Hot on the shiny armoured rocket-heels of the Mark VII Iron Man follows another highly anticipated Hot Toys release to tie in to The Avengers, however, this time it's a villainous one. Meet the meticulously detailed, 1/6th scale rendering of Loki, God of lies/mischief/evil and brother to the Mighty Thor (adopted). Time to kneel...
Seriously, this late in the game these reviews are such a no-brainer. You already know that I love them, right? Just look at that crazy picture! Hot Toys are at the top of their game!
As always, it begins with an intimidating box...
This one does at least look a lot more sinister though, right? Actually he's got those mean eyes like he's drunk. "Whaddyoo saytome, mate? I'm teh fugginprinceoflies...."
And, as always, you slide of the outer sleeve to reveal the considerably less impressive inner box inside. Although it's not about aesthetics at this point. From here on it's all function...
And once inside it's all serious business. Look at how daunting and complicated this thing is. You actually have three trays, one holding the figure, one holding the staffs, and under that the massive cape. Be sure to read the instructions before doing anything. You're definitely going to need help attaching both the helmet and cape. Dive in blindly and you'll break something. And then you will cry. And you don't want to be crying over a doll in front of everyone.
So many hands! For holding, pointing, spellcasting, scratching, wildly gesticulating, finger gunning, and high-fiving...
Now take a good long look at these accessories because they're the last you're going to see of them...
On the left are two knives/blades like the ones he gets stabby with towards the end of the film. Next to that is the muzzle that he wears once he's defeated, and the big round gold things are handcuffs. I haven't photographed him with any of these, because by the time I got him all suited up I just did not have the energy. I have no desire to display him shackled and muzzled and, as cool as Hot Toys is for giving us options, it's hard to imagine that anyone would go this route. Plus, due to the overly complicated costume, he has very limited articulation, and I wasn't prepared to struggle to get him into the cuffs.
Here he is out of the box and with the cape attached (it hooks into holes in his shoulder armour and will require some extra careful patience and manoeuvring)...
My initial reaction is that his head is a bit too small for his body. Tom Hiddleston strikes me as being pretty slender, but Loki here is kind of large and a little bit ape-like.
Here's a better look at the cape from the side. Admittedly he looks more proportionate from this angle than he does front on...
This has to be one of the more elaborate costumes that Hot Toys has ever attempted and it consists of multiple details and layers that flash by quickly in the film. Multiple fabrics and textures have been used (just check out his waistcoat and chestplate, for example) and he has beading, ribbing, and the armour has a lot of embossing. Listen to me getting all Project Runway! You're fabulous, Loki! Make it work!
Even the boots are unique and highly detailed. Look at all those odd shapes and rivets!
I've exhausted my knowledge of fashion and textiles. Let's look a little higher at the head. When Hot Toys are at their best they produce eerily realistic work, and I think that this is a particularly strong (creepy, angular) likeness of Tom Hiddleston...
It's a good paint job, with lots of pores and shading. It looks great under lights...
You could plough a field with that nose though...
So the helmetless Loki is pretty good, just a little bulky. Here he is in all of his greasy glory...
And here's his crazy magic staff that magically turns people into his slaves for some reason...
He has two of these... this is the full-size, super lon, fancy one....
Which is a little bit impractical to display and was no doubt an impractical prop for the actor.
And he is also packaged with a magically shortened version that I imagine is far easier to handle. I'll show you that later.
But first, let's concentrate on the best accessory of all...
The golden horned crown is impressive, but there's a definite trick involved to get it onto his head. Rather than include two head sculpts (helmeted and non-helmeted) which I imagine is costly to do (these are obviously hand painted), they've found a cunning way to make his helm fit tightly with little compromise. It actually splits into two parts, and it does take a bit of patience and courage. You remove the top part with the horns and then ease the bottom section around the back of his head and jaw, stretching it a little and then letting it snap back into place. Then you have to very carefully reattach the top part while the bottom part is on his head. There are a number of tabs that slide into place and it takes some aligning. Once you manage it though, the effect is fantastic...
NOW the figure is proportionate! He looks far better with the helmet on and I'm not sure why you would want to display him without it. This is Loki at his most majestic. I sound like I want to kiss him. I don't, but plenty of our contributors do. You're lucky you're getting a more tempered review...
But those dreamy eyes... SWOOOOOON...
Oh and here's that shorter version of the staff, which is far more practical for taking to the shops or on public transport...
And here's how he currently looks in my display. Complete with incongruous, "These are not the droids you're looking for," gesture.
So yes! This is another win as far as I'm concerned, and surely the pictures alone are going to let you know if he's worthwhile. The bad news, of course, being that he's already sold out at Sideshow. But that's okay, because he's still available from our pals at Big Bad Toy Store. But seriously, when it' stuff you want you totes need to pre-order!
More Hot Toys reviews coming very soon - they all seem to be flooding in at once right now, so stay tuned!
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