Tag Archives: statues

Mar 10 2023

G.I. JOE: Profit Director Destro Statue by Diamond Select

Oh, Diamond Select PVC Statues, why can’t I quit you? It’s probably because they almost always go on deep discount and become some of the best value statues out there. But it’s usually the Marvel and DC Galleries that trap me, and now they’re doing GI JOE. I’ve had my eye on Destro for a while and was about to pull the trigger, but when I found the Limited Edition variant version was going for even less, I decided to go for Pimp Daddy Destro instead of the regular flavor.

DST does a nice job with these boxes, giving you windows top, front, left, and right to let plenty of light in. Combine that with the figure being in a clear clamshell tray and these display pretty damn well in the box. The front has the GI JOE logo, along with the explosion background and “COBRA ENEMY” logo from the vintage toy packages. This one is a PX Exclusive, and I have no idea what that means, other than it’s limited to 3,000 pieces and has foil tape on the top flap to indicate such. But all in all, this is just a recolor of the regular retail release. Everything here is collector friendly, and Destro just requires his rocket blast part to be attached to his arm to get him ready for display!

Destro’s Pimp Daddy look will never replace his more iconic costume as my favorite, but I still like it a lot. His black costume is switched out for a maroon one with some bitchin leopard skin panels on his hips and the interior of his collar. Also, the head is gold instead of silver, the briefcase is gold instead of black, and while the original statue had him splashing through blue water, it’s now some kind of contaminated green sewage water. But putting aside the new coloring, I think the pose and composition of this statue is just absolutely fantastic in the way that it tells a story. Destro’s secret meeting place has been discovered by the JOEs, and he’s escaping through the sewers. JOE fire stirs up the water as he returns fire with one of his wrist rockets. But at least he secured the case with the payment! This piece just has so much energy, and it looks like it’s ripped straight off the cover of a comic book!

The sculpted detail is quite nice, with Destro himself being fairly ripped, and showing off some great muscle definition under his suit. Close scrutiny shows stitching in the pouches, clasps on his boots, and even tiny screws securing his holster, and his blinged out pistol which looks so good I would have sworn it was removable, even when it isn’t. The paintwork is also really sharp, with the gold having a quality satin finish, and there’s a bit of a wash on the holster.

The head sculpt is also admirable, with Destro pulling a face that reflects how displeased he is at being interrupted. This dude is clearly just having the worst day. There’s an intensity to his furled brow and wrinkled nose that combines perfectly with the piercing black and green eyes. You get the heavy bolted collar around the bottom of the mask, and his large red ruby hanging askew around his neck with sculpted gold chain. There’s a little overspray of red paint on the silver border of the necklace, which is the only real paint flub I can see on the statue.

The rocket effect is nicely done, with the translucent orange combustion effect tabbing into the arm. It explodes from the launcher and forms a serpentine trail of thrust behind the little gold rocket. This is an example of an effect part done extraordinarily well.

Another equally amazing effect is the translucent base of toxic green water. The sludge flows from a grate in the wall causing some ripples, and the splash effects of the JOE machine gun fire and Destro’s boot are beautifully done. You also get a severed Battle Android Trooper head, suggesting that the JOE team took care of Destro’s backup, which is another wonderful little touch to the base.

The piping is painted with a decrepit rust and there are sculpted brackets and bolts holding them to the wall. The wall itself features some great paintwork and more detailed sculpting, even to the back side, which will probably never be visible when this statue is displayed. DST uses the term PVC Diorama for their Gallery statues, which I always suspected was a way to get around licensing with Marvel and DC. Most of the time they really aren’t anything close to a diorama, but Destro here is the exception to the rule, and a lot of thought and effort went into this base.

The MSRP on this piece was $49.99, but playing the waiting game on most of DST’s Gallery Statues almost always pays off. In this case, I was able to get Pimp Daddy Destro for $25. It’s crazy that the limited release is currently selling for about $10 less than the regular retail release, but I’m chalking that up to there being a higher demand on the more iconic outfit version. Indeed, the Exclusive moniker tends to be the kiss of death for these statues on the secondary market, even with the Marvel and DC releases, which still strikes me as odd given the stricter limitations over the retail releases. Either way, I’m happy to add this one to my collection, and I like it enough that I will probably grab the regular version as well before moving on to The Baroness!

Dec 9 2022

Kamen America Maquette and Other Merch by Iconic Comics

Here’s a little something different for this Friday, as I’m going to gas on about some comics and merch! I make it no secret that some time ago, I began turning away from the two mainstream comic publishers, because… well, to put it bluntly, their books turned to shit. It happened first with Marvel and much later when the infection spread to DC, and it was like watching a couple of dear friends that I’ve known since childhood dying from an incurable disease. As a result, I started seeking my comic fix with indies. A lot of my money started going to Zenescope and the rest went to crowd-sourced books on Kickstarter or Indigogo. Unfortunately, the crowd-sourced scene presented its own set of challenges. When the books showed up, they were usually excellent, but in a lot of cases, they didn’t show up. Indeed, I recently had to get refunds on some books that were now two to three years late. Enter Iconic Comics and Kamen America!

One shining beacon of excellence in the indie comic scene has been Iconic Comics, hooking me with their Kamen America series and then getting me into Black Hops and Soulfinder. The Kamen America books tell the tale of fashion designer Carly Vanders, who obtains super powers and becomes Kamen America, an on-the-nose send up to the Henshin genre. Over the course of six books (so far!) and a couple of cross-overs, we follow the adventures of Kamen America and her friends, The Kamen Corps, through thick and thin, friendship and betrayal, and epic battles. It’s hard to put my finger on one thing that makes these books so special, because they’re actually quite the pitch-perfect medley of great art and colors, fantastic quippy dialogue, fun humor, and loads of heart and soul. But, if pressed, I would have to point to the characters. I was invested in these characters from the early pages of Stars and Strife, right up until the last pages of Daughters of Liberty, and with the end of each book, I cannot wait for the next. Luckily the creators, Mike Pellegrini and Timothy Lim have the whole publishing thing down to a tee. The books are done by the time they’re projects go up, and they always ship on time. At this point, it’s almost ironic to see this franchise on a crowd-funding site, because everything works like clockwork and the timely delivery of a quality book is guaranteed. The series started with floppies, which I’m proud to have in my collection, and has since graduated to beautiful hardcover editions, and has even seen its first hardcover omnibus.

