XM STUDIOS EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW – CO-FOUNDER BRYAN TAN

I had the immense pleasure to contact Bryan Tan to make this awesome interview about XM Studios. For those who doesn’t know who Bryan Tan is, here’s a brief summary from STGCC site:

“Bryan Tan is a veteran entrepreneur, having been at the forefront of digital marketing since founding his first digital agency in 2001. He grew the business fivefold, merged with another company, diversified into Data and CRM and doubled the size before venturing into the world of Collectibles.

Bryan's love of toys and collectibles led him to co-found XM Studios in 2012 with Ben, Seng, Clair and Chris. Focusing on premium collectibles of the highest quality, XM Studios' first Statue won them Statue of the Year 2014 and the rest, as they say is history. As one of the Directors, Bryan is also active in the collectibles social media space where he regularly interacts with the community for feedback because he firmly believes that the best products should be designed together with the customers.”

Yes, due to his habit of keeping in touch with the community, Bryan conceded CCF this very funny yet very serious and altogether informative interview. Enjoy this exclusive talk with XM’s co-founder.

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1 – What do you think about the rivalry between XM fans and Sideshow fans?

It’s everyone vs everyone actually. XM fans vs Sideshow fans, P1 fans vs XM fans, P1 fans vs Sideshow fans, Iron Studios fans vs all <Insert Any Company> fans...basically there’s rivalry everywhere. To me, this is like sports be it Football, Rugby, NBA, Hockey etc, where it’s natural for fans to root for their favorite teams. And there’s always going to be – what we call – ‘SUPER FANS’ for every team. These super fans are by and large nice people but they are also fiercely loyal and dedicated. Now when you put 2 groups of super fans who are rooting for different teams in the same room, rivalry, name calling, arguments on ‘mine is better than yours’ WILL HAPPEN.  (In extreme cases this happens: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orDiSrbRRWI)

Bolalaranja, I’m really glad you asked what my thoughts are as I’ve been wanting to get this off my chest for a while. Yes I understand it’s natural, and it happens but super fans need to remind themselves of the bigger picture and stay classy. Like sports, “Collecting” is meant to be a unifying activity where people of any age, race or background come together to enjoy the sports and the company. For instance in basketball, yeah the teams are important but don’t forget to enjoy basketball for what it is. Love, enjoy and respect the sports and the community. Sportsmanship is a virtue about fairness, respect for one's opponent, and graciousness in winning or losing.

So my message to these super fans is: Ask yourselves, what kind of collectors do you want to be? The kind whom everyone loves to hang around because you are a good sport and there’s mutual respect? Or the kind others avoid because you are always defensive, attacking and putting down others for basically not liking what you like?

My personal choice is to enjoy the company of those who display sportsmanship and respect the hobby of collecting. And that’s why we try to always remind our customers in our sign-offs “Happy Collecting!”.

Stay classy San Diego.

2 – What’s exactly prevents you from selling directly to United States (I’m very alienated about politics and economics)?

Firstly, I do not claim to speak on behalf of any of our licensors and I’m hardly the expert on politics and economics (my background is in Technology and Film Making)! I do believe it’s about the management of territorial distribution for business reasons such as avoiding over market supply, cannibalisation of products etc. Basically to keep things in balance and healthy.  There are some licenses we are able to sell globally though such as Top Cow and Jade Dynasty (Asian Comics) so it’s not all that bad really! J

3 – How many years has XM Studios?

We’ve started the company in 2012 but nothing really happened in the first year. It was about a year of getting rejections from licensors we approached so we did not have anything to work on. It was only in 2013, XM started having gigs and it’s been an amazing journey for 3 years so far. 

4 – Do you solemnly uses 3D software to sculpt or there is handmade sculpts too? If there’s handmade sculpted figures could you name a few?

Almost all of our stuff are done in 3D. We tried hand sculpting with our 1/4 Thor but because we were such suckers for listening to feedback and making changes, that method proved to be impractical. In the end, we had to scrape that project and restarted it in 3D. However, there is magic in handsculpt, an art form we greatly respect so we’ve always been trying to explore that. The new Shibumi from Jade Comics is a handsculpt project and so are some of our 1/4 busts.

   

5 – Why are your prices so much higher than Sideshow’s?

