Can you believe I’ve waited over a year to do this review? I wanted to take my time and go over what I feel has been my best action figure purchase yet. And there is so much that goes along with this figure that I wanted to take my time to do it right. Well, half-way right…I’m not a photographer and even as a non-photographer I would have done some things different, but I got some decent results anyway.
The Avengers movie has been out for over a year and a half but I hold it as one of the best superhero movies ever, and it has Mr. Samuel L. Jackson. Yes, I’ve reviewed a Nick Fury figure before, but not like this. This is my first Hot Toy review on this site and along with my new advertiser (Hot Toys) I really hope it not to be my last. This was a special thing reviewing this figure and I can’t express how fun it was for me. Hot Toys, a Japanese import, is right now the top of the line for action figures. Many other companies are trying, and I may even get to review one of those someday, but for now, it’s all Hot Toys.
So let’s go ahead and jump right in…I promise you, it’s going to be a fun ride…
I’m going to have tons of pictures on this review because there is so much to see! Starting with the the cover, we get a picture of Nick Fury. And I’ll be damn honest right now…I’m not sure if that’s a real shot of Samuel L. Jackson, or the Hot Toy action figure because that’s how close they really are! The front of the box itself also wraps the picture around on the sides. The back has pretty much nothing on it, so no pictures of it (I was ready to get this thing opened).
The cover itself is a sleeve which slides easily off the box.
Once you slide the sleeve off, you get a box where most of the front is a picture window. You can now get your first full body glimpse of the figure itself…along with 5 extra pairs of hands.
Time to slide the tray out of the box…and we get a 4 tier packaging system. There’s the figure itself and a plastic top to keep everything in place. Then there is another layer with the rest of the figures accessories and a plastic cover to keep that in place. On the top corner of the cover, there is a note in English and Japanese warning consumers to read the instructions before tearing into this figure. I didn’t see the instructions, so I just continued on and hope I didn’t do anything stupid.
From the pictures below, you can just tell everything was meticulously well packaged and would not come out without some type of interaction. What I like about this packaging is that it can be easily put back together again and stored somewhere. So whatever pieces that are not in production, I do suggest they be placed back in the box to determine what to do with them at a later date.
Packaging Score: 10 out of 10 
Seeing the pictures above, what more can I say? I’m thoroughly impressed with every single accessory this figure comes with, and every single accessory is something Nick Fury has interacted with in the Avengers movie.
First off, this figure comes with six pairs of hands. I should have taken a picture of the hands out of the box, but I forgot. Let me just tell you, figure out how you want to pose and display your figure, then pick the set of hands that will accommodate your pose. I chose the gun-gloved hand for the right and the gloved semi-opened hand on the left so that he can carry the briefcase. The extra set of pegs that come with the hands allow you to easily have two pairs of hands readily available to switch out.
Now on to the rest of the accessories. The second tier beneath the figure contains a numerous set of pretty awesome accessories. You get the briefcase that carries the “tesseract” (cosmic cube to comic book fans), the tesseract itself, a figure stand, the bazooka that the character used to take down the helicopter with Loki in it, a watch, a headset communicator, a walkie-talkie, a semi-automatic pistol, and a thigh holster. Damn cool…and that’s not even the coolest part.
The best part is that the case opens to hold the tesseract – and then you can flip a switch to make the tesseract and the connecting circuits glow! Whose crazy idea was that?! It was already a premium figure with premium accessories before that and this just took it to the next level. If I could score above perfect, trust me, I would. But since I can’t, I’ll just give it the 10/10 it so rightly deserves…
Accessories Score: 10 out of 10
Okay, honestly. If I was a great photographer and took photos in the right setting, it will be too damn close to tell this figure apart from the man himself. Hot Toys got this man from the wrinkles in his forhead to the bags under his eyes. To me, THIS IS Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury. I wouldn’t be surprised if they used this figure for some of the stunts in the movie…you almost cannot tell the difference.
I didn’t talk about his clothes in the accessories section, but it got a perfect score anyway, so I thought I would mention it in this section. All of his clothes are removable each section is a complete likeness to what he wore in the movie. To add to that, we get things like working zippers on his clothes. Now that’s crazy.
The paint application is flawless. I couldn’t ask for more spot on detail on an action figure. The only thing I would change is…absolutely nothing! It’s perfect! (I’m sensing a trend here…)
Sculpt/Likeness Score: 10 out of10
I almost didn’t want to do this section and just go ahead and give him a perfect score. This figure can be posed in almost every single configurable and can do so without displaying any of its articulation joints.
I counted more than 27+ points of articulation, but I’m sure I’m actually missing quite a few because I did not want to remove the uniform. I carefully moved him about trying to find each piece of articulation. I’m guessing there is probably more than 30 points easily. Most of the joints were ball joints which is more feasible for a 12″ figure (instead of a 3.75″ figure). This way, you can give an action figure nearly a full range of motion with just a few strategic ball joints.
I really can’t elaborate on what I think most have to experience for themselves. It is a lot better than let’s say a NECA action figure having 30 points of articulation…usually NECA’s figures are stiff and hard to manipulate. This action figure just pulls off whatever pose I would like to place it in. Again, another premium feature for a premium figure.
Articulation Score: 10 out of 10
No one can touch Hot Toys right now. This one action figure has me rethinking my whole collection. I take a look at what Hasbro did with Nick Fury at the 6″ size and the 3.75″ size, and they honestly look like complete crap standing next to their 12″ brother.
Even thinking about the 12″ figures that Hasbro has put out in the past – complete trash. Looking at their 12″ Mace Windu (also Samuel Jackson) compared to the Hot Toys Nick Fury and I feel like the blind chick from Lionel Ritchie’s “Hello” video sculpted it. It’s distorted and will only look like him after about six beers and a shot of Patron.
I’ve been warned and I still fell into the rabbit hole. This was my first Hot Toy but by no means will be your last. If you’re ready to make the trip, hit the link on my site over into SideshowToys.com . But only if you’re ready. Because once you start, everything else will feel like mediocre trash. I’ll still review, but I know it won’t be with the same excitement that I reviewed this figure. If with any luck, we may have more to review in the future…
