RAMBLINGS ABOUT SS ON SDCC

Having nothing better to do, I decided to write. The SDCC at least on SS side is becoming tastier and tastier. I’m sure disappointed with the recycling of the characters presented by the company but if Red Sonja is any indicator of the improvements over the tried and true characters I am very excited about the new Wolverine even though they could make a less obvious take of him like a Weapon X version for a change. Magneto is the most expected character of the show and I think the probability of disappointment is big. For my side I mean. Since I’m expecting something truly innovative and cool without loosing the characteristics of the master of magnetism. Not an easy achievement. But the thing I’m more curious about Magneto will be it’s price tag. Depending on the base, I believe it could hit the $800 price point. What is bad news, of course, meaning the crazy price escalate isn’t showing any signals of slowing down. The creative director of Sideshow numbered increasing complexity of the pieces and rising production costs in China as the main villains of the price frenzy, what I believe just to be half-true. The fact is that our hobby became so popular that there’s always demand for the prices they ask. But I will not complain about it anymore. Got tired of it. My next figure will only come when all my reward points are in, this means December 2018, so I will keep on the fridge for a long time. If you want to fight the prices somehow I’ve created a petition, it’s on the right side of this blog (if you’re not seeing it on a cell, I don’t think it appear on the cell mode of the blog). The change.org petition asks for flex payment to begin as soon as the pre-order is open giving more months to pay therefore lowering the values we pay for a figure each month. If you think it’s a good idea, you can sign it. They maybe never change the flex payment terms but at least we tried. The more we are the more noise we’ll do.

Back to SDCC, others that must be excited with it are Court of the Dead fans with two or three figures to be unveiled. None of them has the appeal of Malavestros to me but I’m not CotD fan, to be honest I’m not this or that fan, I buy what catches my eye and fits into my pocket.

I’m not excited at all, by the way, with Lady Deadpool, but it fits well its place of companion piece to the uber over the top Heat Seeker (which seems to be a flop since the ex is still available for pre-order almost a year after it’s release). What differentiates this year from the last, in my opinion is the investment on life-size busts which were absent from last SDCC apart from a CotD mask as I remember it (my memory is one of my weak spots, so I might be mistaken). One point that got me thinking is that many collectors are running out of space to display their figures having no option but resell part of their collections or stopping collecting for once. I already have (or will have, since my room is not yet ready to display my figures properly) problems with that, I can only imagine the truly addicted collectors. Yes, because I discovered collecting is addictive. I’m doing my best to not fall into addiction but I admit the new Sonja alone already got me salivating since I don’t have any version of her, love women statues and she looks so darn pretty. But I’ll keep my abstinence until December 2018 no matter what. If she is still available, what is not impossible, I may consider acquiring her with my reward points.

People were complaining about Boba Fett's neckless bust

Other point that Sideshow seem to be investing more heavily than last year is on Art Prints, even though, apart from the Adam Hughes Star Wars ladies panel, the prints seem very uninspired compared with earlier efforts. To be honest I only have one Art Print – Spider-Woman – that I’ll finally frame when I do the reform of my room in 2018 (or so I hope). Meanwhile, back to SDCC. It’s still ten days away and every day, as soon as I get home, I run to check my e-mails to see if there’s another exciting reveal from SS. It’s been fun and surprising so far. Star Wars fans are in for a treat with several products coming their way including two life-size busts. They better get some room in those man caves. Lol.

Aliens fans must also be rejoiced with the launch of Alien Warrior and the announcement of Alien Queen maquette, even though some think the Alien Warrior is small and made of plastic (or PVC whatever) not resin. The price suggests both. I hope that at least the plastic part is not true because it would be huge letdown and a scary prospect for future Sideshow releases. They didn’t even put the weight of the figure on the pre-order page what is a bad sign. I have to get ready for my appointment today so I continue once I get back, hoping news from Sideshow have already arrived and that they will be cool. Let me finish saying that to me the best piece to come from SS in the near future was already revealed. Hulk life-size bust. I made the crazy move of ordering it on day one, yes, I talk about it very much but I can’t stop thinking of it. When the flex payment comes in in August I’ll have a hard time with my mother since she controls my pension/finances and will be enraged with the $176 bucks on my credit card plus the last payment of Killer Croc, and one month later with the start of Malavestros payments. It is a thing that worries me a lot but it’s a statue that I must have. To me is the best version of Hulk ever done, beating even OG Hulk. As OG Hulk was my all-time most desired figure (green version), to have the opportunity of acquiring one piece that beats him is just too sweet. I don’t believe another figure will wow me as much as this Hulk bust but I may burn my tongue. I don’t believe Magneto will be the figure to top it. Red Sonja is a very distant contender but I’m very curious to see her full body. Well, let me go to my appointment. I come back later. 8:14. Gotta go.

