Review : Ed Nygma Gotham Select (Diamond Select Toys) Wave/Series : Series 2 Released : March 2016
£19.99 - £22.99
After a steady start, Diamond's Gotham Select range has reached wave 2 and will add Ed Nygma, Detective Bullock and Alfred to the collection.
Ed Nygma arrives in the oversized Diamond Select packaging, with the stunning left hand art panel filled with Ed's face. Round the back and their is a shot of the actual figure itself along with a couple of paragraphs of background regarding how Ed fits into the Gotham TV series, particularly his role in the first season. Down to the bottom of the card is the usual visual check-list of the other figures in this 2nd wave.
Out of the box and Ed stands dead on the 7 inch height, and I was surprised to find him a touch taller than Gordon and considerably taller than Penguin. Thank fully the difference isn't so great as to look un-natural, but I hadn't considered Nygma was such a tall figure in the show. After some research it seems Diamond have got this spot on with Nygma (Smith) at 1.8m where as Penguin (Taylor) is only 1.6m.
Many of the promotional images of Ed, and my own shots below, are not doing the facial sculpt any justice at all. The figure, sculpted by Gentle Giant, has captured the look of actor Cory Micheal Smith perfectly - but more so captured that disturbed, almost childish grin that he sports in the show. The glasses do throw off this sculpt slightly as they sit a touch too low and are slightly too thick in both frame and lens for the figure. The head is painted well but quite basic and there is a smidgen of paint bleed where the hairline meets the forehead.
The rest of the figure is pretty plain, but that is more the character design from the show than a flaw of the figure. Ed wears a buttoned up grey lab-coat, the highlight of which is a printed badge on the left side of the chest which actually includes a picture of Ed from the show. Above the badge are three coloured Biro's sticking out of his pocket - but these are a bit flat and soft in detail. The jacket is painted simply in a single grey tone.
Under the jacket is an off-white shirt, and a burgundy tie. Like the hair the tie exhibits paint bleed if you look closely under the shirt collar. Trousers are a paint brown and shoes plain black. So overall there is no real depth of paint application, but what there is its all fairly neat.
Articulation is good, and like many newer Diamond figures, feels like it is getting better with each release.
The head is ball jointed, and the fact you can pose it tilted really adds to the mannerisms of Nygma and looks brilliant. Shoulders are ball jointed and the arms can be raised out to the side and up above the head, with the shoulder retracing back into the coat when the arms are moved.
Elbows are single jointed with the ability to rotate. For Nygma that isn't a big issue, but I can see why many fans are calling for Diamond to look at double elbow joints to really help out the top half articulation. The wrists are on a peg and can rotate, but not really move laterally as they are held in place by the sleeves.
There is a waist joint under the rubberised coat, and Ed therefore can rotate his top half to each side. The hips are standard Diamond fair, with a hinged peg. Unlike many they do feel a bit stiffer on Nygma (loose hips is a common Diamond issue) and with his coat being so short and flexible Ed can actually sit down if you want him to - although Diamond have potentially missed a trick by not giving him a chair to go with his desk.
I am still not a big fan of the thigh swivel. I don't think it adds anything really and looks unsightly. Knees are double jointed, so as well as sitting Nygma can also kneel. The ankles finish up the articulation with a ball swivel under the pant leg so the feet can be spread to the side to aid stability when standing and swivelled flat it you go for a wider stance.
Ed Nygma comes packed with a desk - and as a cost saving exercise it seems you will get an exact same matching desk with the X-Files Select figures. That being said the desk is fairly solid, is neat and angular and is painted quite well, with an almost polished reflective top. The drawers themselves do not open.
Nygma also gets a cup marked with a Question Mark. The cup is realistically done and is half full of coffee. It doesn't however fit all that well into Nygma's hand so he looks a bit awkward holding it, like he is about to drop it.
I am quite enjoying the Gotham Select figures, and Ed Nygma is certainly a step on from wave 1 with that facial sculpt being the best yet for the range. At the £20 price point they remain value for money but you aren't going to get say a NECA level paint job for that price AND the bigger diorama pieces that Diamond are throwing in - and am not sure if I would rather see a more detailed paint application and lose the accessories. I score Ed Nygma a 4 out of 5, just let down by the minor paint bleeds and the slightly too thick glasses.
