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Packaging - **1/2
This packaging really had me going in two very different directions.
I love it and I hate it - how odd is that?
I love the look of the boxes, and the graphics are excellent.
Unfortunately, they're a little too consistent from character to character,
and I didn't even see the name of the particular figure inside listed on the
box anywhere. But they are still very eye catching and attractive.
And let's face it - boxes always hold up better than carded figures, and are
generally easier to store. These are also completely collector friendly,
and don't have a single twisty tie! Woo-hoo!
On the downside, they're huge. While the size was important for
Batman to get him and his base inside, the boxes are way too big for
characters like Harvey Dent and Catwoman. On top of that, they don't
show off the figures well, with the die cut front blocking most of your view.
Sculpting - Catwoman ****; Batman ***1/2; Joker ***; Two Face **1/2
Most of these series have been all over the place when it comes to the
sculpts, and this series is no exception. I love both the designs and
the execution on Catwoman and Batman, but the Joker is a little more average,
and Two Face leaves me close to cold.
Batman is slouched, descending some ancient stone stairs. The cape
flows well, and the muscles are defined in a very comic book style.
There's a nice realistic appearance to the belt and bags, but the face is done
with very little detail, very much like manga.
The only negative here for me is the amount of muscle detail. It's a
tad overdone, particularly in the thighs, but it's not enough to drop this
figure more than a half star off four stars.
Catwoman is excellent, and might just be my favorite recent Catwoman
figure. Okay, so I'm a dirty old man - sue me. This Catwoman has
one of the nicest butts I've seen on an action figure, which sounds a tad
weird once I typed it out. The style reminds me of Balent meets Japan,
and again her face is very manga in design. Her pose is perfect, there's
a ton of small detail work in the hair, boots and gloves, and I can even
tolerate the silly flipping hair look, which I so often complain about. Meow.
The Joker is okay, although not nearly as cool of a design. He's
standing up straight as he so often is, and one hand can hold a grenade, or be
swapped for a hand holding a gun. The other can hold a rose if you
desire, or simply look like he's about to pull a rabbit out of his hat.
There's much more detail work on Joker's face, and his body sculpt is also
quite detailed. It's not awful work, but it's a tad too similar to past
versions. Perhaps we've just gotten so many Jokers at this point, that
I'm all Jokered out.
Asamiya clearly likes big feet on all his men, as all three of these guys
have oversized shoes. The Joker's are the most obvious due to the thin
legs, but they are all sporting mighty dogs.
Two Face does the least for me, especially in the sculpting
department. The body sculpt is pretty good, and the pose is nice and
simple, with nothing overly exaggerated or silly. He has his coin in the
left hand, with a gun in his right.
It's the head sculpt that bugs me, especially the hair. For some
reason that I've never understood, artists feel the need to give him
unmanageable hair on the 'evil' side. What, he can't get a comb through
it? I think the facial scarring is sufficient to get the point across,
with perhaps a little wildness and different color hair. This mohawk
look is just a tad too silly for my tastes.
If you can get past the hair though, you'll see that the scarred appearance
is well done. He's not the most exciting sculpt of the bunch, but he's
still at least acceptable.
The scale may end up a bit of an issue for you though. These are
closer to a 7" scale, and are taller and bulkier than the previous two
Yamato series. They are also larger than the Mattel line, but I don't
think it's so far off that it causes that big of a problem. I've
included a comparison shot at the end of the review.
Paint - Catwoman; Joker ***1/2; Batman, Two Face ***
There is a nice amount of detail on most of the figures, but there were still
a few issues.
My poor Batman is missing some paint on his knee and leg, probably rubbed
off in the packaging process. There's also a tad bit of slop between
some of the more difficult colors, and the washes (particularly on Batman and
Two Face) border on the excessive.
Catwoman and Joker had the best work in my bunch, but I bet if you take
your time picking them out, you'll be able to find four that are all fairly
good.
Articulation - *1/2
These aren't designed to be action figures, but there are lots of
'joints'. They can be taken apart at the neck, shoulders, and wrists in
most cases, or at the forearm or bicep, depending on the figure.
These aren't really points of articulation though, since very few of them
can be posed in any way other than one. You'll notice that I tried
turning the Joker's head for the close up shot, and ended up with a gap.
Gapping is an issue with all the joints, since they aren't particularly tight,
and the pieces can fall off a little easier than I like.
You can pose some of the pieces though, like Joker's right arm or Two
Face's right hand. But for the most part, these look good in one pose
and that's it.
Accessories - Batman, Joker ***; Catwoman, Two Face **1/2
The level of accessories actually varies quite a bit from figure to figure in
this wave.
Catwoman has one accessory, her 'base'. It's a small foot rest, done
quite elegantly, with an indentation and peg for her right foot.
Two Face also has just his base, a large coin. Again, there are pegs
for his feet.
Batman does a little better, with his much larger and more intricate base,
along with a batarang that can fit in his left hand. It's tough to keep
it in there though, and be careful you don't break it attempting to keep it
tight.
The Joker does the best with four accessories - his deck of cards base, a
small grenade that can fit in his right palm, a rose that can fit in his left
hand, and an alternate left hand that is holding a gun.
Fun Factor - *
These aren't toys designed to be played with, so this category doesn't really
apply. These are statues, well sculpted with solid paint ops, designed
to look good in one pose on the shelf.
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