XM Studios Captain America

[Josh-A-Tron]

None of these are recent Tavegg. That is my point. You said it was an increasing issue. The stats don't add up that it is getting worse. In fact, up until Apoc, things were getting much better.

You may not have seen Conan: Fury of the Beast in person, but that thing is IMO one of the best fully sculpted collectibles ever released. Paint app, sculpt, art direction, you name it, it has it.



I've counted at least 2 on this forum and it isn't fully sold out everywhere yet. It has a much smaller ES too. For sure they will put in the extra effort to ensure that first release is a knock out. One release, one license. They aren't even moving a fraction of the product that SSC is. Time will tell if they can really hang with SSC, PCS, GG etc...




Most of the time they do.



Of course



Don't assume I only buy from one source.



You must be assuming I am not interested in XM's magneto. I have posted there a bit myself.

As for XM's customer handling... let's see how they do after years of abuse by posters who make demands over the most ridiculous minutae and/if they expand into different scales, products, licenses etc...

Replacements for Damaged Brown Shipper's anyone?

 

[Snadinator]

Replacements for Damaged Brown Shipper's anyone?

I reckon someone should be d!ckpunched for that.

 

[Tavegg]

I'm just going to touch on your point here. Yes XM responded in a timelly manner, but imagine how many emails Sideshow gets a day. Thousands? Tens of Thousands? To expect a response within 24 hours is a little unreasonable. Also Sideshow can't anticipate these QC issues. They surely do not have enough replacement bodies/parts/full statues to make everyone satisfied. And if I'm not mistaken, those that were offered a credit were told that replacements wouldn't be any better than what they already had.

Sure we can throw out the point of Sideshow's QC issues and how it wouldn't have happened if they increased their QC. But the fact of the matter is these are all what ifs, and presented with the current situation Sideshow is trying to do their best by offering a credit.

See I can completely sympathize with a lot of what Josh and Snad are saying. Great points from all different angles. I dont necessarily agree with all of them but thats the beauty of having an opion. Were all entitled to our own.
But this I just cant man. SS has been doing their craft for 20 years!!! If they can dish out the amount of product they have been then they should also be fully equiped to act responsibly for issues when they arise. I dont care if SS makes 100k edition sizes for thier statues. The one person that spent thier hard earned cash to order deserves exactly what they were shown after committing to the purchase with a NRD. If your going to offer a product you should stand by it. Tons of issues with Apoc? Fine. Let the customer send them back and if it takes a year get them a new one to replace the shoddy one they were sent in the first place. Not enough replacements? Have better quality on the front line so this never becomes an issue. So many ways to fix the wrong but it comes out of SSs pocket. Not ours so instead of doing the responsible thing the offer the cheapest method they can in the form of a credit. Knowing that it will cost almost just as much to ship back to them and hoping that instead you or I will just take the credit and keep it.

I remember awhile back the chun li release from PCS. If im not mistaken Jerry did personal touch ups himself to remedy the problem for all of those that POed one. Saying that SS is "too big" to handle a quality issue amongst its customers is never going to be an excuse validated in my book

 

[Mister Ski]

I'm not sure why there is such a heated debate over Sideshow versus XM. Why can't people like both? I think they are both good companies that are producing statues that I like. Has Sideshow had quality issues? Sure. Has XM? Not yet. However, I don't think it is accurate to compare what Sideshow is producing today versus what XM is producing today, since they are operating at two different levels of scale - production wise.

It might be more appropriate to compare the quality of one of Sideshow's first offerings, such as the Dr Doom PF to XM's first offering (Captain America). I wasn't collecting back when Doom was first released but by and large I believe he is considered one of the best produced products (in terms of quality) by Sideshow. I think XM's Cap is in the same category. I am very happy with XM right now. They have started off on the right foot and I hope they maintain that level as they grow. However, I can't say I am a fan of all their product offerings so far. The XM Hulk and Iron Man are not my cup of tea.

I readily agree that Sideshow's quality has been up and down over the past few years, but by and large they do right by their customers. Maybe the presence of XM will motivate Sideshow to up their game again. We, the buyers, can only benefit from this type of competition.

 

[Tavegg]

Replacements for Damaged Brown Shipper's anyone?

I reckon someone should be d!ckpunched for that.

