Review of Indiana Jones Legends in 3D

Introduction

Once upon a time, there was a drought of epic proportions. While the Indiana Jones franchise was huge, the collectibles market was not. You couldn't find an action figure or a bust to save your life.

And then Kingdom of the Crystal Skull came along, and suddenly the license was picked up by everyone. There were more toys, and statues, and busts, and odd collectibles than you could ever want - it was a deluge. And as pretty much anyone could have predicted, a flood like that oversaturated the market, and companies got burned. And when those products finally dried up, we went back to drought conditions.

When Dial of Destiny hit, manufacturers didn't make the same mistake. This time they kept their expectations and releases more reasonable. They focused more on earlier movies, and my favorite new line was the "Adventure Continues" series from Hasbro. Sadly, these' 6" figures didn't last nearly long enough.

Diamond Select, working with Gentle Giant, has been producing a terrific series of busts called "Legends in 3D". These are about 1/2 scale, and they've done tons of different licenses, from DC and Marvel to Power Rangers and Star Wars. But it was still a bit of a surprise to me to see they were doing one of Indy.

This guy started shipping a few weeks ago, but I don't think a lot of folks were paying attention. You can pick him up for around $180 at most retailers. He's also a limited edition of just 1000 produced.

Packaging - ***
These come in a pretty simple box, packed in styrofoam trays. Nothing surprising there, but at least it's the nice, solid kind, not the sort that falls apart in your hands. And of course, this sort of packaging has always been collector friendly, with no need to damage it when removing the bust.

Sculpting - ***
This is one of those weird items, and anyone that's been collecting for any time will know what I'm talking about. In hand the likeness looks far, far better than it does in photos.

When I took this out of the box, I was extremely pleased. But in photos, the jawline seems a bit heavy to me, thicker around the lower face. It throws it off a bit, and once I saw it, I couldn't unsee it.

Still, I'm happy with the outcome. We all know how difficult Ford seems to be to capture in any portrait, no matter the scale. The skin texture is decent, and the beard hair looks good. There's some nice variation in the texture too, differentiating the skin from the clothing.

The base has a cool snake motif, and at 1/2 scale, it's a pretty big bust, coming in at 11 inches tall. It's not huge, but it's big enough to make an impression on the shelf.

Paint - ***
It's often been the paint, not the sculpt, that has held back Ford portraits. You'll see time and again, especially in sixth scale, where a talented painter has taken a production release and repainted it, highlighting the underlying sculpt.

I'm betting that would be true here as well, although this isn't a terrible paint job. The skin tone is good, with some natural variation, and the beard is highlighted in a relatively realistic way. The eyes are clean and glossy, and the clothing details look good.

The base looks like a relic, with some wash to pull out the highlights of the sculpt. The gold color is slightly burnished, giving it an aged appearance.

If I have one real nit, it's with the hair, which is a bit dark and flat. There's not as much detail here, due to the heavier layer and color.

Value - **1/2
At around $180, you're getting a fairly large bust at about the quality you'd expect. With an edition size of just 1000, the price point is solid, and gets an average value from me. While these aren't exactly budget busts, they are well below the cost of many in this scale, and are great for collectors looking for a larger collectible that covers a wide range of licenses in a consistent style.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing!

Overall - ***
While this isn't a home run, it's at least a double. It's only the third Legends in 3D I've picked up - the other two are the Harley and Joker from BTAS - but I will watch for others that are in licenses I'm fond of. I'll be particularly interested in others like this, where the options are limited.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - ***
Paint - ***
Value - **1/2
Overall - ***

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth is at $180 and with free shipping, but it's still a pre-order. Once he's in stock, use my link and get an additional 10% off, plus free shipping!

- or you can Seach Ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
My personal favorite is the Indiana Jones quarter scale figure from Sideshow, but check out reviews of lots of other collectibles, like the new Adventure Series action figures, or the DX05 Hot Toys figure.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

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