Re: NEW PREDATOR 1 MAQUETTE by Sideshow?
That's basically it. I don't understand why they can justify charging twice the price of an expensive PF just because of the "maquette" name. It's still crap quality polystone, still mixed media, still 1/4 scale.
This is untrue. It's an entirely different craftmanship than the standard comics PF honestly, I passed on the P2 Maquette due to its many flaws but I call a spade a spade.
First, Preds are bigger, much bigger than the standard human figure. This alone makes them more expensive.
From a sculpt standpoint, they require all sort of extra care: proportions need to be very specific, especially between head and body, you can't just sculpt the "generic muscular anatomy" used for Marvel/DC characters. It needs to be as accurate as possible to the movie. The heads need to have dreadlocks, sculpting them alone and separately (with all the ornaments) probably takes more time than sculpting an entire generic human head sculpt. The biomask needs to have a specific shape. The jaws need to have a specific shape and specific teeth depending on the Predator you're making. The equipment requires a lot of care (and accuracy), especially on a character like the City Hunter.
All these parts need to be sculpted, molded and cast individually, more pieces to assemble means more time and more work to do during production, ergo more money goes to the factory.
Then, the paint app. Preds have some of the most intricate paint patters with their markings, different colors and points on the skin, it's really not easy to nail the organic-tribal-alien look. Again, lots of work and care and lots of time which means more money to produce.
On top of that, mixed media. Applying netting is tricky, much more than taking a generic body sculpt and slap a full costume on it. Netting needs to be glued in specific small intersections and in a specific way, you don't have to have glue spots showing from underneath the net and apply it in a way that perfectly fits, otherwise the flaw will show a lot, with the netting pulling too much on a side or the other. It's not like a small sagging armpit or saggy butt that can be overlooked, it's the kind of thing that ends up being in your face every time you look at the statue even from a distance.
So pretty much, if you break down a statue in its various aspects (sculpt, paint, mixed media), Predators sum up most of the toughest points of those aspects.
I can perfectly see the higher price point. With more accuracy and a better paint job the City Hunter would have totally been worth the asking price, especially considering that people doesn't seem to have a problem paying 500$ a generic PF, 600-700$ a bigger PF and 800$ for a 1:4 horse with some cloth on it (*cough* Dark Rider *cough*).
