He did a spectacular job of playing the mutant with the adamantium claws-especially considering Wolverine is supposed to be around five foot four inches tall and Hugh towers over six foot.
After two successful X-Men movies and several other movies Universal Studios contracted Jackman to star in what they hoped would be a string of new movies that would reinvigorate their Universal Monsters properties.
Jackman starred as Van Helsing, the legendary vampire hunter.
In the Van Helsing movie Jackson expanded upon Van Helsing’s supernatural hunting territory by making him an agent of the Catholic Church and responsible for wiping out any supernatural threat.
In the film he encountered Dracula, his three brides, the Frankenstein Monster, Wolfman and a host of other undead/supernatural adversaries.
Personally I like the movie. Unfortunately the general movie going audience failed to make the film a hit and Universal abandoned its Monsters revival.
Universal tried again with Tom Cruise’s The Mummy film-that also failed to bring in the necessary audience and revenue.
Jackman made a convincing Van Helsing and I would love to see him make more films but sadly that will not happen.
Sideshow Collectibles acquired the 12-inch figure license from Universal and created a 12-inch Van Helsing articulated figure.
Of the may Sideshow figures I own the Van Helsing figure is one of my favorites.
At the time it was made the figure really upped the ante when it came to 12-inch figures.
There was definitely a jump in the complexity of a character including clothing, accessories and even the packaging.
The packaging consists of Sideshow’s standard box with flip-open lid, clear plastic interior viewing panel, figure strapping and form-fitting plastic carrier.
The box paper stock is of a non-glass paper, which give the antiqued photos and art on the exterior and interior an aged look.
The cover features Van Helsing surrounded by screened back photos of the key characters in the movie. Nicely done!
Such a technique is one of my favorite tricks to use when I design. It’s very effective and makes the packaging really stand out.
As for the figure itself I’ll start at the top and work my way down.
Van Helsing’s large wide-brimmed black hat is a highlight of the film. It almost seems alive as it casts shadows across Van Helsing’s face.
The figure’s hat looks exactly like it movie’s namesake. Made of stiff plastic the hat fits easily on the figure’s head and because it is rigid it does not flop down to obscure the figure’s face or droop to make a ragged look.
There’s nothing worse than a fabric hat on a figure that droops and over time creates a wavy look.
Van Helsing’s face looks exactly like Jackman’s complete with scrubby mustache. The figure’s intense eyes are intensified by the clever use of reflection spots and the scowling look of the face typifies Van Helsing’s intense nature.
The molded shoulder length black hair is sculpted but look naturals as it falls both on the back and front of the figure.
Take a careful look at the figure’s features which are sharp and feature nice tonal flesh coloring and clean crisp edges with no slop over or rough paint or plastic edges.
Figure articulation is tight yet easy to manipulate. The figure poses naturally with no restriction and considering the layers of cloths its surprising the flexibility is still available. It is possible to pose the figure without the enclosed base and wire support but for long term display posing it is best to use the stand.
The neck swivels and tilts just like a real neck and the hands and feet pivot and tilt. Arm and leg joints move and with the special knee and elbow structure their movement is restricted to certain movements just as with normal human anatomy.
Waist and hip joints make posing the figure extended action poses possible.
The clothing falls and folds over the body without bunching. Cloth folds appear correct with heavier folds on the upper torso due to the many layers of cloth.
The figure wears a heavy deep gray turtleneck sweater covering its entire neck. Over that is a ‘leather’ vest with loop and draw ties and an open neck with large collar.
The vest is festooned with a chain crucifix held in place by a silver button mid vest.
Simple black trousers tuck into heavy black knee boots. Heavy tie laces hold the shoes in closed. The shoes are of a single piece molded to look laced.
The trousers are held in place by a wide black belt laced through thick belt loops. A functional black belt buckle holds the belt in place.
Over the vest the figure wears a heavy ‘leather’ jacket with black straps that hold the coat closed when necessary. Stitching is in scale and the coat’s lapels end in a wide protective collar.
The coat’s arms starts with heavy shoulder pads that lap over the shoulders. The sleeves end in heavy mid arm cuffs that taper in.
Thick black gloves cover the molded static hands than can hold the various weapons included with the figure.
All of the clothing is fitted and scaled to the figure with stitching, fasteners and other details miniaturized to fit the figure perfectly.
The long black trench coat closes over the whole figure and gives it a very striking appearance. It is stiff enough that with a little manipulation it can appear to be wavering in the wind or flared out for action poses.
Weapons include two twin handguns painted silver and gold. They fit snuggly into the figure’s hands and can be hidden away in the figure’s many cloth folds or pockets.
Each gun is masterpiece of precision with small details around the barrels, bullet chambers, wooden handles and gold pommel and trigger guard.
Van Helsing’s special crossbow is also included. The bow folds out side to side and includes a crossbow wire for firing.
The bow ‘s hinges hold the crossbow in place or extended.
Bow details include gold garnishes on the silver bow body, a bow site, back lock mechanism and remarkable detailing on the bow butt, body shaft and upper bow assembly.
The lower arrow container appears full of miniature arrows, the trigger and front hand grip fit perfectly in the figure’s hands for authentic looking action poses.
The crossbow is the most detailed of all the figure’s accessories and is an accurate duplication of the film’s actual weapon.
The 12-inch Van Helsing figure is a extremely well-done piece with head sculpt by Olug W. Hartvigson with figure and accessory designs by the Sideshow Figure Team.
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