AFRAID OF THE NEXT SDCC

I’ve finished my collection (counting the P.O.s) but for one piece that I’m negotiating with the factory, Gantaku, the Balance of Nine Skies Azure Dragon SHCC version. It’s all almost set. Therefore, I already consider it a P.O. Being that way, here’s what’s yet to come:

Putting them all together got me wowed at how many pieces I’ve pre-ordered. It’s a lot to me. All have a special meaning to me, each one gave the “click” and I deeply like them all. Certainly, to my parameters, is a great finale that will slowly arrive in the months to come. And may take years for all of them – along with others – make their way from my brother’s US basement to my room in Brazil. Maybe I will have to wait until 2020 to have them all here. But my room is already being planned by an architect to accommodate all the figures I have and the ones yet to arrive. I hope she can figure it out because my room isn’t that big.

Well, with these statues, I feel I finally completed my collection. The sense of fulfillment is very pleasant, something I never experienced before in around fifteen years of collecting. I think I’m done and I’m very glad I did. It’s not a big collection. I have several Japanese PVC figures I can’t even dare to name, but I can list the resin ones. You will realize I have the tendency to choose underrated statues, having no grail whatsoever. Here’s the list I passed to the architect with the measurements (which I will not mention here):

- SS Hulk Life-Size Bust (green version)

- SS The Thing Maquette (from the infamous movie)

- SS Daredevil OG (the one before the Daniel Bel one)

- SS He-Man

- SS Capitain America Allies Charge Against Hydra

- SS Captain Marvel

- SS Red Sonja Queen of Scavengers

- SS Rebel Terminator

- SS Harley Quinn

- SS The Little Mermaid

- Gentle Giant Babydoll

- PCS Blanka Player 2

- Volks Rei Ayanami

- Prime 1 Batman Beyond White Version

- Diamond Select Marvel Milestones The Thing

- Bowen Man-Thing

- Bowen Silver Surfer Faux Bronze

- Bowen Spider-Man Symbiont Museum

- Bowen Spider Man Museum

- Custom Wolverine Beast Mode

- Gantaku Azure Dragon

- 5 DC Collectibles Batman Black & White

Well, that’s about it. I pre-ordered Harley Quinn yesterday in a leap of faith because the architect isn’t counting with her and I don’t know if Sideshow will deliver on the painting of the figure, what worries me the most, since it is a complex painting scheme, especially the portrait. The architect isn’t certain about Azure Dragon as well. The remodeling will take place in February next year and I believe everything will fit, even though a lot of empty spaces will remain until all the figures arrive in Brazil, the biggest of them to Prime 1 Batman Beyond, a figure I can’t fully grasp the size since I’ve never seen a 1/3 upclose. It will be the second centerpiece of my collection with a dedicated place to it. The other centerpiece being Hulk LSB that will be right at the entrance of my room to cause the impact that this is not an ordinary room but, I believe, a magical room with so much to see and grasp, especially in Brazil, specifically in my region (Northeast) where I don’t know anybody that collect statues. And it will be a pleasure I can only imagine being in a room surrounded by these fantastic characters. I am pretty sure my life will be happier when they come out of the boxes and go to the shelves, all protected with glass, of course, since I don’t have the patience to dust them off. Only Hulk will be “free” because I think a glass box would diminish its impact. I guess Hulk is the figure I love the most, the one I would never let go. Even though it will be very difficult to sell any of my figures for two reasons: first, I’m in Brazil and second, I will have to throw away all the boxes. There’s simply no room for them in the apartment. I don’t know what will happen if I have to move. And I don’t want to think about it. My plan is to stay here till my last breath but chaos-destiny is very unpredictable, one can only wonder. Excuse me, I will smoke a cigarette, can’t do it inside the apartment (where I live with two persons that hate smoking, my mom and my stepdad).

Underrated corner

Well, even though I believe I acquired all the pieces I can possibly desire I am afraid of the next SDCC. Sideshow keeps pushing boundaries regarding portraits, especially female ones. In addition, I geared my collection towards girls. I believe no one will surpass the ones I already have but I thought that when pre-ordered Red Sonja and had to eat my words due to Harley Quinn, Rebel Terminator, and The Little Mermaid. Luckily, I survived unharmed to SDCC 18 but nobody knows what’s just around the corner. And this thought is unsettling to me. I asked the architect to plan my room taking into account free space for three more figures (now two, since Harley Quinn wasn’t on the plan) but I don’t know if this will be possible because I think she didn’t take into account my PVC anime collection with around two dozen figures from 1/7 to nendroids. Anyway, the future worries me because I can’t get “clicked” by any other figure and the possibility exists. What doesn’t exist is room for it. I won’t be able to sell the less desired figure and replace it with a new one because I won’t have the boxes anymore. I could just stop visiting the communities but they are a source of joy to me, I won’t do it. Maybe since my collection is complete I will gradually lose interest in the community but I hardly think so.

