We have a review for the Hot Toys Sentinel courtesy of Eric B.  Is it worth the $60 price tag?  Let’s find out:

I got my pre-ordered Hot Toys Sentinel in today earlier than expected. This is my first and only HT product, as I have yet to encounter anything of theirs that I have felt the need to own. Regardless of how far clothed dolls have come, I still have a strong disinterest toward them as a collector. As far as I’m concerned, they might as well come with a pink hair brush. Of course, I am being facetious when I say that, but the fact remains, they are just not my cup of tea. Their non-human products, such as the Batmobile however, seem to be of particularly good quality, and so I was excited to get the Sentinel. The Matrix is my favorite franchise, and so I don’t care who makes things as long as I get more Matrix stuff.

Let’s get started!

The box is roughly about the size of one of those door-fit 12-packs of soda, and the box is made of nice and heavy stock. The print quality is nice; Vivid Matrix code is on the top, front and back, while Sentinel tentacles adorn the sides.

You slide out the package to reveal a window box. There is a nice collage of Sentinels printed here.

Removing the Sentinel from the window box you’ll find it in a standard plastic case held in by twist ties.

Once removed from the plastic container, you can get an understanding of the scale of this thing. The HT Sentinel is at the top, and an old, cheap N2 Toys Sentinel is at the bottom. Sadly, as you can see here – the cheap $10 N2 Toys version is bigger – though the HT tentacles are longer. Criminal.

Here is another comparison shot, this time straight on of the heads. Obviously, the HT is a better quality – but it’s much smaller! What good is large detail on such small things?

Now, let’s take a look at the McFarlane Sentinel. Fantastic quality sculpt, and it’s HUGE. They retailed at $30, and could be found on clearance between $10 and $20 back when they came out.

Now to be fair, when you look at the HT Sentinel by itself, it is a rather nice piece. As you can see below, the quality is definitely there.

But then you put it together with McFarlane’s and you are reminded that this is in fact the little brother of the two. And then you ask yourself – ‘how much did I pay for this again?’ It’s really a shame because the comparison is inevitable.

The tentacles are very poseable, and each of the 14 have hinged claws that allow you to pose them open or closed. The 15th tentacle has the radar dish on it, which is a nice touch that the other two versions do not have. The base is also nice enough, it’s a simple black design that looks more like it should be holding a spaceship than a Sentinel – but it is well made so I can’t knock it.

The paint job is pretty impeccable. Rich reds are in the creases of the tentacles, and the silvers and greys have a nice faint metallic tint to them. The 15 or so eyes on the front are a combination of red paint and a translucent plastic material. Why they aren’t ALL using the translucent plastic is odd to me.

If I had to find a silver lining in the cloud regarding the size, it’s that it fits nicely in a Detolf from IKEA.

It also looks good compared to McFarlane’s Mifune’s box set, but again, the scale is still a bit smaller:

In general, I think that Hottoys as a brand is over-priced and mostly underwhelming, and my attitude toward them has not changed after this Sentinel. While the quality is certainly above average and deserving of praise, the size is simply tragic, especially for the price. If it were twice the size or half the price, I would be less harsh, but as is I simply can’t take it as seriously as I wanted to. The sentinel retails for $59.99.

As a recommendation, I would simply say to take a long look at it before making a decision. It’s a very good quality piece on it’s own – as long as you know what you are getting. If you do decide to pick one up, I can offer display suggestions that should be fairly obvious after this review. Keep it away from McFarlane’s version of the Sentinel, but close to McFarlane’s APU. That way it really has a chance to stand out in your collection.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy!

We want to thank Eric B for the extensive review along with the great comparison pics.

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