Tag Archives: statues

Nov 29 2024

DC Comics: Power Girl Premium Format Figure by Sideshow

Happy Day After Thanksgiving! Obviously, there was no review on Wednesday as I put in some extra hours at work and then spent some time getting stuff done around the house. Chances are I may be missing a day or two here and there as I move closer to moving. But, yesterday was a good day of rest and food and now it’s time to get back to it! It’s been a little bit since I last checked out a Premium Format release from Sideshow, and that’s because I really haven’t been picking any up. And as someone who is in the process of packing up his collection to move, the fewer of these I have to schlep 700 miles across two States the better. And because the lovely Kara Zor-El here is going to be getting tucked back into her Styrofoam bed soon, I figured it would be a good idea to check her out before that happens!

I don’t think I’ll ever get used to just how big these boxes are when they show up at my front door! I have wanted a Power Girl PF Figure ever since the last one Sideshow did. I came so close to pulling the trigger on that previous release, but truth be told, I just couldn’t budget it at the time and soon she was only available for stupid money on the secondary market. When this new version was announced, all my sorrows went away, because I liked everything about this version a lot more. But, the timing was bad, because I had my eyes and money on a different PF Figure about to release and so once again, I had to put her on hold. But she eventually wound up on one of Sideshow’s sales and the discount along with some unspent Reward Points got her down to a manageable number and she finally flew to my shelf. Yup, it was quite a roller-coaster getting here! Anyway, the box is colorful, and as big and heavy as you would expect a quarter-scale statue box to be. As usual, there’s some assembly required here, both magnets and pegs, but getting Kara slotted into the stand was a bit of a terrifying chore. I got there eventually, and I have to say the balance and stability on display here is a wonder of applied physics.

Oh, Kara my Kara! So, straightaway I’ll say that my two favorite improvements seen here over the last version is the better proportions and the dynamic hovering flight pose. Don’t get me wrong, I would have been perfectly happy owning that one, but in comparison, she looks a little chunky in the limbs and the regular stance on a rocky diorama base is a little pedestrian compared to what we got here. It may not seem fair to make so many comparisons against a piece I don’t own, but believe me I spent a lot of time pouring over those pictures back then. Here, Power Girl strikes a bold and triumphant pose, levitating in the air with a swirl of comic-art clouds miraculously supporting her not-insignificant polystone weight. Her left hand rests on her hip, while the right flexes. She offers a beautifully understated smile, looking off to the side while her half-cape flutters off in the opposite direction. It’s a comic book cover come to 3D life!

I love the proportions here and the beautiful curves of her pose. I think it would have been cool to have her raised leg kicked back into a tight bend, but I still love what we got. The previous Kara PF had a softgoods cape, at a time when Premium Formats almost always had some form of mixed media. I like that idea, but I can’t complain about the sculpted cape on display here. It flutters beautifully, giving a little more kinetic energy to the composition and you don’t have to worry about the material wearing or getting messed up. I also think they did a wonderful job on the boob window and I’m obviously a big fan! As for the colors, the blues and reds are deep and vibrant while the skin tone is warm and soft. The white one piece has a bit of blue wash to it, which I think looks very nice. Finally, you get the maroon belt and some gold leaf paint for the buckle and the cape braid.

The Exclusive release came with two head sculpts, with the extra one smiling, whereas here you just get the one. It’s always nice to have two options, but I don’t think I would ever swap out this one. Let me say that I have passed on a few female Premium Formats because I thought the portraits were too manly. The last Zatanna they did is a heartbreaking example of that. But what we got here is just beautiful. I’m not sure if it was intentional, but I see more than a bit Robin Wright in this likeness, and I’m digging it a lot. The slight smile is great and the paintwork for the eyes is some of the best I’ve seen in this line. The short hair is nicely detailed and frames the face perfectly. I don’t think the smiling face on the exclusive comes close to this one.

The base is impressive and terrifying at the same time. As I said earlier, it was tough to get her pegged into it and I was afraid to let go because it didn’t seem like the engineering here should work. You also don’t get any kind of satisfying click or thunk to suggest she’s locked into place. But the connection is strong and sturdy. She doesn’t get moved a lot, but I do try to be careful not to lift her from the snaking whisp of cloud even though it makes for an inviting and obvious handle. The limitation is printed on the base, and despite getting mine very late in the game, I wound up with 49 out of 1500. I think that’s my lowest PF number yet and it just goes to show you that the early adopters don’t always get the low numbers. Oh yeah, I always love the artwork they put on the bottom of the base. You will almost never see it, but it’s cool to know it’s there.

And just for some scale reference, here’s Kara’s Premium Format beside her Cover Girls of The DC Universe counterpart. Oh yeah, she’s a big girl!

I can’t express how happy I am to finally get a Power Girl Premium Format, and as it happens it all worked out well since I definitely prefer this one over the last one. I think they absolutely nailed every aspect of this piece and owning her is just something off my collecting bucket list. I think she originally retailed for $576 and yeah, I’m pretty much priced out of the Premium Formats at this point. But, between a sale and some Reward Points, I was able to get her down to a little under $400 so that wasn’t too bad in comparison. And alas, now she has to go back into her Styrofoam stasis pod for a couple of months.

Nov 8 2024

Cover Girls of the DC Universe (J. Scott Campbell) Zatanna by McFarlane/DC Direct

The DC Cover Girls line of statues has been around a long time now with different series showcasing different artist interpretation of some of comic’s greatest female heroes and villains. Hell, I reviewed my first purchase from this series here almost 12 years ago! The line went from DC Collectibles to DC Direct and now McFarlane has taken up the torch, although they still seem to be using the DC Direct name for whatever reasons. Also, the current series is showcasing one of my favorite comic artists of all time, J. Scott Campbell, and boy is ever about damn time! DC’s Mistress of Mysticism, Zatanna, is the third release in this series, with Catwoman and Wonder Woman preceding her, and Supergirl now up for preorder.

