IMPRESSIONS ON SDCC

I will only write about the figures that marked me in some way. For better or worst. I will only talk about statues since I don’t collect 1/6 articulated figures. I will separate this post into two topics, disappointments and impressive. Let’s begin with disappointments.

DISAPPOINTMENTS

Terrible paint app! Yuck!

1 – The lame production painting of Killer Croc. I found the face painting of the production piece of Killer Croc to be lousy and lazy. I feel like I was fooled by the astonishing prototype painting and buy a pig in a poke. Airbrushing the black on the teeth the way they did was lazy to say the least. Very disappointed and had so high expectations about this piece. I think I will going to sell it without even open the box. (Update: I cancelled my pre-order...)

2 – I think I’m not alone on this one: Magneto. I have to admit there were maybe too much anticipation and too high expectations about this piece but the finished revealed piece was nothing better than regular. Among the huge amount of versions of Magneto available both licensed and custom and with the magnificent white Magneto coming from XM, Sideshow fell short to stand out from the crowd. The base is okay, the mixed media cape was a terrible choice, the uniform was okay, best part of the figure. The pose was very uninspired, very “me too”, but I guess this is a recurring problem with Magneto, everybody wants to see him levitating looking like he’s using his hands to manipulate metal, so it’s an issue of the character more than of Sideshow. What was a big letdown for me was the face sculpt. I found it to be just plain ugly. Such a big nose. Hope the unmasked version, if this will be the ex, does a better job portraying him. I don’t care much for Magneto at all, so I wouldn’t order it even if it turned out to be an incredible figure, but I can sense the disappointment of the fans who eagerly waited for SS awesomeness on this figure. The base was okay though, even if yet again using a sentinel, I liked the way the head seemed twisted and kneaded by Magneto’s power.

3 – Wolverine. I think this piece would belong better on XM’s catalog than on Sideshow’s. The textured outfit and the bad head sculpt, not to mention the uninspired pose all check. The feeling it’s a smaller scale figure I get so much when looking at XM pieces is present too. I think this to be a great waste of time and a very boring statue overall. Wolverine deserved better. I liked how detailed the base is though. As a companion piece to Magneto, it had to be a sentinel part, and the most iconic part of the character besides his head is his hand so it was a no-brainer. Well, Magneto deserved an opponent at his (low) height and he got one. I guess I’m more disappointed with Wolverine than with Magneto. Maybe because I already saw early efforts from Sideshow regarding the character that oozed personality which this piece completely lacks. But then again, I couldn’t care less about Wolverine as I have the statue of him I want.

4 – The most expected piece of my collector’s life, the Swamp Thing Maquette, turned out to be a huge letdown. Well not that huge since I liked the original take they put on the texture of the character body, even though it looked more alien than plant-like, but it looked cool nevertheless. I let pass the color scheme, much brighter and more yellowish than Swamp thing original palette. I’m cool with that too since it looked great. The strange glossy finishing also didn’t bothered me much, one can imagine he just emerged from the waters of the swamp and is wet, since plants are not often that glossy. What really bothered me was the “creative” take on my all-time favorite character’s head. The floating vines could not help but remind me of that tentacle-faced character of Pirates of the Caribbean. That was unforgivable. And I found the face to be less detailed than the overall piece. My only hope is that they do an alternate “classic” head as the exclusive item for this figure. However, I think this isn’t going to happen as it seems that the figure is “whole” there’s no detachable parts (apart from some of the horrendous floating vines). The final blow will be probably the price as I imagine that this “Maquette” thing is a designation Sideshow created to sell overpriced pieces. I admit I got a little depressed because of this piece, since I know I won’t get another Sideshow Swamp Thing statue in my life. The only bright side is that I will save a whole lot of money by not ordering it. As a last hope I know Prime 1 is making a New 52 version of Swamp Thing. Although by the render I saw it doesn’t resembles the Moore/Totleben ST at all, it seemed much more wooden-made that plant-made, but a lot can change and they can actually put an acceptable vision of my most beloved character (which I doubt). Why you did this Sideshow? Why? I was complaining that Wolverine and Magneto had zero artistic creativity and you decided to put all your creative vision on the character I’m more conservative about. This seems ironic, to be honest. I like creative takes of my characters but not that creative. Not Pirates of the Caribbean creative. I think Sideshow crossed the line here and turned an otherwise magnificent piece into an aberration. I know Swamp Thing is an aberration, what turns it all the more ironic.
(Update: I'm more on the fence now, the more I look the more I grow used to it but need to see Prime 1 Swamp Thing hopefully in WonderFest on July 29th to draw my conclusions. One that I reached is that I need a Swamp Thing 1/4 in my collection regardless if I love it or just like it. I won't have another shot. Which one will be is the big question...)  

5 – Not that I ever considered buying such a gigantic piece, don’t have the space in my room (or wallet) but I found Batman Legendary Scale to be an anatomical disaster. The legs are way too short and thin compared to the rest of the body and the muscles of the abdomen are way too many. It would be much better if they did a life-size bust because the head is the only thing that’s cool about this piece. The belt in bright yellow is discrepant with the dark tone of the figure. 
A total mess in my opinion. (Oh my, how is easy to criticize, I’m impressed by that. I’m not that used to do so much bashing at once and am amazed how easy it comes out.)

