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About 5:15 pm, Alexandra Square, Lancaster University. I was struck by the way she looked on these very bright stone steps. I asked permission, and she was nervous but kindly agreed. I took several angles to try to deal with the sun and backgound; this is the first shot.
Thank you for participating in my project.
You can see other photographs of readers here: www.flickr.com/photos/greg_myers/sets/72157652125931010
About 3:25, Ravenseat, Swaledale. I have been looking for someone reading a map, so I asked his permission to take this picture. When I first saw him, the light was reflecting off his map case to brighten the shadow on his face, and I think I caught a bit of that here. Thank you for agreeing to be part of my project.
Ravenseat is a cluster of farm buildings in a bowl in the moorlands, with a pretty stream (see the bridge in the background); for many it must be a lucky stop on the Coast-to-Coast Walk. They serve cream teas, and I have left the mugs in the crop here, to show he has just finished his tea and is planning the next stage of their walk.
The blur around the map is because half an hour earlier my camera case had fallen into Cop Gill just above the waterfall; I didn't realise there was still a droplet on the filter.
You can see other photographs of readers here: www.flickr.com/photos/greg_myers/sets/72157652125931010
Gateway Technical College recognized 947 prospective associate degree and technical diploma graduates at its 2018 commencement ceremony on May 15, 2018. A total of 395 students attended the event, keynoted by Micheal Reader.
Aufgenommen am 16.September 1928 in Riesa, Sachsen.
Taken on September 16, 1928 in Riesa, Saxony, Germany.
While the world may never know the noble sacrifices made to defeat Thanos, I honor the memories of the fallen with the addition of the Hot Toys Avengers: Endgame Black Widow figure into my one sixth figure collection, which if I'm being honest, is somewhere in the vicinity of 25% nothing but Black Widow.
It's actually been out in the real world since July 2020, so you can imagine by the time I received mine last week, I've had to time formulate some thoughts on the figure even before I received it.
This figure comes in a standard windowed cardboard box with a cardboard slip cover with glorious art work depicting the only worthy Avenger in the group.
You get the figure with open palm hands, six additional hands (pistol specific, baton specific, closed fists), two baton handles for storage in the backpack, two full size batons, a combined staff form for the batons, a pair of Glock 26s, and a stand. The actual contents of said box are a bit on the scant side, though quite honestly I'm not sure really sure what else you could have added.. maybe a few gesture specific hands?
Also, for the anal retentive readers, neither the batons or the Glocks have any paint on them. In fact, I was kind of confused at first that the Glocks were pure black... well turns out they were always pure black (at least going back to CW) so it's possible the silver painted ones we kept getting were overstock from years past. Detailing on the Glocks and the batons are pretty much what you'd expect - pretty much scaled down replicas of the real ones.
The Glocks have moving Slides, but no longer have removable magazines, undoubtedly due to cost savings as nobody ever really used that function for Widow.
If you've followed news of this figure, you've undoubtedly heard claims that Hot Toys FINALLY nailed Scarlett Johansson in this latest release.
Nope. No. Absolutely not. Nein. Hell no.
I feel much of this hype has to do with the most obvious change between the previous releases and this one - the use of sculpted hair. I get that many a collector avoided the other Widow figures due to their desire not to get involved in hair styling, and I get that.. The ironic thing is that if Hot Toys were to choose one sculpt to use rooted hair on, it would have been THIS one, as the hair is basically controlled in a pony tail.. missed opportunity, IMHO.
Speaking of hair, the tip of the flexible pony tail definitely could use more that Bronze. Sculpting on it is nice enough, including an ornamental braid that goes from the top of her head along the right side. Unlike Dr. Strange 2.0, the hair doesn't seem to add too much volume to her head.
Then there's the face itself, which I've shown in comparison to the IW and CW version (which, really are the same thing). Endgame Widow certainly has a healthier complexion compared to the IW version, seemingly a mixture between the CW and IW colours.
Even in sunlight you can the differences in colour, though in comparison to the real deal it's a bit too flushed. I feel the IW version wasn't actually that far off.
The actual shape of the face has improved, having more pronounced cheeks and a sharper chin. Having said that, the overall size of the face is generally just too wide compared to the real deal. They also gave her one hell of a jawline to make her more feminine, including a much smaller neck area. This all gives her a great profile, but causes her head to look too big from the front.
Then there's the eyes... the eyes aren't even close to the real thing. It's something that I've come to accept on Hot Toys sculpts, so it's not to say they're badly done. They just don't look like Scar Jo and for me, throw the whole face off.
Hot Toys also gave Nat a kind of constipated looking expression, but you know what? I'll take that over the dead eye stares of AoU and Winter Soldier.. at least there's some sort of soul in the figure. As expected, the face is expertly painted, a hallmark of Hot Toys products.
So in summary, there are certain aspects of the Sculpt where things have improved, and the right light can now bring out those improved features, but to call it as the definitive Scarlett Johansson Black Widow sculpt is too much of a stretch for me. It's just like the previous one - features make it easy to recognize as Scar Jo as Black Widow, but none are perfect.
The Body is an interesting discussion, though not as contested as the I don't know model names and all that, but to me the actual body itself hasn't changed, down to the rubber piece for her Clavicle and Bust Line... probably going back to Avengers. The padding is slightly different this time, though, probably to accommodate the newly designed suit. I'm guessing that unless it was done with my needs in mind, its likely that it was due to some manufacturing limitations and/or labour issues.
