Says now in stock at sideshow but my order still says pre order and nothing about shipping soon.... interesting
I went down to the local delivery office on an outside chance they might have had the parcel come back to them, and it was there awaiting a customs charge.
For some reason KG Hobby put a higher value than requested on this one, but the charge only amounted to ?10 VAT plus ?8 Royal Mail fees.
First impressions of the figure are that he looks a bit cheap. Cheap rubbery belt and dagger scabbard, cheap plastic clips, cheap rubbery boots, horrible second sculpt which looks okay if lit from below or above.
The masked sculpt is a lot better, but overall it reminds me of a third party figure that would've cost around $160.
Says now in stock at sideshow but my order still says pre order and nothing about shipping soon.... interesting
Can he at least stand up by himself? I figure from 3 feet or more maybe the overall effect might be pretty good. Maybe Blitzway figured collectors read "metal sword" and don't care about anything else. Maybe the rubbery boots will allow for posing? But it's too bad; some third parties put out some really great stuff at less cost.
Pics?
I was looking forward to getting this Zorro, and now that he's finally here I feel deflated.
He's the most disappointing arrival since that awful bait and switch Toys Works Jessica Jones.
Rubber belt; rubber dagger scabbard; rubber sword scabbard straps; bendy rubber knuckle-bow attached to the sword grip; rubber one-piece boots (that limit posing); rubber hat (hence why the brim's often bent in photos); horrible second sculpt; stiff puffy shirt (that I fixed down with electrical tape to prevent it riding up).
The masked sculpt is very effective though.
While it says Blitzway on the box and the stand I can't help but think of Triad's Zorro from 2012. I'm hoping he'll grow on me.
The boots are rubbery and plastic in appearance, but don't lend themselves to posing. The metal sword blade is probably the second best thing in the set, after the masked sculpt. But the knuckle-bow on the hilt is so soft and rubbery it was bent out of shape, and the impressed detail looked like a recast. Blitzway fixed it to the hilt at both ends, though the upper end should be open. But if they hadn't fixed it, it would've been impossible to tame. While getting the sword into his hand the pommel broke away, or at least the glue broke and it became unpegged. This allowed me to turn the knuckle-bow straight.
I'm not sure he would stand securely by himself. When I first put him on the stand he kept wanting to slide off as the boots had no grip.
Sounds *cheap*. Which would be OK if there was a high price for this one. But re your pics the shelf effect looks good; masked sculpt looks good.
Maybe when I get him will try rinsing shirt in vinegar/cream rinse to try to soften up - rewatched movie and the cloak, shirt should be "flow-y".
This is so great! Pay for a fig and then turn around and start ordering 'bash supplies to upgrade the materials $$$$ Luv this hobby!!!
Damn, that sucks that he seems so cheap in hand. I've definitely been getting that cheap rubbery Sideshow vibe from the pics.
Yeah I can already tell those solid boots are going to be the most frustrating part for me, much like with X-Wing Luke. Even if you don't like super dynamic poses, you still need at least a bit of posability just so you can have him standing in a natural way.
I can see why they didn't make the boots out of pleather, as they have such an intricate design. But there's something cheap about the appearance, especially with the painted straps and buckles. I guess you could argue that the less pleather on a figure the more confident you can be of its longevity, but I just get the feeling Blitzway were cutting corners with this one. The way they cut corners with ECTO-1, or with Winston Zeddmore's paintwork, or Hannibal's paintwork for that matter.
I did go back and futz him some more. The shorter sword strap does want to stick out sideways rather than hang. While I was trying that I found a pose I liked:
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There's a limit to what you can do while trying to keep one boot flat on the ground. A two-part boot would literally have added flexibility for some more flamboyant poses.
As I walked away and looked back though, I began to feel better about him.
Description of the shirt being stiff (suggests polyester vs cotton) and cheap looking boots suggests corner cutting, and not in a good way. From the pics tho he does look good on a shelf.
I might be OK with it re shelf presence - it's Zorro. Anthony Banderas' Zorro. Tho am sure the not-split boots/lack of posing will drive me crazy.
Thank you for pics and comments!
I'm not sure what the shirt is made of, but it was frustrating trying to keep it tucked down. The trousers aren't very tight so it just sprang back out again. It was an easy fix to pull it down and wrap it once tightly with electrical tape. I remember Sideshow used to add a 'crotch loop' to the bottom of shirts.
He does have more shelf presence now. davejames mentioned the "Sideshow vibe" earlier, and that reminded me of their Snake Plissken. I've always liked the figure on the shelf, but he has a really rubbery belt and holsters. The sort of thing Gabriel used for their Lone Ranger series in the 1970s. Yet I always found he had a shelf presence (in spite of the bad press he got!)
LOL a case for slapping underwear on a fig add to list $$$$. Crotch loop a good idea.
Not sayin' it's OK but - shelf presence. I always enjoy finely crafted details but guess I won't be getting that here. Still, IMO iconic character from a movie I really like.
And it's not a "eat the NRD" for sure - still will be happy to have him.
LOL a case for slapping underwear on a fig add to list $$$$. Crotch loop a good idea.
Not sayin' it's OK but - shelf presence. I always enjoy finely crafted details but guess I won't be getting that here. Still, IMO iconic character from a movie I really like.
And it's not a "eat the NRD" for sure - still will be happy to have him.
Problem is that even if a figure can look decent enough on a shelf, you're still always aware of the cheap quality, which makes it hard to really love it as much as you'd like.
But like you say it is an iconic character and one I didn't expect to ever get made, so I'll still be happy to have it in the collection.
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