Packaging - ***1/2
I love the colors and graphics, and since these are boxes, they are generally collector friendly. There's a handful of twisties and some tape you'll need to toss, but for the most part you can remove the figures and pop them back in later for storage.

Careful observers will notice a twisty tie on Hit-Girl's right arm that snuck into two of the photos. Hey, didn't notice till later, and I really liked those two photos.

As with the card art on the 6" figures, the word 'ass' has been hidden by careful placement of sloppy paint. It looks a little odd, since the rest of the letters aren't done in a graphitti style, but it probably means Mezco is working on softening up Toys R Us to carrying them. Sadly, recent complaints by certain dumb-ass characters over the Dexter action figure make that all the more difficult.

Sculpting - Kick-Ass ***1/2; Hit-Girl ***
Mezco was once known entirely for a certain style of sculpt, a sort of caricaturized version that bleed into pretty much every line they did. While they still occasionally produce something in that vein, it's no longer the norm.

They are sticking with the rotocast, hollow style of figure though, and both of these are very lightweight. It's amazing how much detail can be created with this process now - there was a time when you couldn't possibly get such a well defined, sharp sculpt and this many points of articulation in a largely hollow figure.

Here we get very realistic sculpts, designed to look just like the on screen characters. No weird proportions, no over emphasized facial characteristics, no extreme expressions.

Kick-Ass was the surprise for me. While I liked the sculpt on the smaller figure, it was tough to determine just how accurate it was. The larger scale here allows you to clearly see the portrait, and the detail work on the eyes, mouth and head shape is quite impressive.

On his costume, the yellow lines are raised and cut, adding depth and dimension. The gloves and boots look terrific, and the scale and proportion of various body parts to others is quite good.

The same can be said about Hit-Girl. They've captured the slightly down turned appearance of her eyes, and the somewhat unique shape of her mouth in this portrait. Even without the wig and mask, you'd know it was Chloe Moretz.

Her costume matches the on screen version exceptionally well, at least from a sculpting perspective. The finder details are all here, like the zipper, belt pouches and unique boots. The sculpted wrinkles all match the anticipated flow of an actual costume, and look realistic enough that the cloth skirt and cape don't look out of place.

I'm not particularly keen on the selected poses, however, and this is more of an issue for Hit-Girl than it is for Kick-Ass. With his wide, squat stance I could get a couple reasonably good looks out of him, but the slightly forward bent squat of Hit-Girl, combined with the awkward back foot pose, left me cold.

This is the same sculpt as the smaller figure, but in this larger scale I was able to get her to stand - and stay standing - with much greater success.

Hit-Girl stands about 9" tall, while Kick-Ass is 11". Remember, both have their knees bent, and they'd be slightly larger in a regular stance. I've included a photo with the 12" Tytus as well as the 18" Abe Sapien since these are figures done in a similar rotocast style.

It's worth noting that both figures have hands sculpted to work with the accessories - ALL the accessories. Even though the knives are smaller than the staff, Hit-Girl can hold either without fumbling.

Paint - ***1/2
I'm impressed with the paint work on both, with small details getting some real attention. Cut lines are very clean, especially on Kick-Ass' costume, and the eyes are sharp, even and straight.

They also used the paint to add some weathering and dirt, most notably to Kick-Ass' boots and gloves, but in a few other places as well. The effect works well, and it's not over done.

That's not all to say there isn't the occasionally fuzzy edge or minor slop, but the work is certainly above average overall.

The one aspect I'm not quite sure on is the color of Hit-Girl's belt and pouches. It seems too light in tone to me, but I'm notoriously color blind - I'm lucky I can tell it's even pink.

Articulation - ***
Neither figure is super articulated, and the articulation varies from the smaller figures.

Both have ball jointed necks again, but both of these work better than with the smaller counterparts, particularly Hit-Girl. The sculpted hood on Kick-Ass still restricts the mobility somewhat, but Hit-Girl can look up, down and tilt side to side with much more ease and range of movement.

