Packaging - **1/2
Same stuff, yadda, yadda, yadda. I do like the actor photos they
use, particularly on the front, but the photos of the other figures in the
line are pretty uninspiring.
Accessories - Dru ***,
Gentlemen ****
Drusilla comes with four small accessories, including a knife, rose,
silver cup, and her doll, Miss Edith. She also comes with an
excellent display base, one of the finest produced so far.
All her accessories are
nicely done, although the soft plastic of the knife and rose hurts the
score a little. But the real standout here is the excellent base,
another major improvement over previous Buffy lines. The bases were
pretty good with series 2 and 3, but these bases are another step forward.
The Gentlemen also have
excellent bases, and theirs are designed to sit together and form an
overall base re-creating the clock works in the tower where they had their
final battle with Buffy and Riley.
The detail work on these
bases is absolutely fantastic, with excellent sculpting and great paint
ops.
The two Gents also come with
a variety of accessories - scalpel, surgical tools, heart, bottle, vial
that was used to hold the heart, small decorative box (that held the key
to their defeat), and an extra set of hands for each.
Each Gentlemen also comes
with a henchman dressed in a straight jacket. These henchmen aren't
articulated, but have bendy arms.
While Dru's accessories are
nice, the addition of the henchman and the fantastic base with the
Gentlemen set them apart from every previous Buffy release to date.
Sculpting - Dru **,
Gentlemen ****
The sculpt on Drusilla is a big disappointment for me. The
actress that plays Dru, Juliet Landau (daughter of Martin Landau), is a
very attractive woman. The woman portrayed here is simply plain.
It may be due to the
smoothness of these recent facial sculpts, but there's really no character
to this version, and she even appears misshapen from certain angles.
The nose is crooked, and the sculpting around the ears and neck was left
rough.
The sculpt on her body is
better, particularly her blouse. There's a lot of detail there, and
the pose is well done.
The Gentlemen are another
story. Both figures use the same body, but each has a slightly
unique head sculpt. And what an excellent head sculpt it is!
These characters are right on, and the detail is fantastic.
Paint - Dru **, Gentlemen
****
The paint ops on Dru don't help the weak sculpt. Her lipstick is
applied unevenly, and the hair line is not clean.
Again, the Gents are a
complete opposite. The paint ops are great, and the solid black
suits show no variation or sloppiness. The face details are great,
particularly the spooky eyes.
Articulation - ***
The articulation on the Gentlemen or Drusilla are as good as some of
the other, newer Buffy/Angel series. Both are statues from the waist
down, which works okay for the characters but is a little disappointing
considering some of the improvements we saw in Angel series 1.
Above the waist, things are
better. Dru has waist, wrists, elbows, cut joint biceps, shoulders
and neck, although the neck is restricted by her hair sculpt.
The Gents have neck, waist,
shoulders, cut joint biceps, wrists and elbows, but the elbows are fairly
restricted as well.
Value - Dru **1/2,
Gentlemen ***1/2
As usual, this depends on where you buy them, but you should be able to
pick them up for $12 each or so.
At that price, Dru's an okay
value, although if she had a better sculpt I'd give this a much better
score. Her base is the best thing she has going for her.
The Gentlemen are the best
value yet in this MAC line. At $12 or so, you're getting basically
TWO figures, a handful of neat accessories, and a great base.
Overall - Dru **1/2,
Gentlemen ****
I'd skip this Drusilla, and go with the vampire look, since the photos of
that sculpt looks much better.
But don't pass up the
Gentlemen if you're collecting some of this line. You'll need to buy
both - MAC was pretty business savvy to put some of the important
accessories with each figure, and the base really doesn't work well for
only one - but they are well worth the money, and have passed up Spike as
my favorite figures in the line so far.
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