Background
Tonner Doll Company is re-releasing their Harry Potter line of Tonner Character Figures in a 12” series. Since that's the standard scale for many collectibles, it makes sense that they would transition to that height for collectors. And with the Harry Potter license still being popular (possibly Tonner's most popular), they decided to redesign several of the most popular Harry Potter film characters.
One of the those characters is Albus Dumbledore (Headmaster). Being in scale with the 12” tall Harry Potter, Dumbledore measures in at 17” in height. That puts him about 2” shorter than Tonner's previous Dumbledore release. You might remember him from this review.
The Facts
Albus Dumbledore
Series: Harry Potter TCFs
Manufacturer: Tonner Doll Company
Sculpted by: Robert Tonner
Authorized Likeness: Richard Harris
Material: Hard plastic body with vinyl head
Dimensions: 17” tall Matt O'Neill body
Points of Articulation: 14 points
Outfit: Black and burgundy satin robe with gold trim; Custom printed velvet robe; Faux leather belt; Burgundy hat; Knit socks; Faux suede lace-up boots; Reading glasses
Edition Size: 500 pieces
Packaging
The figure is packaged in Tonner's Harry Potter themed black, rectangular box. Inside, Dumbledore is tied in place with ribbons. His hair and beard are protected with a hairnet and plastic.
Our Opinion
This Albus Dumbledore figure might look a little familiar. A few years back, Tonner released Dumbledore in their previous scale. He measured in at 19” tall, however, height wasn't the only difference. The outfit has since been redone, and it looks like the face sculpt might have been refined.
If you look at the close up shots of the Dumbledore (Richard Harris) face sculpt, you'll notice that Tonner is relying less on paints and more on the sculpt to show the character's age. They've also incorporated sculpting work into the eyebrows – rather than just using paint details. And speaking of paint details, the eyes look great...but there is some inconsistency with Dumbledore's mustache.
I like this outfit a little better than the 19” version. It seems simpler with three main colors (black, burgundy and gold). Yet the entire outfit is still top of the line. You can see from one photo that Dumbledore was actually dressed in a bodysuit that covered his hands. This can actually be removed so that you can see his hands.
There aren't many accessories – a figure stand that you don't necessarily need for displaying. I guess Dumbledore's glasses might fall into that category. Glasses are always a very difficult item for sculptors to pull off. I've noticed it's usually about 50-50 whether or not they succeed. But I think these look great. You'll definitely want to display Dumbledore with the glasses on.
OVERALL: I'm not a huge Harry Potter fan (never seen a movie or read a book), so it's quite possible I'm missing some sculpting intricacy. If you're collecting Tonner's new 12” Harry Potter line, you'll obviously want to get the “in-scale” Dumbledore figure. I'd actually suggest picking this version up over the 19” one, if you collected the original series, because I think the sculpting work is a little better.
You can pick one up at the following:
Tonner Direct: $219.99
Albus Dumbledore Grades
Figure Quality: 8/10
Sculpt: 8/10
Paint: 8/10
Accessories/Outfit: 9/10
Packaging: 7/10
Durability: 8/10
Fun Factor: 7/10
Value: 7/10
Overall: 8.1/10
Thanks for this Dumbledore tonner character figure post. The details are quite amazing.
Just a question,..are both Tonner Dumbledore heads (17″ and 19″) the same sizer and dimensions? Need to know as I bought the smaller one thinking it was the same size as the 19″ one,..and noticed the difference when next to the larger ones. Thanks.
I’d assume that each head is to scale with the body, otherwise, the head would look either too big or too small for the body. Just thinking the 17″ head would be about 90% the size of the 19″ head.