Category: Statues (non-articulated figures)

Official vs Bootleg: Native/Rocket Boy Dva

Today’s figure is very much NFSW – Rocket Boy’s Dva. Definitely not Blizzard’s D.Va.

Want to vote on which figures you’d like to see in the Official vs Bootleg series? Head over to the OvB voting site!

Pricing

MSRP (without tax): ¥14,455
Price I paid for the official (inc shipping): ¥18,640 (£124.04)
Price I paid for the bootleg (inc shipping): $22.60 (£17.17)

The official figure I preordered.

Box

When I was taking these photos, I apparently decided to have the bootleg box on the left instead of the right. Not sure why I did that, and it isn’t as if I could accidentally mix them up! Well, now you can see why I chose to label the images instead of relying on convention!

Front:

https://i.ibb.co/kX5bd28/boxes-front.jpg

The bootleg certainly lacks the subtlety of the original! No hiding what you’re buying here, though this choice does make it questionable for instore sale. Well, at least you get to see what you’re buying?
As well as the large window that has been added, the “DVA” text has been shrunk and moved into the corner so it isn’t cut off by the window, and the details are printed in white instead of silver. The bootleg box is looking worse for wear as it was shipped flat.

Continue reading “Official vs Bootleg: Native/Rocket Boy Dva” →

Official vs Bootleg: Kotobukiya Kirishima Touka

Today’s figure is Kirishima Touka from Tokyo Ghoul:re, the second (main) series in Tokyo Ghoul.

This was also the first figure that I needed a hammer to assemble – assembling the official was easy enough, but the bootleg had other ideas in mind. The bootleg only came in a (very smashed) blister, so let’s get straight to the figure-reviewing.

Want to vote on which figures you’d like to see in the Official vs Bootleg series? Head over to the OvB voting site!

Pricing

NEW section, starting from this blog. In this section I will list the MSRP (manufacturer’s suggested retail price), the price I paid for the official and bootleg including shipping (as the bootleg prices normally include shipping in the price) and state whether I PO’d the official figure or bought it in the aftermarket.

MSRP (without tax): ¥12,000
Price I paid for the official (inc shipping): ¥11,970 (£82.58)
Price I paid for the bootleg (inc shipping): £10.40

For the official figure, I pre-ordered.

Spin-around

Time to take a figure tour!

https://i.ibb.co/94bF5tx/touka-spin-front.jpg
Continue reading “Official vs Bootleg: Kotobukiya Kirishima Touka” →

Official vs Bootleg: Kotobukiya Harley Quinn (Bishoujo New 52)

This figure is the first one that was not on the original poll, but I suspect it would have garnered a reasonable number of votes, so here she is.

And talking about voting… I now have a website where you can register your interest in what figures I feature in the Official vs Bootleg series. The website is https://ovbvote.tharglet.me.uk. You can vote for figures in my collection that are marked as having a counterfeit version on MFC and that I haven’t already planned to blog or blogged about.
If you have any questions/comments about the site, feel free to comment down below or send a PM on MFC.

And now for the main feature!

The bootleg didn’t come with a box, so no box comparison for this one. So let’s get straight onto the figure!

Spin-around

Continue reading “Official vs Bootleg: Kotobukiya Harley Quinn (Bishoujo New 52)” →

Official vs Bootleg: Aquamarine Hatsuse Izuna

Today’s blog brings us Hatsuse Izuna by Aquamarine. And one not by Aquamarine.

I did not get the box with the bootleg, so there will be no box comparison. Though there were two problems with the bootleg figure prior to the final photoshoot – on arrival, her foot was snapped off, and then her tail became unglued prior to the test photoshoot. Not the best start!
Here are some photos of the damage, which I repaired before the photoshoot:

Base

For this figure, the base is a very plain one:

The official is an off-white, and the bootleg is stark white. Not a huge difference, unless you have them side-by-side.

