Yamato USA: Harley Quinn

Taking a break from articulated collection and right into another statue! A Harley Quinn, no less! So this is a company that is foreign to me, but this piece is stunning. To be honest, I thought it was an Arkham Knight Harley, but it's not marketed as one. I still think it is. Regardless, let's take a look at the box!

The writing on the front of the box of Harley's name is paying homage to her classic look... but this is far from classic. Seriously, this looks like the Arkham Knight costume, although it doesn't flat out state it.

The first we are going to take a look at is the figure itself, how it is sculpted, and how it delivers as a Harley Quinn statue, posing, ambiance, presence and all. The posture, first off, is definitely the sexy Harley Quinn that we have grown accustomed to. Sitting on a stool with one leg bent under her, it is very provocative, but with that bat on her shoulder, she is still letting someone know that she isn't just some kink to be taken advantage of.

The work on her dress/costume is great as well. The difference in her blouse, to her frilly dress/corset/skirt, to her stockings and shoes are all define quite well. Her hair may not be as dynamic, it doesn't really have to be. She's sitting in a somewhat neutral pose so there is no need to make it extravagant.

The coloring is great! There is plenty to appreciate with the shades of reds and black, and it's awesome how the two dominant colors are all different depending on where it is. Clearly, the bat is a different red from her right stocking, her hair is a different shade of red than her lips, etc, etc. The skin tone and the white blouse all have shading and they are the only REAL bright colors; a good juxtapose to her dark clothing.

The face is a little different and it took me a little bit to get used to it. It's Harley Quinn, but she seems a little... mature looking. It's definitely not her face in the Akrham Knight game. She had a rounder face, this one is slim and a bit older. It's pretty, no doubt. Funny how she looks like an old friend of mine... and I liked that friend!

This statue gets two weapons that you can swap out. The bat is obviously the one I like the most compared to her plain (but well done) hammer/mallet. It's a bit bland and it disappears a little too much when placed onto this already dark Harley. The bat at least is a brighter tone so it offers a contrast that I can appreciate more. 

It's a good looking statue, that much is obvious. 

So here she is next to another well-executed statue from last year, the Harley Quinn SS statue that came with the Bluray release. 

And here she is next to the imports, the Bishoujo New 52 Harley and her Bishoujo Classic Harley.

I won't say that I highly recommend this, but I can say that it's a nice addition. For any die-hard Harley fan, if you are not drowning in Harleen's presence in the form her figure renditions everywhere, this might be a good catch for you. I always thought her Arkham Knight costume was a good amalgam of her Arkham Asylum and Arkham City outfit. 

DC Designer: Ant Lucia's Harley Quinn

Harley Quinn is coming in all shapes in sizes in my collection! That's a fact! And now we have another unique take on the Joker's all too popular side kick! Bombshell themes are just as popular as your steampunk or your noir versions, and an alternate version of Harley in1940s sexy look! As for her action figure form... well let's take a look!

Not much excitement to the box, really. I don't think I'll be getting the other gals in this series anyways. So on to the figure itself!

I think it was during the turn of the Arkham Asylum game when Harley's sexualization really took flight! After that, overdrive is the word to describe her path. This lovely design is a good example of that and her action figure adaptation does her design justice! Sculpting is amazing! For the most part, the figure does a fine job distinguishing skin from clothing. I especially love the details of her jacket the most; definitely, makes it look like some top-gun-like material.

While it plays a theme to the whole 'bombshell' (while making her look sexy too), it still pays homage to the things that make Harley Quinn recognizable. Of course with that said, the paint is clean. No sloppy lines, nothing out of place, and a good indication of a clean paint job is the beauty in her face.

We all know that Harley Quinn has to be beautiful, but this one is lovely. She has a bit more of a mature face than I am used to, but it has that crazy but innocent smile. So she's sculpted with the right curves, the pretty face, the right color, and some provocative clothing... well, let's talk about her accessories.

A makeshift mallet. A cork gun. Some hands (a peace sign?). It's as good enough for a set of accessories. More could be desired, but this is good.

Her mallet is pretty cool for what it is. It's not a natural mallet but a barrel that she seemed to have made on her own. Her gun is a cork gun that we are used to seeing Harley carry.

As far as articulation goes, Harley can do some pretty good things to create some awesome shots. She's nimble when she has to be and I didn't have any problems getting her into poses that I thought was appropriate for Harley. One thing to note is that her hair is not articulated. In fact, I thought it was and glad I did not go through with that plan. It is too fragile and it barely hangs there that it might rip if accidentally pulled the wrong way.

If it's not obvious, I had a blast taking photos of this Harley. All of the pose that I wanted to put her in came out so well and natural.

And here's the Bombshell Harley in my new Harley Quinn shrine. Man, this is growing! And not to mention that I know I have 3 more on the way!

In conclusion, I love this figure. I love how she looks, her articulation, and the idea of her. It's definitely Harley Quinn with a bit of a blast to the past scheme! Stands out as a good figure within my growing ranks of Harleen. If anyone is thinking about buying her, do so with little worry about not getting a good figure as well as a an awesome Harley Quinn paraphernilia. 

