1/6 Star Ace - Underworld Evolution - Selene Collectible Figure

[Josette]

I feel like I need to say this first - I LOVE that there are more companies like Star Ace, QMX, etc...getting in the game. Even though I'm a fan of both Marvel and some of Star Wars, ultimately a lot of my favorite franchises are smaller or are television shows and such. So the more companies to compete with HT the better for me, because there are still smaller licenses I would love to have, more than many of the latest Marvel offerings. I'm excited for QMX's Supernatural figures, for example.

But Selene is one of the most disappointing figures I've seen at this price point. This might come across as hyperbolic, but when I first saw some of these pics of her on the last few pages of this thread, I actually was reminded a bit of Sideshow's 1/6th figures in the Buffy era. The helmet hair, lack of detail in the hair....the way the face looks slightly warped/squished with the nose and mouth on the left hand side looking crooked (not seen in the promo pics of her in the OP)...how soft it all looks. I'm obviously not gonna say it's down at that level, but it's quite a distance away from a Hot Toys or OMX effort, or SA's own efforts with their Harry Potter figures like Hermione. To me, anyway.

For Star Ace, this is not good because it will damage the Underworld license going forward. As great as Viktor looked, Selene is the character to which most fans would build their Underworld figures around, so if people pass on Selene it will undoubtedly negatively impact sales of anything else Underworld they produce.

 

[evenflow]

This might come across as hyperbolic, but when I first saw some of these pics of her on the last few pages of this thread, I actually was reminded a bit of Sideshow's 1/6th figures in the Buffy era.

Doesn't sound like hyperbole at all to me, it reminds me of a barbie doll.

 

[Underworld54]

I feel like I need to say this first - I LOVE that there are more companies like Star Ace, QMX, etc...getting in the game. Even though I'm a fan of both Marvel and some of Star Wars, ultimately a lot of my favorite franchises are smaller or are television shows and such. So the more companies to compete with HT the better for me, because there are still smaller licenses I would love to have, more than many of the latest Marvel offerings. I'm excited for QMX's Supernatural figures, for example.

But Selene is one of the most disappointing figures I've seen at this price point. This might come across as hyperbolic, but when I first saw some of these pics of her on the last few pages of this thread, I actually was reminded a bit of Sideshow's 1/6th figures in the Buffy era. The helmet hair, lack of detail in the hair....the way the face looks slightly warped/squished with the nose and mouth on the left hand side looking crooked (not seen in the promo pics of her in the OP)...how soft it all looks. I'm obviously not gonna say it's down at that level, but it's quite a distance away from a Hot Toys or OMX effort, or SA's own efforts with their Harry Potter figures like Hermione. To me, anyway.

For Star Ace, this is not good because it will damage the Underworld license going forward. As great as Viktor looked, Selene is the character to which most fans would build their Underworld figures around, so if people pass on Selene it will undoubtedly negatively impact sales of anything else Underworld they produce.

Which is why they need to revisit the sculpt and offer their loyal patrons a replacement headsculpt.

I said it before, if you screw up Selene you lose the opportunity to make money on Viktor, Michael, Marcus, Lucian, William, Raze, and Amelia. It's like throwing money away. They could have came out with multiple lycans.

 

[Underworld54]

So are we in agreement that SA knew they didn't have a winner on their hands?

 

[sixxshooter]

From TNS:

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[P.]

so you see that, too?
i wanted to say that the doll's face is weirdly warped, but it was mocked enough already.

 

[Underworld54]

Is Star Ace going to address this figure or just remain silent about it? They seemed to care about getting Marilyn Monroe correct so why not put the effort into Selene? I hope they address it soon.

 

[cmiller99]

Marilyn's not about just about to ship though, that's the difference. There was still time to try to save her. With Selene, not so much.

