Hot Toys MMS SILK SPECTRE II
Collectors will be watching this Watchmen...
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PACKAGING: Thanks to the talented team at Hot Toys! Collectors will definitely be surprised with the new design theme for this Watchman Movie Masterpiece series. Silk Spectre II's packaging is mainly black, grey and yellow. The box has an outer layer covering the package, painted with black and white image of actress Malin Akerman as the Silk Spectre II. The two sides of the box feature a bio.
For normal packaging you usually pull the figure out from top, but for Silk Spectre II the packaging is designed where you can only pull out from side just like how you pulled out old fashioned VHS tapes from their casing.
As for the inner/core packaging, you get a full view of the figure sitting in a form-fitting plastic sheet. Just like other MMS figures, the extra plastics for wrapping the hands, neck and belt are there to hold the whole figure securely. The trench coat is also protected with another plastic shell cover sticking at the back of this plastic sheet. It is so much of fun buying a figure which is packed with an outer layer. Besides adding extra protection to the figure inside, it definitely makes the box more interesting to look at.
SCULPT: For this figure, Hot Toys selected a synthetic/implant hair instead of molded hair. It does look not bad on Silk Spectre. You can move the hair around to create a more natural look for it, but you will still need to handle it with care because the hair can easily drop off and end up looking messy if played with too rough.
As for the headsculpt, the likeness of actress Malin Akerman may not be 100% perfect, but Hot Toys has still produced a good feminine headsculpt. On the left side of her face she is also sculpted with a mole, making it to look more like the real character. The only downside I see is that her hands and feet appear a little too small, making the figure's head much larger than it really is.
PAINT: My first impression from the original prototype pictures was that the figure looked very much like a real person. But the final product doesn't come out as real as the one in the prototype. She looks a bit fairer and the paint application is considerably less detailed. The quality controls on her eyes are lips are pretty good, however, but I think the makeup on her face is not sharp enough.
CLOTHING & ACCESSORIES: Silk Spectre II is dressed in her movie accurate costume of a black and yellow romper with garters. She is also wearing the black thigh-high boot tops, long black gloves, belt and an interchangeable trench coat. All are mainly tailored with PVC materials.
I'm not sure if the problem is with the material or the tailoring workmanship. Some parts of her clothes look kind of tight, for instance the joint of the shoulder part and the joint on the thigh. The zipper used on the cloth is a bit big too, which looks quite unnatural.
The PVC material on the trench coat is also pretty thin which gives me a feeling that the set of cloth is really not easy to maintain. But when the figure wears the trench coat, it does look very good, probably because the coat covers most of the flaws of the figure.
In some poses, Silk Specte's overall scale looks quite awkward where you need to find a proper pose for her to look good. The good thing is that she has a trench coat to cover her pose. However, the drawback is that wearing the coat also covers her trademark yellow/black costume.
The belt looks like die-cast material, but the fact is that it is not. It is only painted in silver but appears like a very hard material.
On the accessories side, the box set packs very few. Silk Spectre II only comes with a pair of interchangeable gloved hands. As usual, a 12" figure stand is also included.
ARTICULATION: This figure has about 30 articulation points, just like other Hot Toys Female True-Type bodies. Despite having so many articulation points, it is still not easy to bend her for poses due to the fragile material used on her costume.
COST & OVERALL IMPRESSION: Silk Spectre's price can be considered cheap compared to other more recent MMS releases. This figure is also probably the second MMS female figure (the first being Silken Floss) using synthetic/implant hair which turns out pretty well on the final product. At least it does not have the "Barbie doll feel." I am sure Watchmen fans will be very happy with this figure.
I hope Hot Toys releases more Watchmen figures beyond The Comdeian and Silk Spectre II so fans can complete the whole superhero team. For fans, Silk Spectre is a must. Even if she comes with few accessories and limited articulation, she still looks beautiful.
Thanks to the unique storyline of this novel, The Watchmen is indeed a great movie which definitely adds more value to the figure. Collectors won't mind bringing her home if their budget allows.
For more photos of Hot Toys' Silk Spectre II, CLICK HERE!
Review and Photos by CK Lee
Review Sample Courtesy of Hot Toys
