Tonight we are going to take a quick look at some items that aren’t aimed at the hardcore collector but still have some fun angles to them – Sentinel’s Hero Illuminate Gallery figures. These are static mini-statues that come attached to a base and are inside an acrylic box. The box lights up using LEDs in the base, they point upwards and follow the edges of the acrylic making the entire thing glow. You can leave them on, off, or on motion sensor mode, where it will light up as you walk by or otherwise move. The first 6 are based on Marvel characters and include Captain America, Iron Man, Vision, Ultron, Spider-Man and Thor. Each have a name plate attached to their enclosure.
While not for the S.H. Figuarts or Marvel Legends crowd, the light up features are well done and the motion sensors are a nice addition. They’d be perfect deskmates or gifts for a younger fan. Plus, we have some ideas for using them (or something like it) in our style of collecting too. Read on to check the pics and those thoughts!
Sentinel Hero Illuminate Gallery Figures
Overall Thoughts:
I saw these at Toy Fair this year, and the light up features are eye catching. Very bright, highlighting what’s inside. Unfortunately I have no need for static non-removable figures of characters I have multiple times over. But, this isn’t aimed at me and that’s ok. What I was excited about is the possibility of using the boxes for other figures. Having my S.H. Figuarts, Legends, DC Collectibles figures in here would be cool. Not all of course, but some key awesome centerpieces.
Again, unfortunately, the boxes are a tad too small to use like that. You can see below, I fit SHF DBZ Gohan in there and it was about right. SHF Goku wouldn’t fit due to hair. And pretty much any standard Marvel Legends won’t fit either. So, these specifically would only work for 3.75-4.5 inch figures. Not to mention each has a shiny name plate, so those would need to be facing backwards, not a huge deal.
Seriously though, I would buy just the bases. Make them able to fit 7 inch figures so that 7 inch scale and below will work. No name plate. No figure/statue. Cut the price down a bit. Keep them uniform in size and shape like they are here. Make the LED’s change colors. Maybe make a version smaller than this to fit 1:18 scale figures, with a removable acrylic shelf for figures even smaller, stuff two rows in one box. Those are something I’d get behind.
I thought showcasing these with the focus on what could be was worth a look. If you are interested in them, for yourself or a gift, they are out now for $24.95 each at most US collectible retailers like Entertainment Earth, BBTS, Woozy Moo, and Amazon
CompaniesBluefinSentinel
CharactersIron ManSpider-ManCaptain AmericaThorUltronVision