The outfit that Hot Toys gave the Widow figure is what I would call the Black Widow stunt outfit.
Based on appearances, it really should be made of whatever Captain America's costume is made from. While it would look cool, such a suit would likely cost more than what she actually got, while at the same time being effectively crap when it comes to articulation as it would be form fitting.
Instead, Hot Toys gave her a rubber body sock with harder plastic shoulder and knee guards glued on. To my untrained eyes and hands seems to be the stuff they made the BvS Batman suit from. Using this material, a suit that LOOKS like the one on screen is used, but has range of motion in mind. All the patterns and textures, for example, are present, but the Widows Bite are no longer removable from the body.
The end result is the form fitting nature of the suit is maintained, but the suit has ample give in the abdomen and hip area, along with stretch of the material itself, for improved range of motion over its predecessors. Again, maybe the padding was done with this in mind.. maybe it was a happy accident.
The articulation of the shoulders and arms are about the same as before, not quite enabling her to hold her arms out past 90 degrees from the resting position. Sadly, they never fixed the lack of ankle articulation.
All-in-all, I've found the Endgame body to be more poseable as compared to the CW and IW versions, and is probably on par with the AoU version without having that baggy look for her suit (or the flaking/tearing issues).
The materials used for the holster/belt, backpack, and boots appear to be unchanged from the IW release Hands are effectively reuses of the ones for the IW release, with the exception of the Quantum Tracker on the back of her left hand.
Paint work is the usual Hot Toys level of quality, which is kind of important when you're dropping $250 USD for a single figure.
In conclusion, an interesting figure. You're getting your usual Hot Toys level of paint and build quality. I like the new suit, even if seems like a cost cutting measure, because I'm giving Hot Toys the benefit of the doubt that they chose function over form, and I've been able to do a few things that none of the previous suits could do.. or at least do without fear of tearing.
Besides, the new Glocks let me check off that "cost cutting" box anyway.
Is it THE DEFINITIVE Black Widow though? I'd have to say no, unless your definition includes not having rooted hair. The lack of ankles is still a sore point, and more importantly, none of the Widows have screamed "HOLY CRAP THEY SHRUNK HER HEAD AND STUCK IT ON THIS FIGURE" though, again, they're getting closer (especially that profile view).
So, if getting a Hot Toys Widow into an action pose is your deal, then the Endgame version will probably do you right. But if you want a classy looking Widow, the CW version is still where its at.
From the archive, c. January 2001. All shots taken with a Minolta 110 SLR. Since I don't have a 110-sized negative holder, I laid the negs directly on the scanner glass and got these sloppy scans.
frame #3 Rijksmuseum reader, Amsterdam.
CAMERA: Lubitel 2 - c.1965
FILM: ORWO NP27 (expired 2/1990)
DATE: 4/29/2014
DEVELOPMENT: Labeauratoire's Caffenol Concoction
SECOND USAGE! 15min. @ 20°c
SCANNER: HP Scanjet G4050 with VueScan Software
light sepia added in photoshop
8:15 a.m., Priory Park, Chichester. I saw the early sun on him, and asked permission. He is sitting on the city wall, and reading Lee Child's 'The Hard Way'.
Thank you for agreeing to be photographed, and apologies for interrupting your reading. Other photos in my series of readers are here: www.flickr.com/photos/greg_myers/albums/72157652125931010.
This infographic was created for MastersInEducation.org.
Source: mastersineducation.org/infographic-traditional-books-vs-d...
Edited - Notes added 20JAN2008
Group photo of Readers at Cision UK Ltd, Peterborough taken on 23 OCT 2007.
(Photo by David Griffiths).
From left to right:-
BOTTOM ROW Judith Oswick, Inge King, Lynn Garner, Alison Cross
SECOND ROW Maureen Lacey, Jackie Wiegman, Jackie Forster, Pat Hallett, Rosemary Bancroft
ON STAIRS STARTING AT TOP Mark Humphrey, Michael Sharpe, Jayne Whytock, Linda Davies, Hilary Elliman, Sarah Koukoura, Jeremy Francis, Brian Thompson, Shirley Dickens
IN FRONT OF RED WALL SIGN Peter Rimes, Nagina Fardoos, Jane Lane, Penny Yeats, Lynne Barnes, Glyn Heppleston, Angela Hepworth
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Music Room Cafe, about 3:45. She is reading Driftless, by David Rhodes, which she recommends; she says she seldom goes out without a book.
Thank you for participating in my project, and apologies for interrupting your reading. Other photos in my series of readers are here: www.flickr.com/photos/greg_myers/albums/72157652125931010.
9:05 pm, 21 June, before sunset on the Summer Solstice.
He is reading Dostoyevsky's 'The Brothers Karamazov', in them David McDuff translation, I think.
For more readers, see www.flickr.com/photos/greg_myers/albums/72157652125931010.
My old e-book reader (Sony PRS-300) and my new e-book reader (Kindle 4th generation) side-by-side.
The Kindle is very slightly larger, but lighter and with a much larger screen.
I like them both, but its the Kindle I shall be taking with me the next time we go on holiday.