I think everyone’s price is rising to be honest but for XM specifically, its mainly due to us having a lower production run (so less bulk savings) and we invest into several layers of QC and coaching the Factories to do better products. The packaging we use is also costlier in terms of material and finish. Our volume of business is also much lower so our shipping rates aren’t as competitive and that really adds up quite a fair bit to the final cost.

6 – As I noticed, you now have the DC and Star Wars licenses. Any new plans on the DC front besides “Darkside War” 1/6 diorama? Who’s next? And in Star Wars something beyond Boba Fett?  

A lot of products will be revealed in the upcoming September STGCC (Singapore’s version of Comic Con)! Not trying to avoid the question about licenses but due to confidentiality clauses and out of respect for the licensors, my lips are sealed.

7 – You are known for the quality of the final product. What is the trick to maintain so high standards?

There are 3 key ‘tricks’ to this. Mindset, Hardwork and Expertise.

1)  Mindset: XM isn’t run by business folks, we are collectors first and foremost. This is important because it governs the way we approach our products – what would be cool for this character to do? What is the story and motivation behind this pose and base? How can we make this a worthy representation of the characters? What finishing, materials, quality and packaging would bring it to the next level? As you can see, we make pretty cool B characters not because they are highly popular and therefore profitable – we make em’ because as collectors, these are what we would want.

2)      Hardwork: Because straight out of the Factory products just doesn’t cut it. We adopt a partnership approach with our Factories, we train and teach them the art and techniques of painting, finish and engineering. We travel and spend at least 30% of our work time at the factory, rolling up our sleeves, doing the work they do, setting an example. We’ve gone as far to create our very own quality check office with experienced touch up artists as an additional QC process to check every piece from the factory.  Every product goes through at least 4 rounds of QC before we ship the products to customers. It’s hard work but the results are worth it. Of course nothing’s 100% perfect but we believe we have a reasonably healthy QC benchmark in the industry, averaging less than 0.5% of reported issues from customers. (e.g. that’s about 5 out of 1,000 statues). Usually the issues happen due to poor shipping handling, or secondary handling (customs opening up to check etc).  

3)      Expertise: The XM creative team has over 2 decades of painting, sculpting and engineering experience. The type of paint, the kind of paint, the way it’s painted, the way the statue is being structured, from foundation to practicality, weight ratio to stability – the knowledge and experience definitely helps!

Some images of our XM Workshop (QC) http://www.xm-studios.com/introducing-xm-workshop.aspx

8 – You’re also known by being extremely creative regarding poses and bases. How the average time it takes from the concept to the final product to be delivered to the costumer? In which country do you manufacture your products?

It differs based on complexity and how many changes we try to fit in but the typical time frame is about 6-9 months from start to end.  Country of manufacturing is China.

9 – You tend to contract freelancers to complement your staff in the making of the pieces. How to grant visually unity to them, since every artist has his style?

Seng, XM’s creative head oversees all the creative talents in unity along with Hery, XM’s Art Director. Their job is to ensure a XM consistency flavor even though we work with so many madly talented artists. Like you correctly pointed out, every artist has his/her own styles but in order to have a reasonably consistent line of products we have to establish a set of art direction and style for all artists. It’s not easy for sure and there will be differences especially between creatives so it’s about managing balance, expectations and of course chemistry. Ain’t gonna lie, it’s not all rainbows and sunshine; most projects are smooth but there are a few that didn’t work out as well as we wanted.  What’s important is the virtue of sportsmanship; recognize differences, respect each other, be gracious and our number 1 rule, never ever shortchange anyone. We pay the full fees no matter if we use the work or not.

10 – Which was the fastest selling statue you ever launched?

It’s a tie between Ghost Rider and Samurai Batman at about 2 mins sold out on our online allocation. Batman in particular was a nice surprise as he had a lot of haters in the beginning. But I’m really glad the project turned out great, thanks to the awesome creative partners HMO and HIVE. (These guys REALLY rock!)    

Batman pics at http://www.xm-studios.com/batman-samurai.aspx

Ghost Rider pics at http://www.xm-studios.com/ghost-rider.aspx

11 – What piece(s) you are most proud of?

Every piece, man! Every piece is blood, sweat and tears. I know most people expect us to say Magneto but for us, we put in the same amount of love and attention to all our creations. They are like our children… you don’t choose to love one more than the other.

12 – If you could change just one thing in XM Studios what would be?

For starters, the XM HQ needs to be bigger and cooler. And we need a proper coffee machine.

13 – And what will never change in XM Studios?

Commitment to quality, always be open and listen to feedbacks because we’re not making these statues for ourselves at the end of the day. 

14 – What the acronym XM stands for?

Most people think it’s Xenomorph (Ang brothers’ history). Yes, we drew inspiration from the past but XM actually stands for Xtreme Masterpieces. (cuz EM wouldn’t sound as cool)

15 – Do you know why your pieces are so cultish among collectors? What’s your theory?

I think it has to do with a couple of reasons; a factor could be the difficulty of acquiring our products. Given our limited ES and distribution rights, demand is often higher than supply so our products are not exactly easy or cheap to obtain. Also, for better or worse, the XM quality is often only experienced in person, when one receives the product, opens the box and lifts out the heavy statue and feels the physical presence of the piece. Infamously, the photos on our website often don’t do our products justice (For the record Ben, our MD cum photographer claims his expensive camera works magic).

So the small group of XM owners who have felt the XM experience often try to convince a larger group of non-owners that our final product is better than what you see on our website – making these XM owners look like Super Fans/cultists! (Note to XM Fans, stay classy people. Remember, sportsmanship.)

It could also be that we do crazy things with dynamic poses and bases, switch out parts that actually changes the story and becomes 2 or 3 statues in 1, we produce characters that are often overlooked and mega dioramas that defies collecting space logic. We are crazy. Some people like crazy.

Or maybe it’s just because we are such awesome and cool dudes… people actually genuinely like us! Well that’s my theory anyway.

16 – Could you share with us any new projects you didn’t revealed yet just to get the hype up?

Unfortunately, contractually I can’t. Also, foreplay is very important – revealing all our cards just ain’t as sexy bro.

17 – How many people in average are involved in the creation of a new product from sketches to the painted prototype? (Creation of only one figure)

Typically about 8 people.  Seng does the work, the other 7 just stands there and watch.

No, really.

-x-x-x-

TO SEE A LIST OF LINKS TO ALL 

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS FROM CCFIGURES

CLICK HERE.

TOO LAZY TO READ

I confess I’m a bit frustrated. It’s not every day that you get an exclusive interview with a Prime 1 Studio sculptor to read. Even so, what should be great news in my opinion goes as fast as hell to the bottom of the thread because subjects like “order this or order that”, “here’s my collection” and whatnot get so much attention from the viewers (I cannot call them readers) that sinks into oblivion an otherwise very interesting source of information. So I will do an immature thing here and ask you who read this article and like it to post a comment on the thread, so the interview can escalate some positions and become more readily available for true readers to find. Thank you. Sorry for being so childish. I had a lot of work putting it all together… :P

EXCLUSIVE PRIME 1 INTERVIEW - SCULPTOR ALVARO RIBEIRO

With their huge 1/3 versions of Transformers and Batman Arkham series, Prime 1 Studio took the market by storm relying on differentiate size and ultra-detailed figures with a superlative quality control of the end product.

With more and more fans “converted” each day and a line of more affordable 1/4  figures on the way, Prime 1 has a lot going on and therefore a lot to talk about. I’m sure this interview will be a success, since Prime 1 already became a legend among collectors of our hobby.

1 – How old are you and for how many years you work as a professional sculptor?

AR (Alvaro Ribeiro): I'm 24 and I've been working as a professional 3D artist for about 4 years.

Prime 1's Alvaro Ribeiro

2 – Do you sculpt solemnly with 3D software? If so, is it ZBrush? If not, in which situations do you make handmade sculpts?

AR: I studied a little of traditional sculpting but I work only with 3D to make statues. 90% of time I'm using ZBrush, but in some situations I use software like Blender.

3 – Tell us briefly your story. How did you become a sculptor?

AR: Since I was a kid, I really liked to draw. I was drawing at home and during school, but just for fun. RPG books, video games and fantasy movies always inspired me, I was always paying attention to colors, environment and characters design. At school, I started to play a little with 3D software, but doing just simple things. When I was 18, I went to university to study cinema and animation. The classes were great, but not exactly what I wanted, so during the university I studied a lot of 3D by myself. I used to get home after classes and study ZBrush until late at night. At this point, I worked on simple projects, but very boring stuff. In 2014, I heard about an online workshop with Pedro Toledo and Rafael Grassetti, two great Brazilian artists. I learned a lot from these two professionals and my work improved a lot in a few months. After this, I had the honor to help Rafael Grassetti with some jobs, including the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles statues for Prime 1 Studio. After that, Prime 1 contacted me and I've been working with them as 3D artist since then.

