Sideshow Toy Exclusive Hot Toys Lieutenant Jim Gordon (S.W.A.T. Version)
Well, allow me to introduce myself, I’m Gene Unick (or Grimlockisking on most collector forums and on twitter) and this is my introductory review to my good friend TJ’s site here on www.kumastyledesigns.com. I collect mostly Transformers, but lately have been transitioning to primarily Hot Toys 1/6 Scale figures from Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy. My role here will be to review the new ones coming out as I get them, and hopefully contribute a few more to the older releases as I get caught up as well. With all that wonderful information out of the way, we can get to the question I’m sure most of you are wondering, “How is it?” Read on and find out!
The Box:
First and foremost, we have an interesting take on box art compared to previous Hot Toys Batman releases. The artwork on Lt. Gordon might be one of my favorites thus far, right up there with Bank Robber Joker. With the release being an exclusive to Sideshow Toys, they did an excellent job of pulling it off. It has a close up of Lt. Gordon in his S.W.A.T. getup from “The Dark Knight”, and in his trademark glasses. The artwork itself looks almost like a mural to Gary Oldman, the talented actor who portrayed Jim Gordon in the trilogy’s three films. There is a quarter sized opening on the right side of the box to pull out the figure, bookcase style as many of these figures are. One thing of note, this one does not have the flip out “bookstyle” cover where you can view the figure in the shell. I really feel with this being a Sideshow exclusive it would have been a nice add-in, for those collectors that prefer to keep their collectibles MISB. To get a look at it, you have to pull it out of the box, and while you could still keep it in there and no one would be the wiser, there’s always the risk of cardboard catching when pulling it out. It does seem this one might be more susceptible to it because of an additional cardboard tray that sits on top of the figure’s clamshell. Just a word of warning before you pull it out of the box, I nearly caught mine on there, but was able to finagle it out without any damage. (I fully admit this may be because of my relative newness to this line of figures, but would prefer to cover as much as possible without skimping on this detail)
The cardboard tray that sits on top of the clamshell is a very nice touch. The left side shows the GCPD logo and full “Gotham City Police Department”. The bottom shows the S.W.A.T. eagle logo as a cutout. It gives a really nice glimpse into a small detail, and is one of the nicer features of the tray (which I generally don’t like in these boxes, but that’s my personal preference). The front of the tray shows the normal HT information, with the figure name, the version, 1/6th scale collectible and the HT logo, and blocks the lower accessories which includes the legs, stand and various fists. The right side of the tray shows the full cast and crew that designed the figure, painted it and were involved in the production of various aspects of Lt. Gordon, as well as the full shoulder patch logo for the S.W.A.T. team. After removing the tray, we finally get to see all of the accessories in all their glory.
Overall rating: 8.5/10.0
Pros: Interesting artwork take, nice departure for the introduction to the line for the Gordon figure, lots of subtle details on insert tray.
Cons: Cardboard Tray, while highly detailed, has a tendency to pop up and could tear, and the book-style box does not open like previous releases.
The Accessories:
Upon removing the figure from the clamshell, there are a bevy of accessories specific to the S.W.A.T. deco and I’ll cover these first before moving to the figure itself. The accessories are broken down as follows:
2 – ungloved pairs of hands
2 – gloved pairs of hands
2 – fist pegs
1 – Shotgun with strap
1 – Beretta M9 or 92FS pistol (not for sure) with holster and removable magazine
1 – Motorola Walkie Talkie with handheld communicator
1 – Pair Tactical glasses
1 – Pair regular Jim Gordon Glasses
1 – Pair Ballistic Goggles
1 – Ballistic Helmet
2 – Zip Ties
1 – Base with stand
Seems to be a lot doesn’t it? Compared to some figures it’s not nearly as much, but for this figure and this deco, it feels about right to me. The only thing I wish they would have included would have been a pair of handcuffs for Lt. Gordon. Though we are getting them with Joker DX 2.0 in January, so if you’re getting that figure, you’ll have a pair you can give to Lt. Gordon down the road. With the accessories we’ve gotten with this figure, there are some clear home runs. The Beretta pistol breaks down exactly like a real one, which for you firearms fans out there, you’ll love that the barrel comes off and can be broken down, and the magazine is removable as well. The fit into the holster is incredibly tight though. The barrel actually slid off when I removed it on mine (how I found out it broke down in all honesty), but in holster, looks phenomenal. The gloved hand works better for holding the pistol in my experience posing and playing with it so far, but both work well. The ungloved hand actually appeals to me more aesthetically, but is actually a tighter fit than the gloved hand, which surprised me.
