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Dr.Horrible
Quantum Mechanix
"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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Travis is back tonight witha
look at a statue that's been sorely tempting me - take it
away, Travis!
Thanks to Michael, I'm back for another guest review! (yes, I lost
count of what number.) With that said...
"Ah hahahaha! Ah ha haaaa! A haaaa.
So that’s, you know… coming along. I’m working with a vocal coach.
Strengthening the “ahhaa”. A lot of guys ignore the laugh and that’s
about standards. I mean, if you’re going to get into the Evil League of
Evil you HAVE to have a memorable laugh. I mean do you think Bad Horse
didn’t work on his whinny? His terrible… Death… whinny."
And so, "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" began and from thatvery
second, I was hooked. Forget Doogie Howser, M.D., this was the
character Neil Patrick Harris was born to play. I see so much of myself
reflected back at me as I watch him play Billy/Dr. Horrible that it's
not even funny. Not that I, uh..wear goggles and a lab coat while I'm
on the computer.
(takes off goggles and lab coat)
Anyway, if you haven't seen the show (and really, who hasn't? ; )
here's a synopsis from the back of the DVD case:
Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother) stars as Billy, A.K.A. Dr.
Horrible, a budding super-villain whose plans for world domination
continually go awry. His two goals: getting accepted into the Evil
League of Evil, and working up the guts to speak to his Laundromat
crush Penny, played by Felicia Day (The Guild). The only thing standing
in his way is Captain Hammer, Billy's superhero arch-nemesis played by
Nathan Fillion (Firefly). With one big score, Billy could get into the
E.L.E. and earn the respect of Penny, but only if he can keep her away
from the dashing Captain Hammer..."
Today, I received a package from Sideshow Toys and inside awaited a
Maquette of Dr. Horrible, himself!
I have been searching the 'Net for a review of this statue for quite a
while and never found any, so I figured I'd do one myself. When offered
help, I said,
"Thanks, but… the League is watching. I gotta go this alone."
Oh, and always, I apologize in advance for the cruddy photos.
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Packaging
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***1/2
This is one tiny box. No kidding, I knew the maquette would be small,
but when the brown shipping outer box is smaller that you thought it'd
be, you know you're in trouble. If going in, you realize how big the
statue is, you'll be fine with the boxes getting smaller and smaller
the more you open it, but in my case, I was disappointed. Don't get me
wrong, I love it, but it's not as big as it's advertised. The actual
box it comes in is 6 1/2 x 7" x 3 1/2" and has 3 nice photos of the
Maquette along with the Dr. Horrible logo. The box also states the
Maquette is limited to 1,000 and has the E.L.E. seal of approval. (nice
touch!) It's still a basic box and inside has the usual styrofoam
packing that statues come in. It's the sturdy kind and not the kind
that falls apart easily that Michael hates. (regular readers will note
that that stuff is like Kryptonite to him.)
Sculpting
- ****
The Maquette is sculpted in an animated style, and yet, still captures
Neil Patrick Harris in all his Dr. Horribleness. I absolutely LOVE the
sculpt and can find no fault with it, aside from the size. It's listed
as 9" tall, when in reality, it's not even 8 1/2" WITH the base. Now,
that sounds like a minor gripe, but I'm really being
generous. I'll be the first to say I probably overestimated
it's size before I received it, but it seems so small that it made me
doubt why I'd purchased it. (especially for the price, but more on that
later.) It still gets four stars for the AWESOME sculpt and my goggles
are off to whoever sculpted it. Bring on Captain Hammer and Penny!
Paint
-
***1/2
The paint is basic and really doesn't have any horrible (get it?) slop.
The palette consists of about 9 colours with no shading or highlights.
Really though, I'm not sure it would look better with them or not. I
like it just the way it is.
On his labcoat, is a tiny caduceus logo and it's a crisp and clear.
(tampo?) If you catch the goggles at just the right angle and lighting,
they kind of look like actual lenses. (they're not, of
course.) The only downside to the paint is
it's done in very flat colours and it has that rough feeling to it.
It's likely to flake easily and has on mine right out of the box in two
places. His right arm with the Freeze Ray needs to be attached and it's
a very tight fit. It causes the grey of his glove to rub off to reveal
white underneath and where it rubs against the white lab coat, the grey
rubs onto the white and won't come off. Be very careful to get it right
the first time. The other spot is on the hole on his right boot where
the metal peg slides in from the base. Every time I've removed
it, white flakes of paint fall off. If you look closely at
the photo with the bottom of his boots visible, you'll notice the black
paint from the base has rubbed off onto his left boot sole. This is
because the figure slides around on the metal post when you move it and
doesn't fit snugly. Be careful when moving it.
Articulation
- N/A
It's a Maquette and has no articulation at all. His right arm from the
glove up can be positioned in a couple different angles, but it's not
meant to be in any other position than its intended one. Other than
that, he can spin a bit on his metal post, but seeing how it can rub
the paint off, I wouldn't move it much, if you can help it.
Accessories
- *
Since his Freeze Ray is permanently attached to his right gloved hand,
it can't be considered an accessory, but it's still pretty cool either
way. Other than that, he comes with a black numbered base. No
certificate or anything else.
Value
- *
At $69.99 (plus shipping) this Maquette is woefully overpriced. At
first glance, it looks to be an action figure and I really wish it was.
I'd rather it be made out of plastic than resin, to ensure it not
breaking easily. I understand the price being higher because of the
license and limited edition status, but not at a $70.00 price tag. It
reminded me of the Master of the Universe Stactions made by NECA and
they were cheaper with a greater amount of detail and paint. I can see
this maquette costing maybe $50.00 at the most, but after shipping,
it's almost $20.00 too much.
Things
to Watch Out For -
Like I said above, be careful attaching his gloved, Freeze Ray arm to
ensure the paint doesn't rub off or chip. Likewise, with making sure he
doesn't slide around on his base, so it doesn't scratch or rub off the
black paint.
Overall
- **1/2
I don't want to appear like I don't like this maquette. I actually like
it a lot, I just don't feel like I got my money's worth. I
love Neil Patrick Harris and Dr. Horrible so I'm thrilled to get a
figure or statue of him at any price. I just wish it were bigger or a
better value. I still want a Captain Hammer and Penny to display with
him, so I guess I'm not too disappointed.
Where to Buy -
They are currently sold out on the Quantum Mechanix website, but are in
stock (with low quantity) on Sideshow Collectibles. Act fast, if you
want one or face the wrath of ebay. (E.L.E. member # 18)
Thanks again, Michael! Until next time, folks: Same Bat Time, Same Bat
Channel!
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This product was purchased for the review by the reviewer.
Photos and text by Travis Payne.
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