Tag Archives: statues

Aug 1 2014

Cover Girls of the DC Universe: Supergirl by DC Collectibles

The last time I looked at the Cover Girls statues was way back in January and it was that sumptuous she-bot from the Metal Men, Platinum. Today we’re looking at Supergirl! Supergirl is one of a handful of lower priority DC books that I’m catching as they come out in trade paperback collections. I think it started on a high note, dropped off for a bit, and lately it’s starting to pick up again. It’s not great, but I still enjoy reading it. This is a statue that I had on pre-order way back when it was first revealed, but she got bumped for other things more important to me. Ever since then I’ve been keeping an eye on her and it took me until now to finally fit her into the budget.

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The packaging is right in line with what we’ve been seeing from the Cover Girls ever since DC Direct became DC Collectibles. It’s a fully enclosed white box with some shots of the statue to show you what you’re getting inside. As far as presentation goes, this is about as utilitarian as it can get. Call me crazy, but I expect something a little more exciting and colorful out of my comic book collectible packages.

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The back panel of the box shows off two other statues in the line, Batgirl and Batwoman, both of which look pretty good. The statue resides between two styrofoam trays and wrapped in plastic. So far, each of the Cover Girl statues I own have come ready for display, but Supergirl needs to be pegged into her stand. The peg is sturdy metal piece, which fits in easily and holds the statue securely. The reason for the support rod has everything to do with the composition of the piece, so let’s start there.

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The pose here is supposed to be Supergirl levitating and I think it’s a great look for the statue. She has just the toe of her right boot touching the base, making it look like she’s coming in for a landing. I suppose if you want to ignore the base, she could just be suspended in mid-air. Kara is striking a pose with both hands curled into fists and flexing with her right arm. I think this is the first statue in the line since its relaunch that has a character capable of flight and I’m happy to see they showcased it in pose. The composition is completed with windblown cape and hair.

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The sculpting here is certainly a solid effort. All the painted aspects of her costume are also part of the sculpt, which works well to accentuate the New 52 style. Overall, I don’t have any problems with Supergirl’s current look, although I’ll concede the idea behind the cutout knees in the boots is rather perplexing. The portrait is clean and simple. Kara has just a wee bit of a smirk, which lends some whimsical personality to the piece.

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The paintwork has been hit or miss on this line. All of my Cover Girl statues have been acceptable, but there have certainly been opportunities for improvement. I think Supergirl reflects that same trend. The paint on the costume is overall excellent. The lines are fairly clean and the glossy paint used on her one-piece contrasts nicely with the slightly more matte finish on her boots and cape. The skin tone is nice and even and the paint on her face is clean. I’m not a big fan of the wash they used on her hair. It’s there to give it more depth, but I think it just makes it look a little dirty. Really, the only other gripe I have with the paint is that the brush strokes on the base are a little too apparent. So, all in all, not bad.

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While the first releases in the rebooted Cover Girls line were environmental designs, DCC seems to be moving more toward a standard oval base for the current releases and while I hate when lines like this change styles in mid stream, I still think it was a wise move. Technically, these are still limited pieces, but with a run of 5200 pieces (I see what you did there!), the limitation isn’t too stringent. I’ve also noticed that DCC has been reissuing a few of the earlier releases (or at least they are for Harley Quinn), so I’m not sure how they work that into the limitation. The statue is numbered on the bottom of the base.

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In the end, I’m glad I finally got around to adding Kara to my Cover Girls collection. She’s a great representation of the character and overall feels like a fairly solid value for the money. While this rebooted Cover Girls line continues to have its critics, I remain a fan, albeit a rather tepid one. These aren’t something that I often pre-order like I do most of Kotobukiya’s stuff, but then I tend to like the PCV format over this cold-cast porcelain for my statues. Nonetheless, at roughly 1:8 scale and around $80 each, these statues fall right into my sweet spot and keep me coming back for more.

Jul 15 2014

DC Comics: Armored Wonder Woman Bishoujo Statue by Kotobukiya

It’s time for more plastic crack from Kotobukiya. They get my paychecks direct deposited to them now to save me the trouble. What do they do with what’s left over? Ha, there’s never anything left over! Anyway, a couple of years back, Koto gave Wonder Woman the Bishoujo treatment and the result has remained hands down my favorite piece in my Bishoujo collection. When I heard they were doing her again, I was certainly intrigued. Could they improve upon perfection? And why bother trying? Well, the result is their new Armored Wonder Woman Bishoujo, a completely new take on everyone’s favorite Amazon from Themyscira. I had this lady sitting in the receivings pile for a little while now and today is the day I’m finally getting to open her. Can she rival the previous Wonder Woman release? Let’s find out!

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If you’ve been collecting the line, the packaging here should be readily familiar to you. The statue comes in a two-sided window box with an extra window on top to let the light in. It gives you a passing peek at the statue itself, but she’s imprisoned behind plastic wrap and a couple of trays so you’ll need to get her out to fully appreciate her. The box is mostly white, but kitted out with plenty of colorful shots of the statue and the beautiful source art to make it exciting. The back of the box features a little blurb about Wonder Woman and, oh wait… what’s this?

