Packaging - ***1/2
The usual Gentle Giant packaging, when they do it right. Nice graphics combine with a very sturdy and obviously collector friendly package to get the figures to you safely. The window allows you to see the actual busts before you buy (if you're picking it up locally somehow), and there's the usual attractive baseball card style Certificate of Authenticity.

Sculpting - Fred ***1/2; George **1/2
For twins, you couldn't get much different in terms of scores. Ah, but it's not just about likeness, it's about execution.

Fred has a nice amiable smile, offering up a treat. You know that's going to end badly. The detail work on the sweater is great, and the likeness is much better than the paint allows it to be. The proportions are very good, as is the hair, and there's only a little bit of that zombie-ish nature of the bust coming through.

George doesn't fair as well. This is due in part to the design, which I'll talk about more later. But even ignoring that, there's some real issues.

They went with the laughing pose, and the face looks actually distorted and twisted, as though it came out of the mold badly. The hair doesn't fit on the head as well, looking more like a cap than hair, and while all the detail is there in the sweater, the overall appearance ends up being much lower on the scale than his brother.

Paint - Fred ***; George **1/2
The paint doesn't do either bust any real service. The skin tone is too pale, and the hair too bright red. This combination makes them even less realistic in appearance and more like mannequins.

Fred is fairly clean technically, but there's a bit more slop on George, particularly around the funky hat-like hairline.

On the plus side, there's those wonderful sweaters again. Just like the sculpted detail, the painted detail is well done and very clean.

There's also something odd worth noting - the edition number is only printed on the bottom of Fred's base, not George's. I'm sure that was to reduce the issue of matching the two bases together for packing, but it was still a bit of a surprise.

Design - Fred ***; George **
On a bust, the sculpt and design are tightly woven together, often making it tough to break them apart for discussion. Here, the choice of expression and pose for Fred really becomes a major issue.

The expression and pose on Fred works well, and you get a real sense of the mischievousness of the character. I wouldn't mind paying $40 or so for this bust by itself, if George was as stand alone character.

On the other end of the spectrum, there's George. They went for a very expressive, dynamic look - and missed. George is supposed to be laughing hysterically, but instead looks like he's singing an opera...or maybe one of those 'treats' just exploded in his pocket.

While the wide open mouth doesn't do much for him, I think the lack of any humor or laugh in the eyes is what hurts the expression. It's not enough for the mouth to be smiling/laughing, the eyes have to do it too. His eyes are too wide and expressionless - there needed to be some mirth in there for this extreme facial contortion to work.

Value - **1/2
At $90 for the pair, that's $45 each. Considering that's what most of their regular release busts go for, and these are technically convention exclusives (although the edition size is pretty big), and the price seems about average to me.

You may end up getting lucky though and snagging these on Ebay for less right after the show. I suspect the large edition size may make this one easier to come by.

Things To Watch Out For - 
I'd avoid dropping them on a concrete floor, but I'm pretty sure you don't need me to tell you that. Otherwise, there's nothing to really watch out for here.

Overall - Fred ***; George **
I'm grading these as if they were independent busts that I'd paid $45 each for.

Fred would be fine at that price, but not outstanding. He has the same paint issues as many of the woman in the line, but at least the sculpt and design are solid. George is a different story, and he is not one people would buy independently. The execution just isn't there on what is a very difficult expression and pose.

Score Recap:
Packaging - ***1/2
Sculpting - Fred ***1/2; George **1/2
Paint - Fred ***; George **1/2
Design - Fred ***; George **
Value - **1/2
Overall - Fred ***; George **

Where to Buy -
Well, these are a convention exclusive, so unless you're attending SDCC at this point, your next best bet is ebay. Try searching with MyAuctionLinks.com.

Related Links -
My last GG Harry Potter bust review was the exceptional Bellatrix Lestrange. Before that:

- the other mini-busts, including light up Harry, Cho Chang, Luna Lovegood, Draco Malfoy, Merperson mini-bust, Voldemort, Hagrid and Mad Eye Moody, Ron and Hermione, Snape and Dumbledore, Dobby and Dementor, and a guest review of Harry and Sirius.

Discussion:
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