Tag Archives: harley quinn

Oct 20 2017

DC Bombshells: Deluxe Harley Quinn Statue by DC Collectibles

I really wanted to get in on the DC Bombshells statues, but at the time I was still building my collection of DC Cover Girls and the last thing that my wallet and living space needed was a new line of statues to collect. By the time I was caught up on Cover Girls, Bombshells was in full swing and most of the early A-Listers were way too pricey for me to go back to. And so I happily settled on the action figures, which turned out to be great! Fast forward to now and DC Collectibles is revisiting some of those main characters and producing them in new Deluxe versions. They’re larger, more elaborate, and of course a bit more expensive. When Harley went up for pre-order, I jumped on it right away.

The statue comes in a fully enclosed and mostly white cardboard box. It’s much bigger than the Cover Girls boxes, but very similar in size and style to the DC Designer Statues. In this case, the box also features a sticker indicating that it’s Harley’s 25th Anniversary. Harley isn’t quite in the Sixth-Scale range, but with the base and the one arm up in the air, she still measures over 12-inches tall. The statue itself is based off original art by Ant Lucia and the “Gotham or Bust” art print is available from QMx designs. I picked up one of the prints shortly after getting the statue and I’ll say a few things about it at the end.

And here is Harley all set up! She comes in three pieces, all individually wrapped in plastic, and sandwiched between two pieces of styrofoam. The set up requires you to plug her into the base via two metal rods and attach her right arm via a magnet. Getting her slotted into the base was a little troublesome. At first I thought she wasn’t going to stand flush at all, but I gently coaxed the pegs out and tried again and again and one more time, and eventually got there. The magnet that holds the arm in is not very strong, but it is attached to a tab, so between the tab going into the socket and the magnet, the arm stays in place very well.

It’s impossible for me to begin anywhere else but the composition, because that’s what made me fall in love with this piece at first sight. Harley surfs through the sky atop a descending WWII-era bomb, tethered to it with a bat grappling hook in one hand and her other hand flying free, waving her pop gun in the air. It’s a scene reminiscent of Dr. Strangelove and also perfectly fits the 1940’s aircraft nose art and pin-up art styles that fuels this series. The whole piece has a wonderful sense of balance to it and almost seems to defy gravity. But that’s not to say this statue favors composition over craftsmanship, and style over substance. The sculpt and paint quality here are both top notch, and I’ll lay it out right now that I have no complaints about either.

Harley’s wearing the same costume we saw in the original Bombshells statue and in her action figure and they did a beautiful job detailing it here. She’s got a pair of really short and pretty tight black shorts, secured with a golden batman utility belt with red and black pouches. Her feet feature a pair of brown boots worn with socks over red and black stockings. And she’s got a black and red bikini top with a vintage-style bomber jacket and red gloves. There’s some wonderful sculpted detail to be found in her wardrobe, from the knitted pattern of her socks, to the wear on her boots.

They also packed some great touches in the outfit include the Joker card that’s tucked into her left stocking and the Joker-style medal pinned to her jacket, some wing medals on her lapel, and stars pinned to her epaulets. The “Joker’s Wild” painting on the back of her jacket is a work of art all by itself. It makes me want to get a mirror to put behind her, because sadly, it won’t be visible when viewed from the front.

And that brings us to the portrait, which is excellent. Somehow they’ve managed to keep a little bit of Harley’s crazy and still maintain the homage they were going for. She looks absolutely delighted that she’s about to steer a bomb right into some unsuspecting target in Gotham’s cityscape. Her pigtails fly up behind her in the wind, and she has a pair of goggles secured to the top of her head. The paintwork on the face is as solid as the rest of the statue with immaculately painted eyes and lips. The white face paint isn’t overdone, and it’s worth mentioning here that the flesh tones on the rest of the figure are warm, even, and clean. I also love the pink tips on the ends of her blonde hair. It’s worth mentioning that because of the nature of the composition, Harley is looking down, so this is a piece that is going to best be displayed at eye level, or a little higher.

Her pop gun is beautifully sculpted and painted with a silver finish and black grips with a cork stuffed into the barrel. You gotta love the tiny Batman dangler that’s tied to the lanyard loop of the butt.

