Hi everyone, I hope I am not late to the party. I decided to post about my very first Prime 1 piece. The Batman: Arkham Knight Exclusive, No. 997 / 1000
I have been a long time collector of Hot Toys figures, all of them are 1/6th scale. I started with the DX02 (Nolan-Verse Batman) which marked the beginning of a
decent Marvel / DC collection which culminated in a 1/4th scale QS001 Nolan-Verse Batman.
Last year I sold everything but a 1/6th Hulk and the 1/4th Batman.
I made each of those figures the center of a room but soon began to realise that I grew out of the Nolan-Verse Batman.
This just wasn't *my* batman anymore, so it had to go, too.
The now vacant space was to be filled with my first P1 Batman. Something less
specific and more
archetypical and
timeless.
The P1 Arkham Knight Batman isn't my first pick when it comes to the greatest incarnation of The Batman.
I prefer the bulky, natural version of Frank Miller to an overly techie and armoured Batman any time of the day.
But the pose and base of the AK reflect my vision of the Protector of Gotham much better than the gnarly, beaten Frank Miller version. So I went with the Arkham Knight.
Here are my impressions:
Rating:
7/10, great addition to any collection but do not overpay.
Size and impression:
This is my first 1/3 scale statue. The size and weight didn't surprise me but it was something I had an eye out for. I meticulously planned where to put him on my shelf and I really like the size of the base.
It is elongated with a depth of 40cm and a width of 32cm.
The base adds to the story of the figure without taking anything away from it.
This is a great base!
The figure itself is impressive and an absolute eye-catcher in a room.
Pose and sculpt:
The pose is definitely a museum type pose, which I greatly prefer. He isn't just "waiting for the bus", though.
He is looking bleakly into the distance and watching over something. His pose is calm but ready.
The details sculpted into his armour and tech are decent.
Not ridiculous at any rate but convincing enough.
The texture on his suit and armour, especially his gloves, feels a little rough up close. However, from a normal
viewing distance the topography blends into a gritty and realistic texture.
Details in the gloves are present but some grills for example are just downright sloppy and irregular.
Hot Toys does a better job at a smaller scale. Hot Toys offers a lot more for those detail-peepers.
But then again; a 1/3 scale figure such as this is usually viewed from a larger distance and this one can convince with excellent macro-details.
The sculpted detail in the face is excellent.
Proportions on this figure are good and the figure looks anatomically as expected from the game and as I would imagine him to be from the comics.
It was mentioned that his head is too small which seems not to be a problem now looking at the figure in real-life.
Paint
Some places are comparatively sloppy. Hot Toys does an outstanding job painting their figures. They have that
multi-layered and textured skin perfected. P1 needs to learn a lot more in that regard.
The paint job is convincing from a normal viewing distance but up-close things are a bit... meh.
The decals are nice. The carbon fibre inlays add great details to the figure. Combined with the well-made battle damage here and there this brings realism to the figure.
Batmans suit and armour are what has been referred to as dull and flat. This much is true.
But overall the suit isn't bad at all. I was worried that the shoulder pads and chest piece would stick out from the rest of the figure but they blend in nicely.
I can live with paint strokes being visible up close.
But Batmans face is painted a bit too stubbly. He just looks dirty. This is a major problem for me and needs
some getting used to. Hot Toys has skin tones figured out. This skin lacks serious life, especially at that scale.
Another thing which HT has going for itself is the eyes. The decals used for the iris and the lifelike glossy finish practically invite you to literally
look at the eyes with a magnifying glass. Something which I have done numerous times. The amount of detail in those 1/4th or 1/6th scale eyes is just breathtaking.
It's almost a shame you hardly ever get to admire the details.
This is in direct contrast to the generally rather unconvincing eye color and detail of the Arkham Knight Batman.
The color is too stark (but granted, that's the way he was rendered) and there is very little detail present.
Chalking all this up to being a statue modelled after a game helps but if this is the standard for P1, I'm not going to buy any figures with irises from them anytime soon.
Cape:
The cape looks really cool and is well made. The wires are strong heavy duty material and allow for great displaying options.
No complaint whatsoever. HT has always been messing up their capes.
Options:
This was one of the early figures from P1. Hence there were not a lot of options and switch-outs included. You get one head sculpt and three different right hands (one being exclusive). That's it.
Conclusion:
For my one and only Batman piece I think I can live with the Arkham Knight for a while.
P1 can't be held to the standards of Hot Toys when it comes to paint job, likeness and displaying options.
However, getting the pose right is practically guaranteed with P1 and the figures are generally much more imposing as with HT.
You gain size and wow-effect but lose some details. At a much, much higher cost, though.
For me, despite being so picky in my review, the P1 1/3 Arkham Knight Batman is a definitive upgrade to the 1/4 Dark Knight and I am happy to have made the switch.
I do also think I might, in the long run, invest into one P1 Superman to see what the newer ones can do