Guys whom have issues with killer moths infecting thier collection dont count. Especially when thier display case is made up mostly of Brown SS shippers and plastic dog drool guards.

 

[Mister Ski]

I reckon someone should be d!ckpunched for that.

 

[Snadinator]

I'm not sure why there is such a heated debate over Sideshow versus XM. Why can't people like both?

My posts aren't heated. At least it isn't my intention to be taken that way. I am very interested in some of XM's stuff. Magneto and Antman to be precise. Maybe Thanos too.

 

[Tavegg]

I'm not sure why there is such a heated debate over Sideshow versus XM. Why can't people like both? I think they are both good companies that are producing statues that I like. Has Sideshow had quality issues? Sure. Has XM? Not yet. However, I don't think it is accurate to compare what Sideshow is producing today versus what XM is producing today, since they are operating at two different levels of scale - production wise.

It might be more appropriate to compare the quality of one of Sideshow's first offerings, such as the Dr Doom PF to XM's first offering (Captain America). I wasn't collecting back when Doom was first released but by and large I believe he is considered one of the best produced products (in terms of quality) by Sideshow. I think XM's Cap is in the same category. I am very happy with XM right now. They have started off on the right foot and I hope they maintain that level as they grow. However, I can't say I am a fan of all their product offerings so far. The XM Hulk and Iron Man are not my cup of tea.

I readily agree that Sideshow's quality has been up and down over the past few years, but by and large they do right by their customers. Maybe the presence of XM will motivate Sideshow to up their game again. We, the buyers, can only benefit from this type of competition.

Very well spoken sir

 

[Spidey976]

Black Widow, Punisher, Superman, Batman, Harley are all mixed media covered up mostly by material. They all look fantastic!! I own every single one of them however this list would not have been as astounding if they all would have been fully sculpted. Master Chief? I know how awesome he is brother!! I bought him from you. It only took three years to get him done. QC had to be perfect or there would have been an outrage. Deadpool is another homerun. One of my favorites of last year. Still had plenty of rub marks or dulling of the paint (mine included) and complaints from collectors. Campbell line? Best thing SS has going for them right now! I will agree with you beyond a doubt that whatever factory is painting those up is doing a fabulous job.
Now on to the bombs. Spiderwoman? Remember her? Rogue will forever be burned into the heads of SS collectors. Psylocke? Paint cracks anybody? Apocalypse!!!!! Lets not even mention that sculpt because I could type six paragraphs about the atrocious abomination he turned out to be. Wolverine LSF toppling over on collectors as of recent? 2k into a statue that has leaning problems with scattered reports of him falling straight to the ground? Shoddy paint jobs. Strings coming loose on the fabric portion? Lets not forget about Batmans pits and cajun beard problems that everyone was in an uproar about. Are some of these issues expected? Sure. Some of them dont even phase me! Love my bats. Love my deadpool. Hell I even have a perfect Psylocke and somewhat nice looking Rogue. Lets not pretend that SS has it altogether though buddy. They just dont. You cant point out 10k in superman statues that have a boot, hands, and portrait painted, and use that as a fair comparision. They only had to get a couple body parts right!!!

Ive seen one XM statue with an issue. One. And it was sent accidentally to the collector. Read up on the thread and youll find out that he was offered a full replacement less then 24 hours later. SSs first response from a rightfully so pissed of collector that got the raw end of the stick on Apoc was take this $65 credit or get bent???? Are you kidding me? Not my idea of how a mature company of 20 years should be handling a major quality issue with a paying customer.

The battle will rage on until XM cant perform the quality they have shown in Cap or SS steps up their game and gives us the quality we rightfully deserve. You can have your opinion and I will have mine. Just remember I am buying from both companies. This isnt a biased opinion. This is coming from someone that collects everything from Bowen to Koto and onto to SS, GG, PCS, SS. You name it. I love the hobbby and all the amazing works of art that have been made available to us but I refuse to support BS customer service and crap quality at $600 a pop. Im not the only one that feels this way Snad. If you dont think people are noticing jump into the Magneto thread for a minute or any other release they have teased. There are lots of people interested in what other companies other then SS have to offer