The base consists of the bomb sitting on an angle in a smokey-clear cloud with additional motion effects streaking off the back fins. The smoke is frosted clear plastic with some white paint and a rough texture. Effects like this are tough to do in this format, and I think it came out pretty good, but if I get in real close, the illusion tends to break down. The trailing effect parts are pretty delicate. One got knocked off, even while I was re-positioning the statue very carefully, but they’re tabbed in and it went right back on easily.  The artwork on the bomb includes the “Gotham or Bust” slogan along with Harley’s initials, a bat symbol with a line through it and a “Cherry Bomb” sticker on the tail. I just love the whole look of this thing!

Of course, the statue has a limited production run, in this case 5,000 were produced, so it’s not really that limited, but still a couple hundred less than when DC Collectibles was doing 5,200 of almost everything. As usual, the limitation is indicated on the bottom of the base. In this case, mine is 3,223 of 5,000.

Deluxe Harley retails at about $160, which makes her the most expensive DC Collectibles piece I own, but only by about twenty bucks. Was she worth it? Hell yeah. She also seems to be doing well because the place I got her from sold out quickly and she’s back to pre-order status. This is one of those “love at first sight” statues for me, which has also given me a second chance to own Bombshell Harley in the statue format, without having to blow the $350+ that the original is now going for. I have to say, I’m not quite as smitten with the early shots of the Bombshells Wonder Woman Deluxe, but having Harley on my shelf may get me to pick up a few more of the regular Bombshells releases to keep her company.

Oh yeah… the “Gotham or Bust” print is available from QMx directly or any number of re-sellers. I got mine off of Amazon for about $13 shipped securely in a tube. It measures 18″ by 24″ so it’s easy to get a frame for it, and I think it really complements the statue wonderfully. The only problem will be finding someplace to display the both together, but these are nice problems to have.

Jul 7 2017

DC Comics: Harley Quinn (New 52) Bishoujo Statue by Kotobukiya

As promised, DC Friday is back after a couple weeks hiatus and today I’m digging in with a new(ish) Bishoujo statue from Kotobukiya. I actually passed on the last Harley Bishoujo and it’s bugged me for a while now that she isn’t represented on my ever expanding Bishoujo shelves, so I simply couldn’t let this one pass me by too.

If you’ve seen the packaging for any of the Marvel or DC Bishoujos then you should know what to expect. It’s a mostly white box with window panels on the top front and side. You also get some of the lovely art by Shunya Yamashita, which inspired the statue. The back of the box teases the Wonder Girl statue, which reminds me that I really need to pick her up, because she’s already out.

This statue is billed as the New 52 version, which really whored Harley up big time. It took her from mischievous looking jester to pole-dancer. It’s hard for me to tell if the shock value here has worn off for everybody else, but I’m so used to seeing her in this outfit now it hardly phases me. I’ve gone on record many times that I’m fine with this look, but I understand that it triggers a lot of fans who prefer her classic jester look. Anyway, the pose here features Harley with one hip thrust to the side, her hand resting on it, while the other cradles her trademark hammer, which in turn rests on her shoulder. It’s sassy, playful, mischievous and there’s a little bit of energy added with her pigtails and cape fluttering in the imaginary breeze.

The coloring on this piece consists of some beautiful red and blue, which looks all the more vibrant against the pale tone of Harley’s skin. There’s a lovely contrast between the matte finish on her stockings and cape with the glossy sheen on her corset and nearly non-existent shorts. This is a statue that really pops on the shelf, even when displayed among lots of other Bishoujos.

There is some excellent sculpted detail in the costume as well. Her knee socks have a knitted texture and the lacing on her corset is fully realized. I particularly love the detail in the belt. It features a squared silver buckle, cartridges stored in individual loops, and blue and red holsters for her twin sidearms.

And here’s a close up of what she’s packing. The guns are sculpted well enough that you’d swear they could be removed. Oh yeah… butt shot.

And that brings us to a great portrait, which includes sharply printed eyes and perfectly painted lips. She has a hint of a smirk. The ruffled collar fits her jester motif quite well, although I find the cape to be a bit of a strange inclusion.

The base is a disc with a checkered diamond pattern in red and blue to match her outfit. It’s simple, colorful, and suits the statue quite well.

One cool sidenote is that if you want an alternate display option, the hammer can also be positioned so that she appears to be leaning on it. Simply un-peg it from her arm and carefully place the end of the handle in her hand. I don’t think this was intentional, but I really do like the way it looks and it might be a welcome option for collectors with tight real estate on their shelves.

