Yesterday I kicked off my look at Hot Toys’ Ada Wong figure. We covered the figure and the outfit and a few of the accessories, but today we’re going to go into full accessory overload, because this chick comes packed with a lot of goodies. Indeed, I’d say have to say that I haven’t had this many accessories bundled with a Hot Toys figure since I bought Resident Evil Alice way back when.

Let’s start out with what is probably Ada’s most signature sidearm and that’s her grapple gun. The detail on this piece is quite spectacular right down to the pearl handles and the ring up front where the cord coils up inside. It actually looks like some kind of crazy steampunk weapon. I honestly can’t remember what this gun looked like in the game, but I did go back and watch Resident Evil Retribution recently and this accessory is the spitting image of the gun used by Ada in the film.

The grapple gun comes with two separate grapple hooks. There’s a retracted one that fits into the barrel if you want to pose her ready to fire. You also get the deployed grapple on the end of a string with a little plug that drops into the barrel of the gun. The plug simply pulls right out, so you can’t actually use it to support any weight, but as great a display as it would make, I doubt I would trust it to be hanging the figure from it even if it did.

Next up is Ada’s crossbow and this is a truly impressive piece. It’s quite large and features actual string rigging and a foot stirrup. There’s a removable bolt so you can display it loaded or unloaded and the bolt can be pegged in two different positions, cocked and un-cocked.

I absolutely love the work that went into this weapon and it’s very probably the piece that I’m going to display her with the most. It’s worth noting that as front-heavy as this piece is, Ada’s hands and ratcheting joints are strong enough to hold it in a firing position without any trouble.

Of course, sometimes you want to bring something to the party with a little more oompf than a crossbow, and that’s where Ada’s M1928 drum-fed Thompson sub-machine gun comes into play. Oh yeah! I’ve always loved the Thompson and as impressive as the crossbow is, this gun is the real gem of the set for me. It’s absolutely friggin gorgeous and really outshines the one that came with my First Avenger Captain America. Yeah, they are different models, but this one is just so beautifully detailed that I can’t stop admiring it. If it wasn’t for the drum, I’d probably give it to Cap.

Obviously the drum is removable and you get that great exposed painted bullet peeking out of the top. There’s also a flip up site on the back. The finish on the metal and the wooden grips is just superb. Is there anything sexier than a hot chick holding a vintage sub-machine gun? I don’t think so. I love this thing more than any human being should love a sixth-scale toy weapon. Hang on, let me take a cold shower and smoke a cigarette…

OK. Better. The last of the weapons in Ada’s arsenal is the shotgun, and this is the only piece in the whole set that feels like it was just tossed in to beef things up. Not that this set really needed any beefing up. The weapon features a second hand grip under the barrel so Ada can easily wield it with both hands.

The shotgun is a totally static piece, so you can’t work the action on it so it doesn’t have quite the same gravitas as the pistol or the Thompson, but it’s still a solid sculpt with some nice weathering. It’s not a weapon that I tend to associate with Ada, which also makes it feel like a bit of an afterthought. But, hey, free shotgun! What the hell am I complaining about?

And we’re not done yet, because you also get her briefcase with a whole bunch of stuff in it. I presume the vials are samples of the virus, but I have no idea what the other stuff in here is. What I do know is everything tiny piece comes out and everything is super detailed and all nestled in foam. Very impressive!

And with that, I’m spent. In the end, I can comfortably say that I am delighted that I bought this figure because she certainly represents a wonderful effort from Hot Toys. I will certainly admit that she’s a strange release, as she comes from a game that was out years ago and even the movie she was featured in is now old news. Nonetheless, I’m glad they got her released because Alice is a lot less lonely on my shelf now. Still, I am surprised that Hot Toys released Ada at such a high price point. Don’t get me wrong, even at $199 I think she’s worth every penny, but I don’t think the fan demand for this figure is going to be there. The up side of that is that I’m sure she’ll turn up at e-tailers discounted later on down the road, so I’m hoping enough collectors get to pick her up and appreciate what a great figure she is.

Every now and then I have this weird dilemma where I hesitate to buy something but keep coming back to it. Part of my brain says, “If you really wanted it, you would have bought it straightaway, so you don’t need it.” The other half of my brain counters with, “If you didn’t really want it, you would have forgotten it by now.” That’s the internal struggle that’s been going on within me ever since Hot Toys revealed their Ada Wong figure. I have only a handful of instances where I truly regret not buying something, and at least two of those are Hot Toys Resident Evil figures. And in the end, that’s probably why I finally pulled the trigger on this one. Plus, I had some money kicking around in Paypal, so in reality she only cost me about $70. Today we’ll check out the packaging, the figure and outfit and tomorrow we’ll look at the shitload of accessories included.

