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Osamu Tezuka's ASTRO BOY, created as a manga comic in 1952 and then an animated series in 1963, is known throughout the world. Unfortunately, while Astro Boy as a character is well known, many folks still don't really know much about this Mighty Atom boy. Imagi Studios tried to change that with their 2009 release of ASTRO BOY, but the film didn’t convince the general audience and fizzled out.
The plus side of it is, everyone's favorite toy company, Hot Toys, produced a 1/6th scale Astro Boy/ Toby based on the 2009 film. If you're looking for a version that resembles the classic manga, you're in luck because they made one of those too. We’re going to be specifically looking at the 2009 movie version and if it's anything like previous 1/6th scale figures from Hot Toys, you already know it's a winner.
Packaging for Astro Boy is a very sleek, designer-style white box without a whole lot. They went the minimalist direction and it's attractive enough with some embossed graphics and "Astro Boy" in solid red.
The opening flap is held together via Velcro and when open, the toy and accessories are revealed. The inner flap contains some extra details about the character and notes about the toy. It's a very collector friendly box but because of the simple (but elegant) design, this is one figure that looks better OUT of the box.
The sculpt job is just perfect and Hot Toys once again knocks it out of the park, nailing the exact likeness of the Imagi Studios film. In the film, Astro Boy is first known as Toby Tenma who dies in a tragic lab accident. His father Dr. Tenma creates a robot boy in the exact likeness of his son. He is made virtually indestructible so that Dr. Tenma would never lose him again. This new robot Toby is equipped with rocket powered boots and arm canons.
Hot Toys pulled out all the stops in the toy itself with the exception of machine guns coming out of his butt. Astro is equipped with two sets of hands: one set fists, second set open hands, and he also comes with the interchangeable arm canons too. The feet are also interchangeable with the rocket boots, and yes, the add-on blasts are removable as well. The arms are easy enough to swap out but I've had quite a time with the feet and it never got easier. I eventually had to use pliers because they were so tight.
Also included is a great looking stand with the movie logo across it. A clear pipe sticks right in with an adjustable claw that holds onto Astro Boy's waist. Pose him jumping, flying, however you like. I do wish there was some more flexibility with directional posing but this is pretty great anyway. One thing to note is that Astro's shorts are made of a softer rubber material and if you pose his legs in a certain way long enough, they might become permanently formed that way. It's a shame but it also looks far better than a figure with jointed thighs.
Astro stands about 9 inches tall, perfect kid size next to the 12" figures and features over 22 points of articulation. Plenty for your posing needs. Also cool on this figure is the opening chest panel that reveals the "Positive" blue energy ball inside. What's cool about this feature is that it also serves as the on/off switch for his X-Ray vision eyes. Click it once and his eyes are illuminated. Click it again to turn it off. Batteries are included but if you ever need to change them, you'll need a screw driver handy.
Paint isn't a huge issue on Astro Boy as he's mostly a solid flesh tone and it's pretty even throughout. You have the eyes which are done very well and the eye brows and mouth. Very very simple, or at least Hot Toys makes it look that way. The boots and belt are painted with metallic paint, the only resemblance of a robot (because it’s shiny) and really adds to the great quality of the figure.
Astro boy was priced at about $105 and that price may vary depending on where you go. But like all Hot Toys toys, they won't come cheap. The quality is unrivaled. The one thing I would have liked along with this figure are some clothes. In the film, Astro Boy is barely seen in his classic manga look, so being a toy based on the film, I'd rather put some clothes on him. But even without, this is a great looking update to Astro Boy.
For even more images of Hot Toy's Astro Boy action figure, CLICK HERE!
Review and Photography by David Yeh Product Sample Courtesy of Hot Toys
