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Ezio - Assassin's Creed
Hot Toys
"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."
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It's video game character time
- tell us all about it, Jeff!
When Hot Toys first announced that they were starting a Video Game
Masterpiece series you could hear a virtual but tangible cheer go up in
the gaming community… at long last we would be getting some serious
hi-end love poured onto our favourite virtual heroes and heroines! But
it got off to a slightly slow start, in fact it was beginning to look
suspiciously like the Hot Toys; Videogame Masterpiece Series (VMS)
should have maybe been called the Resident Evil Masterpiece Series…
lets face it, the first eleven figures from the VMS have all been based
on characters from the zombie massacring classic shoot’em up!
But that reign has now come to an end… of course that doesn’t mean we
won’t see more figures from the Resi games, and we shall almost
certainly see at least one from the movie spin offs (the license was
announced earlier this year). But now it’s time for the worthy
successor to the VMS title, and that comes in the form of Ezio, the
main character from Assassins Creed II.
The game tells the rather complex story of Desmond Miles, who was also
the main protagonist of the original game, in that first story he
encountered the Animus machine, a piece of apparatus that gave him the
ability to key into the genetic memories of his ancestors. That first
experience introduced him to Altair, a deadly conscript to the
Hashshashins guild, but this time around he gets to plug into the newly
improved Animus 2.0, which instantly transports him to 15th century
Italy during the renaissance period. He finds himself inside and indeed
controlling the actions of his ancestor Ezio Auditore da Firenze, a
nobleman who has trained as an assassin to avenge the murder of his
father and brothers (sadly if I got to plug into it I think I’d end up
bricklaying in the north of Enland… sigh!).
The game allows you to visit renditions of real Italian locations such
as Venice and Florence and explore landmarks within them. You’ll even
get to parley with Leonardo De Vinci who supplies Ezio with those nifty
wrist
blades and indeed a miniature
gun!
So if that has wet your appetite to go and explore the game, or maybe
you are a hardcore fan already, just itching for a good representation
of your favourite ‘virtual’ hero to go on your shelf. Either way here’s
my thoughts on whether he is indeed gonna be a worthy figure to carry
the torch of the Video Masterpiece Series!
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Packaging - ****
This follows the same principles as the Resident Evil boxes, but as
this is part of the VMS I guess that makes sense. However I
have to say I prefer the imagery used here and the overall finish
reflects the sophistication of the Italian renaissance rather than the
grungy militaristic nature of the Resident Evil universe.
The major part of the box is white, with the front baring the games
logo spot laminated in gloss out of a pale background, this is beside a
full colour band with an image of Ezio in his assassins hood, it
carries round onto the magnetised flap that holds it shut at the side.
This area is coated by a thick rough textured varnish to add a little
more drama to the overall feel of the package, both visually and in a
tactile sense.
The back has a full figure illustration of Ezio in the classic arms
open pose, as seen here
above a list of full production credits and the legal sign offs.
The credits let us know this packaging was designed by Dixon Chan
& Monster Jnr, I have to admit I’m quite a fan of Dixon’s work
and this box shows some of the fine aspects that mark out his eye for
detail. Things like the spot varnished squares over lapping the
honeycomb effect running around the bottom of the box… subtle, but oh
so cool!
The inside flap is red with a monochrome image of Ezio’s head and a
brief bio is reversed out in white. Opposite is a large window with
chamfered corners displaying the fully dressed and ‘almost’ fully
equipped figure. He lies in a clear vac formed tray alongside his
accessories with a printed backdrop showing St Marks square and the
Campanile (before it fell down and had to be rebuilt). This can be used
as a background for display, or indeed photography.
So as I said, this is a box with a similar feel to the Resident Evil
packaging in its form, but because of the games branding this has a
much more classy finish and the imagery makes this a little bit more of
a winner, well to me at least, di prima qualità!