3 – To which companies you already worked for?

AR: At beginning, I worked as freelance artist only for very small studios in Brazil. After my first contact with Grassetti, I helped him to make a model for Gentle Giant, than I did some commissions for Dubai and USA and now I work with Prime 1 Studio.

4 – So now you work for Prime 1 Studios. You do your contributions from Brazil or had to travel abroad?

AR: As I told above, my first contact with them was helping Grassetti to make the TMNT statues. After that, I worked directly for Prime 1, doing Batman statues from Arkham Knight game. All work I did for them was from Brazil, I didn't have the chance to visit Prime 1 Studio in Japan yet.

5 - Looks like they use several sculptors work in tandem for the same project in Prime 1. Is it true? How to maintain the unity of the project with so many “hands” touching the same piece?

AR: It is true. I started working with them only as artist, but with time, I invited some friend artists to work with me and a few months later, I was managing a few sculptors. With so many people working on same project or line, it is a big challenge to keep same quality or style, but with a lot of feedback and good teamwork, we always get to a good final result.

6 – Is it common to have a team sculpting one figure nowadays or it’s an exclusive process of Prime one?

AR: One of the great things about 3D for collectibles is that you can have artists around the world working on same projects. While someone sculpt a character, other artist can work on this character base. So I guess it is pretty common nowadays.

7 – What’s the difference of being a freelancer and be a hired employee from a company like Prime 1? What changed in your daily routine?

AR: At beginning, I really liked to work as a freelance. I worked at my bedroom, waking up very late, no need to leave or wear nice clothes. However, with time it turns into a really bad thing. In addition, as freelancer it is really hard to make long term plans, when you think about money. When you have salary and work with other people in a cool place, your life is more stable and healthy.

8 – As a freelancer do you do commission work for private common people (fans/collectors)? If not, do you have any prejudice against it?

AR: Before I started working with Prime 1, I did some commissions. Now, I work only with Prime 1, no time for other projects.

9 – Which piece(s) are you more proud of?

AR: Arkham Knight Batman was my first project for Prime1, so I guess it is the one I have more proud of. When I was working on it, I didn't know much how to do it, because the model was much more complex than all other models I have worked on before. It was a really big challenge for me, but the great feedback we had with the final statue made all hard work worth it.

10 – Do you collect figures or have any other hobby?

AR: At the moment, I have only a few small statues, but I hope soon I'll have a great collection. But also I like to collect art books and movies. I'm a guy who like to learn a lot of different things, so I have many hobbies. Now, I really like to watch movies with my girlfriend, go out with friends, stay with family, play video games and I've been studying a lot about hypnosis lately! Haha.

11 – Your profession grants a good, bad or average income to you?

AR: At the beginning was really hard to live working with 3D. After a long journey, now I have a good income to live a comfortable life.

12 – What is necessary today to be a professional sculptor?

AR: You have to study a lot to build a great portfolio and have the right contacts. Use social media to share your work and don't give up. It can take long time, but if you work hard, with intelligence, and meet the right people, you will have a great opportunity.

13 – Who is your favorite character?

AR: Hard to say, but I would say Aragorn (I love Lord of the Rings movies)! Haha

14 – Which character would you love to model?

AR: One character that all 3D artist have to model one day is Hellboy. Haha. Just joking, but I really want to sculpt one in future.

15 – What software do you use for modelling? Do you still sculpt with your hands? If so when the hands are more effective than the computer?

AR: I use Zbrush 90% of time and 10% Blender. I don't work traditional [hand] sculpting.

16 – Are there Prime 1 figures that are focused only in the East never seeing the light of the day in West? Could you cite some of them? And vice-versa there are?

AR: Prime1 don't have a focus on a region. All statues we do are sold worldwide. Lately Prime1 has gotten a lot of anime licenses, so you can expect more variety on statues styles from now on.

17 – What gives you more pleasure on your work?

AR: I really like when I see the final product, the great feedback from customers and to think that statues that I worked on will be on collectors’ shelves for years.

18 – Prime 1 is known to have the best quality end products in the market. Can you tell us what’s the trick to achieve such high standards on casting and finishing the pieces?

