Review of Bane - Dark Knight Rises 1/6th action figure

Introduction

The Dark Knight is one of my all time favorite films, across genres. With that sort of pressure, it was impossible for The Dark Knight Rises to live up to the expectations.

Still, it was a worthy addition to the trilogy, and a decent ending to Nolan's run. One of my favorite aspects, at least for 90% of the film, was Bane. Tom Hardy did a terrific job behind the mask, and the overall design was very cool.

It took Hot Toys awhile, but they've finally released their Bane sixth scale figure in the U.S. International buyers have had it for awhile now, but it's taken quite awhile to make it stateside.

This isn't a cheap figure by any stretch of the imagination, and is expensive even by Hot Toys standards at almost $200.

Packaging - ***1/2
The box looks good...but it's not nearly as fancy or complex as their best work.

The top cover doesn't fit tight to the bottom - the space between is angular and adds visual pop. The cover has a texture to it as well, and the black and white graphics look good.

Inside, there's multiple trays to hold the figure and pieces, and of course it's all collector friendly.

Sculpting - ****
It's hard to find fault with most Hot Toys sculpts. There's no doubt this is Bane. And yes, it's Hardy. It's also about as realistic and life-like as you can get at this scale. How can I nitpick at that?

The trademark mask is also very realistic, with nice detailing on the metal tubes and textures. Scale is good too - it's not too big or too small for his face.

There's some very subtle veins on the bald pate as well, which just adds to the life-like nature of the portrait.

The eyes are not as deep set as one of the PERS figures of course, which is always a plus. They exhibit the usual perfection, and are a key aspect to making people mistake a photo of this figure for an actual person.

The scale of the figure overall is good too - he stands about 12 1/4" tall or so - and the muscular body makes sense. He stands great on his own of course, and he fits right in with the rest of the Hot Toys series.

The hands aren't plentiful, but there's enough for several different poses. They swap pretty easily, with little risk of breaking a wrist peg.

Paint - ****
Hot Toys, beautiful production paint...it's like a match made in heaven. Once again, the work is almost spotless, and the details are excellent.

The eyes are what really catch your attention. With that slightly wet, glassy look, you'd swear he was looking right through you.

The skin tones are even, and the small details, like those on the mask, are all clean and neat. There's not a ton of paint work here - he's not that kind of figure - but what is really is done well.

Articulation - ***
This muscular body has less articulation than the best TrueTypes, but that's to make him a bit less ugly with bare arms. Unfortunately, it also means there's less potential upper body poses.

The ball jointed neck works well though, and the leg articulation allows for fairly deep stances. The torso can even get a little bend going, and isn't as restricted by the vest as I'd expected.

Still, when compared to the best TrueTypes (or bodies from Enterbay), this one is a bit less posable. With no weapons, that's more of a factor - his pose is really all he has.

Accessories - **
The number of accessories is much, much too light this time around.

The coolest accessory is the broken cowl, which he can hold or can be placed on the grate-like display base. That fits in nicely with the scene in the film when Bane breaks it.

There's four extra hands to go with the fists he comes wearing - two gripping and two splayed out. There's a couple extra wrist pegs too, just in case.

There's an extra leather gauntlet, as I mentioned earlier. This one has a hole in it to use with the splayed right hand, and looks good on his wrist.

And that's it - no weapons, no other extras at all. And at $200 - Hell, even at $170 - that's way too light.

Outfit - ****
The outfit does better - this is a cool outfit, with plenty of intricate pieces.

There's the excellent boots of course, with realistic sculpt and life-like materials. The pants are well tailored and include the knee pads, and like every other piece, have great stitching.

The intricate vest and sash look terrific, and he comes wearing them in the package. And that's a very good thing, at least as far as I'm concerned.

There's also a black (looks black to me but it's supposedly dark brown) V neck shirt that he can wear. You have to remove the vest and sash to put it on him, however. The instructions go into great detail as to how this is accomplished, and then how you should put it back on. I took one look at them, took one look at the shirt, and said "uh, no". The reward wasn't worth the effort, but it's always nice of Hot Toys to provide options for you to use in your display.

The coat is a different story. It fits easily over the vest, and looks freakin' amazing. The quality of the material is just outstanding, and the inner lining, stitching and tailoring are all top notch. The leather exterior is even weathered just right, always a tricky look to pull off.

Scale is also fantastic with the coat, another difficult trick in this size. Usually, heavy coats like this mean too thick materials, but they did a great job getting cloth that looks right AND is the proper thickness.

Since I mentioned the extra leather gauntlet as an accessory, I'll mention the standard one as part of the outfit. The small buckles look terrific, and it fits nicely up over the wrist and forearm. With the jacket on, you'll put it aside, but again - options are always a big plus.

Fun Factor - ***
No, you won't be 'playing' with this figure, but the average collector and Batman fan will still get a kick out of dressing and posing him in the way that suits your taste.

Value - *1/2
This figure costs almost $200. I've complained about the rising cost of the 'standard' Hot Toys figures, but it's no more obvious than here. No extra portrait, no weapons, no diorama of any kind...but $200. That's too much for what you're getting here, even at Hot Toys quality.

Things to Watch Out For -
There's two tips for working with the figure.

First, pay close attention to the small snaps inside the lapels of the coat. These are the tiny plastic ones, almost impossible to snap once you open them. There's no need to open them - they just hold the lapels of the collar tight to the coat. But if you're not paying attention (as I learned from experience) you can pop them loose when you're tugging the coat on. Don't - yes, you can snap them back (more easily if you remove the coat again), but you really don't want that stress if you don't have to have it.

The second issue is around the second leather gauntlet designed for the open hand. The instructions will show you how to do it - almost. As instructed, you place the thumb of the splayed hand inside the hole facing backwards, then flip the hand into the inside of the glove. Works great - BUT you really want to attach the wrist peg to the hand first, and collapse the peg inward so it will fit inside the glove as well. Then you can straighten it back out easily, and it pops right on. If you try to force the hand onto the peg when it's already on the wrist, you'll be up for some more frustration.

Overall - ***
I've been looking forward to this figure (and Catwoman) for quite awhile now. And now that he's in hand, I can't say that he disappoints when it comes to sculpting, paint, or his outfit. Beautiful work, which has become the expectation with Hot Toys.

But this figure is very expensive considering the lack of accessories. Compared to something like Red Skull, who has a similar costume and more accessories (including an extra portrait!), and he was $20 cheaper! I have to say that the rising cost of these figures is getting to be a real issue.

If money is no object, this figure is worth another half star. But even at a lower price point (or if you have enough cash that the price point doesn't bother you), the lack of accessories still hold him back from a full four stars.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***1/2
Sculpting - ****
Paint - ****
Articulation - ***
Accessories - **1/2
Outfit - ****
Fun Factor - ***
Value - *1/2
Overall - ***

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Sideshow has him for $195.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
The only other DKR figure so far released is Batman, but Catwoman is coming as well.

And check out Dean Knight's cool video of this 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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