Sculpting - ****
Something I realised when researching the Resident Evil reviews was
just how hard it can be to find good quality images of game character
faces, and with Ezio here it can be even tougher as he spends the lions
share of the game with most of his face shrouded in shadow beneath his
peaked assassins hood. I did find a few pics that show some of the
features like this
and this
and you can see his tell tale scar here.
There are also some reasonable, if not a little small pics of the young
Ezio’s face in this link here.
The character was supposedly modelled on Francisco Randez, who was also
the model for Altair in the original game. However I’m not getting much
of a likeness to Randez here, in fact I have to admit the first time I
saw this sculpt I saw a young Alfred
Molina, all be it with a more heroic and less chubby face.
You can find a wealth of other info and more images from the game here
showing that even with the limited reference available this represents
Ezio very, very well.
The portrait is very naturalistic making him stand well with other
period dressed figures and the fact this was originated by GOX (Eom Jea
Sung) who was also responsible for the cool Leonidas from 300, Marcus
Wright from Terminator: Salvation and the recent Adrian Brody as Royce
from Predators. All without exception are strong sculpts… some stronger
than others, but all worthy of note. His talent is well used here, as
the portrait manages to look determined and focused whilst translating
the strong Latin features. The nose is broad and roman, the eyes dark
and brooding whilst the mouth is impassive, almost emotionless. It has
his trademark scar subtly picked out on the right hand side of his
lips. His hair is worn fairly long and lays in curtains on either side
of his forehead whilst the rear is tied back in a short ponytail, this
is removable by means of a short peg that inserts into the back of the
head so as to let the hood fit better when worn up. So, a solid sculpt
that I can find absolutely nothing to fault with, and one that is more
than deserving of a top score, fantastico!
Paint
- ****
The only area with any extensive work is the head, and once again we
get a master class in how it should be done. The flesh tones are
swarthy to represent his Mediterranean heritage and the chin area is
slightly darker to mimic 5 o’clock shadow. The eyebrows are gently
feathered at the edges and the actual eyes are glossy and crisply
executed as we now expect from the Hot Toys stable under JC Hongs
increasingly impressive stewardship. The hair is painted in a flat
brown tone, but the highly detailed sculpting on the hair is so finely
carried out that it does all the work anyway.
Many of the accessories and some elements of the costume have details
painted in as well (most notably the wrist gauntlet), and all are
convincing in the tones used for the metals and leathers they
represent… eccellente!
Outfit
- ****+
The head sculpt and paint apps are faultless, but that doesn’t detract
from the fact that on this particular occaision it’s all about the
threads. This outfit is nothing short of astounding. It’s the work of
Namgung Mijin who also tailored the fantastic outfit on the Michael
Jackson BAD figure. The details are so well observed and recreated
here, it’s worth taking some time out to look at and scrutinise some
reference shots like the rear of the outfit here
and this rather cool screen cap in front of the Basilica
where you can see the details on the boots, and more details can be
seen here.
It’s a very complex and layered costume, so lets start at the bottom
and work our way up, kicking off with the boots!
