Statue BLITZWAY- Enter the Dragon- Bruce Lee Tribute 1/3 scale Statue Ver. 2 spec

[Tyderium]

Guys I think just fattening the ab cuts (they need to be thicker anyway) and having them run will go a long way in providing an illusion that the gaps are closer. I'd just add more paint around the decal...or remove it all together and start again. I don't think the raised parts will be too noticeable once you paint red close by.

But yeah I agree, it is just one of many areas that need work. Even with the problems and disappointments I just wonder if there will be another piece remotely like this though. An ETD at this huge size and lucked out with a great likeness. There will no doubt be more ETD pieces in the future but will they be as big or will the likeness be as good...hard to know. So it makes me think is it worth picking this up despite the flaws and work on it or have someone to work on it.

I have a feeling it could be brought much closer to a definitive piece with the right paint and detailing. The big thing going for it is the likeness is already there, whereas on so many other figures it is just not.

So hard to know if the purchase is worth it and if it could be made into more of a museum piece without first seeing it in hand.

Just my thoughts...

 

[mrchris]

some good points raised(not sure about thicker cuts,but I've gone on enough about that) I agree that likeness wise this is the best BL collectible to date,it just the statue lacks the fine detail that would have made it ''the museum piece'' we hoped.it's still a very fine statue it's just slightly annoying that a couple of guys(and no doubt more) had to alter it due to that lacking detail.
regarding another ETD, I really don't know.will EB do another 1/4..maybe,will blitzway do another 1/3 I'm sure they will,but another ETD,i doubt it.
I suppose it's down to Shannon in the end...she has the final say.
so this may well be the ETD at this scale that you may have to get???

 

[SAB]

I like the hair mod there on that photoshop pic. Looks good.
They actually used that sort of paint app on the GoD statue on the hair. That is a good indication that potentially they chose to lessen production cost on this one.

 

[xpl0sive]

Nuri, I don't want to debate with you about this, what you said may be correct but it doesn't change the end result to me, which is that this product looks like it has been made by putting the least amount of effort in IMO. If they wanted consistency with the cuts they could of just sculpted them then painted them, the decals look ridiculous IMO and as Chris said they are too far apart where the abs are. But that's just my opinion and I am not trying to convince you or anyone else here that this is the case, I just don't like what I see and I am leaning towards cancelling this now. If you like what you see then I am happy for you.

All good brother. Fair point. I'm generally pretty fussy when it comes to collectibles, but you've always been fussier and more demanding than me I think, so I understand why you feel the way you do towards this piece.

You are correct in that this piece was not made with the best efforts, but that seems to be the case with most statue companies IMO. I think we'd only get a higher quality product if this was made by Cinemaquette, but the price would be more than double and the likeness would most likely be terrible.

The only company I see at the moment putting out high quality products with actual effort in the production pieces, whilst at a reasonable price point is Chronicle Collectibles. They are using Toynami to produce their products, the same factory Cinemaquette uses, so the quality will be similar, but at a fraction of the cost. I hope they continue to do this and make other companies like Sideshow lift their game.

My main issues with this piece are the cuts and sweat, both of which look like they can be fixed without requiring a lot of skill (I will be practicing on something else first until I get the technique down pat before touching the statue). The distance between the cuts is incorrect as you and Chris have pointed out, but this doesn't bother me like it does you guys. Yes it's inaccurate but I'm not really bothered by it. Maybe it's coz I'm not as much of a Bruce Lee fanatic as you guys. I think the rest of it looks good enough to me. It's not perfect, not as good as the proto, but good enough to make me want it, and not terrible like I first assumed.

 

[xpl0sive]

To be fair, in regards to the hair, the proto has the same 'helmet hair' that this does, but nobody complained back then. It's only an issue now it seems. The Photoshopped version does indeed look better, not sure why they didn't do this as it was present on the GoD statue, but nonetheless, it wasn't there on the proto either, so it's not like it was something that they chose to leave out in production due to laziness.