The also have ball jointed shoulders, NECA-style, with cut elbows and wrists. Kick-Ass' wrists are cut at the top of the gloves, while Hit-Girl's are right at the actual wrist.

Both have a cut waist this time, and perhaps the 6" Hit-Girl did too and I just didn't try twisting hard enough. Here, the waist turns below the belt, hidden by the skirt, which makes for a much better presentation than if the cut was above the belt.

Both of them have cut knees and ankles, but both lose the cut hips that their smaller cousins have.

This time around, Hit-Girl can stand on her own, although it's still tricky to keep her that way for long periods. Kick-Ass has no trouble standing, but the legs can't do much outside of the basic sculpted pose.

Accessories - Hit-Girl ***; Kick-Ass **1/2
Unfortunately, the larger Kick-Ass does not include the 'battle damaged' portrait as an accessory. You'll have to live with the normal, unbeaten face.

He does come with the two baton's though, and these are nicely sculpted and painted. They fit in his hands, or they can be slipped into the loops on his back.

Hit-Girl once again has her two butterfly knives, as well as her two piece bladed staff. The staff connects with a post and hole design, but the post is a tad big for the hole. Be careful when attaching the two, and consider increasing the size of the hole if you find it's too tight of a fit.

Her weapons are nicely scaled, and she can easily hold them, even the smaller knives. Some sort of display stand would have been nice for her, since the slightly wonky sculpted pose makes remaking upright a bit tricky.

Outfit - Kick-Ass N/A; Hit-Girl ***1/2
Kick-Ass sports an all sculpted outfit, so he doesn't get a score here.

However, Hit-Girl is stylin' some soft goods in both her skirt and her cape. Both look terrific in this scale, with nice tailoring and high quality, thin material. The cape is also removable, held in place with a wire inside the collar. There's no hem on the cape - always a bit of a concern - but otherwise these two pieces of clothing look excellent.

Fun Factor - ***
The lack of articulation takes a bit off the play value here, particularly with Hit-Girl. Let's face it, like Big Daddy said, Kick-Ass should really be named Ass-Kick, since that's what happens to him. But Hit-Girl displayed some of the coolest moves on screen I've seen this year, but her 'action' figure can't do much more than squat.

Value - **
I suspect the price is going to be a tough one for most buyers. The last rotocast figure I bought from Mezco was their 18" Abe Sapien, who ran $60. Most places are selling these 12" figures for close to $40, which is about $10 over what feels like a reasonable, average value. In fact, if you can snag them for around $30, you can add another half star here. I'm actually grading at $40, and your mileage is most certainly going to vary.

I went back and checked my review of the MOTUC Tytus, a similar figure in terms of style, cost and articulation, and this is consistent.

Things to Watch Out For -
Getting the two halves of Hit-Girls weapon to connect was definitely a trick. I had to hollow out the one side a bit more to get the post to fit, and I recommend you don't simply force it, as that can snap the peg.

Overall - ***
These are solid work, and if I were only going to pick up a Kick-Ass or Hit-Girl in one scale, it would be these two.  Sure, I'd love to see someone like Hot Toys give this license a shot, but barring that ever happening, these will certainly do fine on my display shelf.

I really need one more character to complete the license - Big Daddy. It just seems empty without him, and the costume begs to be brought to plastic life. C'mon Mezco, bring us one more!

Score Recap:
Packaging - ***1/2
Sculpting - Kick-Ass ***1/2; Hit-Girl ***
Paint - ***1/2
Articulation - ***
Accessories - Hit-Girl ***; Kick-Ass **1/2
Outfit - Kick-Ass N/A; Hit-Girl ***1/2
Fun Factor - ***
Value - **
Overall - ***

Where to Buy -
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth is coming in at just $34 each.

- Things From Another World has them for $36 each.

- Hollywood Heroes has them at $40 each.

- or you can search ebay.

Related Links -
Just last week I covered the 6" versions as well.

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