Angel v.s. Angel (Becoming)

I know a lot of you out there are looking to compare the Angel released in the Buffy line with the recently released Angel. Well, I think there really is no comparison. The new Angel is FAR better than the previous release. And I've got some small, poorly lit pictures to prove it!!!

As you can see from the pictures (hopefully), the previous Angel has a rather elongated head which detorts the hair and jaw line. I noticed this before this the figure, but seen along side the new Angel, those flaws become more noticable.

And going from a dark brown/black to a lighter brown really softens up his face. As for the much discussed eye problem, it is not such a big probelm when you have the figure in hand. And comparing the two Angels, they both have similiar eye issues.

Overall, I think this figure is a solid beginning to a line that may prove to be be far too short. I love it!

I got my Angel today, and even thought I've always thought the original sculpt was great, this new one is absolutely brilliant. It looks every bit as good as the pics on SSC's site. I'd go so far as to say this is SSC's best 1/6 sculpt ever, and the paint apps. are great.

The outfit is another story. I've already given him a makeover. I ditched the leather pants and silk shirt and replaced them with the back slacks and belt from Live and Let Die Bond and the black pullover sweater from Goldfinger Bond. It looks sooo much better and is much much closer to the type of look he had on his own series.

Thanks so much for the pics. "City of..." Angel is definitely a huge improvement over "Becoming Angel". I've been giving different opinions about him depending on the different pictures I've seen, but now I can say without hesitation that it looks like one of the greatest figures in the Bufy/Angel line (and in the whole SSC catalog). Definitely the best Angel we have (Origins Angel is excellent as well).

I pulled out my Becoming Angel so I could look at them next to each other, and the difference really is striking. Not only is the sculpt on City Of much better, but the cleaner, more natural paint apps. make Becoming Angel look almost cartoony. I'm not sure what the complaint on the eyes is about, the paint work is much better and cleaner than the brown blobs on Becoming Angel.

Yeah, got mine today as well and it is a great figure. Although the clothes appear to be the same that were on the Vampire Angel con exclusive, just with a black shirt. Not at all episode accurate to the premiere Angel episode, since in the scene he used the hand stakes he had a long trench on as he walked away down the alley in the scene. ObsoleteMan if you get a chance, please post a pic of yours with the cloth pants, I had been thinking of doing that but never got around to it.

Sorry, I know it's a terrible pic. It should at least give you a decent idea of the wardrobe changes I made.

The comic con Angel came with cloth pants and a shorter jacket but the t-shirt looks to be the same (without the added blood stains). I won a X-files cigarette smoking man that I haven't known what to do with so I'll be stealing his pants and given them to City of Angel because I think the slimmer, cloth pants do look better.

And thanks so much for those side by side shots Proto. They really do a great job in showing the differences in the two figures. The Becoming Angel sculpt was one of the best Sideshow sculpts for the Buffy line and it now seems to pale in comparison to this newer version, especially with the paint jobs being better than ever. Can't wait to get my own - hopefully it will arrive on Monday!

I guess I'll wait and reserve judgment until my "City of..." Angel arrives, but I do sortof feel that I've paid an awful lot of money for a 1/6 scale leather coat.

Got my Angel yesterday. Here's some thoughts:

The sculpt is really good, it looks just like Third Season Buffy/First Season Angel. The smirk is a bit muted in the final product, but it works for me.
The outfit is cool. The jacket is well-tailored, almost too much so-- I took off the arms stakes and went to put the jacket back on, but it kept rolling up his shirt sleeves! Tweezers fixed that soon enough.

Two major complaints: he really can't hold his sword securely in either hand. Bummer. And his squeaky, rubbery shoes make him impossible to stand without his stand!

Minor quibbles: The leather pants. He never wore the leather pants as a good guy, ever. And his shirt could be less shiny. And the arm stakes could have been retractable, couldn't they? As it is they make his arms too bulky, especially with the tight sleeves of his shirt and jacket combined.

Overall: It sounds like I'm complaining a lot, but I'm very happy to have an Angel leading my pack of Buffy figs. I think this is a good sign where this line is going and I'm very much looking forward to Cordelia and Krevlornswath.
I give him a very high B+.

So I gotta know... is anyone else's Spike gonna inherit the arm stakes?

swiftlikessharpthings said:

The jacket is well-tailored, almost too much so-- I took off the arms stakes and went to put the jacket back on, but it kept rolling up his shirt sleeves! Tweezers fixed that soon enough.

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Yeah, getting the jacket back on was murder. I had to first tape his sleeves to his hands, then use tweezers once I had the jacket on to get the sleevse all the way down. Needless to say, that jacket is never coming off again.

I was surprised by just how nicely made and tailored the leather jacket is. From the pics I'd seen I was expecting it to look and feel a lttle cheap like Spike's coat.

Now that i can compare them side by side you can tell that the new Angel is a better likeness than the old one. I can't wait to get mine

Thanks for the pics

swiftlikessharpthings said:

Two major complaints: he really can't hold his sword securely in either hand. Bummer. And his squeaky, rubbery shoes make him impossible to stand without his stand!

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I find neither of these things to be true for me - he stands really well for me without the stand in a decent pose, though I did put him in the stand to get more of an action pose. The sword is a bit trickier - try putting the sword in the right hand, with the extended forefinger over the scabbard. It looks kind of cool, actually. Though one of these days he's going to cut it off accidentally.