Each of the volumes have offered some cool merch, including everything from badges to pins, collector cards to calendars. But most notable has been the series of acrylic standees. These have been a no-brainer ad-on for each of the volumes and they really convey all the colors and art found within the comics.

We even got a plushie of Badger the Capybara, the official mascot of The Kamen Corps. This big, beautiful softie is colorful and adorable and will forever be sitting on the desk of my comic-themed office judging me with his indifferent Capybara peepers. He comes clad in a personalized, blue zippered tracksuit with the Kamen America logo stitched on the back proving that this franchise has become so big that it is even churning out merch for the lucrative and untapped Capybara market.

But the real gem of Kamen America merch is the roughly 8-inch resin maquette that was offered up with the Daughters of Liberty campaign! The figure comes in a heavy duty, enclosed box and nestled in a foam tray cut to her specifications. There’s a minor bit of assembly here, as you have to peg Carly’s feet into the base and then tab the long trail of her yellow sash into her back. Once that’s done, she’s good to go!

Comics is one thing, but creating statues is another, and so I wasn’t quite sure what we were going to get here. Even some of the big boys can’t get statues right. Have you seen some of the stuff that Dynamite has put out? WOOF! But, these guys haven’t disappointed me yet, so I was ready to slap down the not too inconsiderable $250 bones, which got me this maquette, as well as the book, Badger, and all the other goodies. And I probably shouldn’t be surprised that this figure turned out so great. The sculpting is sharp and the colors are vibrant. The composition of the piece features Carly in what I would consider her pretty iconic pose with fists up, feet turned slightly inward, and a smile, which represents the unswerving positivity and charm of the character.

The paint lines are sharp, and there’s not a flub or spot of slop to be found. There are a few specs from the black foam that I should have done a better job of blowing off before taking the pictures, but they were easy to miss. The colors here pop so beautifully with the crimson of her long boots to the bright yellow of her hair and sash. The white is super clean, with no signs of anything bleeding through, but what really wowed me was the metallic blue and gold used for her one-piece. Exquisite! The base is a muddy disk, which if you read the comics, has a certain significance to it, and its scattered with some blue rocks. Fairly simple, but it works!

The portrait is excellent, right down to her sculpted earrings and adorable trademark ahoge. And even when punched in this close with the camera, the paint lines hold up pretty well. There’s a little gap that can be seen around her hair, but it’s barely noticeable when viewing the figure on the shelf and at eye level.

As a toy collector, I’m always going to want some kind of physical representation of the media I love. Whether it be movies, video games, or in this case comics. I have a compulsive need to have characters that I love displayed on a shelf, and so I was really excited when this maquette was revealed. There were only 200 of these available for the campaign, and I’m pretty sure they all wound up selling. I don’t usually make it a habit of spotlighting stuff on FFZ that can’t be found for sale, but this was a case where I wanted an excuse to talk about the comics and this awesome figure. And while the figure may be difficult to get, the comics are all available through Amazon or Iconic Comics directly, and I can’t recommend them enough. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll fall in love with the characters, and when it’s all said and done, you’ll want more!

.

Nov 28 2022

Marvel Gallery: The Wasp by Diamond Select

Try as I might, I continue to find Diamond’s Marvel and DC Gallery statues to be mostly irresistible, especially when they go on sale and dip below the $30 mark. As I showed in one of my Toy Tours, I’ve found a spot to display these in their boxes up on a high shelf in my Comic Office and so I can’t really use lack of space as an excuse to take a pass anymore. Still, I do try to be more selective in which ones I buy. I’ve had my eye on The Wasp here for a little while, and when she hit that magic price point, I went ahead and picked her up.

This is a pretty big package for a fairly cheap statue. As always, the goods come in a collector friendly box with the statue surrounded on four sides by generously sized windows: Top, front, and sides to let in plenty of light and show off the figure inside. It’s a good deal if you’re buying it at your local comic shop, so you can check out the paint quality. Alas, I’ve never seen these in a store and I get all my DST Gallery statues online. Fortunately, I haven’t had too many issues with the paint. The back of the box has a little blurb about The Wasp and calls out that this piece was sculpted by the great Jean St. Jean. Unlike most of these figures, Wasp does require just a bit of assembly. Her wings come separated from her body and you have to peg them into slots. They go in easy and she’s all ready for display!

Hands down, what I like about this statue the most is the choice to go with the classic costume and the wonderful way it’s been sculpted and painted. Janet has had a number of wardrobe changes over the years, and truth be told, I do like most of them, but the retro-stylings here will probably always be my favorite. The red dress features flared shoulders, a very short skirt, and a neckline that plunges all the way to her belt, but since it’s worn over a black bodysuit it manages to titilate and be modest at the same time. The red boots and gloves are also sculpted with some nice detail, as is the blue “W” situated just above her chest. The dress, boots, and gloves all have a glossy finish, which contrasts quite nicely with the matte finish of the black suit. You get some very nice sculpted wrinkles in the dress, as well as some rather well defined contours of her body showing through.

Unfortunately, the portrait is pretty average. I’m not going to say it’s bad for a statue in this price range, but I will say it falls short of what we got with a lot of the previous ladies in this series. It’s a little too full-faced for me, as I tend to like Janet a bit more on the pixie side, as it suits her alter ego. I’d say she’s more of a handsome woman, than a pretty one, and that’s what’s known as a backhanded compliment. Oops, I probably shouldn’t say backhand around Janet. Still, when it comes to the portrait, I may be letting her more modern interpretations color my view of what is clearly a very classic version of the character. The paint is overall OK, but her left eye is drifting a bit. I’ve certainly seen worse on far more expensive pieces. I do like her blue headphones and microphone, and her antenna are a little on the chunky side to keep them from being too fragile.

The wings are cast in tinted clear plastic and feature a rather pretty gradation from clear to green to blue at the tips, and with black spots near the top edges. You also get some sculpted membrane running throughout. Like the antenna, they’re a little thick, but that’s obviously to make them less fragile, and I think they look great.