This doesn't have to be an us vs them conversation m8. Has SSC had issues, yep, but you quoted a hand full of statues that came out over a large span of time. Rogue, Psylocke, Rhino, SpiderWoman, and Apocalypse came out over about a 5 year time period and yes there were/are QC issues with them, but how many other statues came out with no rampant QC issues?? 100? 200? XM has put out ONE statue... ONE... And only ONE that we know of had an issue, so they called it a reject, and even though each piece was suppos to be personally inspected by the owner that one still got out. How do we know it was a reject not just shoddy QC and that they are covering up for it by calling it a "reject" and making a huge show of fixing it, just so they don't lose their momentum here in North America?? They aren't doing it just t be great guys they are doing it to protect their new popularity in the collecting land of milk and honey. They don't want a lot of cancellations coming there way because pics have surfaced of one of their pieces that has issues as bad if not worse that the worst of the SpiderWoman "rejects". By the way I am not saying they aren't legitamately great guys, but you can see the result right now ... people aren't posting pics of the issues on FB or at least I haven't seen them. So they have been successful not just because they are great guys, but because they want to make money as well. Now give them 10 years and 50 000 statues or more out the door, literally a 100 times more than they have produced to this point, and then we can have a true discussion about how their customer service is, but until then I don't think you can compare the two companies. One is a far bigger production and things are bound to come up when you have SO MANY MORE moving parts. I have delt with SSC CS and they are awesome. Can they match what XM is doing now?? Probably not because they are a huge Cooperation that ships around the world with a million more issues. However, can they be pushed to up their game a little by the competition offered by XM... Yeah that would be nice.

 

[Josh-A-Tron]

I'm not sure why there is such a heated debate over Sideshow versus XM. Why can't people like both? I think they are both good companies that are producing statues that I like. Has Sideshow had quality issues? Sure. Has XM? Not yet. However, I don't think it is accurate to compare what Sideshow is producing today versus what XM is producing today, since they are operating at two different levels of scale - production wise.

It might be more appropriate to compare the quality of one of Sideshow's first offerings, such as the Dr Doom PF to XM's first offering (Captain America). I wasn't collecting back when Doom was first released but by and large I believe he is considered one of the best produced products (in terms of quality) by Sideshow. I think XM's Cap is in the same category. I am very happy with XM right now. They have started off on the right foot and I hope they maintain that level as they grow. However, I can't say I am a fan of all their product offerings so far. The XM Hulk and Iron Man are not my cup of tea.

I readily agree that Sideshow's quality has been up and down over the past few years, but by and large they do right by their customers. Maybe the presence of XM will motivate Sideshow to up their game again. We, the buyers, can only benefit from this type of competition.

Hey Ski, I'm not really saying you can't or shouldn't like XM and SSC, as a matter of fact that's not what I'm driving at. What I am saying is that the price point between the two companies is so different that it can(or "might" may be a better word) change the market and some of the people I've seen say that Sideshow's pricing has been going up unnecessarily are now buying XM statues at a higher price point. If it were to change the price point I don't see how we as buyers benefit.

 

[slynger]

Ski makes a valid point as SS has been in business for 20 years now and its production has grown by leaps and bounds. XM has just released their first product with another close behind. Their first statue appears to be a massive success, but at only 500 pieces, it is a very different animal compared to what SS is doing these days with close to 5K of a single PF.

One area I think we all can agree on is that more competition is never a bad thing.

 

[Mister Ski]

This doesn't have to be an us vs them conversation m8. Has SSC had issues, yep, but you quoted a hand full of statues that came out over a large span of time. Rogue, Psylocke, Rhino, SpiderWoman, and Apocalypse came out over about a 5 year time period and yes there were/are QC issues with them, but how many other statues came out with no rampant QC issues?? 100? 200? XM has put out ONE statue... ONE... And only ONE that we know of had an issue, so they called it a reject, and even though each piece was suppos to be personally inspected by the owner that one still got out. How do we know it was a reject not just shoddy QC and that they are covering up for it by calling it a "reject" and making a huge show of fixing it, just so they don't lose their momentum here in North America?? They aren't doing it just t be great guys they are doing it to protect their new popularity in the collecting land of milk and honey. They don't want a lot of cancellations coming there way because pics have surfaced of one of their pieces that has issues as bad if not worse that the worst of the SpiderWoman "rejects". By the way I am not saying they aren't legitamately great guys, but you can see the result right now ... people aren't posting pics of the issues on FB or at least I haven't seen them. So they have been successful not just because they are great guys, but because they want to make money as well. Now give them 10 years and 50 000 statues or more out the door, literally a 100 times more than they have produced to this point, and then we can have a true discussion about how their customer service is, but until then I don't think you can compare the two companies. One is a far bigger production and things are bound to come up when you have SO MANY MORE moving parts. I have delt with SSC CS and they are awesome. Can they match what XM is doing now?? Probably not because they are a huge Cooperation that ships around the world with a million more issues. However, can they be pushed to up their game a little by the competition offered by XM... Yeah that would be nice.

