Mondo Batman: The Animated Series Harley Quinn 1/6 Scale Timed ...

A little over a year ago I declared Mondo’s Joker 1/6 scale figure to be their most expressive yet. Well, a challenger to that title has emerged with the latest addition to the Batman: The Animated Series line… Harley Quinn. Bruce Timm’s iconic, original design of the late, great Arleen Sorkin’s character is beautifully adapted to the third dimension with this marvelous 11.5-inch figure that comes bundled with a staggering number of accessories that I have nothing but rave things to say about. However, before we get to that, here’s the official ad copy and product specs…

The latest in our line of BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES 1/6 scale figures is none other than Harley Quinn. Once written as a single-episode B:TAS henchman, Harley quickly became one of our favorite characters of all time. Now, the Clown Princess of Crime is officially released from Arkham Asylum (with a sane certificate to prove it).

Concept design, sculpt, and paint by Tomasz Rozejowski. Additional sculpting by Alex Brewer. Art direction by Hector Arce. Packaging Art by Danny Haas. Packaging Design by Nolan Fleming.

Timed Edition includes:  Harley Quinn Figure  Smiling Portrait  Smirking Portrait  Angry Portrait  Cheerful Portrait  Maskless Portrait  Hammer  Bud  Lou  Slab of Meat  Bowl  Bone  Batcuffs  Batman Belt  Mannequin arm  Purse  Sane Certificate Accessory  Joker Scepter  Poison Perfume Bottle  5 Sets of Hands 

Review

There’s no shortage of Harley Quinn merch out there. So when I say this is the best Harley Quinn figure on the market, I do not say that lightly. I mean, typically when I do a review of a high-dollar collectible I like to offer up some alternatives at more affordable price points if I can ever find something comparable in quality, but in this case there’s sadly not much else I can highlight. At all. Face it, while Harley Quinn merch is ubiquitous in every comic shop or Target you go to, 99.9% of what you see is the modern take on her character design. You know, the one that isn’t dressed as a harlequin anymore and has pink and blue pigtails. If you want the Bruce Timm design from Batman: The Animated Series, your options are pretty well limited to the 5-inch tall DC Collectibles figure and a few $600 statues that don’t look half as good as that $30 DC Collectibles action figure. Somehow the iconic Harley Quinn design that started it all is the hardest to find! And while I think the DC Collectibles version is excellent, especially at its price (and the now hard-to-find Expressions Pack is even better but goes for around $200 on eBay these days), it really pales in comparison to Mondo’s latest in every respect. I’m even going to applaud the packaging for cryin’ out loud…

Even if you’re one of those collectors who keeps everything mint in box, you’re gifted a container that’s beautiful to behold. I love the artwork by Danny Haas and think it’s well worth keeping on display even if you’re like me and pull the toy from the box immediately. And I always appreciate how Mondo gives every box a flap cover so you can admire the figure through a little window. However, unlike other figures in the line, the interior flap does not feature a quote from BTAS or a print of one of Phantom City Creative’s many exceptional BTAS posters. Instead, there is a photograph of the figure itself accompanied by her Hyenas (if you get the Timed Edition, of course). If I had one complaint about the box, it’d be that I wish the interior flap showed the Harlequinnade or Harley’s Holiday poster. Inside the packaging, everything is securely housed in clamshell cases. Peeling everything apart, you finally get a good look at a treasure trove of head sculpts, accessories, and, of course, Harley’s babies Bud & Lou, named after Abbott & Costello.

The hyenas have no articulation, but the statues are unique to one another. Each has its own distinctive spots and one has a head sculpt that features a tongue sticking out of its mouth. The hyenas also come with a cell-shaded bowl, raw steak, and a bone that’s been stripped clean. The inclusion of Bud & Lou alone would make the Timed Edition worth its price tag of $15 more than the Regular Edition, but this version takes things even further by offering three additional head sculpts as well. One features a sly look to the right, another a more innocent and vulnerable Harley, and finally a maskless head for those who want an extra unique presentation on their shelf.

Unfortunately, the timed edition we’re talking about is sold out and can only be found on the 2nd hand market where it’s going as high as $500 on eBay. Quite a price jump from the $200 it was sold at back in May on MondoShop.com! Thankfully, the regular edition (on sale for $185.00) is still in stock over at Mondo’s site and is excellent.

The body sculpt perfectly realizes Bruce Timm’s art in a three-dimensional form, and with the hand-painted cell shading effects it looks all the more like the cartoon come to life. When this line first started, I found some shading and highlights on the Batman and Catwoman to be a bit questionable, but as time has gone on and Mondo has cranked out more and more of these, I find less to complain about when it comes to color accuracy and where they’ve chosen to add shadows and highlights. That said, I find the paint isn’t terribly durable, at least not around the ball-joint head where I was constantly swapping in new heads. It makes me wonder how easy it would be to mar the paint around Harley’s waist if you weren’t careful with the included utility belt.

As for articulation, it’s about what we’ve come to expect from these figures at this point. She features the same type of ball-joint head, ball-joint torso, and hinge-joint limbs we’ve seen from other characters in the line. However, I found Harley’s movements to be a bit stubborn and requiring a quick once-over with a hair dryer to loosen the joints. The stiffness is a blessing, otherwise. Like most of the other figures from Mondo’s BTAS line, Harley can stand just fine on her own without the included stand bat-symbol platform and wire cradle, and it’s all thanks to those tough joints.

The Regular Edition comes with five sets of hands and two head sculpts, a grinning face and an infuriated one. The angry one goes great with the mallet accessory, which is just the first of many accessories bundled with the figure. While the DC Collectibles run would package a character with accessories specific to a single episode of BTAS, Mondo’s Harley Quinn comes with goodies that reference key moments in episodes like Trial, Harley’s Holiday, The Laughing Fish, and more. It’s a terrific variety of things to play with for anyone who wishes to recreate their favorite BTAS moments. There’s even a pair of Bat-Cuffs if you want to pose her being arrested by The Dark Knight! Easily the most detailed accessory, however, is the certificate of sanity from Arkham Asylum. If I had to nitpick, and I do since it’s a review, the only things I’d comment on are that I wish the purse opened and, again, I’d suggest being careful with the stolen Utility Belt since its hard plastic could possibly mar Harley’s paintjob if you’re not careful adding/removing it.

Official Mondo photographs by Raul Barrero

Overall

Mondo continues its run of top-tier Batman: The Animated Series collectibles with the best Harley Quinn figure I’ve ever seen. While I reviewed the Timed Edition and it’s clearly the superior version with all of its extra head sculpts, accessories, and the two hyenas… it’s gone. No longer available from the official store and only available on the 2nd hand market where prices are as high as $500. However, the standard edition is still in stock (for now) at MondoShop.com and even though it’s missing the hyenas and heads of the Timed Edition, I can say it’s still totally worth getting if you’re a Harley fan. You’re simply not going to find a better collectible of Bruce Timm’s Harley Quinn design than what Mondo is offering. And if you love it and want to expand your collection, The Phantasm ($190), Joker ($225), and Catwoman ($160) are all still in stock as well.

Batman News received this figure from Mondo for the purpose of this review.