-Review and photos by Scott Rubin
Kotobukiya has long been a major player in the statue world, crafting magnificent 1/6 pieces from all sorts of great licenses. More recently the company branched into the smaller (and more affordable) 1/10th scale with the ARTFX+ Statue line, and it has absolutely blown up with collectors. Koto has applied the ARTFX+ treatment to several properties, with one of the biggest being DC, featuring heroes and villains from the comics, films, and beyond. Now the popular characters of DC’s CW TV lineup are joining the fun, and today we’re looking at the debut releases of Green Arrow and Flash (TV Series) ARTFX+ Statues!
In 2012 CW’s Arrow planted a flag for comic book properties on television. Breaking from tradition set by the previous Smallville show, the Green Arrow vehicle was more serious and featured adults fighting crime rather than kids growing up and going to high school, etc. The success of Arrow opened the door for more, the first of which was the Flash that brought the scarlet speedster Barry Allen to the small screen. Now the juggernaut of DC TV on the CW also includes Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl, with tie-ins to animated shorts and more. It made perfect sense, then, that to bring these characters to life as statues Kotobukiya would start with the first two series stars.
Both statues come in really nice window boxes featuring their respective show’s logo and artwork. The Flash’s box is red-themed with lots of lightning as you’d expect, while Green Arrow stands above the skyline of the city he protects each week. Start turning the packages and you’ll find a show logo side panel, bright red for the Flash and dark green for Arrow. The opposite side features iconic images of the superheroes on their shows with Stephen Amell and Grant Gustin in their full costumes looking tough and running respectively.
The back panel of each box has images of the statues themselves with insets going over the included interchangeable parts, and the Flash even shows off the next statue coming in the series: Reverse Flash!
While 1/6 gets a lot of fame and publicity, I’m really liking the 1/10th scale format for statues. Take a look at the photos here; they don’t fully do justice to these great-looking figures. Both statues capture the look and attitude of these TV characters perfectly.
Green Arrow stands rigidly erect, entirely focused on taking down bad guys. He wears his unique Season 4 costume with a green and black outfit made famous by the sleeveless jacket. The details are fantastic with layers, zippers, reinforced armor, buttons, seams, and all of the usual elements. On top of the outfit too are tactical straps with holsters and more equipment, a hood with arrow-like decorations, a quiver stocked with arrows, and forearm armor with gloves. Clutched tightly in Green Arrow’s left hand is his signature compound bow complete with a real green string!
To be perfectly honest, when I first saw images of the prototype for this statue I was concerned about the facial likeness to actor Amell, but I’m happy to report that in person it looks really good; the hood appropriately shades the face and the mask gives him an air of mystery, but the piercing blue eyes and facial stubble are right on.
Green Arrow may be serious and all business, but the Flash still tries to have fun while he’s keeping his city safe and that really shows in his statue. The scarlet speedster stands in a cocky pose, leaning back with his arms crossed in front of him as though to taunt a bad guy or admire his own handiwork. [It’s interesting that both heroes stand with the same basic leg pose – right leg held back with the left extended forward for balance.]
Flash’s Season 2 costume is overall dark red and replicated with all of the different textures and layers that make up the high tech suit. Yellow piping and lightning bolt details decorate the suit, and on his chest is the bolt logo in gold on a white circle. The suit’s cowl has deeply cut lightning details as well as the golden bolts over his ears, and the cutouts on the face reveal the Flash’s green eyes and smirking expression.
What’s better than a cool statue? A statue that comes with alternate parts so you can switch out how it looks! Prefer the Flash with his cowl pushed back? You can do that with the included second head complete with dead on Grant Gustin likeness and styled hair.
Meanwhile, Green Arrow comes with a second set of arms so you can change the hero’s pose. The hand holding the bow plugs into each left arm, one held down at this side and the other in front of him. One right arm is held straight down as well, but the other reaches forward with an arrow at the ready. You can mix and match the arm combinations to get the look you prefer, including the archer beginning to draw an arrow on his bow. Lastly, ARTFX+ Statues have magnets in their feet and come with metal display bases. The first generation of figures had generic, blocky affairs but now each statue brings along a customized base. Here the TV superheroes stand on their shows’ logos on appropriately colored backgrounds.
Fans of Arrow and Flash (and in fact the entire “Arrowverse”) on the CW are going to love these statues as they’re perfect representations of the heroes. They look awesome and faithfully capture the actor likenesses as well as their unique costumes, and at around 7 inches tall they won’t break the bank (MSRP is $70 for Flash and $75 for Green Arrow). They also look good alongside other 1/10th ARTFX+ Statues from Kotobukiya, and the series will continue to grow with upcoming Supergirl, Reverse Flash, and the limited edition Tachyon Enhanced Flash variant already announced. The Green Arrow ARTFX+ Statue is available now wherever you shop for high end collectibles, with Flash scheduled to arrive very soon.
-Review and photos by Scott Rubin
-Review samples courtesy of Kotobukiya
[gallery_bank type=”images” format=”masonry” title=”true” desc=”false” responsive=”true” display=”all” sort_by=”random” animation_effect=”bounce” album_title=”true” album_id=”1260″]
Keep up with all the latest toy news by following Figures.com on Facebook and Twitter!
To buy action figures, take a look at Hobby Link Japan, BigBadToyStore.com, TheToySource.com, Toynk.com, BriansToys.com, ToyWiz.com, and EntertainmentEarth.com.
Your Privacy Choices
Leave a Reply