Few companies have been able to capture a performer's likeness as well as the artists at Hot Toys. It is no wonder they have been able to make such an impact on the collectible toy market, raising the bar to an almost unforgivable height.
Today we are going to explore one of film and comics iconic characters, one that was played by the same man, Hugh Jackman, for nearly twenty years.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
TM © 2009 Marvel. © 2009 Fox.
This X-Men: Origins figure captures the visceral nature of the Wolverine character in a way the Benioff penned film could not.
Sculpted by Kojun, part of Hot Toys dream team, this figure captures all of the detail that you would expect from the company that has produced so many incredible 1/6th scale figures. Combine the talented hand of Kojun with the expert eye of JC.Hong and you have one of the best best likeness released at the time of the film's release.
One aspect of the figure that is especially noteworthy is that they used a new material for the head, which produced better skin texture and was used in in the production of later figures as well. The body was based on the newly developed hirsute muscular figure body which had over 30 points of articulation and stood approximately 30 cm tall.
Close-ups
No figure from HT is complete without a mix of features and accessories.
- Movie accurate costume of brown jacket, undershirt, shirt, jeans and boots
- Movie accurate Origins adamantium claws
- Accessories: dog tags and a leather-like belt with detailed buckle
- Two pairs of interchangeable hands
Full Body
The Wolverine
© 2013 Hot Toys Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Following on the heels of X-Men: Origins - Wolverine the artists at HT refined their take on the character, bringing the even event higher level of detail into the mix. This time the tailored clothing play an even bigger role in making the action figure come to life.
With the release of "The Wolverine" figure JC. Hong maintained his role as painter, this time working over the very competent work of Lee So Young, with Kojun providing art direction for the whole project.
Close-ups
The figure comes with five pairs of interchangeable palms including:
- One pair of fists with metal claws
- One pair of fists with bone claws
- One pair of fists
- One pair of relaxed hands
- One pair of palms for holding sword
Full Body
X-Men: The Last Stand
X3 Motion Picture and Images from Motion Picture © 2012 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights reserved.
© 2012 Hot Toys Limited.
A The Last Stand what can we say about it that fans haven't already said a million times? Regardless of where you stand you can't help but be amazed at the work HT put into this 1/6th scale collectible. Besides being released the year before the above entry it captures a harder more comic book likeness of Hugh that isn't present in the other artists' work. This time Im Jung Hyuk was tasked with sculpting the head, though Kojun and JC. Hong maintained their positions of art director and painter respectively.
I find it remarkable that, though each head is specially hand-painted, they seem to maintain a strong consistency and quality rarely found in the collectible toy market. When you see the prototype you know that that is most likely what the end product will look like. With that said the paint work was a monumental achievement with this figure. Check out these close-ups to see for yourself.
Close-ups
- Three (3) pairs of interchangeable gloved palms including:
- One pair of fists with blades
- One pair of fists
- One pair of relaxed hands
Full Body
X-Men: Days of Future Past
We have written extensively about the Wolverine figure from X-Men: Days of Future Past. If you want to know the complete story of that figure you should check it out. For the sake of completion I wanted to include some shots of that incredible piece of art. If you could label an action figure a masterpiece then this definitely goes into that category.
