I wasn't clear in my last post. I appreciate you're judging both pieces on equal merits, toy or statue regardless. I just don't understand the preoccupation over 'level of sculptural detail'.
I haven't seen either in person TBH but what immediately strikes me, and impresses me first and foremost is the pose and 'life' of a piece. The details are obviously important but more of a secondary consideration. I do agree that the price of the SSC piece is on the high side, but you're paying for a talented artists work: their dynamic applied to the subject. As opposed to the more clinical, objective process of just replicating an accurate facsimile of the movies digital asset.
I think it comes down to what leaves a mark on you as a fan that you then want to see in collectibles. Some people took a broader impression of Godzilla, his overall depiction and characterization, and in that case, the Sideshow piece is great, it really captures the essence of him from the 2014 movie.
Some folks, myself included, really dove into his design, following all the little details put into it, waiting for each leak to slowly get a sense of what he'd look like, so those fine little parts are burnt in our mind to the point where their absence can take value out of a collectible.
I have nothing against what Sideshow did with this maquette, as you mention, it's an artistic interpretation, but that interpretation just doesn't work for me personally. The new statue is more in line with my tastes, it has the finer details that I expect to see when looking at a Godzilla 2014 piece and a dynamic pose. I can agree that the head proportion is off and it's not a 100% perfect depiction, but for me personally, so much else works in that piece that I don't even pay attention to that fact, just like folks here like the pose on the maquette so much they ignore if every little detail is there.
I'm passionate about Godzilla, especially this movie and design of the character, so I just love to come here and discuss the good bad and everything else about Sideshow's work and any photography and such of the pieces.
Your knowledge of all the details would naturally make you much more discerning. I haven't immersed myself in the subject to that extent and I wasn't mad about the film TBH (only saw it once), but I've always loved the concept of Godzilla and his place in pop culture. It goes back to that goofy cartoon series I used to watch as a kid, so I perhaps see the pieces in a more existential light. You said it perfectly: the essence of him. Also I work with CG so the idea of a godzilla that's in a neutral pose like he might be for rigging to an animation skeleton doesn't appeal.
I'm 2 flexpays away from getting one so I can't be a cynic ...yet 
