MENG Dune – Paul Atreides Deluxe Edition (AFS-002s) 1:12

[Mike]

Dune – Paul Atreides Deluxe Edition (AFS-002s)

1:12 MENG via Creative Models Ltd

 

 

Dune began life in the 1960s as the first book in a long-running series by Frank Herbert, and several attempts have been made to realise the initial book in movie form, with varying levels of success.  David Lynch made a decent, if simplified attempt at it in the 1980s, although it was a flawed movie with irritating voice-overs (from my point of view, at least), while a three-part TV movie in 2000 was considered a reasonable adaptation, but I haven’t seen that one.  This latest expedition into the deserts of Arrakis benefits from the availability of realistic Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI) that can be used to enhance the scope and scale of the saga as it deserves, without it looking false, for the most part.  It also benefitted from a massive budget and an acclaimed director, not to mention a cast of many famous actors, although David Lynch’s version also had some famous faces, including a young Patrick Stewart as Gurney Halleck before his Star Trek days.  The new film has been split into two episodes to portray as much of the book’s content as possible in an effort to retain as much of the important plot subtleties of the original story as possible, and part 2 has been out now for several months, rounding off the original story, allegedly, with the possibility of more to come if it has made enough money for the studio, which I expect it has by now.  I still haven’t seen the second part yet, so no spoilers please!  I really must resolve that soon.

 

Paul Atreides is the hero of the piece, and he’s played by a young gentleman by the name of Timothée Chalamet, his first name apparently pronounced the same way as a famous shampoo in the UK, but he prefers the less pretentious Anglicised version.  He starts the film as a callow youth, but after the demise of his father at the hands of Doc Yueh/Baron Harkonnen (take your pick, really), he is spirited away from certain death by his mother where he meets up with the local Fremen, and soon is adopted as their  leader, where he gets the name Muad'Dib, which is Arakeen for a desert mouse, and the name of one of their moons, which has a mouse-like shape on its face.

 

 

The Kit

This is a new tooling from MENG, and part of the second wave of kits that many people have been waiting for.  The initial box-scale kits, whilst well-detailed, were a little on the small size for some of us.  This figure kit arrives in a comparatively large satin-finished black-themed box with a painting of Mr Chalamet on the front, looking off into the distance as heroes are wont to do, while his cape flutters in the breeze, although his hair doesn’t.  The box is oriented in portrait form thanks to the artwork, and is of a similar size to those of the Ornithopters we’ve reviewed recently.  Inside are thirteen sprues in various colours and sizes, two separate face inserts for masked and unmasked options, a four-part stand, and in the Deluxe Edition there is a cloth cape in dark brown material that has been pre-sewn to shape so that all you need to do is slip it over the figure’s shoulders.  Detail is excellent as we expect from MENG, and if you are familiar with the Bandai Star Wars figures, the method of construction should be familiar, but if you aren’t, it goes together like an action-figure, with movable joints that mimic the range of motion of a human body.  The kit is also push-fit, so you don’t have to use glue unless you want to, or feel it will hold up to more posing (Read: playing) over time.

 

The kit is available in two versions, one without a cape that is coded AFS-002, and the Deluxe Edition with a cloth cape that is coded AFS-002s, with a price differential between them.  The work involved in the cape is intricate, including sewing and patterning of the cloth, in addition to the distressing of the material, especially at the lower edges where it is extensively frayed.  It’s well worth the extra, as it adds more drama and realism to the model.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Construction begins with the head, which offers a choice of two faces, one with a dished lower to accommodate the mask of his Stillsuit when it is pulled up to conserve moisture in the desert, and also shows his eyes with the distinctive blue tint acquired from spending a long time in the deserts of Arrakis.  Both face parts have the eyebrows and eyes pre-painted for your ease, to assist you with creating a realistic impression of the actor without too much effort.  Strangely, our example was missing one eyebrow on the unmasked option, but it shouldn’t be too hard to replicate with a fine brush or Sharpie.  You don’t have to choose one face or the other, as there are sufficient parts to create two full heads, so you can swap and change at will, simply by popping one off and replacing it with the other.  The face is mated to the back of the head, which is also moulded in a flesh tone, then the hair is made up from three sections, one part to each side, and another at the back.  The masked head has its four-part assembly added into the recess at this stage, while the unmasked option is added around his neck later.

 

The upper torso is made first, with internal structure that holds the various sockets later, and a dog-bone pivot that joins the upper and lower torso, closing the front ‘cod-piece’ after adding the two main pivots for the hips.  The torso is topped with a flesh-coloured neck that has ball-pivots at both ends to give the head full mobility.  The legs have internal sockets hidden inside the Stillsuit outer surface, with extra panels inserted into recesses on the thighs, adding a knee with joints at the top and bottom, which connects the upper leg to the lower, with another socket that takes the ankle-joint to give the four-part foot a range of mobility, all of which snaps into place with a dull click.  The arms are made using a similar process on a smaller scale, adding armour inserts on the shoulders and upper arm in a contrasting styrene.

 

The figure is put together, clicking each limb into position, including the head, with a four-part mask to be used with the unmasked face, which is slipped over the neck before clicking the head into position.  Several hand options and props are included on the sprues, including a Crysknife in whitish styrene, a Sand Compactor or thumper that attracts worms, FremKit, Paracompass and Maula Pistol.  Different hand positions are included for each of the hand-held extras, using separate thumbs or fingers to allow them to grip the prop convincingly, and these can be swapped and changed thanks to the click-fit nature of assembly.  An asymmetrical backpack is also provided, consisting of a prism-shaped toolkit, cylindrical bedroll, main pack and a small covered top section, all stacked on top of each other, and applied to the figure’s back with or without the cape, if your boxing has it.  A shoulder strap is provided to give the backpack a realistic reason for staying put, which is made from three parts, and either wrapped around the figure’s shoulder, or threaded through the cape if fitted, using the last diagram as a guide.

 

 

 

A vignette stand is included in the box, forming a triangular segment of a rocky part of the desert, which Paul can be placed upon looking wistfully into the far distance with a heroic 1,000 yard stare.  The lower base is moulded in black, with a sand-coloured insert slotted over the top, which should simplify painting, inserting an Atreides shield in the flattened front of the raised area.  There is also a small slide-out drawer in the opposite side for you to keep the accessories such as hands, weapons etc., while they are not in use.  A very thoughtful inclusion.

 

 

Markings

Other than the shield on the base, there aren’t any paint call-outs given, as the kit is intended to be built without it.  There’s nothing to stop you breaking out the paints though, adding extra realism to the figure however, and you could also freeze his position and hide the joints with some putty and a little sculpting if you are so minded.  For most of us however, it will be a quick build.

 

 

Conclusion

Detail, texture and a likeness to the actor that played Paul Atreides is excellent thanks to LIDAR scanning, and using the same 1:12 scale as Bandai’s Star Wars kits was a sensible idea to provide enough detail without taking up too much space in the cabinet.  It’s well-worth the extra for the cape IMHO, but it’s your choice of course.

 

Highly recommended.

 

Standard Boxing without Cape (AFS-002)

 

Deluxe Boxing with Cape (AFS-002s)

 

Review sample courtesy of