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Awwww…. Yeah! While Spider-Woman will be the next Bishoujo Statue I look at here at FFZ, Starfire is still due to ship this month. With the exception of maybe Zatanna, Starfire has been tops on my list of characters I wanted to see in this line. Needless to say, I’m really looking forward to her release. Ah, but let’s not steal any of Diana’s spotlight… back to Wonder Woman. The statue requires very little assembly. You need only plug her into the stand and she’s ready for display.

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Ooooh… my! The photos I’ve seen of this beauty just don’t do her justice. The first thing you may find yourself asking, “this is Armored Wonder Woman? Really???” Well, her boots look like they feature a little extra reinforcement so her feet will be OK, but I’m not sure a pleated skirt, bodice, and dainty cape constitutes armor. Not that I’m complaining mind you. Diana’s got her bullet-deflecting bracelets so why does she need armor? The composition here is a spectacular blend of action and glorious cheesecake muggery. Diana has one foot on the base with the other leg bent back, her left hip tossed to the side and her bracelets crossed, no doubt to deflect the onslaught of fanboy overtures. The piece displays great from a number of angles, but if you rotate her off to the side just a little bit, you can get her gaze looking straight at you and it makes for what I think is the statue’s sweet spot. As far as height is concerned, this statue is slightly taller than the previous Wonder Woman, but right in line pieces like Power Girl and Huntress. The only Bishoujo on my shelf that stands above her is Storm and that’s mostly because of the base.

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So, let’s swing back and talk about her costume. The sexy high heeled boots feature intricately detailed buckles running up the outer sides and the somewhat chunky raised white bands do indeed give them a sense of extra fortification. The paintwork on the boots is truly exceptional. That deep, metallic red is absolutely gorgeous and contrasts beautifully with the matte white and metallic gold.

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The skirt is fabricated from a light, slightly transparent blue plastic, which looks fantastic and naturally it’s kicking up in the back to showcase her star spangled panties. In this case, Wonder Woman could take a lesson from Mara Jade and lose the cape because it’s blocking the view. Of course, the cape does add a lot to the kineticism of the piece. It’s flowing out to the side and perfectly counterbalances the composition of her left foot reaching down to the base. The bodice follows the same outrageous coloring of the boots with that sumptuous metallic red paint and beautiful gold paint on her belt and eagle emblem. The right side of the belt features Diana’s coiled lasso and a finely detailed little snap to hold it in place.

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The portrait here is everything I’ve come to love about this line. Her face is a little more angular than some and her eyes are a little better proportioned, making this piece a maybe a tad more accessible to the non-anime fans out there. Most of the Bishoujo’s feature a down-turned head, but Diana’s is more cocked to the side so her face isn’t really obscured and I like that a lot. The windblown hair effect is particularly good here and compliments the cape for a nice sense of energy. Naturally the paintwork on the face is immaculate and we get more of that lush metallic red and gold paint on her tiara.

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The statue does actually feature a swappable left hand that’s holding a dagger. The dagger is a great looking piece and I’ll concede that it does work very well with the composition by throwing a little more balance to oppose the cape. As a matter of preference, however, I think I’ll stick to the dagger-less look for my display.

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I’ve never been all that big on Wonder Woman using swords and such and I think the pose works better without it. Nonetheless, it’s always nice when you get some display options on pieces like this one. Somebody out there is going to prefer the look of the dagger.

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Last up is the base. I’m sure I’ve said it before, but you never quite know which way Koto’s going to go with their bases. They’re either going to be the elaborate diorama-type (like we saw with the first Wonder Woman) or just simple and utilitarian and in this case they went with the latter. You get a very simple transparent blue circle that sweeps up at the back. I like the fact that the base is small, because my Bishoujo shelves are getting a little congested these days. However, I do kind of wish they had just gone for regular clear plastic because I’m not sure the blue tint makes much sense here. Maybe it was just to add a little more blue to the overall pallet.

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I really tried hard not to come at this review as a comparison to the original Wonder Woman Bishoujo. In style and composition, the two statues are about as different as they can get and still be in the same line. The original strikes me as something that could still appeal to a Wonder Woman collector who doesn’t happen to enjoy the anime influences of this line. It also has a serene sense of nobility and beauty that’s quite remarkable. Now, that’s not to take away from this new version, which is an absolutely fantastic piece that goes for more energy but still manages to capture everything there is to say about the character. I think this one fits in with recent Bishoujo releases a little better than the previous one. Is the original release my favorite of the two? Had you asked me that based solely on the pictures of this new one, I’d say there was never any doubt. Now that I have them side by side, it’s a much harder decision. I think the original still holds its own as my favorite statue in my collection, but I never thought it would be this close and that’s a huge credit to this new version.

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Armored Wonder Woman is readily available now at around $55-60 and that’s a hell of a deal for such a gorgeous piece of work. Of course, Koto has yet another Wonder Woman coming out soon in their ArtFX Sixth-Scale line and that one is looking mighty damn fine as well!

Jul 9 2014

One Piece, Portraits of Pirates Sailing Again: Nami Excellent Model Series by Megahouse… NOPE! BOOTLEG!!!

