different materials in different
areas. The pistons are smooth, while the larger armored sections are
rough. The final result is a tremendously realistic mechanical monster
that looks outstanding on your shelf with the rest of the series.
For those that haven't seen the
first Hot Toys T-600, be forewarned that this guy is huge. He stands
over 13 1/2" tall, dwarfing normal sixth scale figures. Add in the
clothing and ammo pack, and you get a figure with some truly impressive
bulk.
There are only the gloved hands,
sculpted with wear and tear. These are in poses designed to work
perfectly with the included weapons.
I
also want to point out the very cool boot sculpts. They look amazingly
realistic, and you can even see the Endo foot through the damage. Small
details like this make the overall figure that much better.
Paint - ****
There shouldn't be any surprise - the paint is just as amazing here as
it was in the previous release. You want to know how to paint sculpted
plastic to look like metal? Just take notes on the Hot Toys
Endoskeletons.
Not
only does the subdued paint work on the figure itself work perfectly,
but the painted damage to the skin masks has just the right cross
between human and machine, with a sickly skin tone and blackened
coloration around the eyes and ears. It's like Endoskeletons dressing
up for Halloween as human zombies...now that's a party!
Articulation - ****
The Hot Toys Endoskeletons are a work of genius. You think some amazing
engineering went into your BMW? Those guys couldn't even begin to
figure out how to design a sixth scale Terminator that moves like this.
When
Hot Toys first produced their T-800 Endoskeleton several years ago,
there was still some joints that worked less than perfectly. For
example, the pistons on the neck, while cool looking, tended to
restrict much of the ball jointed goodness.
Here that's no longer
the case. Joints like the neck, shoulders and hips have a much great
range of movement that you would expect, considering all the hoses,
pistons and connectors. You'll be able to get great poses out of this
figure, and all the joints were solid and sturdy.
I did have one
shoulder - the right - that was a little looser than I'd care for. He
had a little trouble holding the Gatling gun up as high as I'd like,
but it was a fairly minor issue, and he was able to maintain it at a
normal height.
The wrists are also quite a
surprise, since you
can actually remove the hands and replace them quite easily, even with
three separate pistons involved! More on that in the next section,
since it's critical to his ability to hold the guns.
Accessories - ****
This guy has what his cousin has, and then adds quite a bit too it.
He comes with the huge, cool
Gatling gun, including the rubbery ammo belt and the same backpack as
the regular T-600. The pack is adorned with a swath of cloth, but
otherwise it's the same gun, same set up.
And yes, the pack is just as
hard, if not harder, to get on. I loosened the two shoulder straps as
far as I could, and they fit pretty well, but I didn't try to snap them
together across the front of his chest this time. The extra bulk
created by the clothing makes for a tighter fit.
Along with that gun, there's
also the smaller grenade launcher, with moving pump action. There's a
bendy hose that runs from the backpack to the gun, but it does tend to
fall off at either end. The bendy feature is great though, and allows
for it to make some pretty tight turns.
This version of the Endoskeleton
is wearing gloves, making it very difficult to fit the guns over them
and in place on the forearms. Ah, but fear not - Hot Toys has it under
control. Both hands pop off, taking the three pistons with them,
leaving a small ball joint behind. You then fit the hand in place on
the gun - don't forget to do this as it's critical! - and then put the
whole gun/hand combo back in place. This works surprisingly well, and
it didn't feel like it would easily break or you could screw it up, if
you were paying attention.
There's also a small bag of
rifle shells. These were hidden away in one of the skin face
compartments in the package, and easy to overlook. I'm not sure if
they're for something specific, but you could sprinkle them on the
ground around his feet. They're actually live rounds and not empty
casings, so I'm not sure that's the idea, but it would still work.
Finally, there's his display
base. Of the Terminator Salvation figures released so far, this one
gets the best base. Designed to appear as rough ground with human
skulls strewn about, it adds to any display. You can also use it
without the actual arm for the stand, a bit plus in my book since I
don't use the arms.
I'm counting the two skin masks
as part of his outfit, so more on those in the next section.
Outfit - ***1/2
'Outfit' might not be the right term, considering how much damage his
clothing has sustained, but 'soft goods' is a bit confusing too.
He's
wearing clothing, but it looks like something a homeless guy threw
away. There's his ripped up coat, which still buckles in front but
doesn't have much else, as well as his tattered pants. There are a few
straps on the limbs, as well as some simple cloth wraps on his wrists
or around his neck. There's even one knee pad still in place!
The
costume is tattered, and there isn't much there...and yet what is here
is sturdy. They've kept key areas in tact so that the clothing will
last years, looking as rough a decade from now as it does today.
Also
part of his 'costume' are the two skin masks. The regular version
includes one, while the Sideshow exclusive has an additional face.
