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Hot Toys - MMS DX 01- The Dark Knight - The Joker spec and pics
- Thread starter wookster
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haytil
Super Freak
I think you need to understand that there are a great many different criteria one can use to determine if one head is "better" than another head. There are many reasons one could legitimately use to determine that the stock DX head is better than any of the customs you use.
For instance:
-Which is "better" for a consistent multi-figure display?
A custom can stand out as being very different in make than stock figures - both for the materials (silicone vs. plastic or "real" hair vs. plastic hair) and paint. One might argue that on its own a custom Joker looks better than a stock DX Joker - but next to a bunch of other HT releases (like DX Batman, OC Batman, Two-Face, Bank Robber Joker, etc.), consistency in the aesthetic makes the stock head "better" than the custom. These characters all come from the same line of figures and the same movie - it only makes sense that they should appear visually consistent in make.
-Which is "better" for a self-consistent figure?
A custom headsculpt made of silicone looks more "real," but if it's on a Hot Toys body (with plastic gloves, shoes, etc.), it doesn't look consistent with itself - part "flesh real" (the head) and part "plastic toy."
-Which is "better" for multiple posing purposes?
Plenty of customs or repaints (of non-DX heads) do not feature the PERS of the DX head - so you can't pose nearly as many facial expressions or positions. If this is an important criteria for you, one could easily say the DX head is the best head.
-Which is "better" for an "action figure" aesthetic?
Personally, I don't like "real" hair with individual strands - I think it makes figures look more like "dolls" and less like "action figures." (I don't want to argue about definitions or differences, but if you read on, you'll see how that distinction is important for some of us).
For someone like me, the stock DX head is better because it does NOT have custom strands of hair. Part of the appeal of these figures for me (and others) is the connection to the hobbies of our childhoods. We collected and played with action figures (like the Kenner "Batman Returns" line), and this is a way of connecting back to and embracing that part of our past. Those figures had plastic hair, which is one of the distinctions we had between our toys and the Barbies of our sisters. It might sound stupid, but that's the fact of the matter - having "real" strands of hair serves to divorce us further from the hobby of our childhood, rather than strengthening the bond.
-Which is "better" for your wallet?
You might want to judge or compare a given set of heads or figures on its own, separate from the reality of their cost. But these are actual, physical objects that have to be paid for. The reality is that for some, having a more expensive head means having less figures (and a smaller or less complete collection - certainly something important for someone looking to maximize the aesthetic of their Batman collection as a whole). Or maybe it means not eating a full meal or going to the movie theater less often.
Each head has various qualities - the paint-job, the poseability, the quality of material. The monetary cost is just as much a real quality that the figure has as any of the others It's completely legitimate to say the DX head is better because it's cheaper. Many of us have to divide the qualitative aesthetic value of a head by the quantitative monetary value - and the DX might come out on top when looking at that ratio.
Customs might be "better" and "more accurate" for your purposes - but plenty of people "in their right mind" can logically determine that the stock head is better. You can't objectively say that any given custom is "better" than the DX. I would just caution you to consider that.
haytil
Super Freak
I totally understand this and agree to some extent. Part of this hobby is the collecting aspect. Disregarding how it negatively affects the resale value of a figure (since I'm not in it for the money), customizing a figure takes something away from the fact that you've collected this specific figure - because you've turned it onto something else and thus "lost" the original.
It's hard to explain this feeling to some people if they don't already understand it - but it has something to do with the inherent "collecting" aspect of the hobby.
And swapping heads or moving accessories around, etc. doesn't seem to affect that - because you're still using what you've got and can easily swap back. So I know what you mean with that as well.
intothevoid
Super Freak
Fair enough I guess I see the point to some extent
monkeyrobotmaster
Super Freak
Everyone has their opinion and we all want them to be herd and want them all to be right. Well there's the problem, they're just opinions and don't have the ability to be right or wrong weather you're in your 'right mind' or not. NOTHING IS PERFECT!!!!!! It never will be, so lets stop debating who's Joker is better because none of them are better then the other. They all have good and bad points. Can't everything just be cool? They're all awesome dolls.
intothevoid
Super Freak
Agreed monkey
cokebabies
Super Freak
I think Nolan really missed something by not having the scene play out this way.
man voudon can never get enough of your awesome pic!
also saw on your police joker, the name plate says "police version" or something like that. did you make your own decal? just curious, b/c I want to do the same for my joker saying "Interrogation Version"
hey bud, did you repaint the cloves and add some stitching on the edges of the lapels? and did you darken the stock tie? it doesn't look as bright like others look
also looks like he added the gold snap button just like he has on the movie
intothevoid
Super Freak
He needs to dye the blazer a blue-ish shade, and ideally the coat needs to be more purple but don't think once can do much about that, but still, probably the best DX out there!
monkeyrobotmaster
Super Freak
Yup, I did all of that.
how did you darken the tie? I definitely want to do that once I get my DX tie in.
I'm thinking he sculpted them on then painted it. well that's what I would do
or maybe you're right. he could've gotten a small piece of metal possible from a crafts store for like making jewelry and glued those suckers there
blakus939
Super Freak
What paint brand and colour for the gloves monkey? Dayum, that is THE BEST factory-style joker head in the world. LOVE IT. But it's crying out for a blue blazer! Not even from me, but from yourself! Have you tried any lately?
Hecubus
Super Freak
Looks to me like a metal pin with a flat head stck in the side...
monkeyrobotmaster
Super Freak
The snaps are some extra buttons off a BR Joker shirt that I stripped the black paint off, and glued to the gloves. I darkened the tie with some watered down black acrylic paint, and the purple paint I used is a Games Workshop purple, but I forget the name.
Commtech
Super Freak
The Purple paint you are using from Games Workshop is called "Liche Purple" (I have a jar. Best purple out there). And after the purple paint, you washed the gloves with watered down black, didn't you?
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