Bottom of the bases:

On the official, we have the copyright information. And the bootleg has some sticky residue from the tape holding it into the remains of the blister packaging, plus some of my hair (might’ve had this lying around my room for awhile…).

The bases feel the same, so from visual inspection it’s only the colour and the copyright information that are noticeable differences. The official base weighs 40g and the bootleg weighs 36g, so there is some difference in the plastic used. On a personal level, I don’t like either base, and don’t use the official one with my official figure – she currently sits on a glass shelf, so the base only has the attribute of taking up space. However, the bootleg does show that the official base isn’t quite as plain as it could be.

Figure spin-around

Here are some photos showing the figures side-by-side in the same shot:

Continue reading “Official vs Bootleg: Aquamarine Hatsuse Izuna” →

Official vs Bootleg: Jibril – Great War Ver.

For my inaugural Official Vs Bootleg, I’ve chosen to do the most-voted for option: Jibril. I own the Great War version, as I liked the darker wings and more warlike vibe.

The official version of this figure can be found on MFC here.

Images will be clickable throughout the blog, if you wish to see the full-sized images.

As this is the first blog, see if you can guess which side I have the bootleg on in this picture:

So… did you guess correctly which figure is which?

I should imagine most of you worked out which is which :). To me, the thing that stands out the most is the drunken angle which she is holding her scythe – her arm on this side has been mis-manufactured, causing this kind of odd angle. This, coupled with her expression, makes the bootleg look drunk to me, and she’s in the kind of state where she can hold onto things, but not really too concerned with what angle they’re at.

Continue reading “Official vs Bootleg: Jibril – Great War Ver.” →

Rei Ayanami – Seaside ver

This figure I bought secondhand from another user on MFC.

image

She has a small chip on her leg, that was there when I bought her. She’s a very tall figure and quite heavy, as she’s cold cast. 

Left view:

image

Some detail to be seen here, in her armpit and wrinkle on her swimsuit. 

Right view:

image

Little bit of a mark here too, at the bottom of her swimsuit. Doesn’t really affect looking at the front of the figure, and that side of her is obscured from where I chose to place her, so I forgot it was there, until I got her out for these photos. 

Back:

image

Some detail to be seen here, but nothing that stands out to me. The dent in the sand on the base is a nice touch. Being a heavier material, it does cast some of its own shadows, but there’s no shading in the paint. This leaves her looking rather plain compared to other figures, especially as her skin tone is paler than the concept art for this figure. 

She’s rather a mediocre part of my collection. I don’t regret buying her, but she doesn’t particularly stand out, either. 

Poison Ivy – Ame-Comi – DC

This was one of the Ame-Comi figures I was after, and it eventually turned up on eBay. 

Front:

image

I love the pose of this figure and the colour scheme. To me, she looks more like a relative of Poison Ivy, than Poison Ivy herself, but I like her in her own right. 

I like the amount of detailing that has gone into her vines and leafy clothing. 

Vine hands:

The texture work is nice here, and I love the grasping vine hands

Feet:

The leaves are well-sculpted here, and the shading in the paint adds a lot ot the leaves. She’s also got her toenails painted neatly.

Base:

Ignoring the marks, the base logo is nicely placed, so she isn’t covering it in any significant way. Does take up a lot of room though. 

Left:

The vines curl around her hair, which I think is a nice touch. The figure has a nice amount of depth to her. 

Vine close-up:

The detailing is really nice on these, and there aren’t too many joins. Here we can see one, to the left of the photo. 

Right:

Some thicker vines on this side, and some transitioning of the leaves on her legs. 

Arm vine:

Nice blend of colours on the vine itself, and I don’t think I want to get in its way. 

Back:

Here we can see how the vines like to play with her hair,. We’ve also got plenty of leaf detail back here, so the back isn’t plain. The hair is sculpted nicely, and has a good amount of detail throughout. 

Glad I was able to get this figure, and am happy with it. Maybe at some point I’ll try to get the mark off her base. 

Misato Katsuragi – Moto Riders ver – Evangelion

This was a figure I decided I wanted when I saw it. Came across it on Mandarake, where it quickly made its way to my basket.

