It's sad to admit, but I'm old now. Not that I'm trying to keep up with "da yoods" but there does exist that generational gap where people have no clue what the hell I'm talking about. What's funny is that despite being my age and collecting for a long time now, I actually don't have much merch of the OG Lara Croft... like back in the 90's Lara.
It's surprisingly hard to find OG Lara merch for a reasonable price. Perhaps that is a testament to her longevity. But if you look long enough, something will eventually pop up. That is the story behind this piece.
This 9 inch. polystone statue was released by Varner Studios all the way back in 2002. I have no idea what it retailed for, but I do know it cost me $80 from a local collector. Sadly no art box (or box at all), but if you've ever seen early 2000's statue art boxes, they weren't really much to look at anyway.
Lara is wearing her iconic Opera Gown from Tomb Raider Chronicles, the game where, IIRC, a bunch of people sit around and talk about some of the crazy shit Lara got into outside of plundering actual tombs. I never played the game, as I don't think my PC was able to handle the graphical demands and the PS1 wasn't exactly doing m'lady here any favours in the graphics department.
Pose is relatively simple, something pretty consistent with releases back then - poly stone is heavy and fragile, and I'm guessing using steel rods and other structural members within the statue wasn't a thing back then. The actual Lara statue itself is quite well done - it's not exactly modern quality, but it's a clean piece, with some good musculature (particularly on her exposed back) and she's got an appropriate build. Finishes are pretty good for the most part on the statue as well.
The base mimics uneven stone very well and has excellent textures. I'm just not sure if the really rough looking Tomb Raider and Varner Studio signage is artistic or just poorly made.
In case anyone wasn't sure, yes, this IS what Lara Croft looked like. None of the realistic features that most characters of these types of games would have, but rather a very basic feature set with what are clearly cartoon eyes. I believe this was her general look until they made her more realistic, starting with Underworld, I think.
If someone were to remake this statue today, they'd probably upgrade the hair and perhaps some more fabric related detailing on the gown, but unless it had that face, my brain would not accept it as an OG focused piece.
Paint work on the statue is quite nice. While there are some minor blemishes, overall you can't help but to admire the metallic black paint on her shoes, gown, and sleeves. Flesh tone is also nicely applied. Overall, paint applications are smooth, and do not conceal the sculpting work beneath. Finishing of pieces, again, is quite well done overall
Perhaps the weakest spot on the statue, strangely, is her handgun. Everything about it is just badly done. It looks like someone decided to shove a GI Joe weapon into the hands of a Hot Toy. So the moulding work isn't that crisp, and while I didn't photograph there are also issues with the fingers caused by this gun. Specifically, these days the hands and the gun would be a separate piece but in this case, they just sculpted it together and hoped for the best. There's some unwanted material between the fingers and the trigger guard, which is painted flesh colour, so it looks kind of wonky.
Then, there's the actual paint work itself, and the photos should speak for itself.
It's nice to finally have a higher end statue of this icon on my shelf, and I hope to find more as time goes on, from all eras. It will pair with the one Playmates statue I have (Lara in wetsuit from Tomb Raider 2) nicely. Quality wise, I'd say this pretty good, though not as refined as the Epoch stuff I have from that era, though to be fair this is American and I would probably need to compare against early Bowen statues or something.
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