DSC_5382
I won't lie - I was ecstatic that HK acting legend, Tony Leung, was in Shang Chi, along with other legends like Michelle Yeoh and Yuen Wah. Because quite frankly, Simu Liu and Awkwafina just don't do it for me.. hell I'd take Ronny Chieng over those two.
Fortunately for me, being the main villain meant Tony Leung was destined to get a Hot Toy, which I eagerly preordered. Two years later it finally arrived into my little group here. For lack of better terms, I'd call this Wenwu's modern garb, as he wore that business suit in Shang Chi's youth, and of course, there was the true Mandarin look.
Unlike Wonder Woman, Wenwu used a great variety of props and special effects in the film. You get forearms with the 10 rings on it, you get the 10 rings loose, you get ring blast effects, slide effects, and of course the one effect when they're playing tug of war with the rings.
The head looks fantastic from the side, but face on.. well, it's really about head tilt and lighting. I mean, ultimately it's OK and better than average, but to me it's more like some random older Chinese dude - though covering up the eyes with sunglasses does help.
Actually, covering the eyes of all the Hot Toys generally helps.
Featuring an outfit that is predominately cloth, and not skin tight, this means that Wenwu can actually pose. Don't go expecting Phicen levels of articulation of course, but there have ben so many figures that have had restricting outfits, it's very rare that you're able to use all of the tools provided to you. It's almost like Hot Toys went and completely redid their body, when it fact it was always there.
Poses where the arm goes overhead are pretty touch to accomplish, as well as anything with really deep leg movement.
Sculpting work on the outfit and accessories is quite good, traits which have always been Hot Toys strengths. The little engravings on the 10 rings are quite nicely done. The raised tendons on the forearms... very nicely done.
Paint work is astonishing as always. The face and forearms perfectly match, and the smaller details, as always, are quite good. I mean, just check out the paint on the 10 Rings... absolutely gorgeous, despite being so tiny.
Build quality wise, there's a few things that are leaning towards the sketchy side. Swapping out the forearms is a test of your courage - more specifically swapping out the forearms with the rings on it because there's really no good place to grab on to. Then there's the tug of war effect - the rings on there are actually just glued on and, as I learned, aren't exactly the most secure, which is kind of a problem when you're basically prying open the one fist that isn't really meant for holding a round object and effectively forcing the hand to do its job.
Do I think this figure is going to be the next Hela or other obscure but highly desirable piece? I seriously doubt it, and fully expect the value to tank, just like pretty much every Hot Toy out there. But that doesn't matter - the universe has finally allowed an opportunity for an aging HK actor to get an action figure, an actor from an era of film and television that apparently, Simu Liu completely missed, despite growing up in China.
The figure could suck and I'd still get it.
DSC_5382
I won't lie - I was ecstatic that HK acting legend, Tony Leung, was in Shang Chi, along with other legends like Michelle Yeoh and Yuen Wah. Because quite frankly, Simu Liu and Awkwafina just don't do it for me.. hell I'd take Ronny Chieng over those two.
Fortunately for me, being the main villain meant Tony Leung was destined to get a Hot Toy, which I eagerly preordered. Two years later it finally arrived into my little group here. For lack of better terms, I'd call this Wenwu's modern garb, as he wore that business suit in Shang Chi's youth, and of course, there was the true Mandarin look.
Unlike Wonder Woman, Wenwu used a great variety of props and special effects in the film. You get forearms with the 10 rings on it, you get the 10 rings loose, you get ring blast effects, slide effects, and of course the one effect when they're playing tug of war with the rings.
The head looks fantastic from the side, but face on.. well, it's really about head tilt and lighting. I mean, ultimately it's OK and better than average, but to me it's more like some random older Chinese dude - though covering up the eyes with sunglasses does help.
Actually, covering the eyes of all the Hot Toys generally helps.
Featuring an outfit that is predominately cloth, and not skin tight, this means that Wenwu can actually pose. Don't go expecting Phicen levels of articulation of course, but there have ben so many figures that have had restricting outfits, it's very rare that you're able to use all of the tools provided to you. It's almost like Hot Toys went and completely redid their body, when it fact it was always there.
Poses where the arm goes overhead are pretty touch to accomplish, as well as anything with really deep leg movement.
Sculpting work on the outfit and accessories is quite good, traits which have always been Hot Toys strengths. The little engravings on the 10 rings are quite nicely done. The raised tendons on the forearms... very nicely done.
Paint work is astonishing as always. The face and forearms perfectly match, and the smaller details, as always, are quite good. I mean, just check out the paint on the 10 Rings... absolutely gorgeous, despite being so tiny.
Build quality wise, there's a few things that are leaning towards the sketchy side. Swapping out the forearms is a test of your courage - more specifically swapping out the forearms with the rings on it because there's really no good place to grab on to. Then there's the tug of war effect - the rings on there are actually just glued on and, as I learned, aren't exactly the most secure, which is kind of a problem when you're basically prying open the one fist that isn't really meant for holding a round object and effectively forcing the hand to do its job.
Do I think this figure is going to be the next Hela or other obscure but highly desirable piece? I seriously doubt it, and fully expect the value to tank, just like pretty much every Hot Toy out there. But that doesn't matter - the universe has finally allowed an opportunity for an aging HK actor to get an action figure, an actor from an era of film and television that apparently, Simu Liu completely missed, despite growing up in China.
The figure could suck and I'd still get it.