S.H. Figuarts: Injustice Harley Quinn (Insurgency)

Harley Quinn is getting some more popularity the last few months; a new movie and all. Her appearance in the action figure world is far from over as well and here we have an import figure of her in a rather unorthodox choice of version: her Injustice costume! And not only is it her video game adaptation, it's also the first variant of her! Well, they picked a good one to use since her Insurgency costume is far better than her 'default' attire, suffice to say.

The box is still cool; definitely fits the vibe of the imports' design. Though I didn't want to spend too much time on it since it's a pretty familiar thing.

Harley is equipped with her signature oversized mallet, two guns(that she canonically have in the game), and a sheathed knife(on her left leg) that can be taken out; she has two on the same leg that are just for decoration. She also has a joker card that is so tiny that one can lose it easily. She has two variant faces that we will explore in a little bit, and nine alternate hands (the card holding hand is the only one that doesn't have a matching pair).

Over the years, Harley Quinn changed her costume; some are more iconic than others obviously. Her default costume was a 'tribute' to her New 52 costume I believe, the insurgency seems like to pay tribute to her Arkham City outfit(m personal favorite out of all her costume, though this one and the Cinematic-verse costume isn't too far behind). I liked it in game and as a figure, Bandai replicated it quite well. This costume has so much going on that being able to replicate it was an amazing feat to begin with. Just like her original costume, left and right are contrasting in color(red and black), and with the addition of the different boots, straps, spikes, and the different designs on her 'pigtails', I must say it's a pretty amazing duplication. Even the 'thong' look, the tramp stamp, the 'joker' face on her cut off.... well done. The mold is most definitely perfect. Can't say too much more on that sense. The 'kiss this' on the back of her jacket is also sexually sassy, and I like it for the attitude they have given Harley over the years.

We are given three faces to help the fun facto of this figure climb to go up. She has her psycho smile, the 'serious' face, and then the angry face. All great on their own account. If I was to have one complaint, maybe a 'sensual' expression would've helped, but that's just me asking for more than necessary.

The first of her weapon to look at is her mallet. Comic book accurate in terms of size; Harley likes to use oversized mallets such as this and one could ponder on the idea that she has some kind of super human strength to be able to carry and wield this like she does in the comic book/animate series. She holds it well with one or two hands, so it's a good little addition. It also matches her 'jester' look quite well with the paint designs and such.

Then her dual guns(which I think she'll also sport in the Suicide Squad movie) which she has hands made just for the pair. Again, another oversized pair of weapons that only comic book characters who has Harley's stature can wield with (some)proficiency. The design if simple but detailed and well painted.

Quite intimidating isn't she with two guns?

I decided to just combine her card and knife section since it's two small accessories. One thing I really like about the knife is that it can be sheathed on her left leg. Wish her guns could have the same function, but it is what it is. The card is a nice little addition to pay homage to her undying love for the Joker.  the one thing about the the card is that it's so small that even the one hand meant to hold the card is some times a bit finicky; though it worked during the photoshoot.

The knife handle also pays homage to what she is: a jester. It's hard to really see the details of it, but it does have the jester head with the hat involved.

Now is the time to talk about her articulation and I'll try to jot down everything that made this figure worth the price. First and foremost, she has the standard articulation for an import. If any of you have been following my reviews and is familiar with import ways then you are familiar with this. The joints are hidden well enough, except her shoulder one seem to not be as seamless, but it's not that noticeable. The pigtails have great range of movement and can truly coincide with some dynamic poses. Everything else seems standard from her top side. Going down her lower half is where things become a (very)minor let down. She doesn't have as much range with her legs; she can't do the splits or any of that Harley known kicks. Maybe it's my figure but I can't seem to get her to have ankle-pivots. Aside from those, I believe this figure delivers in the articulation department.

I don't have a ton of Harley figures, but I must say this one is my favorite one. Speaking of, let's take a look at some of the ones I do have:

Her âme-comi version. I don't think I did a review for this one. Oh in terms of size reference, the ame-comi figure is a miniature one; suffice to say, the figuarts version of Harley is small and no 6inch standard.

DC collectibles: New 52 Harley

Well, Insurgency Harley as a figure beats the New 52 by a long shot.

Another figure I did not do a review on; this particular Arkham City Harley is my favorite outfit of hers; though the figure isn't exactly the best. She does have a bat; one that Suicide Harley will be using in the movie it seems. The only other one I did not include here is my Bishoujo Harley.

I really like this figure. That's my verdict. If they go this route for the Cinematic version of Harley, I'd say we have ourselves a good figure. Again, a real unorthodox way to go about giving her a figure, but definitely a better choice than her default. Harley has a lot of costumes in the past and I think some deserve this kind of treatment figure-wise, but hey! Not complaining that her Insurgency version got some love! If you are a Harley collector and can tolerate this costume, this one is a must!