Injustice 2 has been out for a while now, but as things usually go, new merchandise continues to trickle out. After producing some dynamite Vinimates based on the game (including an amazing Black Manta), Diamond Select Toys is back at it with two GameStop-exclusive Gallery statues. Look for my review of Batman in the coming days; today, the spotlight is on Harley Quinn.
A tale of two Harleys
I’ll get the biggest problem out of the way up front, and it’s not even Diamond Select’s problem: I don’t like the direction Harley’s been headed in, in any media, for the past few years. Call me old-fashioned, call me a prude, call me an old-fashioned prude—I just prefer the more innocent, less eye-candy incarnation of the character from Batman: The Animated Series. With that out of the way…
Sculpt
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bad sculpt from Diamond. Their Gallery stuff tends to be spot-on, and, more than that, their poses are always dynamic and exciting, too—to the point that I tend to prefer them over some pieces from DC Collectibles (compare the stuff from the Aquaman film, for example). This Harley is no exception, with a pose that not only suggests the modern incarnation of the character quite well, but also captures her essence in the Injustice franchise. She’s standing in an exaggerated pose, with a crazy look on her face, ready to pound your face into a pulp with her mallet.
There are a lot of nicely-executed, finer details, as well: wrinkles and bunching in her jacket and pants, texture and stitching on her holster, and a fairly convincing leather look on her boots. The mallet has carefully placed dings, grooves, and imperfections, resulting in a texture that actually looks like wood. This is especially impressive on the bullseyes, which really come off like painted wood.
My only negative on the sculpt is small, and you won’t notice it unless you’re looking for it. The mallet sits in Harley’s hand with a fairly loose grip. It’s glued to that same hand for stability, but in an effort to increase that stability, it also has a small extension at the base of the handle. This extension “plugs in” to Harley’s body; and while that could work with flawless execution, there’s a little bit of it visible outside the body, and the illusion that the mallet is simply leaning against Harley’s body is wiped away. But, as I said, it’s very small, and you have to be looking closely to spot it.
Paint
When I reviewed Diamond’s Black Manta Gallery, I noted that the paint job was vastly superior to what we usually see in the Gallery line. These are $45 plastic statues, after all, and one of the tradeoffs at that price point is less precise detail work, especially where two colors meet and there ought to be a clean line. Manta didn’t have those problems, and while you can spot a few rough lines on Harley, she’s still well above standard. Have a look at where the skin of her neck and chest meets the edge of her jacket:
This is a typical problem scenario for paint on the Gallery line: you have a surface—in this case the skin—and then an adjacent, slightly raised surface. In just about every one of these statues that I’ve reviewed (and there have been quite a few, DC and Marvel), you end up with bleed from the edge of the raised surface. In this particular case, I would expect the black from the jacket to end up on Harley’s skin at points along the way, but it just doesn’t happen here. The line is very clean.
And here’s a spoiler about the Injustice 2 Batman review I’ll be bringing you soon: it’s got some of the cleanest paintwork on a Gallery I’ve seen, as well. So at this point, I’m starting to think that, for whatever reason, more time goes into finishing these GameStop exclusives. There’s a $5 premium at retail, and you can’t take advantage of Amazon for a lower price, but all-in-all, that’s a pretty fantastic deal. The Gallery line is a good deal regardless, but when I compare the paint on an average piece to these GameStop exclusives, the deal seems that much better here.
Overall
She may not be for me, but Diamond Select’s Injustice 2 Harley Gallery is an outstanding piece. The sculpt is—as usual—impeccable, but where this one really shines is in the paint. With clean lines, convincing textures, and a pose that perfectly captures the craziness of Harley from the game, this statue is a remarkable value. You can preorder yours at GameStop.com now.
DISCLAIMER: Batman News received an advance unit of this collectible for the purpose of review.