 

[SAB]

some good points raised(not sure about thicker cuts,but I've gone on enough about that) I agree that likeness wise this is the best BL collectible to date,it just the statue lacks the fine detail that would have made it ''the museum piece'' we hoped.it's still a very fine statue it's just slightly annoying that a couple of guys(and no doubt more) had to alter it due to that lacking detail.
regarding another ETD, I really don't know.will EB do another 1/4..maybe,will blitzway do another 1/3 I'm sure they will,but another ETD,i doubt it.
I suppose it's down to Shannon in the end...she has the final say.
so this may well be the ETD at this scale that you may have to get???

lulz at the Bruce Lee estate turning down merchandise offers

 

[Tyderium]

I think painting on finer strands of hair would be an almost essential mod for those that get this piece. It needs blending in to the forehead and sides of the face to soften the helmet look. And you could potentially use graphite in addition to, or instead of a brush for even greater control and fine detailing.

Yep the proto did have the basic sculpted hair but it was a different shape, more voluminous at the sides and top and more accurate to Bruce in ETD. On the production piece it is much more cropped and comes off looking like Lego hair to me. Not sure why this had to change from the proto, and actually the GOD hair looks more ETD. It is debating over small stuff but it all adds up and affects the overall essence of the piece in terms of accuracy. I definitely fall into the picky and demanding camp. It's no doubt why I don't have a lot of collectibles.

But I do think with the work this could potentially look more like the definitive Lee statue. Even the detail lost in the muscularity and vascularity from the proto could be re-established to some extent with superficial shading.

It all comes down to different schools of thought -

Do I have the skills to mod this, or do I want to pay someone to do it?
Why should I have to mod an already expensive statue?
Or, to hell with it, I want the best Bruce Lee statue and will invest the extra time/money in bringing this piece up to that level?
And there are others who love the look of this piece out the box and that is pretty cool too.

From my perspective I feel it may be a long time before another piece at this size and impacting presence is made in the guise of ETD... and if it is, the likeness may just be a bit off and not as good as this one...or something else.
So many variables.

And simply put, me and some others here want to see it in person before purchase just to see if it is all worth it anyway.
That scenario is not likely for me, so really hoping some great photography and videos of this piece comes rolling through just like it did for GOD to help fine tune a decision.

 

[xpl0sive]

I think painting on finer strands of hair would be an almost essential mod for those that get this piece. It needs blending in to the forehead and sides of the face to soften the helmet look. And you could potentially use graphite in addition to, or instead of a brush for even greater control and fine detailing.

Yep the proto did have the basic sculpted hair but it was a different shape, more voluminous at the sides and top and more accurate to Bruce in ETD. On the production piece it is much more cropped and comes off looking like Lego hair to me. Not sure why this had to change from the proto, and actually the GOD hair looks more ETD. It is debating over small stuff but it all adds up and affects the overall essence of the piece in terms of accuracy. I definitely fall into the picky and demanding camp. It's no doubt why I don't have a lot of collectibles.

But I do think with the work this could potentially look more like the definitive Lee statue. Even the detail lost in the muscularity and vascularity from the proto could be re-established to some extent with superficial shading.

It all comes down to different schools of thought -

Do I have the skills to mod this, or do I want to pay someone to do it?
Why should I have to mod an already expensive statue?
Or, to hell with it, I want the best Bruce Lee statue and will invest the extra time/money in bringing this piece up to that level?
And there are others who love the look of this piece out the box and that is pretty cool too.

From my perspective I feel it may be a long time before another piece at this size and impacting presence is made in the guise of ETD... and if it is, the likeness may just be a bit off and not as good as this one...or something else.
So many variables.

And simply put, me and some others here want to see it in person before purchase just to see if it is all worth it anyway.
That scenario is not likely for me, so really hoping some great photography and videos of this piece comes rolling through just like it did for GOD to help fine tune a decision.

Painting strands of hair on the forehead will no doubt improve this piece, but I don't think you'd be able to just paint them on. You would need to sculpt thin strands of hair onto the forehead and then paint them, otherwise they'd look odd/fake.

