[Open-Box review] Saladin by Kevin

Hi to one and all, Name a leader from the crusades and one name that is sure to come up is Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb better known in the western world as Saladin , a true and inspirational leader to his followers , born in Iraq in 1138 and died in 1193 in Syria and now featured in the series Kingdom of Heavan , this has been the inspiration for releases from Nuts Planet and this is has now included Saladin himself leaning heavily on the depiction in the series.

Books are as always accesible here are a few of mine and all good reading material as well .

Lets start the journey into the box: What are we looking at : Title: Saladin Reference; NP-B017 Scale: 1/10th Material: Gray resin Qty of parts: 6 Sculptor : Jun-Sik Ahn Box Art: Myeong-Ha Hwang The release (unpainted version) was announced by Nuts Planet here on PF : http://www.planetfigure.com/threads/nutsplanet-s-new-release-of-july.72218/watch-confirm with the painted version being here: http://www.planetfigure.com/threads/nutsplanet-s-new-release-saladin-of-july.72303/watch-confirm It goes without saying now with releases from Nuts Planet , packaging is very good indeed , with the usual strong box and excellent colour depictions on the top and sides , parts were again sandwiched between foam layers keeping the resin safe and sound , smaller parts were held safely in a plastic bag .

Parts consist of the main torso with head , the helmet , the sword hilt and the nasal bar together with its securing piece ( this is tiny so be careful the carpet monster isn't around) and of course the standard NP base.

Let look at the Prep needed , , there is quite a large casting remnant on the top of the head so be careful you don't remove part of the forehead top , the underneath is as usual super smooth to the touch ...good casting here , the helmet has a plug to take off the underneath , again a little care is needed so as not to damage the edge !!, small formers to remove from the nasal parts and the sword , easy to do with a sharp knife and sanding , nothing to do with the base.

Looking at the main Torso first , depicted wearing full armour and rich regalia , all I can say is look at the details on the armour plates .really amazing details , following true to the the series , every plate is decorated , details are very crisp and sharp , we see 2 securing pieces for the cloak , with fine markings, , held together by a chain , again excellent details are seen in the links, this has to be at the top of the game in both casting and sculpting and I congratulate Nuts Planet on this standard , who knows what will be next!!!

The face is as the series , great facial features all the way , good rendition of the beard and just look at those curly locks of hair peeking out from under the mail neck piece , talking of the mail neck piece like the way this sits on the pieces very natural with good details .

I think I can safely say that the pictures are worth a 1000 words ..details are amazing to see. On now to the Helmet this is the conical style , with a sharp pointed top , suffice to say that the details are again well rendered , this being more refined , due to the amount sculpted ( how I have no idea apart from a heck of a lot of patience!!)

On to the Nasal bar and securing piece , yet again following the depiction in the film , lovely shaped bit of sculpting fitting very nicely into the cutout in the helmet front but be careful of the securing bit ..very small !!!...again I think the box art shows the amount of details worked , but here is a unpainted version.

The Sword or should I say Sword Hilt , as in the series , great decoration on the handle and the crossbar , fit where you want to on the lower edge of the torso.

The Base is the standard pedestal type well formed , nice and smooth and a perfect fit into the recess on the underside , I would advise pinning as well . Final Thoughts: This is another really nice addition and possibly the best in the amount of intricate details sculpted , a popular subject that I have no doubt , well sculpted and cast as always with Nuts Planet to such a very high level , once painted it will be a fine talking point when you proudly show this to your fellow resin addicts you could of course give the whole bust a bronze effect for something different as well Very Highly recommended