Well, Toyhounds, I had a really shitty day today and the only thing getting me through it was knowing that I had a package waiting for me at home with a brand new One Piece statue of Nami. Mmm… Nami. She could gum gum my rubber person anyday. Yes, I’m a feller who does indeed enjoy his One Piece and I’ve been rewatching the series in looong marathon sessions with lots of alcohol. This is a ritualistic endurance practice that I do not recommend for the weak-minded as it could result in madness, but in truth I can only watch One Piece when thoroughly inebriated. Anyway, so after my horrid day, I got home, poured myself a nice Scotch, and opened up my box only to find out that my Nami was indeed a piece of shit knock-off. I’m not going to waste a lot of time on this disappointment, but let’s take a look at her anyway.

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And there she is in her window box. The deco consists mostly of different shots of the statue and a colorful background that suits the anime source material. This one was a little shopworn, but it was still sealed, so there wasn’t anything to really worry me. The box actually appears to be the spitting image of the official product package, but naturally, the text is all Japanese and it could very well say, “Ha Ha… You paid for a bootleg, stupid!” Inside the box Nami comes between two plastic trays with the stand behind one of them.

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So, the moment I had her out of the box, I knew something was amiss because the statue looks like poop and Megahouse does not make poop. There are various scratches and imperfections on her skin and the paint on her bikini top is faded. At first, I thought it might have just been a badly used piece that was being sold as new, but it didn’t take long to realize that wasn’t the kind of swindle I had been subjected to. The paint is horrendous. There’s all sorts of paint slop between her skin and her jeans and her hair is a gloppy mess. Even on a bad day, Megahouse wouldn’t let anything nearly this bad get through their quality control. The skin is also waxier than it should be. Seriously, parts of this statue literally look like they’re sculpted out of candle wax. The eye coloring is also totally wrong.  The other, and more definitive, tell-tale sign is that the bangle on her left wrist is black instead of a coppery, bronze. The base is another great indicator of bootleggery too, as if you hold it up to the light you can literally see right through it. It’s also made of such flimsy plastic that it can barely hold her up, even though it’s absolutely huge.

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And so, I came to the table today hoping to share my Nami love through a beautiful statue and I had to do this disappointing feature instead. I got this piece of crap from a Marketplace seller on Amazon and as soon as I was done shooting her for this feature, she went right back into the box and is getting shipped back for a full refund. It’s sad and surprising to know that Amazon is participating in the sale of bootlegs, as this one was actually marked as “fullfilled by Amazon.” The shame of it is, I would have gladly picked this one up from one of my regular and more reliable sources, but nobody else has her in stock anymore, leading me to trawl for her in the more unseamly back allies of Internet Nami Statue commerce. I’m still quite keen on getting the real thing, but I guess I’ll have to hunt her on Ebay and hope for a more honest seller.

Jun 30 2014

The Avengers: Black Widow ArtFx+ Statue by Kotobukiya

Some of you may know that I’ve spent 2014 building my team of Justice League ArtFX+ statues and that I’ve really been enjoying this line. I finished off that team last month, but I still plan on picking up some of the stand-alone DC statues here and there. Of course, that’s not good enough for Koto. They need all my monies and so they’ve embarked on assembling The Avengers in the same format. The Hulk was the first amazing release in this line and now I have the second release in hand… Black Widow! I’ve had this statue on my receivings pile for a couple of weeks now and I’m more than ready to get her open and check her out!

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Widow comes in a standard fully enclosed box. While some have enjoyed the artsy-fartsy packaging used for the DC line, I’m actually quite pleased Koto has returned to the more serviceable and storage-friendly boxes. The deco is exciting and it gives you a good idea of what’s in store for you inside. The statue itself comes suspended between two plastic trays and requires some assembling. Widow is comprised of four pieces (top half, bottom half, and arms) plus her two pistols. The statue just takes a couple moments to put together and didn’t require any scary pressure or force to make everything fit nice and snug.

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First off, I’ve got to say how happy I am that Koto is going for the current comic versions of these characters, and that’s doubly the case with Black Widow. Not that I have anything against Scarlet Johansson as the movie Widow, but I really dig the character’s more traditional comic look here and it’s refreshing to see it portrayed in this series. Natasha is donning her gold disc belt and gold bracers, two aspects of her comic costume that I’ve grown particularly fond of over the years. No detail has been missed from her low drawn zipper and pistol holsters to the Black Widow emblem on her belt buckle. The gloss used on Widow’s suit is subtle enough to set it apart from the highly metalized deco on the Justice League statues, but still bright enough to make it snap. It contrasts great with the more matte gold used on the belt and bracers.

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I honestly wasn’t expecting the portrait here to wow me as much as it did, but the pictures I’ve seen just didn’t do justice to Natasha’s gorgeous face in person.  Her eyes are beautifully shaped and rather hypnotic and the paintwork used for both her emerald eyes and her crimson lips is absolutely immaculate. Widow’s hair has a bit of flow to it, but they went for something a little tamer than we usually see on the Bishoujo statues and I think it works wonderfully here.

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The composition of this piece is equal parts action and seduction. Natasha is poised with pistols ready and her hip thrown slightly to the side. I love it. The pose is designed to put her form slightly in profile with her face turned off to the side. Having the pistols as separate accessories was an interesting choice, as it seems totally unnecessary. Her hands are sculpted to hold them and so if you display her without the guns, she looks a bit weird. Plus, they can’t go into the holsters, so I’m not sure why you would want to take them out of her hands anyway. I’m not really complaining, just puzzled.