I love these boots, to maximise the ankle mobility they have been
separated into a separate shoe and knee high gaiter, and the design of
the game worn boot is such that no compromise is made in accuracy and
the articulation at the knee and ankle is still virtually perfect,
allowing for some very deep and pretty extreme poses. The actual design
aesthetic is very romantic, with sculpted straps at the ankle and top
of the shin and high flared knee guards in a very ‘Prince Charming’
style. The paint here is also perfect in mimicking antique saddle
leather with the steel buckles and rivets picked out crisply. Next up
are his brown trousers; these are relatively simple in their tailoring,
but still fit perfectly without hampering movement. His white cotton
shirt is however far from simple. It has a scalloped front section that
is left untucked, and is just visible beneath the front of his tunic
when it’s lifted. The upper arm on the sleeves is tailored close to the
body but just above the elbow it flares out into a baggier, multi
pleated Byronesque mutton sleeve adding more volume and accenting his
‘romantic’ image even further, the edges of his high collar and the
left cuff even have lace edging… very, very nice! Over the shirt he
wears two ornate waist-coated tunics, the tailoring here is also
amazingly complex, the detail on the seams at the shoulders and upper
back have to be seen up close to be fully appreciated, this careful
tailoring carries on up onto the hood which is cut to fit snug to the
head whilst keeping the eyes in shadow. Of course in the game the 3D
renderers can cheat the light source keeping his eyes in constant
darkness, but in the real world we need to be a little more creative by
keeping the direct light source above the head, but with the right
light source at the right angle it works very well. The outer tunic
also has red and white ribbons sewn vertically down the front (which
hints at the vertical stripes of the Vatican guards). The inner tunic
has two flaps hanging down at the front below the waist and four
layered ones at the back that have delicate white borders and
flourishes printed at the edges to mimic embroidery, the detailing here
is again beautifully rendered. Both the tunics also have a row of tiny
grey buttons, the inner one is done up with tiny delicate loops that
hook over the buttons, while the outer one is undone to the navel,
where a press stud is used to hold it shut. It is also held in place by
a wide red sash that is tied at the right hand side of his waist, and
over this is his complex pleather belt with its ornate buckle and
multiple bladed weapons attached. The back of the belt has two rows of
three throwing knife sheaths side by side, each holding a tiny dagger,
making a total of six in all. Trough the loop on the left side of the
belt he wears his renaissance short Cinquedea sword with its
traditional broad blade
and in the loop on the left is his long bladed weapon, the traditional
Italian Falchion sword.
The big buckle at the front incorporates the assassins brotherhood icon
alongside what appears to be ears of corn, or maybe hops and has four
tiny actual buckles to its sides. The right arm carries an ornate
gauntlet which again bears the assassins icon on its front, whilst the
reverse conceals the mechanism for the two stage propelling blade. This
isn’t actually able to extend, but instead needs to be clipped into
place with the tiny peg that slides into the designated slot. The other
hand is gloved so the blade for this arm simply slots into a hole in
its turned back upper part (I’m not sure of the accuracy of this in
game play, but it is the way it is depicted on much of the promotional
images for the game).
Lastly we have the cape, well, half cape. This is another amazingly
well observed garment; the shoulder pauldron is made from pleather that
mimics tooled leather. It’s attached to a half cape that has red cotton
on its inner side and brown suedette on its outer, it even has a fine
wire sewn into its bottom hem for posing. The whole rig is held in
place by a black cord that attaches at the front and rear of the
pauldron by means of small ornate shields and tiny metal rivets, it
wraps around the body at a 45 degree angle and ties to the belt.
Put simply this is the outfit of the year for me, and 2010 has been
quite a year for cool outfits… bellissimo, say no more!
Articulation
- ****
Ezio is quite the action
man, but being a highly trained assassin I guess that should go without
saying. In the game he squats, leaps and lunges his way across
renaissance Italy, and I’m glad to report on this occasion the figure
is more than up to getting into most of his iconic poses.
This is down to the fact that the outfit is exquisitely tailored to the
narrow shouldered True-Type, it’s a body I’ve been over far too many
times to do it again. Those that already know it, know that it performs
very well, those that aren’t familiar (have you had a nice time on the
moon) can play catch up here
and here and I did
another update recently here,
so the only slight difference worthy of note is that this has a solid
sculpted neck from the shoulders up, but full articulation is still
available where the head pushes onto the neck.
Hopefully those links will bring you up to speed, and that should be
enough to let you know why this category is another home run, supremo!
Accessories
- ****
I always try to gauge my score for accessories pertaining to what the
character actually needs and what is pertinent to him/her in
representing them well when displayed on the shelf. It’s all well and
good including a load of cool extras (which I’m not complaining about)
but I can’t be alone in feeling sad that so much stuff ends up getting
left in the box because there is no cool way of displaying the figure
with everything attached.
