Since receiving this figure just over 24 hours ago, I've found the time to crack her open and do my thing, snapping some lovely pictures along the way. So, lets dive into this figure.
As I've mentioned in my previous entry, WW 84 was not a well received movie - not by far. I've come to accept that fact and not let it affect what I took away from the movie. One of the almost unanimously positive aspects was the oh-so-brief appearance of the Golden Armor for Wonder Woman. I'm told it first made an appearance in the Kingdom Come comic series, and of course I just nodded because quite frankly I've never really been a reader.
So when Bandai announced they were going to make a figure of the Golden Armor, it was an easy decision to get it, even if it was a slight pain in the ass due to it being a Limited Edition from Japan and all... which is why I included a nice picture of the brown shipper box. From my understanding, only Limited Edition releases straight from Japan are provided. Even with all the Figuarts I own, I only have two of these paper boxes, though I would have had a third had Mandarake gotten it when someone sold them an AoU Black Widow.
Art box colours look nice, though I must admit with all the promotional art for this movie being so trippy, it was kind of odd to have the box be predominately black.
The extra large box contains two relatively deep trays for its contents, though to be completely honest my mind wasn't exactly blown. I say this because the main selling point was the Golden Armor itself.
Anywho, here's the list:
- 1 x Main Figure
- 6 X Posing/Gripping Hands
- 1 x Coiled Lasso
- 1 x Uncoiled Lasso
- 1 x Lasso Holder Effect Piece
- 1 x Helmeted Head
- 2 x Hair Pieces for Helmeted Head (Relaxed, Dynamic)
- 1 x Set of Wings (5 Total Pieces)
- 2 x Wing Stands
If you were wonder, why YES, I am annoyed yet another flying based figured doesn't come with a flight stand. A Limited Edition one, none the less.
Again, no shocker, Diana looks pretty spiffy right out of the box. Of course, given the price point, this was kind of expected. So the overall tone of the gold can fluctuate in terms of screen accuracy depending on lighting, so no surprises there. Overall design of the suit is intact, though I must admit that the action figures I've seen, sculpt aside, have generally done a pretty good job at replicating the look.
What is interesting to note, however, is that there are actually two different golds used on the figure. If you look carefully, you'll notice the gold used on the "mesh" around her thighs is actually a very flat gold, compared to the lustre of everything else. My best guess is concerns over paint wear. It's not a horrible look, but it's certainly something that caught my eye as soon as I cracked the box open.
Conversion to Winged Mode is pretty straight forward, starting with a backpack of sorts, then either two or four additional wing segments depending on whether or not you want to display Wonder Woman with folded or open wings. Your biggest concerns are not scratching the paint and not breaking the joints. I cheated a bit and got the figure to stand without having to rely on the two included stands.
Here she is compared to the first release. Differences obviously include the wardrobe, but there are a few other things as well. The Lasso of Truth is actually a deeper gold on this suit, and as such the paint job is different. Golden Armor has no tiara, as well as a slightly different hair style.
And for fun, here are Fully Armored Mode for both this release and the McFarlane DC Multiverse line.
For whatever reason, both the face sculpts for the Golden Armor release effectively face forward as opposed to some variety, but I guess its two different heads so you go with the default.
What's funny is that much like with the WW 84 release, one of the faces was clearly better than the other. In this case, I'm pretty sure that the Helmeted Head is the good one.
From an articulation point of view, Wonder Woman effectively has the same body her non armored self does, though with a few added tricks. You get toes, ankles, double jointed knees, standard hips with some thigh twist, waist, mid torso, standard shoulder with butterfly joints, single elbow with forearm pivot/rotate, wrists, neck, and head. Articulation of the torso is somewhat restricted due to the Cuirass, but at the same time they made it three sections so you can get in some arch in the back or to the sides. The Pauldrons are hinged so they can move out of the way of the shoulder, maximizing range of motion there.
Overall, you can get some good dynamic poses, and if you can get the uncoiled lasso to cooperate, you can even pose Wonder Woman attacking with it.
Special shoutout to the wings. You're not going to be able to create CGI precise wing movements, but you've got what you need. The MVP of the whole design is the multi jointed backpack that plugs directly into the figure that serves as the basis for movement, allowing for rotation, pivot, and tilt of the wings.
Wrapping up the articulation section, no matter what you do you'll find that head rotating is restricted due to the long hair at the back. Tamashii Nations tried to give you some work arounds, or at least for the Helmeted Head. As mentioned, there's two types of hair though I find there to be minimal improvement with the single long strand featuring the dynamic end. There is even a hidden joint inside the head to keep the hair piece on while tilting the head up and down.
Overall, with both heads, if all you care for is range of motion and things looking right from the front, I'm happy to say that all the hair pieces in the way can be easily removed to accommodate your posing desires.
Wrapping things up, as always, are Paint and Build Quality, and they're pretty straight forward.
The only paint blemish I could find on this entire figure is that on the Unhelmeted Head, Wonder Woman is cross eyes, which coincidentally was the issue with the WW 84 release. Otherwise, everything else is generally smooth with no out of the ordinary surprises, all sealed in beautifully with a beautifully applied top coat. Masking is generally sharp, with small amounts of minor slip ups mass produced figures will get. The digital painting system for the face is always going to look like crap when you get closer, so that's nothing new nor to be alarmed about.
Build Quality wise, everything fits together like a dream, and poses hold. You need to be careful not to scratch paint, but the figure didn't feel fragile in my hands. Some sanding blemishes can be observed, mostly on the wings, which is somewhat unfortunate because overall these are some smooth and silky parts.
Overall, a very visually stunning figure with a pretty good posing game. The Armor itself has been beautifully recreated, even at this relatively small size, and I am eager to see what Hot Toys will do with a canvas that double the size.
What will be interesting is... just how many people will actually buy one of these. With so many collectors buying based on their feelings towards whatever film the characters are from, it is entirely possible that collectors will pass on this. Couple that with the annoyance of actually getting one, I suspect the numbers may not be as high as with the Marvel Limited Edition figures.
Time will tell, I suppose. For now, I happily add the Golden one to my ranks.
For Full Gallery, please visit:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/22877494@N02/albums/72157719341237382
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