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Willow was never lucky in love though - you'll notice I'm not even
discussing her long standing crush on Xander - and poor Tara met her fate when
she was killed by something as mudane and normal as a gunshot from
Warren. I have a hunch that he regretted that move about the time Willow
literally peeled the skin from his entire body. Needless to say, she was
unhappy.
Diamond Select Toys is
pumping out lots of Buffy figures right now, focusing quite clearly on the
ladies of the show. This two pack reminds us of happier times for Tara
and Willow, and is called "Together Forever". It is a shared
exclusive between Cinequest.com and the
Musicland stores (Musicland, Media Play, Suncoast, Sam Goody). The only
difference between the two is in the small sticker on the bottom right of the
bubble.
Packaging - ***
I really like the earth tones that DST has gone with for the recent
figures. It's particularly good for the Willow and Tara figures, as it
seems to fit their mood and personality so well.
The package also has a nice head shot of both characters/actresses on the
top right, and has some additional photos and useful text on the back.
While it's not the easiest to store due to the unique bubble design, it is
some sharp looking packaging.
Sculpting - Willow ***1/2; Tara **1/2;
Both of these figures are repaints, packaged together rather than
seperately. Both are available as single card figures right now
(actually, in more than one way), but this is the first time I've reviewed
either in any paint version.
Therefore let me point out that this is the best Willow sculpt we've gotten
so far, bar none. It might take you a little while to get accustomed to
the hair, which throws things off slightly. I do like the short look,
but it tends to sit on the head like a helmet a little too much.
Ah, but the face - that's Alyson Hannigan. They've gone with the
large, wide, grin, and captured it perfectly. This is the way we think
of Willow most often, and it's at her best. There's a few nits you could
still pick, but until someone does it better, this is the Willow figure (or
another with this head sculpt) to have.
Then there's Tara. Unfortunately, they didn't manage to capture her
at the same level of accuracy. I was fortunate enough to meet Amber
Benson, the actress who played Tara, last summer at SDCC, and she's a far
prettier young woman than this figure implies.
The figure is close, but like so often in this scale, fails to capture her
quirky personality. The face seems to long and thin, and the eyes are
clearly off. Perhaps it's because of the close comparison to the Willow
sculpt, but the Tara simply doesn't live up to the expectations that the other
half of this pair has set.
The body sculpts on both are fairly standard for the new line.
Neither really needs the display stand to stay up on their own, although the
stands do look good. The hands are sculpted to hold some
of the accessories, and overall the body scale and proportions are good.
You'll be able to display these with the previous MAC figures or any of the
new DST figures and they scale will be fairly reasonable.
Paint - ***
The outfits are repainted to match with the Hush episode (the first episode
where their physical and emotional relationship first took off), or so I'm
told. I do remember the funky shirt Willow is wearing, but it seemed to
me that Tara's outfit was slightly different. Ah well, that could be my
faulty memory, and I trust the folks at Diamond more than I do my brain cells.
The paint is generally well applied, with little slop, especially in the
face, eyes and hair. The shiny appearance of Willows pants is a little
odd, but it does contrast well with the flat colors that Tara is wearing.
Articulation - Willow **1/2; Tara **
The new line has decent if not stellar articulation. Willow has
neck, shoulders, elbows, hips and knees, while Tara has neck, shoulders, and
elbows. Willow's articulation works a little better since she's not encumbered
by a long skirt, but both figures really could have used wrist articulation.
UPDATE: A reader from BTVSFigs mentioned that Willow DOES have wrist
joints! I gave it a try...very carefully...and sure enough, they
turn! Be careful though!
Accessories - ***
The set includes a display stand for each, which can be set next to each other
although they don't actually connect. They form part of the floor,
including part of the circle they used in the episode.
There is also a candle, mortar and pestle (which could double as a stake!),
jug, purse, and Miss Kitty Fantastico, the couple's pet cat. The purse
is intended to work with Tara, but I couldn't keep it on either shoulder, so
it ended up in the accessory box pretty quick.
The sculpting and paint work is good across the board, and I always like it
when we get such show specific accessories. All of them make sense not
just for the pair, but for the particular episode.
Fun Factor - ***
Are there kids that watch this show? I suppose the 8 - 10 year old crowd
might, but even some forward thinking parents might balk at buying action
figures of a pair of lesbians. Still, their orientation was never the
focus of the show, and they were treated as people first. If you do have
someone who loves the show, these figures would provide a reasonable amount of
fun - they articulation is adequate, and the accessories are good.
Value - **
Unfortunately, this line suffers from an illness that's hurting everyone
right now - high prices. With only the limited specialty retailers to
sell the line through, the retail price has been around $15 for the single
figures, and $30 for this pair.
It could be worse though, if you remember that this pair is actually an
exclusive on top of it.
Overall - Willow ***; Tara **1/2
I was disappointed in the sculpt on Tara, and that alone pulled the figure
below Willow. And yes, I know I'm setting myself up for a joke with that
sentence, but I'm not touching it. But I'd...never mind.
Things to Watch Out For -
Be careful with those wrists on Willow! Be sure you don't twist too hard that
first time...
SCORE RECAP:
Packaging - ***
Sculpt - Willow ***1/2; Tara **1/2
Paint - ***
Articulation - **1/2
Accessories - ***
Fun Factor - ***
Value - **1/2
Overall - Willow ***; Tara **1/2
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