AR: It is all about passion and hard work. To make a statue, there are a lot of people involved and everyone is very important and responsible for the final quality. From the 3D artists and painters to factory and quality check, when everyone works hard, the final result is great.

  

19 – Were or are you involved on a project that uses mixed media? If so, what’s the difference in modelling, if any?

AR: Many projects I did were mixed media. As a 3D artist, most times it doesn't change much to me when a cape is real fabric, for example. However, in some cases, I have to deal with new challenges. Good example is Henry Cavil Superman, because I had to work on the costume details that would be cast in rubber to be placed on the fabric.

20 – And about that Venom you teased? Is the project still on or it was cancelled? Do you acquire more Marvel licenses beyond Venom? Which?

AR: This project still on, but got delayed. We have some cool Marvel statues coming, but you will have to wait to see them! ;)

21 – Three bands and three movies.

AR: I'm more into Brazilian music, but if I have to list international bands I would say Blind Guardian, Rhapsody of Fire and Angra. Three movies that I really like are Lord of the Rings (trilogy), Hellboy (both movies) and Big Fish.

22 – What would astonish you the most: to see a ghost or to see an alien?

AR: After watching a lot of Discovery Channel, thinking about contact with aliens is what scares me the most! Haha.

23 – Please, leave one last phrase, a breaking news or quote for our readers.

AR: "Imagination is more important than knowledge" - Albert Einstein

24 – Can you get a Golden Batman as gift for me? I would not bother if it was Batman Beyond too, but I still prefer the golden one! Hahahahahaha. The problem is that I will never be able to afford a Prime 1 figure… :P

AR: Would you believe if I tell that I never saw in person a statue that I worked on? Even Prime1 owner doesn't have a copy of Arkham Knight Batman yet! Hahaha. Customers first! ;)

Sorry, I need a Batman for my self too! Hahaha

Thank you very much for your precious time. I’m pretty sure your interview will please all the fans and wannabe fans of Prime 1 and collectible figures in general.

TO SEE A LIST OF LINKS TO ALL 

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS FROM CCFIGURES

CLICK HERE.

TOO LAZY TO READ

I confess I’m a bit frustrated. It’s not every day that you get an exclusive interview with a Prime 1 Studio sculptor to read. Even so, what should be great news in my opinion goes as fast as hell to the bottom of the thread because subjects like “order this or order that”, “here’s my collection” and whatnot get so much attention from the viewers (I cannot call them readers) that sinks into oblivion an otherwise very interesting source of information. So I will do an immature thing here and ask you who read this article and like it to post a comment on the thread, so the interview can escalate some positions and become more readily available for true readers to find. Thank you. Sorry for being so childish. I had a lot of work putting it all together… :P

IT'S PRIME TIME AT WONDERFEST

From the signals I receive from the communities, Wonderfest in Japan was Prime 1’s playground. I only see pieces from the company being shown all over the net. And all big novelties, some of them I’m not even sure will see the light of the day here in West. Here is a little wrap up of what was revealed. I must admit that there were things from other companies but the only figures I got to see were the Prime 1 Studio ones. By this restriction I will only show the pieces from this company. What is not all that bad, isn’t it?

The great novelties came in the form of the new line of 1/4 figures from Prime 1, which per se it’s a novelty since the studio generally worked with 1/3 scale figure up until now. They launched two new licenses in the new format: DC’s League 52 and characters from the game Witcher 3. All amazing pieces, many still unpainted. Take a look:

Green Lantern emerging whirling from the underground (as I understood)

Superman from New 52. This one was already at display at SDCC

Witcher 3 characters were a great surprise, especially at this very developed stage. Here, Geralt

I still play a PS3 but a fellow reader told me her name is Ciri

And acording to this fellow reader this one and the next are the same character: Yennefer

Finally, this one is called Eredin, the king of the wild hunt

And the frog is just a frog but it looks freaking awesome.

If wasn’t enough the army of Batmans, friends and foes from Arkham series brought by Prime 1 in SDCC, they still kept a few ones to release at Wonderfest.

Azrael

A bad tempered Batman with bluish cape and mask holding Deathstroke helmet

Killer Croc is really monstrous, almost 1:2 scale. For sake of comparison,
that batskull is the size of a 1/3 head character from the series

Scarecrow apparently has a leg problem.

