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Post by michaelcrawford on Jun 27, 2006 9:27:11 GMT -5
I have a review up of the two pack of the Hawaiin shirt Angel and Spike - www.quickstopentertainment.com/?cat=14Highlights - yes, they went with Spike's arms from the Destiny version (short sleeves) for Angel, which makes him look a tad weird. Remember how I said they were differently proportioned? Well, that means trying to use Spike's arms on Angel makes him appear poorly proportioned. Angel looks better than I had anticipated, partly due to losing the 'worried' look eyebrows. And if you take the heads from this set and do a little magic with the bodies from the Destiny set, you can get some interesting results. Oh, and this is another early review - these will be shipping in July. |
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Post by ajmets on Jun 27, 2006 11:24:39 GMT -5
Great review. As always.  A little disappointed over the whole Spike bulky issue. It looks a bit ridiculous. I really have desire to have these as they really aren't necessary. The problem is these are the only ones available with the non-vamped out face.  Not loving how Diamond kinda forces your hand like that. Also not liking that their quality has been consistently lower with each release. |
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Post by Becky on Jun 27, 2006 12:00:00 GMT -5
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Post by CraigO on Jun 27, 2006 12:31:54 GMT -5
Thanks for letting us know.
(AFAIK there will be other human-face variants coming - School Hard Spike for one, and I presume an Angel figure too.)
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Post by stakey on Jun 27, 2006 12:33:52 GMT -5
Not to sound overly negative and I usually hate people in the threads who say things like this but personally...I think spike looks hideous.
Angel is surprisingly the best of the two but spike just looks ridiculous. His shirt is bulky, he has a dodgy crotch...looks like david bowie from labyrinth...and he seems to have no neck.
So did they use the angel season 5 torso for this...as it seems the same shape and it has the white top underneath which season 5 angel had becuase of the re-use of the ring angel body.
Again, sorry to people who like him.
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Post by michaelcrawford on Jun 27, 2006 12:46:42 GMT -5
Ah ha! Yep, I only remember him from the beginning of the episode in Xander's basement...forgot about that! |
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Post by michaelcrawford on Jun 27, 2006 12:50:34 GMT -5
Not to sound overly negative and I usually hate people in the threads who say things like this but personally...I think spike looks hideous. Angel is surprisingly the best of the two but spike just looks ridiculous. His shirt is bulky, he has a dodgy crotch...looks like david bowie from labyrinth...and he seems to have no neck. So did they use the angel season 5 torso for this...as it seems the same shape and it has the white top underneath which season 5 angel had becuase of the re-use of the ring angel body. Again, sorry to people who like him. Then I would have thought you'd have hated both of these - Angel has the same crotch, has girly arms compared to his torso, and his head is far too high on his neck. That's the same crotch Spike is going to have through all the deluxe figures, so this one isn't going to be unique. Not sure if it's the Angel series 5 torso - that one is less bulky than this new Angel body - because I'm not cutting the shirt off to find out. And I'm pretty sure I mentioned that his shirt is bulky and his head is too far down on his shoulders...but I don't have any problem with his crotch. Then again, I may not have been paying enough attention to it. ;D |
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Post by NewtonDKC on Jun 27, 2006 13:02:25 GMT -5
I think the Angel head sculpt looks really really good! And I for one am GLAD the mid foot joint is stiff - it's always annoyed me on the Deluxe Buffy's and Faith's as it always causes them to fall (until I drilled peg holes that is - which is tricky on deluxe feet, lemme tell ya!).
I do agree about the Bulky factor of Spike, and again I can't see why - if they went to the trouble of making different parts for Spike and Angel that they didn't make Spike shorter! I know the whole bit about how real life height would translate in this scale, but come on - if Dawn can be 6 inches taller than Buffy (relatively speaking), then Spike can be 2 inches shorter than Angel. I'm sure I can do something to suggest it, but it's just odd how scale seems to *sometimes* be an issue and other times isn't (and usually seems to be where the fans least agree - for example, I would have LOVED for Dawn to be the same height as Buffy, and Angel to be noticeably taller than Spike. But it's not a perfect world, or else I'd already have all these figures in my happy hands anyway because in the end, I just want them!!!!! :-)
And I absolutely LOVED Deluxe Buffy and Faith. I had endless fun with them, and I do mean fun playing with them - posing them, putting them in mock battles - these figures were truly fun to play with!!!! At first I didn't think I'd really like them - but when they came out I went insane and had to have them all (in fact, I think I bought 4 Grad Day Buff's and at least 2 of everyone else). I still think Grad Day Buffy is one of DST's best figures ever for likeness, fun, etc! Faith - well, I can't wait to swap her head with Sanctuary Faith and the others (and yes, I am going to buy extras for that - I have to have the "official" version and then my customs - I'm pretty anal like that).
Anyway, I can't wait for these. I agree the Hawaiin shirt theme is wacky, unexpected, but fun and shows that DST is willing to break the standard for expected figures. I hope these do really well so the Deluxe line continues - and hopefully will branch out with the next one if it comes (I still want Deluxe Willow's, Deluxe Illyria, Deluxe UberVamp, etc!)