Get out of my head Spidey!

 

[Tavegg]

My posts aren't heated. At least it isn't my intention to be taken that way. I am very interested in some of XM's stuff. Magneto and Antman to be precise. Maybe Thanos too.

I dont take your posts that way either. Its good to have conversation amongst the members. Even if opinions differ slightly. Ski has put me in check, Josh, and You. Its great to hear other sides and thoughts of others. I am a passionate and testosterone filled guys guy. I certainly dont mean to piss anyone off and sometimes I may come off as a ****, I will humbly admit. Ive apologized to members before as I have been out of line on more then once occasion. Were all human. I love coming to this site. Its the only one i am active on. Most of the people here I would probably drink a beer with if they lived in my general area.

End of the day you guys are still cool in my book

 

[Custo]

See I can completely sympathize with a lot of what Josh and Snad are saying. Great points from all different angles. I dont necessarily agree with all of them but thats the beauty of having an opion. Were all entitled to our own.
But this I just cant man. SS has been doing their craft for 20 years!!! If they can dish out the amount of product they have been then they should also be fully equiped to act responsibly for issues when they arise. I dont care if SS makes 100k edition sizes for thier statues. The one person that spent thier hard earned cash to order deserves exactly what they were shown after committing to the purchase with a NRD. If your going to offer a product you should stand by it. Tons of issues with Apoc? Fine. Let the customer send them back and if it takes a year get them a new one to replace the shoddy one they were sent in the first place. Not enough replacements? Have better quality on the front line so this never becomes an issue. So many ways to fix the wrong but it comes out of SSs pocket. Not ours so instead of doing the responsible thing the offer the cheapest method they can in the form of a credit. Knowing that it will cost almost just as much to ship back to them and hoping that instead you or I will just take the credit and keep it.

I remember awhile back the chun li release from PCS. If im not mistaken Jerry did personal touch ups himself to remedy the problem for all of those that POed one. Saying that SS is "too big" to handle a quality issue amongst its customers is never going to be an excuse validated in my book

I'm not sure you're understanding what I meant. All I'm saying is to expect a 24 hour response is unreasonable for a huge company like Sideshow, and their offer for a credit is fair considering the condition of the replacements they had...

 

[Grumpy Bear]

This doesn't have to be an us vs them conversation m8. Has SSC had issues, yep, but you quoted a hand full of statues that came out over a large span of time. Rogue, Psylocke, Rhino, SpiderWoman, and Apocalypse came out over about a 5 year time period and yes there were/are QC issues with them, but how many other statues came out with no rampant QC issues?? 100? 200? XM has put out ONE statue... ONE... And only ONE that we know of had an issue, so they called it a reject, and even though each piece was suppos to be personally inspected by the owner that one still got out. How do we know it was a reject not just shoddy QC and that they are covering up for it by calling it a "reject" and making a huge show of fixing it, just so they don't lose their momentum here in North America?? They aren't doing it just t be great guys they are doing it to protect their new popularity in the collecting land of milk and honey. They don't want a lot of cancellations coming there way because pics have surfaced of one of their pieces that has issues as bad if not worse that the worst of the SpiderWoman "rejects". By the way I am not saying they aren't legitamately great guys, but you can see the result right now ... people aren't posting pics of the issues on FB or at least I haven't seen them. So they have been successful not just because they are great guys, but because they want to make money as well. Now give them 10 years and 50 000 statues or more out the door, literally a 100 times more than they have produced to this point, and then we can have a true discussion about how their customer service is, but until then I don't think you can compare the two companies. One is a far bigger production and things are bound to come up when you have SO MANY MORE moving parts. I have delt with SSC CS and they are awesome. Can they match what XM is doing now?? Probably not because they are a huge Cooperation that ships around the world with a million more issues. However, can they be pushed to up their game a little by the competition offered by XM... Yeah that would be nice.

Just true.

 

[Josh-A-Tron]

I dont take your posts that way either. Its good to have conversation amongst the members. Even if opinions differ slightly. Ski has put me in check, Josh, and You. Its great to hear other sides and thoughts of others. I am a passionate and testosterone filled guys guy. I certainly dont mean to piss anyone off and sometimes I may come off as a ****, I will humbly admit. Ive apologized to members before as I have been out of line on more then once occasion. Were all human. I love coming to this site. Its the only one i am active on. Most of the people here I would probably drink a beer with if they lived in my general area.

End of the day you guys are still cool in my book

Nah, You're good people. I'm just seeing something I don't really like and when that happens I gotta say it. It's not even really about the product they're putting out, just more so my own worry about the retail market and what this means for it's near future.

 

[Spidey976]

[SUP][/SUP]

Get out of my head Spidey!

Lol... I was typing mine while you were yours...lol. I am a big fan of XM so far, their pieces are top notch, but the comparisons when it comes to how the companies are run at this point is not only unfair, but pointless. One is a tiny little brand new well oiled two stork out board motor and the other is a 20 year old battleship, of course one will have more issues.

 

[Tavegg]

Spidey this isnt a vs thing for me. SS is still my number one brother. (Bet you guys didnt see that coming) Has been since I started collecting. When I am making comparisions its just that. Simple comparisions and my points of view. I still have 20 plus statues on order through SS. Im not cancelling a single one. I just dont want to send any more back like I had to with Apocalypse!!! XM will also be getting my business. I like having the option available to buy from both companies

 

[Mister Ski]

Hey Ski, I'm not really saying you can't or shouldn't like XM and SSC, as a matter of fact that's not what I'm driving at. What I am saying is that the price point between the two companies is so different that it can(or "might" may be a better word) change the market and some of the people I've seen say that Sideshow's pricing has been going up unnecessarily are now buying XM statues at a higher price point. If it were to change the price point I don't see how we as buyers benefit.

Hey Josh, I get what you are saying about the higher price point with XM. This isn't meant to come off as elitist or as though money is no object to me, but I do make a good living and probably have more "disposable" income to put towards statues than the average collector. As such, I am willing to pay more, if the quality is there. It makes the higher price point more palatable to me if I receive something that is of high quality and looks like the prototype.

 

[Mister Ski]

My posts aren't heated. At least it isn't my intention to be taken that way. I am very interested in some of XM's stuff. Magneto and Antman to be precise. Maybe Thanos too.

Hey Ski, I'm not really saying you can't or shouldn't like XM and SSC, as a matter of fact that's not what I'm driving at. What I am saying is that the price point between the two companies is so different that it can(or "might" may be a better word) change the market and some of the people I've seen say that Sideshow's pricing has been going up unnecessarily are now buying XM statues at a higher price point. If it were to change the price point I don't see how we as buyers benefit.

Ski makes a valid point as SS has been in business for 20 years now and its production has grown by leaps and bounds. XM has just released their first product with another close behind. Their first statue appears to be a massive success, but at only 500 pieces, it is a very different animal compared to what SS is doing these days with close to 5K of a single PF.

One area I think we all can agree on is that more competition is never a bad thing.

I dont take your posts that way either. Its good to have conversation amongst the members. Even if opinions differ slightly. Ski has put me in check, Josh, and You. Its great to hear other sides and thoughts of others. I am a passionate and testosterone filled guys guy. I certainly dont mean to piss anyone off and sometimes I may come off as a ****, I will humbly admit. Ive apologized to members before as I have been out of line on more then once occasion. Were all human. I love coming to this site. Its the only one i am active on. Most of the people here I would probably drink a beer with if they lived in my general area.

End of the day you guys are still cool in my book

[SUP][/SUP]

Lol... I was typing mine while you were yours...lol. I am a big fan of XM so far, their pieces are top notch, but the comparisons when it comes to how the companies are run at this point is not only unfair, but pointless. One is a tiny little brand new well oiled two stork out board motor and the other is a 20 year old battleship, of course one will have more issues.