Review: Gamora Sixth Scale Figure by Hot Toys

My home is now 200% safer because Gamora is standing guard. I'm pretty sure the most dangerous woman in the galaxy could take down anyone who steps out of line with an intense glare, and the Gamora Sixth Scale Figure from Hot Toys has that. This figure practically radiates attitude. It's modeled after Zoe Saldana as the character in Guardians of the Galaxy and the likeness is so spot on that Sideshow Collectibles made a quiz that lets you guess whether a photo is the actual Zoe Saldana or the figure. Try taking it - choosing isn't as easy as you would think.

Besides looking badass, this Gamora figure is important because Hot Toys announced it and Sideshow Collectibles made it available for pre-order in a time when few licensees were selling merchandise with Gamora. That hasn't really changed. Gamora is excluded from merch that features the rest of the Guardians far too often but not here. She got a fancy figure just like other characters in the film. Let's take a closer look:

Packaging: The outer box is so pretty. It features Gamora layered on top of a neon pink letter "G" and I want it on a t-shirt so badly. The sides of the box match the background of the police lineup in the movie. Once you get past the lovely outside, the figure is securely packaged in plastic. Everything has a place, and small pieces of plastic are over her hair (which is not sculpted!) and in between parts that might rub against each other and cause scuffs. Hot Toys is always very careful about that.

Sculpt/likeness/paint: I've already touched on how much this figure looks like Zoe Saldana. It's uncanny and weirdly enough, pictures make the figure look more like her - whether you use a flash or not. The sculptors at Hot Toys continue to impress me by capturing a character's likeness and infusing a static sculpt with so much emotion. She looks fierce and you can amp that up by swapping out her hands so she can hold weapons.

I really like how the joints work on this figure. The elbow joints aren't visible - and by that I mean the ball joint isn't bare. Instead, her arms are covered with a flexible material that makes them look natural whether they're straight or bent. Seamless! That's the word I'm going for. It's a small touch but I LOVE it. You can swap out her hands and those joints are covered by her wraps/bracers. That aspect of her costume works perfectly for this purpose.

As I mentioned earlier, the Gamora figure comes with actual hair. It already comes with some product it in, but instructions state you can add gel to the hair in order to style it. It's black and pink just like in the movie. This is the first Hot Toys figure I've handled that doesn't have sculpted hair, and it makes a big difference. The texture is a little rough and the out of the box style isn't my favorite (I arranged with my hands in these pictures), but I bet if I used a fine tooth comb I could whip it into shape and make it look more tidy and lush. I'd much rather have actual faux hair (it's fabric hair) than sculpted stuff. This approach would have worked well for the Winter Soldier figure.

Clothes: I liked Gamora's outfit before but seeing it close-up, albeit in miniature, makes me want to cosplay as her. The fabric is stretchy enough to accommodate all kinds of poses - I bent every point of articulation I could find - but plenty sturdy. There are different textures to break up the black jumpsuit: metal studs are around the collar, there's the netting on the front of the top, chunky bracers, and holsters and belts. The holster on the right thigh slides down when you pose Gamora, but it can be moved back into place with no trouble. I adore the way the blue highlights on the jumpsuit look; there's some coordinating blue pieces in the bracers that I didn't notice until taking a closer look. The blue, black, and silver come together nicely.

The boots don't look comfortable to me, but they do match what we see Gamora wear and they appear well made. I appreciate how all the interchangeable hands are adorned with her many rings. It's all in the details, kids.

Accessories: Gamora is not a character of many accessories. I would have liked to have another head with a different expression (maybe the raised eyebrow?) what's included with this figure is solid. She comes with three total pairs of hands that are easy to switch out, an extended sword, and a folded up one. The folded sword snaps into her holster, and the extended sword can be used with a couple different hands. The swords are covered with engravings to match what we see on screen.

Gamora also comes with a stand. That's the only part of the figure I didn't love. Assembling the two pieces of the stand took some elbow grease, but it did snap together and served its purpose. Taking it apart again was no problem. 

You can purchase a sixth scale Gamora at Sideshow Collectibles for $199.99. If that's too much at once, you can break it up into a payment plan. The figure is currently expected to ship in April.

Here are the technical details/what comes with the figure:

Black and purplish-red real fabric hair implantation

Green-colored face and body with over 28 points of articulations

Approximately 28 cm tall

Three (3) pairs of interchangeable palms including: 

- One (1) pair of fists 

- One (1) pair of palms for holding a sword 

- One (1) pair of relaxed palms

One (1) fully extended sword

One (1) folded up sword

Figure stand with Gamora nameplate and the movie logo

Need to see more pictures of Gamora? I have some at Flickr, and Sideshow Collectibles has plenty of images that are much more beautifully lit and posed.

Full disclosure: Gamora was provided by Sideshow Collectibles for review purposes. This did not affect my review of the product.