We have here a Buffy the Vampire Slayer 12 inch figure. The figure here is featured as Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers in the hit Buffy episode “Prophecy Girl”(hence the figure’s name), where Buffy finally has her battle against the Master. Dressed in a beautiful white prom dress, black leather jacket, a silver cross, and armed with a crossbow, Buffy Summers entered the Master’s underground layer. Only to be bitten and left to drown unconscious in a pool of water by the Master. But then Angel and Xander save the day. Xander quickly gives CPR and brings back the demised Slayer. Strengthened but annoyed of her loss of battle, Buffy returns to Sunnydale High and kicks butt.

This figure originally went up sale in 2005 by Sideshow Toys. Oluf W Hartvingson made a prototype. Personally, I think the prototype certainly reflected Sarah Michelle Gellar, but just not her in Prophecy Girl. She originally had brown-blond hair at the time, not, as it was on the prototype, light blonde hair that went long down her back. But still, I would have bought the figure if it had turned out like that. I bought the doll around Christmas time from a movie-comic memorablelia shop in Liverpool, UK for £25 ($50).

She comes in quit a nice detailed box, which is purple all over. There are pictures of her on the back and inside flap of her and two passages. The figure itself, well, I don’t wish to sound this negative, but it’s my opinion:

The face-sculpt had seriously changed from the prototype. Several things had badly gone wrong with the face, there must have been problems while this figure was in production or something. I noticed that the eyes had got a lot wider, giving her the impression like she’s just seen a ghost. I noticed that the skin-tone on her face and hands is a lot darker than that of her body’s. I also noticed that she’s got an odd-shaped jaw, it looks like she’s got a double chin under it or something. Her head is a bit too big as well. Her neck is also a bit too short.

One thing that I disliked most of all about this figure, was the real hair. The hair is awkward and hard to control. I noticed on my one that it was un-even. It seemed like it had been layered by accident, which I didn’t like. But this time, the hair changed from the prototype, it had become a dark shade of blond-brown, which was more like how it was in the episode. I also noticed that the hair was quit puffy when I took her out. SideShowToys should have done the figure with moulded hair. By that, giving the hair much more detail and not being hard to control. I also noticed that the hair-line is quit low, you’ll notice this especially if you lift up the hair

Now the dress I liked. It is quit a good re-creation of what she originally wore. It’s a sleeveless white dress with a silver line going around the bust area. From the line down, it has a parting in the centre of soft material, with an inner layer of nylon. Her shoes are really good and nicely painted. Giving that this is a small scale to be working on, I would say they made the dress pretty well. The one bad thing I have to say about it is this: The dress originally had a lot of folds and creases in.

The accessories I really liked. The figure comes with a detailed crossbow and an authentic steak with a Vampyr book that Giles gave to her in the first episode. Because the dress is sleeveless, all the joints are exposed, but this can’t be helped. You can put the figure in many different poses, being very displayable. She also comes with a black stand with the Buffy logo on. The figure also has the scratch marks across her chest where the Master scratched her and a bit mark on her neck as well. She also has a cross necklace but does not match the original. The chain they used for it I also noticed was a bit too bulky.

I really don’t like this figure. SideShowToys could have done a much better job. I was expecting much more especially as the episode the figure is featured in is a favourite of mine. What I think is it would have just been better to produce a figure with the black leather jacket, with moulded hair in the curly pony-tail she had it in, with loose bits of moulded hair hanging down. Most of all, much more care on the likeness. Compared to some of the other outstanding likeness, SideShowToys have produced, I would have imagine this figure to have been really good, when it really wasn’t. To me, it seems that if you frame the hair around her face, it appears the likeness improves very slightly.

If you are going to get this figure (I would not recommened), then I would suggest taking it out the box and posing her in a cabinet. But if you are a collector, then I would say leave it in.