Biohazard 5: Albert Wesker (Midnight Version) Hot Toys Figure Review

Being a huge fan of the Resident Evil series, I was extremely excited to hear that Hot Toys acquired the rights to produce 1/6th scale Resident Evil figures.  What was more exciting was the fact that the Resident Evil antagonist, Albert Wesker, would be one of a few that were selected to be released for mass consumption.  Now, I've seen the photos of Albert Wesker (Midnight Version) and wasn't too impressed by the facial sculpt.  I was also worried that the head would be bigger than the rest of the body (look at Sideshow's Star Wars figures for reference).  Despite my fears, I went ahead and snagged one of these to see for myself.

Flavor Text:


"Age: 48
  Height: Unknown
  Weight: 198 lbs.
  Sex: Male
  Organization: Unknown


Albert Wesker is the former leader of the Raccoon City Police Department's Special Forces Unit known as S.T.A.R.S., as well as a former member of Umbrella's information department.  Wesker is calm, highly intelligent, and possesses keen decision making skills.  Wesker exploited S.T.A.R.S. for his own gains in what later came to be known as the Mansion Incident.  Following this incident, it is believed that Wesker went into hiding but continued to manipulate events related to the fallout of the Mansion Incident.


Wesker encountered Chris Redfield again at an underground laboratory in Antarctica, but the superhuman abilities Wesker had gained from exposure to the T-Virus meant Chris could barely hold his own in the fight."



The Good:

• An updated Albert Wesker figure from Resident Evil 5 makes its long-awaited appearance in plastic form!

• Wesker has approximately 22 points of articulation: ball-jointed neck, ball-jointed shoulders, swivel upper biceps, hinged elbows, swivel wrists, ab-crunch joint, swivel waist, ball-jointed hips, swivel upper thighs, hinged knees, swivel boots, and hinged ankles.

 

• Loads of accessories: Wesker's (trademark) sunglasses, Wesker's coat, PDA accessory, PDA clip, watch, shoulder holster, two sets of additional hands, two sets of joints, L. Hawk magnum, S&W M500 magnum, H&K MP5 machine-gun, Hydra shotgun, H&K P8 handgun, Wesker's knife, knife holster, Laser Targeting Device, two sets of ammo clips, and "Biohazard 5: Albert Wesker (Midnight Version)" base and stand.

 

• The package design seems pretty standard.  The "Biohazard 5" (also known as Resident Evil 5 in the U.S.) logo is off-center with a picture of Wesker in his "Midnight" outfit aiming to shoot someone that overlaps onto the right-side of the packaging.  Hot Toys has incorporated the magnetic flap which can be easily opened and closed.  Opening the flap reveals the "meat and potatoes" of the packaging design.  The right-side fully displays the collectible figure for your viewing pleasure.  The left-side displays all of the [weapons] accessories in neat fashion with the picture of the hangar area where you battle Wesker for the second time in Resident Evil 5 (videogame) that serves as a backdrop.

• The sculpt of Wesker's hair, the creases in his forehead, and slight wrinkles around his mouth are quite the masterpiece.  You can even see his veins protruding from his arms!  The slight creases in the leather gloves and boots are also done in very subtle manner.  The detailing on all the weapons are equally impressive.

• The paint application is superb beyond belief!  I'm quite blown away by this collectible figure at this point.

The Bad:

• Although the sculpting is truly top-notch work, something about Wesker's face doesn't seem quite right.  I can't seem to pinpoint the exact location.  Maybe I'm just imagining things.

• The battery-operated "light-up" eyes is a bit gimmicky for my tastes.  Why on Earth would I want Albert Wesker to look like the Terminator?  Instead, I would've preferred Hot Toys paint Wesker's eyes reptilian (mixture of red, orange, and yellow) as seen in Resident Evil: Code Veronica.  It would've also been nice if Wesker actually came with said batteries.

• Hot Toys really should've included an additional head with a "seriously pissed" look on his face.  Perhaps with gritting teeth and a nasty-looking snarl.  Although Wesker has been cool and rational throughout the Resident Evil series, he clearly lost any trace of this in Resident Evil 5.  We need another head that shows this.

• The sculpt of Wesker's chest area bothers me a lot.  His chest seems to be placed a lot lower than the average person.  There's a pretty wide gap (about the length of my thumbnail) between Wesker's neckline and where his chest begins.

• Wesker's shoulders also seemed to be placed quite lower than usual.  It's either that or the slightly bulky (and not that tight) "Midnight" outfit is a little too big.

• If you look closely, the "temple" (the hinge part of the glasses) aren't designed to be straight as it should be, but rather angled upwards.  I don't recall Wesker's sunglasses ever being designed like that in any of the cinematics from Resident Evil 5 (the videogame).  My guess is that Hot Toys head sculptor Kim Jung Mi either didn't or couldn't sculpt Wesker's ears in such a way to provide enough space to accommodate the "temple" part of Wesker's sunglasses.

• Although I do appreciate the amount of accessories that Wesker came with, some of them don't belong or are missing.  For example, why does Wesker have the Laser Targeting Device?  He definitely didn't use that (hint: Chris Redfield and Sheva Alomar did).  Where is Wesker's handgun which he used in the videogame to fire cheap shots at Chris and Sheva?  Why didn't Hot Toys include at least one rocket accessory, which Wesker effortlessly throws at our protagonists?  That would've been one hell of a killer (no pun intended, seriously) accessory.  What about the serum shot filled with Wesker's daily dose of the "Uroboros cocktail"?

The Ugly:

• I mentioned this before, but I'll say it again: the "light-up" eyes feature has got to go.  It's a stupid and terrible idea.  Just paint his eyes in a reptilian manner and call it a day.  None of this "light-up" crap.

• This collectible figure is on the pricey side.

I purchased this figure online from eBay at a slightly higher price of $150.00 (+ $30.00 S&H charge).  I must admit that I don't feel comfortable with this "doll"around the house, but Albert Wesker is my favorite Resident Evil villain.  Against my better judgment, I ordered this from a seller located in China.  Why did I saw "against my better judgment"?  Most sellers from China sell loads of bootlegged items for dirt cheap prices.  But they also sell bootlegs for extremely high prices to ward off any suspicion that their items are fakes.  It's my understanding that Hot Toys collectible figures are made in factories located in China, so I took a chance and purchased it from a seller with a very high satisfaction rating.  If you don't want to take that chance, I'd order this from either Cornerstorecomics or Bigbadtoystore (they have it for $139.99, not including S&H).

NOTE: I DO NOT REPRESENT eBAY, CORNERSTORECOMICS, OR BIGBADTOYSTORE.  I HAVE NOT BEEN PAID TO MENTION THEIR NAMES.  I AM ONLY RECOMMENDING THEIR SERVICES BASED UPON MY PAST EXPERIENCES WITH THEM. 

This being my "first" (I purchased Wesker many months after I pre-ordered Hot Toys Sheva Alomar) Hot Toys collectible figure purchase, I'm pleased with the overall quality and value.  The loads of articulation and accessories (not to mention the detailed sculpts) just about makes up for the high price.  If your Resident Evil collection is starving like mine has, I suggest you save up for either (Midnight Version) Albert Wesker or (S.T.A.R.S. Version) Albert Wesker.  You won't be disappointed.

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