DSC_5708
Finally got around to photographing something I've been really excited about securing, the Sideshow Collectibles Premium Format Black Widow - Natasha Romanova statue. There's so many of these things that yes, you need to really get specific about the naming of it to get the right one.
This is one of a series of mixed media statues by Sideshow itself, featuring polystone statue with fabric outfit, which in this case is basically nicely tailored vinyl. Amongst the various Black Widow statues, I think this is the cheapest and smallest, and I actually saw it in person at Toy Traders in BC, as there aren't too many stores with the floor space to display these, and believe me I've been to a good number of them across Canada.
Furthermore, based on the selection I've seen, this is probably the most basic of them all. It's comic version, relatively simple pose and a comparatively simple base. Detailing and sculpting of the hair is also relatively simple.
During my US trip, I just happened to be passing through an area where a fellow collector lived, who was looking to sell the Special Edition version of this statue for a fair price.
The regular edition of this statue comes with two hands - one with her sniper rifle, and one holding a pistol. The Special Edition comes with an extra hand holding a knife. These generally don't cost anything extra, and serve as an incentive to buy the first round of release.
My lighting is crude so alas I'm not able to capture the statue in its entirety. It's a nice piece to display as it's relatively compact and is more about presence than dynamic motion. Natasha is standing on an inclined snowy hill, weapons drawn while looking to her right, head turned.
They were definitely aiming for comic art as the face is very much something out of Rocky and Bullwinkle, pretty much what you'd draw if you wanted a Russian woman. I guess in a way this is more accurate than Scarlet Johansson, who is Russian but I'm sure has a few other things thrown in there.
I like the convivence of having magnets do all the hard work of connecting pieces for you. It was a bit surprising, however, that only the hands comes loose and not the head. Not exactly sure why that was the case though it always comes back to manufacturing costs. Sculpting/production of the hands aren't bad, but the weapon quality varies. The sniper rifle came out fairly nice, but the pistol for whatever reason has a bent barrel. The knife is somewhere in the middle of the two. The belt, I guess is also a separate part, connecting together via a small piece of velcro. Feet were secured to the base with the tried and true metal pin in hole method.
If you collect relatively small figures all the time, when you see something at a larger format you tend to appreciate the various curves and musculature of the body better. Or at least I would if there any. Not exactly sure the worlds greatest assassin has no arm or leg muscle definition, but here we are. Accompanying her lack of thigh and calf muscles is a lack of glutes. Upper body seems about right, but it's not like we're gonna see a six pack through the suit.
Being my first Sideshow statue, I don't have anything to compare Paint work against, but for what its work what I found on the statue to be fairly well painted. Other than the Widow symbol on the belt buck, no real instances of masking (or at least any apps that would indicate masking is required). Fine paint apps such as the eyebrows and lipstick were found to be acceptable.
DSC_5708
Finally got around to photographing something I've been really excited about securing, the Sideshow Collectibles Premium Format Black Widow - Natasha Romanova statue. There's so many of these things that yes, you need to really get specific about the naming of it to get the right one.
This is one of a series of mixed media statues by Sideshow itself, featuring polystone statue with fabric outfit, which in this case is basically nicely tailored vinyl. Amongst the various Black Widow statues, I think this is the cheapest and smallest, and I actually saw it in person at Toy Traders in BC, as there aren't too many stores with the floor space to display these, and believe me I've been to a good number of them across Canada.
Furthermore, based on the selection I've seen, this is probably the most basic of them all. It's comic version, relatively simple pose and a comparatively simple base. Detailing and sculpting of the hair is also relatively simple.
During my US trip, I just happened to be passing through an area where a fellow collector lived, who was looking to sell the Special Edition version of this statue for a fair price.
The regular edition of this statue comes with two hands - one with her sniper rifle, and one holding a pistol. The Special Edition comes with an extra hand holding a knife. These generally don't cost anything extra, and serve as an incentive to buy the first round of release.
My lighting is crude so alas I'm not able to capture the statue in its entirety. It's a nice piece to display as it's relatively compact and is more about presence than dynamic motion. Natasha is standing on an inclined snowy hill, weapons drawn while looking to her right, head turned.
They were definitely aiming for comic art as the face is very much something out of Rocky and Bullwinkle, pretty much what you'd draw if you wanted a Russian woman. I guess in a way this is more accurate than Scarlet Johansson, who is Russian but I'm sure has a few other things thrown in there.
I like the convivence of having magnets do all the hard work of connecting pieces for you. It was a bit surprising, however, that only the hands comes loose and not the head. Not exactly sure why that was the case though it always comes back to manufacturing costs. Sculpting/production of the hands aren't bad, but the weapon quality varies. The sniper rifle came out fairly nice, but the pistol for whatever reason has a bent barrel. The knife is somewhere in the middle of the two. The belt, I guess is also a separate part, connecting together via a small piece of velcro. Feet were secured to the base with the tried and true metal pin in hole method.
If you collect relatively small figures all the time, when you see something at a larger format you tend to appreciate the various curves and musculature of the body better. Or at least I would if there any. Not exactly sure the worlds greatest assassin has no arm or leg muscle definition, but here we are. Accompanying her lack of thigh and calf muscles is a lack of glutes. Upper body seems about right, but it's not like we're gonna see a six pack through the suit.
Being my first Sideshow statue, I don't have anything to compare Paint work against, but for what its work what I found on the statue to be fairly well painted. Other than the Widow symbol on the belt buck, no real instances of masking (or at least any apps that would indicate masking is required). Fine paint apps such as the eyebrows and lipstick were found to be acceptable.