Bounty Hunter Statues

STAR WARS: THE BOUNTY HUNTER SERIESBOBA FETT ARTFX STATUEA KOTOBUKIYA Japanese import!

The acclaimed series of Kotobukiya ARTFX Statues expands with the addition of thehighest requested characters from the Star Wars universe: THE BOUNTY HUNTER SERIES!

From the darkest chapter of the saga, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Darth Vader has summoned mercenariesfrom across the galaxy to help him capture Han Solo, thereby luring Luke Skywalker into a deadly confrontation. Six ofthe fiercest hunters are assembled: Dengar, 4LOM,Zuckass, Bossk, IG88,and legendary BOBA FETT.

The enigmatic Boba Fett stands 11 3/4'' tall in a dynamic combat pose, simultaneously flying and firing his flame thrower.His distinctive Mandalorian armor has been replicated with stunning accuracy, with detailing based upon the costumeused in Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi. Each of the Bounty Hunters will include special bonus parts for you to collect.

Once all six Hunters have been released, you will be able to assemble the bonus parts into a brand new, full size DARTHVADER ARTFX Statue! A free $100 value given at no additional cost! Fett will include Darth Vader’s left arm.

In addition, each of the Hunters will include a unique hexagonal base, which can be linked together on any side, creating a variety of display options for the That is a lot of bounty to be hunted, so let’s review…

• A new ARTFX Statue each month, six in total

• Interlocking bases, which can be arranged to form the Imperial logo

• Bonus figure parts that can be assembled into a full size Darth Vader statue

• Additional bonus parts will also be included so that Vader can be displayed in three different poses

With its large scale and impeccable paint applications, this ARTFX Statue is a snapfitkit that can be easily put together in seconds without glue or modeling with the next release scheduled to be IG88!

Gandalf Legendary Scale Bust

Some quick pics of my new pick-up before I head off to work..... might post better pics later on.

As far as I'm concerned, I really love this piece... the paintjob is fantastic.

Collectibles....

A couple of new releases I'd love to get my hands on....

Newest LOTR 12" Teaser

Although I don't collect this line at all, it's pretty exciting to see Sideshow has finally made some hobbits... and for once they've made a preview image that doesn't suck ass... poor Sam looks like he's got the whole fellowship's baggage, poor wittle hobbit

Bad Sculpted Likenesses 4 : Gandalf

Here's something a bit different, Sideshow is releasing 2 Gandalf products....

As you can see... the Gandalf the Grey bust is pretty spot on, not quite an accurate likeness, but it captures the character extremely well. It mightn't quite be Ian McKellen, but it is definately Gandalf the Grey as portrayed in both the movies and the books.

Now... then there's The Gandalf the White PF... now admittedly the movie version wasn't quite what I was expecting (especially if you've seen the promo shot where you can see his knee high boots), but Ian made you believe in the character, especially since he didn't have any props like that hat or pipe to work with. With Gandalf the Grey, you can slap the hat and pipe on any old man with a beard and you end up with the iconic image of the wizard. The White Wizard depends a lot on the subtleties.


So Sideshow came up with this as a preview..... after waiting over a year since the last LOTR PF announcement.

Not only does it not look like Ian... it doesn't even capture the character. The face is ok... what really lets it down is the beard and hair. I've got the Luke and Yoda PF... and Sideshow went to special lengths to try out a new technique for the hair.... it has loads more detail than this effort. There is no where near enough detail, its way to clumpy. And why is the beard in perfect little waves!!!

In Sideshow's defence... it really is a bad pic to use as a preview. Not only does the photo cut off his forehead, which makes his face look longer, but in attempt to get detail in his hair his skin has turned out really dark in contrast. So it's really a combination of bad lighting and cropping.

I really hope I can update this with waaaaaay better pics when its on display at comic-con.

New SW Collectibles Announced!!

A Scout Trooper Premium Format statue and a bronze Darth Vader were amongst the new collectibles announced today.... I'd love to get the speeder bike, but I'm afraid of how much it'll cost :(

... plus it looks very big!

Outcry Over Sexist Statue

There's been alot of disgust expressed at a certain Mary Jane statue, so much so that some people want a near naked Spidey statue produced..... hehehe

Rohan Project Part 1

I had an idea awhile ago.... partly because of that photo of all the SSW LOTR shields that were displayed, but never produced. I had always wanted to display shields separately with my collection, similar to the helms. Unfortunately, the only example of a shield was the Rohan one, the one on the Rohirrim Bust was exactly the thing I had in mind.

It was getting to a stage where I was seriously contemplating buying an extra and hacking it off
What I eventually wanted to do was display the shield and the RRG Helm in a box frame, maybe with the Rohan flag in the background.

Anyway, I wasn't keen on destroying a collectible just for my benefit... that's when I remembered my tin of latex.....

So by carefully painted on thin layers of latex, letting them dry between each and progressively getting thicker with each layer, I ended up with molds of the shield and the helm.