As for the pose, well it’s a homerun! Wasp is captured in mid flight with her left leg drawn up and her right foot just grazing the base. Her body arches as she turns to face an unseen adversary, while she powers up her Wasp Sting with her right hand. The effect is a translucent yellow sphere with some crackling energy around it, and I think it looks pretty convincing. This is a perfect pose for showing off the character with a lot of excitement and energy.

The base is pretty elaborate and very nicely detailed. One of my nitpicks with this series has been the fact that DST calls these dioramas, but most of them just have generic bases. I’ve always thought that was just a licensing thing, but here the figure actually lives up to the name with a pretty cool base that tells a story. The ground is shattered, a street signpost hangs at an angle, water and smoke rise up between the cracks in the pavement. It’s all exceptionally well done and speaks of a desparate battle being waged. My only gripe is that it doesn’t really take advantage of Wasp’s diminished size. Indeed, the scaling actually makes her look bigger than a normal person. It seems like a rather large (no pun intended) oversight or a missed opportunity, but it’s not enough to ruin the statue for me.

As much as I dig The Wasp, the character is only represented in my collection by a handful of Hasbro and Toy Biz figures, so it’s nice to have something a little more substantial and waspy to enjoy. At one point I waffled on getting one of Sideshow’s statues of her, but the decision was made for me when that particular piece sold out. Even at the MSRP of about $45, I think this is a pretty well-executed piece. The portrait is definitely not as nice as the original solicitation photos, but the only reason I make a point of that again is because the female portraits in this line have been generally exceptional. That’s especially the case when you look back at Rogue, Emma Frost, or Madelyne Pryor. But I have certainly passed on far pricier statues that have looked worse. I grabbed Ms. Van Dyne for $25 on Amazon and I’m mighty happy with that deal. She’s big and beautiful and generates a big buzz for a little money.

Nov 18 2022

J. Scott Campbell’s Fairytale Fantasies: Red Riding Hood by Sideshow

I’ve been working on getting caught up on showcasing the Fairytale Fantasy statue collaboration between J. Scott Campbell and Sideshow, when a brand new release hit my doorstep and I decided to bump her to the head of the line. This time we’re checking out Red Riding Hood! If you’re not familiar with this series feel free to get caught up by checking out The Little Mermaid and Tinkerbell, but basically these are polystone statues based on J. Scott Campbell’s take on famous ladies from timeless fairy tales! And while Red Riding Hood here will be the third statue I’ve covered here, I still need to double back to check out both Alice from Wonderland and Cinderella!

Red comes in the biggest box yet. I mean, I was seriously not expecting a box this big. I imagine that’s because the scale has been a little varied here. The Little Mermaid is only partially showing above the surface of the water, making her a bit on the small side and Tinkerbell is a small subject to begin with. But Red here is a full Sixth-Scale statue, measuring about 19-inches if you include the base and branches. Needless to say, this box is plenty big. It feature some really classy designs, as well as the actual art that inspired the statue on the front panel. Red was available in a Standard Edition and a Sideshow Exclusive, which is the one we’ll be looking at today! This edition was limited to 2,000 pieces and hand numbered on the box and the bottom of the base. Mine is number 704! Assembling the statue is pretty simple. She pegs into the base, her arms are attached by magnets, and the tree components of the display attach to the base by magnets as well. Let’s have a look!

Well, this is not the little Red Riding Hood that I remember seeing illustrated in my storybooks when I was a kid. If it were, I might have hit puberty a little earlier. Here Red cuts quite the shapely figure wearing a black and white corset, skimpy skirt, high black boots, and indeed a red hood with a short cape. She also comes equipped with a trusty crossbow and a basket of special goodies. I do love the pose here, as it’s fairly neutral while still evoking a bit of a story. While tracking through the snowy woods to Grandma’s house, she suddenly stops in response to a twig breaking, or perhaps a distant wolfy growl, (or maybe spotting the giant wolf tracks in the snow!) and readies her weapon for the first sign of trouble. All the while, the sinister woods snake around her like spindly claws waiting to strike. Wow!

As always, JSC knows how to bring the sex appeal with his art and the wizards at Sideshow have done a beautiful job recreating it in polystone. Red’s outfit is not overly complex, but it does show some lovely flourishes, like the sculpted red laces in the corset, and the red bow that secures her cape around her neck. You get sculpted ruffled finery around the top edges of her bodice and a sense of simple elegance to the buccaneer style boots and gloves. The short cape and skirt are sculpted to lick up behind her, agitated perhaps by the wind, or from a sudden turn as she investigates a noise. Not only does it add a little energy to the pose, but it also gives you a little glimpse of Red Riding Hiney. The colors are great and have a soft matte finish, with some shading to the red garment and some soft, worm tones to Red’s skin.

Red’s portrait is JSC perfection, and boy I don’t say that lightly. His distinctive style is not easy to replicate in three-dimensions, and while Sideshow seems to have it nailed down, I can think of a few other producers who have missed the mark over the years. But here, it’s unmistakable in Red’s large almond-shaped blue eyes, her perfectly parted lips, and her shapely little nose. Her high cheeks have a warm rosy complexion, and the way her hair falls about her face is poetry in motion. I could stare at this beauty for hours!

The crossbow is a nice piece of kit, with a traditional wood-style stock and a metal crosspiece. The design has a few flourishes, but for the most part it emphasizes function over flair. The weapon is clocked with a bolt ready to fly. And I’m going to go ahead and assume that’s a silver tip.

Red’s left hand grips her basket of goodies, which has a beautifully sculpted weave pattern and a red cover to conceal its contents. Well, most of the contents. She does have a brace of bolts for her crossbow peeking out. What else could be in there? Caltrops? Holy Water? Crude sulfur grenades? I guess we’ll never know.

Moving down to the base, we get a simple disk pedestal holding a slice of snow-covered terrain, and dominated by two large wolf prints. Is the wolf hunting her, or is she the one hunting the wolf? The white-blue snow is disturbed by the claw-like tree branches, which sprout up as if to encompass her in their grasp. I absolutely love the way these are designed, with one low and reaching up, and the other snaking it’s way as if ready to grab her from behind. Perhaps they’re evil spirits of the forest come to life, but mostly I think they’re simply the artist’s license to add a further sense of danger and dread to the piece. The bottom of the base is fully illustrated and hand-numbered, and I hope you’ll forgive me for not photographing it, but this statue is heavy, and I don’t want to disassemble her to get the shot.

