Action Figure Review: Harley Quinn from S.H. Figuarts Suicide Squad by Bandai

 I've been a fan of the Academy Award winning film Suicide Squad ever since it's release. While you film snobs are just now recognizing the brilliance of this movie about a bunch of prisoners heading into a city to stop an archaeologist possessed by an ancient witch and her brother (that also features appearances by Batman and the Joker), true fans have known what's up for at least the past 6 months. OK, I kid, I kid. Yes, Suicide Squad did win an Academy Award (for best make-up and hairstlying), but I know that's not causing anyone to re-evaluate the film. Still, I loved it and I don't think anyone will dispute the fact that Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn is the best part of the film. Toymakers certainly believe that as we're seeing Harley Quinn stuff left and right. Today I'm looking at the S.H. Figuarts Harley Quinn from Bandai. Yes, the same people that make the horrible Power Rangers stuff sitting on shelves right now. Bandai's S.H. Figuarts range of product puts out some incredible product for collectors, though, so you can't paint all of their stuff with the same brush. Harley came out over the last month or so and I've had mine sitting around just waiting for her big Academy Awards win. Let's take a closer look after the break!

 The Facts:

Height: 5 7/8ths inches

Articulation: Swivel/hinge ankles, swivel/hinge knees, balljointed hips, balljointed stomach, balljointed mid-torso, swivel/hinge shoulders with a balljointed socket affixed to butterfly joints, swivel/hinge elbows, double swivel/hinge wrists, balljointed neck, a double balljointed head, and balljointed pigtails.

Accessories: 7 interchangeable hands, three portraits, baseball bat, revolver, and a choker.

Non-Scalper Price: $60 dollars

 The Positives:

* The articulation on Harley is incredible. Thanks to Bandai's excellent design not only do you get a solid range of motion but most of it is hidden as well.  Everything, including Harley's red and blue tipped pigtails, moves perfectly and allows you to craft some very expressive poses. She feels rather sturdy, too. Definitely not like a Marvel Legend or DC Comics Multiverse figure, but far more than most MAFEX or Figma releases.

* Here's the first portrait and, without a doubt, the likeness is one of the things that will win you over on this figure. This is an eerily realistic figure with some amazing paint applications, especially around the eyes. Let me also point out that Harley's "Puddin" choker necklace is removable, in case you want to remove it. (It does hide the neck joint, though.)

* Here's the second portrait that shows Harley with a mischievous grin. Well, maybe it's more than mischievous grin. She's probably getting ready to kill someone.

 * And last, but not least, is the laughing head. I really don't think a picture does this headsculpt justice. In person it looks incredible. Extreme expressions can be tough to capture in a photograph but, in hand, this is another great look for the figure. I really don't think any superhero had as good of a year in 2016 as Harley Quinn. Maybe Deadpool. It's close.

 * Here's an upper body shot of Harley that shows off just how incredible the body sculpt and paint look. The paint is nearly flawless and the body looks incredible accurate. The joints are really well hidden underneath the shirt, so you probably can't even tell that they're there. Harley jacket is a separate piece affixed over her torso (the sleeves are sculpted; there isn't an jacketless look with this figure).

* From the back you can see how awesome the paintwork on the shiny, metallic looking jacket is. The gold trim is very bright and the printing on the back is incredible neat and clean.

* Harley has a lot of little details on her hands and wrists, including a long ring on her right index finger, a glove on her left hand, and some seriously points bracelets.

* To replicate Harley's fishnets, Bandai went with giving her legs a textured pattern and a darker skin tone and then adding in lighter tattoos. It's actually a pretty convincing looking effect.

 * Harley comes with 7 hands, for right hands and a left hand. You get a pair of open palsm, a pair of regular relaxed grips, a pair of baseball bat grips, and a pistol grip for the right hand.

* Harley's customized revolver is really nice. The paint job is excellent on it. It's tough to see, but you can even tell that it says "Love" one side of the chamber and "Hate" on the other.

* The revolver even fits nicely in the holster Harley wears under her jacket. It looks great, too, as the fit is perfect.

* Last, but not least, is Harley bat. While it's not as cool as a mallet, Harley's baseball bat does have some great paint applications. It splits in to two pieces around the handle so that you can more easily fit it into one (or both) of her hands without any fear of breakage. It seems pretty sturdy to me.

 The Negatives:

* The first thing missing that's a bit weird is the "Lucky You" tattoo on Harley's stomach. I'm not sure why Bandai left it off, but they did. I could understand why Mattel might leave this off, but why would Bandai? Other companies producing merchandise have left it on, so it's clearly not a licensor directive or anything.

 * The second thing missing is the "Rotten" tattoo from Harley's right cheek. Again, why? All three heads are missing this little detail that even Mattel managed to capture.

 * Last, as a word of caution, just be careful when changing Harley's hands out. The pegs seem like they could be a bit fragile. I didn't have any problems, but I don't necessary have a lot of confidence in their durability, either.

   Despite my complaints, Harley is still a pretty impressive figure. The articulation is incredible and the figure manages to have an eerily realistic appearance that I can't quite say I've seen on many 6 inch scaled figures before. I do wish that her missing tattoos were present (how odd to leave them off) and a couple extra accessories would have been nice (at least her mallet), but this is still a Great and a 1/2 figure. I'm a huge fan of the character and Robbie's particular take on her, so I also plan on picking up Mezco's One:12 Collective version and the Hot Toys version. For now, though, this one takes the cake.

I've reviewed plenty of other Harley Quinn figures, all of which are compiled in my Harley Quinndex. Check them out!













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