Punk Spike rocks in! [Archive]

Darklord Dave

09-13-2005, 09:30 PM

Got my punk Spike today. I had some real reservations about this figure, Spike is my favorite character but I wasn't sure about the expression and the arm exposure troubled me. But I have to say that I'm really digging him. The sculpt is about as good as it can be - really expressive with a Billy Idol attitude but is definitely Marsters. I really didn't think they could do justice to the safety pins either, but these are plastic and look great unless you're right up on them and can tell they aren't safety pins. But I can't think of another way they could have gotten it to look right. The dog tags are a bit big, but go with all the metal on him, from the wrist chain, metal rings on the 2nd belt and the paint op pin in the eyebrow. It all works well. Even the fact that the body color doesn't exactly match the head and hands is mitigated a bit by the wrist accessories.

As for accessories, sorry for the buyers of the regular version - all you get is the pole. But it's metal and looks great. I guess with all the little details on this guy there wasn't much room in the budget for accessories.

And the boombox is metal! Hadn't expected that at all - it has some real heft to it and looks fantastic.

So overall I'm very pleased with "Subway Spike" - bring on Origins William the Bloody or Boxer rebellion Spike!

http://sideshowcollectors.com/spike2-1.jpg
http://sideshowcollectors.com/spike2-2.jpg
http://sideshowcollectors.com/spike2-3.jpg

William Shatners Toupee

09-13-2005, 09:40 PM

He sure is tan for a creature who dies if exposed to sunlight! Looks good otherwise, though. :cool:

Bonehead15

09-13-2005, 09:59 PM

:mwaha

Yeah the skin-tone problem is really bad. Ugh... :(

Darklord Dave

09-13-2005, 10:38 PM

True, the body color is more appropriate to the character than the face and hands.

And another problem I noticed - I saw on the box picture that he had a second chain with a tiny padlock around his neck. There was no evidence of it on the figure, until I investigated further and found it lost in the crevice between the neck and head. Trying to pull it free it broke. Not difficult to repair, but frustrating none the less.

prophecygirl

09-14-2005, 03:28 AM

He looks better than I was expecting! Thanks for the pictures :)

Firefly Flanatic

09-14-2005, 06:11 AM

Don't know when I'm getting mine - haven't heard from T&S Toys yet - but I can't wait to get him. My daughter is really excited about getting this figure. I opted for just getting the regular one and not the exclusive this time - the boombox didn't appeal to me but that's cool that's metal!

sueworld

09-14-2005, 07:40 AM

Sorry to sound so negative, but I'm still have my doubts about this figure. The colour change betwen the body and head is even more noticable in this photo's and what on earth is going on in 'the trouser dept'? That's one high crouch he's got going on there!

Also the likeness is in my humble opinion seems very poor. The blue and red spalshes of colour also seem to be missing from his shirt. A great shame because I always wanted a FFL doll and so this dissapoints rather.

Darklord Dave

09-14-2005, 09:04 AM

Say it all with me "It looks much better in person".

The likeness is definitely there - I like how they go for extreme expressions sometimes. And I think it works in this instance. Hadn't noticed anything about the pants, in fact the 2 belts help a bit in making the pants looks better.

As I said, there are a lot of little details on this guy, and even though I didn't really expect much I'm very pleased with him.

Viking28

09-14-2005, 10:18 AM

[QUOTE=sueworld] what on earth is going on in 'the trouser dept'? That's one high crouch he's got going on there!QUOTE]

Tight paints thats been a part of the punk scene since the begining.
Even though Spike has the Billy Idol look I've always thought he was more akin to Sid.
http://www.hotshotdigital.com/images/SidVicious.Images/sid2.jpg

http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2004/08/02/ramones,0.jpg

Firefly Flanatic

09-14-2005, 11:34 AM

I'm glad you are pleased DD - I'm betting I will be too - now if he can just hurry up and get here!

sueworld

09-14-2005, 01:51 PM

[QUOTE=sueworld] what on earth is going on in 'the trouser dept'? That's one high crouch he's got going on there!

Tight paints thats been a part of the punk scene since the begining.
Even though Spike has the Billy Idol look I've always thought he was more akin to Sid.

