[TAO's Note: DrNightmare obviously has a thing for the girls; this is his fourth review of a female action figure in 3 days, and he might just have saved the best for last (I think it's the last?). Read on for an entertaining look at Piper, another charming scantily-clad leading lady from SOTA Toys!
Name: Piper
Line: Charmed, Series 2
Manufacturer: SOTA
Released: 2005
Price: Retail: $12.50-$14.99, Online: $13.00-$19.99
Scale: 6.00 in. (figure in 5.90 in. tall)
Accessories: Extra Set of Hands
Collect & Connect Piece: Large Wall with Floor, Chair & Cushion, Bamboo Crate
Sponsor Listings: Amazon-$19.89
I'd say the sculpt were perfect if it wasn't for two major things; The uglyness of having double-hinges in the elbows and knees, and Piper had a distinctively different body-type than her sisters, a fuller-figure. Them all having the same body as figures is weird, especially if you were a long-time viewer of the series and have every curve of their bodies ingrained into your mind...what?! The sculpting itself is incredible, this would look just like a real person if the painting were a better. There are buckles and clasps and seams and natural folds everywhere, beautiful. And because this figure is a little more armored-up, she is more interesting to look at because she's not just another half-naked chick, there's more depth and detail to her for us to appreciate.
Surprising is that the bracers and arm-bands are separate pieces instead of being sculpted on. They actually move freely along the arm, this means you can hide the articulation at the biceps and the hinge at the forarm! Similarly, the shin-guards hide the swivels at the boot-tops.
The face is definitely Holly Marie Combs, the paint-job hurts the resemblance though. The long strands of hair are sculpted well but the paint makes it look a little chunky. And this isn't sculpt-related, but the hair-piece isn't glued all the way forward, so there's a narrow gap at the scalp-line.
Sculpt Score: 9 / 10
It's funny how one thin line can completely change the expression on a person's face. Piper has a kind of worried and angry expression because of the eyebrows, which works fine because the character was usually fretting about something when on-screen. The off thing about the expression is that there is another thin line messing with the right eye; the upper-eyelash line isn't visible enough, so that eye looks surprised while the other looks relaxed. It's not a full-blown Deadpool-expression, but it does make taking pictures of her without making it blatantly obvious a real challenge!
The paint is mostly smooth all over with the usual flaking off at the shoulder-joints. It's bit noticeable, her skin is a happy medium between Phoebe's tan and Paige's paler complextion. There's no paint flaking off in any other areas to annoy us, but there's a large blob of brown on one of the metal shin-guards. All the different shades of brown make the color-scheme more attractive, but the leather looks too random. It looks like a novice dry-brusher was going at it, then gave it a wash that wiped away some of the paint, then brished a different color on top. We gotta understand that the workers are on a tight schedule, it's not entirely their fault 100% of the figures made aren't perfect.
The underside of the tank-top's flaps is still flesh-colored and looks weird when viewed from below. The boots have a light brushing of dark brown on them, but they just look like worn black leather, which is still cool of course, her boots were super-dark in that "Valhalley" episode. Also, at first I didn't think she had sculpted fingernails, but she does, it's just that the paint is so thick there that it covers them up. One more thing, when you move the swivel or toe-hinge in the feet, there is flesh-colored plastic exposed that wasn't painted thoroughly.
Paint Score: 7 / 10
No movement at the midsection is a major annoyance to me because the ability to move the upper-body is essential in creating some nifty poses. A waist-swivel is good, but she can't lean or bend naturally, none of these Charmed figures can, and it's more of a shame here because the torn edges of the tank-top would hide a joint like that flawlessly. My suggestion is that the tank-top should be a flexible piece instead of sculpted so it won't obstruct movement, then add the pivot joint under there.
All joints move fluidly, the swappable hands are much easier to exchange than on her sisters. The hair is very flexible so it doesn't hinder movement at all. In my experience, I've noticed that fully-painted figures rarely have loose joints because the paint adds more friction, but this one had a loose knee. But to be fair, it's also warped from the twisty-tie holding it in the package, so that most likely caused this problem. The hinge at the hips is loose, like on all these figures, but the skirt helps temper the issue. It's no suitable substitute though, it hampers a lot of the legs' range of motion despite being so flexible because this is a longer skirt than the other figures have.
Articulation Score: 8 / 10
Despite all the flaws, I love this figure, it has great personality thanks to the added details and the fact that she looks mildly insane because of the paint-job on the eyes! The wall-piece she comes with is different than the ones with the other two Halliwells, it's wider and has an elaborate wall-scroll on it. It also has a slightly-recessed area near the bottom to fit the yellow crates into it, semi-securely, they don't snap-in or anything.
You'll note all those little clear clip-like things in one of the pictures, I have no idea how to use them! I know where they go, I know what they're for, but have no clue how to put them into action, they just don't fit! There are special areas in back of the diorama pieces where these clips are used to snap them all together, but they don't work, or I'm just too dumb to figure it out! There are no instructions included mind you, so this is supposed to be a no-brainer, I guess. I haven't found any instructions online, so I'll have to ask SOTA directly, hah.
If for whatever reason you don't like the figures, you can always make some sweet customs from them! These are great for generic female warriors, just swap the heads out. Or get more adventurous and make Xena and Gabriel! Phoebe's outfit is perfect for Gabby.
Fun Score: 8 / 10
You get a ton of plastic with these figs as usual, and it's all useful. Would have been neat if the hands weren't all the same just repainted, why not give them different positions? It would help improve collectibility maybe for people who want to give them all varied hands. The boots are also all the same, but have different sculpts starting above the foot. I still think these figures are worth at least $13-$15 though, they're great toys despite any minor flaws.
Value Score: 8 / 10
9 / 10 - Simply Wonderful, if not entirely accurate.
7 / 10 - Not the strongest paint-job I've seen, a bit irratic on the leather.
8 / 10 - Hips are more limited than usual, but still possess a high amount of articulation.
8 / 10 - Attractive design, and looking like a pretty actress never hurts.
8 / 10 - Beautiful Diorama pieces, solid action figure, fair price at retail.
82 / 100 - This is a Great Toy
I don't want to say this is the best figure of the bunch, but it's definitely the most eye-catching thanks to the added armor and clothing...did you ever think I'd say that about a female figure? I sure didn't!
-DrNightmare
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