I just hope my room becomes a marvelous enchanted place to be. And that I can resist the temptation if it comes. I’m almost certain it will come. Got to be prepared and enjoy the feeling of having every piece I desire. I closed a cicle in my life, a long and delightful cicle dedicated to this hobby and its amazing pieces. I’m done with what I have and it feels good. I thought I would be taken by a sentiment of emptiness but it’s quite the opposite. I feel full, complete, satisfied, happy, and very, very curious about how my room will turn out. How will I feel being in it? How cool it will be to spend some time watching my pieces, these fifteen years of great hits and terrible misses, gaining experience and sharping my tastes, being wowed and disappointed. Was a hell of a ride. But it’s over. Once I achieve the pre-order of Azure Dragon. The rest is waiting. Then contemplating the small world of wonder I built to myself. Living in it. Loving it. Proud of it even though no one gets it. I totally get it and it is all the matters. Until next SDCC… better not to think about it. Live and let live. Thanks for reading.

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TWO SUBJECTS

I realize that whenever Sideshow launches a new line of characters they start with only two subjects of the two main characters of a given universe. That’s how it happened with the Masters of the Universe line when they brought He-Man and Skeletor as the opening pieces so to grab the most fans possible. It’s a smart move because the bet is high since a line can flop and bring loss to the company. They make at least two so that the piece don’t stay out of context in one’s collection. So they bring a companion piece most that bough the first one would be interest in acquiring. The same move is being taken for the Gotham City Nightmare line. They revealed Batman and will be bringing Joker as the companion piece. However, in GCN case I don’t think the art style of both statues match at all. I see them as two completely different takes on the concept of the line with art directions very different from each other. I don’t know if this will give unity to the line at all. Both are devilish and distorted versions of the characters but in very different ways. I guess the art directors were different for each project. You can take a look and judge for yourselves on the video below.

Did you see how different they are in terms of… everything? I don’t think this is really a bad thing, just don’t give the line the unity, in my head, it meant to have. I think both statues bold and creative and really shows what makes Sideshow different from the other companies. I really hope this line to be a success since I cannot imagine what they can do with other characters from the Batman universe. Though I will not buy this line I will gladly watch what’s the next step, who’s next in line to receive the nightmarish treatment and save pics of the characters for myself as I often do with figures I wish I have but can’t own. (See I still have some sense in my mind. Lol.)

Wish the best for this line as I find one of the most creative and daring undertaking Sideshow ever embraced. I'm all in to creative freedom and this line seems to give Sideshow artists just this, what is extremely rare outside the realm of custom figures. Kudos to the company for that.  

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On a very different subject, who seem to be losing their minds are the money guys from Sideshow. The last two PFs launched by the company cost well above $600. If this is a signal of things to come, the future seems very bleak for the average collector. The figures in question are Lady Deadpool PF and K-2SO PF. Although I didn’t get so surprised with Lady Deadpool price, since she has all the bells and whistles that allegedly raised the production costs and overall final price of Deadpool Heat-Seeker, I was very surprised with K-2SO price. The piece has metal legs, light up feature in the eyes and is a taller statue than average but none of these, nor the Star Wars license justifies such an abusive price for such a simple statue. I don’t know where Sideshow was with its head when priced K-2SO. I certainly hope it’s an off the marker mistake took by the company or else I’ll not be able to afford the pieces I intend to acquire in 2017-2018. To be honest I’m really concerned about the future of collecting. Two years ago the PFs average prices were around $400-450 now as it seems PFs are furiously galloping to the $600 plus average. This is simply unbearable to many collectors and I hope this not to be really a trend. I know and said it before that Prime 1 pushed the prices up with their 1/4 scale figures but each one has different target customers. Prime 1 brings to the table a higher quality product whereas Sideshow (used) to bring cheaper pieces. The quality of the casting of Sideshow cannot compete with Prime 1’s, which has heavier better-finished figures. The only downside of Prime 1 – a trap they set for themselves – is the so-called translucent resin they use for skin that doesn’t seem to support a lot of detail as normal resin does. It works just fine with 1/3 figures due to their sizes but not translate well for smaller 1/4 figures. But I’m deviating from the subject. All I really wanted to say is that the new Red Sonja to be under $500 and the Swamp Thing Maquette be no higher than $750. These are fair prices and everybody gets happy with them. Sideshow for selling well their pieces and the costumers for paying a decent amount for the products they get. Otherwise, the nightmare won’t be only in Gotham City.   

