It’s going to be a slow week for acquisitions, as I’ve got some other financial responsibilities. Nonetheless, the show must go on and so I’m spending a good part of this week poking around my toy closet for some older stuff that’s worth checking out. Today’s installment is takes us back into the world of video games for BBi’s 1:6 scale Joanna Dark figure. While I still try to put in some time behind the controller, I’m not the gamer that I was ten or so years ago and as far as Perfect Dark goes, I wasn’t a huge fan of the franchise. I did have a good amount of fun playing the original on the N64 back in the day, but I thought the Xbox 360 sequel was thoroughly wretched and could never be bothered to finish it. Nonetheless, I do enjoy picking up the occasional 1:6 scale figure, especially if its a bad ass femme fatale and Joanna certainly fit the bill when BBi produced a couple of figures based on her.

Joanna comes in a sturdy half tube with a window that shows off the figure very nicely. It’s a pretty compact design that doesn’t waste any space and yet doesn’t sacrifice anything in terms of presentation. Granted, it wouldn’t work so well with a lot of current 12-inchers on the market as they tend to come with a lot more accessories than Joanna does. The accessories she does come with are discretely taped inside the bubble and there are indentations for her feet on the bottom of the tube for her to stand. The backdrop of the tube’s interior has a computer style readout and circuit schematics printed on it. Needless to say, this packaging is extremely collector friendly. The back panel shows off this figure as well as the other Joanna Dark figure that BBi produced [which we just might be checking out tomorrow! – FF]                                

Out of the tube, we find that Joanna comes in a pretty simple, one-piece, black pleather body suit. The arms have a cool coiled, ribbing to them, but apart from that, it’s pretty straight forward, with excellent stitching, but not a lot of detailing. It does fit the figure very well, and zips up in the back. The suit is augmented by a simple belt that hangs loose on her hips, a thigh strap on her left leg, and a shoulder harnass with a holster for her sidearm.

I think Blue Box did a remarkable job with Joanna’s head sculpt, particularly when you keep in mind that this is an older figure without a high end price tag. The face is pretty and the paintwork is far better than I’ve seen on some recent contenders from other companies. BBi went with sculpted hair, which was probably a good call cosidering her short hairstyle and the price point of the figure.

Joanna is wonderfully articulated, although I’ll beg the pardon of the hardcore 1:6 scale collectors if I don’t count off every joint. I realize that the subtle differences in articulation on these figures is of paramount importance, but getting her suit on and off to study the joints is a real bitch. Suffice it to say she has a very articulated body, with soft rubbery hands to help her grip accessories, and a pair of flat feet inside her boots.

It’s only in the accessories that Joanna comes up ridiculously short. I’ve taken the liberty of digging through my 1:6 scale armory to provide her with some additional firepower, (I think she looks particularly great with the combat shotgun) but keep in mind that she only comes with one weapon and that’s her tiny little automatic pistol. She can easily hold the pistol in her right hand and it fits nicely into her holster. The pistol has a removable clip, complete with a tiny copper bullet painted in at the top of the magazine.

I seem to recall this figure retailing for around $19.99 when first released. I picked up both of these in the corner of an indie game shop on clearance. I think they were about $10 each.  I’m tempted to say she’s an amazing figure for that price, but then I think she’d be a really solid figure for even twice that. The body and head sculpt are both excellent, articulation is solid, and her outfit is nicely tailored and fits well. The only place she stumbles is in the lack of weaponry or accessories, and that’s something BBi could have easily fixed. Joanna doesn’t turn up on Ebay as much as she used to, but you can still sometimes find her in the $30 range. I’m sure the Perfect Dark franchise doesn’t have the appeal it once did, but if you’re into this scale and want a solid female action figure to add to your collection, you can do much worse than Joanna Dark.