Thursday, December 22, 2011

Review: Hot Toys TTM19 TrueType Muscular Body Figure is 1/6 scale Jake Gyllenhaal

This is the recently released Hot Toys TTM19 TrueType Muscular Body Figure. The 12-inch figure comes with a 1/6 scale head sculpt that has the likeness of Jake Gyllenhaal who recently appeared in the 2010 film "Love and Other Drugs" as Jamie Randall and 2011 film "Source Code" as Colter Stevens. Hot Toys seem to have a way with the timing of their figures' release. Why do I say that? The TTM18 Caucasian TrueType figure with Narrow Shoulder which resembled Wentworth Miller (PREVIEWed HERE) was released at about the same time as Hot Toys Movie Masterpiece Series MMS139 movie-accurate 1/6 scale Milla Jovovich as "Resident Evil: Afterlife" Alice 12-inch collectible figure (REVIEWed HERE). Wentworth Miller was also in the "Resident Evil: Afterlife" film as Chris Redfield (Check out my September Haul for pictures).


Hot Toys had already released a "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" 1/6th scale Prince Dastan 12-inch Collectible Figure (PREVIEWed HERE) with Jake Gyllenhaal head sculpt earlier in 2010. I had also kitbashed a 1/6 scale Jake Gyllenhaal as USMC Scout Sniper Anthony Swofford 12-inch figure sometime back (lots of pictures HERE). "Jarhead" is a 2005 film based on US Marine Corps Sniper Anthony Swofford's 2003 Gulf War memoir of the same name, starring Jake Gyllenhaal as Swofford.




Standard Hot Toys TrueType figure packaging with an extra pair of hands and figure display stand but this TTM19 Muscular Body version also comes with an instruction sheet cautioning you what you cannot do in case you damage the figure. Remember the saying:"Prevention is better than cure."

Click to read the instructions :) 

Here's the Hot Toys TTM19 TrueType Muscular Body Figure with Jake Gyllenhaal head sculpt straight out of the package. Pardon his nudity haha but since these 12-inch figures are NOT anatomically correct i.e. something vital is missing between the legs, it's safe to look at it without wincing ;)



And here's a closer look at the awesome 1/6 scale head sculpt which resembles Jake Gyllenhaal without a doubt. The level of sculpting has improved tremendously, along with the painting skills such that if you were to look at the pictures below without knowing that this is a 12-inch figure, you might be mistaken into thinking that these are actually head shots of the actor himself because the artist is able to capture the skin tones and likeness of the person really well.


The design of the Hot Toys TTM19 TrueType 12-inch Muscular Body ensures that there isn't any visible neck joint as it is concealed under the upper torso. This allows the same level of articulation that figures with visible neck joints are able to afford but does away with the ugly joint lines that makes the figure look less realistic.



Unfortunately, there are certain trade offs. The Hot Toys TTM19 TrueType Muscular Body Figure has only 30 points of articulation compared to the Hot Toys TTM18 TrueType Figure with Narrow Shoulder which has 38 points of articulation. The main difference is in the shoulder and elbow joints. TTM18 has double jointed elbow joints which allows the figure's hand to bend and touch the shoulder (180-degree movement) whereas the TTM19 is restricted to a right angle bend (almost 90-degree movement)


The thing is, most times we don't make our figures do yoga nor do we put them in extreme poses but it's still nice to know that we could if we wanted to. For the TTM19 Muscular Body, there are limitations. It's a case of realism versus articulation. If you want more articulation, get the TTM18 but if you want realism, then TTM19 is your guy. Always good to have options.


The other problem is with head sculpts. Some 1/6 manufacturers produce head sculpts that come with a neck and a neck connector. These work well with the TTM18 as it allows for that option of switching out the heads but for the TTM19 Muscular Body figure, only heads will do since the neck is part of the upper torso. Any head that comes with a neck will not fit onto this body. That means all Head Play 1/6 scale heads and those of quite a few other manufacturers as well.


