Super-DuperToyBox: DC Direct Deluxe 1:6 Sinestro Figure

Friday, May 20, 2011

DC Direct Deluxe 1:6 Sinestro Figure

I was surprised at how little there was to read about the DC Direct Deluxe 1:6 Sinestro released in January of 2009... I couldn't find one review. Was it the economy or was he roundly ignored by the often critical fans of DC Direct? Perhaps a little of both. I had my eye on this guy for quite awhile, and when Mattel released the 8" Retro-Action Sinestro exclusively on MattyCollector for $20. + ten bucks shipping, I set my sights on getting a better value. I paid only twelve more dollars for this 14" DC Direct Sinestro that came with two extra sets of hands, a display stand, and working lantern!

Like the other DC Direct Deluxe figures I bought, Sinestro came packaged in this handsome 4-color window box with a fifth panel...

Sinestro came with the coolest accessory ever: a working lantern! This really makes the toy deluxe, in my humble opinion, and a step up from the accessories the other dolls from this line included. And of course, you won't get that with the Mattel Sinestro. It's not blinding but relatively bright, and runs on a couple button batteries that are (laughs) difficult to remove :D Very cool, however.

His outfit appears to be made of three types of material: a rubbery material for the black bodysuit (much like the Batman Beyond I have), a spandex-like cloth for the yellow armband, chest layover, and boots, and a bendable plastic for the wrist gauntlets, belt, and boot soles. And for some reason the Corps insignia on his chest & armband is a separate piece of plastic as opposed to a screenprint onto the material- perhaps this stood out against the bright yellow material better, or those areas were too tight to place a clean, well centered image. He doesn't like to sit, and I'm unsure if that's due to the tightness/material of the outfit or to his body construction- I will not be stripping him to find out because he will be standing. On a related note, his boots cramp his toes a bit, and don't fit perfectly- I would have used a different material, perhaps vinyl like the boots my DCD Superman & Batman came with.

The paint and face sculpt on this figure is GREAT- certainly the best I've seen on any DC Direct 1:6. The craggy detail of Sinestro's visage is expertly captured! Just wonderful... a work of art, I say!

Some people prefer Sinestro's blue/black costume, but I'm partial to the high-contrast look of this yellow/black Corps outfit. Both the Mattel 6" DC Universe Classics and the 6 3/4" DC Direct Green Lantern: Series 3 Sinestro, which featured this outfit, go for more than I paid for this larger version. For whatever reason, this one created less demand... and I believe part of it was the price. This dolly retailed for about $90.00 a couple years ago, but you can find him for about forty bucks on eBay nearly every week- closer to what I think he's really worth... I think DC Direct was asking a bit much for this. Don't get me wrong: this is a cool toy that I love and am grateful to have, but ninety bucks was apparently too much to ask.

As I've stated previously, I've been reading a lot of Green Lantern/Sinestro related books lately, having read a couple Blackest Night books this past winter, Tales of the Sinestro Corps after that, and The Sinestro Corps War volumes, and Green Lantern: Secret Origin this month. Sinestro is an sophisticated villain that interests me greatly: having mentored Hal Jordan as a Green Lantern Corps member himself, he abused his position by enforcing galactic law using fear, and was ultimately exiled to the Antimatter world of Qward by the Guardians. Unfortunately for the Guardians, Sinestro joined forces with the Green Lantern-hating Weaponers of Qward, who crafted for him a yellow power ring to wield vengeance back at the GL Corps.