From the new flick Suicide Squad the only character I had access was Harley Quinn 1/3. By the way I guess all the following pictures are from 1/3 figures. Megatron old school I’m pretty sure is, since Optmus Prime old school is 1/3 and Megatron is meant to be a companion piece to him so…

Yet another Harley Quinn, now from Suicide Squad movie.

Ultraman!

Beast Wars. Will this guy come to West? Yeah, why not?

 

Megatron old school, another big surprise for the fans.

As you could see there were only revelations from Prime 1 Studios and, making a quick search on the net, I did find anything different, so I guess Prime 1 dominated the terrain of breaking news with others showing what they’ve already shown during SDCC.

Finally, I would like to thank Alex Thomas from Radd Titan FB group (I recommend!) from whom I “borrow” the majority of the images from this post. Thank you, man. I hope you don’t mind.

As I came to discover through a fellow member of the community this pictures are not from Wondercon but from Japan's Wonderfest. I look for it on the internet and found hundreds of figures more of different manufacturers but 99% of them based on anime or manga so the probability of they reaching West and interest polystone statues collectors are minimal. I apologize for my mistake but at least you got to know what Prime 1 Studio still have in store for us they didn't show on SDCC. I trully apologize for my mistake. I still don't know the calendar of events. But I'm learning. Yeah sir, I certainly am. The hard way,


To those who didn't read my SDCC wrap up and have some interest, I don't know for what reasons, you can access it here.

HOLY SDCC, BATMAN! - STATUES WRAP UP

I was asked to write an article commenting the SDCC, even though I’m miles away from there. My font of reference was the internet, mainly Facebook groups – a great source of information –. There were so many statues, action figures and whatnot that if I would cover every picture I saw I would be writing here ‘till the next SDCC. So I decided to focus only on statues, specifically the ones that caught more my attention. It’s a highly subjective article so fell free to criticize and comment.

First, if there was a character that defined this edition of the San Diego Comic Con it was Batman. Greatly because Prime 1 Studios brought 4 or 5 versions of the hero to the show and Sideshow brought three more (not to mention other companies). Second he was the one to get the most characters of his universe launched by the big companies.

The show was his (or theirs)

The things I was super excited to see (Prime 1 doing 1/4 scale figures and Sideshow Deadpool PF) were big letdowns for me. But I’ll get into it at the right time. Let’s begin with the Batman avalanche that assaulted Comic Con.

The Dark Knight that caused more hype was exactly Frank Miller’s Dark Knight Returns statue from Prime 1. As all Batmans from the company, this piece also has 1/3 but for a refresh it isn’t in a museum pose (even though it’s a not so cool pose). Altogether is a pretty cool piece and the sculpt was based – as the base and the bruises suggest – on Batman after the fight with the leader of the Mutants gang from DKR. I like the statue very much apart from one little big detail: his face is so deformed on one side by the bruises that it is difficult to make sense of what his face really looks like. I just hope they launch it with a second unbruised (or less hurt) head that resembles Frank Miller’s rendition of the hero.

Strange pose, strange face, huge hype. This came out of nowhere.

But for me, the greatest Batman of them all was also from Prime 1: Batman Beyond. I became a bit disappointed because it wasn’t bluer as on the preview images. It ended up black and gray which is much less cool than the bluer of the yester version. Nonetheless the level of details of this piece is nothing short of amazing and the size helps a lot in cause an impact. It’s on museum pose, which I don’t like much, but in this case fits the character perfectly making him extremely imposing. I’d never seen this Batman before because I stop reading comics around mid 1990’s and I have a PS3, therefore never played Arkham Knight game, but it’s an extremely creative take on Batman; it looks like a cyborg Batman of sorts. I don’t know, I just wished it stayed bluish.

Oh, if he was bluish like the preview it would be so much cooler...

I’ve changed my mind about the best Batman of the show! I completely forgot the coolest Batman of them all. I don’t know who’s producing this but King Batman is an absolute masterpiece. You see that it’s a labor of love, every single part of it painstakingly detailed and painted and he has this huge spread bat wing severed by battle that is freaking cool. It’s an incredibly impacting figure, violent and vicious, barbarian figure. It’s another Batman version I’ve never seen before. And one I won’t forget. It’s a pity I don’t have money or space to display it as the wing seems to be really big and the price should be as big as the wing.