I’ve had this one on my want list for quite a while, but what finally got me to pull the trigger was when it went on sale for $35. There aren’t a lot of Bishoujo’s you can get at that price these days, so it was all the incentive I needed. I think the Bishoujo treatment works well for the character and everything from the pose to the sculpting and coloring hit all the right marks to make this one another excellent release.

Apr 7 2017

Cover Girls of the DC Universe: Harley Quinn (Ver.2) by DC Collectibles

I’m committed to getting completely caught up with DC’s Cover Girls before the next statue ships in a month or so, and to that end I’m finally getting around to this, the second version of Harley Quinn to be released in the current incarnation of the line. The first Harley consisted of her full-on New 52 look, whereas this one returns the character to her more classic look. It’s also worth noting that a third version of Cover Girls Harley has been announced, but I’m pretty sure that one will kick off the third Cover Girls series, which will be under the stewardship of a new artist.

The statue comes in a really big box. Next to Bleez, this is probably the biggest box they’ve had to use for this line. What’s funny, though, is that it weighs so little that I was actually worried that there might not be anything in it. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case and what’s really going on here is that Harley’s a pretty slender gal, but her rather unique pose required the bigger box. Combine those two elements, and you get the deceptive size to weight ratio. With that having been said, the box is bright and snappy with a white, black and red deco. It notes on the bottom that this is a numbered second edition, as the original run did sell out and DC Collectibles put her back into production. As a result, the limitation here is 5,000 as opposed to the usual 5,200. Apart from the disclaimer on the box, that change in limitation is the key to identifying the second edition of the statue.

Harley comes balancing with her left foot on her giant hammer and her right leg stretched out in front of her. Her right hand clutches the handle of the hammer and her left hand sports her over-sized pop-gun. There’s a lot to love about this pose. It’s distinctive and totally Harley. She’s playful and whimsical, and she’s probably going to murder someone with that hammer. On the other hand, the composition here makes for a statue that for me really only has one “sweet spot,” which is basically the angle of the first picture.  The problem with this is that it means her right leg is also protruding forward. My Cover Girls display shelves are getting a little congested, and to put it bluntly, when it comes to taking up space on the shelf, Harley does not play well with others. I’m also a little worried I’m going to knock that leg when passing by and all Joker’s horses and all Joker’s men won’t be able to put Harley back together again.

Looking beyond the composition, I have to say that I love what they did with the sculpt. The costume is appropriately simple, but even the little things like the diamonds on her legs are sculpted and not just painted on. She’s also got little wrinkles around her ankles, the flare of her little boots, and the fringe around her wrists and neck all look fantastic. I’m very happy that they went with a subtle gloss for the costume. The Harley from the first incarnation of Cover Girls always looked way too glossy for me. The paint on the costume is super clean too, the lines are pretty sharp, and the red  is nice and even, and compliments the black and white beautifully. There are, however, a few QC issues on my statue, and to show you, I’m going to have to go in for a butt shot. Sorry, can’t be helped.

So first off, let me get it out of the way. Daaaaaayum, that’s a fine tokus! But what we’re really looking at here is that scattering of what appear to be paint bubbles on her right ass cheek. These are pretty unsightly, but at least they’re in a place where they won’t be normally be seen when she’s on display. Instead, I’m only apt to notice them when I pick her up and scrutinize that fine clown caboose. And how often is that going to be, eh? OK, probably a lot.

The portrait is pretty solid. There are a few very minor blemishes on her face, but you have to get in pretty close to see them. Also, it kind of looks like what you might expect to see on grease paint. What’s crazy is that teeny tiny bit of flesh color that they put around the seam between her collar and her hood. I also like the subtle rumple in her tassels. Unfortunately, the posing here does get in the way a little of really taking in her facial features. With her hand holding the gun up in front of her, you have to come in at an angle.

The base uses the standard oval structure that we’ve seen since the earliest releases in this line. I like how they get around that by having her stand on the hammer. It’s like they wanted to do something special, but still conform to the standard that the line has been using. They really went all out on the wood detail for the mallet, which makes for a nice contrast to the smooth and mostly featureless costume she’s wearing. The red and black deco looks great on the base and the paint here is nice and clean. As always, the statue is hand numbered on the bottom, with mine being 1532 of 5,000.