The packaging is pretty standard stuff, featuring a fully enclosed box with some shots of the statue and some artwork ghosted behind it. The box does state the limitation and you also get your piece’s individual number on the box as well. The statue comes nestled between two Styrofoam bricks for protection and there’s a little assembly required. Just peg Zatanna’s foot into the base and tab her wand into her hands and she is ready for her curtain call!

Of the three JSC statues so far, Zatanna comes the closest to a classic museum pose, but it suits her so perfectly. Catwoman was playfully readying her whip, Wonder Woman was deflecting a bullet, but Zatanna stands with her hands folded and resting on her cane/wand as if waiting for the magic show to begin. Feet apart, back arched, and head cocked, it’s a pose that conveys a sense of high confidence and professional showmanship.

Zatanna’s costume represents my favorite look for the character. She’s got her black one piece with yellow and white corset over it and black tuxedo coat and tails over that. There’s a little sculpted ruffling to the middle of the corset while the low cut top shows ample cleavage, no doubt to distract from any slight of hand. The shoulders flare up stylishly, the lapels are painted blue, and she had a red carnation on the right lapel. The snappy tails of the coat hang down to the backs of her knees. She has a pair of shiny black heels and while her legs aren’t clad in actual fishnets, the skin is painted in a darker color to denote that she is wearing stockings. The paint lines on this piece are very sharp and the yellow, blue, red, and white all add some nice contrast to the black.

The head sculpt is very nice, even if I do think she got an unnecessary extra helping of eyebrows. The expression in the eyes is absolutely priceless. They’ve got a slightly sleepy quality to them, which also works as confidence bordering on boredom. It’s as if she’s sizing up an adversary and thinking,
“You’ve got to be kidding. You have no chance against my mystical arts.” I think there’s a tad less of Campbell’s style in this one, although it’s definitely there in the distinctive nose. The paint is immaculate, especially in the eyes and mascara and her bold lipstick. They seem to have toned down the shading around the eyes as seen on the box, and I think that was a great idea. The hair is beautifully sculpted and frames her face perfectly and it’s all capped off with the regal black top hat with blue band to match her coat’s lapels.

The base is designed to match the previous statues. It’s a circular raised platform in black with a gray stripe around the beveled edges. It’s simple and distinguished but the addition of the Zatanna logo gives it a kick of personality. These pieces are limited and hand numbered on the bottom of the base, and I have no idea where they are drawing the limitations for each. Catwoman started at 920, Wonder Woman went to 945, and now Zatanna shoots up to 1580. Back in the day, most Cover Girls were at a limitation of 5200, whereas these seem more random. Either way, mine is #509, which is lower than my Wonder Woman but higher than my Catwoman.

Over the years, some of my Cover Girls have left my collection, but I maintain a solid dozen or so on display at any one time. Needless to say I’m happy to see the line continue and it really seems to be in good hands with McFarlane. And naturally, I’m doubly happy to see my main man, J. Scott Campbell, finally get his turn at these ladies. I’ll confess that Catwoman was not a rock-solid start for this run, but she was still pretty good and both Wonder Woman and Zatanna more than make up for that somewhat shaky start. These retail at around $139.99, which feels right in line with what they’ve been going for in the past. Supergirl is next up on the roster, and as you can imagine, I already have her preordered.

Oct 25 2024

J. Scott Campbell’s Fairytale Fantasies: Sultana by Sideshow

It’s always exciting for me to sit down and spend some time with a new statue from J. Scott Campbell’s fantastic Fairytale Fantasies series. I can’t quite say as I’m All-In on these, as I’m not double dipping on variants, and I missed out on The Evil Queen. But, so far I’ve checked out four of these here on FFZ, including: Tinkerbell, The Little Mermaid, Alice in Wonderland, and Red Riding Hood. Cinderella hasn’t had her time in the spotlight yet, but I still bumped Sultana to the front of the line. Sorry, Cindy, you’ll get your turn soon! As always, these are limited and numbered polystone statues based on the Great J. Scott Campbell’s artwork and featuring ladies from popular fairytale stories. In this case, we’re taking a magic carpet ride through The Arabian Nights!

This box is absolutely huge! They do seem to be getting bigger, but in this case the jump up in size is really extreme. A lot of that is because this particular piece invests quite a bit into the base, creating a really beautiful scene. The art box is quite stunning, so much so that I ordered a print of the character art that the figure is based on, as I do like to display them behind the different statues. In the past, Sideshow offered collectors editions, which included metal art cards, but I didn’t see an option for that here. Sultana was limited to 1500 pieces, and at 17-inches tall, she is about on par with the larger ladies in this collection. There’s a bit of assembly required, but all the pieces went together quite easily. Let’s get her set up and take a look!

Hot damn, is she gorgeous! As mentioned earlier, it definitely feels like this line has been slowly increasing the attention spent on the bases to give the ladies some context and boy is that ever the case here. Sultana is posed reclining on her magic carpet and holding up the Genie’s lamp, while a giant manifestation of the Genie’s hand holds her aloft amidst a swirling circlet of mystical fire. I absolutely adore the composition here! It’s pure dynamic cheesecake that suits JSC’s art perfectly. Plus, this is a large piece and really dominates the display, especially when set against the earlier release like Tink and Mermaid, but I’ll come back to that a bit more at the end with a group shot.

Sultana’s beautiful curves mixed with the magical curling of the carpet compliment each other so beautifully! And while I’m here first and foremost for the lovely ladies, I have to say that the figure and environment are so perfectly merged here, it’s hard to appreciate one without the other. Sideshow could have easily made the carpet be the base, but the Genie hand and magical effects elevate the whole presentation both literally and figuratively and I’m very happy they went for that extra wow factor here. There is clearly an intended sweet spot when displaying the statue, slightly angled with Sultana gazing at the beholder, but she looks great when viewed from all over!

