So while Leina was understandably less than perfect, our second target isn't as easily forgiven.
I'm not what you'd call a Red Sonja fan... I barely know anything about the character. But her design is timeless and has influenced Lord only knows how many characters since her inception, including Risty from Queen's Blade. So while I missed the 1/6, I did end up getting the 1/12 Phicen version of the character and it was alright - my first 1/12 Phicen, pretty good price for what you get, just a bit of a wonky face.
There's not exactly that many action figures of the character, for whatever reason, so when one was announced from LooseCollectors, I knew I'd be taking a chance by dropping real money on a non Japanese toy, but the company was new so I thought I'd given them the benefit of the doubt and give the figure a try.
Well, spoiler alert, she's not worth the $75 USD entry price.
It took a while due to some redesigns and of course, COVID, but here she is, finally released. I don't know what it is, but it honestly feels like any non Japanese figure has a price point, then they try to squeeze as much profit out of it as possible, as opposed to actually including everything you need to make it great and charging accordingly... I think by the time you're at this price point, you might as well go all the way.
Having said that, you'll notice that her accessories are kind of sparse, even compared to the Phicen version:
- 1 x Main Figure
- 6 x Gripping/Posing Hands
- 1 x Sword
- 1 x Axe
- 2 x Daggers
That's it. No shield, no cloak.. No scabbard, harness, or anything to hold the weapons. Hell, not even a crappy basic stand. Ii guess the box art is pretty, but it's not like any custom art was done for this box., as evidenced by the completely different art styles used for the different sides of the box.
The overall sculpt on the figure isn't bad. Sculptors certainly have a grasp on musculature, resulting in a very well proportioned figure. Curvy without becoming totally unbelievable. The upper legs seem a bit long, and the boots seem a bit small. Otherwise, detailing is quite nice, which includes the chain mail she wears, and I like how the part around her collarbone is actually a separate piece rather than moulded on parts just painted. Her ass cheeks look terrible, but this isn't unique to this figure - it's a thing with pretty much all hard plastic bodies. Bicep and thigh swivels were moved and hidden by her armlets and thigh guards, which helps reduce the number of visible joints.
Paint wise, I'm pretty sure some paint didn't make the cut on the final product. Her face appears to be lighter than the rest of the body, and her hair isn't painted at all. Looks like just some clear coat and that's it.
Her face though... I have no idea how they came up with this look. It's certainly nothing like any of the artwork I've seen, and seems more like the face you'd see on some chain smoker at the casino, pulling that lever on her favourite slot machine. Hair is decently detailed, but causes severe stability issues.
Articulation wise, it's not bad, but it's certainly nothing that a Marvel Legends can't do. In fact, some Legends are probably better than her, though I hear LooseCollector is using a double jointed elbow for future figures. Otherwise.. yeah, she's a Marvel Legends figure, which means no waist joint and standard shoulders. Thanks to the hair, you're also getting limited range of motion for the head. The body also uses those hands where the wrist peg is attached to the hand, so you're not getting full range of wrist articulation either... which is exactly what you want to hear for a figure that wields melee weapons.
Paint wise, it's doesn't strike me as being a premium product. It's not terrible, but there were obvious cost cutting steps taken such as relying on the base plastic for the flesh tone - not unique to this product but it's a step down from the prototype. The face is strangely a different colour all together compared to the body, though I suspect that is because the head is made from the same tougher material like the joints, which are a tad off colour because, well, it's not painted. Hair is also unpainted. Metallics are nicely applied without any overspray or bubbling. So it's hard to say if paint is a premium level entry as there's probably the same number of paint apps as on your typical mainline figure. Smaller detail paint apps can be.. messy.
Build Quality wise, from a positives perspective, the plastic used isn't super flimsy and does the job well, though again, nothing that isn't present on most mainline figures, though admittedly a few years ago, Legends and other similar figures used the softest plastics known to man for its joints, resulting in warped knees right out of the packaging. Overall, the actual joints do their job well, with the strange exception of the ankle joints. Those are incredibly weak, and it seems this is not just a "me" issue. The sculpted hair throwing off the balance doesn't help issues either.
Then we have this. Not as big a concern with Sonja as she has that armour covering it up, but remember that this is probably the body on Vampirella and Purgatori. So the ass cheeks looking terrible like this isn't unheard of for a jointed figure, because you really only have two options. But, the undercarriage? In my best guess estimate, to save costs they made the groin region feature a cavity there so you could just insert a hip joint right from the outside, rather than having it be concealed within the actual groin region itself. This just looks lazy, almost like they forgot to include a hip and came up with a half assed solution.
There's not about the finishes on the figure that scream Premium to me. I mean, sure it won't draw blood or anything, but you can clearly see the seam lines and rough finishes on the figure. It's not Dollarama quality, but it's not any better than, again, your typical mainline figure.
I wanted to like this figure. The company itself seems cool, small, based out of the Philippines - I mean, they created the first figures of some national superheroes, and I don't recall those being this expensive.. which really, is the heart of the matter. Thea actual figure itself is generally solid save the ankles, and would have been fine as a mainline $40 USD or whatever a Legends costs these days. But there really isn't anything about this figure that screams $75 USD to me, which is probably why companies like Mezco enjoy their iron grip for Western audiences in this size - there's really very few variations in terms of offerings between those extremes.
For bang for buck, if you can live with the slightly underwhelming head sculpt, the 1/12 Phicen is a much better buy. I'm personally praying for a reissue of the 1/6 release, the figure which basically gave birth the S22/23 body.
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