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Post by Buffy&Angel4Ever on Jun 27, 2006 13:39:06 GMT -5
I like them, Angel is great. I'm happy to see that all the deluxe Angel figures have different heads. Spike has a great head but the neck seems too short.
Great job DST !
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Post by michaelcrawford on Jun 27, 2006 14:16:23 GMT -5
Part of the reason the neck seem short is that the shirt tends to ride up on the torso. It's also fairly far down on the neck (moreso than Angel), but if the shirt wasn't riding up it wouldn't be nearly so obvious.
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Post by DanMan on Jun 27, 2006 16:13:50 GMT -5
Great review. You nailed the body problems which have irked me since we saw the earlier shots. I just don't get why they didn't use the same basic parts for their top halves, but switched. Then Spike would be skinnier, Angel wider, and they'd only have to change one shirt to look tucked in... or maybe having a tucked-in vs. untucked look is what made them decide to go this way... hmm...
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Post by Digital Leonardo on Jun 27, 2006 16:29:07 GMT -5
Cool. Though I wish Grad Day Buffy and Faith were a two pack... I think it would have been neat to buy both together rather then having to hunt down Grad Buffy.
I still think these two were the weirdest choice, and I just don't get it, but oh well. I understand why the crammed em together. Smart move.
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Post by buffyfannumerouno on Jun 27, 2006 16:50:41 GMT -5
I like both of these figures. Although it is a shame that the hat still doesn't fit, I thought that they would for sure fix that problem. I really wanted to display him with the hat, but I digress. As for the swapping heads, that is kind of cool. I should buy a few extra of the "Destiny pair and the "School Hard" Spike and "Are You Now or Have You ever Been" Angel, just to make a few extra figures.
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Post by Girl Power on Jun 27, 2006 20:22:24 GMT -5
Not to sound overly negative and I usually hate people in the threads who say things like this but personally...I think spike looks hideous. Angel is surprisingly the best of the two but spike just looks ridiculous. His shirt is bulky, he has a dodgy crotch...looks like david bowie from labyrinth...and he seems to have no neck. So did they use the angel season 5 torso for this...as it seems the same shape and it has the white top underneath which season 5 angel had because of the re-use of the ring angel body. Again, sorry to people who like him. I have to agree with you on this one. I was struck immediately by his lack of neck. The bulky shirt adds to his general weird look. I'm disappointed, because I was most excited about how Hawaiian shirt Spike looked in the prototypes. This one looks like a Spike humanhead fromthe regular line dumped on a bulky, neckless football player's body. I'm hoping that maybe he'll look better if I glue the shirt down to his body.  But the Angel head looks great. I'm excited about him. He looks like he'll work beautifully for Angel customs from the early Buffy seasons. |
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Post by Haephestus on Jun 27, 2006 20:39:45 GMT -5
Thanks for the review.
Not impressed with either figure. The Spike looks comical with the giant sized shirt and the Angel head sculpt looks off to me due to the oddly sculpted hair.
Definitely passing on this two-pack. Seems like a real missed opportunity with respect to variants for deluxe Angel and Spike, but I'll be fairly happy with the regular "Detsiny" versions (or so I hope).
Can we expect a 50's Angel and School Hard Spike review soon?
Cheers,
Haeph.
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Post by Girl Power on Jun 27, 2006 21:41:04 GMT -5
I can't see why - if they went to the trouble of making different parts for Spike and Angel that they didn't make Spike shorter! I know the whole bit about how real life height would translate in this scale, but come on - if Dawn can be 6 inches taller than Buffy (relatively speaking), then Spike can be 2 inches shorter than Angel. I'm sure I can do something to suggest it, but it's just odd how scale seems to *sometimes* be an issue and other times isn't (and usually seems to be where the fans least agree Someone from DST told me that they make the Deluxe figures standard sizes for male and female figures, so they can build their parts library and make more variants in the future. They intentionally didn't make a size difference between Spike and Angel. That's their policy for Deluxe. |
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Post by Insanity on Jun 28, 2006 3:38:29 GMT -5
I don't find them completely repulsive, but I don't like Angel's hair sculpt a whole lot. I still enjoy the set, and Spike is definetly worth getting ;D
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Post by michaelcrawford on Jun 28, 2006 7:00:08 GMT -5
Can we expect a 50's Angel and School Hard Spike review soon? Sometime next week or the following - depends on the old schedule. |
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Yik
Victim
Wanna buy him a pint. Bloody made my day.
Posts: 59
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Post by Yik on Jun 28, 2006 11:12:38 GMT -5
Thanks for the review Michael, especially the final photo. So I have to get both Destiny figures and this Hawaiian 2-pack to get the perfect Angel figure? I guess I'll have to wait for clearance prices before I can knock some parts together...
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Post by michaelcrawford on Jun 28, 2006 13:26:22 GMT -5
Well, you could just pop one of the regular Angel heads (I'd recommend the two pack version over 50's Angel) on to the Destiny Spike. But the body won't be as bulky.
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A little disappointed over the whole Spike bulky issue. It looks a bit ridiculous. I really have desire to have these as they really aren't necessary. The problem is these are the only ones available with the non-vamped out face. 
Not loving how Diamond kinda forces your hand like that. Also not liking that their quality has been consistently lower with each release.
