DSC_2906
As most people collect, they end up meeting interesting people that they can relate to. I've certainly met my share of them, and have managed to obtain a few pieces with some assistance from them. As a result, hailing all the4 way from Singapore, we have the Hot Toys Exclusive (whatever that means) Avengers 2: Age of Ultron - Maria Hill figure.
I know they weren't super expensive back in the day (MSRP I mean), but by the time Sideshow got their hands on it, this figure cost $215 USD, which definitely cost more than your run of the mill figure back in the day, all the while being less equipped than they were. I managed to snag one that was opened and resealed in a box for $170 USD shippped.
You get the figure, 3 pairs of hands, walkie talkie, Bluetooth earpiece, and a pistol. Oh, and the usual base/stand.
Now, I learned about Pleather deterioration, but completely forgot about how tropical weather like in Singapore would affect a figure. It's not the worst I've seen, as some of my Widows have similar damage, but they've lived in Canada all their lives.
But it is unfortunate seeing how I didn't exactly score this figure for Garage Sale prices. I'm hoping my coats of leather paint prevents things from getting worse.
What I wasn't expecting was the effect of humidity on paint in contact with plastic. Hot Toys gave the sculpt some lovely blush to accentuate her cheeks. Well, that all turned from pink to yellow, so it looks kinda weird.
Unfortunate, but I treat it as a learning lesson on things to look out for when I finally make my way back to Asia to unleash holy hell on the secondary toy market.
So with the downers out of the way, the rest of the figure is pretty standard. I believe Maria uses a slightly taller version of the Widow body, which is a bit tall and narrow in the torso, but overall is a closer match to Colbie Smulders than Scarlett Johansson.
Maria was made when they still made softer fabric uniforms. I'd describe the feel of what she's wearing as being whatever Jeggings are made from. The upper body generally has full use of its faculties - unfortunately the body doesn't have Butterfly style shoulders, which is unfortunate as Maria could have really used them, especially for her pistol and arm crossed poses. Legs are restricted despite the softer fabric, though isn't as bad as with Winter Soldier Black Widow.
The head sculpt I'm actually quite impressed with. It's not perfect - they never are and if anyone says so, they're probably just not looking hard at the thing... or in some instances, not looking at all. The eyes are off, and the sculpted hair throws things off. But ultimately, it comes down to the jaw being too square, even for Colbie Smulders. On the whole, however, its probably 70 - 80% there, which is a lot more than I can say about any Black Widow up to that point, and Hot Toys accomplished that with one try as well.
Paint, I'm not really in a position to comment on. But, it appears if you can see past the discoloration, you'll see that the usual high quality is there. Build Quality is the usual high level, with nothing falling apart aside from the Pleather.
Overall, despite being a simpler figure I have to say I certainly like this better than I liked AoU Widow, which was just.. weird from a MCU perspective as well as from a Hot Toy perspective. I'll probably have to hunt down a WS Nick Fury to pair with her, but this time I'll be sure to make sure everything is is one piece.
DSC_2906
As most people collect, they end up meeting interesting people that they can relate to. I've certainly met my share of them, and have managed to obtain a few pieces with some assistance from them. As a result, hailing all the4 way from Singapore, we have the Hot Toys Exclusive (whatever that means) Avengers 2: Age of Ultron - Maria Hill figure.
I know they weren't super expensive back in the day (MSRP I mean), but by the time Sideshow got their hands on it, this figure cost $215 USD, which definitely cost more than your run of the mill figure back in the day, all the while being less equipped than they were. I managed to snag one that was opened and resealed in a box for $170 USD shippped.
You get the figure, 3 pairs of hands, walkie talkie, Bluetooth earpiece, and a pistol. Oh, and the usual base/stand.
Now, I learned about Pleather deterioration, but completely forgot about how tropical weather like in Singapore would affect a figure. It's not the worst I've seen, as some of my Widows have similar damage, but they've lived in Canada all their lives.
But it is unfortunate seeing how I didn't exactly score this figure for Garage Sale prices. I'm hoping my coats of leather paint prevents things from getting worse.
What I wasn't expecting was the effect of humidity on paint in contact with plastic. Hot Toys gave the sculpt some lovely blush to accentuate her cheeks. Well, that all turned from pink to yellow, so it looks kinda weird.
Unfortunate, but I treat it as a learning lesson on things to look out for when I finally make my way back to Asia to unleash holy hell on the secondary toy market.
So with the downers out of the way, the rest of the figure is pretty standard. I believe Maria uses a slightly taller version of the Widow body, which is a bit tall and narrow in the torso, but overall is a closer match to Colbie Smulders than Scarlett Johansson.
Maria was made when they still made softer fabric uniforms. I'd describe the feel of what she's wearing as being whatever Jeggings are made from. The upper body generally has full use of its faculties - unfortunately the body doesn't have Butterfly style shoulders, which is unfortunate as Maria could have really used them, especially for her pistol and arm crossed poses. Legs are restricted despite the softer fabric, though isn't as bad as with Winter Soldier Black Widow.
The head sculpt I'm actually quite impressed with. It's not perfect - they never are and if anyone says so, they're probably just not looking hard at the thing... or in some instances, not looking at all. The eyes are off, and the sculpted hair throws things off. But ultimately, it comes down to the jaw being too square, even for Colbie Smulders. On the whole, however, its probably 70 - 80% there, which is a lot more than I can say about any Black Widow up to that point, and Hot Toys accomplished that with one try as well.
Paint, I'm not really in a position to comment on. But, it appears if you can see past the discoloration, you'll see that the usual high quality is there. Build Quality is the usual high level, with nothing falling apart aside from the Pleather.
Overall, despite being a simpler figure I have to say I certainly like this better than I liked AoU Widow, which was just.. weird from a MCU perspective as well as from a Hot Toy perspective. I'll probably have to hunt down a WS Nick Fury to pair with her, but this time I'll be sure to make sure everything is is one piece.