As for Sultana herself, there’s a bit of seductive flavor to her position on the carpet, with her right leg in front of her, bent at the knee, and her left leg tucked under her. Lounging, she arches backward a bit, leaning on her right hand, while her left gently holds the lamp: The method of her mystical propulsion, spewing tendrils of blue magical energy from its spout. Her outfit consists of some shiny mauve leggings with cuts in the sides to expose her legs, a bikini-like top around her chest, and billowy sleeves, cuffed at her wrists, but open to expose her arms. She has gold slippers with curled toe fronts and a purple sash around her waist that drifts behind her, going nearly translucent at the end to show its delicate makeup. Meanwhile strings of gold coins adorn her outfit, like fringe. All of this detail is beautifully done and exquisitely painted. The gold leaf is bright and luxurious and the sheen of her outfit gives off an exotic flavor. The skin tone is warm and even with just the right amount of shadow to enhance the sculpt.

The portrait does a great job of capturing JSC’s singular art style. It’s a style that I doubt is very easy to convey in three dimensions, but Sideshow’s wizards seem to have mastered it going all the way back to their Abby Chase Premium Format. The almond eyes and sloped nose are practically JSC trademarks and her smirking lips are pitch-perfect right down to the red gloss. Another string of coins is sculpted across her forehead, as are clusters that make up earrings, and her voluminous raven black hair flows in the breeze with just enough detail to convey the effect while not stepping on the toony style. There’s a bit of glossy finish that comes off of her complexion under the studio lights, but not when displayed in normal lighting.

The carpet is practically a character unto itself, with every bit of the intricate pattern executed as part of the sculpt. The raised patterns around the border are painted in gold leaf as is a mystical circle in the center. The tassels on the front and back are incredible in the way they lick up at the edge and I have no idea how they are able to get the material to behave that way. It’s worth noting that the bottom of the rug includes every bit of detail as the top, even though it can barely be seen.

And that brings us to the base, which is so well designed on so many levels. The engineering and balance is impressive in and of itself, as the carpet and figure rests on one post with the rest secured by magnets in the fingers. I was so nervous when I was setting this thing up, but nothing budged at all as I carefully carried this heavy piece from the display shelf to the photo stage. The Genie hand has an ethereal quality to it with both iridescent blue and white coloring. He’s also got an emerald green bangle and gold rings, some with more mystic symbolism. The mystical flames that lick up from the black circular base are painted so vibrantly that under the right light it looks as if there’s a light up function, and that’s just so damn impressive. The limitation and hand number is on the bottom of the base, but I dare not try to flip her over to get a shot. I preordered the moment it dropped and got 325/1500. Not too shabby.

And here’s a quick shot of her with the other ladies on display in my office. She definitely gels better with the three more recent releases, while towering over The Little Mermaid. They are all roughly the same scale, but the poses and composition do make some look like some are scaled slightly bigger than others. I think Tink comes off as the slightest, but being a little fairy, that’s understandable.

These Fairytale Fantasy reviews always turn into me gushing on endlessly, and I’m fine with that because it’s impossible for me not to get all giddy and worked up over these pieces of art. I make it no secret that Campbell is among my top favorite comic artists and to get quality pieces like these based on his art is like a dream come true. And so far, this is a line that started strong and keeps on impressing me as it moves forward. I’d hate to have to choose a favorite, but right now this lady is pretty far up there. With Sultana being the sixth of these gals on my shelf, that just leaves The Evil Queen, which sold out a lot faster than I had anticipated. I’m on waitlist, so maybe I’ll wind up owning her, but if not that’s OK too. The newest reveal is The Cheshire Cat, and I’m not quite sure whether I will add that one. It’s a striking piece to be sure, but leans a little far into Furry territory for my liking. As for Sultana, she’s still available through Sideshow at the time I write this review at the not so trivial cost of $400.

Aug 2 2024

Cover Girls of the DC Universe (J. Scott Campbell) Wonder Woman by McFarlane/DC Direct

The DC Cover Girls line has been going on for quite a while. I reviewed my first statue from this series over ten years ago! The line was mostly produced by DC Collectibles, but when McFarlane took over the license they began releasing some here and there in partnership with DC Direct. I’m not going to pretend to know how the licensing works and who’s actually producing these now, but Both McFarlane’s and DC Direct’s names appear on the box. Recently, McFarlane announced a trio of these ladies inspired by the art of J. Scott Campbell, so you know I was instantly on board! They’ve already released Catwoman, Zatanna is coming soon, and today we’re checking out Wonder Woman.

The mostly white box is similar to what we saw last time, and has remained more or less the same throughout the series run. You get some shots of the statue, a notation of the artist, and the size is roughly the same as the Catwoman statue, with both ladies measuring about 10-inches tall. That puts these a bit taller than the older DC Collectibles offerings. Inside the box, the statue comes encased in two Styrofoam trays and you get a collector card. Assembly requires attaching her right arm at the bicep band via a magnet, and plugging her right foot into the base, which was an easy fit. Let’s get her out of the box and all set up!

Oh yeah, that’s the stuff! As we saw with Catwoman, the composition is a little bit of museum pose with a hint of action. Wonder Woman stands with a slight lean to her right hip and a turn to her left ankle. Her coiled golden lasso is held firm in her right hand, while her left arm is drawn up to effortlessly deflect a projectile headed right for her face. Her one-piece outfit has a very modern vibe from the golden belt up, and things get a little more traditional below, with some abbreviated skirt flaps hanging down front and back.

All the details of the outfit are incorporated as part of the sculpt, which helps make for some clean paint lines. The red part of her corset has panel lining and is painted with a rich, glossy red, while framed top and bottom with the same quality of gold paint. All this conspires to produce a beautiful new-car-style finish to this part of the costume. The high-heeled boots are painted in red matte with some dark shading, white stripes running up the center from toe to top, and gold bands around the top edges. You get two shades of blue around her pelvic region with a darker blue making up the panties and a paler shade for the skirt pieces. And, of course, both are speckled with white stars. Her arm bracers are painted in silver and gold, and her bicep ring is gold. These pieces have a duller metallic finish than the corset, but still look nice. Finally, the skin tone is very warm and even with some pink added to the knees and elbows. All in all, the sculpted detail and colors here are very well done, especially for a statue in this price range.

The portrait is quite lovely and does a solid job evoking the JSC style. Diana is sporting some dreamy, heavy eyelids, a narrow and sharp nose, and her lips are slightly parted, revealing a flash of white teeth. The painted facial features are clean, particularly the eye liner and pupils. The flowing hair has some blue shading to evoke that classic comic book panel coloring, and I really dig the way it bunches up to her right, swirling in a flurry of defensive action. The portrait is rounded out by her gold tiara with a central red star.

