Sometimes I buy something because of the source material, and sometimes I buy something because it’s Stringer/Heimdall/Luther dressed as a damn cowboy. You can probably tell which occasion this is. In a world where gunslinger toys are all-too-rare, along comes a Gunslinger.
I was once a much, much larger Stephen King fan than I am now. I’ve read the first Dark Tower book, but it was after I had read pretty much every Stephen King horror book and had burnt out on his particular style. It didn’t grab me, so I didn’t dig deeper into the Dark Tower series. The recent movie had a couple of cool moments in the trailer, but it didn’t look like it would sustain enjoyment throughout the running time, and the critics did nothing to change my mind. I also am systemically unable to watch Matthew McConabunchofpeopleintothinkinghecanact in anything, which means not even Woody Harrelson is making me want to watch the first season of True Detective that everybody raves about. All of this leads up to the fact that I didn’t buy this figure because it is Roland Deschain from the Dark Tower movie.
I bought it because it is a muddatruckin’ gunslinger figure, and that is a rarity in the toy world.
I was a little hesitant in blind buying it before I read other reviews. The articulation looked like it might be decent, but decent-looking articulation can end up being a nightmare in-hand. But in the end I took a chance, and it has turned out to be an extremely fun figure that does everything gunslingery that I need it to do.
First off, in terms of accuracy, the head looks exactly like Idris Elba. I’ve liked him in everything I’ve seen him in, so I have no trouble owning a toy version of him, even if it’s from a movie I’ll never see. Gentle Giant nailed the likeness here. The factory paint job is pretty good as well, even with a bit of a missing eyebrow, so it all comes together to create a very close miniature replica.
The sculpting on the rest of the figure is top-notch as well. He looks like he stepped right out of a frame with his perfectly creased pants, intricately detailed vest, holsters, shirt, jacket, the works. It’s all nice and crisp.
What I was really worried about was articulation, especially on someone not wearing a skin-tight superhero outfit. Decked out as he is, there could have been a lot of compromises where the articulation was there but not functional. Happily, that is not the case. He has single-jointed arms that get 90 degrees of motion, and double-jointed knees that get a full Marvel Legends range of motion. He has the DCUC-styled hinged hip coupled with a thigh swivel that Diamond Select has been keeping alive, but the swivel is a little higher than DCUC level, so it doesn’t twist at mid-thigh. The combination of these two aesthetics allows for a huge range of motion at the hips, meaning Idris can do a split without trouble.
If you’ll notice, even doing a split his feet are flat on the ground. Despite thick boots and actual pant legs, he has a swivel joint coupled with the ML-style forward-pegged rotating joint. Because of this, regardless of how you have him posed, he can get his feet flat on the ground, and you can find a decent center of balance to have him posed on one foot.
He comes with a pair of pistol-grip hands, a pair of grip hands and one “check please” hand. He can also call a cab, signal for a waiter or point to the “YOU ARE HERE” arrow on the local mall’s helpful map. He can also hold his Horn of Eld. What is the Horn of Eld? Well, it’s Eld’s horn, of course. Don’t ask silly questions.
He comes with two pistols, that can be holstered easily. The holster/belt combo is made of a flexible plastic as you see in the split picture up there, which means his articulation isn’t hampered by any stiff plastic coffin. His hands have enough flex so slotting the pistols into his pistol-gripping hands isn’t a chore. He can hold them convincingly and they stay put.
In addition to all the other groovy articulation, he has a well-done mid-torso joint that feels like a double-ball joint, allowing him a huge range of motion, from bending forward and backward, tilting to the side and everything in between.
At 7 inches tall, the figure fits in with most NECA, Storm Collectibles, or other Diamond Select figures. The deluxe version comes with a diorama with a bulletin board, some pictures and a little nightstand.
Like cowboys and wish there were more? You’ll want this figure. It’s been a while since I was so pleasantly surprised by a spur-of-the-moment purchase. You can get him at Big Bad Toy Store.
