Medicom Darth Maul

[edwint]

A humble suggestion of mine, have you consider shooting your figure against a plain backdrop? I like the lighting and clarity of your images besides the dynamic poses, brings out the 'glamour' in the figure.

Edit: Sorry, didn't see your new images of Jango.

appreciate ur comments, bro!!i've done the plain backdrop thingy before..in fact, i did it on blue, black and white..heehee..all with different results..most of which i couldn't really control..especially how the camera reads lighting against the plain backdrops inside the frame..i found that if i shoot in normal surroundings without the cardboard backdrop; ie..using my singaporean looking living quiaters..heeheehee..the lighting loks more natural by default when i uploaded them onto my comp..in other words..cuts down the time to adjust proper lighting on the pics..most likely its my cam settings..keke..the last batch of jango pics were shot at night under flourescent ligting..a whole lot of diff freom my earlier daylight fett shots (which i prefer)..still..i'll see if i can minimize the 'traffic' in the background..heck sometimes i gotta crop off my mum's feet when she's sitting near my toy!!wahahaha..

 

[OSCORP]

From toy world forum

 

[The Chaver]

that's why i like it over here. there's never a ruckus over here is there?

Ruckus ++++us!

 

[MaulFan]

Krayt that's cool, but can you link reduced images by any chance.

 

[abake]

Michael's review is up:

https://www.mwctoys.com/REVIEW_031208a.htm

 

[OSCORP]

2.5 same as bespin luke.God, it looks horrible in those shots with the neck.Thank god it really doesn't look that bad at all in person with some futzing.(otherwise i woulda returned it)

I agree with the belt not as good as SS's

Everything else meh.(i'm used to medi saber blades by now so no biggie even though i prefer SS's)Still the best maul out there IMO even if too expensive.

 

[Captain Faramir]

A fitting review, the same scores I would have given it. That neck is really weird, but he gave the costume a better score than I would have. That outer robe is an atrocity!

But of course, that's just my opinion. For some it's good, for some it's bad--no rights or wrongs here.

 

[The Josh]

I agree on the sabers as Medicoms just aren't that great and after getting the ROTJ Vader today I am sure of this from my POV. The unignited saber looks pretty good which is why I went with that look. The neck is really goofy looking if you don't try and futz the figure and it looks like Mike didn't futz with it much. I'm going to guess he was trying to show what you get out of the box in that regard. The body doesn't bother me much but the head is probably a bit too skinny.

The outter robe which I though he said he liked more isn't all that hot. I like it more seeing it up close than I did at @ SDCC but the silk material just ruins it for me overall. The inner outfit is really pretty nice and to me fits the body nicely. The boots aren't any better than the SS boots so its a wash there. Sculpting wise the Medicom Maul gives you that Darth Maul feel no doubt. The SS Maul looks like Ray Park as he played Darth Maul and still gives you the Darth Maul feel. I got both of them and am happy to have both of them.

The SS maul is a very good deal for the price but the Medicom Maul is maybe a touch too high for a non armored piece.

 

[The Chaver]

I agree on the sabers as Medicoms just aren't that great and after getting the ROTJ Vader today I am sure of this from my POV. The unignited saber looks pretty good which is why I went with that look. The neck is really goofy looking if you don't try and futz the figure and it looks like Mike didn't futz with it much. I'm going to guess he was trying to show what you get out of the box in that regard. The body doesn't bother me much but the head is probably a bit too skinny.

The outter robe which I though he said he liked more isn't all that hot. I like it more seeing it up close than I did at @ SDCC but the silk material just ruins it for me overall. The inner outfit is really pretty nice and to me fits the body nicely. The boots aren't any better than the SS boots so its a wash there. Sculpting wise the Medicom Maul gives you that Darth Maul feel no doubt. The SS Maul looks like Ray Park as he played Darth Maul and still gives you the Darth Maul feel. I got both of them and am happy to have both of them.

The SS maul is a very good deal for the price but the Medicom Maul is maybe a touch too high for a non armored piece.

Medi Maul rocks and you know it!! Ha ha ha ha ha....

No,but seriously you could have sent it back if sucked that bad for ya,right?

 

[Michael Crawford]

Damn, you guys are already talking about it before I even get a chance to mention that it's up. You're all getting too fast for me!

Michael
MWC

 

[OSCORP]

Abake i hope you don't mind me posting this from over at medi-world but it echoes my thoughts almost exactly.(especially on the ivan drago figure)

Abake wrote:
"I thought it was a pretty fair review Mike.
But I must say that usually your photography and posing of the figures makes them look, how to put this... not their best...
When I saw your review of Medi-Vader I was pretty much convinced not to buy it. However, my love of the character won me over and I shelled out 200 bucks to get it. Needless to say, I don't regret a thing!
In your pics it is quite clear that the belt is not placed correctly, making the figure look pretty bad. I know that it's just a matter of futzing, but others may just see a terrible job of stitching..."

 

[JGouse0498]

I agree. The Maul in Mike's review looks terrible and clearly wasn't adjusted at all. It really doesn't give a fair representation of what the figure truly looks like. Thankfully for fellow Freaks, other posters have been able to portray the figure in a better light.