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As with all of the ArtFX+ line, Black Widow features a metal base that works with the magnets in the statue’s feet to keep it secure for display. You can position her anywhere on the base you want and you can even have them straddle combined bases when displaying multiple statues.

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Widow set me back about $55. It’s fairly more than I was paying for the Justice League statues, but I still think it’s a pretty solid value. At 1/10th Scale, Widow is a bit bigger than your average Marvel Legends figure and thus offers a nice compromise between detail and economy of display. What’s more The Hulk looks absolutely…. Smashing… when displayed beside her and I have no doubt this team is going to look fantastic when they’re finally all assembled together. Ah, but even if you aren’t planning on collecting a whole set, I’d still recommend this one as a fetching stand-alone piece. She’s a red-head, she’s hot, and she’s wearing leather… what’s not to like?

Jun 24 2014

Star Wars: Mara Jade Bishoujo Statue by Kotobukiya

It’s time for another installment of, “Kotobukiya is taking all my f’cking monies!” So far, they’ve raided my wallet for statues based on the DC, Marvel, Street Fighter, and even Ghostbusters licenses. Today I start down the Dark Path and forever will it dominate my bank account. It’s Star Wars Kotobukiya. Now, Koto is no stranger to the Star Wars license. They’ve been making ArtFX+ and Fine Art statues from the property for years, but they’ve just started introducing Star Wars to the Bishoujo line and that’s where I got on board. I’m starting with their second Star Wars Bishoujo, and it’s that red headed minx, Mara Jade.

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The statue comes in a pretty simple black box with the Star Wars logo on the front and a rather limited window that shows off the statue’s portrait, as well as an arm socket. Yes, there is assembly required! The side panels show a shot of the statue as well as some of the line art. It’s not as flashy as the regular Bishoujo packages, but it works well enough for a Star Wars product. I will note that the packaging does its best to irritate my OCD. The front is clearly labeled as an ArtFX statue with no indication that it’s part of the Bishoujo line until you read the copy on the back of the box. Does it matter? Not really. What does matter is Koto equipped this gal with more than a few display options to embrace both her service to the Empire and her redemption. For the purposes of this feature I’m going to start out with my preferred method of display and then we’ll look at the other option.

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Dayuum… check her out! Here’s living proof that Koto doesn’t have to show a lot of skin in a statue to make it sexy. Of course, a skin tight outfit and a killer bod does go a long way. Mara is wrapped in a two-tone blue bodysuit, which features all the usual little piping and wrinkles that they love to pack into these statue sculpts. I particularly like the um… ribbed padding on her inner thighs, the knee pads, and her high heeled combat boots. Yum! The use of both matte and gloss for the two materials also makes for a very dynamic contrast on this piece. Also, I’ll just go ahead and say it… that ass makes me want to cry.

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In addition to the body suit, Mara sports a gun belt with a blaster sculpted into the holster and a snap down pouch on her backside. The blaster and holster look so good that I actually thought the pistol might come out. She also has straps on her biceps and a shoulder harness with a silver fixture clasp on the back. There’s a cloth scarf and a set of goggles, both of which are separate pieces and are added or removed by popping off the statue’s head.

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The portrait here is exactly what I’ve come to expect from the Bishoujo line. Mara walks that line between cute and sexy. The face sculpt is quite soft and the paintwork on her lips, eyes and eyebrows is all immaculate. I’m also totally in love with how they did her flowing red hair. Just about every Koto Bishoujo statue goes for the windblown hair effect and they almost always nail it, but in this case, I think Mara’s hair just looks exceptionally well done. It also balances the composition of the piece quite nicely by countering her outstretched left arm. Mara’s right arm draws slightly behind her and the hand is sculpted to hold either of her lightsabers. The hilts on these are wonderfully detailed and they make use of a colored translucent plastic for the blade.

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The statue’s base is a simple clear plastic disc right in line with what we’ve seen for the recent Chun-Li Bishoujo and the Tekken Bishoujos. It doesn’t waste any space as it’s barely larger than the figure itself and both the lightsaber and outstretched arm extend past it. The bottom of the base opens up and you can insert either a Rebel or Imperial insignia inside or you can leave it clear if you so choose. I’m not usually a big fan of these clear bases, but in this case I think the ability to display the emblem adds value. I’ve opted for the Imperial insignia and purple lightsaber for my regular display of this statue.

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Of course, you do have options! Mara also comes with a removable, billowing cape that can be attached or removed by popping off the head. For this feature, I’ve chosen to go with the cape for the redeemed version of Mara and display it with the Luke Skywalker lightsaber and the Rebel insignia. Of course, you can mix and match all of this any way you want.

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The cape is my big dilemma with this statue. It looks outstanding and it really adds a lot to the composition of the piece. It creates a lot of kineticism to the pose by pushing back away from her outstretched hand and it complements the flow of the hair quite nicely as well. The khaki color has some nice shading and I particularly like the little tears and fraying sculpted into the end. So what’s the dilemma? It covers up that fine ass, and I simply can’t have that. The sculptors at Kotobukiya no doubt poured hours, neigh possibly days into getting that ass so perfect and I will not allow it to be obscured by an additional garment, even if you could argue that it’s essential to the statue’s fully realized composition.

