On the top of many Comic-Con attendee’s best lists, Weta’s District 9 Exosuit has made waves in the high end collecting circles.

At the same time, complaints have surfaced concerning its $599 price tag, which, no matter how you slice it, isn’t cheap. Here are some thoughts from yours truly:

Lots have been said about the size– one of the first things that struck me was that it’s actually quite large. It’s shorter than Weta’s Christopher Johnson and Son– page has it listed at about 12-inches (would’ve guessed taller) but it is much much bulkier and imposing– if you’re just comparing the height you’re missing the whole story.

Weta’s shot posed with (Exosuit designer) Greg Broadmore is probably the best providing context for those who haven’t seen it in person. Then again that’s right around the size I like my collectibles, and acknowledging that the general trend is for the absurdly big these days. If 3ft. tall statues are your thing, you may find its size legitimately off-putting.

To put it next to something pretty apt for comparison like Sideshow/Legacy’s A.M.P. suit: It’s about half as tall, and costs half as much. The complexity counts for a lot (speaking of both)– a big blobby Hulk this ain’t. Dave Tremont spent three months building this. Nuff said

The base is quite plain, then again I’m not sure adding more stuff would be an improvement either. I do wonder how it would look if the sand was flush with the surface. I think it’s wonderful that they didn’t slap on a District 9 logo here or with CJ.

The more sort of intangible qualities are that this is Neil (who Tim says provided feedback and approvals) and Greg’s baby. And in this particular case, most definitely Dave’s as well. And of a property that won’t be infinitely abused (licensor: Wingnut Films)– how many other District 9 toys or collectibles have you seen so far?

If you’re wishy-washy on it, maybe, maybe not. If you’ve wanted an Exosuit since you’ve first seen it launch a flying pig, oh yes, it’s worth it.

More from Weta manager Tim Launder posted on our forum:

This is our most complicated collectible ever. Dave Tremont and the Workshop team worked on it for 3 months. There are more than 50 different molded pieces which go into the construction.

From the start of the District 9 license, Neill Blomkamp and Greg Broadmore made it clear, this was their number 1 wish. This is their baby !

Sell out time: TBD
ES: 600 | $599.99

10+ pics posted in our forum! Click through!

Our Comic-Con 2010 Gallery is alive and kicking! Nearly 200 photos and counting! What are you waiting for? Go go go!

See all of this and more:

Sideshow:
Neytiri statue, Optimus Prime maquette
LOTR: Gandalf PF, Morgul Lord PF, Gandalf maquette, Aragorn maquette
Kratos statue, Alien Resurrection, German Paratrooper PF,
Marvel: Hulk comiquette, , She-Hulk comiquette, Thor 1:1 bust, Wolverine 1:1 bust, Carnage 1:1 bust, Spider-Man comiquette, Black Cat PF, Psylocke comiquette, Ms. Marvel PF, Legacy Effects War Machine statue,
Star Wars: C-3PO 1:1 bust, Obi-Wan Kenobi LSB, Yoda 12-inch and hut, Aurra Sing, Cyborg Darth Maul, Jango Fett bronze, Boba Fett bronze
T-800 statue, Pop Culture Shock Guile, Thundercats: Lion-O, Jack Sparrow PF

Weta:
District 9: Exosuit statue, CJ and Son statue, Art of D9
Dr. Grordbort’s Rayguns
Lord of the Rings: Bag End environment, Prancing Pony environment, John Howe’s Smaug the Golden
The Wind in the Willows bookends
CJ jr. film maquette

Hot Toys:
Predators: Royce, Inglourious Basterds: Hans Landa, T-1000, Iron Man 2: Black Widow, Abigail Whistler, Ghost Rider, Michael Jackson

Cinemaquette:
Bruce Lee: Game of Death, Superman, Darth Vader

Gentle Giant:
Sucker Punch: Baby Doll, Amber, Sweet Pea,
Pan’s Labyrinth: SDCC exclusive Pan bust, Pale Man bust
Lucius Malfoy SDCC exclusive bust
Avatar: Neytiri, Jake, Tsu’tey busts

efx:
Darth Vader helmet (both versions), Luke’s X-Wing helmet, Vader concept helmet, X-Wing

With the ship date of their premium format still looming, Sideshow has launched yet another Gandalf the Grey, this time in maquette form.

