Review of Harry Potter (Teen Version)

Sixth Scale Action Figure Star Ace



Date Published: 2017-04-10

Written By: Michael Crawford

Overall Average Rating: 3 out of 4

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Introduction

Star Ace has been a bit quiet when it comes to the Harry Potter license over the last few months. After a furious 2016, which saw the release of a number of key characters including the excellent Dumbledore, this year has proven much less productive - so far. We know they have another Dumbledore coming, this time the Gambon version. There's also a Dobby in the works. They've teased us with a teen Hermione, but no pre-orders yet (EDIT - as a reader just pointed out, I've had her on pre-order for about 6 months now. I suspect it's just been so long I forgot)...and fans are hopeful we'll be seeing more of the adults soon. I have my fingers crossed that a couple reveals will occur at SDCC, perhaps at the Sideshow booth. But quiet doesn't mean silent, and they just released the latest version of Harry himself. This time, he's designed after his look in Prisoner of Azkaban, and has the subtitle "teenage version". He's just starting to ship, and will cost you around $225 - $245 depending on the retailer.



Click on the image below for a Life Size version



Packaging - ***1/2

Another attractive box from Star Ace. Harry, the actual character, not the figure, is prominently displayed on the front, using the same gloss effect (spot laminating over an embossed area) we've seen on previous releases. The interior holds the figure and accessories safely in a couple plastic trays, and everything is completely collector friendly. There's a piece of tape or two to cut, but nothing major needs to be done to free the figure from his plastic coffin.



Sculpting - ***

They've switched hair styles again of course, and I'm really liking this tossled look. The detailing in the strands is excellent, and the soft texture of the lips and eyebrows adds the right amount of realism. They can't go wild with the skin texture due to his still youthful age, but there's enough here to create an appropriate appearance. The metal frame glasses are straight and even, and while the hands are a little oversized, it's not a major issue. Daniel Radcliffe is always going to be a tough likeness to capture, no matter the age, because he doesn't have any extreme features. But I think they've done an excellent job with the key areas that do set him apart ever so slightly - the nose, chin, and especially, the lips. If I were merely going off the portrait, this would be another half star higher. But one aspect of the body that's very visible hurts the overall figure, and pulls down this category the extra half star. It's that damn neck. It's large and long, and the head is not designed to fit down over it particularly well. If you see any gapping in photos, that's because it's not shoved down hard enough, and it works its own way up pretty easily while you're handling the figure. You can hide some of the length with the clothing, but the fit is just poorly designed. Harry is sixth scale of course, and he comes in at 11 3/8" tall. That's just about right for the age and in comparison to the other adults and children. I've included photos with his younger self and with Dumbledore for comparison.

Paint - ***1/2

Overall this is another solid paint job of a young character. Again, they can't give him age spots or too much color - he's an English wizard after all. The lips and eyebrows look good, and the eyes are fairly straight. The right on mine looks just a smidge higher than the left from certain angles, but looks correct from others, so it's a close call. The skin tone is also a little darker on the face and hands than on the neck, but again, this is a really minor nit. Star Ace's paint quality hasn't reached the pinnacle of the best in the business yet, but it has remained consistently well above average, and that consistency is not something to be sneezed at.

Articulation - ***

The underlying body is very tight, much tighter than most. That can be a blessing and a curse. It's certainly better than loose joints, since getting a figure to stand and hold arm poses with loose joints can be near impossible. But a very tight body can also mean 'tight', less fluid poses and create its own challenges. The hands swap easily, with no fear of breakage. The head pops off quite easily too, but that's more of a negative than a positive. I mentioned earlier that the neck joint tends to gap, and you'll need to regularly force the head back down into place. The hips have clicky ratchet joints that hold poses well, and the clothing allows for deep stances. There's little restriction on any joint, other than its own tightness. But that damn neck. It's ugly, and less useful than normal, hurting this score as well. Thankfully, it does rotate inside the torso, allowing you to keep the neck and face lined up, but it's still an unattractive fit.

