[ [ Artist Proof ] ] Collectiblog

A Raygun for the Masses

Charles Song — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 05:03:18 +0000

Review

Righteous Bison | Artist: Dave Tremont, Greg Broadmore | Edition Size: N/A

My memory of Weta’s Righteous Bison: Indivisible Particle Smasher at Comic-Con are mostly faint. I recall that the prototype needed some fine tuning (reversed insignias, that sort of thing) but more vividly stuck in my mind was how poor display piece had begun to bear the toll of being fondled by the eager SDCC masses, developing cracks, scrapes and other unspeakable signs of collectibles abuse.

It’s alright though, life’s never really been easy for the Bison, having to fight perceptions toward its plastic pedigree since its moment of birth.

In addition to the obvious goal of attracting a broader audience with something more affordable, Weta has cited requests for a ‘convention friendly’ Raygun as an impetus for the product. Considering the Righteous Bison is not only less expensive and less fragile, but also transport-friendly without losing life-size form, that logic seems well supported.

Putting the final product through its paces, the Bison comes through in two righteous ways– fit and finish.

The details are crisp down to the rivet. You can count the handle detail (where the Atom is) which is rather ‘blobby’ looking as an exception– though it seems to be conceived that way, rather than it being any sort of manufacturing issue.

It all comes together darn precisely which is equally impressive. Although there are quite a few “plastic seams”– most notably where the two major halves join down the center– for the most part they are dead flush; there are no odd ridges or dodgy alignments. In the best cases, the seams can almost look as if they belong with the intentionally sculpted ones.

A good test jiggle revealed no rattles or crackles and creaks of any kind. It’s a clean fit. It’s solid.

The gun is trimmed in gold and black with a metallic base. The weathering on top of the body is actually phenomenal, and if you do sense some surprise it’s because so often one would find this to look quite ‘painted on’ and artificial. Contrary to that, a beautiful job is done on the rust/oxidation along the adjoining panels. At worst, some of the black pieces, especially the large tail fin that look bare could do with a coat or two of paint. Black is black right? Why not leave as is? Because it does look more characteristically plastic there I wish they would have painted that not for color, but texture.

Nevertheless, the paints are bit better than what I’ve come to expect from a perceived ‘budget’ piece. Fit and finish, pleasant discoveries those– and really the difference that elevates this from merely “toy” status.

Not that it can’t be that too. If intended, it can suit that purpose quite well. You don’t feel compelled to don kid gloves every time you handle it, as you would its more expensive brethren. It doesn’t make any noise or light-up (which I’m absolutely fine with) but the trigger does squeeze quite ably! And while the Bison is certainly lighter than said brethren- which should not come as any surprise- it’s no flyweight either. There’s some decent mass to the thing; it’s perhaps at the upper limits of what you’d want it to weigh if you were to actually tote this around for an extended amount of time. A pretty good balance was achieved.

If you are dead opposed to a Raygun made of “imitation metal”, you might never get right with the the Righteous Bison. I was rather on the fence as well– but the bottom line is I would not hesitate to display this alongside the bona-fide high end Rayguns.

Dollar for dollar, I find the Righteous Bison to be more impressive than the identically priced miniature Unnatural Selector.

PROS +
Size and price:
The $99 price tag makes it a much less expensive Aether alternative.
Fit and Finish:
Excellent standards help piece live up to potential.

NEUTRAL ~
Plastic Construction:
It is what it is; can’t ask for a more premium material without also increasing the price point.

CONS -
Extras:
Does not include a display case (unless you consider plastic clamshell one) or stand. Forcing you to neglect your Raygun!

Righteous Bison at Weta | on Ebay
Review Index

Gallery (5 photos)

Weta Righteous Bison | Photographs: © Charles Song

Information

Weta Righteous Bison: Indivisible Particle Smasher
Make: Weta
License: Dr. Grordbort’s
Artists: David Tremont, Greg Broadmore
Retail Price: $99.00
Edition Size: N/A
Scale: 1/1
Type: Weapon prop
Purchase Options: Weta Collectibles | Ebay

Second John Howe Statue Fauxified

Charles Song — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:11:17 +0000

Following in the steps of the Smaug the Golden, which is selling very well according to Weta, comes the Éowyn and the Nazgûl statue in faux bronze form.

The vital stats are mirrored here, with the same 300 piece edition size along with the $430 USD price point.