The other stuff you speak of does not bother me as I'm not that picky to be honest. In fact, I can't actually notice some of it lol. Example, the hair shape difference, I don't really see it, apart from the back being slightly shorter. Regardless whether it is different shape or not, the overall look to me looks the same as the proto. It just looks sharper in the proto, due to their pics and enhanced contrast. I don't really see any other difference.

When I look at the body between the production and proto, disregarding the difference in paint job, I think the proto is sharper in terms of the muscle definition/cuts. Good example of this is under the pecs. The lines are clearly defined in the proto, whereas they look softer on the production piece. This, along with the fact that the proto has some slight texturing to the skin, giving it a more 'gritty' appearance, is what throws it off for me (the production piece looks smoother). Vascularity is still there on the production piece, it just looks like it has softened up a bit. There were no striations on the proto, but I keep seeing this mentioned lol.

You're right though, if you wanted to, you could add some shading around the muscles to artificially make them pop and add some definition.

Personally, even with the flaws, I still think this is probably the best Lee collectable released. With a bit of work, it most definitely would be the definitive Lee collectible to own.

You shouldn't have to mod an already expensive statue, you're right, but it is what it is. Nothing can be changed. You either buy it and mod it to your liking, or you pass on it.

I think had we got a piece that was to the standard people are speaking of here, we'd be paying a lot more, simple as that, so it works out the same as you buying the statue and getting someone to fix it for you really.

Personally, if I was a very picky Bruce Lee fanatic like yourself, I would be buying this and getting it fixed to suit your tastes. Sure, you'll need to pay a bit more on an already expensive statue, but you'll pretty much have the best Bruce Lee statue in existence. Nothing will top this for the price. If at some point in the future, a better Bruce ETD piece comes out, it will be a lot more expensive than this, mark my words.

Like I mentioned earlier, I'm all in for this piece, so I will do my best to provide some quality shots with studio lighting, along with a video, to help some of you out who cannot see this piece in person before buying.

 

[FriendlySamurai]

Tyderium, really like the hair strands idea, do you think it would be hard to get right? I'm just worried with my skill it may look like hair coming out from under his "helmet" lol. I like the blood and sweat mods, I'm tempted to give it a go. Maybe 30cm can comment, can you wipe it off if you make a mistake? and what are you using for the blood? Do you need to use anything to seal it afterward? Nervous to try but I think extra blood like Tyderium mentioned especially around the ab cuts will help to "pull" the cuts closer together.

 

[Tyderium]

Like I mentioned earlier, I'm all in for this piece, so I will do my best to provide some quality shots with studio lighting, along with a video, to help some of you out who cannot see this piece in person before buying.

Sounds good mate. Appreciate it.

 

[Tyderium]

Tyderium, really like the hair strands idea, do you think it would be hard to get right? I'm just worried with my skill it may look like hair coming out from under his "helmet" lol. I like the blood and sweat mods, I'm tempted to give it a go. Maybe 30cm can comment, can you wipe it off if you make a mistake? and what are you using for the blood? Do you need to use anything to seal it afterward? Nervous to try but I think extra blood like Tyderium mentioned especially around the ab cuts will help to "pull" the cuts closer together.

I don't think it would be too hard but I would closely study different reference pics and practice plenty on something other than the statue first until you felt confident. I think it could be achieved using both paint and graphite perhaps...hard to know without seeing the head in-hand. Obviously it will be coming out from under the sculpted hair but by applying fine strands onto the forehead and sides of the face, I think standing just a metre back from the statue it will have a blending in effect and soften the hair around the face which will help the realism significantly and lessen the toy-like aspect.

 

[mrchris]

Painting strands of hair on the forehead will no doubt improve this piece, but I don't think you'd be able to just paint them on. You would need to sculpt thin strands of hair onto the forehead and then paint them, otherwise they'd look odd/fake.

