Wow, where to start. I guess by saying that these are solid, home run, kick a$$ pieces
. I’m nuts about both O-Ren and all the parts of the Bride SDX. It’s safe to dismiss most of Carlos’ gripes. I know that he has a big collection and a lot of love for the hobby, but he’s clearly not a customs guy. The guys with the whole “my HT cost $200 and this cost $600 so it should be exactly 3X better” mentality just completely miss the give and take, pros & cons and logistics that are associated with the custom side of the hobby.
But even in dismissing his overall options I can’t say he’s all wrong about a couple of things. There really is no reason why the hole in the biker helmet couldn’t have been smaller to fit the body correctly in conjunction with the clear plastic insert. Actually all of the sculpts including O-Ren’s and Beatrix’s should have had smaller holes to fit more securely on the neck post. There’s really nothing stopping Iminime from making the holes the proper size. Also, I really hate to say that the plastic swords do look pretty bad. I opted for the upgrade and I’m beyond pleased with them but I can see how anyone who got the plastic ones could be seriously annoyed; and rightfully so. I understand the cost of female figures are higher and we’ve heard all of the explanations before. I’m not here to count anyone’s money nor are we entitled to see anyone’s books; but after getting Bateman for $350 ($550 DX) and the Sheriff & Crossbow Hunter for $390 a piece, all of which included a good spread of accessories, some of them with metal components, it becomes extremely hard to rationalize why these couldn’t include the metal sword at the $430 price point. Not only were these the first offerings to experience the price hike from the before standard $390, but they only come with ONE accessory (aside from O-Ren’s dart)! Not just the one and only accessory but an extremely important prop that is surrounded by so much lure in the movie. The hanzo sword was nearly a character of its own! Just sayin’. And strictly speaking from a consumer’s standpoint
Now speaking as a fanboy…. I’m loving this duo!!! There were a couple of things that I dropped in the suggestion box that I think could have been done (correct color lipstick for both girls, contrast between O-ren’s sandals and socks) and I liked the idea of the BD sculpt with the eyes looking to the side; also I like the blood splatter pattern on the proto better than the production (also think the red could be brighter). I’m not sure why they changed the eyes to look straight and changed the splatter without anything being mentioned. Aside from all of that I’m past pumped on these! Now that I got all the negs out of the way I could end on a positive note.
I guess I’m in the minority but I’m really not displeased with the bodies. All 4 of mine are in good shape with decent joints and can hold poses really well. Of course it’s not feasible for a HT quality bod to be included so considering all available options, I think that these are pretty damn good. They may not be TT good but they are no way low quality like the original KOs. To me this is a very acceptable body to be included. No doubt I’m interested in seeing any improvements that the more savvy guys out there come up with because everything could always be improved, but I’m not in the least bit disappointed with these as they are (I’m most interested in seeing any idea that may add a little height to Kiddo).
Both sculpts are crazy good. AWESOME likeness on both. I’m undecided which one is better if I had to pick. I’m leaning toward O-Ren but Beatrix looks unbelievable too. Beatrix’s skin tone is IMO Iminime’s best attempt at a Caucasian coloring thus far. Most of their sculpts have been on the tan side (not too different than HT though). Bateman was close but this coloring is bang on. I don’t have any neck gap issues with any of mine. Of course there is a seam but that is no different than many HT or other figs and that’s totally a nonissue and not even noteworthy IMO.
The outfits are phenomenal in hand and they are a lot thinner and softer than the appeared (to me) in pics. Too bad that the laces are wrong but the shoes themselves are awesome. I’m assuming that they have the capability to do the “f__K you” on the bottom of the sole being that they are able to do the treads of the Gucci logo like on Tyler’s but I guess it wasn’t brought to their attention. Too bad, that would’ve been cool.
I had initial reservations about O-Ren being made just because I thought that other characters were more obvious choices to come first but I’ve definitely changed my mind and am now a full believer. SO happy that she was decided on and SO happy that I went for her. She’s an amazing unique piece and I’m amped to own both of these. These two hold a very high rank in my collection. I’m really hoping that we can pull together enough interest to see Go-Go and Elle come to life. I’m praying that this line can continue
Now back to being hungover and watching Kill Bill....