The Sideshow Exclusive release comes with a metal art card and stand. This is similar to what was issued with the Tinkerbell Exclusive, but that card was more concept art and this one looks more like a finished piece. I wasn’t able to get a metal card with The Little Mermaid, and as for Alice in Wonderland, I opted to get a signed statue over the card, so right now only two of my Fairytale Fantasies have the metal cards to display with them. I did, however, pick up this art as a signed print.

Red is still available through Sideshow at $340 for the regular edition, but with the Exclusive priced at only $10 more, why wouldn’t you? The prices on these have been creeping up since the initial two releases, but I didn’t mind so much with Red because she is absolutely huge compared to the other two releases I’ve showcased here. Besides, I can’t get enough of J. Scott Campbell’s art and I’m happy to see someone making premium statues that really do his unique style justice. And with Red finally under my belt, I’ll make an effort to take a look at Cinderella and Alice in Wonderland before the end of the year, so I can be all caught up. The newest release, The Evil Queen is already up for pre-order and expected to ship sometimes next year!

Sep 5 2022

Marvel Gallery: GamerVerse Spider-Man by Diamond Select

Since I’m between waves of Marvel Legends, I thought I’d take this week’s Marvel Monday as an opportunity to check out another Marvel Gallery statue by Diamond Select. I’ve cut down on my buying of these statues quite a bit, not because I don’t like them, but rather they just take up a lot of space that I don’t have. And while I don’t mind storing action figures in boxes, it seems silly to buy statues and not have them on display. Still, every now and then one shows up at a price I can’t resist, and that was the case with this one!

As the name suggests, this statue is inspired by the Spider-Man PlayStation game, which I own but still have not gotten around to playing. Although, I do have a vacation coming up with nothing planned, so I may remedy that soon. As always, the packaging for this line is superb, with windows on the front, top, and both side panels, and the statue itself encased between two transparent trays. The box lets in plenty of light, and I do actually display most of these in the box, almost like it’s its own display case. On the back you get a picture of the statue and a little write-up about Spider-Man, just in case you’re considering purchasing the statue, but don’t know who he is. Let’s open up the box and see what we got!

Diamond’s Gallery statues tend to waffle between subdued museum-style poses, and those with a hint of action. Both have their merits, but I think the composition of this piece really shows the excitement that a good action pose can deliver. Spidey looks like he just landed on the roof of the cab and is instantly ready to fire off his web at an unseen foe. It could easily pass for cover art, and that’s a great compliment. Yes sir, I like this pose a lot!

One of the big features of the game is the ability to unlock a bunch of different suits, and pictured here is Spider-Man’s Advanced Suit, probably best distinguished by the large, white spider emblems on the front and back. This seems to be one of the most prominent suits featured in the game, as I see it merchandised a lot, and I like it enough to have plunked down the scratch for the Hot Toys release some time ago. I think it’s the colors that make it so appealing to me, as the white really compliments the bright blue and red of the rest of the suit. I especially like the return of this particular shade of blue dominating this costume. It’s far more appealing to me than the darker blue or black of some of Spidey’s MCU outings. Regardless, the colors are beautifully represented on this statue, and when mixed with the bright yellow of the cab roof, this statue is a feast for the eye!

Just about every detail of the suit is part of the sculpt, from the deep cuts in the web pattern to the puffed out reinforced seams. There’s a nice wash to bring out the webbing on the red portion of the suit, as well as add a little definition to the muscles, while the blue portions are left clean and slick. The figure does a splendid job of capturing Spider-Man’s physique, with the suit fitting him like a second skin. Overall, the paint lines are solid, but there is definitely some slop around the longer white spider legs on the front of the suit. The closer you get in, the more apparent it is, but it’s not something that is going to bother me while I’m admiring this piece on the shelf. It ain’t bad for a budget statue, and truth be told, I’ve seen worse on more expensive pieces.

The portrait is great, albeit not at all expressive. You don’t get any variance in the apertures of his eyes, nor do you get any hint of the contours of Peter’s face under the mask. Still, the portrait exudes a confidence, which I like. After all, isn’t that why Peter wears the mask? So his foes can’t see his fear! Either way, it came out really nice and I particular love the texture they gave to the eye pieces. Very nice!

Diamond often refers to these Gallery Statues as PVC Dioramas, but I think that has more to do with their licensing scope, as a lot of them have simple bases and are anything but dioramas. Here, it’s nice to see the phrase being applicable, as the top portion of the cab makes for a wonderful base, which not only tells a story, but frames Spider-Man in his home environment. The base incorporates just enough of the cab roof to sell it, and the Daily Bugle advertisement is just icing on the cake! It’s just absolutely perfect.

Diamond rarely disappoints me with their Gallery line, so when I say that I think this is one of the better ones, that’s meant as high praise. Sure, you have to keep in mind that these are budget statues, with MSRPs of about fifty bucks, but even taking that into consideration, I think these are a great value. Go back and read some of my old Kotobukiya reviews, and you’ll see that I rarely wrote one where I didn’t say they were some of the best values in statues out there. Well, now Koto’s statues retail for about twice what they used to, forcing me to pass that trophy along to Diamond Select and these Gallery Statues. This one just really captures the character perfectly, and the colors are just phenomenal. It also doesn’t hurt that I grabbed this one on sale for only thirty bucks!

Dec 22 2021

CyberFrog and Salamandroid PVC Figures by All Caps Comics

CyberFrog was born in the 90’s, the creation of comic book veteran and human ray of sunshine, Ethan Van Sciver, but he was re-born just a few years back, birthed from the cataclysmic war for the hearts, minds, and spending money of comic book fans. As the big corporate comic producers seemed to delight in antagonizing their established fan base, many creators decided to go it on their own, building a fanbase and support through crowdfunding projects. Like it or begrudge it, it’s been a huge movement in the contemporary American comic industry, and no one has been more successful at it than Mr. Van Sciver. I for one was happy to see CyberFrog return, and I’ve been an eager supporter of each and every one of these projects, which by now has run the gamut from comics to toys! Today we’re going to talk about toys!

