A Lo down dirty shame

"All this trouble for a comb?"

Two master warriors, Li Mu Bai and Yu Shu Lien, face their greatest challenge when the legendary Green Destiny sword is stolen. Jen Yu, a young aristocrat prepares for marriage but reveals a secret past with Lo and her superior fighting skills. As each warrior battles for justice, they discover their worst enemy and face their inescapable destiny.

Art Asylum did a great job with their Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon line. They're well-designed, highly poseable, and actually hold up to a decent level of play. However, not every figure was a homerun.

Wild desert bandit Lo is certainly not the high point of this series. While his sculpt is on par with his compatriots, he's been cast in a dramatic pose which highly limits his articulation: his large, baggy pants are molded from a solid piece of plastic, giving him movement only at the ankles and waist; his arms fare better, but in order to properly support his large molded cape, there are really very few usable positions. His shirt sleeves are made from soft pvc, so they'll move and flex depending on how you pose him.

I don't think Lo was a complete waste of my money, though--the base is really well done. Simulating a blasted desert cliff, the base allows Lo to look down upon your other figures and command his raiding parties from on high. The ground really does look like sandy rock, and there's even a but of brush growing out from between the cracks. In order to save room in the packaging (which, while being the same for all the figures, is quite nice graphically designed and does a good job of showcasing the figure within for the MOC crowd), the base is molded in two separate pieces. Once assembled, the base is hollow, and I use that space to store all the extra hands and whatnot that came with the other figures.

Above the waist, Lo is great--he moves at the shoulders, elbows, wrists and neck. His shirt and necklaces are highly detailed, his hair is being blown by the wind, and his mouth hangs open in a yell. Everything is well sculpted, as one would expect from Art Asylum. If not for the giant, solid legs, this figure would have been another great find. Lo may only have one real pose, but he looks damn good in it.

In my review of the Lord of the Rings Arwen figure (http://www.epinions.com/content_52842892932), I lamented the fact that she didn't come with a sword. Fortunately, Lo does. He brandishes a wicked-looking scimitar, which happily can double for that missing blade. Taking his sword away is no great loss--if you want to get the weapon into his hand, you'll have to cut apart his thumb and forefinger.

I think I got my money's worth from the base and accessory, even if the figure didn't live up to my expectations. I'd only recommend this as a purchase if you think you'll find the same alternate uses I did (and even then, wait for a clearance sale), or if you feel you simply must have the entire line. Otherwise, leave him in the desert.