Visceral

There were yet another curious Batman lurking away from the spotlight that grabbed the attention of some fans. Entitled Batman Red Rain it’s a dark exquisite rendition of Batman that certainly will please fans with a more artistic vision.

Dark gray and orange and very weird. Sure to capture the attention of artsy guys/gals.

Still on the Batman universe, there were several of partners and villains of the cape crusader on the show floor. Sideshow Bane caused much hype among the fans (obfuscating even Prime 1 Deathstroke) while I preferred Killer Croc from Sideshow and Two-Face from Prime 1. Sideshow also brought women companions for Batman, as Black Canary, Catwoman, Huntress and Cheetah. Of all the DC girls I would stay with Black Canary with her pinup pose and sexy expression. A prove that sideshow is really improving in doing women’s faces and expressions. None of the DC girls, to my taste, were match to the Marvel’s female team headed by Dark Phoenix and Captain Marvel.

Just like the comics. Just like the fans love and hype!

Cooler than Bane in my humble opinion. You can hate me now.

DC babies.

Speaking of Marvel I had my greatest disappointment of all time with Sideshow Collectibles when I saw the completed figure of their new PF Deadpool. It was like “take the cool, sleek, preview image we’re been teasing for months on our site and turn into a ridiculous carnival”. And so they did. Made an horrible base, simulating apparently the beginning of an explosion, Deadpool dodging a missile, a bullet in slow-motion coming out of the gun and the katana cutting a grenade in half. With that horrid translucent material all over it. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw what they did to my most eagerly awaited figure of all time. I thought by that preview picture that nothing could possibly go wrong with this statue. I couldn’t be more mistaken. Every part of the figure that was not shown turned out a big mess. I know the Deadpool spirit is to be a bit ridiculous but make a ridiculous statue due to that. C’mon... Well, on the bright side, I don’t have the money to buy it anyway because I bet with all this bells and whistles they put and the hype over the figure it will cost around $600.00. And even if I had 10,000.00 I wouldn’t buy this ridiculous piece of junk Sideshow made of a fantastic Deadpool sculpt. I wish all that trash was removable, one could put if one wanted and if one – me – doesn’t want, throw it all on the garbage. If it was like this, I could think about buying it even if with that overly ugly base. Oh, I put all my frustration out. Feel so relieved now. At least Sideshow was bold enough in turning a thing of beauty in something pathetic just to follow the more humorous facet of the character… clap, clap, clap… Wanna know who designed that. Very curious to know. Oh, and don't get me wrong, I loved the movie! Saw it twice!

Exploding (I guess) floor, cut grenade, missile, slow-motion bullet?
Take all that off and I'll take the figure.

 On the Marvel front, beyond Dead-bleargh-pool the great novelty was the Hulk vs. Wolverine diorama. That came out of nowhere and looked cooler than I thought. It’s not my type of statue but it has it’s presence. Wolverine is top notch, Hulk not so much. As Hulk is the biggest part of the diorama it’s a no go to me. I prefer to save money to buy the Hulk of the Hulks, the old Sideshow Incredible Hulk PF…

Good Wolverine, strange Hulk, the worst possible way. Ok, I'll pass.

Like I said on the girls front, Marvel goes very well. Besides already cited Captain Marvel and Dark Phoenix, Marvel counts with Gamora and Angela (the last being a bit without personality, between her and Black Canary I think I would pick the DC character).

Marvel gals (missing: Dark Phoenix)

Beyond this what really caught my attention on Sideshow booth were the animals (and vegetal) available there. First, the reinvention of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles that looks simply stunning, the way the turtles always meant to be.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles should look like this since the beginning! Cowabunga! Spot on.

Second but no less important are Rocket and Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy. They look absolutely fabulous and Groot is really big and awesome. They seem, as Gamora more based on the comics than in the movies and I like that. I like that overall on Sideshow. Generally the create their own vision of the character but always based on the comics. Of course always appears a PF from Avengers or Captain America flicks here and there but the majority is based on comics.

Comics fidelity. Nice. Very Nice indeed.

Another statue that generated much hype was Sideshow Predator from the first movie. I particularly don’t collect statues from movies, but the fans was crazy about it. It’ll be a best seller no matter what price they put on it. (What is bad for the industry and when I say industry I say my wallet.) Cinemaquette (or ECC I never knew the difference) had their own version of the Predator which may cost a small fortune. I’ll put them side by side so you can compare both, remembering nobody know if sideshow exclusive for this Predator is the head without helmet or not (but one can’t imagine any other exclusive item for this piece)

Sideshow or Cinemaquette (ECC). You or your pocket decides.

