Forget Simu Liu - while his performance wasn't terrible in Shang Chi, he's got a long way to grow as an actor. There's also the growing he needs to do as an adult, but that's another topic. Tony Leung is the reason you want to watch the movie. Along with Michelle Yeoh and Yuen Wah, they all play their roles and have a more memorable presence that the titular character. So naturally, getting the Wenwu Hot Toy was a no brainer.
As always, it took a while - almost two years, but what else is new. It's only the event exclusives or other short run items that are delivered relatively timely.
The main antagonist of the film, Wenwu actually comes with a decent number of accessories, though as always the price reflects that, though I think he's about the same price as a "standard" Hot Toy these days:
- 1 x Main Figure
- 9 x Posing/Gripping Hands
- 10 x Rings (OF COURSE!)
- 2 x Forearms w/Rings
- 2 x Ring Blast Effects
- 2 x Extended Ring Blast Effects
- 1 x Ring "Tug of War" Effect
The Ring Blast Effects can be either directly mounted on the wrist of the normal forearms, or be partially attached with the fist on, giving your punches a bit more "oomph".
So, the good thing about Wenwu is that in general, he doesn't have the Herculean physique that most of the other Marvel crew does, and that works out because Hot Toy bodies tend to appear malnourished. Also, I thought his outfit would feature more navy blue but turns out I was wrong and it is mostly black.
The outfit is predominantly fabric, and since it is not some skin tight suit, it means the underlying True Type body can actually do its job.. for the most part. Hard plastic are the shoulder pads, belt, and boots.
The sculpt, as usual isn't bad, but it's not perfect either. The general shape of the face is definitely there, though to me, the profile is a much stronger match for the man himself than the frontal view. But if you stare at the eyes long enough, you'll realize that it's completely off. There's also the usual softening of details, which causes the face to be younger looking, but that's pretty typical for a Hot Toy mass production item. The hair is... well, it's there. It's functional and it does a decent job of replicating Wenwu's modern day hair (though his Manchurian look is by far his best).
Slapping on a pair of sunglasses not only increases the cool factor of Wenwu. but also helps with the accuracy. In most case, you do this with a Hot Toys sculpt and automatically it looks more like whoever it's supposed to be.
Sculpting on all the other, lets call them, harder plastic goods is also quite nice. Larger items like the effects parts and the more rigid parts of the outfit are pretty old hat for Hot Toys, so their competent sculpting isn't unexpected. Smaller details like the engraving on the rings and the veins on the forearms are treat to see, the veins particularly as most of figures don't exactly call for little details like that.
From an articulation perspective, it's not so much amazing what Hot Toys added (which is basically double jointed ankles so Wemwu was some sweet, sweet ankle movement) but rather what comfortable fitting clothing actually allows the body to do. Admittedly, most of this is my own doing, focusing on women in catsuits and all that, but it's still nice. With a large portion of the True Type at your disposal, you can put Wenwu into some pretty interesting poses. Overall, I'd say the limiting factors are a lack of independent head articulation, and the outfit which unfortunately limits overhead arm movements.
Paint is, per the Hot Toys usual, gorgeous. Featuring more exposed hard plastic parts, I see more paint on Wenu as compared to, again, your typical cat suit wearing lady. Colour matching between the forearms, head, and fingers is nicely done. Paint work on the 10 Rings is exquisite, even on the smaller blue paint applications The face is, as always, nicely painted for a mass produced item - I swear if one day Hot Toys gets the shape of the eyes and brow line correct on their figures, they'll truly be unstoppable at this price point, as ever rising as it is.
Build Quality is an interesting one. The base figure is generally fine, built on the trust True Type and all, along with Hot Toys and their history of doing this sort of thing. It's the things that make this a Wenwu figure that kind of take this down a notice. The forearms require a steady hand to swap in and out, yet you need to have a gentle grip, especially on the forearms with the rings built in because if you're too rough, you'll probably break the rings.
On a related note, the Tug of War effect actually features Rings that are glued in place. It actually requires quite a bit of rough handling to get a hand that is meant to grip a square object so what I'm saying is.. handle with care or else things will become unglued.
Ultimately, I'm kind of biased when I say I like this figure, because of the subject matter. The figure could suck and I'd probably get it just to support the cause. Objectively, the level of accuracy and craftsmanship on this figure is atypical of a Hot Toy, but it's the accessories and more importantly, the ability to pose with them that makes this figure above average for a Hot Toys release. The fact it's one of Wenwu, one of the best MCU villains since Thanos, is just a bonus. You shouldn't be lacking of creative ways to display the figure, and he should be able to interact with a large number of appropriately sized accessories and furniture.
For Full Gallery, please visit:
Comments