Fans of the line should be very pleased to hear there is “more to come” in the Art of John Howe line as well.

Weta Argonath Enviro Sees Light of Day

Charles Song — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 01:17:21 +0000

If you haven’t noticed, it’s an amazing time to be a Weta collector right now. Bonus points if you’re also a LOTR fan. With shields, ‘characters’ and environments coming down the pipeline, it’s hard not to get caught up in the excitement. Daniel Falconer is in the process of designing a Bag End environment! Nuff said! In the meantime Weta’s got a few possible existing pieces at the plate, and a major one has just become reality– The Argonath, complete in its original form. A genuine lost and found story, with pretty much no one to think it a possibility— it’s now up for pre-order at Weta’s site for $200. And a fairly low edition size of 500.

Be sure to keep up on the latest Weta happenings at Weta’s new forums at The Shadow and Flame!

SDCC In-Depth: Avatar A.M.P. Suit Maquette

Charles Song — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 21:31:37 +0000

Need help deciding whether to pre-order Sideshow’s Avatar A.M.P. Suit Maquette next week? We’re here to help.

This one was a definite surprise. I was more expecting Weta to have something on hand for James Cameron’s latest. If it doesn’t look it from photos you may have seen, let me assure you: This thing is maaaasiiveeee. It’s approaching ridiculous how large collectibles are getting, particularly from Sideshow. Still, in this particular case, it’s a good thing. It works. It shouldn’t be any smaller. However, recognize that this will translate to more green out of your wallet.

And what it will cost is still a mystery. I cannot see this landing anywhere under $500, and could see it go as high as $1K. Also, the paintjob on this display piece was phenomenal. I have some real doubts that Sideshow can match its quality in production. Let’s hope they prove me wrong.

The Avatar maquette will go on pre-order this coming Thursday, August 20.

For even more images of the Sideshow Avatar A.M.P. Suit maquette, don’t neglect to peruse our Comic-Con 2009 Gallery!

See more In-Depth features from Comic-Con 09

Unboxed: Hot Toys TDK Tumbler

Charles Song — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 17:52:50 +0000

Forum member Felmar has got the first in-hand photos of Hot Toy’s utterly massive 1/6 scale The Dark Knight Tumbler!

This behemoth “Batmobile” even makes his life-size Predator bust appear diminutive!

Click through for his photos!

(7 photos)

Battle of the Boards V. 2

Charles Song — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 01:53:28 +0000

Click on each category to sort by that stat! Bold blue text indicates the highest stat per each category. [update: New boards added!]

Board Name	Total posts	Total members	Average	Focus	Growth (%)	Admin
Statue Forum	2377201	14138	168	Comic	98	d rod
Sideshow Freaks	1836145	6143	286	Sideshow	275	Darklord Dave
The Shadow and Flame	307664	554	555	Weta, Sideshow	45	Charles Song
Gentle Giant Collectors	261168	5221	50	GG	112	yoda027
Statue Marvels	136901	1062	129	Comic	N/A	HoldyourfireAl
Onesixthwarriors	855860	13233	65	Figures	N/A	?
Rebelscum	5061159	21782	232	SW	31	Philip Wise
TFW2005	3057119	43322	71	Transformers	N/A	?
The Hunter's Lair	144949	3895	37	Predator	N/A	Faken
Chocolate by Death	10675	31	344	Cinemaquette	N/A	Lars
Sandtroopers	242910	2710	90	SW	75	Darth Spice

Compare with our last BOTB! (Aug. 2007)

Musings:
Most posts and members
[Update]: P. Wise was kind enough to provide us with the stats himself- no more question marks! In light of this, you may find it interesting that RS no longer holds the member record, which now goes to newcomer TFW2005.
——–
You’ll notice that the a couple of stats for Rebelscum are in bold blue, and you’ll notice that they are in question marks. How is this possible?

Firstly they are question marks because there are no stats to be easily found on the index. However, even using our numbers for their forum from two years ago, they’d still win in those categories. That’s why.

As always, any help in providing numbers for our ? stats is appreciated.

Growth
Clearly excelling over the others, Sideshow Freaks has experienced explosive growth at 275%. In case you’re wondering of course, “Growth” is calculated based on the increase in the number of posts since August, 2007.

Average
Average is calculated by dividing the total number of posts by the number of members, providing an indication of participation per individual. As with the 2007 BOTB, we (The Shadow and Flame) take this one with pride.