For the uninitiated, our cybernetically enhanced amphibian hero came to our planet to befriend the bodacious Heather Swain, eat buckets of fried chicken, and defend humanity from the evil swarm of space hornets, known as The Vyzpzz. Fighting at his side is his giant brother, Salamandroid. Blood Honey saw the return of CyberFrog, shedding a good bit of the original comic’s 90s schlock (meant as a compliment!) and elevating the material by introducing a ton of heart and soul. Not to mention some incredible art and colors! The follow up, Rekt Planet, is still a work in progress, but is due to release next year. There are legit action figures coming, but in the meantime, we have this pair of PVC collectibles to tide us over!

One might expect crowdfunded perks like these to ship in polybags, but nope! Each figure comes in a collector friendly window box, which lets you get a look at the goods inside while still offering some gorgeous art and coloring. This professional packaging would stand out on the shelf of any toy aisle, and I do plan on displaying the figures in the boxes. I got this pair by going All In on the Rekt Planet campaign, a decision which seems to have paid for itself several times over, as there are going to be plenty more goodies coming. But I’ll confess, aside from the actual book, these PVC toys were what I was most excited for! Let me get them open, and we’ll start with a look at CyberFrog!

I suspect that it’s always a challenge to bring 2D characters from comic panels into the tangible 3D world. It’s probably extra challenging when dealing with highly original and stylized designs like these. Nonetheless, All Caps Comics pulled it off brilliantly. CyberFrog oozes personality as he strikes his hero pose, squatting on his haunches, one hand planted firmly on the ground, and the other trailing behind him. The sculpt is relatively simple, preserving the comic book feel, but you still get some nice touches, like the cut lines segmenting his legs, fingers, and feet, and some muscle definition in his amphibian bod.

The portrait is simply splendid, with his bulging yellow eyes and furled froggie brow. CyberFrog is over The Vyzpzz’s shit and his expression shows it!

And as great as the sculpt here turned out, the coloring certainly does its part to impress. The luxurious metallic silver paint is quite striking in person, especially when contrasted with the bright metallic green used for his cybernetic parts. Hasbro should take note, because I’d love to see this kind of paint on some of their figures. You also get a deeper hunter green for his froggie parts, as well as touches of bright blue and yellow. Beautiful! Let’s turn our attention to Salamandroid!

Holy shit, this figure is gorgeous! As in the comic, Salamandroid positively dwarfs his little brother, making this a hefty chunk of PVC. Sal stands majestically on all fours, poised to leap into action and fulfill his sworn duty to protect CyberFrog. He has the same deep cut lines segmenting his artificial limbs with reinforced joints in his back legs, making them look like coiled springs ready to launch him at his foes. He has a pair of hulking shoulders and curved bracers on his fore limbs, each with large blue stones set in the center.

Sal is a gentle, childlike giant, right up until his anger is roused, and that’s certainly reflected in this portrait. His adorable and lovable mug is punctuated by narrow red eyes, two rows of sharp teeth, and a long crimson tongue. His head is framed with dual silver rings, and there are cybernetic cables protruding from them into the skin around his neck. I also love the silver hump that arches back from his neck.

As with CyberFrog, Sal features a premium paint job. You get a lot more of that snappy silver on his limbs that we saw on his little brother. His skin is a soft powder blue with some greenish-gold speckling on his back, meanwhile his silver cybernetics are reinforced with metallic blue accents. Sal also features some charcoal gray paint on his arm bracers, and the cut-outs in his shoulders.

And I sure can’t fail to mention Salamandroid’s impressive tail! This long and fearsome whip is painted with more of that deep metallic blue with the segmented lines painted in black. The tail is softer plastic than the rest of the figure, and features a wire running through it that allows it to be posed a bit, which will sure come in handy when trying to find shelf space for this big boi!

Never in a million years did I expect to ever see CyberFrog toys, let alone toys produced at this level of quality. The sculpts capture all the fun and personality of these characters, while the paint makes these figures sing. I’m not sure what the availability of these are right now, but I do know that you can pick up limited gold or silver versions on the official CyberFrog Ebay Store. As I mentioned earlier, All Caps Comics has a wave of fully articulated action figures in production, which will include CyberFrog, Heather Swain, and a Vyzpzz. A Salamandroid figure for that line hasn’t been shown off yet, but I have every confidence we will see one released eventually.

Nov 17 2021

Dejah Thoris “Princess of Mars” Premium Format Statue by Sideshow

I try my best to avoid picking up Sideshow’s Premium Format statues. They’re always stunning, but that beauty and craftsmanship comes at a price, not only in money but also in real estate. These things are big and it’s getting harder and harder for me to find room to display them. Today’s piece is the fifth Premium Format in my collection, and will likely be the last for a while, or at least until I move into a bigger place next year! It also happens to be one that I’ve been hotly anticipating ever since they first teased it. Straight from the pages of Edgar Rice Burroughs Martian novels, comes The Princess of Mars herself, Dejah Thoris!

Dejah arrived in what was possibly the largest Premium Format box I have received to date, which explains the unprofessional picture of it sitting on the floor. It’s colorful and shows off pictures of the statue, while also being unbelievably heavy at a whopping thirty-two pounds! I think I had the misconception of this piece being more reasonably sized because she’s reclining and not standing, but she still measures up at fourteen inches tall with a circular base that measures sixteen inches across. The assembly is a bit more involved than any of my previous PF statues, but there’s still nothing too crazy. The chair pegs into the base with keyholes, and there’s a blanket and a pillow that attach onto the chair in the same fashion. The figure comes in four pieces, which include the main body, the arms, and the head. Everything fitted together perfectly and once together, she makes for a sturdy and stable display. Still, carrying her from her display shelf to my photo setup was quite the ordeal!

And here she is all set up, and what can I say? Is there any doubt why I fell in love with her at first sight? I’ve been a reader and book collector for most of my life and Burroughs’ John Carter of Mars series captured my imagination at a young age. Likewise, Dejah Thoris was probably my very first literary crush. Over the years, I’ve enjoyed seeing different artists’ visions of her in their work, and it’s always been a dream of mine to own something like this statue, depicting the Red Princess of Barsoom in all her sultry glory!