One pair of the gloved hands is strictly for holding the shotgun (whereas the ungloved do not have a set for the shotgun) and looks phenomenal doing so. The shotgun itself is also a work of art, though there appears to be a flaw with it (though it may be limited to just mine. The ejection port is designed to slide forward and back to simulate the load/reload action of a real shotgun, but when pushed forward to hold the (hypothetical) shells in, mine appears scratched and unpainted, so to have the shotgun look nice and neat, I’ll have to have the ejection port open at all times on mine. The shotgun also has pump action, which is an awesome feature on this accessory, and makes for some even more dynamic possibilities for posing and photography. Small touch, but I love it.
The zip ties are what they are, and honestly, just a mini-version of real life ones, and they work just fine. Nothing overly exciting there, but they work really nice in terms of enhancing the realism aspect of the figure. The walkie-talkie might be one of my favorite HT accessories to date. From the Motorola logo, to the actual cord on the walkie having that wonderful elasticity to it, I’m just in love with this accessory. My only criticism is it that you cannot disconnect the cord from the walkie, and with the attention paid everywhere else on the accessories, it’s disappointing that it didn’t make that in as a feature. It detracts from what would otherwise be one of the most accurate accessories in this group. It does clip into the S.W.A.T. vest for a nice look and there is an area to holster the walkie itself, which really adds to the authenticity of the look.
However; I’m now moving to my least favorite portion of the accessories, those intended for the head sculpt. The ballistic helmet does not fit onto the head sculpt at all. I’ve fumbled around for about 30 minutes trying to get mine on, and just want to throw that accessory away now honestly. It sits on mine and unfortunately makes the whole toy look…not overly intelligent. So that was my start of some disappointing accessories for the headsculpt. And this may simply be because this is the only HT figure I’ve had that honestly is wearing them, since all of my Batmans, Jokers, and Harvey Dents have no headsculpt accessories. The glasses, both the classics ones and the tactical ones, are a difficult balancing act to get them to stay on there, so that’s more than a little disappointing. Neither pair really stays on well, and with the hard hair and ears on the sculpt, makes it a pain to try and get them on there just right. It’s definitely possible, but the iconic glasses in particular aren’t on securely by any means. The ballistic goggles are a bit better, but it’s VERY tight to try and have the glasses and the goggles on at the same time. I have done it on mine, but I won’t put them back on honestly. I prefer the look of the tactical sunglasses on there, so those will be on my Gordon the majority of the time.
The stand is standard fare (no pun intended) for most non-DX HT releases. Movie logo, and nameplate are all there, but nothing earth moving.
Overall rating for accessories: 7.0 / 10.0
Pros: Very lifelike features on most accessories, hand selection is nice and small details are a big boon.
Cons: Inability for the most important accessories to function correctly, or be stabilized is a big drawback, and detracts from an otherwise solid set.
The Figure:
Now for the meat of the review, and the area most people will probably care about. For an initial foray into the line, Lt. Gordon is a marvelous looking figure. For a first release of a character in the line, it’s a bit curious they chose the S.W.A.T. deco, but as an exclusive, I suppose it does make more sense. I for one hope it heralds the beginning of future releases for a Commissioner Gordon and maybe even a Detective Gordon. Time will tell.
The figure is very pose-able and the ability to remove, add, and really give life to the character is very well captured in this release. Is it perfect? Definitely not, but a lot of the detailing is up to the high standard expected for a HT release. I touched briefly on the headsculpt in the accessories portion of the review, and I’ll work top to bottom to cover all areas of the figure itself. The headsculpt of Gary Oldman really portrays him well. The hard nature of the HT headsculpts does present problems with characters who primarily wear glasses (though this is my first experience with a figure with this particular accessory, I’ve been told it’s been an occurrence on others as well, not my own words, but just what I’ve read). It is a shame that the notable lack of an effective (at least on mine) notch on the headsculpt or a slight extension of the ears diminishes the ability to securely display the figure with his traditional glasses, the tactical have a slightly more pronounced edge which secure better, but the small notch there does not fit the iconic glasses as well. While it’s my chief complaint with the figure, the sculpting must be commended. The age lines, nose, and moustache all capture the essence of Jim Gordon, and the furrowed brow adds an additional layer which makes me appreciate the effort this design team put into it. It shows incredibly well, and while it might sound like I’m beating a dead horse, it makes the inability to easily put those glasses on even more confounding. Hopefully later releases of the Jim Gordon figures will take this into consideration. The overall size/shape of it also prevents the ballistic helmet from having any type of use other than as a prop on the ground, which is a disappointment. Maybe it’ll be a good use for a “general” G.C.P.D. member down the road or for a custom, but it’s pretty much useless aside from an accessory on the ground for this figure.