So, I actually passed on this statue when it was first offered. While I have most of this series of Cover Girls, there have been a select few that I skipped. Most notable was the first version of Wonder Woman, which did nothing for me and had a reputation for some unfortunate QC issues. I would have probably stuck with my inclination to skip Harley here, had I not found this second edition for the irresistible price of $45. How could I go wrong? Yeah, I know what you’re saying… you could get one with ass bubbles, and you did! I’m pretty sure that was just a coincidence as my statue was still sealed and I’ve still seen Ms. Quinn here floating around in the forties through other sellers. She’s a nice piece of work, but not one of my favorite releases in the line. I think a lot of that may come down to just having Classic Harley fatigue. Which would also explain why I still prefer the first release version to this one, as it’s something different.

Jul 8 2016

DC Icons: (#13) Harley Quinn by DC Collectibles

It took a little longer than expected, but DC Collectibles has finally shipped out the third assortment of their DC Icons line. And so pleased I have been with the first two assortments, here I am ready to scarf up more. Today I’m checking out a very classic looking Harley Quinn pulled from the pages of 1999’s Batman: No Man’s Land, although this look works for her on any number of levels if you’re after a well-rounded Harley for your collection.

dciharl21

The packaging hasn’t really changed at all from the previous waves, so I won’t dwell on it. It has a bright and clean look to it with a window that shows off the goods splendidly. It’s also collector friendly so you have somewhere to store the extra bits if you want to keep it. The side panel has the figure’s name and number, in this case Harley is unlucky number thirteen, so you can store these on a shelf book-style and still know which is which.

dciharl2

dciharl3

And this is indeed, good ol’ Harley before The New 52 turned her into a stripper and the Arkham games turned her into a stripper in a nurse costume. Hey, I’m not hating, I like Harley’s trashy look, but I also know that I’m in a very small minority when it comes to the sentiment. I’m sure a lot of collectors are thrilled to see this figure introduced into the line. She dons her trademark black and red jester outfit and while a good part of this figure is a generic painted female buck, you do get some unique sculpting on her wrist and ankle ruffles, as well as the collar piece. She comes wearing a pair of fists, but you also get three additional hands designed to interact with her accessories. The paint here is fairly basic, but extremely clean with sharp lines.

dciharl4

The portrait is a winner. I think they really nailed both her smile and her eyes. Of course, she has her jester hood with the tassels hanging down on the sides. The paint here is a little less crisp than what we got on the costume, with some over-spray along the top edge of her forehead, but it’s not too bad. The paint work on her vibrant blue eyes is absolutely haunting.

dciharl5

dciharl1

dciharl6

dciharl19

Harley is the first female figure in this line that I’ve opened, but the articulation is consistent with what we’ve been seeing so far. The arms feature rotating hinges in the shoulders and wrists, swivels in the biceps, and double hinges in the elbows. The legs are ball jointed at the hips, with hinges and lateral rockers in the ankles, and double hinges in the knees. There’s an ab crunch hinge just above the waist, a ball joint just below the chest, and a ball joint in the neck. The only thing that I’m really missing here is some sort of swivel in the thighs, but she’s still a fun and highly pose-able figure.

dciharl18

dciharl16

dciharl17

For accessories, we start with Harley’s pop gun. The sculpt and paint are particularly nice for such a small accessory and she comes with a left hand that is designed specifically to hold it. The cork looks very realistic.

dciharl13

dciharl15

dciharl20

And of course, you can’t have a Harley figure without an over-sized mallet, right? This is another beautifully done piece with some great detail and paint, particularly in the barrel-style head and the red wrapped grip. She comes with a pair of hands designed specifically for this accessory, but if you aren’t a big fan of swapping out hands, the left gun hand works just fine with it.

dciharl14

dciharl7

dciharl8

dciharl9

dciharl10

So, here we are into the third wave of DC Icons and I’m still extremely happy that I got on board with these figures. I can remember waffling quite a bit in the beginning because the scale didn’t match up with DC Universe Classics and I didn’t want to start over. But in the end, I believe these are the best figures that DC Collectibles have ever put out and and I’m both thrilled and excited to see that it’s been successful enough to keep going. And I have a feeling that Harley here will be a stand alone pick up for a lot of fans who aren’t yet collecting this line. And I think she’s good enough to maybe convert some of those people into jumping on board.