|
|
Hot Toys- True Types- an update/overview
"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."
|
Hot Toys has been releasing a
number of different TrueType bodies, and Jeff Parker is here tonight to
shed a little light on the various types. Tell us all about it, Jeff!
Over the last few years I’ve posted specs on the various Hot Toys,
True-Type (TT) base bodies available in between reviewing the licensed
figures, and I figured it was time for a new update. Recently a few new
variations have been hitting so I’ve taken a few photos to help folks
work out what the main differences are.
This isn’t so much a review as a look over what’s available and how the
newer versions differ from earlier ones… which to be honest is 99%
cosmetic, as most of the nuts ‘n’ bolts have stayed basically the same.
So, if you want a full limb by limb dissection you can still use my
original breakdown HERE
and I also did a comparison of the last selection, featuring the narrow
shouldered and slim versions HERE.
Mikes guest contributor Brandon also covered the two female TT’s HERE which I also intend
to include in this photographic round-up.
Recently a whole slew of new base bodies have been hitting us from
various other manufacturers, but issues of build quality and indeed the
legality of ownership seem to have blighted their releases. So people
keep coming back to something they know and trust, the good old
faithful TT.
Well I say ‘old faithful’, but any serious collector of HT 1/6th
figures will know they never rest on their laurels, and recently we’ve
seen virtually every new release have at least one tweak to its basic
design to suit the needs of the specific character it is used on. And
often it’s not just a tweak, more of a major redesign and sculpt to get
it looking just right.
But back to the matter at hand, here we have the basic retail versions
of the latest TT’s and how they look and perform.
Packaging
All the basic
retail versions come in a clear plastic clamshell container, the
special edition promotional figure came in a rather spiffy white box.
But the packaging here is utilitarian rather than bulky and
over-designed. And for a base figure that works just fine.
|
(above
- Advanced Body Type)
|
|
(above - Narrow Body)
(above - Slim Body)
(above - Advanced Body Hips)
|
Sculpting
It’s been a long time habit of 1/6th figure manufacturers to slip in
the occasional ‘celebrity’ sculpt, some merely hint at a celebrity
likeness, causing much debate and stroking of chins, while others are
so bang on the money there can be no mistaking. You can check out the
evolution of the TT base bodies on the Hot Toys site HERE.
The new narrow shouldered version is
so unmistakably Taylor
Kitsch that he was instantly snapped up by fans of the
Wolverine movie (apparently there are some out there) to bash into a
figure of Gambit… he was even sculpted with the right hairstyle. The
Caucasian ‘Advanced Version’ was released twice but with slightly
different skin tones, once as a special Christmas present to people in
the industry and winners of a competition on their Facebook page (this
one was slightly more tanned), and then as a more readily available
retail version. These two releases used the old Prison Break head sculpts, giving the
fans who had missed out on that earlier release another chance to own
them. Obviously the Christmas exclusive is much harder to come by, but
it still surfaces on eBay
every now and then. The African American ‘Advanced
Version’ TT was however something new and rather special, as
they decided to base it on a certain US
president and to say the sculpt is spot on would be an
understatement. I would imagine many owners of the rather cool DiD
version might have been picking this up to do a head swap as
well.
The two female base figures share the same facial features but
different skin tones, there’s a blonde Caucasian with a pale
complexion and a brunette Cuban American with honey coloured
skin, no ‘one’ celebrity jumps out as a likeness here, but
I’m seeing elements of Rachel
Weisz and Jennifer
Garner.
But as I said, none of these are officially meant to be anyone in
particular, however, they will come in handy for no end of kit-bashes.
All the figures shown and listed also come with two sets of hands that
consist of a relaxed pair, a gun grip right and a general grip left,
the female figures also come with a pair of extra feet for high heeled
shoes.
Paint
The fact these are just base figures does not mean we end with second
rate paint apps, far from it. In fact these put the very best work of
many other manufacturers to total shame. All the skin tones are
convincing with subtle work on the graduations and gentle mottling. The
eyes are all crisp and glossy, so they are all ready to rock ‘n’ roll
straight from the box!
Outfit
All the male figures come
butt-nekkid but the ladies have a simple bikini top and panties to save
their modesty. You should find that most 1/6th scale clothes will fit
them just fine, dependent on the tailoring of the garments and the
choice of TT build you go for.
Accessories
As I said above, you get the
extra hands with all of them, the extra feet with the female figures
and a plain black classic HT stand with the old-style waist grip,
rather than the groin hammock!
Articulation
I went over the full range
of articulation is the review linked to above, and Brandon also
comprehensively listed the females full range in his review.
The main change on the Advanced Version is the bulked up thigh muscles,
these just slide over the top of the regular thigh like a sheath, so
can be removed if you need to. There is also some more detail and skin
texturing sculpted onto the arms and a few tweaks have been made to the
shoulder articulation.
Suffice to say the male TT is still just about the best all rounder
currently available, while the female is a solid figure but could do
with some revisions at the ankle, hip and waist, but I’m still loving
the silicone torso as the flexibility is very good.
Value
As soon as new TT’s are released they tend to sell out pretty quickly,
as long as you pre-order or buy them soon after release you can
generally get them for under $40 a pop, but once they start getting
scarce… or talked about, like the African American ‘Advanced Version’,
then prices tend to go north.
Overall
As far as build quality, sculpt and paint apps are concerned then for a
base body you can’t go far wrong with a TT. The male figures show a far
greater range of movement, but what the females lose in articulation
they make up for in aesthetic. So depending on what you need your base
figure to wear or indeed do, you should be able to find one to meet
those requirements.
|
|
|
This product was provided free for the review by the manufacturer.
Photos and text by Jeff Parker.
|