Here she is:

Some of the “free” dust can still be seen on the base. This time it wasn’t my fault it was dusty! The thing that attracted me to this figure was her outfit. I like the cute look of her face, and the skintight outfit has been done nicely for a prize figure. 

Face:

Her face is fairly decent, and I like the expression. Hair is a bit “eh”, but decent enough for a prize figure. I like the choker they’ve added to her neck. Her chest is actually a soft rubber, if you like to poke your figures. An interesting additional feature for a prize figure.

So… let’s see if she has her scar:

Nope, can’t find it anywhere down there. Due to the rubbery material used for her chest, I’m not surprised it wasn’t included. On her had, the rubber has denatured slightly, but her body seems fine. 

The zip on her uniform has been painted neatly. Sculpting is OK for the zip – looks a bit thick close-up but OK with a bit of distance.

Left:

Here she’s leaning forward slightly, and she has a shapely upper body. I like that they’ve included some shading on her suit, instead of leaving it flat-coloured. 

Right:

The creasing on her clothing looks good, and the boots have been done well. Her hair I’m not so keen on, but it does the job. Though to me, her hair doesn’t feel quite right – her hair is overly flat in places, which looks odd next to the more sculpted parts. 

Back:

Hair looks good from the back – I do like the way it flows. 

Overall, I’m pleased with this figure, though I do wonder how the rubberised bits will age. 

Max Payne

And now for the slightly infamous Max Payne figure that came with the collector’s edition! 

So this was the figure that was promised:

And this is what we got:

A weird grey-coloured suit with no texturing, and a white shirt that doesn’t look like it’s been anywhere near coffee and cigarettes… is this Max Payne? 

And that face:

Oh, so that’s where the coffee went. Those eyebrows also amuse me. Hair sculpt is actually rather decent – I think all the sculpting efforts went into the face and then bllerrgh. 

But hey, at least we got this base:

Easily the nicest part of the figure – the wood came out well, and the scattered bullets look nice. 

Left:

Some parts of the sculpt are actually quite nice – head’s pretty detailed, fabric creasing works well. Some nice detail in his hand too. 

Close-up of the bullet wound:

It could have been good. Instead they stuffed some angry red paint on itand called it a day. We can see a figure seam here, but it has actually been sanded down better than I’d expect for a figure with this paint quality. 

Holster:

Looks the part. Brown paint has slopped onto the ring somewhat, but overall, doesn’t look bad. 

Right:

Again, sculpt is decent. His shoes look good but is suit… did he buy this from the pleather store or something? Or is that giving pleather a bad name?

Gun:

A little webbing can be seen up close, but looks fine tbh. Gun is decent enough. Not sure why there isn’t a matte finish on his hand. OK, I know why – shiny finish is cheaper. 

Back:

Aww, lookit – they did actually attempt some shading somewhere! Either that, or the figure rolled around the warehouse… I almost suspect that, with the paint job the rest of the figure got… 

So why did I buy this dude when I knew he was shit? 1, he was cheap and it’s Max Payne. 2, Some point in the future I aim to use this figure as painting practice – I can’t exactly make that suit look any worse! The sculpt-work is there on this figure, hidden by a shoddy, cheap paint job. Me painting him isn’t going to happen in the short-term, but when I’ve learned a couple of techniques, I plan to give it a go. And probably add a claw stand to the base (or some other mod) so that he doesn’t experience “bullet time” leans. If you do an image search for this figure, you’ll likely find ones where he’s leaning far over – apparently they didn’t use a particularly strong plastic or put rods in his legs to prevent this issue -.-

Freddy Krueger – A Nightmare on Elm Street – Bishoujo v2

Now for another horror-themed figure – Fredd Krueger, but perhaps not as you’ve seen him before!

This figure is part of Kotobukiya’s Bishoujo line, which has a few gender-swapped characters, this being one of them.

