THAT PRETTY UGLY FACE…

Prime 1 Studios, while doesn’t take risks on pose, has made a astonishing job in the new figure from Arkham Knight collection. I don’t know if they use the same new material they said will use in the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie collection but the point is that the damaged half of the Two-Faces statue is extremely well done and realistic. It really looks like raw flesh (see the pictures). And the second head is even better where the sadistic evil side of the character takes control on an explosion of wrath. Overall is a fabulous statue to the fans of the series (a series that at every new launch has become more salty – Two-Face cost extreme $899.99). It is a huge figure for sure, almost 32 inch tall (almost 80 cm) with the base only being 7 inch tall (almost 18 cm). Speaking of the base, Studio 1 took a creative approach here, making the half of the deformed side of the character as corroded as its monstrous appearance. The eroded part of this suit is not all that cool. I believe it is made of Polystone, as well as the normal part, because I think Prime 1 does not do clothing or use fabrics in its creations, so is nothing a fan will care about. Between the Batcar which is the bulkiest piece Prime 1 ever did and this Two-Face I certainly would pick the mad with a marked coin. Thank god I don’t like the Arkham line nor I like Prime 1 bulky motionless huge size figures style otherwise I would try to sell an organ to buy this piece. The teeth between the melted holes of the face are just perfect. Certainly they did their homework regarding anatomy. Amazing work for those who collect this line. One of the best figures to come from Arkham Knight so far. If you enjoyed, head back to Sideshow. It's now available for pre-order there.

Scarface? And what a scar...

The perfect flesh effect... and the coin...

TURTLES FOR ALL TASTES

You don't need to be a gourmet to enjoy this menu of turtles. Juts loving pizza is enough. I don't know what the heck is going on with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, all I know is that right now you can find Turtles for sale from every period you like in the history of our green heroes: being the comics version, the TV series version, the first animatronics movies version or the new CGI's from the new movie ones, plus a new line to be launched by Sideshow, you have it all covered by different studios. It's truly a turtle smorgasbord. See the pics and the studios behind each Turtle line.

Mondo Studios stuck to the roots, recreating in 3D
the 2D turtles from the original comic books


-x-x-x

Prime 1 Studios choose to follow the movies. The old animatronics ones (which are promised to bring a new technology in
modelling materials to give the turtles a more "turtleish" texture) a as well ans the new CGI blockbuster green giants.

Where's Megan Fox Statue?!

You choose what the version of the turtle's movies you enjoy the most and prepare
your pocket because these turtles ain`t comin' cheap.

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Finally if the TV show was your favorite TMNT incarnation, no problem, Ikon Collectibles got you covered:

If that wasn't enough, Sideshow decided to launch their version of the heroes with the statues plus a Premium Art Print. So you're fan of the shell fighters you have aplenty to choose from and must have some money saved on the bank because the there`re turtles all around you, in different shapes and sizes but all of them Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Cowabunga!

Sideshow enters the turtle arena with the statues plus a gorgeous
Premium Art Print. Though choices for Ninja Turtles fans.

Where you can find all of these? On the Sideshow site of course, who distributes the better products from the better studios (but you gotta dig it deep to find some of the figures). Good luck.

ALIENS FANS DON`T LOOSE YOUR HEADS

Sideshow Collectibles just launched three awesome additions to its Aliens line: three life-size replicas of the heads of three of the most emblematic Aliens in the series: Alien Warrior, the Blue Warrior and the Alien Newborn. Made with astounding attention to every gruesome detail, these pieces will knock your head down. The prices are a bit salty, ranging from 1,199.99 to 1,299.99 but they worth each ounce of polystone spent to bring these beloved and feared characters to life. Here goes some pictures to make you droll as an alien.

I KEEP ON SAYING I DON’T LIKE ACTION FIGURES BUT...

Although I don’t like action figures (maybe because I’m a bad poser) I have indeed three action figures in my collection. Two are sold out items and the other you can find for sale at Sideshow Collectibles. Which were the characters that made me go around my prejudice and acquire action figures? Well, the first one is The Joker (1989 Mime Version) from Hot Toys. It is sold out but you can find it easily and for an accessible price on eBay. The figure is the perfect portrait of Jack Nicholson on 1989 Batman and is completely black and white apart from his hair and lipstick. I chose this one by the striking resemblance with the actor and to go along with my collection of black & Batman mini statues.

