NL Studio – Thanos – Jack-o pose

The meme, the legend… presenting Thanos in the Jack-o pose! This figure took the internet by storm in 2022 when NL Studio announced they were going to produce him. If you’ve not heard of this figure, oh boy, you’re in for a treat! Warning: eggplant ahead!

This figure was offered in 1/6 and 1/4 scales, both with a standard and a deluxe edition – the deluxe coming with two bodies, one “clothed” and one naked. I went for the 1/6 deluxe edition – with Thanos being a large chap in general I felt the 1/6 would be sufficiently large and wanting the two bodies, the 1/6 deluxe was pricey enough at CN¥1880 (US$265).

Shipping woes

Deposit went fine, replenishment (final payment) went fine, studio didn’t take long to dispatch. Then came the fun with international shipping. He was just under the limit for volumetric shipping so ended up paying for the shipping service so I wouldn’t have to pay an eye-watering amount for volumetric shipping – his shipping via SAL was CN¥560 (US$80), volumetric was clocking in at least double that. So I stumped up the cash, and waited. Then Chinese customs refused it. Arrggghhh. Then came an agonising 2.5 months wait for it to be returned to the agent’s warehouse and get stocked back in, not knowing for sure if it was going to happen.
Thankfully it returned and my shipping was refunded, whew. In the intervening time, EMS prices came down significantly so it cost “only” CN¥585 to reship via EMS. And another CN¥20 for the shipping service…
And if the shipping wasn’t cursed enough, EMS took 14 days, when other parcels were taking 7. But he arrived and that’s the main thing!

Base

Let’s first see what number I got by flipping the base:
https://i.ibb.co/xHnmqd0/base-bottom.jpg
I think the universe is telling me he is indeed cursed. I hope the mail delay wasn’t him trying to Thanos Snap the other parcels he was shipped with.

Top view of the base:
https://i.ibb.co/zF33rmG/base-top.jpg
The base is decently weighty which is pretty common for resin bases. As Thanos is known for his destruction they went with a destroyed piece of concrete with bits of twisted metal reminiscent of parts of a building. The metal parts look good, but the concrete/asphalt looks a bit bland in person and could’ve done with a bit more variance in shading. As it is, from certain angles it does look plasticky. It’s nice they have included some earthy bits though I think they could have done adding in some darker earth tones.

Closeups:
https://i.ibb.co/m0PZDwq/base-closeup-back.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/Njq52yf/base-damage-closeup.jpg
The sculpting is really nice, but the paintwork could do with a little work. Overall, it’s decent in my opinion.

Edges:
https://i.ibb.co/bdDYf89/base-front.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/h7kVrnK/base-back.jpg
The layered effect is really cool, but the dirt bits aren’t really selling themselves properly as dirt – the bits that have more definition between the dirt and surface paint do look better than the ones that seem to be blended.

Overall, the base is not cursed. Unless we’re counting the 66 on the bottom of it. The paintwork isn’t top-notch, but mostly does the job. I could see someone with painting talent adding in a bit more shading and definition, but I don’t think it’s a necessary thing. The figure does cover up a good chunk of the base when on display, so the greyness of it isn’t overly obnoxious.

Figure parts

Starting off with the sword:
https://i.ibb.co/LJW9G2y/glaive-up.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/GkWHdVJ/glaive-down.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/378kQ6W/glaive-side.jpg
The detailing on the sword is nice – everything is painted neatly. And it’s apparently a sword rather than a glaive but being double-ended it was a bit hard for me to tell XD.
Mine curves downwards at the ends – I don’t believe this is intentional, but will have to monitor to see if it bends over time. May have to unbend it or put it away if it becomes a problem over time.

Head and limbs:
https://i.ibb.co/9yqwKGs/parts-top.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/kxvNRqZ/parts-botttom.jpg
As he has two bodies his legs, arms and head are all separate parts which connect using the power of magnets. His armour (barring the infinity gauntlet) has had battle scars and weathering applied which is nice attention to detail. We even have some dirt on the soles of his boots. No complaints with the parts here.

Let’s take a closer look at the head:
https://i.ibb.co/Kj8MFtS/head-front.jpg
In my opinion the head has been done really well – he has a creasy face and they’ve managed to replicate that well. We also have some realistic-looking eyes and they’ve given his lips a different colour and sculpted his teeth.