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While I am still hemming and hawing over whether I need the Bishoujo Jaina Solo on my shelf, Mara Jade was a must buy the moment I saw her and she’s lived up to just about all my expectations. I will mention here that my particular statue has a stray mark of red paint on her left arm, just below the shoulder. It no doubt came from the hair and while it isn’t terrible, it’s worth pointing out because even with fifteen Bishoujo Statues under my belt, this is the first time I’ve ever had anything less than flawless paint. Honestly, I’ve seen far worse paint flubs on $200+ Bowen statues, so I’m not going to get all upset over it. At $55 Mara Jade is yet another example of what great value Kotobukiya offers in their products. She’s an absolutely gorgeous piece and she has an unprecedented amount of display options for the Bishoujo line. I can’t recommend her strongly enough.

Jun 10 2014

DC Comics: Cyborg ArtFX+ Statue by Kotobukiya

Well, it took a while, but my OCD finally got the better of me and forced me to complete my collection of Justice League ArtFX+ statues. I make it no secret that I was against Cyborg as part of the Justice League back when The New 52 was launching. I wouldn’t say I’ve come to eat those words, but I will say that I have enjoyed what they did with him and I no longer feel that he diluted the greatness of the team as much as I thought he would. His ability to assimilate the power to create Boom Tubes was probably alone worthy of his addition to the roster. So why drag my feet on buying this statue? I’m just not crazy about his New 52 design and this statue seemed to accentuate a lot of what I didn’t like about it. Nonetheless, I crumbled and bought him anyway. Let’s see if it was a good idea.

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It’s been a while, so let’s talk about the packaging. These clear plastic boxes were a neat concept, but ultimately I don’t like them. The plastic is flimsy, it scratches easily and they don’t store well. I like the idea of assembling all the art panels together behind the statues as a display option, but I don’t have that kind of display space available, so that leaves much of the appeal here lost on me. Ultimately, I save my statue boxes in case I move or I need to pack them away because they’re being rotated out of display for a while. These boxes don’t really fit the bill for that purpose and so I’ve gone and pitched them. Suffice it to say I’m happy that the Avengers statues will come in proper cardboard boxes with styrofoam trays.

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Cyborg features a very museum-style pose. He’s standing at attention with his chest out and his arms are hanging at his sides. Appropriately, Cyborg has the most complex sculpt of all the ArtFX+ Justice League statues. He looks magnificent! His cybernetic armor is replete with panel lines, overlapping plates, and beautiful contours. He’s bulkier than the other statues and while I’m overall happy with the proportions, I do think the feet are a little big when compared to most of the comic art… they look rather Mega Man-ish to me. Now, I’ve got no problem with The Blue Bomber, but I don’t necessarily need those aesthetics in my Justice League statues. I’m writing it off to the anime-style of these pieces. Don’t get me wrong, it’s nothing that ruins the statue for me, but I thought I’d mention it anyway.

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One of the main attractions on this piece is his sonic arm cannon, which is delightfully complex. It’s got all sorts of bits coming off of it and great texturing. The red paintwork on the lights is a little uneven, but that might be intentional to create a light effect. The contoured backpack is another really nice feature of the statue. It has a retro-vibe to it that adds plenty of character to the design.

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The portrait here is quite good. The face is a tad soft, but I think that works well when contrasting with the cyborg part of the head. He has a determined expression and a distinctive broad nose. Cyborg’s likeness is definitely the least anime-stylized of all these statues. The paint lines around between the skin and metal are all sharp.

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Speaking of paint, there’s not a lot paint operations on the statue, but that’s because Cyborg is mostly silver. I love the finish they used on this piece. Ironically, despite intended as metal, it seems slightly more matte than the other statues’ costumes, but it looks spectacular. The only other paint worth mentioning besides the head and the red lights on the arm cannon are the red discs on his chest, belt, and backpack.

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As with all of these statues, you get a black square metal stand with the “Justice League” logo on it. Cyborg has the magnets in the feet to help him stand, although I was surprised that even with such big feet he’s a little wobbly.

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In the end, I’m glad I picked up Cyborg. At about $36 he was one of the more expensive statues in this line, but that’s still a crazy low price for such a wonderfully crafted piece. I can’t say that my Justice League display felt all that incomplete without him, but he sure looks great on the shelf with the rest of the team. I’ve certainly grown to accept the character as part of the team in the comics so why not have him in my display as well? And that wraps up the Justice League ArtFX+ line. I still have a couple of the stand-alone DC Comics ArtFX+ pieces to pick up, but next time we visit these statues it will be to look at Black Widow from The Avengers!

May 7 2014

DC Comics: Catwoman ArtFX+ Statue by Kotobukiya

If you haven’t heard by now, Koto has officially launched their Marvel line of ArtFX+ statues and if you missed it, you can check out my review of their first offering The Hulk. Nonetheless, I still have some unfinished business with the DC side of things, so today I’m stepping back to check out a piece that’s been sitting on my shelf for a while and yet has managed to elude the spotlight. It’s New 52 Catwoman!