BUT...his reviews are still very balanced, fair, and are useful in deciding whether or not to buy a figure.

 

[Michael Crawford]

The photos in my review ARE representative. You aren't going to get a different look just by minor adjustments, you're going to have to do the kind of work Maulfan did, OR you're going to have to photograph it to hid the problems on purpose. Neither of these things is representative of the figure as it comes out of the box, and is a huge disservice to someone trying to decide whether to buy it or not. If Maulfan had tried to pass off his version of this figure as the actual figure, and on that basis I bought it, I'd be pretty pissed when I opened it up and found out the truth. He didn't because that's not his style - and I certainly wouldn't do a review with a figure that was not representative of reality.

If you think you're going to tuck the tunic a little different and suddenly the giraffe neck is going to disappear, you're simply wrong. If you think the belt is going to look better or that the sabers are going to look better, you're wrong. They are what they are.

 

[OSCORP]

This is my maul with no padding just basic clothes futz like i would with any figure.

And this is my maul with the shoulders padded out.

 

[MaulFan]

A few comparison shots for you guys of Maul with Qui-Gon with and without the extenders in his legs.

I think he's too close to Qui-Gon's height with the extenders, but without them, maybe a hair too small looking, but I find the overall look of him improves without them so I'm going to leave mine off.

 

[JGouse0498]

The photos in my review ARE representative. You aren't going to get a different look just by minor adjustments, you're going to have to do the kind of work Maulfan did, OR you're going to have to photograph it to hid the problems on purpose. Neither of these things is representative of the figure as it comes out of the box, and is a huge disservice to someone trying to decide whether to buy it or not. If Maulfan had tried to pass off his version of this figure as the actual figure, and on that basis I bought it, I'd be pretty pissed when I opened it up and found out the truth. He didn't because that's not his style - and I certainly wouldn't do a review with a figure that was not representative of reality.

If you think you're going to tuck the tunic a little different and suddenly the giraffe neck is going to disappear, you're simply wrong. If you think the belt is going to look better or that the sabers are going to look better, you're wrong. They are what they are.

I'm sorry if you took offense, but there are plenty of pics in this thread that show fixing the tunic can alleviate the giraffe neck. No, it won't make it disappear, but it makes it look not so elongated. It appears as though the tunics in your review sample were tugged downward, which exposes the neck. All I'm saying is that members like The Josh and Krayt Dragon have their tunics adjusted a little looser-looking, and the neck isn't as awkward.

Keep in mind--this is just one person's opinion.

And I just don't think the pics in this particular review are fair to the figure based on pics from other members (not counting those like MaulFan who made alterations). I know that every Sideshow figure I've ever received looked better after futzing. Medi Maul doesn't seem to be an exception.

Again, sorry if you took offense.

 

[lerath666]

One thing that Michael does, that alot of people forget is he grades the figures As they are, Immeadiately out of the box. Anf Yes, with a little bit of tweaking, and modification medi mal goes from great to Supremely awesome, but his point ( and I agree) is that for 150$, the figure should be perfect Right out of the box. Medi could have done the tweks we're doing at the factory
. For the premium price we're paying, we should bet a premium product.

No, I'm not saying we should get gold for a silver price, I'm saying that we should get gold for a gold price. Let me give you a few examples.
Hot toys Superman.
Hot toys Leon Kennedy
Hot toys Predator 2 Elder

Don't make a mstake, I love my medicom figures, But they could of put a little more effort into it IMHO.

And yes, I will be getting one, And I'll be bashing him together with SSC maul parts.

 

[Mookeylama]

One thing that Michael does, that alot of people forget is he grades the figures As they are, Immeadiately out of the box. Anf Yes, with a little bit of tweaking, and modification medi mal goes from great to Supremely awesome, but his point ( and I agree) is that for 150$, the figure should be perfect Right out of the box. Medi could have done the tweks we're doing at the factory
. For the premium price we're paying, we should bet a premium product.

No, I'm not saying we should get gold for a silver price, I'm saying that we should get gold for a gold price. Let me give you a few examples.
Hot toys Superman.
Hot toys Leon Kennedy
Hot toys Predator 2 Elder

Don't make a mstake, I love my medicom figures, But they could of put a little more effort into it IMHO.

And yes, I will be getting one, And I'll be bashing him together with SSC maul parts.

agreed. and EVERY point that Mike touched on have all been griped about in this thread. long neck, skinny shoulders, cheap looking sabers, crappy belt, need for padding. it's all been talked about here so don't act like his critiques are coming outta nowhere, or have no justification.

 

[The Chaver]

This is my maul with no padding just basic clothes futz like i would with any figure.

And this is my maul with the shoulders padded out.

I'd buy that for $150.

 

[galactiboy]

I think too the angle of shots make a lot of difference... much like holding a figure in hand is different than just seeing pictures. I think Michael (please correct me if I'm wrong) tries to take very clear and straight forward shots. That way you get the basic sense of what the figure is.

Whereas what are artistic friends do is photograph him in the best possible and most dynamic manner. I think it was a fair review... but as soon as I finished reading it I had a feeling people would not be too happy about it