The other stuff you speak of does not bother me as I'm not that picky to be honest. In fact, I can't actually notice some of it lol. Example, the hair shape difference, I don't really see it, apart from the back being slightly shorter. Regardless whether it is different shape or not, the overall look to me looks the same as the proto. It just looks sharper in the proto, due to their pics and enhanced contrast. I don't really see any other difference.

When I look at the body between the production and proto, disregarding the difference in paint job, I think the proto is sharper in terms of the muscle definition/cuts. Good example of this is under the pecs. The lines are clearly defined in the proto, whereas they look softer on the production piece. This, along with the fact that the proto has some slight texturing to the skin, giving it a more 'gritty' appearance, is what throws it off for me (the production piece looks smoother). Vascularity is still there on the production piece, it just looks like it has softened up a bit. There were no striations on the proto, but I keep seeing this mentioned lol.

You're right though, if you wanted to, you could add some shading around the muscles to artificially make them pop and add some definition.

Personally, even with the flaws, I still think this is probably the best Lee collectable released. With a bit of work, it most definitely would be the definitive Lee collectible to own.

You shouldn't have to mod an already expensive statue, you're right, but it is what it is. Nothing can be changed. You either buy it and mod it to your liking, or you pass on it.

I think had we got a piece that was to the standard people are speaking of here, we'd be paying a lot more, simple as that, so it works out the same as you buying the statue and getting someone to fix it for you really.

Personally, if I was a very picky Bruce Lee fanatic like yourself, I would be buying this and getting it fixed to suit your tastes. Sure, you'll need to pay a bit more on an already expensive statue, but you'll pretty much have the best Bruce Lee statue in existence. Nothing will top this for the price. If at some point in the future, a better Bruce ETD piece comes out, it will be a lot more expensive than this, mark my words.

Like I mentioned earlier, I'm all in for this piece, so I will do my best to provide some quality shots with studio lighting, along with a video, to help some of you out who cannot see this piece in person before buying.

excellent post my friend,i will agree with most of what you said,however as a massive bruce lee fan when blitzway showed us their promo pics for this,i was expecting something as good.
I or anyone else really shouldn't have to pay more to get it fixed due to blitzway's lack of effort.
regarding the hair,no doubt up close shots make it look worse,but blitzway could have just stuck the GOD hair on it.
as you said if your picky fix it to your liking,but something as simple as cuts should have been done correctly(even the proto differs)
I cant comment on other statues as I have never owned them,but blitzway gave us a very good statue in GOD,yet for $100 more they have failed to deliver in the finer details in this and regarding the cost,blitzway set their price,so if they couldn't deliver at that,then the fault lies with them..as you said it is what it is, I'm looking forward to getting him...so we shall see.i have already said it will compliment the GOD,but this going by the promotional description should have blown it away.
however I don't agree on this bit.

''I think had we got a piece that was to the standard people are speaking of here, we'd be paying a lot more, simple as that, so it works out the same as you buying the statue and getting someone to fix it for you really''

as I have said blitzway set the prices,so one would assume that they worked out they could deliver at that price and it would appear to have undervalued this.
so ''additional'' costs should not even come into this.
yes I am being very picky with this,as I feel blitzway have miss-promoted this.agree it's the best BL to date,but I (and others)were expecting something special from blitzway from the shots and description from them,here's one of them.

3 We have created the highest quality Polystone to craft a vivid and lifelike depiction of Bruce Lee’s famous body. Every scar, pore and bead of sweat will spring to hyper-realistic life by the talents of our highly skilled artisans.

don't think so in that aspect.

 

[SAB]

Just want the statue on my shelf at this point....

 

[nongshim]

Has popcultcha received this yet? My order is with them.