With its large base, this was bound to be even more expensive than their first effort, Aragorn. And it is so, to the tune of an additional $15. The biggest surprise for me perhaps is in the choice of exclusive, not a head swap this time, but a differently positioned left arm and staff. Being that the scene clearly recalls the iconic moment where Gandalf faces off at the bridge sans hat, this comes as almost a little jarring.

Then there is the matter of Sideshow likely cannibalizing its own sales with collectors choosing one format over another and not both in most cases. All the same, this slightly dramatic take on the wizard has rubbed some collectors the wrong way, citing concerns over its pose and highly positioned hat. Stay tuned for our showfloor pics direct from Comic-Con.

[Update] Backstage pass video posted.
[Update #2] At two weeks on the dot of pre-ordering, the exclusive Gandalf has finally sold out. A relatively slow pace compared to the 2 days it took Aragorn to achieve the same feat. Hard yet to draw a conclusion with the ES still TBD. Stay tuned….

Sell out time: 2 weeks
ES: 400 | Exclusive: $249.99 | Regular: $239.99

It’s WWII time and a continuation of what appears now to be a Comic-Con tradition as Weta reveals their Raygun new one-of-a-kinds: Der Adler, The Iron Tiger, and The Divine Ray.

Judging by the reaction from our esteemed panel of forumites, the leafy Iron Tiger seems to be a clear early favorite. Hope the perspective buyers have got their running shoes: priced at the usual $1250, each will be sold exclusively at Comic-Con. Stay tuned right here for our pics of these one of a kind beauties!

Only days after their Thor bust reveal, Sideshow’s offered another entry in their ‘realistic’ approach to Marvel with a Wolverine 1:1 bust.

The effect is working nicely on this piece though I think both busts would benefit from monotone nameplates (since they clearly must have them), as opposed to the same colorful ones that have accompanied nearly all of their Marvel busts.

Sort of echoing their Diablo 3: Overthrown barbarian of a few years ago, Sideshow’s gone the burly, semi-clad, violent video game man route once again with Kratos from Sony franchise, God of War.

While I still prefer the Diablo piece (and the game) much more, they’ve clearly put forth a good result here. The exclusive, swap-out ‘Claws of Hades’ seems to be worth the change.

Weta has announced a new license to be, well, announced before this year’s SDCC–

From my mental tally of what Weta has revealed on our forums, we can expect the following at the show:

• The new District 9 range, including the recently announced Christopher Johnson and Son statue
• The debut of The Art of District 9
• The fourth as-of-yet unknown LOTR shield
• News or possible a reveal of something from the LOTR character line (!)
• At least one or more unrevealed Dr. Grordbort’s offerings
• 3 New OOAK Rayguns
• Something quite large as teased in this mystery photo which may or may not have anything to do with the above
• And of course this ‘new license’ forthcoming

Much of this is detailed in Weta’s daily Comic-Con updates.

In addition to this there will be quite a few discounted show specials as out lined in this PDF, and a surprising amount of on-hand stock for existing product. I’m impressed already!

Forum member LOTR Fan shares his in-hand photos of Sideshow’s Rocketeer premium format exclusive, of which includes the swap out unmasked portrait of Cliff Secord and is… incredibly essential.

Click through and see for yourself!

(10 photos)

In the footsteps of Sideshow and Legacy’s Iron Man MK VI comes this War Machine maquette. This bad boy’s $50 more than the old Stark, but that’s not unexpected. The two certainly make a striking pair– and I would much rather take these two and pocket a cool $1000 over the giant Mark III 1:2 maquette.

For consistency’s sake, there’s a nameplate exclusive just like there was for the MK VI maquette.

Sideshow’s Obi-Wan legendary scale bust offers a sharpened likeness than that on the premium format— which always struck me as looking…. not particular much like Sir Alec. And gosh, there’s no exclusive for this, a memo must have been missed at Sideshow or something.

Being only their second Star Wars LSB behind Commander Cody, they are putting to test their big torso carving style on a ‘real person’ this time (and not a robot-clone-armored whatever Cody is). I think it works.