The coiled lasso also contorts a bit from her defensive maneuver, with one end curling up into the air. The paint on mystical rope looks good, but I would have liked to have seen a little bit of sculpted detail to the braid. What we got gives it a bit of a simple, animated look, which is fine, but a bit at odds with the detail in her corset. Still, not bad!

The bullet defecting on her wrist bracer is done with a bit of translucent plastic colored in red and orange. It’s not spectacular, but it gets the job done. It would have been cool to have an actual bullet sculpted in there, or perhaps being deflected away.

The base is a raised black disk with beveled edges and a gold stripe. The face has a Wonder Woman logo flanked by stars. I like the way this is stylized and it adds some nice flavor to the base, much in the same way they did with Catwoman’s. On the flipside you get the hand numbered limitation underneath. Mine is 590 out of 945. The limitation is a lot smaller on these than it was in the old days, when 5200 was the magic number.

Like Catwoman, Wonder Woman retails at $139 which, if you count for inflation, is probably pretty close to what the older Cover Girls sold for. I included a shot of her with the Stanley Artgerm Lau piece from 2016. I still enjoy to display that one and it’s fun to see how the series has evolved over nearly a decade. As for the new ones, well, I really like both of these JSC efforts, with Wonder Woman edging out Catwoman as the favorite of the two. From a design standpoint, I think there was just more to work with than this one, and the final release came a lot closer to what was solicited. They do look nice paired together, but I have Catwoman displayed with some other Catwoman pieces and Diana here will be going to my Wonder Woman display. Still, I’m excited to see how the trio will look when Zatanna joins up!

May 3 2024

Shantae 20th Anniversary Statue by Limited Run Games

One of the great things about the modern collectibles market is it allows me to talk about video games on my Toy Blog. From Street Fighter to Golden Axe, Mega Man to King of Fighters and even Metal Slug, there’s a lot of crossover from video games to action figures. But, it’s rare that I get to talk about one of my favorite modern video game platformer series here on FFZ, and that’s because the spunky Half-Genie Hero, Shantae, hasn’t had a lot of merch beyond some extras packed into the limited edition releases of the games. Indeed, the closest thing to a toy or collectible of her in my collection is a Pop! Vinyl, and I only buy those things if it’s my only option. There have been some garage kits, which I believe come unpainted and my skills just aren’t up to the task, so I’ve passed on those. It’s kind of a crime that she hasn’t had a Figma or Figuarts or even a Prize Figure, but maybe one day. Anyway, Developer WayForward has produced five games in the series so far, with the first landing on the Gameboy Color about 22 years ago. Since then her adventures have reached a whole host of gaming platforms, all packed with her beaming personality, addictive Metroidvania style gameplay, and a host of colorful characters and dry wit. Suffice it to say, I highly recommend these games, and they can be had digitally on most modern gaming platforms. At some point, maybe I’ll showcase all the physical editions of the games I own, including collectors editions, steelbooks, and the like, but I’ll save all that for another day. Today is all about this 20th Anniversary statue that I’ve been waiting for for what feels like forever!

Now, I’m a physical kind of guy when it comes to my games and Shantae’s games have all been released and/or re-released physically by Limited Run Games, the company which also produced the statue we’re checking out today. The statue went up for pre-order two years ago and finally arrived at my doorstep this past week. And while I am absolutely chuffed to finally have her, I really need to stress that nothing I say today is meant to be an endorsement of LRG as a company. The more I’ve learned about them, the less I’ve wanted to do business with them. Yes, I’ve swallowed my morals in order to get some games physically. I’m happy I did, but at the same time not proud of it. But with this statue in hand, I’m at the point where LRG and I can part ways, as I’m officially done doing business with them. And yes, that includes not getting a physical release of the next Shantae game from them. It’s fine. I’ll support the game digitally. But, it’s not for me to tell anyone what companies they should patronize or shouldn’t, and I’m not going to sully this happy Shantae Statue Day with a lot of negative talk. Do your research and make your own decisions!

OK, enough preamble. Shantae comes in a very nice art box with some photos of the statue and some of its features. One side of the box illustrates the ability to take the acrylic standee figures that came with each of the games’ collectors edition and plug them into the statue base and light them up! Alas, my collectors editions are all sealed with the standees inside and I have no plans on opening them any time soon. Thankfully, the option existed to get a set of game box style acrylics to take their place and we’ll check out how that looks at the end. The back of the box has a heartfelt message from Shantae’s creators, The Bozons. Inside the box, the statue comes fully assembled and enclosed in a clear plastic clamshell and measures about 12-inches, but a decent amount of that is base.

And she looks fantastic! I’ll confess that I was a little concerned over what the quality was going to be like, as even some companies that produce statues regularly can be hit and miss when it comes to delivering the goods. Shantae is cast in PVC so she’s more akin to a scaled anime figure than she is most collectible statues. Most of the colors are achieved through the plastic and that means clean lines and colors that really pop, but not much in the way of complex shading. And that’s OK, because it really accentuates the animated style of the character. The red of her top, shoes, and billowy genie pants looks great alongside the bright yellowish gold of her arm bracers, and there’s a bit of black to keep things grounded. The skin tone is nice and even and not at all waxy, which can be a problem in some of the less premium figures on the market.

And I have to give a shout out to the way they did the pants! Shantae’s puffy genie pants are actually cast in semi-translucent plastic and you can actually see her legs inside of them. That is a really cool touch and something that I can’t ever remember seeing on another PVC figure like this. Bravo!

The pose is sheer perfection, with Shantae caught posing in mid dance with her purple hair swirling around her in a long, tapered whip, and her fingers interlocked behind her. The composition captures her two signature moves: Dancing to morph herself into an animal and her ability to use her copious coif as a whip to strike down enemies. When viewed from the front, the figure really does look like a perfect 2D rendering of the character brought to life in 3D, and that’s about the highest compliment I can pay a statue.

