2010
01.02

As noted in my first Rock review, Art Asylum had a somewhat bizarre choice of licenses, including the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon license. Thematically, it makes some sense as they already had the Bruce Lee license too, but still. There were 4 figures in the opening wave (and a second wave of 4 was planned) but as usual for the Art Asylum of 2002, only one wave made retail.

Packaging

The set of CTHD Minimates I acquired from eBay came loose, without the packaging. Thanks to AdyCarter for getting me shots of the packaging.


Li Mu Bai

  

Li Mu Bai is a Wudan warrior monk, played by Chow Yun Fat in the film.

The facial details are done very minimally; very thin detail lines on the lips, no extra lines indicating cheekbones or a chin. Quite plain. Of course, that is offset by the most striking thing about this figure – the hairpiece. To simulate Li Mu Bai’s shaven forehead, this headpiece doesn’t have any front to it. It’s cut in half, like the hairpiece on the Peter Parker/Spider-Man figure, except here the cut is horizontal rather than vertical. However, from the back protrudes the longest ponytail seen on a Minimate, eclipsing even Rob Zombie’s mass of dreadlocks. It’s certainly a unique look.

Li Bu Mai is dressed in a long robe, similar to the Lord of the Rings Minimates like Saruman. The robe restricts leg movement almost completely. He also has two flared sleeves to help convey the billowing nature of the robe, and some very fetching boots. Paint is OK, just a bit unexciting.

Like Jen Yu, Li Bu Mai also comes with a weapon accessory – his sword, the Green Destiny. It’s been well detailed, with the green colour very prominent, a very different look compared to most weaponry, which usually look quite drab.

Overall, this is a Minimate with several good points and a couple of bad ones. The hairpiece and sword designs work well, but the robe’s hindrance of articulation and dour colouration hurt the figure.

MMC Score – 4 out of 10


Agree? Disagree? Why not vote for yourself below, or comment further over at the Minimate Multiverse MMC Review Forum.

Review and pictures by Danny Mills.

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