Star Trek Minimates Wave 2 Variant - Swashbuckling Sulu
Here we have the variant of wave 2, Swashbuckling Sulu.
This review focuses on just the variant as Chekov has been reviewed already.
Packaging
The packaging is the same as the rest of this wave. Blister cards are great for being able to see what you're buying but rubbish for review purposes.
The Figure
Swashbuckling Sulu
This variant Sulu is based on how the character appeared in the Star Trek The Original Series episode "The Naked Time", in which a virus sweeps the Enterprise causing the crew to lose their inhibitions. One of the highlights of the episode is that Sulu goes nuts with a sword.
This is what a variant should be. The same character, but different in a radical way. And you can't get much more radical than a topless guy wielding a sword! The facial expression on this little guy is wicked cool. There's a manic intensity to the eyes and that insane grin tells you all you need to know. Run!
Sulu's also looking pretty ripped. Detailing to the chest is clean and simple. This is meant to be a human in great condition, not an overly buff super-hero. First complaint; lack of detail to the back of the figure. On the regular Starfleet 'mates it's acceptable, there is no detail on the back of the uniform. This little chap though, has got no shirt on, and if he's got abs and pecs, then he really ought to have some sort of nod to a spine and shoulder blades. Second complaint; skin tones. It's great that DST have strived to give Sulu a different skin tone to his Caucasian colleagues, but not so great that the skin tone on the chest block is markedly different to that on the arms and head. This appears to be due to the figure being cast in coloured plastic rather than a white base which is painted over.
Finally we get to the hand. Sulu's packed with a rapier, but rather than hold it in a normal Minimate hand, DST have given us a brand new alternate hand to play with. It works brilliantly with the sword, enabling a variety of fencing poses to be achieved with the figure. A great idea from DST and nicely executed too. If you look at it closely you'll see they've not just gone for a functional piece, there are fingers and a thumb moulded into that hand too. Sweet.
In conclusion, in a somewhat patchy second wave this variant stands head and shoulders above his peers. If it wasn't for the skin tones it would have been a ten!
MMC Score - 9 out of 10
More pictures
Review and pictures by Rad Kerrigan
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