Promising Galahad
Freaked Out
Ever since I first saw this set, I knew I had to have it. Part of the reason was due to the shear lunacy of it. The other being that four of my female figures were in desperate need of clothing!
First let's start with the big con for collectors like myself: the outfit was not meant for a Hot Toys female.
I had to pop off the upper torso (chest) of my skinniest HT body, Ada Wong, from the abdomen just to get the main dress on. The dress closes with Velcro concealed down the back but on Ada Wong's body, it is a very snug fit. The petticoat takes some work shimmying it over the hips even with the Velcro strips unfastened but is doable. You can avoid this hassle using the Wong body simply by sliding the petticoat down the waist section while the upper torso is removed. Unfortunately, the dress was made for a large bust figure, giving the Ada Wong chest a concave appearance in uniform. I remedied this by creating a breastplate to fit over Wong's bust. The apron is thankfully hassle free. Again, this set was most likely never intended to be used with a Hot Toys body so I'm thrilled it still manages to fit well. More likely, it was intended for more petite figures like Play Toys' or Kumik's (I imagine) female bodies.The overall appearance is very good and looks quite close to actual maid uniforms I've seen images of... well, with one exception! The stitching throughout is excellent, aiding in giving certain elements a realistic quality that mirrors the full scale traditional maid uniform. The dress itself, however, seems at least a little stiff. Again, I've seen maid uniforms whose main dress didn't have the ruffling of its petticoat, much like the dress of this set, but still I would have preferred a 'softer' flowing fabric. Another minor complaint is that some areas aren't stitched, but rather, glued. I imagine this was done for both aesthetic and functional reasons but it does bother me slightly, mostly because in certain areas it's a little obvious.
The apron looks quite good from the front but I'm curious why they chose to use Velcro straps in the back to fasten it? The straps are also a bit on the long side surprisingly since the waist of the dress is so narrow. From the front, however, I must reiterate that the apron and the outfit itself do look rather good, especially at this price point.
This brings me to the boots. They also look impressive with detail throughout and appear to actually be in proper scale, too. I'm not used to that! (From the images I've seen of these types of boots, they do run a little large, just as they do with this set.) However, the padded collars suffer from open ends which spoils the look somewhat. Also, the boots are actually boot feet, with enclosed sockets to accommodate ball joints. Ada's body has actual feet but I simply swapped them with ankle pegs for ball pegs supplied by an Iron Man 2 Black Widow body. The ball pegs were a little large but with the aid of a blow dryer to warm the sockets of the boot feet, they popped in without a problem. Still, Magic Cube clearly made this outfit with another manufacturer's body in mind. I can't and won't fault them on that, however, maybe if I give MC my David Tennant "I don't want to go" eyes, they'll start making more outfits suitable for Hot Toys bodies.
Last thing to mention is the headset. Honestly, this is the one thing that could have been improved upon. They're not connected to anything. They're basically mufflers. I'm guessing MC did this on purpose to not ruin the illusion of this piece being a hybrid of both a military and a maid uniform. Still, I can't get over the fact that the head set is so void of accessories. I at least would have liked it to have had a white band to match the rest of the outfit.
My overall opinion on this set is that it's close to a homerun for Magic Cube. I really, really like it! (Especially with my customized Abigail Whistler head, whom it seemed tailor made for... well, in a sense.) There are some minor problems for sure, but the concept is just mad and brilliant and the tailoring is well done. Just add a serving tray filled with weaponry in one hand and a solid big gun (which I've added, produced by Magic Cube as well) in the other for your figure and you're good to go! Also, let's not forget the price. For what's being offered at approximately $40 shipped, you just about get your money's worth. Factor in the novelty and you do get your money's worth. It's not a steal, but it's close.