So here he, uh, she is:

A very sultry-looking Freddy. I love the face and the pose from the front. With the second edition, they slimmed down the base and reshaped it a bit, to make it fit with the figure more. The base does the job, but I don’t have many feelings towards it.

Face:

I love the way the lip gloss has been done, and the hair is an interesting effect, but feels a tad green which I find a little off-putting. The glove has been sculpted and painted well. Her top is fairly decent, but doesn’t have a proper ripped effect going on with the edging, which is a minor downside to the figure.

This close-up also shows the issue I have with her body shape – her back looks rather broken at certain angles… especially this one! She’s fine from the front, but some of the side angles aren’t very flattering.

Chest:

Her cleavage has been done well, and I like the cute bra under the top.


Left:

With her arm covering her back, she doesn’t look so broken. Love the dimple in the hat, and the strands in her hair. Her boots are also nicely sculpted, and I think they pulled the ring detail off well.

Stocking close-up:

Her stocking looks especially good on this figure, and they’ve even included the stocking seam at the back, which I thought was a nice touch.

Right:

The blood effect isn’t terribly realistic, and could’ve done with a bit more shading to it. The flat red makes it look kinda bad imo. The shape of the paint works, but there’s no depth to the wound. I think a little bit of an edge would have helped.

Back:

Again, lookin’ kinda bent. However, her back is otherwise sculpted well, and the shorts are really well done. Here the “off” hair shade shows up the most I think, and could’ve done with being a tad more yellow in my opinion. He doesn’t have any hair, so it would’ve been nice to give it a more complimentary shade now he has some.

Shorts close-up:

Love the logo on the back of the shorts! The detailing on these is nice, and the frayed jeans effect I think works here. The stitching has been detailed, which really adds to the realistic look.

Overall, I’m happy with this figure, and glad to have finally got around to getting it. I think the hair could’ve been done in a better colour, which is my main gripe. Seeing as I don’t move my figures around too much, I can display her at a favourable angle, so not too bothered about the oddly shaped back. I think it’d bother me more if it wasn’t for the hair though.

Kuroyukihime – Black Dress ver

A small figure for today:

A small chibi figure of Kuroyukihime, from Accel World. With this figure, I like the hair and the outfit, but not sure if the face fits – her face seems to lack the “severity” of Kuroyukihime, as it is rounded and her expression is almost smiling. Just feel it could be tweaked a bit to give off more of a Kuro vibe… However, what is there looks nice for what it is. Her dress is nicely sculpted, and her shoes fit well with the outfit – my only real complaint is that the flower is pretty much covering up the silver butterfly detail at the top. I feel the flower could’ve been a tad smaller so the butterfly could show. 

Mask:

Bendy! Haven’t got around to fixing this – some heat and cold water should fix this, but this figure is going to be prone to this part bending.. Well, better than it breaking tbh. The mask itself looks the part and is painted well.

Left:

Not too much to see from the sides. The hair strands look nice, but not too much detail in her hair otherwise. She has a sculpted ear, which is nice, and her shoes look good.

Right:

Here we get the mast, but it does appear to float from this side, as she isn’t gripping it. 

Back:

Again, not too much to see. I do like the strands on the lower half of her hair though. Just wish there was more to her upper hair so she looks a little less like a billiard ball, though this is fairly typical for chibi figures. At least the shade is nice and compliments her. 

Overall, I find this above average for chibi trading figures, as the design means there isn’t a bunch of paint slop. I don’t think it’s winning any awards for being a Kuroyukihime figure, but in its way, it is a nice figure. Just be prepared to have to straighten out the mask handle. This figure is usually pretty cheap though, if it comes up, so it is good for the price.

Figure Spotlight – Confessor Dhalia

This WoW figure I was given as a gift. She’s an undead priest:

image

She’s pretty detailed, and the colour scheme is nice. Undead can have a few flesh tones, and I think the purple works well here. 

