Harry Potter fans were severely disappointed this year when the 6th movie in the series, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, was delayed until the summer of 2009. The writer’s strike created a large gap for many of the studios in the spring/summer period of ’09, and several studios have pushed ’08 films out to help fill the void.
But I doubt the delay well quell the anticipation, and the previews show a much darker film, following the much darker feel of the books. And once again, Professor Minerva McGonagall will play a key role. We haven’t been treated to a while lot of McGongagall collectibles, although you can pick up her wand through the Noble Collections.
Gentle Giant might not be producing a lot more of their Harry Potter mini-busts (rumors abound of possible cancellations), but they’ve managed to release their version of Professor McGonagall. It’s a fairly limited edition, even by Potter bust standards, with just 1400 produced. You can pick her up for around $40 – $50, depending on the retailer.
Professor McGonagall – Gentle Giant mini-bust
It is only right that we finally have a bust of McGonagall, as she’s really the third most critical professor in Harry’s life, after Dumbledore and Snape. Gentle Giant has had some trouble turning in good Harry Potter female likenesses though, so it was with some trepidation that I opened the box…
Packaging – ***1/2
Gentle Giant has done a good job with the rather basic color scheme allowed them by the licensor. They also have the window here, allowing you to see the bust before purchasing, at least if you’re lucky enough to find it in an actual store. The boxes are easy to store, keep the bust very well protected, and include the edition number on the bottom. And of course, there’s the usual baseball card style Certificate of Authenticity.
Sculpting – ***1/2
One of the nice things about the McGonagall character is that Maggie Smith is allowed to play a woman that looks her age, rather than a woman that looks like she’s desperately trying to be 20 again. There aren’t a lot of roles in Hollywood that allow older women to actually BE older, but Mcgonagall is one of them.
Gentle Giant captured the look of the dear Professor quite well, and there’s certainly no mistaking her. The fine detail in the wisdom of her face is present, and the scale and proportions of the hat, body, head and limbs is quite good. I’m particularly happy that they included the robe pattern, sculpted and not just painted. That sort of texture lends a lot to the look of these mini-busts, and too often it’s missing.
All that being said, I did have one issue with the sculpt. They gave her a downward gaze…a VERY downward gaze. In fact, you’ll need to display this bust on a shelf well above eye level if you want her to be looking at you when you’re looking at her. Otherwise, she’ll be checking you out south of the border, if you know what I mean. Had they simply tilted her head back a bit, or brought the gaze up a little, or both, the sculpt would have been just about perfect for me.
Paint – ***
From early photos of this piece, my biggest concerns were around the paint. Bad paint could ruin the sculpt, and Gentle Giant, like many companies right now, has had their issues with paint lately. Early photos tended to use flash though, washing out her already pale appearance, and once I had her in hand I found that it wasn’t nearly as bad of an issue as I’d feared.
That’s not to say that the paint work is outstanding, though. It still is a little paler and flatter than I’d like, giving the sculpt less life than it should have. There’s a little slop here and there, and the eyes have that lifeless doll quality that can so hurt a great sculpt. She’s decent, but she’s no Bellatrix Lestrange.
Design – ***
We’ve never seen Minerva too active in any of the films…yet. And so this slightly reserved, contemplative look works fine for her character. It’s not as dynamic as some of their previous busts, but that works just fine in context.
I’m knocking off a bit here though too because of the downward stare. It really is the major issue in an otherwise solid effort.
Value – ***
While other collectibles have been skyrocketing, Gentle Giant has managed to keep the busts down around $45 – $50 at most retailers. That’s where I’m grading this one, and at an edition size of just 1400, she’s a better than average deal.
Things to Watch Out For –
Not much. Clearly you won’t want to go banging her against the wall. And if you do want to, then you’re one sick little puppy.
Overall – ***
While the paint is a bit too pale, and the downward gaze a tad annoying, the bust is an overall good addition to the line up. She doesn’t have any of the serious issues of some past releases, and will end up in the middle of the pack for most folks.
While there are three more announced busts to come in early ’09, they are more variants of the three kids. If it does turn out that McGonagall is the last of the non-Harry/Hermione/Ron busts, at least we’ve managed to get a nice collection of the majority if key characters in the movies. Oh, there’s a few more I’d really like to have, but that will always be true.
Where to Buy –
There’s some great online options if your LCS doesn’t carry her:
– Urban Collectors has her for $45.
– Andrew’s Toyz has her listed at $49.
– Things from Another World has her in stock at $49.50.
– Past Generation Toys has her at $50.
– Entertainment Earth has her at $55.
Related Links –
I believe I’ve reviewed the entire Gentle Giant Harry Potter line so far…with maybe one or two early exceptions:
– the last one was of the regular and transforming Lupin.
– another set of ‘twins’ was the Weasleys.
– I’ve covered others including light up Harry, Cho Chang, Luna Lovegood, Draco Malfoy, Merperson mini-bust, Voldemort, Hagrid and Mad Eye Moody, Ron and Hermione, Snape and Dumbledore, Dobby and Dementor, and a guest review of Harry and Sirius.
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