No such problems here!
Ezio is able to carry everything he comes with and still look good
(well, I say that, the ponytail will need to be stashed somewhere
unless you plan on displaying him hood down permanently… no, thought
not!). When you look at it on paper the actual list of goodies doesn’t
look that impressive, it consists of-
- One long sword
- One short sword
- Two blades inside forearm gauntlets
- Six throwing daggers
- Six interchangeable alternate hands
- One necklace
- Figure stand with logo
Yep, that’s it! So why a full score? Well, as far I’m concerned he has
everything he needs, and not only that what he has is sculpted and
fabricated near perfectly!
If I were to try and deduct some brownie points for something then it
would be that I would have had a preference for metal weapons, but
considering the belt is real pleather I think metal may have been a
little too weighty and could have caused stretching. So for better
poise and balance when posing him, the plastic blades probably work
better.
The detailing and sculpting on all the items throughout his small
collection is pretty much faultless, hence the full score… stupefacente!
Value
- ***1/2
Although he’s not loaded with accessories, what he does come equipped
with are all well thought through and pertinent to the characters
needs, I guess metal blades would have been a bonus, but the weapons he
does have are well represented and painted convincingly. However the
thing that adds a lot of value here is the outstanding, jaw dropping
quality of the complex outfit, it is just so very well executed.
Sideshow had him available for the full RRP of $149.99 but he was sold
out pretty damn quickly, leading one to believe this wasn’t considered
too expensive by many, and I hope hinting that we might get to see some
variants of Ezio in some of his other outfits as well, but if you acted
fast and pre-ordered when he was announced you could well have bagged
him for as little as $135, which makes him even more of a handsome
offer... va bene!
Fun
Factor - ****
I would be tempted to say he is going to be best appreciated by
devotees of the game, however I am no gamer.
You do not need to be a fan of the game (of course it would help) but
if you are just a fan of 1/6th in general then I can pretty much
guarantee that you will be knocked out by this figure. So the fun comes
from the fact he is supremely well put together and such a joy to pose.
The outfit is complex, but it’s also fantastically tailored to allow
for some great extreme mobility… the design of the boots is genius…
simple (as all the best design solutions are) but genius nonetheless, I
think you be hard pressed not to have fun with this figure!
Of course it goes without saying that the price reflects this is never
intended to be a child’s play thing, but if money were no object then I
could actually see this standing up to quite a degree of punishing play
as well, so if your name happens to be Rory John Gates, you’re the
perfect age to be throwing this guy out of your bedroom window strapped
into a home made Da Vinci hang-glider…go
for your life, sensazionale!
Overall-
****
It may come as a surprise to some of you, but I think Ezio here is a
strong contender for one of my figures of the year, certainly in terms
of outfit. I guess it’s even more of a surprise when you consider I’ve
never played Assassins Creed in my life… (yet!).
We
all know he ain’t cheap but we also know that quality never is, and
quite frankly this is one of the nicest 1/6th outfits I have ever seen
committed to this scale. So when you take the strong work on the sculpt
and paint into account as well, then the accessories, that though not
huge in number certainly manage to cover all the bases, plus some
elegant box art and a price that reflects they have cut the cloth
generously on this occasion, leads me to give him a full score… and
quite frankly I love this figure… splendido!
Where to buy
As I said above Sideshow did stock him, but he was snapped up by the
fans pretty damn quickly. The only one of Mikes sponsors I could find
him with was the Big
Bad Toy Store where he’s in stock for $144.99 apart from that
you’ll have to root around at any other on-line stores you favour or hit
eBay where I’m seeing prices of between $140 to $220. There
are still a few about at the moment, but I have a feeling this will
become much sought after in the years to come.
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This product was provided free for the review by the manufacturer.
Photos and text by Jeff Parker.
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