Dejah reclines on a chaise lounge, atop a pile of pillows, each strategically placed to support her curvaceous form, while a satiny blanket spills off onto the floor. She has her right leg extended and her left leg tucked under it. Her left arm is drawn up to cradle her head with splayed fingers, while her right arm is extended behind her, partially concealing a Radium Pistol. I think the composition here is absolutely perfect. It conveys Dejah’s extreme sexuality, her cunning and self-reliance, and above all her absolute regality. Despite her skimpy attire and leisurely setting, she comes across as totally empowered.

All of that character is not only conveyed in the body language, but also the beautiful portrait. Dejah is sporting a rather serious expression, peppered with just a touch of courtly boredom. She looks like she’s tired of someone’s shit, and there’s a good chance that when her patience finally runs out, she’s going to make use of her pistol. The facial features are beautifully realized in the sculpt with some absolutely perfect paint applications. The lips, eyes, and eyebrows are all razor sharp. The glossy red they used for the lips is quite striking, and the eyebrows are sculpted as well as painted. The sculpted hair cascades to her shoulders, with a collection of strands partially covering the right side of her face. The other great thing about the portrait is the detail in all the jewelry. She has multiple earrings, and the tiara features some great scrollwork as well as a few metallic colored stones.

When it comes to her outfit, there’s not a lot of it. As a result, a great deal of Dejah’s figure is just reddish-brown skin conveyed though a spectacularly soft and even paint job. She wears a veritable web of gold chains, which connect to a waist chain and two golden cups to cover her nips. Some of this, like the waist chain, is sculpted onto the statue, while some of it is actual chain, giving it some great depth and realism. Her rather elaborate necklace features a purple stone dead center, she has a rather wide wrist bracer on her right hand, smaller bangles on her left, bicep cuffs on both arms, and various ring fingers. All fo the jewelry is painted with a sumptuous gold leaf paint. Down below she sports a rather skimpy G-string, secured with a mix of gold chain and pearls, she has several anklets, and even some toe rings.

The Radium Pistol is a great example of the steampunk-like depiction of Helium technology over the years. It’s design is quite reminiscent of a single-action open-top revolver from 19th Century Earth. It features a long and slender barrel, with a sculpted extraction arm underneath it, and a rather elaborately sculpted grip. Dejah clearly isn’t one for practicing trigger discipline, as her finger is looped through the guard and ready to squeeze off a round at a moment’s notice.

The base consists of a very thick and heavy disk, the surface of which is carved with a map of Barsoom with studs representing each of the Martian Cities. The chaise lounge locks into it with keyholes and remains very sturdy. Some amazing detail has gone into the individual pillows that Dejah reclines on. You get some ornate Eastern patterns, some gilt decorations, and plenty of tassels. It can’t be easy to make polystone look like soft and inviting cushions, but they sure got the job done here!

The base has one removable accessory, and that’s this rather ornate water jug. At one point, I thought this was an Exclusive piece, but in reality, Dejah didn’t have an Exclusive available. And that’s just as well, because it would have made a pretty lame exclusive. The jug doesn’t attach anywhere, so you can just rest it on the base somewhere and pray that you remember it isn’t fixed down the next time you move the statue. I dig it a lot, but the fact that I am only introducing it now suggests that it can be a little distracting from the figure. There’s room to place it in the front, as pictured, or in the back, where it can be less obvious.

I believe it was about a year between the time I pre-ordered Dejah and the time she finally showed up at my door. She’s easily my most anticipated Premium Format figures in my collection, and that means she had a year’s worth of anticipation to live up to. I’ll confess to having been a little apprehensive when opening her. Could she possibly live up to all that pent up excitement? Well, the answer is an astounding yes. I’m happy to say that Dejah met and exceeded all my expectations. Everything about this piece comes together so perfectly. The paint, the sculpt, the overall composition. I can honestly say, that there isn’t a thing here that I would change or want to make better.

May 31 2021

Spider-Man and Mary Jane Maquette (Exclusive) by Sideshow

It’s been a week, but I’m back and ready for action… and something a little different for this Marvel Monday! When Sideshow solicited their new maquette based on J Scott Campbell’s cover for The Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows #1, I may have sprained my button pushing finger on that pre-order button. And then the waiting came. And I mean WAITING! My pre-order was placed in November of 2019, and about a year and a half later this statue finally showed up. I’ll concede that my patience has been wearing thin with Sideshow and pre-orders these days. When I first got into this game, it seemed like six months was the standard, and now over a year is not uncommon. With the exception of a Must-Have piece like this, I’m going to start rolling my dice and trying my luck with buying after release. But I digress! Let’s get to the goods!

You can dig around in FFZ’s past to find that my love for J Scott Campbell’s work runs deep, and I’m always happy to see him turn his talents to Marvel characters. I probably have at least a half-dozen of his Mary Jane covers, all signed, but sadly I don’t have the cover of Renew Your Vows #1 that this work is based on. I do, however, have it as a signed 7×11 art print, and I’m pretty content with that. Still, the front of the box also has a recreation of the art for reference, along with a rap-around red brick deco of the NY apartment, which looks quite nice! The box is absolutely huge, clocking in at close to Premium Format proportions, while the statue itself measures only about 12-inches tall, making the figures close to sixth-scale. The boxes large size comes from the fact that this statue comes spread out in a lot of pieces. Yes, there’s assembly required, but it’s all done with one connecting rod and a lot of magnets. In the end, I had not troubles fitting anything together.

And here is the piece all set up and I am absolutely in love. The composition sees MJ reclining on a comfy purple armchair, propped up on a couple of blue pillows, with one leg out and the other folded back under it. Meanwhile, Peter squats on the back of the chair, unmasked but still in his Spidey outfit. Their arms are intertwined, framing MJ’s face in the center. I was especially curious to see how they were going to engineer that web of arms, and the execution was quite clever, and the connections are for the most part fairly seamless. Spidey is secured to the chair with a peg, but MJ simply rests in molded indentations in the chair, and yet it still feels solid, even when I was transporting it from the studio to the display shelf. It is a satisfyingly heavy piece, mainly because the sofa is a solid block of polyresin.