Other views of the head:
https://i.ibb.co/Zgwjksk/face-34.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/pPMJsgh/head-left.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/Vg8h3yC/head-back.jpg
His helmet has been really nicely done – the small details are painted well and all the battlescars in the sculpt.

The infinity gauntlet divides into two:
https://i.ibb.co/S7Mf5Hq/gauntlet-batteries.jpg

And we have a switch and two batteries:
https://i.ibb.co/FqmvgVn/gauntlet-batts-closeup.jpg
I had to have the original batteries removed for shipping reasons, and one detail that was lacking attention was the direction of the battery compartment – the plastic part is actually the wrong way around. One prodding it with a bench supply later confirmed this fact. It’s a very minor detail and doesn’t affect anything – just gotta put the batteries in the opposite direction than labelled. The terminals are around the standard way.
Getting the batteries in there can prove a little interesting as the gauntlet magnet can “steal” them, so have to watch out for that!

Gauntlet turned on under photography lighting:
https://i.ibb.co/0nfwZMv/gauntlet-on.jpg

Gauntlet under room lighting:
https://i.ibb.co/N13jYkh/gauntlet-on-no-lighting.jpg
So under very bright lighting you only see the large stone light up – but under normal conditions the second photo is more accurate.
It’s a neat feature, I don’t think it’s the best it can be but is neat for people who like lighting effects.

Bodies

OK, here’s where the cursedness will begin – time to show off the bodies!
First up is the body that sports a rather fetching metal thong.

Here it is from the front in its chickenlike glory:
https://i.ibb.co/v3ZprVZ/thong-body-front.jpg
Yeah, these bodies look rather funny without the head and limbs attached. The skin texture has been well done, with multiple colours of paint. We’ve also got his speckled skin texture replicated along with the lines that run across his body.

From above:
https://i.ibb.co/VNZk7My/thong-body-top.jpg
The thong consists metal straps that fit with Thanos’ style and I like the work that’s gone into imagining how a metal thong would work. It also slightly presses into his skin – much prefer this than some of the “bikini bites” some Japanese figures get where the clothes dig very deeply into the skin. We’ve also got a little bit of asscrack on show :). And plenty of muscles to admire.

Getting close to the thong:
https://i.ibb.co/GMtKTKt/thong-body-thong-closeup.jpg
A little bit of “skin webbing” going on here, but not enough to be noticeable. And two very pert buttocks. Thanos definitely didn’t skip bum day. Is that a thing? It should be a thing :P.

From the back:
https://i.ibb.co/qyP483K/thong-body-back.jpg
Lighting went a bit bad on this photo so has ended up coming out a bit different. But this is what we get to see from behind.

Let’s flip him over:
https://i.ibb.co/34cC5hL/thong-body-chest.jpg
The body sculpt and painting is really nice – plenty of shading and detail to his body. And painted male nips! C’mon Japanese manufacturers… give us more like this. Well, you don’t have to make them purple.

Closeup of his pouch:
https://i.ibb.co/SmNkGT7/thong-body-pouch.jpg
Shiny enough to reflect my lighting! If you don’t want the full Thanos experience, this leaves at least something to the imagination. Reasonably spacious, but I think he’d be in trouble if he got an erection in this thing – trouble with metal is it doesn’t really flex.
If you didn’t want to think about erect Thanos, you came to the wrong blog – don’t worry, you won’t have to use your imagination for too much longer.

Arm muscles:
https://i.ibb.co/znTh8fV/thong-body-arm-muscle.jpg
These look a little odd in the way they don’t quite meet, but this bit isn’t very visible once assembled.

And now for the naked body – if you want to leave Thanos’ nether regions to your imagination, this is where you’ll want to get off of this ride.
Now for some untrussed chicken:
https://i.ibb.co/CVmWRSg/naked-body-front.jpg
From the front both the bodies are similar – only the lack of a thong.

View from above:
https://i.ibb.co/xMDjn0b/naked-body-top.jpg
Above is also similar, only we’re now treated to a full view of asscrack.