Here’s a close-up on her shoulder armour, one of the key features for people who know the set:

image

And a close-up of her face:

image

She’s a detailed and well-painted figure, like most of the WoW DC Direct range. Kinda wish I was able to pick more up at the time! 

Here’s her back:

image

Not too much special to see here, but they did sculpt some butt, so that’s a nice touch. The skirt folds around her well, and there’s a variety of textures on display. 

Now for the figure’s weak point:

image

Yeah. Just… why? Especially being the part that attaches to the stand! Fortunately I’ve only ever had issues picking her up, but others have had issues of her falling over regularly due to this design. I guess they didn’t want to make the packaging quite deep enough to accommodate the foot that sticks out… after all, her back foot is attached. 

Reviewing the figures for WoW DC Direct series makes me sad that it’s not a thing any more. They were decent quality figures, especially for the price. Blizzard seems to be either doing overpriced NECA figures or very expensive statues, that don’t have a paint job to match the price tag. Sigh. 

But I can still enjoy Confessor Dhalia :). 

Jinx – Rock Hard Fairies

This was a random pick-up at the NEC Toy Fair, to go with the other fairy I have of this type. 

This one is apparently called Jinx and is part of the Rock Hard Fairies lineup:

I was attracted to this one as I like her outfit – love the silver butterfly skull motif in the middle. And she can rock the tight outfit :P. I also like her stripey hair. 

Left:

The texture sculpted in her hair is nice. Her narrow stance helps with balancing, along with the very square platform boots, so she’s stable on the shelf.

Right:

Not too much extra to see here. Some creaselines have been sculpted into her outfit, which is nice. Silver paint is a little overenthusiastic on her cuffs. 

Back:

Her wings have yellowed over time, but I don’t feel it ruins the look of the figure. Pretty sure she wasn’t originally like this, but I like having this touch of colour. The backs of these figures don’t look so good, due to the way the wings are attached. The back of the actual figure though is decent. 

Overall, decent if you can pick these up cheaply, but not a high-quality collectable. 

Gekkoukiba no Majo Lilith – Puzzle & Dragons

Along with yesterday’s figure, I bought this small figure of Lilith:

Was surprised by the small details on this figure, and the crown she wears has been nicely done. With the crown, the paint looks neat, and the colours compliment each other. 

Close-up:

The clothes… of what little she has… have been printed well. The small parts on her leg are nice and neat. Love her scythe too – the purple-gold works really well imo. 

Left:

On this side, she sports a dark wing. We can also see a cute heart-shaped earring here too. I like the way her hair flows too.

Right:

On this side, her hair seam is a bit more obvious, but not too bad. This side she has a red and white wing, which we can just about see from this angle. 

Closer look at the sides of her outfit:

More material here, than the clothes on her body! Nicely painted though, with very minimal painting errors. Has a good amount of detail to it too. 

Back:

The strands of her hair are sculpted well, and flow nicely. There isn’t any paint shading on her hair, which is a minor negative, but it still looks nice. 

Overall, I’m pleased with this small figure, and glad to add it to my collection.

Kakusei Minerva – Puzzle & Dragons

Again… finding myself buying Puzzle & Dragons figures, because the company that makes them does such a nice job of them. 

Here’s today’s figure:

And, wow, there’s plenty to look at here. Her wings come as four separate parts to attach, and her sword arm as a couple of pieces. Thankfully this one wasn’t in need of extra stand pieces, so she wasn’t too hard to build – just getting the wings and sword assembled in the right order. 

Face:

Her eyes are nicely printed, and the sculpting is really nice – I love her face, and the hair has been nicely done too. The red and yellow on the crown has been blended smoothly into a nice transition. Love the pale pink metallic armour too. The paint here is also clean. 

Ball:

The ball has an obvious seam, but the texturing on it is nice. The black parts on the edges of her armour contrast well. 

Left:

The sides are dominated by the wings – there isn’t any shading on the wings, but the deep sculpt does help make up for this. Love the shiny orange of the sword.