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While not part of the Justice League series, Catwoman comes in a box that matches the JL statues. You get a translucent and somewhat delicate plastic box with some nice artwork on two sides and two sides that offer a more or less unobstructed view of the statue. Of course Catwoman comes wrapped in plastic, so you’ll still need to bust her out to get a good look at her. Let’s do that now…

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In case you’re still unfamiliar with the ArtFX+ line, they are in the 1/10 Scale, which puts them a bit bigger than your average 6-inch figure and yet not quite big enough to be in scale with Koto’s Bishoujo line. I find it to be a great scale because they don’t take up that much room and yet they’re still big enough for plenty of detail. In this case, however, Catwoman features her tight and sexy, shiny black catsuit, which doesn’t require a lot of intricate sculpting and instead lets Selina’s beautiful curves speak for themselves. The high gloss sheen looks great, and there are some strategically placed rumples, along with some satisfying details to the boots and gloves.

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Since the catsuit doesn’t require all that much attention to pull off, the sculptors went all out on the portrait. I love the way her collar splays out and the giant ring for the zipper is pulled down just enough to get a peek of kitty cleavage. I might add that the painted skin tone contrasts beautifully with all the black. Selina is wearing a tight choker and she has her goggles on with her beautiful painted eyes clearly visible behind the yellow tinted glasses. The paint on the face is quite flawless and her bright red lips are ever so slightly hinting at a smile. You do have a few display options here as well. The goggles are removable, although the sculpted strap that’s supposed to hold them in place is still there. You also get a second pair of goggles with larger and more opaque glasses, and these I don’t care for at all. I’m pretty sure I’ll be sticking with the stock goggles to display her most of the time.

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The composition of the piece goes for pure seduction. Selina stands with her right hip jutting out ever so slightly and her left foot arching to the ground. She has her right hand resting on her hip and her left hand is drawn slightly behind her and holding her whip. The whip is made of string with a handle that splits apart so you can put the base of the handle into her hand from the bottom and peg the top in from the top. It works quite well and you can drape the whip through her right hand and coil it around her feet at the base for a very nice effect.

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As with all ArtFX+ statues, Catwoman comes with a simple metal square base that works with the magnets in her feet to hold her securely. Catwoman can actually stand surprisingly well on her own, but it’s nice to get that extra bit of stability provided with the magnets. Unlike the Justice League bases, this one is left completely black with no logo or lettering.

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Catwoman retails for around $40, but if you hunt around you can probably find her in the mid to low $30’s. I may sound like a broken record, but I find Koto’s statues to be some of the best values on the market. They’re particularly great if you can’t spare the monies or the display space for the big high end stuff like Bowen or Sideshow. Catwoman is a beautiful stand-alone piece and also a very nice companion to the Batman or Nightwing ArtFX+ statues.

Apr 18 2014

Marvel Comics: Miss Marvel (70’s Version) Statue by Bowen Designs

It’s only been the past couple years that I’ve really started to appreciate and collect statues. The overwhelming majority of the pieces that I own are from Kotobukiya, but I’ve been meaning to branch out and pick up something from Bowen Designs for a while now. I’ve had a number of these statues on my radar for a little while, but Miss Marvel now has the honor of being my first purchase. It may seem like an odd first choice, but I’m really into her current book, Captain Marvel, and the retro sex-appeal of her Bronze Age costume has always been one of my favorite looks for her.

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The statue comes in a nice big box to accommodate what is essentially a 1:6 scale statue on a raised base. The deco here features a sort of marbled deco with a collage of Marvel character names and sillouettes. It also points out that this piece was digitally sculpted by Jason Smith and that it measures about 12.5 inches tall. There are nice big photos of the statue itself, and while the box warns that the actual statue appearance may vary, I think the final release matches up to the box photos quite well.

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Inside the box you get a thick styrofoam coffin. The lovely Ms. Danvers requires some rudimentary assembly. She plugs into the base via a peg on the bottom of her right foot and the peg fits quite comfortably and holds the statue securely. I’m also pleased to see that both feet make good contact on the base. The scarf gets placed on her shoulders and is secured via two generous tabs, and finally the head goes on, secured by a strong magnet.

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The composition of this piece goes for a sense of simple heroic majesty. Ms. Marvel has her feet placed at a somewhat wide stance and leaning her weight on her right leg so as to jut out her hip ever so slightly. Her hands rest on her hips and she gazes off to her left as her scarf billows off to her right. I love the pose, as it really captures the spirit of the character: Heroic… noble… and certainly sexy.

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Yes, the sculpt captures her shapely form perfectly. Carol’s certainly got all the right curves in all the right places and a particularly stellar tush. I love the way this outfit shows off her legs and the exposed belly button is a nice touch too. I think they did a nice job with the way the hands rest on the hips with the fingers slightly splayed. All of the edges of her costume are sculpted in, as are the little wrinkles at the backs of her high heeled boots and in her gloves and elbows.

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The portrait is also excellent. The expression is quite neutral and there’s a sense of natural beauty to her face. The lips are ever so slightly pursed her mask is part of the sculpt. In keeping with the Bronze Age look, I really dig the short hair, although it’s admittedly a fuller style than she wears in the Marvel NOW Universe. Maybe the sculpted hair is a little chunky, but that seems often to be the case with these statues, and it certainly doesn’t look bad.