Oh, the entering of Prime 1 on the 1/4 market was a thing I thought would come to raise the level of this segment of statues but their fourth scale Superman from League 52 is just meh. The skin has Prime 1 special finish is there, the details are not as detailed as their 1/3 counterparts and the glossy finish that suits well the big third scale boys because mixes and balances with lots of opaque parts does not work very well on the Superman. For now, there’s nothing Sideshow or XM should worry about. But I still believe is just for now. Once Prime 1 gets the hang of the thing the 1/4 market will never be the same. By talking about changes in the market, in my interview with Randy Bowen he hinted he would or could make a partnership with one of the companies from the market. May we hear something about it on Comic Con? I can’t hardly wait and hope so. I wish it was with Sideshow because of ancient distribution partnerships that happened between the two companies. But one never knows.

Perfectly uninspired.

I’m not on action figures and I said I wouldn’t comment about it here but must I confess I saw two pictures of the golden Stormtrooper that got me drooling.

Oh, so shiny... so pretty...

Another one that had the same effect was Gremlin’s Gizmo going Rambo. The details of the figure are amazing you can swear the finger are real, not to mention the cute face with those two big lively eyes and the ooze dead gremlin behind him. If the figure comes with it (the dead gremlin) I would seriously consider save money to buy it.

 

Marvelous!

There were the Darth Vader invasion also at SDCC. He was there in all possible sizes, the bigger the Vader the more statue-like the pose. 1:6, Premium Format, Legendary Scale and 1:1 versions were available depending on the size of your pockets. I was astonished that there were 3 Star Wars 1:1 available: the aforementioned Vader, Boba Fett and a Stormtrooper. Looks like Star Wars fans houses tend to me more spacious than that of most other collectors. I didn’t see any Darth Vader with an alternative head without helmet but they weren’t showing the pieces with their respective exclusives, so there’s still hope.

I forgot to mention the 1:1 bust. Sorry, too many Vaders to remember.

Last but not least, there was the release of Court of the Dead jester Malavestros. I knew this was coming because every time a CotD character gets the spotlight is because a statue is coming and with the jester was no different. What I couldn’t preview was the incredible statue it turned out to be. I couldn’t care less for Court of the Dead but this statue entered on my most wanted list. The effect of the magic he is doing is not short of astonishingly whimsical. And the character per se is just fantastically sculpted. Not to mention the base. The color pallet of the figure is different from the dark tones from CotD characters what gives it a fresh feel almost like it was painted with watercolor. It’s the one figure that substituted my disappointment with Deadpool mess. A show stealer, in my opinion. Would love to know who sculpted and who colored it.

Along with King Batman, Malavestros the statue that stole the show.

Iron Studios was the only one to bring Spider-Man to the floor as well as a Civil War flick statue, Falcon (part of an enormous 1/4 diorama they will be launching along this year and the next). It was the first appearance of the Brazilian studio on a SDCC. Hope more to come.

And I didn’t even mention the full return of Sideshow to terror movie characters with nothing less than Jason, Freddy Kruger, Leatherface, and the woman from Helraiser! I didn’t mention because I don’t collect horror figures but fans of the genre got pretty excited by the news. I don’t collect busts too and there were several the only one that grabbed my attention was the Cinemaquette Freddy Kruger, very expressive and extremely similar to the movie character. Many didn’t like the base but it resembled me the place where Kruger was burnt. And there was the corridor in the middle with a silhouette of Kruger at the end. Pretty awesome if you ask me. But I don’t talk about busts.

Sharp.

Well there were of course more figures, dozens more statues to comment but the post would become too extensive for anybody to read. Therefore, I stayed with the ones I thought most significant from what I saw on the net and finish remembering you that it’s a highly subjective article and that you’re free to comment otherwise and share your thoughts about whose figures stole the show. Thanks for reading and if you interested on the people who actually make this pieces of pop culture art I invite you to read a series of interviews I’m doing with key people on the industry:

- Randy Bowen

- MattBlack – Part I (Sideshow)

- MattBlack – Part II (Sideshow)

- GabrielEbehardt (Iron Studios)

More interviews to come after SDCC (I hope!).