Both
are made from a harder rubbery plastic than I expected. The regular
version can be pretty tricky to get in place because of this, since the
hard jaw is difficult to fit over his actual jaw. There are really two
solutions: you can heat the mask up a bit with some hot water, making
it a little more pliable or you can start the mask at the chin in the
first place, putting that in place and then stretching the rest over
the head. I did the latter, and it worked well enough, but the former
is also an option.
The second mask goes on very
easily, since it
has no jaw to get in the way. However, it tends to stick out at the
sides more than I expected, also because of that lack of a jaw to hold
the two halves closer.
Both have heavily damaged neck
lines, and
you can either hide these with the scarf or expose them. I did both in
the close ups, but you'll notice that I settled on a somewhat hidden
look for most of the full body shots. I didn't go for the fully covered
look that Sideshow used in their photos simply because to me he looks
like he's bundled up to wait for the school bus if you put too much of
the scarf around his neck.
Neither mask fits absolutely
perfectly, but they aren't supposed to. These have been badly damaged
in the war against humanity, and the slightly askew look adds to the
realism. I don't think one of the T-600's would be too worried about
the fit of his mask as long as he could see, and that's not a problem
with either one.
They also aren't supposed to
look like real
human flesh either, since they are intended as long distance cover, not
something that fools anyone up close and personal like. The texturing
and paint look great, and the damage to the flesh is quite well done.
Of
the pair, I prefer the chinned to the chinless. There's something about
it, particularly with the eyes lit up, that is much creepier to me. I
also think that the seam between front and back is a bit too obvious on
the chinless version. Your mileage may vary.
Light Feature - ***1/2
I mentioned with the previous T-600 that my batteries were dying mere
minutes out of the box. I'm happy to report that wasn't an issue this
time, and even after a couple hours, the eyes were still bright red.
The button is in the same place
of course, and the pack still covers it, as you'd expect. I do find
that a tad annoying, hence the slightly less than perfect score in this
category.
Fun Factor - ***
While this isn't exactly a G.I. Joe, it is a fairly sturdy figure
considering the complexity of the articulation. In fact, it seems like
the articulation gets more complex with every Endo they release, and
yet the joints seem sturdier.
So while I wouldn't recommend
this for an eight year old (the Playmates 10" figures are far better
substitutes for the sandbox), I do think that the 12 - 15 range would
enjoy this figure if they are big fans of the franchise. And of course,
adult fans are going to love it. They won't admit to 'playing' with it,
but if you use a hidden camera, you'll probably get some excellent
black mail fodder.
Value - Regular ***;
Exclusive *1/2
You can pick up the regular version of this figure (lacking only the
second skin mask) for around $155. Considering the level of complexity
here - this isn't just another figure on the same body that's been used
a million times, but a true engineering marvel - that's a great price.
Add in the additional accessories that you're getting over the regular
T-600, and you get an above average score.
However, you'll have to spend an
extra $30 just to get that one little mask, and it's definitely not
worth it. The mask isn't as good looking as the normally included one,
and I think you can tell which one I'll be using in my display based on
which one dominates the photos.
Things to Watch Out For -
I'd follow my suggestions for getting the mask and backpack on, but
those are the only tricky areas. There are instructions included on the
hands, and popping them off (pull straight!) and on is pretty self
explanatory.
Overall - ****
While lines like DC Universe Classics and
Masters of the Universe Classics are high on my list for Best Of 2009,
they've got to go a ways to beating out this series. Hot Toys has shown
some exceptional short term dedication to the franchise, and the
variety of the display is already above what they normally produce. For
example, after a couple years now, we have just Batman (and several
variations), Joker (and even more variations) and Two Face from the
Dark Knight series. Yet here we got John Connor, Marcus Wright, the
T-700 and the T-600 all in a matter of weeks. And this T-600 is so
visually different than the skinless one that it really is liking
getting a fifth character in the set.
Hot Toys had a poll
recently on their site, looking for collector's preferences when it
comes to the next figure announced. They had characters from earlier
films, including an Arnie T-800 in the choices, indicating the
potential for them to step back to the first two films to give us some
of the other must have members of the Terminator universe. I certainly
have my fingers crossed that we'll see some additional announcements
over the final three months of the year that will make Terminator fans
happy. Until then, I'm thoroughly enjoying what they've produced so
far.
Score Recap:
Packaging - ***1/2
Sculpting - ****
Paint - ****
Articulation - ****
Accessories - ****
Outfit - ***1/2
Light Up Feature - ***1/2
Fun Factor - ***
Value - **1/2
Overall - ****
Where to Buy -
Online options include these site sponsors:
- remember, there are two
versions. The one with the extra skin mask (missing the chin entirely)
is from Sideshow, where it's $185.
-
Alter Ego Comics
has the regular for $157.49.
-
Urban Collector
has him for
$158.
-
Big Bad Toy Store has him
at $165.
- or you can hit
ebay looking for a deal.
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