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From what I can tell, Bowen has had some issues with paintwork. It’s one of the things that has made me squeamish about buying these online. Nonetheless, I have to say that I’m quite satisfied with the paint on this piece. The skin tone is smooth and even and I like the wash used on her legs to highlight some of the muscles around her knees. The high gloss red and blue used for her outfit looks great and the lines are mostly clean and fairly sharp with just a few instances of overstep here and there. There certainly aren’t any outstanding flubs that detract from the statue.

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The base is a raised disc with The Avengers emblem sculpted into the face of it. I’ve seen this base used on other statues and I absolutely adore this particular design. I just think it looks great and it’s the perfect mix of utility and style. The bottom of the base has the limitation information. Mine is #733 out of 750 pieces.

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After shopping around for this statue an awful lot, I was finally able to get a decent deal and in the end she set me back $165 shipped and I’m very happy with the price. The quality of the piece is fantastic from the sculpt to the paintwork and she looks damn fine standing on my shelf beside my Kotobukiya Iron Man. Of course, it helps that my favorite version of the costume happens to be the easiest and least expensive version of Ms Marvel to get, although I’m not ruling out throwing the money at Bowen’s Warbird statue at some point in the future before it gets any higher.

Apr 11 2014

The Avengers: The Hulk ArtFX+ Statue by Kotobukiya

Yes, it’s time to give more money and attention to the wizards at Kotobukiya. Having done some amazing work with DC’s Justice League, they are now branching out their ArtFX+ line to include Marvel’s Avengers and for the first release they’re bringing in the big guns: It’s The Hulk and this statue is… dare I say it? Incredible!

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The Hulk comes in a box that absolutely dwarfs the packaging used on most other statues in this line. Standing at a little over 12-inchs tall and nearly as wide, this is one epic box. Of course, The Hulk is a big boy, so this piece still conforms to the usual 1:10 scale of the ArtFX+ line. The box features some shots of the statue and a nice piece of artwork on the back featuring all The Avengers. It’s a nice teaser of the forthcoming releases. No offense to the artsy boxes Koto used for the Justice League, but this is the kind of box I like to get my statues in. It’s attractive, it’s collector friendly, and it’s durable for long term storage. The front of the box declares that this piece is a “pre-painted model kit” and while the Justice League statues didn’t require any assembly, it’s not uncommon for other ArtFX+ statues to require you to plug some pieces together.

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Inside the box, The Hulk comes in three pieces all sandwiched between two clear trays. It’s not unlike the Iron Man ArtFX statue that I looked at last week. All you need to do is attach the two halves of the figure at the waist, pop on the head and you’re good to go. You also get two of the standard black metal square bases, because The Hulk is way too big for just one.

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So, before I start gushing all over this piece, let me deal with the drawbacks. Because there are some seams that didn’t show up in any of the pre-production photos. Yes, The Hulk is a kit so seams are to be expected, but the arms come already attached, so the fact that they are running across his biceps is unfortunate. On most pieces, these wouldn’t be a problem, but since Hulk is mostly skin, the seams do stand out. I just have to keep reminding myself that as far as statues go, this one is a fairly low end piece.

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And apart from those seams, it is indeed easy to forget that this is merely a $60 statue because the rest of it looks like something far better. I adored the metallic snap and relative simplicity of the Justice League statues, but there’s so much more opportunity to shine in a piece like this one. Koto went wild reproducing The Hulk’s muscles, veins and tendons, which all conspire to give this statue a feeling of pure power and rage. Even the composition, with one foot in front of the other and a fist winding up to smash, is just totally out of sight. This Hulk feels like a much higher end piece that has been shrunken down to the 1:10 scale range. And even in this scale, The Hulk stands at about ten inches tall! The portrait is every bit as stunning as the rest of the statue. The powerful furled brow, the broad nose, and the exposed teeth is indeed anger personified. This likeness is pure iconic Hulk through and through.

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As wonderful as the sculpting is, it wouldn’t succeed without the proper coloring and this statue has the paintwork to make it work. The green skin tone looks perfect to me and with just enough wash to bring out the detail in the muscles. For a statue that is mostly green skin, there’s a ton of depth and variety to the coloring. The same goes for Hulk’s iconic purple shredded pants. Simply exceptional!

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The bases work the same as previous ArtFX+ statues. They are simple black metal squares and they work with the magnets in the Hulk’s feet. You can slide them around to decide how you want your statue to sit on the shelf.

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I’ll confess, I thought it a bit odd for Koto to lead with The Hulk, I would have bet on Captain America or Iron Man. But when you’re sitting on a piece this impressive, it doesn’t hurt to get it out at the front of the line. And everything about this piece is indeed just so goddamn impressive. What’s really great about this statue is that it totally succeeds as a stand-alone display piece. And that means he won’t look out of place waiting for the other statues to be released. Indeed, even if I had no interest in collecting a full Avengers line, I’d still happily grab this guy up and at the $60 price point, he feels like a bargain.

