Review – DC Direct 1:6 Scale Zatanna Deluxe Collector Figure

Following the disaster that was Wonder Woman, I’ve been a little skeptical about picking up DC Direct’s 13″ Deluxe Collector Figures. But, I’m a big fan of Zatanna and found it hard to pass her up. She definitely tops Wonder Woman overall, but unfortunately when all is said and done I was left feeling a little bit shortchanged.

Name:	Zatanna 1:6 Scale Deluxe Collector Figure
Scale/Size:	13″ tall
Points of Articulation:	27
Manufacturer:	DC Direct
Released:	2009
Retail Price:	$99.99

Packaging – 8/10

The packaging has never been the problem with the 13″ Deluxe series. She’s packaged in a slim, easy to store rectangular box with a fifth panel covering the figure. The graphics are nice and crisp and feature the figure in a couple of different poses. Some original comic art or even an additional pose (two are far to similar to one another) would have probably added a point to this score. There’s a brief bio of the character and a listing of all 13″ DCD figures on the back. The figure is housed in a large bubble inside the box with all accessories clearly displayed. There are some twisty ties keeping the figure in place, making it a bit of a chore to get the figure back in its box the way it was shipped, but the big bubble at least gives the option to repack it if needed.

Sculpt – 5/10

For starters, 1:6 scale collectors will be baffled as to why these measure in at a good 13″. It’s really a shame, because they don’t mingle well with other true 1:6 scale lines. I’m going to include the clothing in this section, because I consider it more of the body of the figure rather than an add-on. The clothing is overall pretty nice, but the buttons are a bit clunky and almost look as though they’re hanging off the vest. She’s equipped with real fishnet stockings and leather-style boots to go with it, which are arguably the best part of the figure. Her vest tends to bunch up a bit, and while I know it’s supposed to have natural folds it tends to exaggerate easily and create a sloppy look. The absolute worst part of the outfit is the cuffs. Rather than make them part of the jacket, an undershirt or even part of the hands, DCD elected to use two clunky cylinders around the wrist. This is forgivable when the arms are in a downward position and the sleeves are covering them, but otherwise it just looks awkward. But let’s move past the clothing and move on to the head sculpt, which is, to me anyway, the most integral part of a figure like this. The face is done up rather nicely, with Zatanna featuring the serious smile she’s often depicted with. Her lips are robust and her eyebrows sculpted, giving her face fine features. But then we get to the hair and the hat. Oh my…what a dreadful combination. For starters, her hair is done in a heavy, chunky style that absolutely negatives any neck articulation. There is a reasonable amount of detail in the hair, but it’s easy to miss it. To put it quite plainly, Zatanna has hat head. I understand that this was done to accommodate for the hard plastic hat that must go over her hard plastic hair, but the hat is HUGE. This gives us an option to display her with hat head, or display her with a gigantic top over her melon. There’s a reason two of the three images on the packaging have her with her hat slightly elevated from her hair…it’s really the only way she looks any good when on display.

Paint – 8/10

Since I’m already in negativity mode, let me start with the only real bad part of the paint job – the eyes. The eyes are oh, so important to me, and DC Direct tends to fall short in this category with their 13″ figures. On Zatanna, there is a bit of a gap between her eyeball paint and her lashes, a problem that could have easily been fixed had DC Direct elected to go with the style that appears on the box and in prototype images. You’ll notice they used black eye-liner to accentuate the eyes – this would have been a smart move in production and really enhanced the look of the character. But alas. Moving on, the rest of the paint is pretty solid, both on the figure and accessories. The lips are painted in a deep ruby red, bringing some color to an otherwise monochromatic figure. The creepy red eyes and pink button nose on the rabbit are without issue, as is the paint on the book and her wand.

Articulation – 7/10

With 27 points of articulation you’d expect the Mistress of Magic to move in pretty much any way you’d wish, but that’s not the case. The next few comments apply to everything except her neck – I’ll cover that in a moment. Movement is not an issue – she can move in pretty much any way a human could. The issue is sustainability. I had a lot of trouble getting her to stand on her own in anything other a static position. This leaves the collector having to use the upper body for all display options. But then you have that damn head. As I mentioned before, the hair is cast in a thick, chunky plastic that completely eliminates head movement. This is hugely detrimental when it comes to pose possibilities and really detracts from the overall value of the figure.

Accessories – 9/10

One positive thing this figure has going for it is the quantity and the quality of accessories. Zatanna comes with her trademark hat, her wand, a white bunny, a copy of her biography, Hex Appeal and two sets of alternate hands. The hands are designed to hold specific accessories and they also increase display options. The wand is neat enough but somewhat difficult for her to hold. I got her to hold it in two of her hands but with neither of them did I not worry that it might fall out unprovoked. This category would actually get a 10/10 if it wasn’t for that gigantic hat.

Play/Pose – 3/10

Unfortunately this figure just doesn’t have a lot of value outside of a static pose. It looks pretty nice for the most part, save for the few little nitpicks, but there’s not much you can do with it, especially with that chunky hair. I’ve found the best thing to do is pose it as DC Direct does in their images, with the wand in her right hand and her left hand holding her hat slightly above the head. Sad…figures aren’t supposed to be tied down in this way.

Closing Thoughts

DC Direct’s 13″ line has been so hit and miss, and this one probably falls a little more on the “miss” side. It’s not a horrible display piece, but as I mentioned there’s not a whole lot you can do with it aside from some generic poses. If you’re not in a hurry to get it, it’s already seeing quite a decline in price. You can get them in the $50 range on eBay at the moment, and that’s for a figure that just came out a month or so ago.

MY RATING: