Mine was supposed to show up yesterday, but DHL took off before I could answer the phone and were gone. So today it was! I saw the video last night, as we all did, and it definitely made my heart sink in terms of just the disappointment in the voice and such.
So, how is it in person? Well, it's a mixed bag.
It's definitely more PVC than polystone. I believe the base has polystone in it, as that's in the smaller box and it's heavier than the top. The head is likely all PVC. So first and foremost, above all else, the BIGGEST ISSUE with this piece is the price. Had this been $200 cheaper, I don't think AS many would complain...and it should've been at least $100 cheaper. With the Alien LSBs hitting around $400, this should've maybe hit $499 out of the gate, at the top end. But we all know that wasn't the case, and took the jump because it looked badass!
And while I could only take some quick shots of it on my phone before I had to head off to work, I definitely didn't fall to the floor loathing it. It's the cost that really has me questioning things more than anything. The paint job isn't THAT bad. And I know for this cost saying it's not THAT bad sounds terrible...but we all remember the Predator LSB fiasco with the absolutely horrendous paint job a few years ago...that was one ugly mother...
This one at least kept the details there. Again, I'll take a better look at it when I get home and kind of sort if from there in terms of value. I definitely don't think it's worth the HUGE...no, MASSIVE price jump they gave it, but it'll be a question of whether or not I like it enough to keep it instead of sucking up the $180 customs fees, and $80 shipping (Oh, Canada...) because, I mean, at that point, it's all just painful.
So, from the look that I got of it, the head is really light. The damage that the guy is talking about in the previous picture doesn't really matter, as that's ALL hidden. That's all where the neck connects to the body. You have to kind of...cram it in there too, as the dreads are stuck to the head, and they're fairly tight, so you have to kind of...maneuver the neck in there without damaging things. It takes a bit of wiggling, but it's doable. After that, you'll never see any of those issues that are in the pictures shown before...at least the ones on the bottom around the neck.
The paint job is okay, really. I mean, it's a lot better than that terrible LSB I mentioned before...remember triangles just painted on with stencils? Yeah, none of that...it's fairly solid all around. The mouth is always an issue, as it's so massive, and open, and it does lack certain details and looks fairly pink. There aren't any veins or the likes in there...and yeah, there probably should be for this price. And if they're going to go full PVC, then make up for it in the minor paint details or make it cheaper. Like, the prototype's mouth has various shades on the damaged side, but on this one, it's all just the same colour, which, again, hinders it on that front.
So I was thinking on the drive in that Bishoujo figures cost around $80-$90, and are PVC and all, and this definitely has more detail and all, so this is basically the price of about eight of those, and likely the same amount of PVC and such...so I'm guessing that's kind of where it was balanced out. But I think it's more because people just expect polystone all around, or for the majority...like the head should've been polystone and the dreads PVC.
And I agree that I would've been a lot happier for the cost had it been polystone used all around, because that's what you expect for the full price we all paid for this.
So to me, right out of the gate, just looking at it, the main negative is the cost...$649.99 US + $80 shipping, + 185 Canadian duties/taxes/customs, etc...is a really expensive bust. I always thought that, but gave it benefit of the doubt, as I always wanted a Wolf Predator bust and loved how this looked.
So when I opened it up...it's honestly hard to say how I would've reacted had I not seen the video last night and just been so down about it. I think I would've noticed the plastic use just because it's so much lighter...I mean, Big Chap and the Alien Warrior are heavier, solid pieces...well, not all around solid, bit they're solid in terms of construction.
The heavy PVC use is disappointing, and it definitely lost a lot of the detail in the mandible area...a lot of the aging in the prototype is gone, and smoothed out, which sucks because that really added some depth to it. And, I mean, if you're raising the price this much and you're going the PVC route (which I'd think is easier to duplicate) then keeping those details in there is really important.
I'm kind of all over the place, so apologies for that. I was really excited for this piece, and I wish I'd had more time to go over it before I had to leave for work, but alas, just the images I'll post below...when compared to the prototype the differences show. I wasn't able to do side by side shots, as I just snapped some angles instead of checking what SS had done and replicating them for better comparisons...I'll try and do that when I'm at home, but they also have professional lighting and cameras being used, as well as editing materials, so those'll always look top tier compared to cell phone shots!
So I do like it...the price absolutely sucks for what was delivered...so I'm on the fence due to just how much extra was invested outside the initial costs. Tough call...I'll have to look at it more later tonight. Anywho, here are some shots!
