Trinity is featured mid-air performing a Kung-Fu kick from an early scene of the movie, a scene well-known for the Bullet Time slow-motion special effects. She wears her usual “plugged in” garb consisting of black leather outfit, biker-type boots and sunglasses.
Interestingly the kit scene provided with the figure is from a later scene in the movie, when Neo and Trinity assault the Agents’ Headquarters to rescue Morpheus.
The kit is shipped in nondescript brown cardboard sans box-art. Included inside the box is a leaflet featuring the box-art (also done by Guillermo Centeno), which may be used a painting guide. I must admit to thinking that perhaps this was just the case for the review sample; perhaps the commercially available pieces have the box art pasted on the box front, and look more professional.
The kit consists of thirteen parts, the main eight parts cast in resin and the remaining five in white metal.
Two sub-machine gunsThe box art indicates only one sub-machine gun, so I’m really not sure if the inclusion of a second was a packing error. Furthermore, Trifon’s website states that the kit includes nine resin and three metal parts. Were I to surmise, I would deduce that the ninth resin part is perhaps a single sub-machine gun cast in resin, as opposed to my metal copy.
The Kit
As mentioned above, the bulk of the kit is cast in resin. The cream coloured resin has a very interesting feel to it. It’s very smooth, almost plastic-like. In fact, it bears plastic-like characteristics when cut. It doesn’t share that dry, brittle nature of conventional resin mixtures. Previous reviews of Trifon products indicate that this is a specially formulated resin mixture.
Generally speaking, though, I was very impressed. There are very few flaws, little flash and virtually no seam lines on this figure. Now, let’s have a look at the individual parts.
Trinity’s head is very well sculpted. The face is nicely defined, although I must admit I cannot see the immediate resemblance to Carrie-Anne Moss. The face is, however, well structured and the hair is very nicely textured. There are really two things (well, pairs of things) that I dislike about the head. The first is the eyes. They really do look bug-like. However, this is not a problem if you’re fitting the sunglasses.
The second thing that irks me is the ears. To be quite frank they look like they were added on as an afterthought. In addition to the fact that in my opinion they appear too big and too low on the head, they are not properly blended into the surrounding facial area and as such the hair to the fore of the ear gives a sideburn impression.
Overall, the well defined and sculpted head is complimented by the superb casting. Apart from two minute spots, the head is absolutely clean, with not a seam line in sight.
The torso, like the head, is a well sculpted piece. I particularly like the way the creases run and gather toward the shoulder and shoulder-blade areas. I’m not too fond of the manner in which the jacket’s seams were handled (as they look a bit like casting seams) but I think when painted they will look better and more in context.
Again, the casting is near perfect. There were two small blemishes on the back of the torso, but these can easily be filled with a smidgen of putty. There was also a small amount of the seemingly heavy casting block left on the underside of the torso (the waist) which will carefully have to be worked away with a sharp blade and a small sanding block.
My comments regarding the two arms are very similar to those regarding the torso. Like the torso, the creases run toward the shoulder and also bear the strange jacket seams. And, as per the torso, they also have the residue of the heavy casting block which will need to be removed. But, apart from that, they are excellently sculpted and cast.
The two legs, although excellently sculpted, have a few minor casting flaws. The legs are well defined, with creases gathering in the correct areas. I am not overly keen on the manner in which the pant seams run down the outer leg, but that is a personal opinion. I also feel that the ankles are not thick enough.
The legs have a few minor casting “issues”. In addition to the residue of the heavy casting blocks both on the inside and the waist of the legs, the right leg features a casting seam running the length of the leg from the buttocks to the heel, while the right leg has some flash between the buttocks and the boot as well as the front of the boot. Both boots also have some minor flash along the sole. These, however, are all minor problems that should be easy enough for any modeller to solve.
The final two resin pieces are the floor and wall for the base. Once again, the casting quality is impeccable. The floor depicts a tiled floor littered by discarded shell casing and rubble from the wall which has been damaged by gunfire. The definition of the casings is excellent, as is the rest of the floor. The wall is similarly well done. The rough texture of the wall is excellent and gives a good look to the piece. The damage by gunfire is not gregarious, but very reminiscent of the movie scene.
Moving onto the metal bits, the two hands are, in my opinion, not as well done as the resin parts, and it is a pity that they were not cast in resin. I did not find them to be as well defined as the resin parts. The casting itself, though, is clean.
The sunglasses are neatly and cleanly cast. The modeller will need two fine pieces of wire to recreate the arms for the sunglasses as these are not provided (for fans, remember it was only Morpheus that has the armless “shades”).
The final part (or parts?) is the sub-machine gun, or perhaps it’s an assault rifle. To be perfectly honest I was not able to identify this weapon. My first thought was that it appeared to be a M16A2 type derivative with a different stock, shortened barrel, grenade launcher and laser sight, but it also seems to bear a resemblance to the Belgian FNC. Be that as it may, I was not overly impressed with the level of detail or quality of casting of the weapon. The weapon is not as defined as it could be. Similarly the casting is not as crisp as it could be, and casting seams run the length of the top and bottom of the weapon. Fortunately the seams can be removed.
The only real problem the modeller should encounter with this figure, is working out how to give Trinity that “suspended in mid-air” look. I would suggest epoxying a rod into the wall and affixing it to the lower back.
Conclusion
Trifon Miniatures’ TNT Lethal! is, quite frankly, an excellent figure. There are very few flaws, little flash and virtually no seam lines on this figure. This was the first Trifon Miniatures figure I had the privilege to review, and quite candidly, I am impressed. Is this figure worth the 45 USD price tag? Without a doubt!
Recommended!
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