And here's the Hot Toys TTM19 TrueType Muscular Body Figure having a nice relaxing soak in his 1/6 scale bath tub ;p What's missing is the water and soap bubbles haha



And this is from a scene made famous on all the movie posters of "Love and Other Drugs", a 2010 romantic comedy film where Jake Gyllenhaal plays Jamie Randall, a pharmaceutical sales representative who hits the big time when he starts selling Viagra, an instant success. What's missing in the picture is Anne Hathaway. The two of them spent quite a bit of time being naked in the film. According to Hathaway, she believes both have "done nudity with a tremendous amount of sensitivity and dignity."


And there you have it - a short review of Hot Toys TTM19 TrueType Muscular Body Figure. Hope you enjoyed it :)

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

excellent and usefull review.

where can one get that clear bathtub?

alex teo said...

thanks for the kind words :)

the clear bathtub was bought from my local gift store which packaged it together with other bath essential items.

Anonymous said...

I recently bought this and now I'm saddened because this particular product easily stains! I just dressed him up with a military shirt (branded and expensive) and next thing I know, dark stains stuck on his skin :( Nothing worked to remove it. So I guess I would have to repaint it... Hope that works.

Raymond
monjcity@yahoo.com

alex teo said...

sorry to hear that Raymond :(

Anonymous said...

Hi,

I'm new to this new hobby and have lotsa questions to ask. Hope you'll be patient and willing to answer them :p May I ask where did you purchase this TTM19? Also, do you know any place that is able to make good custom head sculpts? I'd wish to make a Phantom of the Opera (Gerard Butler version) figure, but have totally no idea where to start off with >< Hope to see your reply soon. Thank you~

alex teo said...

Hi

Welcome to the 1/6 world :) TTM19 was released quite some time ago and Hot Toys 12-inch figures usually sell out quite fast upon their release. This TTM19 was released in December 2011 and by December 2012, Hot Toys was already announcing the new bodies TTM20, TTM21 and TTM22 (see my post at http://toyhaven.blogspot.sg/2012/12/incoming-hot-toys-16-scale-truetype.html).

As for custom head sculpts, I myself have no clue. I usually only buy what's mass produced and more easily available (also more affordable) as custom head sculpts tend to cost more because of the specialization. Sorry I can't be of much help in this area.

CHEERS

Anonymous said...

Hello, can you make a guide about which part of a 1/6 body that can be safely removed and how? I just got this figure and am afraid of breaking him, his body is too rare to be replaced now(the seller gave me 5 spare heads).

1 got smudges on his face though, how do I clean that? Another has a sunken head socket(that thing inside his head where you put the neck joint in), is that fixable?

Sorry for asking too much, I'm new to 1/6 figure...

alex teo said...

Hi

I usually only remove the head, hands and feet. The rest of the body is not designed to be removed ;p

Paint rubs / smudges on the face / head is very difficult to remove. I myself have problems with this issue. No solution has yet been found for this. Anybody care to share?

Enjoy the hobby :) CHEERS

Anonymous said...

Thanks, for the head some people suggested softening them with hair dryer to pull them off easily, I'm kinda skeptical, won't that ruin the shape of the heads?

Any manufacturer you liked/disliked?

alex teo said...

Hair dryer actually works very well for the heads and hands as well (in the old days, it also works for rubber boots which you had to slip in and out of the feet. This was before the invention of boot-feet). The heat softens the rubber and makes them easier to squeeze and remove. Once it hardens, it's back to its usual shape, no harm done. It's safe because I do it for all the time for rubber heads / hands.

Hot Toys is up there in terms of quality but price is high as well. Other notable brands with more affordable / reasonable prices include Art Figures, DAM Toys, DID, Kaustic Plastik, Sideshow, Soldier Story, VTS and ZCWO, to name a few. I buy their products regularly :)

Stay away from Medicom Toys and Triad Toys if you can help it. These two brands are a "No No".