There’s the box and I dig it a lot. It’s white with a very artsy deco of a CG model of the lovely Ms. Wong and the Resident Evil 4 logo. So, here’s where I really had to justify this purchase, because I got her to accompany my lonely Hot Toys Resident Evil Alice figure. And that’s what makes this version of Ada so cool. Yes, she’s technically from the video game, but she’s certainly passable as Ada Wong from Resident Evil Retribution. The portrait isn’t quite that of actress Bingbing Li, (Wow, that’s really her name? I had to look it up!) but it’s close enough to make this figure perfect for display beside Alice. In fact, they could have easily sold Ada as a Movie Masterpiece and I don’t think anyone would have given it a second thought. Not that I’m not happy to have a figure from the game. How much do I love Resident Evil 4? I own copies of it for three different consoles. Anyway, back to the package…

The front of the box is a folded flap that holds in place via a magnet. Open it up and you reveal a tray of weapons and gear on the inside of the flap and a window in the box showing the figure, her extra hands, and the figure stand. It’s a very nice presentation and possibly one of my favorite box layouts. As always everything is totally collector friendly, although it was a bitch getting some of the plastic off the figure, particularly the pieces that were placed between the body and the dress. The stand included is very similar to the basic figure stand included with just about every Hot Toys figure. The only difference here is that instead of a crotch cradle, you get ring that partially encircles Ada’s waist, more like a traditional doll stand. Ok, let’s get Ada set up and check her out!

Ada is a very simple figure by Hot Toys usual standards, but that doesn’t make her any less impressive. She comes wearing her trademark red qipao dress, which features some very neat stitching and a floral motif running up the left side. There are a few stray threads here and there, which I will eventually trim, but otherwise it’s a beautiful costume. It’s also a mighty tight garment that is perfectly designed to shows off Ada’s fine figure. Her outfit is rounded out by a scarf and a pair of high heels. While technically part of the accessories, her ensemble is punctuated by a thigh rig that includes a holster for her sidearm, a sheath for her knife and a case for her cellphone. Yeah, these are accessories, but I’ll still include them today as part of the outfit. Also part of her accessory is her pair of sunglasses. They’re extremely fragile and it can be quite frustrating to get them to stay on, but they do look nice, so I’m glad Hot Toys included them.

The figure itself uses a rubber skin to conceal the joints in the elbows and knees and I still haven’t decided how I feel about it. It’s certainly a good idea when you’re dealing with a figure that has exposed elbows and an exposed knee, but it’s possible that it makes the exposed ankle and wrist articulation a little more jarring. With companies like Phicean turning out some incredible looking female figures with all the joints concealed, I wonder why Hot Toys hasn’t ventured into similar territories yet. Anyway, the skin looks pretty amazing and lifelike. It has an alarming tendency to get marked up when you touch it. The markings, however, brush away with a stroke of a finger. It’s a little creepy, but I have to admit it makes that bare leg look pretty damn sexy. Hopefully it won’t tear like some of the “skin” on previous figures.

As already mentioned, the portrait here is designed from the CG model used for Resident Evil 4 and it looks great. I was a little concerned that Ada’s face might suffer a lack of realism because it isn’t based on the likeness of an actual person. That’s certainly not the case. The paintwork on the eyes have that wonderful, and slightly unsettling, spark of life and the sculpted hair looks great. The skin tone is amazing, right down to the subtle trace of freckles that you can make out when you get in really close and even the lips are gorgeous.

Ada’s thigh rig is like a sexy utility belt. She’s got room on there for her pistol, cell phone, and stiletto. I’ll confess that I do find it a bit bulky and in the end, I’ll probably wind up displaying her with just the weapons on there. It took a lot of work to get the straps rigged right and they will still occasionally slide down her leg when I’m posing her.

The cell phone is a simple enough static piece, although it’s improved by the hinged hard shell case that secures it to her leg. There’s not much more to say about it, other than she comes with a hand that does a pretty good job of holding it.

The “Punisher” automatic pistol is every bit the awesome piece of hardware that I’ve come to expect from Hot Toys’ sixth-scale arsenals. It’s a wonderfully detailed piece with a removable clip and the slide on the action really works. The door to the chamber is painted silver and the exposed bullet in the clip is painted brass. Ada sports a pair of gun-toting hands so that she can wield it left or right, or with both hands when she really needs to take aim and blast a Licker between the eyes. The Punisher fits nicely into the holster, and saints-be-praised, Hot Toys went with a magnetic top flap on the holster rather than a tiny and delicate snap. Magnets, Hot Toys, make all your holster flaps with magnets from now on!

I’ll also point out here that the Punisher comes with an add-on laser sight, which I think is really going above and beyond. The tiny piece simply clips on to the top of the pistol and does have to be removed in order for the gun to be holstered. It’s just one of many little touches that Hot Toys could have easily left out of the box and I wouldn’t have missed it, but really adds value to the overall package.

Last up is the teeny-tiny silver stiletto dagger. For what should be a rather forgettable accessory, I really dig it. It fits beautifully in the tiny sheath and it’s just the kind of weapon that a femme fatale like Ada might keep up there. What’s more, Ada has a hand that’s absolutely perfect for holding it, despite the fact that it’s just so goddamn small.

For what is essentially the simplest Hot Toys figure in my collection, I’m still very impressed with how Ada came out. I have to admit I was a little hesitant picking her up because she’s probably the closest thing to a “doll” I have in my collection. Then again, I’m a middle aged guy who collects toys, so I’m not sure that I need to worry about crossing over any lines that mark the threshold of social approval. Hell, if those Jem and the Holograms dolls put out by Integrity Toys weren’t so hard to get and expensive, I’d probably be collecting those. Anyway, Ada just looks amazing and is surprisingly fun to pose.

Ok, I’ve already run over for the day, so I’m going to break here and when I come back tomorrow we’ll check out all the rest of the accessories that came with Ada. Because this dolly comes with a virtual arsenal of goodies.