DIMIC

When she was sneaked for the first time back in 2011 (oh, so long ago) I couldn’t contain my happiness and posted said sneak here on DIMIC. Exactly one week later I posted the full review of this amazing game heroine. And now, a year and a week later she has finally arrived! Check this review to see if she’s all that was promised or not!

Adam Hughes is one of my personal favorite artists of all times. I absolutely adore the prints I have of his artwork and the comic covers he drew over the years. Combine his talent with the amazing sculptor Tim Miller and you get jaw dropping pieces like the Lara Croft Snow Day. While that pieces was based on Tomb Raider: Underworld (the game), this one is based on one I absolutely loved playing because of the co-op mode; Lara Croft and the Guardian of Life. And you can definitely see the influence of that game on the art/sculpt.

Being one of the most action-one-character-display pieces released lately by Sideshow Collectibles, it really got the attention even from people that weren’t fan of the game and/or the franchise. Sliding down a Mayan ruin, ruining the beautiful nature, gun blazing and displaying her perfect body, she’s the perfect example why she’s still the undefeated game heroine for 16 years. Then triangular pixel boobs, now round polystone ones. Even though it’s an amazingly action pose, I do miss something that gives it more motion. I think they could have solved it by making more small pebbles and leafs that slide down with her. Ah well, that’s just me nitpicking.
The back of the base is simple, just sleek black, which doesn’t bother since the front is wider and thus perfect for display. Even though she has a well sculpted behind, all the action is in front so you can’t really position her any other way without destroying the purpose of this statue. One of the amazing things about this statue is that it’s extremely well balanced. It is incredibly stable and nothing feels loose or wobbles when turning her around which is a welcome surprise since I was a bit worried about this as well…

Absolutely everything from the tiniest leaf to the hand grenades on  her belt are wonderfully detailed and well painted. Even the eyes are very well done. Especially that was of a huge concern to me since the prototype on display last year on SDCC had severe googly eyes. But apart from a few people, this wasn’t a problem on the actual product. We did however had a few problems on ours. There’s a small piece broken off on one of the branches on the bottom of the base. It isn’t that visible but I know of it so it irritates a bit. We’re probably going to paint over it or let it get fixed by a professional. What does irritate me more are the air bubbles on her hair that you can clearly see on the second picture. While both things are annoying, I just didn’t want to go through the whole replacement crap again while I’m still waiting for my Psylocke replacement. If it really bothers me enough I’ll let someone fix it for me someday. So far I’ve yet to encounter people with similar or more problems then this which is a really good sign.

This is one of those pieces on which cloth actually works really well, and she has quite a lot of it as well. Not only are her top and shorts completely made out of cloth, also all the straps you see are fabric. The backpack is partly fabric and part resin which gives a really good result because otherwise it would have been a floppy thing while she always has enough to stuff that thing with. I’m glad that they went for so much fabric in this piece because it does give the statue just that bit more to look at.

One of the major disappointments regarding the second Lara Croft Premium Format was the fact that the exclusive is kind of lame namely just a print. But so far (at least of those I know of), it has been the case with all the statues based on Adam Hughes’ art. Still, disappointing… Not that I don’t like the print mind you, but I’d preferred if they included some more with it. Like that cute parrot that is displayed on the print. That would have made an awesome exclusive. Together with the print of course. I still want that print too. Ah well.

Conclusion:
This is one exceptional well sculpted and painted representation of our all-time favorite game-dame! If you can get her, don’t hesitate ’cause this version beats even my hallowed Snow Day statue. It really is the best representation of her yet! If you don’t care much about the print, just get the regular because that’s the only thing exclusive about her. I repeat; just get her! You won’t be disappointed.

Pictures:

Item reviewed: Lara Croft (Tomb Raider: Guardian of Light)
Type: mixed media (resin with cloth)
Manufacturer: Sideshow Collectibles
Variations: regular (without the Adam Hughes print)
Rarity: Exclusive is sold out but the regular is still available. 750 (ex) and 1500 (reg) made worldwide.