And the portrait is just as on point as the rest of the figure. Her giant blue eyes are perfectly printed and vibrant, her mouth is agape with glee, and she has two golden earrings dangling from her pointed ears. It’s actually kind of fun to watch them jostle when you move the statue. If I had one criticism it would be that the seams where the tufts of hair sprout away are pretty obvious. It would have been nice to see those gaps a little tighter.

Included in the box is a clear plastic support rod for her hair. It’s not required to display the statue, but it might be a good idea in order to keep the hair from drooping over time. It stays in place simply by friction and definitely adds a lot of support. It can also be positioned directly behind the figure so it’s not an eyesore. Totally optional, but I’ll likely use it.

The base isn’t the most stylish thing around, as it’s just a circular black pedastal with nestled in a brown ring. The Shantae logo is sculpted onto the front and there’s a USB power cable that connects to the back for the light up feature.

And here are the acrylic pieces that came with my package, and I honestly can’t remember if these were an optional extra or if they were included with every statue. The set came bundled together in a small plastic bag with each piece having protective plastic overlays that need to be peeled off. Each square piece of acrylic has the box art from the five games printed in some rich colors with a tab to plug them into the ring around the base. Yes, I would have preferred if they didn’t print Limited Run Games on every single one of these and would have much rather had just the box art, but it is what it is. I think the statue looks great displayed without these, but they are a neat extra.

The slots are designed so that one acrylic goes directly above the Shantae plaque with two evenly spaced to the left and right sides. The tabs and slots are interchangeable, so you can place them in whatever order you want. Here I chose with the first game front and center, the next two on either side, and finally the two most recent releases toward the back.

Plug in the power source and you get an ethereal green glow to each of the acrylics. It’s bright enough to be seen in a lit room, but it looks really cool in a dim environment. There’s no On/Off button and there’s no battery to charge. Plug it in and it stays lit. Unplug it and the lights go out. I will say that I think these box art squares look better to me than the pictures I’ve seen of the standees. It just looks more uniform, but that’s just my personal taste. I will likely leave the acrylics in place, but I doubt I will have it lit very often.

After two years it’s so cool to finally have this in hand and I will confess that it was worth the wait. My little Shantae shrine has been mostly a display of the various boxed copies and collectors editions with the exception of the Pop! Vinyl and a mini arcade cab that LRG released that plays the video and music from the intro of one of the games. Needless to say this statue will make for an excellent centerpiece to tie it all together. The statue was offered for $160 and I think it was well worth it. And naturally it’s already going on Ebay for nearly twice that much in some cases. Who knows how many were actually produced, as it was an open pre-order item, but either way I’m just glad to have a great representation of the character on my shelf!

Apr 17 2024

Popup Parade (Darkstalkers) Morrigan Aensland and Lilith by Max Factory

It’s taken a lot of willpower to kick collecting scaled anime figures. Not that I was ever huge into them, but I had to scratch that itch every now and then. Eventually I got priced out of it and even Kotobukiya (once the best value in scales) has become too rich for my blood, except for the odd sale here and there. On the flipside, I also gave up prize figures because it’s easy to amass totes full of them and the quality is all over the place. But, I still have to get my fix every now and then and so I’ve settled on Popup Parade as a compromise. Last year, I took a look at their Cowboy Bebop figures as well as their Cammy and Chun-Li from Street Fighter. And now, they just shipped out the Succubi from Darkstalkers, and well you know I had to pick these up!

This pair of succubi come in rather large plastic boxes that can double as display cases once you unwrap the figures inside. With that being said, they are pretty big to accommodate the girls’ wingspans, and I’ve gone on record saying how much I don’t care for the generic style of these. The names of the characters are so understated and there’s very little branding for the license. Sure, there’s merit to be found in the idea that you let the figure do all the talking, but would it kill them to use the Darkstalkers logo and print the names of the characters in a way that it doesn’t look like you’re ashamed of them? Since Morrigan tends to get the most attention in terms of figures and statues, let’s start with Lilith!

Lilith’s origins are a bit too complex for me to get into here, but she’s sometimes referred to as Morrigan’s half-sister, albeit by way of mystical means. She is often represented as a manifestation of Morrigan’s lost innocence, so she’s portrayed more cute than voluptuous, making for a nice contrast when the two characters are displayed together. I’d classify the pose here as museum-style mixed with a little attitude, as Lilith has her hands resting on her hips, which makes me feel like she’s judging me. The coloring on this figure is excellent with the blue leggings having the darker blue bat patterns, the sleeves being slightly more purple, and a gorgeous high gloss crimson finish on her boots and one-piece. There’s some sculpted white fur that leaves her shoulders bare and a white diamond in the center of her chest. The deco is so vibrant and she pops so beautifully on the shelf.

She has two sets of bat-like wings, jutting from her back and head, and these have a leather-like texture on the front and back. The fronts are painted black with the fingers between the membranes painted in red, while the backs are completely red. There are white horns jutting from the tops of each wing and the red paint used on the backs is high gloss, giving them a creepy wet look.

The portrait is right on point with big, adorable eyes and perfectly printed lips and eyebrows. The purple hair is sculpted separately from the head allowing the bangs to hang down over her face and adding a lot of depth. The skin tone leans toward the pale side, but it isn’t waxy as is sometimes the case on these budget figures.

The display base is a standard black disk, which is par for the course with Popup Parade’s figures. What I don’t care for at all is the way the foot pegs are done. As we’ll see with Morrigan, the feet usually peg into the base and sometimes there’s some clear plastic in the gap between the foot and the high heel for stability. Here there are clear plastic platforms that the feet rest on and it doesn’t make any sense. Maybe they were going for a levitating look, but I honestly don’t think that’s the case. Also, one of my figure’s foot pegs will not stay all the way in, so I may end up gluing it.