Closeup of the sword on this side:

The handle is a very nice sculpt, and the “runes” on the sword look really good. The lines are nice and clean on the sword, plus the gold and orange compliment each other nicely. 

Leg:

Love these orange spikes. Lots of sculpted details here, though the sculpted details don’t have any paint detail to them. However, that probably counts in the figure’s favour, as it’s less chance of a sloppy pant job but still looks good. 

Right:

Here we see mostly wing, but we can see more details of the sword. 

So here’s this side of the sword:

The dragon sculpt is very eye-catching, along with the gold parts on the hilt. Really love this design and the bright colours of it. 

Back:

.. though that sword is bigger than her… strong lass! Here we can see the four wing parts, as she twists to wield the sword. Love the way the wings add to her motion. and that she has four of them. 

Wings from slightly above:

Where the light on the left obliterates the shading, their non-painted nature does rather show up, but doesn’t look bad where there are shadows. 

I think the weakest part of the figure is the ball in her hand – it’s supposed to be a fireball, and could’ve been doing with being more transparent to emphasise that imo, as it does look like she’s holding a crystal or something instead. However, it does look OK in its own right (well, maybe not the seam), so if you’re not bothered about accuracy I don’t think it’s that bad. The wings do look plasticky under stronger light, but not as bad as the guardian’s white wings. These have more depth and motion to them, which does reduce the plasticky look.

Overall, she’s a really nice figure for the price, and I would recommend her if you’re a fan or just like her design. 

Figure Spotlight: Shana

This figure was purchased from a seller on MFC. This figure has a cast-off option, but I have not cast her off. 

image

For the cast-off option, you can take her shorts off and her top, but I have no wish to do so, as she’s a character that looks young and looks fine as she is. Japanese stuff can be weird – you have characters that look old with young ages slapped on them or vice versa. Sometimes in translation, ages are changed to be more suitable for non-Japanese audiences, to make it less weird and less awkward for us :P. Due to this, I largely go by what I would guess the age to be. 

Her necklace is a strand of copper wire by the feels of it, which is a nice touch but also awkward to move around/pose. My favourite thing about this figure is her hair – I love the colour and the translucency. 

Here she is from the back:

image

Here you can see where the top disconnects – it’s not particularly hidden. The hair has some dust stuck to it, as it has the plasticizer issue. I did consider cleaning this, but it is leaking some dye, so going to leave it until it’s noticeably dusty, just in case a sizeable amount of dye does decide to leave. She lives in a Detolf though, so not much dust lands on her. 

Here’s a side shot:

image

She leans back quite a bit in her pose. 

She has a quite striking appearance, which is what attracted me to the figure. She’s not in the greatest condition, but I did pay a reduced price for her. There was one visible flaw, where her midriff was a bit loose, but that was fixed with some paper down her pants. 

Kaworu Nagisa – Evangelion

Time to get back to a Japanese figure, and what better than Evangelion?

Here we have Kaworu Nagisa, in prize figure form:

Lookin’ tall as Kaworu does. I like his pose, and feel it suits him well. I also like his plugsuit, as they’ve given it a good amount of depth. With the way this figure has been designed, the parts of the figure have nice, crisp lines. I like the clear base for its neutralness. 

Face:

The hair is well-sculpted and his face is decent. 

Left:

He’s leaning forward slightly, which adds to his pose. I love the slender body shape, and the hair looks decently detailed from this side too.

Right:

There’s some good detailing on his arm – the upper light-blue part has some good sculpting details to it, along with the grey parts. His backside has a nice shape to it from this side too.

Back:

Hair also looks good from the back, and his backpack looks the part, and the print is well done here. His body feels slender, without being overly so, with some shape to his backside… very form fitting suit :P. Love the finish on the darker parts of the suit. 

Base:

The base features a logo to say it reflects his 3.0 design. The shape of the base is mildly eye-catching, being a bit different than usual. For me, I’d prefer the base to be a little less tall, as he’s a fairly tall figure as-is.  