The attention to detail in the costumes aligns perfectly with the art. MJ is wearing a long t-shirt, cut-off jean shorts, and a pair of Spider-Man themed knee socks, while Spidey dons his classic blue and red suit. Every detail, including the web pattern is incorporated into the sculpt and the paint lines are immaculate. They did a nice job applying some blue shading to MJ’s white top, and I really like the gradient colors in the chair. Indeed, everything about the colors here just pop like crazy! I’m particularly in love with the vibrant blue used on Spidey’s outfit.

Both portraits are a real triumph and a credit to the sculptor, Steve Schumacher. He also did the Abby Chase Premium Format, and I also own his Domino Premium Format Figure. It always amazes me when someone can take the very distinctive art stylings of Campbell’s and translate it so perfectly to three-dimensions. I love Peter’s wide, beaming grin. It’s almost smug in knowing that he has indeed hit the jackpot. Meanwhile, MJ is just looking as gorgeous as she always does when JSC sets to drawing her. The paint application on both portraits is just about flawless.

There’s no actual base for this piece, the chair serves alone in that capacity, and I think that was a great idea. It sits slightly off the ground on four stubby legs, and remains perfectly stable with no wobble to worry about. I do, however, recommend displaying this one toward the back of the shelf, as MJ’s one leg does reach out pretty far in front and it would be a shame to catch it on your arm when walking by. The bottom of the chair has an illustrated finish, along with the hand-numbered statement of limitation. Yeah, I really should have snapped a picture of that before putting this thing together, but I was just too excited to do it. Mine is number 244 of the 1200 piece Exclusive run. So before wrapping, up let’s take a look at what makes this the Exclusive!

The Exclusive includes the little stuffed tiger that’s depicted in the original art. It’s an adorable little fellow and it’s designed to just sit right between MJ’s rump and the chair’s arm. Lucky bastard! This tiger really hit the jackpot! In reference to the cover art, the absence of the tiger is a bit conspicuous, so I’m not sure it was the best incentive for exclusive. I would have probably rather the tiger be included with the standard edition and we got a metal art card with the Exclusive, but then the Exclusive is still available at Sideshow, so anyone jumping on this even after release will be able to get it.

It’s tough for a collectible to live up to a year and a half’s worth of anticipation, but this maquette managed to pull it off. The paint and sculpt are both absolutely sterling, and the quality control is positively above reproach. I don’t think there was a single month in all that time where I didn’t find myself on Sideshow’s site and drooling over the pictures. And on the positive side, the $525 price tag is a lot easier to swallow when amortized over eighteen months. It’s great to have another killer piece for my ever expanding J Scott Campbell display.

May 19 2021

Grimm Fairy Tales: Liesel Van Helsing Bishoujo Statue by Zenescope

If you’ve been a visitor to FFZ for a while, you no doubt already know that I have a special place in my heart for Zenescope comics. They were my safe haven when the Big Boys of Comics were playing politics, intentionally antagonizing their fans, and basically just turning out bad art and junk stories. As a contrast, Zenescope presented me with guilty pleasure and a means of escape that I look forward to a couple of times a month when my order shows up. They taught me to really enjoy comics again. By last count I have something like 850 floppies and trade paperbacks from The Big Z: A number that is enlarged by the amazing number of variant and limited collectible covers Zenescope turns out for most issues. Zenescope has dabbled with collectibles over the years, producing a few Sixth-Scale figures, and more recently a series of Bishoujo-style 1/7 scale statures by way of Kickstarter. Previous releases included Sela Mathers and Robyn Locksley, and this time around we’re getting Liesel Van Helsing!

There’s no denying that Zenescope took a page from Kotobukiya and their line of Bishoujo figures, many of which have been based on the characters of DC and Marvel comics, and that is immediately evident in the packaging. Liesel comes in a large window box with the figure itself nested between two clear plastic trays. The art that inspired this piece, by Jason Cardy, can be seen on the front as well as the side panels. The top panel has the Grimm Universe logo and the back panel has some copy about the character. Van Helsing tends to rival Robyn Hood for the title of my favorite Zenescope character, with the winner usually being whoever’s book I happen to be reading at the time. The statue comes out of the box fully assembled and ready to go, so let’s check her out!

And here she is… Van Helsing done up with a bit of Bishoujo cuteness. This Vamp-hunting Victorian out of time features a sculpted outfit that includes black knee-high boots, a pair of very tight, and very short black shorts, a red and black corset, white gauntlets, and a black long-sleeve jacket, with a red interior, that sweeps out like a cape. They omitted her trademark fishnets and I can certainly understand why, as they would be difficult to reproduce here. And even without them this outfit works as a very iconic look for the character. The pose looks like it’s straight off of a floppy cover, as Liesel stands with her feet wide apart, her crossbow drawn up in her right hand, while her left hand steadies her steampunk top hat. And while the pose is quite calculated and composed, Liesel’s wild hair and blowing jacket give it just the right bit of excitement.

While the costume is overall fairly simple in keeping with that anime style, there are still plenty of little flourishes of detail. Her boots have sculpted straps and buckles as well as rivets reinforcing the toes and heels. Likewise, her corset is secured with four sculpted belts, each buckled down the front. She has a brace of bolts for her crossbow lined up on her right hip, which is counterbalanced by a pouch on her left hip and another down on her left thigh. The coloring is a mix of matte and slight gloss for a bit of contrast, and the quality of the paint applications is quite solid. The skin tone is still a bit too waxy for my tastes, as opposed to the warm and more even plastic skin tone seen on the Kotobukiya figures, but it’s certainly not a deal breaker for me.

The portrait succeeds in painting Liesel with the pretty girl anime style, complete with large green eyes and small pouty lips. She has a slight air of determination as she sizes up her latest adversary. Her hair blowing wildly from under her stitched hat with the steampunk goggles. The crossbow has a great anachronistic look to it. From the modern pistol grip, to the old time wood finish, to the contemporary scope, it really characterizes Liesel’s steampunk heritage and practice of mating Old World thinking with modern technology in her inventions.

As with the previous releases, Van Helsing’s base is a simple black disk, which works well for this format. The statue doesn’t really need an environment for context, and the simple design doesn’t detract from the figure itself.