The S.W.A.T. outfit is incredible in-hand, with all the various straps, protective gear and appearance are perfect for re-creating iconic scenes from “The Dark Knight”. One of my favorite features of the S.W.A.T. deco is the removable flak jacket. As with all HT purchases, there are instructions in the box on certain features, and the flak jacket is one of them. Please make sure you pay attention to it, because I’ve heard (and certainly not because I did it and then swore like a sailor for an hour trying to get it back on track) unzipping the jacket completely is nigh impossible to get back on. Two Velcro straps on the side make for easy removal, and gives you the ability to put Lt. Gordon into his standard police uniform. The S.W.A.T. decos on the flak jacket are in line with pretty much any standard issue police equipment, both for film and in real life. The turtleneck bears the G.C.P.D. acronym, and flows well with the overall appearance. The patch on the left shoulder is exquisite in the appearance of its logo, but with the overall size of it, sacrificing the verbage on the logo was an acceptable (and less madness-inducing move for them I’m sure) decision. The overshirt does unbutton, and is held in place by two buttons, as with previous releases, I STRONGLY encourage people to be careful so as not to rip the stitching out if too much force is applied. The turtleneck extends all the way down, and if you have a diorama of Metro Police Station from Gotham City, you can easily display Gordon looking at an incarcerated Joker. I don’t (at least not yet) so you’ll have to use your imagination on this one. Or just look at the pic of him in this pose. Either way is good.
There is a gas mask bag on Gordon’s left thigh, and his sidearm holster on the right thigh. As near as I can tell, there’s not a way to remove them, or even open the gas mask bag, but the fabric lid is loose enough on mine to slide back, but the buckles won’t open. There is padded paper in the bag, I preferred to remove it to throw an extra couple pairs of hands in there for storage, but just my personal preference. The knee pads are not removable, but are somewhat adjustable, as there is Velcro on the back of the knees where they can be slightly adjusted. While initially I was disappointed I couldn’t remove the gas mask bag, kneepads and pistol holster, I’m warming up to the idea to keep them there. The flak jacket is the primary areas where an officer would remove to debrief a situation, so I’m going to reverse field from my initial impressions and say I understand the decision more now and am on board with it.
The pants themselves fall in line with the overall look, and there aren’t any major screen discrepancies in the costume I can see to the production figure, which is always worthy of a thumbs up from this collector. One other disappointment with this figure is the boots/ankles on it. The very first HT figure I got was the HT Toyfair exclusive Batman Begins/Bruce Wayne figure, and not knowing about the abhorrent loose ankles in hand until I got it, I was devastated that I had paid such a premium, granted it was easily fixable with a mod, but high quality figures, you hope significant details like that don’t go overlooked. This figure, it veers COMPLETELY to the opposite end of the spectrum, where the boots/ankles on mine are so tight, they don’t do much (if anything) to add to the posing possibilities of an ultimately great looking figure. That said, it’s not like Jim Gordon is probably as limber/loose/yoga-inclined as the super-villains and heroes of Gotham flitting around the rooftops, but it is something which is disappointing. The boots themselves look phenomenal, and the tactical boots appear to be right in line with the US Standard Issue line that companies like Oakley provide service and military personnel. Just a little less hard plastic at the top and ankle area of the boots, and the possibilities for posing this figure would be dynamic.
Overall rating for figure: 8.5/10.0
Pros: Acute attention to detail is on display throughout the figure, minor details end up being huge in terms of posing and play possibilities with figure, uniform detail and headsculpt are some of the best I’ve seen in the Hot Toys line to date.
Cons: The headsculpt also prevents some of the most important accessories from being used to their full potential. While most may not care for this, at a premium price point, this should have been considered more strongly, or the accessories tested more rigorously. The lack of a decent foot and ankle tilt is disappointing when so many other figures have done it so well.
Bottom Line Thoughts?
This figure is a great addition to the HT franchise, and while there are some areas I’m not overly happy about with it, it’s still one you should consider picking up if you’re a Nolan Batman fan, a Gary Oldman fan, or just a fan of the franchise in general. As an exclusive, I’m fairly confident it will retain its value, especially with it being such an important plot point in the film franchise. The initial price feels about $35 too much compared to other figures, but the prices on all HT releases have been picking up since I started collecting them (along with other figure lines not related to HT, it’s a global thing at this point) so your mileage may vary on what you think with this one. I do think this signals we will get a regular, mass release of Jim Gordon either as a detective or commissioner, but that’s just my speculation only, I have zero insight into the industry’s goings-on. If you’re able to get one at close to retail price, I’d say do it. If not, then I’d put in a waitlist request at Sideshowtoy, or just see if someone wants to offload theirs. It’s a nice entry into the franchise, and while there are some problems with it, it’s nothing so major that you won’t enjoy the figure overall.
Overall rating for all factors (not computer by aggregate, just my feeling of it as a whole):
8.25/10.0