The way the clear foot pegs are done may seem like a petty gripe, but what irks me so much about it is they went out of their way to design it that way. Still, it’s not enough to completely mar what is an otherwise very nice figure. I dig the pose, the sculpt is great, but it’s the coloring that really makes this figure a win! Plus, she’s currently the only Lilith figure in my collection. Let’s move on to Morrigan…

Unlike Lilith, I have at least a few Morrigan figures, with the most recent being Koto’s own Bishoujo version, so she’s got some competition. Still, I like what they did here. Morrigan strikes a seductive pose with one arm crossed under her copious chest and the other drawn back behind her head. It’s not as playful as Koto’s pose, but I think it works really well for the character. The coloring is appropriate and it looks great, even if it isn’t as vibrant as Lilith’s. You get purple tights with the bat patterns, a glossy black onesie and boots, white, sculpted fur trim around the biceps and a sort of pale orange for her sleeves. And naturally, her chest is practically spilling out of her top!

The four pairs of wings have purple membranes on the inside with black fingers separating them, while the backs are all glossy black and have some excellent leathery texture sculpted in. The purple interior doesn’t really catch the light as much as I would like, but I think some of that has to do with how folded in they are, along with the lighting I used.

I really dig this portrait and a lot of that has to do with the eyes, which remind me of some of the earlier character art. Her blue peepers are perfectly printed, along with the eyebrows and lips. There’s a fleetingly haunting flavor to her expression. It’s seductive and just a bit intimidating, and totally distinctive from any of the other Morrigan figures I have. The turquoise hair whips around behind her head and shoulders, giving the piece some real energy.

And here’s how the foot pegs should have been done for Lilith. They connect to the base perfectly and you don’t have those weird clear platforms under her feet, just between the heel and toe.

At about $34 each, these ladies fall on the lower end of Popup Parade’s spectrum, and it’s hard to argue with that considering how nice these turned out. It would have been cool to get some kind of connecting bases, but that’s not something this line seems to do. And that’s OK, because they still look great when displayed on the shelf together. I’m happy to finally have Lilith in my collection, although I’m still keeping an eye out to see if Koto’s Bishoujo version ever goes on sale. In the meantime, if Max Factory releases more Darkstalkers characters in this line, I’d definitely be down for adding more!

Mar 15 2024

Cover Girls of the DC Universe (J. Scott Campbell) Catwoman by McFarlane/DC Direct

It’s safe to say that I’ve been a long time collector of the DC Cover Girls line of statues. I’ve reviewed over 20 of them here on FFZ over the past ten years or so and while some have since left my collection, I still have quite a few and always have a shelf with a dozen or so of these lovely ladies on rotation. And naturally, Selina Kyle has turned up as a DC Cover Girl more than once! Indeed, this line has been around long enough to be rebranded from DC Direct to DC Collectibles, and now back to DC Direct and licensed to McFarlane Toys. Likewise, the series has showcased different artists over the years from Joelle Jones to Stanley Lau and while I have loved each and every one of those, it’s about time my main man, J. Scott Campbell got his turn, with Catwoman here in the lead and both Wonder Woman and Zatanna coming up next.

One thing that hasn’t changed much over the years is the packaging. Catwoman comes in a fully enclosed box with a clean white and black deco and some pictures of the statue front and back. This line hasn’t always been the best about showcasing the artist front and center, but here we get Mr. Campbell’s name right on the front. The statue measures about 10-inches tall, cast in resin, and comes encased between two styrofoam bricks. And I gotta say I have never had this much trouble getting the styrofoam out of the box before. I literally had to open it from both ends and push it through and even then it was crazy tight. So weird! Anyway, Catwoman comes out of the box with her whip in her hands. All you have to do is plug her foot post into the base and there’s a peg to help anchor the whip as well. So let’s let this cat out of the bag…

Selina presents herself somewhere between a museum pose and a little cheesecake tease. One leg is drawn up at the knee, resting the toe of her left boot on the ground. Her arms bent at the elbows and holding up her whip across her at neck level, as if inviting you to play. She dons a very classic blueish-purple bodysuit that is oh, so very tight and I’m going to say straightaway the curves on display here are this statue’s greatest win. The contours of Selina’s body are so lovingly sculpted here that the sheer simplicity of her suit works in the figure’s favor. The only real detail is on the zipper that tracks all the way down from her neck and stops just above her kitty’s lair with a large silver pull resting at the top. Otherwise, you do get some very subtle and sparing wrinkles, and just a hint of her underlying muscle definition. I dig this sculpt and composition a lot, especially the way it lets her curves do all the talking.

The paint would be simple if not for the pearlescent finish to the suit and the slight wash. In bright light it looks warm and even, almost like a second skin, but give her a turn and you can see some of the underlying sparkles come to life. You also get some high gloss black for her short gloves and low cut boots and a hint of bright purple for the boot linings. A lick of silver rounds things out below the neck.

The portrait is… well, it isn’t what we were promised in the solicitation photos. Not even close. And yes, that’s disappointing. That’s not to say I don’t like it, but there were clearly some major revisions done between pre-order and arrival, and that’s surprising considering how fast the turnaround on this statue was. The biggest change is the mouth, which was better sculpted and painted in the initial images. What we got shows too much teeth, and by that I mean just white paint with no real detail. Close up, it lets the statue down, but isn’t so bad when viewed with the statue on the shelf. The rest of the portrait’s paint turned out more basic, but I think it works for a comic or animated look. The lines are sharp there’s some nice gradient work in the skin tone, and I like the gloss finish used for the mask. It’s not the best rendering of J. Scott Campbell’s style in my collection, but it’s far from the worst.

The whip is cast in a soft, pliable black plastic with a glossy sheen. I like the way it coils up on the base, spilling over the side a bit. The peg that anchors it to the base doesn’t fit very tightly so it’s likely to pop out when handling the statue, but it works well enough when on display. You get a little texture to the grip at the end of the whip and there’s a sculpted loop hanging off of it.

The base is a clean and classy raised black disk with a Catwoman logo in purple and gold, and a purple ring striping the side of the platform. The underside of the base has the hand numbered limitation. The statue is limited to a production run of 920 with mine being 484. That’s a huge reduction from the old line, where these pieces were usually given 5000 to 5200 runs. Although, I’m not sure what the significance of the rather specific 920 is.

