Hot Toys and Sideshow Bodies: A Comparative Review

[JustinLuck]

As I posted in the A.C.E thread, the A.C.E original body prototype has gently sloping shoulders that certainly do not look wimpy. But they do look more natural.

 

[wofford29]

I'll wait for the EVOs and EVAs from Triad.

 

[screamingmetal]

As I posted in the A.C.E thread, the A.C.E original body prototype has gently sloping shoulders that certainly do not look wimpy. But they do look more natural.

Once again, try pushing the shoulders down. look at KamenGuyver pic of the Medicom bodies. They both have the same shoulder joint, but one is posed up (the smaller left one), the other down (the larger right one). Hot Toys shoulders can do the same.

 

[creecher]

Great review Justin.

Everything can be improved upon, but not necessarily has to be, or can be. You'll notice the copyright imprinted on the backs of theses figs. That means they can't be copied, or emulated. If Sideshow wants to have the same articulation, they have to design it to operate in a different manner. That means some things can't be improved upon. If something works for one company, the competition is behind the 8 ball from the start.

I don't recall any of my Sideshow figs having a ratcheted feel, maybe it's something peculiar to the Star Wars line. I have a heap of Sideshow figures and with the exception of a few I don't need to use stands with them. In that instance it is a bit hit and miss. I hate loose joints, as badly as the next person, whether it's a Sideshow fig or any other.

I can understand you harping on about the bodies, but I don't particularly want or feel the need to. If it weren't for Sideshow I wouldn't be a collector. I am willing to forego a better body, just to be able to have the price point remain consistently low, as it happens to be over here, for the Sideshow product. Just because I don't go out of my way to replace the bodies on my figures is no reason why others can't. That's the beauty of having options. I wouldn't buy an Art Buck base figure if the Hot Toys one is cheaper, as it seems to be over there. It's certainly not over here.

Bendy hands suck. I do agree that some extra hands should be supplied if the ones on the figure aren't able to hold a given accessory.

I'll have to take a rain check on the red pills, they're just a little too bitter for me to swallow. The fact remains, if you want the character, you'll have to buy it. If you don't, you wouldn't have bought it in the first place.

 

[JustinLuck]

Once again, try pushing the shoulders down. look at KamenGuyver pic of the Medicom bodies. They both have the same shoulder joint, but one is posed up (the smaller left one), the other down (the larger right one). Hot Toys shoulders can do the same.

I tried what you said, but it looks like the shoulders were already in the down position.

 

[JustinLuck]

Thanks for your comments Creecher.

One thing I really appreciate about the HT body is how well it stands up on its own. Even with shoes on, my Skinner figure would fall over with the slightest vibration on the desk if he wasn't attached to a stand. Taking the photos for the review actually took quite a while because I could not get Skinner to stand up long enough to take a shot! The HT body, on the otherhand, can withstand even a small tap and still not fall over. I would love to get ahold of some 1/6 leather boots and see what type of poses the HT could hold.

When I say the joint has a rachet-like quality, I mean that the joint is limited to small increments along the degrees of motion. So when I move the lower leg or forearm, the movement has a 'bumpy' sensation to it. On the HT body, all the joints are completely smooth and yet tight at the same time. Maybe someone else here can do a better job describing it.

And Creecher, I totally understand that in Australia, the price can be a factor in purchasing these HT bodies. How much are they over there? But mmm, the red pill tastes so sweet...like strawberry!

 

[creecher]

I understand what you mean by ratcheted Justin. The Dragon figures I have all have them. They work well really, to hold a pose. Can't say I have noticed it on any of my Sideshow figures, is all. I rarely use stands at all.

I would have to import a nude HT figure. The shipping would be around $30. I keep my eye open on the local distributor, Oziegoods, but still, the shipping costs are barely negated.

 

[Sachiel]

I'll wait for the EVOs and EVAs from Triad.

Too bad they're about $40 because of being pre-painted and having replaceable eyes. That and I think there's only one neck type. For Sideshow, they'll only work for the females. They are nice, still.

 

[dekadentdave]

The shoulders on the GL body looks like Michael Jackson in Thriller. I think Justinluck took the blue pill instead of the red one by mistake.

 

[Sachiel]

When I say the joint has a rachet-like quality, I mean that the joint is limited to small increments along the degrees of motion. So when I move the lower leg or forearm, the movement has a 'bumpy' sensation to it. On the HT body, all the joints are completely smooth and yet tight at the same time. Maybe someone else here can do a better job describing it.

I wouldn't call it that, more like badly designed. If you had a Dragon figure, you'd understand. I've got a Resident Evil figure from them and besides the small bendy hands (too big a gun) and arms, it's great with it's ratchet shoulders and hips to keep it from sliding around. Loud as hell, though.

 

[JustinLuck]

I understand what you mean by ratcheted Justin. The Dragon figures I have all have them. They work well really, to hold a pose. Can't say I have noticed it on any of my Sideshow figures, is all. I rarely use stands at all.

I would have to import a nude HT figure. The shipping would be around $30. I keep my eye open on the local distributor, Oziegoods, but still, the shipping costs are barely negated.

Yeah, the problem with the rachet joints for me is that it takes longer to acheive a pose that can balance on its on. The smooth joints on the HT allow me to easily move the limbs without disturbing other parts of the body.

Wow, that is quite a bit. The HT bodies cost me $30 each after shipping which is the same price as the Art Buck from Sideshow because of sales tax. I hate overseas shipping. A couple weeks ago, I ordered some stuff from ActionFigure2002.com. The seller is located in Hong Kong, so shipping cost over $30 even though the items being shipped are rather small.

 

[creecher]

It doubly sucks for me, because it's almost as much to ship the same article, whatever it is, from Asia to Australia, as it does to ship to America, and we're just down the road.

 

[JustinLuck]

If anyone else here wants to post pics of your Hot Toys figures, please feel free to do so! Bluesparrow? EvilFace, have you got yours yet?

 

[bluesparrow]

I only did one or two crappy photos of my Luke using the HT body. I have trouble shooting 12" figures for some reason, although I didn't try too hard with Luke. As for the HT bodies, I mostly agree with what Justin said, although the shoulders don't bother me that much. Frankly with the huge Sideshow heads wider shoulders are helpful to offset the size. I used my caucasian body on Han(still need to mod his hands) and the Asian on Luke. The asian one fits best with most Sideshow figures, they made the caucasian one *really* pale.

I don't think this pic really emphasizes the difference though, to me now Luke is like a brand new figure, I like him a great deal more than I did before. These are the non-bendy hands that come with the body, but with a dullcote covering. I haven't modded Luke's hands yet either, so yes I KNOW HE HAD THE GLOVE WHEN HE WAS DRESSED LIKE THIS(preemptive strike).

You can see the square shoulder thing Justin's talking about in the second pic. It bothers me less than the very small sideshow shoulders. Also, check the hips: no gaps! That's the major difference besides the shoulders between this and the Sideshow body.

 

[Mookeylama]

very nice Blue! does the HT bod come w/ a neck adapter that works w/ SS heads? how easy is it to swap SS heads onto it?

 

[Batman5]

Sure does. Comes with two adapters. One for a head like SS produces or the kind the type of head that seen on the HT Superman.

 

[KamenGuyver]

SS Luke head is crazy huge. Even it is on HT body, it still looks like a bit over sized. What a waste for that great likeness.

 

[abake]

I only did one or two crappy photos of my Luke using the HT body. I have trouble shooting 12" figures for some reason, although I didn't try too hard with Luke. As for the HT bodies, I mostly agree with what Justin said, although the shoulders don't bother me that much. Frankly with the huge Sideshow heads wider shoulders are helpful to offset the size. I used my caucasian body on Han(still need to mod his hands) and the Asian on Luke. The asian one fits best with most Sideshow figures, they made the caucasian one *really* pale.

I don't think this pic really emphasizes the difference though, to me now Luke is like a brand new figure, I like him a great deal more than I did before. These are the non-bendy hands that come with the body, but with a dullcote covering. I haven't modded Luke's hands yet either, so yes I KNOW HE HAD THE GLOVE WHEN HE WAS DRESSED LIKE THIS(preemptive strike).

You can see the square shoulder thing Justin's talking about in the second pic. It bothers me less than the very small sideshow shoulders. Also, check the hips: no gaps! That's the major difference besides the shoulders between this and the Sideshow body.

That looks quite good.
But the SST sculpted/painted hands are a big plus for them... still, I might look into getting one of those bodies to try it on Luke. Amazingly, he still has the watermelon syndrome head.

 

[dekadentdave]

The clothing looks pretty snug on him. My concern is poseability and the possibility of tearing the stitching of the clothing. Looks like the hip area and buttox fill out the SS pants but I'm concerned with the arms and chest stretching the shirts. And how does Han's jacket fit over that body? It was small to begin with on the SS body so I'm sure it will be difficult to put on the HT over the shirt and those shoulders should really limit poseability with it on.

 

[Sachiel]

That looks quite good.
Amazingly, he still has the watermelon syndrome head.

Yeah, if Sideshow would just make the heads smaller (The Dead figures don't have this problem from what I see), the figures would look tons better. But will they? They must know, but they always have the excuse that the reason why the heads are bigger is because of shrinkage during the moulding. I'd hate to see how big they were BEFORE that. It's like they're almost 1/5th scale! Made for their Big Boy bodies. Look at Qui-Gon. His body and head are the most proportionate to each other. Mace's has a smaller head, too, I think. Could be the bald head, but I don't know for sure. PLEASE FIX THIS! Same with the big hands.