HULK BUST IS HOLLOW… SO IS EVERY STATUE

The weight of a given statue is one of the things that grants it that sensation of being a special item, not a toy, I guess most of us agree with that. But all of them are hollow to some degree. Otherwise, they would be too costly and complicated to produce and shipping costs would be astronomical. Not to mention the hurdles to display them safely. It is true, however, that some companies make them more hollow than others. Even though I never saw a Prime 1 or a XM statue crack open, legend says they put more polystone or whatever material they use than Sideshow but they’re all hollow in the wider parts. By the way, Sideshow by being the most popular brand out there is always the aim of the majority of the criticisms among collectors. Maybe this is true, maybe SS makes hollower statues, but I don’t believe this to be the decisive point in the choice of a piece over the other. That being said I was a bit shocked at how light the new Sideshow Hulk bust seemed to be during the Sideshow Live broadcast. But thinking over it I believe this means some good things. For once, the shipping costs won’t be as heavy as they would if the statue were heavier. I have more options of display without being afraid of a shelf collapse by the weight of it. Finally, that may mean Sideshow is aiming for a friendlier price tag, maybe around $700, since is a much simpler bust to produce than the Deadpool one (which may be just as hollow as Hulk even though it is said to weight about 15 kg). I may being very optimistic here, I know. And I’m more optimistic yet because a lot of the community rejected the sculpt of the bust referring often to it as the “stroke” Hulk. The more the haters, the more the chance of getting it for a cheaper price. A price that I can pay, I mean. I agree that the bust seems way too hollow and I’m afraid of breakage if the resin layer is too thin, but I guess it’s not the case. It’s just that Hulk is too bulky in his forms that leaves a lot of empty space inside, more than other busts. And regardless of its weight it definitely doesn’t look like a toy. I think the art style is outstanding, so much in fact that it is the first bust I seriously consider buying even though I really don’t like this format of statue. And I had quit collecting, mind you. However, this piece is too awesome to pass (depending on the price once again). Besides, its one of the last hand sculpted pieces we'll see. And I value hand sculpting a lot.

The one thing that bogged me the most (and wasn’t mentioned by nobody) is the use of a very brownish green in the shadows and very heavily in my opinion. Hulk should be green. I don’t know where the brown fits in the color scheme. It seem disruptive to me. Other than that, there is the meh base which seems out of place with the statue, but looking at Deadpool bust it seems to have the same very base, so maybe Sideshow is trying to unify the bases visual of all their new Marvel busts. I don’t like it but it’s such a minor part of the whole product that I can pass over that.

I hope haters continue to hate and spread the hate on the web to create a chain of rejection that motivates Sideshow to lower the price in order to attract consumers like me, that can’t spend 1k on a piece no matter how much they love it. Around $700 would be the sweet spot to me. Same price as SS Joker bust, a much more complex piece with mixed media and all (yes, I know the times were others but I believe the times are changing again, the figure boom is slowly fading and new SS prices reflect this). On this topic of the market boom passing I guess it doesn’t affect XM Studios as they always had low ES and their cult surpasses everything on the market. But I see Prime 1 and SS edition sizes diminishing and SS rethinking their price points. I believe the market is oversaturated with statues. That’s the trend I’m getting but I may be completely wrong. After all I’m the one who loves the Hulk bust against all trends. Lol. 

Update: Hulk bust is on sale for $980. Ouch. But I ordered it.