The second is Ellie from the game the Last of Us – in Japanese, Elle from Those Who Remain (go figure!). I just love this game so much I had to have her. She is a figure from Iminime so it’s, besides expensive, extra rare to find.

The third and last action figure in my collection (the one that still available at Sideshow here) is Hermione Granger from Star Ace (the oldest version not the new “casual” one). I am a Harry Potter fan (first the books, then the films) and by far this is the most accurate product that I’m aware of. Besides, I just love Hermione as every Harry Potter fan. The resemblance with the actress is also striking, a special case if you see the other Star Ace Harry Potter products. And I believe I’m over with action figures with these three. I don’t imagine myself buying another action figure since my real realm are Premium Format ¼ Statues now. Oh, and I have a lot of PVC Japanese girl statues from animes (mostly Evangelion and Fate Stay Night and from the Street Fighter game, especially Chun Li). That’s how my collection started. I have some Nendroids too. And three Funko POP figures. I also have two or three Bowen Statues, a ¼ Sucker Punch Babydoll from Gentle Giant and five Premium Format Figures from Sideshow (three yet to arrive). Oh, and the Project Triforce Goliath from the game Evolve (also yet to arrive). Some Three A figures (wich could count as action figures in its own twisted way). A couple of hand painted kits (and five or six more yet to paint but where`s the money?) and that’s pretty much it. My whole collection in a nutshell.

I don’t have a place to display my figures properly yet. But one day I will redo my bedroom to accommodate my whole collection. This is the biggest dream of mine. Hope to achieve it in the next three to four years. Until then I believe I won’t be buying many statues (besides the new Deadpool!) so to save money to reform the bedroom. What doesn’t mean that I’ll stop looking for the new pieces that come out in the Market. And if something really, I mean really, grabs my eye I won’t probably resist. ;)  

IRON STUDIOS BEATS SIDESHOW COLLECTIBLES WITH NEW BLACK PANTHER STATUE

Who would believe, a Brazilian collectible statues manufacturer beat the hell out of Sideshow? And I'm not saying that because I am Brazilian but because Iron Studios just launched "the" Black Panther 1/4 statue to rule them all. They did their homework well and now are prepared to play in the "big league" toe to toe. I was astonished when I saw the Black Panther figure at Sideshow site. At first I thought it was from the North-American studio but reading below I discovered that this marvelous piece is indeed very Brazilian, sir.

From bottom to top this figures is impressive. First the perfect replica of Black Panther outfit from Civil War flick, one of the most intricate and textured costumes ever made for a superhero. Every single detail of the every intricate layer of patterns from the costume is here. Second, the base, half melted, half destroyed  conveys perfectly the war zone climate. Third, the anatomical proportions are perfect, there`s no mistake, everything is place and at the right size. Fourth and most important, and what really sets this figure apart: the pose.

They couldn't be more spot on. Black Panther looks like a feline climbing the spiral staircase ready to attack. Yes, Iron Studios pulled beautifully and came up with a pose that is both creative and fits perfectly the character. I seriously doubt Sideshow can pull a better Black Panther and I seriously doubt they'll try. I believe they cannot beat Iron Studios in terms of detail and now nor in terms of pose. Iron Studios won this game and created one of the best statues to come out this year.

Now I can't complain about the studio anymore (only about the price of the piece, which could be $150.00 less so I could afford it). Even if I can't afford to have one of their pieces. At least I can appreciate their work through the internet. Maybe in Brazil it is less expensive. I'll look into it in their Facebook page.

So, to finish this article I would like to congratulate Iron Studio for give the first step into the major league game field  with the stunning attention to detail that`s already becoming a trademark of their craftsmanship. So much effort would inevitably lead to a perfect piece: this Black Panther rendition.

Only too salty for me. But an unmissable addition to any Marvel fan with a deeper wallet.