Nothing short of amazing.

9:17. I'm in the CAPS (Center of Psychosocial Aid). There are two groups happening, gardening and soul collage. I'm not in the mood to none of them. The gardening group is composed for people with more severe mental disorders. They are noisy but funny and happy, not depressed as is common around here. The CAPS is divided in two houses one for people with problems like depression, panic, addiction (my case along with bipolar disorder, both under control, thankfully). The other house is for people with things like schizophrenia and other more disruptive disorders. The people from the second house participate from the gardening activity that's why they are here. I don't know why I am talking about this, I think it is to give an overview of my weekly activities. I come here on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays because are the days of the AD (Alcohol and Drugs) groups. I’ll put the iPod on since there's too much noise around for me to concentrate on the writing.

10:10. It's a pain to write on the cell. Gosh. But back to figures. One thing that I've read and that made sense to me is that bases of the figures are getting bigger (especially XM's) and that they take even more space from collectors' caves or rooms. My room is rather small so I can't afford to have dozens of 1/4 figures nor have money to do it. Besides this, I live in Brazil so it's almost impossible to acquire a XM statue and to be real sincere they don't attract me, I don't know why, I think I don't get what's so special about them, I think they lack personality albeit being highly detailed and well finished. I know that there are the amazing bases but my focus is on the character and nobody does characters with so much personality like Sideshow. Their head sculpts are unbeatable and the face is the focal point of a statue, as once stated Mark Newman, one of the greatest sculptors of our hobby. If I would happen to have one XM piece it would be Vulture or Black Bolt because I think both captured the characters Sideshow style. Prime 1 also does not do the cut for me. I think their figures extremely well done but without a soul. They're also super detailed and presents impeccable production value but lacks the personality Sideshow oozes. I guess I am a Sideshow fanboy, forgive me for that. I guess all my texts are biased towards Sideshow. But that's who I am and this is the way my texts go. There are one or two pieces I would like to have from Prime 1, like Two Face and that nightmarish villain who uses a hallucinogenic gas which name I don't recall right now. Scarecrow! I asked a geek friend from CAPS now. Other than that, especially on Prime 1 1/4 front, nothing attracts me; well apart Spider-Man 2099, which I think, is very cool. All the others seem blunt to me, no matter how detailed they are. But what I dislike the most about Prime 1 are the prices, especially from their 1/4 line up. I think they’re driving the prices up in the market sending the message that there is demand for very expensive 1/4 pieces, but it may be only conspiracy theory of me. However, I don’t demerit neither Prime 1 nor XM, they do really astounding figures, the only thing is that they don’t match my taste. I know it sounds like heresy or dumb to prefer Sideshow pieces over Prime 1 and XM ones, since these two are the darlings of collectors, but to each their own. I respect both companies but I believe none of them would be capable of doing a Hulk bust like the Sideshow one, just to cite an example.

13:27. I am already at home had lunch and ran to see my e-mails a check Sideshow’s site. I found the Adam Hughes Art Print to be expensive even unframed. $125. If I were a Star Wars fan I would give it. Alias if I were a Star Wars fan who haven’t promised himself to only buy a new collectible when the reward points enter in December 2018, I would buy it. It’s definitely not my case. Apart that novelty, there is the launch of SS line of Suicide Squad PF. If there’s one thing Sideshow is terrible in is replicating an actor/actress face. You can see it on the Harley Quinn that’s for pre-order and not see it on the Joker preview that they prudently photographed with the face hidden. To be honest in a world where there is Hot Toys you can’t compete. Prime 1 effort on Suicide Squad Harley Quinn is laughable too. So nothing too exciting about SDCC on Sideshow today. So far… I will revise it, get the images and post it.

14h50. One thing that I noticed when searching the figures for this post is that in the “Coming Soon” section of Sideshow’s site Magneto’s preview simply vanished. So did Red Sonja. Maybe it means something? Or it was just a flaw they committed. Who knows? 

P.S.: this is my 90th post! :D
P.S. 2: they fixed the Coming Soon and added Magneto and Red Sonja. Did they read this? Or was it just coincidence?

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