As I said when reviewing the previous two statues, these pieces are not in league with Kotobukiya’s own pieces, but Koto’s been in the game for a long time and the MSRP on their pieces have been ever on the rise. Zenescope, on the other hand, is still new to the game, and I think they’re doing a pretty bang up job on these. Last time, Van Helsing was teased on Robyn’s box, but there’s no such teaser here, so I’m hoping that this line will continue. I don’t see why it wouldn’t, as the Kickstarters have all well exceeded their goals, and Zenescope has been using the opportunity to merchandise a number of Add-On books and other extras. There are no doubt plenty of choices for the next one, from Mystere to Red Agent, Belle the Beast Hunter, Gretel the Witch-Slayer, Black Knight, or even Cinderella the Serial-Killer Princess! But to be fair, I think Skye Mathers really should be next, and it would be nice to display her next to her late mom, Sela.

Apr 28 2021

DC Comics: Premium Format Wonder Woman Premium Format by Sideshow

The fact that I only own a few Premium Format Statues by Sideshow proves that as a collector I at least have some willpower left. These things are huge and expensive, and I frequently find myself with glass of Jameson in hand drooling over them on Sideshow’s website into the wee hours of the night. I’m fond of saying that I got my first taste for free when I won a Sideshow contest for the Batman Returns Catwoman, but it’s today’s Wonder Woman statue that was the first Premium Format to get me to open up my wallet. I actually had this lady in my sites for a long time, hoping that she would sell out so I could finally stop agonizing over the decision. But a couple of years ago I got a nice bonus at work and decided to treat myself.

These statues usually come in pretty big boxes, but this Wonder Woman’s box is absolutely massive. It features absolutely no images of the figure inside, just Wonder Woman’s name and logo and some stars against a red and white backdrop. Inside, the statue is nestled between two large Styrofoam bricks, with the individual pieces wrapped in tissue paper. As always, there’s some assembly required, but nothing here was too difficult and all the pieces fit together with ease. Before proceeding, I’ll start with an apology. This piece is well beyond the comfortable constraints of my little studio set up, which is designed for action figures, not mammoth pieces like this. As a result, when I reviewed my camera roll, I wasn’t happy with many of the pictures I took. This piece deserved better, but until I can put together a larger studio space, I have no reason to think a reshoot would have had better results.

Here she is, standing majestically among crumbled ruins of Themyscira and meauring something like 24-inches high. Her right hand is held out at arm’s length, clutching the shaft of her spear and balancing it on her shoulder and behind her neck. Her left hand grasps the handle on her shield, while her left foot rests up on a piece of ruined architecture. Sideshow has done several excellent Premium Formats based on the Amazonian Princess, but the composition of this piece is probably the one thing that makes it my favorite. Diana looks like she just got finished pummeling the combined armies of Ares, and now she’s coming for the Big Guy himself. Simply wonderful!

Probably the next thing that attracted me to this piece was the portrait. I’ve got to say it, maybe two-thirds of the time, Sideshow’s female portraits let me down. I was willing to throw money at their Zatanna figure when it was first teased, but I couldn’t get past the somewhat masculine head sculpt. What I like about this one is the way it portrays Diana as both tough and beautiful. The portrait isn’t inspired by the likenesses of Gal Gadot or Linda Carter either. Not that there’s anything wrong with those lovely ladies. I think they each look perfect in the role, but I just love that this isn’t influenced by any of the movies or TV. Either way, here she has a strong, determined brow, and an upturned smirk as she assesses the confrontation ahead. Meanwhile, her hair blows off to the side. The paint on her eyes is razor sharp, and there’s a nice glossy finish to her lips.

Her costume is certainly one of the more abbreviated designs. There’s no skirt, but just the blue panties with white stars. Her gold belt offers up her trademark WW logo, and she has the Art Deco-style golden eagle motif on the front of her chest. Meanwhile, everything in between is painted with a rich crimson. The coloring is lush and deep, rather than being too flashy and bright. It definitely has a patina of realism too it, or at least as realistic as you can make an outfit like this look! It’s simple and elegant, and the quality of paint application is above reproach.

The spear is a simple wooden shaft, which has a sculpted ribbon tied around it. Once upon a time, Premium Formats all had some form of mixed media incorporated into them, and while that hasn’t been the case in a while, I do wish they had made this ribbon out of real cloth and sewn a wire into it to make it poseable. It’s not that it looks bad, it actually looks quite nice, but I just think some cloth would have been a great touch here. It also would have been a lot less fragile. She also carries her coiled Lasso of Truth on her right hip. This piece is sculpted with braids and painted with the same finish as the gold portions of her costume.

The shield is an absolute masterpiece, and it definitely draws the eye toward it almost immediately, thanks to that brilliant high-gloss finish. It’s a cool contrast with the matte coloring of the rest of the costume and it really pops from across the room. The concentric circles feature a blue ring of stars, a silver ring of Gracian patterns, and a central red disk with two silver stars and a raised golden eagle. Sideshow also released an Exclusive version of this statue where the shield could be swapped out with an battleax. It wasn’t too much more, but I still opted for the regular release, since I couldn’t imagine myself ever displaying this figure without the shield.

And that brings us down to the base, which compliments the figure perfectly. It’s quite large and adds some height to what is an already impressive piece. The crumbled stone texturing is exceptionally well done, and Diana attaches to it securely. A sword and helmet serve as some additional ornamentation. I wasn’t able to get this beast turned upside down for a picture, but the bottom surface of the base is fully illustrated and the statue is hand numbered. Mine is 4172 of 6000 total pieces. Not a low number to be sure, but it does represent how long I wrestled with myself over this one before finally buying it.

I can still remember my anticipation over this piece arriving. It was more money than I’m used to spending on any single collectible, and I was worried that I would come down with a case of buyer’s remorse. Not to mention the stress over it arriving broken or with some horrible QC issue, which has been known to happen with these statues from time to time. But after getting her unboxed and up on display, I found that I was delighted with my purchase. I don’t buy a lot of collectibles from DC Comics these days. I mainly blame that on the lack of a sustained, cohesive action figure line and my rage at them changing scales and styles so often. But, I do have a small collection of Wonder Woman statues, so this lovely lady is in good company.