Sadly if Sideshow had studied the screencaps more they would have noticed that the jeans he wore in that episode were a fairly loose affair and weren't tight drainpipes at all.

http://tinypic.com/doq4ih

http://tinypic.com/doq495

captain sack

09-14-2005, 02:46 PM

i didn't know spike celebrates festivus! :wacky

do they show the airing of grevieances and the feats of strength? :naughty

http://www.karber.net/seinfeld/festivus/pole.htm

Viking28

09-14-2005, 03:11 PM

I see that you are correct Sue :bow

Dusty

09-14-2005, 03:18 PM

:mwaha :mwaha :mwaha captain sack!

sueworld

09-14-2005, 03:24 PM

Thanks luv. I know that I'm a 'saddo' for noticing these types of details.

That's why I don't have much patience with toy companies when they don't look at their reference properly. If I notice these things then so can they.

If I can get this doll cheap off eBay at some point I may still get it.

Still not a wonderful a finish as the first Spike doll which was superb in both likeness and costume.

Alice Adrenochrome

09-14-2005, 04:08 PM

Seaward

09-14-2005, 04:11 PM

Viking28

09-14-2005, 05:04 PM

[QUOTE=Viking28]

Knowing how people dress nowadays, it is hard to belive that this look was considered rebellious and revolting back then... Don't you find?

Yea it is pretty funny that was the rebellious look at that time.

captain sack

09-14-2005, 06:04 PM

Captain Sack,

Spike does celebrate Festivus! He has a voice chip, too. When I opened mine today, he said "I got a lot of problems with you people!" It was strange that he sounded just like Jerry Stiller too, huh...must have been a mix up at the factory! Just kidding! :duh

yea, i heard spike's accessory was gonna be a christmas tree, but he said he finds tinsel distracting!...........so he got a festivus pole instead. :joy

Firefly Flanatic

09-14-2005, 07:27 PM

Darklord Dave

09-14-2005, 07:31 PM

They are doll pants anyway. I don't really see any difference in the reference pics and the figure.

Fritz

09-14-2005, 07:54 PM

Mine just arrived yesterday. I may have to buy another cheap Spike or Vampire Spike figure and use the coat. He got it from the Slayer anyway didn't he?

Darklord Dave

09-14-2005, 08:01 PM

Yep, it's the same coat. Good luck finding a cheap human Spike...

Fritz

09-14-2005, 08:10 PM

Vampire Spike has the same coat doesn't it?

sueworld

09-14-2005, 11:59 PM

In regards to Spike's pants being too tight - if they are truly made out of denim I'm sure they can be stretched out a bit because denim stretches. That's what I was planning on trying to do with them.

They look like denim effect fabric to me. Also you shouldn't be having to do that, They just needed to have been cut a little fuller on the dolls body then they would have been far more accurate insted of the 'look who's had a wedgie' look he's sporting now. :rolleyes:

sueworld

09-15-2005, 12:00 AM

They are doll pants anyway. I don't really see any difference in the reference pics and the figure.

Oh dear lord I do.

I don't want to sound so negative, but I believe in trying to get Sideshows figures to be as accurate as they can be. Looking at the Buffy range some of them (for a mass produced doll) are wonderful, and yet others are wide off the mark.

Some of these figures (in my humble opinion) could have been improved so much if Sideshow has studied the photographic reference of the character a little more before commiting to the final product. 'Subway Spike' is one such example.

Darth Rage

09-15-2005, 06:43 AM

Mine just arrived yesterday. I may have to buy another cheap Spike or Vampire Spike figure and use the coat. He got it from the Slayer anyway didn't he?

Yup. This is the episode where we see him defeat one slayer and get his trademark coat. I was surprised they didn't offer the coat with the exclusive. I guess since they have already done figs with it it wouldn't have been terribly exclusive.
And yeah, human Spikes have been going on ebay for crazy $ lately.

