DC Direct has offered up another new World of Warcraft character class with this Dranei Mage Tamuura. She is a large, solid, and beautiful figure that lacks any articulation or "action", but still scores well thanks to her general quality.
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Sculpt
Tamuura is an absolutely gorgeously sculpted figure. Not only is the character design stunning, the armor exquisite from afar, but everything is super detailed and intricate under the microscope too. Every little piece of her sculpt is loaded with minutiae and fine sculpt work. Her armor has grooves and partitions and textures galore. She has fishnet leggings sculpted right in perfectly. Her hair is dynamic and flowing, and her horns and hooves look authentic. There are so many little details on this figure that I could never describe, you just have to see her in person. The only downfall with her sculpt is her stance, which is a little bit static, along with her lifeless facial expression. A figure with no articulation has to be sculpted in a perfect stance, but this one doesn't work for me. She looks like she's scared or backing away from something, not a batle hardened mage ready to hurl frostbolts. It doesn't look terrible, but in some angle it is a bit odd.
Sculpt Score: 9 / 10 - Unbelievable amount of detail, great work everywhere except stance and face.
Paint
This figure's paint is of an equally high quality as its sculpt. She has a lot of different colors that all blend and mesh perfectly to give her a great overall appearance. She look beautiful with her hushed blue skin, bright purple armor and slate brown and silver costume. She has a great color scheme that's aided by generally solid applications. All of the linework is great with clear distinctions in tough areas like armor grooves and separations. Her face also looks good in the paint department. There is a bit of a lighter wash on the brown areas of her costume that looks wonky and could have been executed more clearly. There's also a bit of slop in a couple areas, but it's very hard to detect.
Paint Score: 9 / 10 - So many good paint details and crisp applications, some weird wash issues and very small amounts of slop.
Articulation
Tamuura the mage has absolutely zero points of articulation, unless I've mysteriously missed one. Most of these WoW figures just have a couple joints for moving weapons and such and that would've been nice to see here too. Even the ability to turn her sword hand would've been enough for me, but that's been left out too. Obviously the articulation was left out for a reason, because DC Direct has established a visual design they're happy with here and want to keep the beauty there without people hankering with it. I'd appreciate a bit more control in posing my figures, especially since this pose is weak in my opinion.
Articulation Score: 1 / 10 - There's no articulation for a reason, but in this case, it's not a good reason.
Fun
This toy just isn't a lot of fun. Having no articulation makes her pretty lame in the play department and she's not fun to place on a shelf thanks to the inability to pose her. She certainly doesn't look bad amongst the other WoW figures, but doesn't stand out either. Showing her off to friends is about the most fun you're going to get out of her, or maybe using her sword for another toy. Improved articulation, a fighting pose, or a fireball of some sort might've helped her score, but as she is, the fun really isn't there.
Fun Score: 3 / 10 - Looks good on a shelf, might be fun to show off, but no articulation and no play/pose options hurts here.
Value
Tamuura retails for roughly $15 and you're actually getting a really big and really solid hunk of plastic for that price. Not only that, but she's also very well made and it's obivous that someone paid attention to making this toy. There's quality and quantity here that you're unlikely to find elsewhere at this price point. Being more fun and having some value other than sitting quietly on the self would improve her value a little.
Value Score: 9 / 10 - Quite well made figure with attention paid, she's large, heavy, and durable, just make her more fun for more value.
Summary
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9
Overall Score: 62 / 100 - This is an Okay Toy
Tamuura could be a lot more fun by adding some much needed articulation. Despite these weaknesses, she scoots by on her amazing sculpt, paint and value.
P.S. This could be the figure I'm giving away this month, just leave a comment for a chance to win (if he's the one).
-The Articulated One
