Is the 1/6th scene sorely short in generic gangster figures? Personally, I think it is so, and apparently Dam Toys also sees the potential in the market to represent the mafia that we often see in movies. I do not know much about the toy company, only that their focus has so far been on military 1/6th figures, and (reading the narrative about Spade J printed in the box) that they are probably based in China. I'm really glad they decided to branch out a new line called the "Gangsters Kingdom", which, as the name suggests, focuses on gangsters and the like.
Apart from the gangsters theme, one other distinct feature of this line is that the character headsculpts seem to be stylized versions of real life action movie stars. For Spade J, it is undoubtedly Jason Statham from the Expendables and Transporter that has inspired the sculptors. For the second in the series, which has already been pre-ordered, the headsculpt should be based on Vinnie Jones from Snatch or X-men: The Last Stand (he played the Juggernaut). To me, this really is a plus because I really like stylized cartoon headsculpts. I see many toy manufecturers out there attempting to sculpt 1/6 headsculpts to its full authenticity but often failing horribly. Only Hot Toys does it right, but the royalties paid to the actors / producers are funded in the end by consumers with costly figures... I'm glad Dam Toys had some artistic license over the sculpting and injected a refreshing product to the 1/6th industry.
From the lengthy narrative printed within the box in awful english, we have a little background story on this figure. Ogier's the name, and Spade J is his alias (the 2nd figure in this line is going to be Spade 2). The members of this gang are named after the poker suit. He's a hitman of some sorts based in New York, and got into the bad books of some Mafia Boss called the Red King after he killed the latter's only son, Billy Kid. Since then, he's been on the run. K I'm gonna stop here. You get the picture.
Right out of the box, I thought that the figure was made of great quality. The jacket, tailored in a material that resembles genuine leather, is pretty tough and sturdy. It does restrict movement of the upper body a little, but it fits the body real nicely. There's also some form of weathering / white shading on the black pants to simulate folds. The pants are really long and can really give you alot of real folds but I thought it was a little too much so I folded mine inwards at its trims so as to shorten it. The legs end with crocodile leather boots that is totally solid so don't expect any form of ankle articulation on this figure. All in all, everything that can be seen on the external of this figure is pretty well executed and presented, giving an impression that it is of high quality.
The head really is the highlight of this figure. It is very well painted, with loads of subtle shading here and there to accentuate the figure's facial features and to mimc some stubbles along its squarish jaw. The eyes are so deep set under his horizontal brows that they are constantly in shadows. Nevertheless, if you take a closer look, the workmanship of the eyes are top notch as well, with a stern forward stare and high gloss finish. I'm very impressed by it.
The box art reminds me alot of what Hot Toys has been producing for their Deluxe (DX) figures, which are considered to be the higher end of the spectrum. I really hope that for Vinnie Jones Spade 2, the background story is told in good english... I mean... is it so difficult to hire someone to translate the story properly? The cover on top of the styrofoam inserts has a small opening to hold the Spade J card, which is beautifully designed with an illustration of the figure on it. Again, this brings back memories of the Joker card with Hot Toy's DX01 Joker figure. There are two layers of inserts: the first to hold the figure, and the second to hold his accessories.
Spade J has 2 pistols, 1 silencer, 1 flip out blade (which doesn't actually flip out, a pity...), a couple of magazines, an ankle holster (which I don't really care about cause it does not conceal itself well under the narrow trimmings of the trousers), peaked cap, silver chain and sling bag. He also comes with an interchangeable left hand brandishing the middle finger.
One of the let downs I had with his accessories was really the peaked cap, which was really a far cry from what was shown in the promo pictures. There was also an official announcement on 1/6th forums that the peaked cap might cause staining on the headsculpt with prolonged contact, cautioning collectors to add an interlayer to separate the two surfaces. What really bothered me was the form of the cap, which was not as flat at the front end as when shown in promo pictures. I wonder if it would've been better if they sculpted the cap with plastic, rather than to sew it... then again, they might not be able to achieve the thinness of the cloth if it was so.
The pistol gripping right hand is, well, sculpted to carry his pistols, but it does have something extra. There is a tattoo on its index finger that reads "sentence", probably referring to him issuing the death sentence to his targets by squeezing the trigger with his index finger. It was a nice touch... a little cheesy, but nice. Like the headsculpt, all three hands (pistol grip, fist and middle finger) are all stylized with accentuated finger joints, a nice touch to maintaining the coherence of the cartoonish style of the figure.
Now let's move past the outer appearances of the figure and dig deeper. Under the leather jacket is a black long sleeve tee, which is pretty standard and what you can expect with typical 1/6th tees. A belt with metal buckle holds the pants on the figure's waist. Again, nothing to shout about here since it is the same flimsy piece of leather like what we see on 3A's Rothchild or even Hot Toy's Captain Ameria. Peel away the long sleeve tee and you will reveal the base body of the figure. I don't think that the figure is meant to be displayed without the jacket or long sleeves on, because the body is just plain awkward looking at the shoulders. It serves its purpose well in providing the articulation underneath the thick layer of the jacket, but man, they look so weird, they should probably be concealed all the time.
However, Dam Toys decided to print some tattoos, bullet hole scar tissues and blade stitches on the body as well. Perhaps it is for the fun of it, cause there is no way in hell that I'm going to pose him half naked, against the cool leather jacket look of his.
If you have the figure in hand, you will also notice that the cavity on the body's shoulders where the ball joint of the neck bottom is housed, is a little too small for the neck to fit in. It is a tight fit, but there is constant abrasion between the neck post and the edge of the shoulder cavity (notice the scratch marks on mine in the pic below, along the widest point at the base of the neck). Another minor QC issue is that the neck socket on my figure is actually starting to crack / split... A simple fix with elephant glue I guess, but really, I do feel that the high quality of the external of this figure is not something that is consistent with what is under it.
All in all, I think Dam Toys did a pretty good job with the execution of this figure. The design of the head and hand sculpts are great. There is enough weathering on the pants and the tailoring of the leather jacket is superb. There is, however, much room for improvement with the base body of the figure. I'm glad that the manufacturers added a little extra bits of highlights here and there, in the form of tattos, but I'll be okay even if those on his body were omitted. The ankle holster is really quite redundant and mine will never see the light of day. I don't want to nit pick on all these little issues as they will not undermine this great looking figure.
I am looking forward to reviewing the 2nd figure from this line. Can't wait to see what Dam Toys come up with next... a stylized Stalone / Bruce Willis headsculpt would be rad!!!
