Words and photos by Ryan Brookhart

Details and quality…that's what collectors want. It's an incredibly simple equation, but one that too often seems to be impossible to pull off in the world of high-end collectibles.

Pop-culture relevance, the acquisition of reality...all that stuff, is a given (and also pretty murky since what's considered relevant in pop culture shifts from person to person) when it comes to why and what people put on their shelves, their desk, next to their cubical.

There are a number of companies currently at the flash-point of the collectible world, namely Sideshow, Medicom, NECA, McFarlane, and Hot Toys. Hasbro, Playmates, and Mattel don't rate here because they target more mainstream, retail-level products.

Mind you, I buy products from Hasbro, Playmates, and Mattel all the time. But that's not what this article is about.

On both a Micro and Macro level, this article is about Hot Toys (micro) and quality/value (macro); Hot Toys succeeds at both and their Movie Masterpiece PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN collection is both the case and point.

Over the next two weeks I'll be exploring the world of Hot Toys, using the excellent PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN line as the starting point. I've been paying great attention to Hot Toys for some time and I'll be revisiting some of the products I've covered over the last two years as well as other current and upcoming products they have on their roster.

Those familiar with Toy Culture know I rarely do full-on critiques of collectibles, mainly because value and relevance are in the eye of the beholder (is any 6 inch figure worth $30.00 brand new?). However, I do call out shoddy manufacturing, especially if it's the trend of a given company.

In the past, I've been critical of NECA even through I love the LOOK of many of their figures. But by in large NECA uses cheap plastics, or has had bad luck with factories in China or... or something.

I have also sung the praises of companies like McFarlane for defining what they do so well, and doing it so consistently. I also give high marks (perhaps the highest) because they started this march to making edgy and obscure pop culture a viable commodity when forged in plastic.

While PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN could hardly be called obscure or edgy, it's also not a property that one might jump up and shout 'here's a great line of figures waiting to happen!' Certainly both Zizzle and NECA put out sizable offerings for all three films.

Zizzle, for my dollar, did the best of the two companies. Their smaller scale figures (3 3/4), play sets, and massive Black Pearl playset are worth praise. And the Zizzle products have done pretty well, even branching out to include a line of animated-style figures based on an ill-fated animated series.

NECA created a very nice 6 inch scale set of figures encompassing all three films, and while the sculpts rival anything on the market, again its  the shoddy plastics that keep these figures from feeling like anything more than fleeting moments of plastic goodness.

Finally, Disney commissioned their own line of figures, ranging is size and quality. But overall, these are uninspired both in terms of sculpting and quality. Hot Toys, then, steps in, and creates their PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN line and not only does everything that came before it pale in comparison, but flat out disappears from sight.

Why? Details and quality, my friend.

Beginning our journey into the Hot Toys POC line, let’s look at the Will Turner 12 inch Collectible Action Figure. The first you'll notice about Will is the shimmering, prismatic outer sleeve of the box he's housed in (a trademark of Hot Toys). After slipping the outer sleeve from the box, you get a handsome, matte finished inner box housing the figure and his accessories.

Once you remove Will from the box, you'll be impressed with his weight; there's clearly some serious ABS and PVC plastics used on all of the Hot Toys figures, and Will is no different. In other words, he doesn't feel the least bit fragile. His outfit, using plastic, metal, and real leather parts, imbues the figure with quality, And the Hot Toys 12" male body is the best articulated body on the market, with nary a loose joint to be found. The Orlando Bloom likeness is spot-on and is neither neutral or overly dramatic, but rather a great, 'determined' portrait of the actor. Rounding out Will Turner 12 inches Collectible Action Figure are the following accessories:

• Sword
• Scabbard
• Combat knife
• Knife sheath
• Pistol
• Necklace
• Figure Stand

Enjoy my pictures of Will, and be sure to check out http://www.hottoys.com.hk/index.php for more information on the entire line of POC figures.

I'll see you soon with my second figure in the line, the early awaited Cannibal King Jack Sparrow 12 inch Collectible Action Figure!