Let’s lower our angle:
https://i.ibb.co/zVfbHY3/naked-body-butthole.jpg
Aaand here is where we get a full view of his balls and butthole. The butthole does look a little crater-y – not the best sculpting here. They have gone full ham on the ballsack giving it shading and texture.

If we go lower, we can start to see the penis:
https://i.ibb.co/Bj8b9fx/naked-body-back.jpg

Let’s flip him over:
https://i.ibb.co/YbsX9pY/naked-body-bottom.jpg
So this is what the posing pouch was hiding! I think from this we can ascertain he’s a grow-er rather than a show-er. For the rest of the body it’s the same as the clothed one.

Looking down at the offending article:
https://i.ibb.co/FJyGjSY/naked-body-chest-closuep.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/7tTcQDY/naked-body-penis-tip.jpg
There is a dimple representing the hole. I think the hole could have done with a little bit of dark shading to make it more hole-like. We can also see he has an oval penis rather than round.

From certain angles this makes it look kind of weirdly flat:
https://i.ibb.co/JHGCGxQ/naked-body-flat-penis.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/pr3C34p/naked-body-penis-closeup.jpg
Whilst penises can be oval I feel like this one is a bit too oval which makes it look deflated from certain angles. I’d associate Thanos being girthy in every direction. We have plentiful vein sculpting and shading though.

Full twig and berries:
https://i.ibb.co/G0FwqNQ/naked-body-penis-bottom.jpg
Looks good from this angle, and is plentiful in the size department without going crazy.

Naked body from the sides:
https://i.ibb.co/rcBh9Xd/naked-body-left.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/8BvRpk2/naked-body-right.jpg
With him unassembled, we have a glimpse of the twig from the sides. He’s got a vey bendy back but the pose kind of necessitates that.

OK, that’s the bodies checked out on their own – time to put on some limbs!

“Clothed” body

Clothed might be an exaggeration for the body sporting the thong. But it’s the easiest way of distinguishing it.
Spin-around:
https://i.ibb.co/NWYkw1S/thong-thanos-front.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/BT0ZWpR/thong-thanos-left.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/Z1vx4vw/thong-thanos-back.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/vVvL9ZZ/thong-thanos-right.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/tMxwNvR/thong-thanos-top.jpg
If you just want a Jack-O Thanos without the full nakedness, this one delivers. The pieces all fit together well, and he looks good with his head just above his arms at a slight angle.

Time to swap some pieces:
https://i.ibb.co/yfsPb6Z/bodyswap.jpg

Naked body

And now we have the version not suitable for guests:
https://i.ibb.co/KX0zzGJ/naked-thanos-front.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/XstjPjR/naked-thanos-left.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/F4tkYbP/thanos-naked-back.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/Dw8h1wh/naked-thanos-right.jpg
With the limbs attached to the body it gives a greater viewing angle of his penis. Still requires selective angles to see it, and you don’t see it from the front. So whilst he’s exposed, it’s not immediately obvious. With my naked body, his left leg doesn’t attach snugly to his body though I could likely remedy this with some white tack. It doesn’t affect his display but when you put him down his leg does shift a bit – a minorly annoying defect which doesn’t exist on the other body.

Some more shots for some closeups of the goods:
https://i.ibb.co/2kXrLWq/naked-thanos-penis-closeup.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/sP5tsbX/naked-thanos-penis-closeup-left.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/WxQ6kvH/naked-thanos-ballsack.jpg
Yep, definitely there and pointy. He might have an eye out with that thing :).

Display mode

And now for the final spin-around on his base:
https://i.ibb.co/80Y7QJG/assembled-front.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/tKsMfGL/assembled-gauntlet-on.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/0qj3RB5/assembled-34-back.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/fC4S1mV/assembled-balls.jpg
He doesn’t have pegs to attach to the base – you simply rest him on there. So he needs to be displayed somewhere where he won’t get knocked, but he has a decent amount of weight so he won’t shift too easily. The sword slots into a hole on the base, but was a bit difficult to get into the right spot.

Overall, he’s a surprisingly good-looking figure – though that should be partially expected as he is pricier than other 1/6 resins I have. The figure isn’t flawless – if I could improve one thing it would be the paint detail on the base to make it a bit more lifelike. I’d say most of the issues I have are minor and he looks fine on display. And he can sit around, surprising anyone who dares go for a side view :D.