WONDER WOMAN DVD Maquette - DC Universe Animated movie statue

I picked up an amazing statue this past week, based on the DC Universe Animated Direct-to-DVD Wonder Woman movie. The statue is made of polystone, measures about 8 & 1/2" tall (plus its base) and was released in a limited run of 4000 back in (I think) 2009. 

Wonder Woman comes in an attractive, if not slightly busy, box. There are loads of photos of the prototype (which I can't help but notice looks better than the final product due to the eye paint), and a bit of narrative on the back describing the plot of the movie on which the figure is based. The statue doesn't require any assembly, and is sandwiched safely between two styrofoam trays. The black base has a plaque on it, with the edition number inscribed in the underside. 

The sculpt is credited to Jim Shoop, and features a design with strong, muscular shoulders and arms, without projecting too much bulk. The style is simple, rather than "realistic", as it is based directly on animation. Everything is generally pretty smooth, including the voluminous hair, which has a minimum of creases to hint at depth. There's a slight wrinkling at the ankles of Wonder Woman's boots, but even they are otherwise smooth. I like the overall pose, with the exception of the sharp downwards tilt of her chin, which is just a bit too much for me (the image on the box shows a more "straight-ahead" look, and I really prefer it). The paint work around the eyes, though sharp, seems a bit thick, making her look somewhat sinister, until you get used to it. The paint work is otherwise excellent, with sharp lines, no bleed and appropriate colors. The skin tone works well, and the bracelets are a gloss grey. Wonder Woman is holding a metal lasso across her hands to complete the look.The statue is quite attractive and looks excellent, but she needs to be displayed above eye-level because of the sharp downward tilt of her face. Had they brought the chin up a shade and gone a bit subtler with the eye shadow, and a tiny bit fuller with the lipstick, I think this statue would have been much closer to the material it was modeled on. As it stands, its still excellent, and I'm happy to add it to the collection, but she needs to be displayed "just so" to bring the most out of her.

Gaming Heads Lara Croft "Survivor" Statue Box

Gaming Heads is due to release a new Lara Croft Tomb Raider statue any time, now. It's the "Temple of Osiris" version, and it looks brilliant. Unfortunately, it's a bit out of my price range, so I'll be taking a very difficult pass. I did have a recent request for another look at the earlier Gaming Heads release of Lara Coft in her modern, re-booted "Survivor" look's box. I had mentioned in my review of the figure that the box was so nice it probably deserved its own review. So, here it is!

The box is absolutely enormous - by far the largest box for a figure I have ever gotten (this is also the largest statue in my collection)! It measures nearly 23" tall by 16" wide and 11" deep. It's very hard to capture those dimensions on camera, so trust me, it's big. The pictures are stunning photos of the prototype, which (unfortunately) looks better than the actual statue. I've included a side by side so you can see what I mean. Otherwise, the box is beautiful, with several turnaround shots, a neat biography, and the edition number (this was limited to 1000 worldwide).

Lara Croft in Jungle Outfit - Playmates Toys Tomb Raider figure

I recently had a request through my earlier post of my Tomb Raider collection shelf display for a review of one of the figures. I called it "Large Size Lara Croft". It's actually a Playmates Toys 8" Lara Croft from one of their larger sized diorama sets. In the late 1990's Playmates did a line of about a half dozen smaller sized (6") figures with diorama display bases under the Adventures of Lara Croft banner. They also produced 3 (I think) larger, 8" figures with dioramas. One was Lara Croft in Wetsuit, which came with a dock display. Another was Area 51 Lara Croft, which came in an industrial display. And the third was Lara Croft in Jungle Outfit, from which my figure comes. I actually purchased the figure loose, not knowing that it was the Playmates figure at the time, and it came a bit warped and scuffed.

Jungle Outfit Lara stands about 9" tall, has two pistols that can be stored in her hip holsters or held in her hands, and sports very little articulation: v-hips, swivel neck, swivel shoulders and a swivel at the left elbow allowing for inward/outward rotation of the forearm. That's a total of 6 points. It's only enough to fine tune the stance she's been given, with the locations of the arms to the guns as the aspect giving the figure its personality. Unlike her junior version, this Lara comes with her sunglasses on. And that's about it. Jungle Outfit Lara is a dated piece, and would probably look a whole lot better on her original, included base. As she is, she's ok, but I'm happy to have her in my collection. I've got the larger Wetsuit Lara, as well (also without the diorama dock base), with only Area 51 Lara missing. Might have to remedy that some day...

Alongside SOTA Riddick