The Beast just arrived in the mail:
My first ever purchase directly from Sideshow. So far the most expensive thing in my collection(the custom fees were really severe), but boy it was worth it. The figure looks fantastic. I was blessed with only minimal production problems. There are some microscopic scratches on the suit, but those are only visible when observed really close. The only one that is noticable from afar, is a linear dent on the left thigh, though its not that bad. Also my Wayne headsculpt had two small specks of some kind of white paint. Fortunately I was able to scrape it off easily, without damaging the underlying paintjob. The only major problem I had, was with the neck socket of the cowl. I had some real trouble attaching the cowl to the body. It just wouldn't fit. I tried to use force, but stopped quickly when I realized that if I kept doing it that way, I would damage the suit. Finally I found out that the socket of the neck was heavily warped. I used a sharp moddeling knife to even it out. Seems like a small, easily fixed production flaw, but I can image that someone could seriously screw up the suit, while holding it to force the cowl onto the neck joint. Other than that its great though. The figure looks really amazing. I was worried about the quality of the suit after all this talk of dust magnet, but I think that if one can manage to keep the rubber relatively clean, then the suit can look just as good, if not better than OC rubber. The matt finish makes it look less toy like, and though some of the photos posted in this thread make the ToyFair version look like its coverd in snow, but in hand it doesn't look half as bad, since cameras usually light up all the dust.
Aside from the new Bale hs, the cowl is probably the biggest improvement over the OS. Its the same sculpt(at least with the neutral mouth piece), but the paint finish is so much better. HT recent level of paint app on the flesh, makes it more realistic and less toylike than the OC in my opinion, but also the way the lips are painted, somehow make the expression look better despite it being the same sculpt. The same goes for the eyes. It may seem like no big deal, after all its just a repaint, but since the head is the most striking thing about the figure, it really improves its overall impact. The angry mouth also makes this bat wonderfully bestial. The open mouth tough...can't really see myself ever using it. Looks as if Wayne was trying to speak, while having his cheeks stuffed full with snacks.
Though it might be Hot Toys biggest production fail to date(and there's quite few of them to chose from now), I believe that its the definitive Batman collectible in this scale, if its in good condition. Even the fantastic Keaton Bats will have a hard time beating this guy in looks and sheer shelf presence. It is currently the most intimidating thing in my collection. Even if I had to keep him in this single, static, glaring pose out of fear of damaging the suit, I would be content as he looks awesome in it. And my poor, underlit photos hardly do him any justice.
I am planning to tweak him a bit in the future. Nothing drastic, just a few touch ups. Adding darker, matt paint around the eyes, getting a new cape, and maybe adding a bit of satin varnish to the gauntlets, and repainting the belt.
