LARA CROFT - Tomb Raider Anniversary NECA figure

NECA's Tomb Raider Anniversary 7" scale Lara Croft is an interesting figure. It features an incredible sculpt and some of the finest detailing I've ever seen on an action figure. The boots, straps and sweater sport some really incredible texturing. In fact, it's among my absolute favorite female body sculpts of all time. True, it's essentially a statue. I can forgive that, since I'm not someone who spends a great deal of time posing and re-posing for my shelf. The biggest downfall of this particular action figure is her face: the paint detail there really serves to ruin the figure nearly completely. I set out to try to remedy the face as best I could. I'm no expert, so all I was trying for was something a little more..."less ugly". I'm pretty satisfied with the results. 

Original, in package...

The eyes. Oh, those eyes. She looks crazed, wired and in desperate need of some sleep. I think the deep creases sculpted above and below the actual eye, combined with the wash they  were given, make them too pronounced at this scale. So, I tried to make them a little more subtle with some skin-tone paint. The iris of each eye seemed a little small in scale to the rest of the eyeball, so I tried to expand those slightly.

Finally, the lips appeared too thin, making them "pursed", and off-color. I used some brighter red to fill them out. Like I said, the results, though far from perfect, make her a lot less painful to look at. I really wish the production figure had come to look more like the in-game model, or even like the one shown on the back of the package. If anything, I'd absolutely LOVE for NECA to revisit the Tomb Raider franchise as part of their "Ultimate" Player Select versions, much like they are doing with the upcoming "God of War" Ultimate Kratos. This figure's body sculpt, combined with some ingenious articulation and an actual face more in-line with the game would be my dream Lara...

My custom paint work.

I love the detailing on the boots

This is a Tamashii Stage Act stand, not the one she came with...

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider