Almost as if reading my mind, Kotobukiya teased the first photos of their Avengers Now line of statues, starting with Hulk. As more and more prototypes were shown, it was pretty clear that the Avengers lineup would be just as awesome as their Justice League statues, so I preordered all of them! Recently Hulk was the first to be released, and he is an incredible statue to have in any collection!
Packaging:
The New 52 Justice League packaging was a stand out in that the boxes together formed a nice mural with artwork of the characters. I have to say that the Avengers Now packaging for this new line is not as nice, but still has some decent artwork. And being the Hulk, this first box is huge!
Love the group artwork above, which I assume will be formed with the boxes once all the statues are released. Similar to the New 52 boxes, I think these will make for a very nice backdrop to the statues on display.
Assembly:
The statue comes packaged in 3 separate parts - the head, upper body, and legs. I'm not sure why they had to package it like this, but perhaps the separate pieces are for ease of manufacture and painting. Either way, the assembly is pretty straight forward, with the pieces click together very easily.
Statue:
Once put together, the size of Hulk really becomes apparent, and he is most impressive! The ArtFX+ line of statues is done in 1/10th scale, and Hulk stands about 22cm, resulting in a very impressive presence on display.
He's so big in fact that this time Kotobukiya have included two of their magnetic stands, where normally their statues fit onto a single stand. The magnets in the feet hold firmly to the base, although he has a wide enough stance that the stand isn't strictly needed.
The sculpting of the muscles on the statue are just phenomenal! The poses of the New 52 statues were all fairly museum-like and static, but it looks like Kotobukiya have gone for a more dynamic style with their Avengers line. It really pays off for the Hulk, with a pose that shows he is definitely ready for action.
The paint app too is a standout, giving the awesome musculature the shading and nuance to really show it off. The proportions are just right too with everything you'd expect in a Hulk statue. The veins too are very nicely done and result in a sculpt that depicts the strength of the character in a nice subtle way.
The only real complaint about the sculpt that I have is that the mold lines just above the biceps, extending around to the triceps, are more visible than if the arm were one solid molded piece. This is a shame, as the prototype photo (as shown on the box art) does not have these mold separation lines.
Similarly, the mold separation is visible just above the knee, however they are mostly covered by the torn pants. It's strange that they decided to mold these as separate pieces, but then glue them in place to be packaged, considering some assembly was still required anyway.
Either way, it is a pretty minor quibble, and one that is easily overlooked when looking at the statue from a normal viewing distance.
The head sculpt is beautifully done, with a great fierce grimace with Hulk ready to smash. The teeth are nicely done, and the paint app in the face really brings out the detail in the teeth, eyes, and hair. Overall, another fantastic job by Kotobukiya sculpting a comic book likeness.
For the size, sculpting detail, and sensational paint apps, these statues are actually really great value! I was hoping these would be as good as the New 52 statues, and Kotobukiya has exceeded all expectations. Highly recommended!
Here's the link below to the Kool Kollectibles YouTube channel video review of the statue. Hope you can check it out, subscribe, like, and comment with your own thoughts! :)
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