A headline I’ve always wanted to write.
Diamond Select Toys’ Batman ’66 minibust line has had a healthy run and though it seems to be down the final stretch, we’re still getting superb additions to the series.
Newest example? Victor Buono’s King Tut.
I’ve noted a number of times how I didn’t “get” King Tut until I was an adult, but now that he’s one of my favorite parts of the show, I’m especially happy to have my hands on this deluded “ruler” of the Nile.
King Tut’s ornate costume is captured in remarkably colorful detail, from the gold-and-green scarab on his headdress to his sceptres. Just check out the “tailoring,” the fringe and the finery:
It’s this startling attention to detail that lifts the erstwhile Yale professor to among the very best of the line. Come to think of it, it might just be the best Tut collectible we’ve seen yet.
As far as Victor Buono’s likeness, I’d give it a solid B. It’s not quite 100 percent, but it’s very good. (Love the slightly cocked eyebrow.)
And you can (sorta) reenact one of the best Tut moments of the show’s history:
The 6-inch minibust — designed by Barry Bradfield and sculpted by Jean St. Jean — will run you about $60 and is due out 5/3.
That leaves the Bookworm and Eartha Kitt Catwoman minibusts still to come this season. (You can check out previews of them here and here.) The Shakespeare bust and Joker and Robin statues are coming too. But after that, the Diamond license is a mystery.
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For THE MAKING OF KING TUT, click here.
For LEE MERIWETHER ON THE SADNESS OF VICTOR BUONO, click here.
For the full INDEX of stories about Diamond Select’s BATMAN ’66 line, click here.
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