 

[xpl0sive]

excellent post my friend,i will agree with most of what you said,however as a massive bruce lee fan when blitzway showed us their promo pics for this,i was expecting something as good.
I or anyone else really shouldn't have to pay more to get it fixed due to blitzway's lack of effort.
regarding the hair,no doubt up close shots make it look worse,but blitzway could have just stuck the GOD hair on it.
as you said if your picky fix it to your liking,but something as simple as cuts should have been done correctly(even the proto differs)
I cant comment on other statues as I have never owned them,but blitzway gave us a very good statue in GOD,yet for $100 more they have failed to deliver in the finer details in this and regarding the cost,blitzway set their price,so if they couldn't deliver at that,then the fault lies with them..as you said it is what it is, I'm looking forward to getting him...so we shall see.i have already said it will compliment the GOD,but this going by the promotional description should have blown it away.
however I don't agree on this bit.

''I think had we got a piece that was to the standard people are speaking of here, we'd be paying a lot more, simple as that, so it works out the same as you buying the statue and getting someone to fix it for you really''

as I have said blitzway set the prices,so one would assume that they worked out they could deliver at that price and it would appear to have undervalued this.
so ''additional'' costs should not even come into this.
yes I am being very picky with this,as I feel blitzway have miss-promoted this.agree it's the best BL to date,but I (and others)were expecting something special from blitzway from the shots and description from them,here's one of them.

3 We have created the highest quality Polystone to craft a vivid and lifelike depiction of Bruce Lee’s famous body. Every scar, pore and bead of sweat will spring to hyper-realistic life by the talents of our highly skilled artisans.

don't think so in that aspect.

I think a lot of this comes as a shock to you because you don't collect other statues (such as Sideshow pieces), and therefore you probably haven't experienced this change from proto to production. You'll find that this is a regular occurrence with other manufacturers, where production falls short of the proto. Sometimes Sideshow gets it right and the production piece matches the proto fairly well, other times they fail miserably.

Personally, I was skeptical Blitzway would match the proto in the production piece for the money they were asking, and didn't think they'd pull it off. In saying that, based on their description and their confidence, I did expect more than what was shown though.

You're right, you shouldn't have to fix it, but unfortunately it's actually pretty common in this hobby. I regularly see guys buy Sideshow pieces and then either repaint them themselves, or get them professionally repainted, due to being very picky and the statue falling short of what was shown in the proto, and of course, when you're teased with an amazing looking proto and then get given something that doesn't look as good, all you want is the proto, lol. Then the not-so-picky collectors just accept them the way they are. You're right, simple things like the cuts should have been painted, and I suspect that it was done due to these being hand-painted and they probably couldn't do them consistently by hand and make them look good on each statue (plus it's probably cheaper to just stick decals on). The Enterbay statue most likely had these cuts printed and not done by hand.

I think Blitzway went into this with too much confidence after their GoD statue. Yes that one delivered, but this was their first statue that had half the body exposed and painted, whereas with the GoD they just had to replicate the costume which is easier to do on a mass produced scale in comparison to trying to paint statues by hand.

They no doubt undervalued this, thinking they could offer something that was close to proto quality at the price quoted. This could also have been a case of the factory telling them they could match it for a certain price, and then Blitzway passing on the price to the public, and then the factory raising the cost afterwards after realising they couldn't offer what they originally claimed, or worse, telling Blitzway they can match the paintjob and overall quality no problem, and then failing to achieve it. At that point, it's probably too late for Blitzway to do anything except sell what was already produced, or lose money.

It comes down to the company being inexperienced and not as big as someone like Sideshow.

Some of the stuff being discussed over the last few pages in terms of finer details is something normally seen on higher end pieces where what you see in proto is usually what you get really, and the companies that actually produce and deliver such collectibles usually sell them at much higher prices, hence my comment. Blitzway's description is certainly misleading, no doubt, so I understand the disappointment.

In the end, the product has been made and what we see is what we get. I still think it's good and worth getting personally. With a bit of tweaking, it will be perfect.

 

[Tyderium]

A good post mate.
Agreed on all those points.

Yes, what we see is what we are getting.
It's not the proto and that is that. I've been very critical of the daylight between it and the finished statue.
It's very disappointing and that is borne from the precedent Blitzway set with their first piece.
A sense of faith and confidence in product is naturally instilled after such a great debut, and based in part on a new company with an unblemished record.

