It's finally time to close the book on DC Universe Classics Wave 8, with this review of the collect & connect figure, Giganta! To assemble this figure, you have to buy at least 6 other figures from Wave 8, as each includes a necessary piece. Once she's no longer in chunks, this lady is a giant (literally!) among DC Comics' female characters. But has Mattel created a toy worthy of her legacy? Read on to see if she grows on you (groan)!
Name: Giganta
Line: DC Universe Classics, Wave 8, Collect & Connect figure
Manufacturer: Mattel
Released: 2nd Quarter 2009
Price: Roughly $90 to $110 to purchase the entire wave necessary to assemble her
Scale: 6.00 in. (figure is 10.00 in. tall)
Accessories: Figure stand
Giganta has one beautiful face sculpt; it's feminine, strong, and has personality. Rarely do you ever see a female head sculpt turn out this well, but this one is nearly flawless. That beauty continues into her well-molded hair, which is really voluminous and flows naturally with big, sweeping, and dynamic curls. Her facial features are crisply sculpted and this all manages to look good from any angle. Really, her whole body is just wonderful, with a curvaceous frame and details like a slight collarbone and belly button worked in naturally. There are also subtle muscle groups visible at her abs, back, arms, and calves that make her look fit without being too much. Her "clothes" are tattered leopard skins, which hang nicely with realistic and form fitting wrinkles. The texture worked into this outfit is just perfect, very subtle, but visible to the eye and touch. The cuffs at her wrists and ankles look great too.
Despite all these amazing elements
of her sculpt, there are some obvious problems too. First off, her
proportions are too long, especially her legs. I understand the idea is
to make her look tall, but slightly shorter legs would have been an
improvement to this gazelle style. There are some problems with her
feet too; the bottoms are totally flat, with zero arch, and it looks
funny. I also feel like they skimped on the details here that were
provided in her hands, such as really subtle skin wrinkles and
creases. There's one last problem I have, which is something most people are probably okay with, and that's her scale. I know that there is an upper limit on how big Mattel can make these figures, but she's obviously not tall enough to be in her giant form, but she's also way too big (over 10 feet tall) to be at her normal height. I would rather have seen a "shrunk" Giganta at her standard human height (a tall female), than one who's evidently stuck mid-transformation. I had this same problem with Atom Smasher, but it's definitely a minor one in the scheme of things, as Mattel made the right decision of going too big instead of too small.
Sculpt Score: 8 / 10
Giganta has some big hits and huge misses here. To start positively, her skin color is subtly tanned, and looks great with the darker airbrush effect worked in on her torso. Unfortunately that's only on her torso, because the legs look like a spray-tan gone disastrous. There is a huge disparity between the coloring right above her thigh swivel and right below it, making for a jarring visual. Her right leg also has a much heavier application of the airbrushing, especially the back of her thighs, where the right thigh looks like a really streaky rubbed in tanning lotion. The bracelets and anklets she wears aren't much better. They have splotchy applications across the two colors, but it is nice that the paint script included some color variation there; a good idea poorly executed. Though I tend to forget about these problems when looking at the gorgeous paint job on her outfit. There is a remarkable color shift between light yellow to orange, and all the spots are unique, each looking stunning. Her hair is cast in a dirty shade of red, and it looks great against the red highlighting above her eyes. The details of her face are very clean and bring out her expression even more. I love that raised eyebrow, and although the color may be a "hair" (forgive me) too dark, it's a perfect line. It does seem to me that there is a slight difference between the skin color of her face and body, but I only notice it occasionally.
Paint Score: 8 / 10
Giganta has what is basically the standard DCUC articulation model (see image above), but there are actually a few bonus points with her too, both of which are extra swivels in the legs, and kind of unnecessary, although certainly not a hindrance. She is missing the ab crunch, and as a taller character, that's a considerable problem. How is she supposed to tower over weaklings and look down upon them with her limited neck movement and lack of a way to be over other than at the hips? Her hips are just very slightly limited by her skirt, and yet still remain quite functional. All other points have their intended ranges of motion, and they all work wonderfully. The hips are also really loose, making her balance something that's difficult to maintain. She'll stand once she's up on her feet, it's just hard to get her standing in the first place because of the shaky hips. Most of her articulation looks just fine, either hidden by the sculpt or delicately merged with it, but the lower thigh swivels (which are unnecessary with her added swivels at the hips) look worse than normal, brought out by the paint issue mentioned previously. The hinge of one of her knees is also a bit wonky, with some plastic protruding from the non-flush joint. She is fun to pose with all these points, and you can definitely bring any display shelf to life with some simple poses. She won't be in any deep crouches or fit in on your wild dancing shelf, but she gets the job done with the points she has.
Articulation Score: 7 / 10
I have a feeling Giganta is going to be a lot more fun for collectors than she is for kids. A scantily clad, beautiful, and gigantic woman is probably most people's definition of fun. Giganta is certainly a character that a lot of people love, and she's the tallest DCUC figure yet, which is entertaining in its own right because of how much she can add to a full display. Although she doesn't come with any sort of weapon (her thighs are all she needs), she's got a cool design and a decent enough articulation model to make her fun, even in "battle" situations with other figures. You can be creative with her poses and she includes a stand (it comes with Hawkgirl, and according to the packaging, is actually a C&C piece, to me anyway) to help her hold those stances. It can be frustrating to get her to stand up, and some of the visual issue hurt the fun a tad too. The real joy comes from actually assembling her, since you do need to collect each piece of her from other packaged figures. Finding them all can be a pain, but once she's completed, that sense of accomplishment is well worth it, adding to the overall enjoyment.
Fun Score: 9 / 10
This is a difficult category to accurately assess, because Giganta doesn't actually have a price so to speak. It's necessary to spend at least $85 to get every figure necessary to complete her, but you're also getting 6-7 figures for that price too. If you're just in it for Giganta, that's a hefty pill to take, yet for those of us who want every figure anyway, she's like a free bonus for line loyalty. Given her aftermarket prices (roughly $65 completed or $45 in parts), she's a total ripoff, but that's really an unfair measure of her price. In the end, she has a slew of new tooling, including an amazing head sculpt that makes it evident there were some design hours spent here. She's a sturdy figure without any major defaults or quality control issues, and she should liven up your DC display or floor wars for a good while to come. There aren't exactly any accessories or pack-ins, but she's one herself, so who can complain? If you're purchasing other figures anyway, then Giganta is well worth the extra cost added in, but if you're not, then prepare to feel disappointed for what you paid.
Value Score: 8 / 10
Summary
8 - Iffy proportions and occasional lazy sculpting aren't enough to stop an otherwise beautiful sculpt.
8 - There are some amazing details in her costume and perfectly clean applications at her face, but a few across-articulation mistakes are distracting. .
7 - Loose hips sink ships (right?), and despite a few limited joints and ugly points, she's still quite poseable and breakage-free.
9 - A much-loved character that's a huge figure and a blast to collect and connect.
8 - She's like a free toy if you're into the line, but otherwise is an outrageous expense. She also has lots of new parts, good quality control, and a sturdy feel.
Overall Score: 80 / 100 - This is a Great Toy
I'll admit it, Giganta made it by on her looks. Because of a good sculpt and paintjob, she's a mostly gorgeous figure that's pretty fun too.
P.S. This could be the figure I'm giving away this month, just leave a comment for a chance to win (if it's the one).
-The Articulated One (thearticulatedone@articulateddiscussion.com)
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