Gamescom 2018 was a special show for First 4 Figures in and of itself solely because it was F4F’s first time as a major exhibitor at the event. But for Gamescom 2019, F4F needed to up the ante to keep things fresh and continue to impress! And so, for this year’s show, First 4 Figures revealed a gaming license, the first statue for that license, and put that statue up for order all to coincide with Gamescom 2019! It’s a momentous occasion to be sure—but is the Gears 5 Kait Diaz statue itself worthy of such fanfare?

Full disclosure: I am not a Gears of War fan. I’ve never played or watched a game in the series for even a moment, and my only genuine exposure to the franchise has been reading a few of the Gears of War novels by one of my absolute favorite authors, Karen Traviss.

So as someone with legit no emotions toward this license, am I impressed with First4Figures’ inaugural GoW Statue…? Well, while I’m not gushingly in love with this Kait Diaz statue, I do think there’s a lot to like about this piece purely from an aesthetic point of view.

As an F4F fan (some would say “fanboy” in my case), I like seeing the company explore new techniques and go outside of their comfort zone. And while they don’t reinvent the wheel, they definitely venture into some uncommon areas for them with Kait.

We saw soft goods used as accents on the Dark Souls Solaire statue released earlier this year, and we see it again on this piece in the form of white fur lining Kait Daiz’s costume. In general I don’t like soft goods, but the way it’s used sparingly here really works for me and gives this sculpture a much more realistic appearance. I don’t want to see fur all the time on my statues, but I think it was the right call here.

I’ve seen three main complaints about this piece, which I’d like to address separately. The first of which is Kait’s face: a lot of folks have straight-up said that they don’t like it. And, well… there are definitely pluses and minuses to Kait’s portrait!

First4Figures has never really done much in the way of hyper-realistic HD character faces, so it’s a little bit jarring to see them attempting one with Kait Diaz. I think the underlying sculpt and basic features of Kait’s likeness such as her chin, eyebrows, mouth size and nose are all present in the underlying sculpt… but the paint is letting this down somewhat.

To me, the face on the Kait Statue looks too PVC/plastic-like, with paint that just isn’t at the ultra-realistic level of Gears 5. Her lips and skin-tone don’t seem to be matched closely enough to in-game (even in the official photos and not just the lighting-dependent Gamescom photos)… I think the paint on the prototype face is simply not as accurate as what we’re used to seeing on cartoon-y and armored characters.

Secondly—and perhaps most loudly—I’ve heard the gripes of Kait being selected as the character for the first F4F Gears of War statue at all. I think this particular complaint is a little unfair, though: it’s natural for a licensor to want to promote their new upcoming game with a major collectible spotlighting the main character.

Marcus Fenix might be “the franchise”, but The Coalition very likely wanted to see the star of Gears 5 in statue form first to promote the new game. If there’s interest in Gears of War statues, I have no doubt F4F will tackle Marcus Fenix and other popular characters after Kait.

Lastly, we’ve got the base, which many folks have said is just far too big. There’s a really fine line with bases, as some collectors complained about the recent small bases for Spike Spiegel and Dracula, while others have been upset with the large size of the Sonic & Tails diorama and Kait bases.

I think the icy base here is actually quite lovely. I like that Kait is doing something action-oriented, and we very rarely get a straight-up snowy-themed base from First 4 Figures. The prototype ice and snow terrain base looks terrific, and I’m looking forward to seeing how well F4F can pull it off on the final production pieces.

In this instance, there’s also a Kait Definitive Edition which includes an additional chunk of base to make the footprint even bigger for 100 bucks more: a fallen robotic Deebee Reject in the snow. LEDs are F4F’s specialty, and they’re used to great effect on this robot squid monster.

The Deebee adds a lot of presence and changes the feel of the piece in a good way, as it makes it feel like there’s more the narrative here than just Kait lackadaisically frolicking in the snow. Given how expensive this piece is to begin with, might as well pay the extra 100 dollars, as I think this statue is a “DE or bust” for those who with the money and space to accommodate it.

Overall, I think this is a solid piece that is strong in almost every area. I’ve heard some collectors who saw it at GamesCom say they really warmed up to Kait’s face, and others say it left them cold. Your mileage and opinions will, of course, vary. Other than the divisive face, though, I think this is a winning piece of artwork.

The First 4 Figures Gears 5 Kait Diaz statue is now up for order on the F4F website, and retails for $599.99 for the regular/exclusive versions and $699.99 for the Definitive Edition. Those wanting bonus rewards points, an extra signed art card and a holographic sticker can head back to the website on Validation Day (9/13/2019) to hit a button on their order and claim the Signature Edition bonuses.

What are your thoughts and impressions of the first Gears of War F4F Statue? Is Kait a character you’d consider dropping $600-$700 on, or are you standing on the sidelines for this release? And if the GoW range continues, what character would you like to see next and in what sort of design? And big thanks to Neffi Pamin and Dimitri Daoutis for sending in these photos for use with this article! You’re the best, guys!