 

[jespernicolaj]

I have no interest in this figure, but I have in 1/6 collecting in general. I know people complain. A lot. And that will come back to bite us, when there's a reason to complain. Like now. How a head like this could pass the QC at Star Ace is beyond me. There's a person, probably more than one, who has handled this and decided that it was good enough to send out to people.
I have a lot of respect for Star Ace, as they listened to the customers with their MM, and changed the HS, but whomever accepted the Selene HS needs a vacation. Probably a long one.
I know opinions can differ but there's a wide number of people in here who repeatedly tell everybody else to stop being negative. NO. We need to speak up, otherwise, we'll end up with releases FAR worse than Selene. If something is not good, just cause you pre-ordered and pre-paid, don't tell everyone else that it's fine.
And I'm really sick and tired of the same people saying "that's cause the lighting is all wrong". ANYTHING can look good with the right light and a good photographer. But the figure ain't gonna look like that when you open the box. "Wait for the HK blogger photos." Those guys could make a turd look attractive. What you see is what you get. In natural light.
We ARE the power in this industry. Without us, there's not HT, SA or BW. We decide what is good enough. Not just by buying or not, but by telling the companies, in here and other places, how we feel.

 

[Asta]

You don't know what a figure looks like until you have it in hand. That's the gamble you take. I've found that, with judgement, it often pays off.

I have some great sculpts that almost always look bad when I try to photograph them. And even the best photos don't depict what you have in hand.

And on the other side some photographers can polish a turd with tricks of the light.

 

[Underworld54]

I have no interest in this figure, but I have in 1/6 collecting in general. I know people complain. A lot. And that will come back to bite us, when there's a reason to complain. Like now. How a head like this could pass the QC at Star Ace is beyond me. There's a person, probably more than one, who has handled this and decided that it was good enough to send out to people.
I have a lot of respect for Star Ace, as they listened to the customers with their MM, and changed the HS, but whomever accepted the Selene HS needs a vacation. Probably a long one.
I know opinions can differ but there's a wide number of people in here who repeatedly tell everybody else to stop being negative. NO. We need to speak up, otherwise, we'll end up with releases FAR worse than Selene. If something is not good, just cause you pre-ordered and pre-paid, don't tell everyone else that it's fine.
And I'm really sick and tired of the same people saying "that's cause the lighting is all wrong". ANYTHING can look good with the right light and a good photographer. But the figure ain't gonna look like that when you open the box. "Wait for the HK blogger photos." Those guys could make a turd look attractive. What you see is what you get. In natural light.
We ARE the power in this industry. Without us, there's not HT, SA or BW. We decide what is good enough. Not just by buying or not, but by telling the companies, in here and other places, how we feel.

Exactly right. I don't see how a squished and twisted head made it to final production. Surely someone at Star Ace noticed how awkward she looked. How could that be overlooked?

 

[Asta]

If I was interested in buying a Selene my judgement would be not to gamble on this one.

Because it's looked bad from head to toe from the moment it was shown.

 

[Underworld54]

If I was interested in buying a Selene my judgement would be not to gamble on this one.

Because it's looked bad from head to toe from the moment it was shown.

You mean from the earliest prototype that we've seen?

 

[Asta]

You mean from the earliest prototype that we've seen?

Yes, all the way back to that bandy legged abortion.

 

[Underworld54]

Yes, all the way back to that bandy legged abortion.

Haha wow...I thought she looked good all the way to production. Then we got what we're looking at now.

 

[darkSchnegge]

Hey Guys! This is my German review of the Selene Figure! Enjoy

 

[Asta]

That's still the same sculpt, which would be acceptable for a 3 3/4" figure.

 

[abake]

Giles review Schnegge, danke!

I didn't pre-order this, and my dwindling funds would have probably prevented me from getting this even if it was a perfect figure.
Having said that, I really don't think it's as bad as it first seemed.
I think Kate Beckinsale has a very beautiful, but very "bland" face. The woman has perfect skin, no wrinkles, no real distinguishing features, so I guess it's very difficult to give a sculpt of such a face character. Same reason why it's usually easier to catch an old man's likeness, because of all the wrinkles, and the big nose and sagging skin...
At any rate, I believe the sculpt is there.

I think the hair is the main culprit here. Both the lack of detail and the poor placement really hurt the overall look of the figure.
The outfit and accessories look great IMO.

 

[Underworld54]

Hey Guys! This is my German review of the Selene Figure! Enjoy

For those of us that don't speak German, do you like it?

 

[HAL9000.]

Nein out of ten