Finally, you also get a collector card with the statue and this is basically the same sort of thing Todd throws in with his DC Multiverse figures. Note, the stand is not included. I borrowed that from one of the figures for display here. Although, if they can throw that in with a $30 figure, it makes me wonder why they can’t do it with a $130 limited edition statue. Either way, the card is a forgettable bonus, and I would have much rather they included a numbered limitation card like Diamond does with their Premier Edition Statues and Busts, which fall in at about the same price range.

I really like this piece a lot, but I don’t remember there being this much disparity between the solicitation photos and the actual product back when DC Direct/Collectibles were their own thing. So, I’m definitely going to call out McFarlane on that point. I understand that final products rarely make for perfect matches to what is initially shown, but in this case the mouth got a complete redesign, and that’s a sticking point for me. Truth be told, I would have still happily purchased this piece if McFarlane had just shown what we were actually getting. And with how quick the turn around here was, I have to believe the statue was already well into production when it was solicited. Either way, I’m thrilled to have a J Scott Campbell Catwoman in my Cover Girls collection and I’m looking forward to seeing Wonder Woman next!

Jan 3 2024

Darkstalkers: Morrigan Aensland Bishoujo Statue by Kotobukiya

Before any of you Koto fans get your hopes up, I’m not really starting to collect Bishoujos again. No, seriously. I’m not! It just so happened that a few of these went up for deep discount during the Holiday Sales and I got weak. That’s why I picked up Mai from King of Fighters and that’s why we’re here today with a certain busty succubus from another fighting game franchise. Truth be told, there isn’t enough Darkstalkers merch out there and I’m pretty much compelled to buy anything Morrigan related that isn’t in the $1000+ range. Now if that happens to go 50% off, I’d be in real trouble. It’s actually been almost ten years since Morrigan last graced FFZ, and it’s long past time I remedy that!

Koto always does a nice job with these boxes, serving up some wonderful character art and providing ample windows on the front, top, and side panel to let the light in and see what you’re getting. They’ve also started making the boxes a bit more durable, which is nice as I do tend to keep these. The statue comes wrapped in a lot of plastic, but if you unwrap it and put her back in the box, she displays really well in it. Morrigan is all assembled and ready to go, but she does have some rather fragile points and a modicum of care should be spent unwrapping these, as I could easily see them snapping.

And oh boy does she look enticing! Clad in her classic trademark outfit, Morrigan dons a matte black one-piece with ruffled white top and her ample bosom nearly spilling out. Hey, you can’t be a modest succubus, it just doesn’t work! Below that, she has mauve tights (and I do mean tight!) with printed bats, and black high-heeled boots, Her arms are adorned with long orange sleeves that end in loop between her fingers. Meanwhile her batwings jut from her back, flanking her on either side. All of the costume is executed beautifully, but I really have to give extra props to the texture work on the outside of the wings. It’s not something I expected to see, as a smooth surface would have been more evocative of the animated aesthetic, but I really dig it and I’m glad that Koto decided to go that route.

The pose is quite iconic and designed to showcase all of Morrigan’s best assets. She is in mid stride with her right foot out in front of her left, while bent forward to simultaneously show off a little succubus T&A. And not to get too inappropriate about it, but man the way the one piece practically disappears between those cheeks is some A-Level sculpting! I will confess, I would have liked to see her posed in one of her victory stances, like levitating with her legs crossed, but this works fine. And as always, the coloring on these statues is just lovely. The range of black and purple and blue-green makes this statue pop, and her skin tone is warm and even with some shading to catch the eye.

The head sculpt is playful and a lot more in character than the last Morrigan statue I reviewed. Here she looks like she’s jumped right out of the game. The sculpting on her mouth is absolutely fantastic with a hint of teeth showing up top and her tiny pointed tongue slipping out. The hair sculpt is also outrageously good as the strands of super vibrantly colored blue-green hair whip all around her head. The eye printing is colorful and precise, and her head wings are as adorable as ever with some gorgeous deep purple paint on the membrane. This portrait is a perfect victory!

You never know what kind of base you’re going to get with these figures. Sometimes just plain disks and sometimes a more environmental affair, like this one here. It’s a stony floor with some excellent paintwork creating a vibrant glow where Morrigan’s feet touch the ground and reverting to a grayish-blue stone color around the edges. I do dig it a lot!

Go back through my old Koto Bishoujo reviews and you can see that I almost always ended them by calling these the best value in statue collecting. Well, those days are done and these now sell for about twice what they did back then. Case in point, Morrigan here retailed at $129 and while the quality is definitely there, it’s just beyond reach of what I’m comfortable paying for these. I picked up Morrigan on sale for $79, which was right about the price of these figures when I decided to start tapering off. I’m happy to have her in my collection and she will get a prime display spot in my Game Room. And I’ll keep an eye out for Lilith to see if she happens to dip in price at some point too, otherwise I’ll be content to own the Pop-Up Parade figures of this pair when they eventually ship next year.

Sep 27 2023

Justice League Unlimited: Wonder Woman Half-Scale Bust by Diamond Select

It’s no secret that I love collecting Wonder Woman stuff. Heck, I’m up to four Hot Toys of Gal Gadot donning the tiara and I didn’t even really like those movies. So I am an easy mark when it comes to merch from the Princess of Themyscira. But today’s piece had me up and down on whether or not to buy it. It’s part of Diamond Select’s line of 3D Half-Scale busts, but I don’t know why they make a point to call them out as 3D as that’s kind of implicit in the idea that it’s a sculpted bust. But… whatever. I really wanted to pick this up when it came out, but their previous Harley Quinn release in this line was less than stellar, so I declined to preorder and eventually forgot about it. But then she turned up for sale at a few places and I decided to give it a go. Boy am I glad I did!

The bust comes in a pretty sizeable box, and that’s to be expected as it measures a bit over 10-inches tall. This sculpt is based on the Amazonian’s animated style as she appeared in the Justice League Unlimited cartoon. And while that Justice League series may have been unlimited, this statue is limited to 1,000 pieces, which is fairly low for DST’s stuff. And as the box points out, this statue is cast entirely in resin. The piece comes nestled between two pieces of styrofoam and is fully assembled and ready for display.