Apr 4 2014

Iron Man 3: Mark VII Armor ArtFX Statue by Kotobukiya

It’s no secret that Kotobukiya has been sucking down a whole lot of my money lately. It started with the Bishoujo line and then spread to their ArtFX+ statues. Now the epidemic has spread once again with my acquisition of one of their ArtFX statue kits. Not to be confused with the smaller 1/10 scale ArtFX+ the regular FX line consists of the full Sixth-Scale mamma-jamma’s. In my defense, I didn’t wander into this line by mistake, but rather with a single purpose in mind. I desperately wanted a Sixth Scale Mark VII Iron Man to display with my Hot Toys Avengers without having to blow the ridiculous amount of money that the Mark VII figure is going for these days. At least once a week I punch myself in the balls for not picking up that Hot Toys figure when I had the chance. Anyway, after a little searching around, this beauty seemed like a pretty good fit.

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The statue comes in a large and wide package that dwarfs most Sixth-Scale figure boxes. Because this statue is a kit by nature, there’s no window or anything to show you the goods inside, but it does feature some nice artwork and some photos of the assembled statue. It’s worth noting that while this box was re-branded to take advantage of the hype behind Iron Man 3, the statue is the exact same piece that was previously released under The Avengers moniker. Believe me I know, because through a comedy of errors I wound up getting two of these in the same week (one from IM3 and one from Avengers) and in the end due to seller mix-ups and terrible customer service, I didn’t have to pay for either one of them. Freebies! Gotta love em. Branding this statue as part of the third movie doesn’t make a lot of sense, seeing as how little the Mark VII armor was featured in the Iron Man 3, but I’m sure it was just to cash in on the marketing juggernaut.

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Avengers Assemble! Yup, as the box says this is a “pre-painted model kit” and as you can see assembly is required. The statue comes in four pieces (lower half, torso, arms) plus the base and the box for the electronics. You also get three button batteries. But not to worry, you don’t need to be Tony Stark to cobble this baby together. It’s a quick and easy job that just takes a few minutes. You pop the batteries into the box that sticks out of the bottom half of the figure, attach the arms to the torso and put the two halves together, lastly you plug the feet into the base and you’re good to go. Everything fits together very snugly and it is possible to disassemble it again without stressing any of the parts. Being a kit I was worried that this statue would be flimsy, but in hand that couldn’t be farther from the truth. The figure itself is solid and has a nice, satisfying heft to it. The base is made of lighter plastic and it is hollow underneath, but it still supports the figure beautifully. Once together you’d never know it was a kit.

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I really like the composition of this statue, mainly because it isn’t the now cliched “stop in the name of love” pose that has Iron Man firing off one of his palm repulsors. Hey, I dig that pose as much as the next guy, but it’s been done to death and it’s nice to see something a little fresh for this piece. In this case we see Tony in the process of channeling his repulsor power through his Arc Reactor. His elbows are bent and his hands are clenched into fists while the sheer power of the blast causes his feet to dig trenches into the ground. Awesome! In a sea of Iron Man collectibles, I think this one stands out primarily because of this pose. It works well and it really conveys a sense of sheer energy and excitement that makes for a great looking display piece.

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The Mark VII armor is hands down my favorite of any of the movieverse suits and I own enough 3D representations of it that I feel I know it intimately. I doubt anyone will ever do it as well as Hot Toys, but Koto took a swing here and I think they nailed it as best they can in statue form. Granted, the Mark VII is a fairly complex suit and it really does need a lot of individual and articulated pieces to make it stand up to close scrutiny. The sculpt here isn’t up to Hot Toys quality, it can’t be because it’s sculpted from solid plastic, but what’s here is still plenty detailed and I love it. The panel lines are all present and you even get some opened flaps on his legs. I also really dig the bulky stature of the upper body. One thing so many Iron Man figures get wrong is the scale. There’s supposed to be a guy in there and the proportions of this statue makes me believe it.

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I expect nearly flawless paintwork from my Koto statues, and the Mark VII here doesn’t disappoint. The metallic red luster on this figure has that supple new car shine that makes the armor appear as if it just rolled off the assembly line. The high gloss red contrasts nicely with the slightly duller silver and gold to create this iconic ensemble that has become so familiar to both movie and comic book fans alike.

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Of course, bases can sometimes make or break the composition of a statue and in this case, it definitely enhances and elevates the presentation. The way his feet are tearing into the ground adds excitement and intensity. What’s surprising is that the base is a simple hollow piece of plastic, but when viewed from above it looks like something far more substantial. Beyond just looking great, it serves the ultimate purpose of giving the figure a solid foundation to stand on.

The electronics consist of powerful LEDs in the chest and eyes. It’s nothing we haven’t seen before, but it’s nice and bright and makes for a striking effect. The concealed switch is easily accessible simply by removing his left shoulder plate. In addition to the regular on and off settings, there’s also a sensor setting that will light him up when it detects movement or changes in room lighting.

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Even though I wound up getting this piece for free, I went into the deal paying $120 for it. I was a little leery about spending that kind of money on something like this when I wasn’t sure what to expect, but Koto has never let me down in the past and they certainly haven’t now. The sculpt, paint, and sheer heft of the piece make it well worth the price. The pose is pure killer stuff and best of all this piece displays beautifully on my Hot Toys shelf, which is why I got it in the first place. But the best endorsement I can give this piece is that I’ll be hunting down some of Koto’s other statues in this ArtFX line. Because they just aren’t getting enough of my money as it is.