I got mine today and have to say I was a little disappointed. I think the sculpt is still great and I do think it looks better than the original. But the eyes were horrible. It didn't look like there was any white where there should be and the eyes weren't lined at all like it is shown on the box and with the first Angel. I was able to do a fix with a marker and tried to add a little white with a white pencil and it made it look a lot better and more like the original Angel's eyes.

I ended up removing the arm stakes and will save them for a Wesley when we get one (and I'm confident we will). When I took his coat off and rolled up his sleeves I noticed one of the are braces buckles was broken. I was able to bend it back in place but there's a clear break there. I was extremely careful when I was removing the coat and rolling up the sleeves so I don't think I accidentally did it. When I did the other arm, two of the three buckles weren't even buckled (no big deal - easier to remove them).

If it hadn't been for the totally washed out looking eyes and the broken buckle I'd be super pleased. I think the sculpt is better and has a better expression than the first. The coat looks great and even is a little padded on the shoulder area with extra material to make him look more like David Boreanaz's broad shoulders. I wish they had given him regular, slimmer pants because I already have an Angel in the leather ones. And maybe a long sleeved t-shirt because Angel wore that type of shirt often on Angel.

bluesparrow said:

, with the extended forefinger over the scabbard. It looks kind of cool, actually. Though one of these days he's going to cut it off accidentally.

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I'm sure the word your looking for isn't scabbard ? A scabbard is a sheath - which my Angel didn't come with. I think you mean the crossguard ? Or possibly the hilt ?

Anyways - got my Angel today. Usually ****-up by Fedex - was sitting at the depot for 2 days so I drove out and got it after work. Very nice IMHO. I swapped out the leather pants with the pants from a Duncan McLeod (I kitbashed mine into a Napoleonic Duncan) which are the baggy suit-style pants angel used to wear alot - I think it worked out pretty good. I gave the sword to my old Angel figure and posed the new one with the axe. I got fed up with the stakes being out so I popped the hands to remove them. As others have suggested they might be an addition to Wesley when we get him (unfortunately I haven't actually seen many Angel episodes so I can't comment on screen accuracy).

The leather pants would make a good start to a Gabriel kitbash from the prophecy if anyone can point me to a decent Christopher Walken head

I really like the Angel figure and can't wait for more. I also like that the packaging is similar to the Buffy packaging. It's different enough to be it's own line, but still not extremely different like the Star Wars and upcoming LOTR packaging.

Also, I love that the stand has the Angel logo. I could easily have seen that Sideshow might cut corners here, but am glad to see they didn't. It seems like the Angel line is just an extension of the Buffy line (as was the show), but at least they put the Angel logo on the stand.

I really like the head sculpt as others have commented here. I thought the original prototypes make Angel look 10 years older than David, and am glad to see that he is closer to what he looked like on the show. It's still a very similar sculpt to Becoming Angel, but definately an improvement.

The clothes are not "City of..." episode or even series specific, and I really don't see why Sideshow chose such similar clothing to previous Angel figures. If it was to cut costs, then fine, but I would have though cloth fabric would have been cheaper than the non-episode specific pleather and the shiny shirt fabric used. Not a big gripe, but I don't understand why they went in this direction. Maybe they thought it made a more dynamic figure, but the attire for Angel wasn't meant to be a "costume."

I really want to see more from the Angel line, but I'm not sure how well it's doing. Even if the line decreases it's output, I just hope it continues.

I really want Illyria, Wes, Gunn, Fred, and I'd LOVE more Cordelia figures. If they ever got around to Lilah and Harmony, I'd be ecstatic!

I finally got a chance to open up the package. I agree that the "City of" Angel has a better portrait that the "Becoming" Angel but not by that much. The Becoming Angel wasn't bad at all although it was a little glossy. But the pants, shirt and shoes are the same. I also wonder why the "City of" Angel got a white undershirt when he actually had a black one in that episode. Although Angel wore a white undershirt in other episodes although I can't really remember which particular ones and if it was in Angel or Buffy. Overall the figure is nice but I truly don't know if I need two human Angels with such similar outfits.

I'm still not sure why they called him "City Of" Angel. The only thing this figure has that ties him to that episode is the wrist stakes. It's the wrong jacket, wrong outfit and the exclusive axe has nothing to do with that episode as far as I recall. Heck, even the facial expression doesn't really reflect his attitude in that episode.

Agreed, I'm pretty sure the axe wasn't in that episode either. Unless it was sitting on the wall behind him as he was walking around his place. The box doesn't actually say "City of" anywhere. I actually went back to the product page to confirm that's actually what it was based on.

I have to agree that they shouldn't have bothered calling him 'City Of...' Angel. The wrist stakes were kind of a disappointment for me.
I'm just happy to finally have an Angel figure to go along with my other Buffy figs. I find he looks much better with Marvel Select's Blade pants (I'd have Blade on display, but his sword broke; I knew I kept the fig for a reason!) and he stands much better with those boots.
So he's still not episode specific, but I dig the figure and he fits in well as either a 'Third Season Buffy' Angel or through the first couple seasons of his own show.

I decided to do a review if anyone's interested...

CLICK HERE