This is the amount of detail I managed to capture with the latex... and it didn't damage the paint of either.... I must point out at this stage I had never done this before and was just going on instinct. If I was doing it again, I'd use a water-based lubricant/release agent to ensure an easier release from the object being cast.... I did find that the deepest detail did stick a little. I wasn't after a perfect cast anyway, so I didn't care that much really

Because latex is flexible, I needed something to keep the latex in the right shape... especially the helm, otherwise it would flatten and let the plaster run out when I poured the mould.... the cheapest and easiest thing I could find was Playdoh .... and yes, it just happened to be fluro red
Anyway, I went ahead and poured them with plaster... and if I did it again, I would've spent more time with the edges of the mold and made them nice and neat, 'cause it took me ages to file back the excess plaster.

After filing them back (even I was quite suprised at the amount of detail I got), they were ready for an undercoat.

I was a bit scared of painting.... but after studying the originals... and especially the helm, they have deceptively simple paintjobs. The helm really consists of two different colours for each metallic area and then a subtle highlight on the horse hair.

So heres the finished pics....





To Be Continued...........

New Star Wars 12" Line!!!!

Check it out...: Star Wars new line

Sideshow Collectibles is proud to announce the Extras and Ancillaries line of Star Wars 12-inch figure figures. Stay tuned to our weekly newsletter for the first glimpse of the premier character in this new category: Kal'Falnl C'ndros - coming soon!

Find out who the new character is HERE

Disney Star Wars Collectibles

Fans looking forward to 2007's Star Wars Weekends at Disney-MGM Studios now have four more reasons to make the trip to Florida this summer -- Disney has devised four new limited edition maquettes which stunningly portray Disney's iconic characters in classic Star Wars garb. Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy have been transformed into X-Wing Fighter Pilot Mickey, Princess Minnie, Stormtrooper Donald, and Darth Goofy.

Fans who have actually seen the original Mickey Mouse Jedi figure are often first struck by its scale (it's BIG!) and then delighted by the clever merging of the two properties. The new series continues this tradition and will be offered in the same large scale, standing between 17" and 23" with the illuminated base. The full effect of the base lighting (and the tactical screen behind Princess Minnie) cannot be seen in the accompanying images, but really enhances the display when the room lights are turned down. The belt and chest panel on Darth Goofy are also illuminated.

These remind me of the Warner Bros. collectibles you can buy from their stores.... I've always wanted a huge Marvin the Martian....

Bad Sculpted Likenesses 3 : Frodo

Just by looking at Elijah, you'd think Frodo wouldn't be too hard to sculpt, but.....

The SSW statue proves that wrong... the mouth, nose and eyes are all wrong... and they're the main features that make up a likeness. I know his eyes are blue, but making that blue too bright or pale just leaves the sculpt looking like he just shit his pants..... yes Frodo was scared, but that's taking it too far.


The bust is alot better.... least its pleasing to look at. Does it look like Elijah though?? I think the eyes are waaaaaaay off, and the jawline doesn't help things either..... but its better than....


... the Premium Format Sculpt, which is a huge shame, 'cause I was going to get this. The main culprit here is the mouth... Elijah has a wide mouth, this has a cutesy baby-doll mouth. Coupled with the eyes (which are better, but far too cute), reminds me of a baby doll that pukes up after you feed it. I hate how that just because its a hobbit, the sculpt can't have any defined angles in it... especially in the jaw.... do they realise the actors who played these characters were actually.... umm.. err... MALE!!!


That brings us to the new diorama, with Frodo and Gollum struggling.

Yay!!!! we finally have a likeness worth producing!!!! And the scary thing is that this is the smallest piece of them all, yet the one that actually captures Elijah the best. Yes, he's angry, but I'd rather have a sculpt with a bit of emotion than any sort of cutesy, la la la little, itty bitty hobbitsy-wobbitsy, oops-I-shit-my-pants version any day....

.....tho the PF does have an awesome costume....

Luke and Yoda PF

I'm the lucky owner of Sideshow's Luke and Yoda PF statue. And I can tell you it's pretty amazing. It perfectly captures a scene from my favourite of series "Empire Strikes Back". I swear it's just like a screengrab from the movie, it is really that life like... especially from normal viewing distance. I must say, it does need quite a bit of adjusting, especially Yoda, to get it looking right. If you don't bend Yoda's arms at the elbows, they look way too long and touch Luke's nipples... not that there's anything wrong with that. If you squish Yoda's head down slightly, not only does his eyes line up better with Luke, but he looks older, even has a slight hump in his back.

And because I got this one straight from Sideshow, I got the exclusive Luke in Vader mask thingy.... which is actually quite big and prolly has a better paint job than the statue - especially with the lip colour chosen.

Bad Sculpted Likenesses 1 :Elrond

Some faces seem to be impossible to capture in sculpted form.... take Hugo Weaving as Elrond.
How do you go from this.....


to this......

I'm sorry, but it looks like a little kid playing dress up.... Elrond, even as an elf who has lived for thousands of years, has a few little ages lines.... I'm sure he didn't use foundation to fill them in.

Even if it is a prototype... it simply doesn't look like the actor. And apparently Gentle Giant had even scanned the actors faces. How they could possibly save that bust is beyond me.


Sideshow haven't done much better.... as seen on the bust (above) and the statue (below). The main problem is the drag queen eyebrows.... I know Hugo has played drag before... but somehow, I don't think elves are into that sort of thing.

Out of all of them, I think the statue is the closest.

More examples to follow..........