So long, farewell:
These are boards that have been removed from the table since the last BOTB, considering their inactivity.
Parenthesis indicate number of new posts in this two year time frame.
Yodas News (14696)
Wetaholics (1640)
Lordoftheringsguide (4406)

And Spawn.com’s board was removed– as the only board done by the company themselves, it just didn’t really fit.

In place of these boards, The Hunter’s Lair, Statue Marvels, Chocolate by Death, and Onesixthwarriors (OSW) were added.

Conclusion:
And there you have it folks. The economy sucks, but there are still a heck of a lot of people talking about collectibles online.

As always, here are links to all the fine boards discussed. Give them a visit!
The Shadow and Flame
SideshowFreaks
Statue Forum
Gentle Giant Collectors
Lord of the Rings Guide
Onesixthwarrior
Sandtroopers
Rebelscum
TFW2005
Statue Marvels
Spawn.com
The Hunter’s Lair
Chocolate by Death
Wetaholics
Yoda’s News

(Oh my! Rebelscum maintains lead and nears 300 votes! GGC pulls comfortably into third!)

Get your last votes in folks! Poll closes at the end of August. Thanks to everyone who participated.

Lord of the Ring Shields Go Live

Charles Song — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 00:26:59 +0000

Weta has hit the ground running with its newly minted miniature shield line. Now officially a reality, all three initial pieces are now up for pre-ordering at $35 a piece.

The Mongoose Is Loose

Charles Song — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 07:59:02 +0000

What happens when you take the most diminutive of Rayguns and miniaturize it? Well like that Large Hadron Collider thing in Switzerland, there’s only one way to know: bang it out and see what happens.

Who knows when the destruction of Earth will occur from particle collision, but thankfully you’ll have the opportunity to fondle your own miniature Victorious Mongoose well before then! Quietly debuted at Comic-Con (come see it in our Booth Tour), it is now up for pre-order. Yes, it really is tiny. It reminded me of a frosted mini-wheat. But that’s more part of its appeal than a detraction.

You can bet your electrons we will have photos for you right here when it ships in October!

On a related note, let Weta know what LOTR items you want!

Auctions For Diane Comic-Con 2009

Charles Song — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 06:06:37 +0000

Terminator T-700 Premium Format Prototype (auction)
A dark paint application test done on a T-800 PF, for a “stealth Terminator” in Terminator: Salvation.

Winning bid: $2325

Commander Cody Legendary Scale Bust Prototype (auction)
A prototype version with a myriad of differences, including a clear Palpatine hologram, higher hand position, and vastly different armor.

Winning bid: $1525

Jason Voorhees Premium Format Figure Prototype (auction)
Essentially an abandoned prototype which will never be released.

Winning bid: $2000

Psylocke Comiquette Prototype (auction)
My personal favorite, a Psylocke comiquette- a statue that looks good enough to release, but for some reason won’t be, not in this form. This is the only existing painted prototype.

Winning bid: $4555

Red Hulk Legendary Scale Bust Prototype (auction)
A Hulk LSB repainted to depict the crimson “Rulk”. It was ultimately decided Rulk looked too different than just a sunburnt version of Hulk, so this remains just that: an abandoned prototype.

Winning bid: $2650

All auctions scheduled to end on Aug 09, 2009.

SDCC In-Depth: Sauron Last Alliance Diorama

Charles Song — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 00:01:39 +0000

The most interesting bit to me of this Battle of the Last Alliance diorama is the unfortunate party of Numenoreans before Sauron. I particularly appreciate the fact that they’ve crammed not two, not even three, but four soldiers (there’s a goner on the floor) into the piece which is as good as you could’ve asked for. The backturned soldier is a very smart logistics solution indeed as it allows you to see at least one face from Sauron’s front side. For top dollar price ($300), this justifies a much stronger case than the equally priced Star Wars Vader vs. Obi-Wan diorama.

Sauron himself is well done. Although there is some debate over his pose, it recalls his almost robotic nature from the film just fine. It could look very good indeed had the pose been frozen instead at the apex of his swing, but it could be splitting hairs at this point.

For even more images of the Sideshow Sauron vs. Numenoreans diorama, don’t neglect to peruse our Comic-Con 2009 Gallery!

See more In-Depth features from Comic-Con 09