Comparing Hot Toys TrueType TTM18 & TTM19 12-inch Figure Bodies + HeadPlay Heath Ledger

I've already reviewed Hot Toys TTM19 TrueType Male Muscular Body Figure which is essentially 1/6 scale Jake Gyllenhaal (see my earlier post HERE) and now let's compare the TTM19 with the earlier released Hot Toys TTM18 Caucasian 12-inch TrueType Male Figure Narrow Shoulder version.

Let me state firstly that Hot Toys TTM18 Caucasian 12-inch TrueType Male Figure Narrow Shoulder version does NOT come with the head shown! Hot Toys TTM18 - 1/6th scale TrueType 12-inch Body - Caucasian Male (Narrow Shoulder Version) comes with a head sculpt that bears a strong resemblance to Wentworth Miller (he of "Prison Break" fame). I have a picture of the packaged product HERE (as part of my September Haul of 2011).

BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN!!!

I am using the HeadPlay 1/6 scale Heath version head sculpt on the Hot Toys TTM18 12-inch Figure body for a simple reason - these two just look comfortable getting "naked" together. For those of you who are not familiar, Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal were lovers in Ang Lee's 2005 romantic drama film "Brokeback Mountain" which depicts the complex romantic and sexual relationship between two men in the American West from 1963 to 1983. So what better way to show off the Hot Toys True Type bodies than to put them side by side ;p


Hot Toys TTM19 TrueType Male 12-inch Muscular Body Figure with a 1/6 scale Jake Gyllenhaal head sculpt is designed for purposes where you want to show off the neck or chest area as well as arms OR you can just go topless with the TTM19. It is designed to look realistic but the compromise is the articulation as you won't be able to get as much articulation compared to the Hot Toys TTM18 TrueType Male 12-inch Muscular Body Figure (it comes with Wentworth Miller head sculpt and NOT the Heath head shown here) with double-jointed elbows and extra shoulder joint movements.

The Hot Toys TTM18 TrueType Male 1/6 scale 12-inch Muscular Body Figure (Narrow Shoulder version) is designed for wearing layers of clothing and still look natural in it. That is why it doesn't have a large chest and the chest area is almost sunken in. This is to allow the layers of clothes to fit and for military kitbashing purposes, you can put on the uniform, the assault vest with armor protection and the ammunition pouches and the figure will not look bloated or stuffed like a turkey on Thanksgiving. The TTM18 is not designed for bare top display purposes and will definitely not look good going topless. For that, you have to go with the TTM19 figure instead.

Both Hot Toys TTM18 and TTM19 figures look the same from the waist down. The other thing to note is the type of head you can use for these different body types. Because Hot Toys TTM19 TrueType Male Muscular Body Figure with Jake Gyllenhaal head sculpt is designed to NOT show any neck joints (it's all concealed under the hollowed out upper torso), you can only use 1/6 scale head sculpts that do not have a neck attached to it. The Hot Toys TTM18 TrueType Male 12-inch Figure Body comes with two neck posts - one that allows you to just plonk on the head and the other is a neck connector that lets you attach other manufacturer's 1/6 scale head sculpt onto the 12-inch body, which is what I did in this case.

This is the Head Play 1/6 scale Heath version head sculpt, with reference to the late Heath Ledger. Head Play's head sculpts may not be as accurate or realistic as Hot Toys' heads but at least Head Play offers us 1/6 scale figure collectors other options besides the ones that Hot Toys produces. HeadPlay's 1/6 scale Jean Reno as "Léon The Professional" wasn't bad at all (see the pictures posted HERE and HERE) and offered a much cheaper alternative to the Enterbay version.

From certain angles, you can see the resemblance to the late Heath Ledger. This 1/6 scale head sculpt with Heath Ledger's likeness is based on Heath Ledger in his other acting roles as Hot Toys has already done most of the Heath Ledger as The Joker head sculpts from "The Dark Knight", Heath's second last role before he passed.

Heath Andrew Ledger (4 April 1979 – 22 January 2008) was an Australian television and film actor whose work encompassed nineteen films, including "10 Things I Hate About You (1999)", "The Patriot (2000)", "A Knight's Tale (2001)", "Brokeback Mountain (2005)" and "The Dark Knight (2008)".

Ledger died on 22 January 2008, from an accidental "toxic combination of prescription drugs". A few months before his death, Ledger had finished filming his penultimate performance, as the Joker in "The Dark Knight", his death coming during editing of the film and casting a shadow over the subsequent promotion of the $180 million production. [source: wiki]

Heath Ledger received "Best Actor of 2005" awards from both the New York Film Critics Circle and the San Francisco Film Critics Circle for his performance in "Brokeback Mountain", in which he plays Wyoming ranch hand Ennis Del Mar, who has a love affair with aspiring rodeo rider Jack Twist, played by Jake Gyllenhaal. He also received a nomination for Golden Globe Best Actor in a Drama and a nomination for Academy Award for Best Actor for this performance.

At the time of his death, on 22 January 2008, Ledger had completed about half of the work for his final film performance as Tony in Terry Gilliam's "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus", a film that was completed after Ledger's death by fellow actors Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell replacing him in different "fantasy transformations" of his character, so that Ledger's final performance could eventually be seen in theaters.