Accessories - ***

There's some re-use here, but there's also a couple new items. He only comes with one extra hand, the wand holding right. Of course, a few more would go a long way to creating better poses, but Star Ace has never gone to extremes with the hands. You need a wand for that wand holding hand, and this one looks terrific. Be careful putting it in the hand, because the plastic used for the wand is fairly soft. That means you won't snap it, but it can bend under less pressure than you might expect. Another re-use is Hedwig, but a lot of collectors avoided the youngest version of Harry and the other members of his holy trinity, waiting for this older version. That means they also missed out on Hedwig, and he's a fairly important extra to have. A brand new and very cool accessory is the Monster Book of Monsters, sporting a terrific sculpt and paint job. It doesn't open up, but the creepy eyes and dangerous fangs look excellent. The best extra here is the entire additional costume. I'll get into greater detail in the Outfit section, but the casual wear outfit is going to end up my preference long term look. Finally, there's a basic display stand with the logo and a black support rod. Nothing special, but an important add for those that use these stands in their displays.

Outfit - ***1/2

As I mentioned in the Accessories section, there's actually two outfits here - he comes wearing his school uniform, and a second casual outfit based on this particular film is included. Both are extremely nice, with only a few minor nits. Let's start with the school uniform, which includes the shoes (no feet, the shoes are the feet), pants, shirt, sweater, cloak, and tie. Thanks to the larger size of this cloak, the buttons and house insignia are more in scale, and the quality of the material and construction is excellent. The hood lays perfectly flat on his back, and the thin wire around the bottom edge of the cloak allows for better posing. The sweater is well made, as is the shirt. While it's actually Velcro that holds the shirt closed (as well as the pants), the small buttons are present on the front for show. Again, materials and construction are excellent, and the tailoring here and on the pants is top notch. My only real complaint is with the tie. While they were able to create much smaller ties for the younger versions that were properly in scale, this one is a bit too big. It's not a huge issue, but it is slightly larger than I'd like. Pop off the shoe feet, head, and hands, and you can swap him out of this outfit and into his khakis, short sleeve t-shirt, and jacket. There's a set of athletic shoe feet to go with this second outfit. It is relatively screen accurate, although you won't be able to easily fold the collar down on the jacket. It's not a big deal, since even if you could, you probably wouldn't - keeping the collar up helps hide the long neck. The zipper on the jacket is in scale, but the plastic 'end' on the one side is oversized. Again, a minor nit, but worth mentioning. I didn't have any trouble using this zipper, and that's due in part to the ease in which you can fit the right side into the large end.

Fun Factor - ***1/2

It's easy to pose and work with this figure, even with the few nits I had. He's a version that many collectors have been waiting for, and the inclusion of the two outfits goes a long way to giving you options in your display, as well as opportunities to change things up over time.



Value - **

I've seen this guy for $220 - $250, depending on the retailer. I'm going to pretend you're paying around $225, since it was relatively easy to find him at that price (and you still can). That's about the going rate of $220 for this scale and style, and he has a reasonable number of extras as compared to something like the recent Hot Toys Black Panther. However, it is going to feel a little high to those collectors that have been keeping up with the line. I think buyers who skipped the younger versions will have less of an issue with the price.



Things to Watch Out For -

Not much. The soft wand can be bent when you insert it into his hand, but a little care is all it takes. The rest of the figure is quite sturdy, and swapping costumes is relatively simple and straight forward.

Overall - ***

In the end, I have two issues with this figure, and you're mileage will most definitely vary. First, there's the price. As I said, if this is your first Harry, you'll probably be less plussed by it. Something closer to $200 seems more appropriate to me, but if the extra money this one is costing means we'll get both a Ron and Hermione to go with him, I'm perfectly fine with it. My second issue is the damn neck, and the corresponding fit with the head. You can work with it to get a better look, and some of the issue can be hidden by the clothing. Unfortunately, unlike the recent neck issues with the Sideshow Jason (review coming soon!), a complete fix isn't available. You can finagle around it, but at this price point I don't think you should. However, those are my only two nits, and if you took away the neck issue, he would have gotten that extra half star. All the other aspects of this figure are on point, and those waiting for an older version of Harry won't be disappointed. That's assuming of course we get both Ron and Hermione at this age. C'mon Star Ace, your customers need that perfect trio on the shelf!

Score Recap (out of ****):

Packaging - ***1/2

Sculpting - ***

Paint - ***1/2

Articulation - ***

Accessories - ***1/2

Outfit - ***1/2

Fun Factor - ***

Value - **

Overall - ***

Where to Buy

Online options include these site sponsors: - has him on pre-order for $225.

- originally has him for $226, but appears to be sold out. - Entertainment Earth is at $246. - Sideshow also has him, but at $240. - or you can search ebay for a deal.

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This product was provided for the review by the manufacturer. Photos and text by Michael Crawford.