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Harry Potter Bust Up

April 15, 2011 | By Engineernerd More

This is one of those things I’ve had for awhile and just never got around to reviewing. I figured with the DVD for the latest film coming was reason enough to take a look at it. It also doesn’t hurt that the Borders I got this exclusive at is now closing.

Gentle Giant’s Bust Ups are basically mini statues. They typically come in a couple of pieces and are fully painted. This particular one is a full body version of Harry Potter from “Order of the Phoenix.” I know I got it on clearance a fair amount of time after the film.

The piece comes boxed. Or should I say pieces. There are three that make up Harry: a base, the legs, and the upper body and robe. There was a bit of care put into the packaging of the pieces, as the wand hand had a piece of cardboard taped around it to protect his delicate wand.

One thing that impressed me about all of the Bust Ups I’ve got is that the pieces are well engineered to go together. There’s no glue required. The pieces just fit tightly together.

This version of Harry reminds me him in a dueling pose. He has his school uniform with his robe on over it. His wand out stretched in front of him.

Gentle Giant is famous for their laser scanning technology to create perfect likenesses. And considering the size, this Harry isn’t bad.

There are wrinkles in his clothing that look natural. The clothes seem well done. The robe seems to be moving in a realistic way behind him.

The nice thing about this pose is that, while fairly neutral, makes him stand out as Harry Potter. As a desktop ornament, he’s one of those things that even the casual observer will probably recognize.

Now for the not so good.

While I truly believe the underlying sculpt is good for this scale, the paint does nothing to help it. And it’s not just one area.

The flesh tone is the worst part. It’s very pasty and seems to be thick. Add to that, that the paint makes him seem very pale, and you can see the issue.

The face ends up looking more like a cake topper than anything you would expect in an action figure. The tiny painted pupils don’t help.

The hands and hair line are not executed crisply either. In general the paint work has a sloppy rushed feel to it.

Two redeeming things about the paint are the jeans and Griffindor crest on his robe. The paints have denim like look to them and are the only hint of a wash on the figure. The crest on the robe is done well enough, particularly when you consider its’ size.

Overall:

I picked this piece up on clearance. I really had no expectations other than a small knick knack for my desk. That said, I I’m a bit disappointed overall. Yes, there’s no mistaking this is Harry Potter. But when compared to the Hellboy Bust Ups, the paint and likeness are a let down. I really expected more from Gentle Giant.