After a very long day, I got to reward myself with opening my new Gillealla. I have to say, I'm utterly in love with this figure. Warning, nude plastic under the cut.
This figure. Umph. I am so glad that I bought her. Every time I look at her I see new detail. Faces are really important to me on figures, and hers is lovely, with molded eyes and gorgeous make-up.
There's a tentacle theme, no surprise, but her nipple-guard tentacles actually come from her little buddy who is sculpted to her right arm.
Her arms and hands have the best sculpting, obviously taken from The Creature from the Black Lagoon. They're oversized for her body, which adds to the monstrous feel of her. She also has a molded scabbard for her knife, which has a searhorse(!!) hilt. The knife does come out and she can hold if, if awkwardly.
On her left wrist she has something that I originally thought was a watch, but then I realized it was a compass. This adds a flavor to the character I totally wasn't expecting. She has hints of a personality beside the little blurb on her box (which says "In the year 2000, a battle for choosing a leader of the Aqua Clan has begun. The champion of this battle is Gillealla. Her beauty and strength makes her the deep sea battle queen of the new era.")
She also comes with a mask, which I am guessing is for going above water? It is clear, molded somewhere between an angler fish and the Creature from the Black Lagoon.
The mask has a tube that goes back to a crustacean-like pack. The pack fits into an opening in her back, that doubles as how she attaches to her stand, so sadly she cannot wear the mask and be on her stand at the same time.
(Can I just gush about her detailing, again? Even along her spine.)
Speaking of that stand.
It's a thing of beauty. The sad thing about it is that the sealant or something has started to break down due to being in a box for so long and it's letting off a very strong chemical smell (looking up her release date, she's been in that comic book shop for 12 years, so I'm not really complaining that hard). I'm hoping after being out in the air it'll be fine.
She doesn't actually stand on her stand; it suspends her above the ground, like she's floating just off the ocean floor.
There are additional fish bone and skull accessories to add more drama to her stand.
I was super impressed that even the inside of the treasure chest lid (which is loose; the chest has signs of being broken into) had been sculpted with an extra octopus detail.
It makes for an arresting scene at her feet. It's definitely the most creative stand I've ever seen (okay, granted, I've been collecting action figures for all of a couple months).
All in all, if my gushing didn't give it away, I adore this figure. She does have a few minuses, however (aside from the smell!). She has extremely limited articulation: only five points (head, shoulders, and ankles), so she's definitely not going to be doing any dynamic posing anytime soon. Standing on her own is also an issue; she doesn't stand flat, so most of these pictures were taken with her precariously balanced. With her detailing, however, I'm willing to forgive a lot.
Here she is in reference to two of my other ladies, Marvel Select Storm and Marvel Legends Hope Summers. On her stand, however, she's even taller than my Sabertooth.
Considering the Lagoon references and the whole looking like the daughter of a seamonster thing, I couldn't let this photo-shoot end without a picture of her and my lone Lagoona doll. Man, would I love a Gillealla doll that was Monster High sized...
