I finally spent the last few nights really getting acquainted with this set. There are great upsides with a couple downsides, but overall I’m lovin’ everything.
First I want to clear it up in case I was misunderstood in my post regarding the likeness; I do think that the sculpt is off but I was just stating a pretty obvious fact. Neither version look how Linda Blair (with or without make-up) appeared on screen. IMO that was pretty evident in the protos and I knew that going in, so a strong likeness is not why I bought this set. Normally photorealism or at least an accurate as possible likeness are big aspects in my criteria for collecting, but there were other appealing elements in this release that made me give that aspect a pass. V2 is a good representation of the character and V1 has a resemblance to the animatronic puppet, so all of that was good enough for me.
I actually love V1 for what it is. It’s so unique and super creepy. I give him all the credit in the world for having the courage to tackle V1 to the fullest. Really, this whole release is so unique and in many ways it breaks new ground in the custom 1/6 world. Just to have V2’s iconic bed done to this standard in 1/6 form is fkin’ epic. The bed frame design is pretty bang on and the padding is so well done. V1’s bed looks to be equally as incredible of a display piece but I didn’t assemble it yet. The paint and detailing on both heads are insane in hand, and of course Yunsil’s outfits are amazing and are a big portion of what makes Rainman’s releases what they are. Needless to say the sculpt of the crucifix is awesome and as tiny as it is he managed to paint the crown and detail below the feet a bronze-ish. I was initially disappointed with the size of the Pazuzu statue but after a few days it really resonated with me. It’s an incredible sculpt and at roughly 5¾” it displays better than I first felt it did. It’s a fantastic special item and I’m extremely happy with it, but I would’ve still preferred one more like 8” and would’ve happily paid extra for it.
The bodies are good and probably the best route of the available options, but they’re not nearly as versatile as I wish they were. While I love the sculpted feet, hands & torso there’s a lot of articulation sacrificed. The body is able to do what it needs to for necessary V1 poses and even for V2 I’m mostly able to look past the limitations, but I think it was a major mistake to make the torso one piece. No articulation in the torso greatly hurts V2 because it’s near impossible to get her in a natural looking pose while lying down. The solid torso makes her look very stiff and awkward in many positions, and it’s hard to get her just right. The joint could have easily been done right at the base of the breast-line and it wouldn’t have gotten in the way of the ribs or “help me”.
The only other downside is the hair and to me it’s a major disappointment to have them come out of the box this way. What we got is nothing close to what we were shown. The hair out of the box is a hot mess and I’m a little discouraged that RM would let them go out this way. Not all of us are as capable as Robbie or Ray. I’m sure it would’ve ended up being a lot of work to treat the hair and cut bangs on every figure, but I think it’s his obligation to put that work in and deliver a product that shows up as advertised. The upside is some guys who have done it well show that treating the hair the right way brings the figure to the next level. I’m glad that it’s fixable but I don’t think it was something that we should have to fix.
Mostly good, a little bad. All in all diggin’ the hell out of the DX and love it’s display presence!! To all the fans, we finally got our 1/6 Regan