Overall, I’m happy with this figure, and am happy to add him to my army of Kaworus. Looking up close, you can see some of the hallmarks of a prize figure, but overall I think he’s a decent quality and would recommend. 

Alien – Predator Thermal Vision ver

One last xeno before we break from the the xenos…

image

This very green grid alien. Yes, he does glow in the dark, but no… I didn’t take any photos of the glowing. So for this one, we’re mostly judging it by the sculpt – and I think it looks good. 

As far as the thermal vision goes, the green does match, and I like the way the base is a solid black, to match the lack of thermal signature ti would have. Also makes for a good, strong contrast to the figure. 

Left:

I like the way the tail is posed, going around the alien. Here we also have some super-long back pipes goin’ on too. Head is nicely detailed in the sculpt, and we have the grid pattern of the “grid alien”. 

Right:

Here we see the Alien doing some stalking, unbeknownst it is being watched. Sculpt on this side is also fully-detailed, with sculpting on its limbs, and I like the shape of its body. 

Back:

The body transitions nicely into the tail, and the pose works from the back too. 

Upper shot:

Some of the tail spines probably lack a little definition, but not too bothered about that. Here we can see where the pipes are joined to the body, but I don’t find it overly noticeable. 

Overall, I really like this figure, and was glad to get it for a decent price. Originally he was a bit more than the other figures in the “basic” set, but got him for the same price. He glows decently well, and seems to have some variation in his glow, so looks good at night too. 

Panther Alien – Aliens Retro Collection

And, finally, the panther alien:

I’mma gonna headbutt you… The body colours look really nice together, the orange head would look better if the paint app was thicker… seems a bit thin and uneven in places… 

Left:

I like the pose, has a feeling that he’s slinking. The colours also work really well, and I think they’ve chosen the right places to paint gold/silver, though some place are a bit sloppy. I think the tail adds to the impression he’s slinking. 

Right:

More of the same on the other side. I love the shape of his feet. 

Back:

Not too much to see here. Looks like the moulding got sloppy at the back of his legs though, unfortunately. Tail looks fine.

Closer look at the tail:

I like the shape of the end of his tail, and feel it is well sculpted overall.

Top:

They’ve added some orange down his back, not sure this worked too well. At his upper back, I think they should’ve stuck with just the dot-spine bits. The blend ion his spine could’ve worked, but I feel the paint app is too uneven for it to work, and was probably too ambitious with Eaglemoss’s usual final quality – their painters don’t seem to blend too well, so I think this would’ve been fine as just gold, or maybe a darker shade of orange. 

Overall, he’s pretty decent. He’s certainly an eye-catching piece, but does have some flaws in the paintwork. 

Scorpion Alien – Aliens Retro Collection

Today’s xeno is an alien crossed with a scorpion:

This one shares a similar colour scheme to the Revoltech Big Chap I got some time ago. I do like the contrast of the copper against the black. With him having a slight profile, not too much of the detail is visible front-on.

Left:

Here we can see much more of his pose, and I think he’s posed well. What I’m less fond of is how the gold highlights have been used – I think it would’ve looked better if the highlighting on the head was more like the silver on the Mantis. Again, the arms are half-copper, half black in a way that isn’t hugely appealing. 

Right:

I like the way the tail curls, but again, the odd colouration. Only place the half-colouring is working for me is the “pipes”, which are more like spikes on this one, to fit in more with the scorpion theme. 

Head close-up:

Sculpting is nice here, The copper almost fades away here, making it look less sudden than the other side. He’s also got his teeth painted in silver. Spine painting is mediocre close up. 

Back:

Back looks better as it has better copper coverage. For the tail, I’d like it more if the gold was over the top side and not on the bottom – I think that contrast works well. 

Back close-up:

I like the distribution of the copper paint on his back, though the sculpt feels “muddy” and confused. I feel the details got a bit lost here. Back spines are still cool though :P.

Overall, I think the sculpt is strong enough, and the colours work. Just would prefer the colours to be better distributed so it doesn’t look so odd.