And… wow! I was actually afraid to open this because the reports of shoddy paint on the preceding Harley bust were pretty common, but I am absolutely blown away by how great Diana here came out. The sculpt brings the artwork to life, so long as you’re not viewing from the back as it’s just a big blob of black cartoon hair back there. But that’s to be expected. I am really pleased that the detail in the eyes is part of the sculpt, as she looks up and off to the side, pondering the skies. The expression is just perfectly stoic with maybe just a hint of some possible action about to take place. If I had one gripe, the channel running through her chest piece could have been sharper, but otherwise… Beautiful!

These animated style pieces can be very tricky as they rely as much (if not more) on clean and sharp paint as they do on sculpted detail, and I’m happy to say the paint on this lady is quite breathtaking. For starters, they did a wonderful job with the skin tone as it has a lot of beautiful shading that gives it a lot of warmth and adds so much to the piece. The yellow and read of her tiara and chest piece add some nice, vibrant colors and it all contrasts with the black background of her majestic coif. I especially like the little cut of brighter yellow showing a little animated-style reflection to the golden bits. The lips, eyes, and eyebrows are all painted with precision and care and the white star earrings really flash under the studio lights.

The pedestal is sculpted as a Grecian style column, which works both as a classic bust stand and given the Themyscira theme. The pale blue adds a bit more color to the mix, but I like how the pedestal is understated. Flip the piece over and you can see the hand numbered limitation on the bottom. And… wow, I got #10 of 1000. That’s probably the lowest number I ever got on any numbered limited statue in my collection.

Like all DST limited releases, you get an art card stating the limitation and with the number of the piece as well. I always loved these and I wish Sideshow would do them with their far more expensive Premium Formats.

And here she is in her center spot in my little Wonder Woman corner, alongside the Adam Hughes and Frank Cho Designer Series statues by DC Collectibles.

I’m so happy I took the plunge on this one, especially since it took a crazy good sale to make me do it. It was too much of a gamble at the original $175, but getting her for less than half that was an offer I couldn’t refuse. Maybe DST just had a bad run of luck with the previous release in this series, but all I know is Wonder Woman turned out absolutely stellar. Every time I look at her I fall in love again! And with this purchase following soon after picking up their amazing Jem statue, I have to say that I’m really digging what DST is doing these days.

Sep 6 2023

DC Designer Series: Catwoman (Stanley Artgerm) Sixth-Scale Statue by DC Collectibles

It’s hard to believe that it’s been about five years since I last featured a DC Designer Series statue here on FFZ. I used to fall for this line hard, especially where characters like Catwoman and Wonder Woman were concerned. But I only have room for so many statues so I’ve been trying to be a lot more picky. And yet every once and a while a sale turns up and today’s piece was just an offer that I couldn’t refuse. So let’s have a look at the DC Designer Catwoman by Stanley Artgerm.

Selina comes in a fully enclosed box and if you’ve picked up any of the DC Collectible statues in the past, you should know what to expect here. It’s a sizeable box, but despite being sixth-scale, Catwoman is crouched, so it may not be as big a box as you might expect. Styrofoam protects the resin statue and it comes in three pieces: The figure, the kitty cat, and the base. Assembly is easy peasy, with metal rods connecting the figure and kitty to the base, but a word of caution, the connection is a bit loose, so be careful when transporting the statue by the base as things can get a little wobbly. I am a huge fan of Stanley Lau’s work and I probably have a near complete run of his time doing the DC Cover Girls statues, many of which have been featured here in the past.

And here she is set up and ready for display and I really dig this piece a lot. This is a very animated-style Catwoman and I’ll admit I was a little hesitant because of the design choice to go with some cell-shading type paintwork, and I’ll come back to that in a tick. First off, I love the pose. Selina is down on one knee as if she just landed from a high leap. She wields her whip in one hand and her stolen prize, a pricey necklace in the other. Her catsuit leaves little to the imagination when it comes to the curves of her body. And despite all that, what almost steals the show for me is the way the kitty cat is fixated on the tail of her coiled whip, as if tracking it’s movement. The composition here is just killer with the staged pose and suggested kinetic energy giving up the best of both worlds.

And oh what a smirk! I love the crooked smile she gives as she holds up her treasure. There’s definitely some Bruce Timm influences in there, especially in the shape of the mask and design of the hood. Her almond eyes are perfectly painted as she no doubt taunts Batman with her latest illicit score. Selina has always been a dreamy kitty for me and this statue is no exception!

I mentioned the paint style and cell shading in figures and statues is not usually my cup of tea. Indeed, I recently backed out of pre-ordering McFarlane’s new animated Batman figures because of it. Thankfully, it’s not overdone here and I actually quite like most of it. There’s some gray washed onto the boot to suggest a glean, and some darker shadows on the gray to give it that comic panel look. I think the shading on the belt’s discs is especially well done. I’m not entirely sold on the gray swatch on her mask, but everything about the paint has been growing on me. Aside from all that, the paint quality and precision is very well executed.

The detail in the whip is very nice with a sculpted braid and an arrowhead style point. It’s almost poetic in the way it curves around her body, suspended in mid air. And once again, I have to just say how much in love I am with that cat’s expression. Maybe it’s because I’ve seen that look in my own cat’s eyes as something catches their interest. The base itself is a simple black disc with a cat face cut deeply into it with an orange outline and green eyes. It’s all stylish and understated and I dig that a lot. Production on this one was limited to 5000 pieces, if you can call that a limitation. Each one is hand numbered under the base. Mine is #2730 which figures because I waited so long to get her.

This piece originally retailed for around $170 and while I was smitten with it at the time of the original pre-orders, my willpower held. Of course, that willpower gave way when it was later offered for around $75 and I caved in. Honestly, I’m surprised it took that long since I’m an easy mark when it comes to Catwoman. This one is still available at several retailers at deep discount and I’m very glad I finally picked her up. She looks great with some of the other recent Catwoman pieces in my collection. And while I do love this one a lot, she doesn’t quite bump the Joelle Jones Cover Girls statue, pictured above on the right, as my current favorite.