Having said that, arguably it is the best likeness of Bruce Lee created for a mass produced figure.
It is the one thing that is off on most pieces.
In my list of criteria for figures, likeness is pretty much at the top..it's just my preference.
So, in that regard alone, I have persevered with the thought of picking this up despite other serious misgivings.

Just a few basic upgrades to this statue will elevate it into a very good piece.
The pin nipples for example make it look like a toy, just painting these the correct size makes an amazing difference - a seemingly trivial concern but it immediately looks much more like a real body.

A more extensive repaint and detail could make this into the definitive rendition.
Essentially you could recreate your own proto and consequently it could look like a $2k piece.

Like you said, customising is commonplace but it is not for everyone and there is obviously a deep frustration for those who want the benefits of custom upgrades but don't have the means to achieve that result.

Aside from all this, just some high quality photography of the piece will also go a long way to aid in making up minds for those sitting on the fence.

 

[SAB]

F*&k repainting and customizing.

I buy things and plonk them on my shelf.
When I get bored of them they go on ebay.

That is my entire process

 

[SAB]

Has popcultcha received this yet? My order is with them.

'should arrive in a week or so'


There you go

 

[xpl0sive]

A good post mate.
Agreed on all those points.

Yes, what we see is what we are getting.
It's not the proto and that is that. I've been very critical of the daylight between it and the finished statue.
It's very disappointing and that is borne from the precedent Blitzway set with their first piece.
A sense of faith and confidence in product is naturally instilled after such a great debut, and based in part on a new company with an unblemished record.

Having said that, arguably it is the best likeness of Bruce Lee created for a mass produced figure.
It is the one thing that is off on most pieces.
In my list of criteria for figures, likeness is pretty much at the top..it's just my preference.
So, in that regard alone, I have persevered with the thought of picking this up despite other serious misgivings.

Just a few basic upgrades to this statue will elevate it into a very good piece.
The pin nipples for example make it look like a toy, just painting these the correct size makes an amazing difference - a seemingly trivial concern but it immediately looks much more like a real body.

A more extensive repaint and detail could make this into the definitive rendition.
Essentially you could recreate your own proto and consequently it could look like a $2k piece.

Like you said, customising is commonplace but it is not for everyone and there is obviously a deep frustration for those who want the benefits of custom upgrades but don't have the means to achieve that result.

Aside from all this, just some high quality photography of the piece will also go a long way to aid in making up minds for those sitting on the fence.

Thanks mate. You seem a lot more positive about this piece now, which is good. I hope it does meet your expectations once you see some better images of it, and that you can tweak it to suit your liking. Perhaps see if there are any good customizers in your area that can help you with fixing this up. Not sure what state you're in, but there's a few guys on here that do custom work in Australia and are actually pretty good. INFECTDEAD(sp?) is a member on here and customizes statues. Can't remember what state he is from, but perhaps contact him and if he's near you, you could take your statue to him to customize. He has done some pretty nice work on his own stuff.

Personally, I'm mostly happy with what I see, I just want to fix the sweat and cuts, which I think I should be able to do myself. I'm going to buy the paint and practice on something else first until I'm confident enough to touch the Blitzway body. If the sweat/blood doesn't look too bad on display though, then I might just leave it.

F*&k repainting and customizing.

I buy things and plonk them on my shelf.
When I get bored of them they go on ebay.

That is my entire process

lol I pretty much fall into this category as well. Statues are expensive enough, so I can't be bothered customizing and spending more money, but I'll admit, if I had the skills, I probably would repaint stuff just because I can. I'm usually not that picky though over miniscule stuff, but if the statue looks that bad that it requires a total repaint, I simply won't bother getting it.

Anyway, Popcultcha is expecting this within the next week or so, so I will have some proper pics up soon, and can do a HD vid if you guys want.

 

[Bruce]

I think that throwing money at something you do not like is crazy! Surely Blitzway or another company will release another collection piece of Bruce Lee better, so why rage into something they do not like or totally satisfied! It takes a little patience ....