ABANDONING THE ADDICTION

My last acquisition. Or so I hope.

I thought it would be harder. To stop buying collectible figures. But once the decision was taken it was extremely easy for me to give up. I still have circa $150 in reward points on Sideshow that I intend to spent most probably in the She-Ra they’ll launch. Maybe it was easier than I thought because there hasn’t been any new statue that really grabbed my attention. This certainly helped me a lot. It also helped the fact that I don’t have any more free space to display new statues appropriately. I’ve put “Blackstar” from Bowie on the CD player because this was the album I used to listen when writing for this blog when it was the most important aspect of my life and I used to publish several posts a week. Always to receive heavy criticism from you, fellow collectors. I think the prices rise have come to a halt nowadays, at least at Sideshow side of things, stabilizing around the $500 for the average figures. This is a good thing. But the money I spent last year in figures almost broke me (another reason that pushed me to stop). I realize that, besides the lack of free space, collecting such expensive pieces was above and beyond my financial reality. I’m Brazilian and Economy is not going all too well around here. But even if it was going all fine it would still be unbearable to me to spend so much money on said figures. Want it or not $500 is not small money and can make a huge difference in one’s budget. Let alone if you spend this amount every two months average. Sometimes spending over 1k in one month. I confess I was a bit out of control in the past two years. And realize that collecting is like an addiction and decided that I needed to stop for the reasons aforementioned and because no addiction is good. Am I satisfied with my collection? Of course not. That are several pieces I would like to have and many will come that will get me drooling over them but one needs to know when to draw a line of what is sane and what is sheer insanity. I was insane about figures didn’t measuring the consequences of my urge to have the next cool piece that appeared. I am addicted to other things, heavy stuff, and had to put myself together, utilize a great deal of self-criticism, self-control, discipline and will to stop them. That was not easy at all. By comparison, to quit collecting figures was a piece of cake. Even though I love my collection, I still get myself thinking in the thousands of dollars I’ve spent on the pieces with astonishment. And what boggles me the most is what people will do with this figures when I’m no longer here? Of course my family will not want to keep them nor know the value of said statues or how fragile and delicate they are. So, I don’t know which end they’ll have but most certainly will not be a good one. And if I happen to move to another country, which is a great possibility, how will I take them with me? And where will I display them if I get to live with my brother in the US? There isn’t space to display them in his house and of course will be impossible for me to bring them all with me on a plane. So the statues can become quite a burden to me and my family. I never took all of this in consideration when I bought them. Have you?  In order to solve this I will be obliged to sell them for a price way below the market average since I will have to compensate the shipping costs from Brazil to US lowering the price to make them an attractive sale. But this is the future and problems that concern only to me, it is not the general scenario of the collectors.

Another thing that turned me off collecting is that from now on every statue will be computer generated and not hand sculpted, given scarce exceptions. Even though this means more detailed and fast produced pieces it also steals a great deal of the magic these statues have to me. Even though is the same artist doing his thing on Z Brush, I believe pieces created by hand to have a more artistic and limited flavor. Maybe I’m being a bit conservative here but that’s because I started collecting quite a while ago in mid 90’s. I will not blind myself to the benefits of technology and denial that there’s still artistry in modelling statues digitally but to me it steals part of the “soul” of the statues. The sum of all these factors made me abandon the addiction all the more easily. It was a blast to participate of such a vibrant and passionate community even though my posts were more bashed than praised. That’s not a definitive goodbye, since I’ll still follow the community and the market because I still love statues. But it will be like an alcoholic entering a bar and asking a Coke. I may or may not write a new article here and there but that is not an exciting piece of info to you as I’m aware. Excuse me for my broken English. As I said time and time again, I’m a self-taught English speaker so I don’t know even the basic formal rules. Sorry for that. And happy collecting to you all. :) 

THE BEST STATUE OF 2016 IMHO...

The best of 2016. Hands down.

SDCC has come and gone and now all the cards are on the table what makes this post all the more valid today. I'll go direct to the point: for me the best statue this year by a far margin is Sideshow Collectibles rendition of Skeletor to the reimagined Masters of The Universe line-up. I can’t imagine how much effort and creativity went into modelling it and design the new meaner and realistic skull not to mention the ultra cool yellow skull head of Sideshow’s Exclusive version (to me the best Exclusive item to date, beating even Deadpool’s dead chicken arm and the graceful Jean Grey head of Dark Phoenix). I can’t decide which head to choose since both are so well modeled and painted. I guess I’ll keep on changing them every week just for the sake of perpetually renewed coolness.

