Monday, October 21, 2013

Figure Club 1/6 scale The League of Shadows "Ducard" Ninja Shadow Master figure Review II

continued from previous post...

In the comics, Bruce Wayne approaches Ducard for training in Paris, during his early days traveling the world. Ducard, a knowledgeable detective with excellent man-hunting skills, imparts much of his knowledge to the young, keen Bruce. Later in the series, it is revealed that Ducard is largely amoral, working for criminals as often as he does the law. In Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins, Liam Neeson portrayed Henri Ducard's character merged with Ra's al Ghul's, the film's main antagonist.

In "Batman Begins", Liam Neeson as Henri Ducard is a mysterious man who first finds Bruce Wayne in a Bhutanese prison and then trains him in the martial arts. Initially posing as a subservient member of the League of Shadows, an organization led by Ra's al Ghul, it is later revealed that he is Ra's al Ghul himself who used the name "Ducard" as a pseudonym to hide his true identity.


Here's Figure Club 1/6 scale The League of Shadows "Ducard" Ninja Shadow Master 12-inch figure armed with his sword / katana. Although shorter swords and daggers were used, the katana was probably the ninja's weapon of choice, and was sometimes carried on the back. While straight swords were used before the invention of the katana, the straight ninjatō has no historical precedent and is likely a modern invention. (source: wiki) Scroll down to see more pictures :)




Figure Club 1/6 scale The League of Shadows "Ducard" Ninja Shadow Master 12-inch figure (worldwide limited release of 150 sets) comes with: Real-like 1/6 scale head sculpt of Liam Neeson as Henri Ducard, 12-inch action figure body, face mask, detachable samurai armor consisting of chest, shoulders, arms and crouch piece, ninja clothing set, boots with armor, three pairs of gloved hands with armor, katana, leather-like katana scabbard.


I've already covered in great detail the figure and his ninja outfit with armor added in my previous toy blog post HERE, this post is all about Ducard armed and dangerous ;p


Figure Club 1/6 scale The League of Shadows "Ducard" Ninja Shadow Master figure comes with a katana and scabbard (sword sheath) which he carries on his back


Ducard is wearing detachable samurai armor consisting of chest, shoulders, arms and crouch piece over his black ninja outfit / clothing set, and has boots with "armor" as well.


I liked that in Christopher Nolan's "Batman Begins", the origin of Batman's gauntlets with the scalloped fins are first seen as part of the costume of the ninja set Bruce Wayne trained with - this set of fins are hard and sharp enough to slice Ra's al Ghul's sword into many pieces. The fins are no longer decorative but serves a purpose and would make its way into the Batsuit design.


Close-up shots of Figure Club 1/6 scale The League of Shadows "Ducard" Ninja Shadow Master figure with katana sword


The 1:6 scale scabbard / sword sheath is made up of a soft leather-like material and the katana is stored by thrusting it into the sheath. This makes the fit rather tight and the sword will not fall out easily.


I liked that the black ninja suit is not just plain black cloth but has a certain texture to it (like netting) which improves the overall look and feel somewhat. The ninja armor has nice details too, especially the gauntlets where the pattern is very Eastern influenced.


Because Hot Toys never did release a 1/6 scale Movie Masterpiece Series Liam Neeson as Henri Ducard / Ra's al Ghul 12-inch figure, this Figure Club 1/6 scale The League of Shadows "Ducard" Ninja Shadow Master figure release fills the void nicely.


Here's Figure Club 12-inch Ducard wearing the 1/6 scale face mask that comes with it



Close-up pictures / images of the Ducard 1/6 scale face mask





NEXT: Liam meets Neeson i.e. The League of Shadows "Ducard" Ninja Shadow Master takes on Bryan Mills from TAKEN

Related post:
September 13, 2010 - We Are Ninja (group shot of a couple of 1/6 scale traditional ninjas)
September 14, 2010 - Modern Ninjas 1+2+3 (i.e. one (1) Storm Shadow, two (2) Firefly and three (3) Snake-Eyes)
July 30, 2011 - Kitbash 1/6 scale Liam Neeson as Bryan Mills in TAKEN posted HERE

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