6 – Iron Studios pieces overall didn’t impress me at all, especially Marvel’s, but that’s no major failure either. Just don’t like the style. The only really impressive piece from the company was the Batman Black Version 1/3 statue. For me, among the truckload of Batamans available, was the best one and this says a lot. Batman vs Bane comes in second as my preferred pieces from the Brazilian company.

7 – It’s not really a disappointment, it’s exactly what was expected to be but Lady Deadpool (as Heat-Seeker) is a complete overload mess. If they only had put both legs stretched, it would be more feminine and more akin to a real-life fighting pose. On the other hand, the add-ons will be the coolest I’ve seen in a while from Sideshow. An alternate unmasked head and Headpool are no small offerings.

Well, that’s enough with criticizing. Now with I found impressive. Remembering this is a one-man opinion, you’re more than welcome to differ and share your own point of view.

 IMPRESSIVE

1 – I have to begin with Red Sonja. I give you that it has a pretty uninspired base, just a bunch of rocks with a bloody head, and her hair does not appear really red, but everything else about the statue is perfect. The anatomy of the body not to muscular, the confident yet relaxed pose and the brilliant head sculpt makes this the best female character ever did by Sideshow in my opinion. I hope I’m fortunate enough to have her in my collection since I love pretty female characters and don’t have any Red Sonja yet. It’s not a character I really care about but this one I like very much. Just wonder what Dynamite stands for…

2 – I’m not into movie collectibles but the Alien Queen Maquette really grabbed my attention. Besides being very detailed and menacing, like it is galloping to attack, the base is so detailed and full of elements, it is a sight to behold. One of the best pieces displayed on the show hands down.

3 – Freddy Kruger was other that got me wowed. The character depiction is perfect, the painting of the head is top-notch and the base with it’s infinity depth mirror trick really adds to the piece. A winner. Must cost a small fortune though. Oh, and ECC's Jason has a incredible base as well, though Jason as a character, with his hockey mask is not a astonishing sculpt as Freddy.

4 – When I believed I was through with Iron Man Sideshow comes to prove me wrong. Their Iron Man Mark III Maquette is the one Iron Man to have. The pose is perfect, very imposing and heroic, the painting is extremely well done (let’s see the production pieces, though) and the base is cool enough for me. It seem big and bold. Outstanding piece.

5 – The Megatron with T-Rex hand impressed me. I’m not a Transformers fan let alone this Beast variant, but the sheer details of the T-Rex hand alone won me. The pose is very dynamic for a 1/3 piece (I guess is 1/3) and lights adds the bells and whistles to the piece. Sweet. Even though regarding Transformers - and everything else - this was a very weak Prime one show compared to last year.

6 – Hulk LSB. I have to mention it otherwise I’ll be betraying myself. I think this is the best LSB Sideshow ever done, supplanting even the phenomenal Joker bust of yesteryears. I even happen to like the color scheme! Lol. I think Sideshow achieved the right balance of comics style with hyper-realism in this piece. It may be light but I’ll not be moving it from the entrance of my room where I can scare some newcomer and always watch this masterpiece every time I enter my room. I know the majority of the collectors hates this piece but I just happen to deeply love it. The most expensive statue I’ve ever bought and I hope it continues this way.

Give an everlasting flavor of Halloween to your house!

 7 – Court of the Dead offerings. It was extremely impressive the sheer amount of pieces from this line Sideshow brought to the table this year. It just shows how dearly Sideshow holds their own IP. Overall very impressive statues and some oddities like the real-life line. Who the heck will want a life-size Supreme Death in one’s home? Or the ornaments? I really don’t know, I just want to see the price of Supreme Death once it’s out for PO. If the 1/4 figures are already expensive let alone this monstrosity (in every way).

8 – Tweeterhead Joker. The first piece of the company that really made my eyes glow. Everything about the piece is top, painting, details, head sculpt, even though is just a 1/6 statue it behaves like a 1/4. Kudos for Tweeterhead for going the extra mile with this piece.

The star of the show.

9 - I almost forgot the most unforgettable piece on the show: Thanos on Throne. Is quite perfect. What more can I say? It's a grail. Will make a lot of collectors extremely happy if the production pieces match the quality of the prototype. Am I mistaken or the stones light up? A plus to a magnificent piece. I won't order it because I'm not into Thanos, barely know the character and the price is a little too salty for me. I preferred to spend my bullets on Hulk LSB. For the ones who are getting him. Happy collecting!

Well, I guess these sums up the things that grabbed my attention for the best or worse on the SDCC. The rest of the pieces were from regular to good, so average in general. Since so little deserved my time I think this was a very warm show this year. I remember making a much more extensive report of the show last year. Maybe because it was the first I followed (through Facebook groups, never went to one) in my life. Or maybe because there were less engaging pieces this year. Or maybe I’m becoming more selective. I don’t know. I know I realized that criticize is far more easier than praise and this is an insight that doesn’t lift my soul one bit. I wish it was the inverse but was not what happened here. Was not what happened with me. But I avoid to criticize people, I think it is unnecessary to hurt anyone’s feelings so I keep the critics to myself if any. I have the tendency to criticize myself a lot. As much as I try to take it more easy on me I can’t avoid but to be punitive with myself. But this is not a subject to be discussed here. I have a blog in Portuguese for this. It’s my therapy. Lol.