But, beyond the heads, the armor and sword are what really set this figure apart any other this year. Even though Skeletor is a 1/5 scale figure its armor is more detailed than Doctor Doom Legendary Scale one (also from Sideshow) which says a lot, since, Doctor Doom is an extremely intricate detailed and huge sculpture. I really hope the final version can deliver all the little tiny details in every part of the armor, a true labor of love from the artists involved (Nathan Mansfield and Matt Black in the sculpting and Adam Smith and Chadwick Anderson in mold and cast).

Pointy skeleton-like fingers. Awesome staff,

I even love the cape with its weary black layers on the back and purple velvet on the inside. The thin and pointy fingers, thinner yet strong arms, everything was modeled to perfection here. Everything in proportion, no anatomy anomalies, simply put: there are no flaws in this statue. If I were to mention one is that the base is not as detailed as the rest of the piece causing a bit of dissonance in the whole, but nothing that pales this astonishing work. I don’t mind Skeletor have nipples or a belly button. I mind it to be on my collection this November. And that he arrives intact and well finished (because after this...).

Layered weary cape. The thing of a darkness being.

Although not as detailed as the rest, a cool base nonetheless.

To me, Skeletor is the best statue in Sideshow’s history and one that will be hard to beat. I know this is a bold statement to do but I’m pretty convinced of it. And yes I look at Sideshow Archives every now and then. But they only get better at every new launch so much so that the past efforts look like sketches of things nowadays.

The statue in its full glory.

Is that the enemy of She-Ra on the belt?

Such a nice "couple".

I would be glad to hear your thoughts about the Skeletor figure and which figure you would choose as the best of the year so far.

You can read an interview with Skeletor's sculptor Matt Black here, where he speaks about the figure among other things. There's a second part of the interview that is as interesting as the first here. Don't miss the reading is totally worthwhile.

OTHER COOL EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS FROM CCF:

- Erick Sosa

- Sideshow Collectibles Alfred Paredes

- XM Studios Bryan Tan

- Randy Bowen

- Iron Studios Gabriel Ebehardt

- Prime 1 Studios Alvaro Ribeiro

THE BEST STATUE OF 2016 …ALREADY?!

The best of 2016. Hands down.

I know is a little too early for this with so many awesome figures yet to come, but for me the best statue this year by a far margin is Sideshow Collectibles rendition of Skeletor to the reimagined Masters of The Universe line-up. I can’t imagine how much effort and creativity went into modelling it and design the new meaner and realistic skull not to mention the ultra cool yellow skull head of Sideshow’s Exclusive version (to me the best Exclusive item to date, beating even Deadpool’s dead chicken arm and the graceful Jean Grey head of Dark Phoenix). I can’t decide which head to choose since both are so well modeled and painted. I guess I’ll keep on changing them every week just for the sake of perpetually renewed coolness.

But, beyond the heads, the armor and sword are what really set this figure apart any other this year. Even though Skeletor is a 1/5 scale figure its armor is more detailed than Doctor Doom Legendary Scale one (also from Sideshow) which says a lot, since, Doctor Doom is an extremely intricate detailed and huge sculpture. I really hope the final version can deliver all the little tiny details in every part of the armor, a true labor of love from the artists involved (Nathan Mansfield and Matt Black in the sculpting and Adam Smith and Chadwick Anderson in mold and cast).

Pointy skeleton-like fingers. Awesome staff,

I even love the cape with its weary black layers on the back and purple velvet on the inside. The thin and pointy fingers, thinner yet strong arms, everything was modeled to perfection here. Everything in proportion, no anatomy anomalies, simply put: there are no flaws in this statue. If I were to mention one is that the base is not as detailed as the rest of the piece causing a bit of dissonance in the whole, but nothing that pales this astonishing work. I don’t mind Skeletor have nipples or a belly button. I mind it to be on my collection this November. And that he arrives intact and well finished (because after this...).

Layered weary cape. The thing of a darkness being.

Although not as detailed as the rest, a cool base nonetheless.

To me, Skeletor is the best statue in Sideshow’s history and one that will be hard to beat. I know this is a bold statement to do but I’m pretty convinced of it. And yes I look at Sideshow Archives every now and then. But they only get better at every new launch so much so that the past efforts look like sketches of things nowadays.

The statue in its full glory.

Is that the enemy of She-Ra on the belt?

Such a nice "couple".

I would be glad to hear your thoughts about the Skeletor figure and which figure you would choose as the best of the year so far.

You can read an interview with Skeletor's sculptor Matt Black here, where he speaks about the figure among other things. There's a second part of the interview that is as interesting as the first here. Don't miss the reading is totally worthwhile.