uscmhicks
Super Freak
Very awesome to hear. :chew
Earlier in this thread someone said they had canceled their order to help come up with the $5-$6K to pursue the PF prototype with the glowing fist offered in SS's last charity auction. Well, I'm the lucky guy who won the auction and even if it were for sale, which is not, he'd have to come up with a hell of a lot more money.
The idea for the glowing first came from the development team seeing the Hellboy II movie poster, however because the effect was never used, they abandoned the idea. I really liked their idea so after the win, I contacted SS and offered an additional donation if they would redo the fist so that it really looked like the poster. Much to my surprise, they agreed to give it a try.
Well, not surprising, they came through and the results as you can see are nothing short of phenomenal. I feel privileged that Anthony Mestes, SS's Lead Artist in their paint department personally did the actual work. This is one of those rare times that I'm at a loss for words, so I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. The modified photos are studio shots from SS.
First, trying to match poses, a photo of the unmodified figure from the auction followed by the repaint:
Second, The unmodified fist next to the repaint:
Next are a couple more studio shots:
I think y'all will agree that they've taken a great figure and made it fantastic. I'm especially impressed at how well the "glow" shows in such bright ambient light. When I get him home, I'll be sure and post some low light photos. I think those will really show off the glow effect. I have a few more studio shots, so if y'all want, I'll gladly post them. I think this is arguably the best Hellboy figure out there.
I am really grateful for what the Sideshow staff and artists did for me. They were friendly, helpful and genuinely enthused about this project. They produce some of the finest collectibles available and they just plain outdid themselves here. My Balrog has always been my favorite, but as soon as Big Red arrives, I think the ol' Flameboy may be playing second fiddle.
There were some who posted how they felt that it wasn't worth what I paid for it until someone put it in perspective by pointing out that it was for charity. I have a simple rule for collecting. I buy what I truly like, that way if it goes down in value, it doesn't hurt so much. If it goes up, well that's just gravy. Charities, especially one like this, tend to open my wallet a little wider and I'm not too concerned about getting a deal. Most people know the old adage "give 'till it hurts," well, I did feel a little pain, but it hurt so good.
As for the auction itself, after having my ass handed to me in the Giger auction, I was really concerned that I might not win this one. For the record, in the last 15 minutes of the auction, the price more than doubled. As a matter of fact, with less than a minute and half to go, folks took a hard charge at doubling the final price. When I placed my snipe, I was really relieved to see that I had the lead and then course I did the happynekkidsniperdance after I won.
SS said I should have him Monday or Tuesday. Man this weekend is going to drag. Gawd, I never thought I'd utter those words.
Now that is fantastic. Congratulations.
. I've also got a little bonus in this shipment... Slave Leia. 
