I have to take my hat off XM. They’ve put up the most impressive show. Better than Sideshow at SDCC and that’s saying a lot coming from an auto-proclaimed Sideshow fanboy. While Sideshow invested in portraits that are more realistic as the differential, XM truly innovated creating never before seen daring dioramas. Though there was plenty of average statues to the average collector (many very, very cool) the showstoppers were really geared towards top money collectors with plenty of space. Even though I believe, one of the best ones will be affordable to the average XM collector, the Hulk Transformation, a very inventive take on the hero, marvelously executed as Doctor Banner is detached from Hulk, making several ways of display possible. And they delivered one of the best Hulks sculptures I ever saw.
As I said, aside from Hulk Transformation the show wasn’t short of dioramas, some gigantic, all fantastically detailed and painted (a feature the XM highly praised QC will certainly deliver). I have no doubt that what was shown on the floor will be exactly like the piece you will receive at home. If they don’t improve it. XM seemed not to be afraid of alienate part of their customers from its more innovative – and massive – pieces. And there were several. Batman Shogun was one of them, a statue with a horse where the horse makes a big difference unlike Prime 1’s Wonder Woman on horse IMHO.
The incredible Hulkbuster and its capacity to accommodate a 1/4 scale Iron Man coming out of him allowing for a variety of display options is impactful as well. And big.
The megastructure that is X-Men versus Sentinel diorama (which I don’t know why didn’t impress me as much as the ambition of such project) but is sure to please the deep-pocketed fans.
Finally, the diorama that stole the show due to its concise (so to say) size and surprising harmony of design: Batman Sanity. To display so many characters at once in such a constricted space and with elegance was no small feat. To me, the best sculpture ever released by XM. The only piece that I would truly own from the company, even though I know I will never have the means to. Because I can’t. I’m the average collector. And I know many won’t either. Affordability and displayability don’t seem to be a concern of XM as they sure are to Sideshow (a quality that I like about SS).
XM set or create a new standard with their dioramas. I don’t know where they go from here, how the industry and the collectors will react to what they shared. But I believe was the best expo I ever saw in my collector's life. There was something for everybody, everything impressive. Almost everything, I disliked the Red Hulk (just plain ugly, especially on the back) and the 1/3 Captain America failed to impress me (even though I love how the scales on the uniform turn feather-like in the shoulders of the statue). I still think that regarding portraits, Sideshow tops XM but only in this aspect (apart from being easily available and more affordable in the US where my brother lives). This show may be a game changer to the industry, especially if XM manage to sellout these crazy dios, which I’m certain they will. Hobby is about to get even more expensive I guess (albeit I thought the prices to be reasonable for what one will get, which isn’t the case with Prime 1 insane pricing and sometimes with my beloved Sideshow).
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| Wanna see Sideshow top this base on their upcoming Juggernaut. |
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