Hot Toys True Type African American

So you may have heard of this figure. If you have, it's probably for the same reason I bought it. Because it was designed to pay more than a passing resemblance to President Obama. So sometime around a month ago I took my spare change to the coinstar and got an Amazon certificate and somehow got it into my head that I really wanted an accurate-ish looking action figure of a President, especially a recent one I think is pretty cool. Then I thought, hey, you know what would be cool, if I could get one that could be posed with my Jesse Ventura 12 inch figure.

So the combination of these factors had me looking for accurately sculpted Obama figures, and this was one of the best. (The others were okay, but not good.) The likeness isn't 100%, but at the right angles and with the right lighting it looks great.

He's a Hot Toy buck body, so that means 1) I now have a sense what a Hot Toy body is like, and 2) it came fully nude without any clothing or accessories. That is not a state I want to see a representation of the President in.

So I had to get some clothing for the figure. Which means starting to look at 1:6 scale clothing. Turns out that the cheapest way to get 1:6 scale clothing is to either buy Barbie doll clothing or find cheap, old 12 inch figures no body wants and strip them for clothes. Which is why I got those Star Wars figures at that toy sale.

Sadly it turns out the clothes on the Kenner 12" figures are a bit small. The pants barely fit on the Obama figure and they cut off at the shins, looking like Jedi capri pants. And I could barely get Han Solo's shirt & vest on him. The pants were pretty much out. So it looks like I'll have to go shopping for some cheap 1:6 scale clothing for the President.

And I gotta say, this purchase has me fascinated with 12" figures again. I get that urge every few years. I look a little closer at the Barbie aisle and such. Although now that I've seen this Hot Toy and how the head sculpting is, and have been reminded recently of how crap the Barbie & old Kenner 12" figures actually are, I find myself looking more at the 1:6 collectible market of Sideshow, Triad and Hot Toys. We'll see how that turns out.