I believe this piece will fly off very quickly. That`s what always happen when you do such a terrific job. Below some pictures for you to see I`m not exaggerating (too much!).

And it will be available this October. So close. Just around the corner. Took me by surprise. A good one may I add!

P.S.: I just hope they can deliver the same finishing quality they give to the prototype. This is a major problem with small studios: the large scale production quality standards. In this point no one can beat Sideshow Collectibles. SC always deliver high quality large scale productions. Always. But I got my fingers crossed Iron Studios will handle this part well too. Otherwise...

The panther

In terms of coolness and awesomeness Iron Studios' Black Panther statue is a serious contender to the new Sideshow's Deadpool Premium Format Figure. But I think I'll stick to Deadpool, his figure is too ingrained in my mind to make me change it. And there's the mass production problem from Iron Studios. But I certainly hope they've ironed that out by now.

A LESSON ON CREATIVE DARING STATUE POSING

I don’t know who the character Hatsune Miku is. Apparently she’s a singer, a popstar of something along these lines. I don’t know if she is from an anime or manga. Yes, she is Japanese. And yes I bought a figure of her. Not, of course, because I’m a fan of Miku but for the incredible pose of the statue. She is “performing” some kind of contorting dance, that resembles something tribal, primal, with her curling fingers like she is in some kind of trance. Yes it is a static statue but oh, with so much movement you almost can imagine her performing the strange dance. Did I mention the two pigtails with extremely long hair, also full of movement? Yes from the point of the finger to the point of the hair this figure is all movement. And I don’t know how the Japanese does this, the anatomy is perfect, even though in a Japanese proportionality way (in this case no so distorted as is common on anime figures, but very near real human proportions). There’s nothing out of place as it happens with almost every Sideshow figure, per example, every time they try a more creative pose. I don’t know who was the daring Japanese that allowed a figure in such strange pose go into production but I owe him/her thanks because it is simply the best more daring pose I’ve seen in a figure so far in my life. A true lesson that thinking out of the box can yield astonishing results. That’s why I’m so excited about the new Deadpool PF from Sideshow. From the early preview, besides the extremely detailed outfit and overall model, was the daring and full of movement pose that caught my eye. And (again) from this early half body image preview it looks like that this time anatomy proportionality is ok. Which makes me very happy and gives me faith that Sideshow will invest in more inventive poses for their new statues. Miku dancing figure showed that you can achieve stunning results when you move away from the formulaic an expected path and goes to new unexpected ventures. A lesson other studios, not only Sideshow could take advantage of. To be honest I don’t think Sideshow is the worst case, they occasionally try something new and they always try to give movement to its creations. To me the worst case is Prime 1 Studios. Every male character they launch appears to be in the same position or with little to no movement whatsoever. I know it sells because it seems so very cool Batman all erect standing in such imposing and static pose. But, come one, it’s time to shake thinks a bit, make him jump, crouch, run at least (all this poses have been explored by Sideshow I have to admit) but I think is too much for Prime 1 guys. And they’re Japanese, the same land that conjured dancing Miku. Such an irony. Or should I say agony? Well, Prime 1 doesn’t bother me too much; I don’t like their bulky modelling style and I don’t have the bucks to pay or space to display so gigantic pieces.

My point with the dancing Miku post in short is: don’t be afraid to dare. Be it on the poses, the expressions, the materials, I don’t know. Don’t be afraid of doing differently. Miku figure went sold out in less than a week on Tokyo Otaku Mode where I've ordered her. People like different approaches, things out of ordinary, things extraordinary. Go after this. And you’re going very well.


Addendum: I've researched a little bit further and the Hatsune figure dancing is based on the art of a famous Asiatic artist named mebae (hence the name of the figure being Hatsune Miku: mebae Ver.). Here are what I believe to be the base illustration for the figure. That's a good reason for such a daring pose: a daring concept artist that wanted to do something different with the character he was maybe commissioned to illustrate. And then again congratulations to Max Factory for embracing the concept so faithfully. On a side note this figure has been restocked on Tokio Otaku Mode in case you got interested on her.