Finally had the Playtoy Chun-li arrive. And gotta say... not bad!
Chun-li has long been one of my favorite video game characters of all time, ever since the Street Fighter II arcade days. Watching her throw a couch into Vega's face in the animated movie remains infinitely rewatchable. I've got a lot of history with her and I've been wanting a good Chun-li figure for years at this scale. There were prior attempts I was never really happy with, but this year gave us a few new and improved options. It was a tough call between this and the Star Man version, but I'm happy with my selection.
Now for the pros and cons.
Cons:
- Let's get this out of the way. The feet
suck. Others prepared me for it, but they're basically just weak silicone without any internal frame or support. She basically has jello for feet. She definite needs a stand and one wasn't included, so I'll need to grab one.
- The silicone body itself was rather dirty when I unboxed her. A bit sticky, enough so that some dirt and dust covered her. I had to give her a bit of a cleaning.
- The moving eyes are also difficult to work with, as no tool was provided, and had a habit of popping out if you're not careful. Had to grab some tweezers to get them looking right. The head is not securely held onto the neck, and the neck padding itself is prone to bumping the eye switches and messing them up. Just exercise caution and take your time adjusting her eyes and head on the neck.
Pros:
- The design is GREAT. As great as the Star Man looks, this one has JUST enough stylization to feel like a proper video game incarnation of her, especially as someone who was familiar with her Marvel vs Capcom, Tatsunoko vs Capcom, and various anime adaptations. The likeness is there without looking like a third-party off-brand sculpt. She looks like Chun-li and that's the most important thing to me.
- The tailoring on mine is great. The chest graphic was a little off at first and I feared it was misprinted, but all I had to do was adjust it. The materials used are great - vibrant and bold, with a brilliant sheen to the golds and blues.
- I noticed she was lacking her blue underwear straight out of the box. She has a "bikini" alternative outfit, and I just slid the bottoms on her to fix that.
- I also was won over by the fixed sculpted hairbuns. While I wish she still had a neutral hairbun option, these look striking and give life to the figure. They're held on securely by magnets too.
- While I would have preferred her leg hose to be a tad darker, it is accurate to many artist renditions of her (particularly the SNK vs Capcom games), and it's been durable and effective at showing off every ounce of muscle on those thighs.
- And those THIGHS. For me, the make-or-break on a Chun-li figure was going to be the body and musculature. Playtoys nailed it. She looks powerful and strong, with the oversized thighs that make her silhouette stand out from a distance. This extends to her arms as well. Besides the awful feet, the rest of her poses great and I don't currently have concerns she's stressing the joints too much just yet.
- Scaling is perfect, in my estimation, and she pairs PERFECTLY with Iconiq's Ryu.
My only real issues remain those gummy feet and the rather finnicky eye system. The rest feels like a slamdunk, and I couldn't be happier. Glad to have the King and Queen of fighting games on the shelf together now.
idea brewing. Don’t worry I still have 4-5 Ken’s left not entirely a waste