FrankenFan

09-15-2005, 07:09 AM

The leather jacket Spike wore in the first scene in "Lies My Parents Told Me" would have a very nice exclusive.

http://www.kurtgoldzung.com/MB/trkhn.jpg

Slayerverse98

09-15-2005, 08:57 AM

He looks good. Glad to see that the new pictures added at Sideshow aren't the actual figure because he looks a mess on those

Firefly Flanatic

09-15-2005, 12:16 PM

Just went back and rewatched the whole scene on my PC where I can look at it frame by frame. The pants are very accurate as is the shirt. Throughout most of the fight scene, Spike's pant's are tight in the crotch area and butt area and slim in the legs - by the end of the fight, that one scene where he goes to pull the stop thing on the train is where the pants look baggy - after having had a long drawn out fight where it would make sense that they have now stretched, especially where the last thing he does before doing that is straddling Nicky on the floor which would stretch them - but they weren't like that when he arrived and they weren't like that through out most of the fight. His shirt is black mostly through except near the end where some color shows up - which could be from when he broke the pipe and grabbed that. So, I think Sideshow did an excellent job of getting their reference material right. I literally went through this whole scene clicking one frame at a time. Here's a few screenshots that I grabbed but there were some even better shots of the pants looking tighter at the beginning of the fight that I wasn't able to get a good grab with.

http://static.flickr.com/28/43582367_ccc0c284fe_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/32/43582366_115c6cafb7_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/33/43582368_f19aa7a322_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/26/43585495_ef77b09d31_o.jpg

james1976

09-15-2005, 12:48 PM

I think Spike's shirt originally had the union jack on it but it was faded out to give it that punky sort of feel to it. that would explain the red and blue colors on it. I remember a guy selling a spike replica punk outift on eBay some time ago. the seller's pictures seemed to confirm it although I haven't seen those same stills lately. james, formely seekebh :stake

screamingmetal

09-15-2005, 02:18 PM

I got mine today. It's better then I thought it would be. His hands and head don't match the complexion on his arms but it's not too bad looking. Dave's pictures makes it look more pronounced then it really is in person. The clothes pins could've been done in a better way but they look decent enough. I would've preferred them as actual metal pins that I would have to assemble on the figure but that could be too much for some collectors.
The larger belt he has is very well done and delicate, it would be easy to damage if you get careless.
The padlock necklace does have a tendency to get stuck in the neck joint, watch out for that.
and the Boom box turned out much better then the prototype but it still has some flaws seen on the prototype. Much of the lines on it are not perfectly square, with a slight waviness throughout. But from a distance, it isn't that noticeable. It's also made of aluminum which is cool!

sueworld

09-15-2005, 03:03 PM

Sorry Firefly Flanatic I still stand by my earlier comment on the jeans. They do look very strange on that doll around the crutch.

Also there are spashes of red and light blue paint on his shirt. Very difficult to spot on a TV screen I know, but they are there none the less.

Here's a photo of that fan copy that was sold on eBay a while back. It gives you a clearer idea of the sort of thing that I'm talking about.

http://tinypic.com/dpbccn

http://tinypic.com/dpb7ec

Darklord Dave

09-15-2005, 06:04 PM

Thanks for that pic - that ought to be a pretty easy custom. Upon looking at him more I think the eye liner needs to be heavier on the figure too.

Firefly Flanatic

09-15-2005, 06:32 PM

Sueworld, I just don't see the big deal with the pants, just pull them down a bit so they aren't up so high. But, everyone is going to see things differently and something that you might think looks good I might not. Just wanted to make one more comment on the shirt. If Sideshow was researching like I just did by watching that scene it would be very easy for them to miss the color splotches on the shirt. I'd say like 90-95% of that scene you could only see black and they'd be looking at it on a television screen just like the rest of us. And that's to say they were given the full scene. And there were some pretty good close-ups of the front of Spike where all you could see was black. So I think it is very possible that they researched pretty thoroughly and missed the colors because for most of the scene they just didn't show up.

Now, I will say that when I first saw the prototype picture of this over on Sideshow it looks like they used a burlap type material whereas it looks like a cut up t-shirt in the episode. I can't tell by Dave's pictures what kind of material it is and think a cotton t-shirt material would be a better choice for accuracy. When I look at the new Sideshow update pictures it looks like it could be the t-shirt material. So D. Dave could you possibly give some insight on that? I had saved the old picture and it was a burlap type material before.

Also, I think the color splatches would be a really easy fix. Just buy some colored chalk.

Darklord Dave

09-15-2005, 07:28 PM

It's tshirt material. I never thought it looked like anything else, really.

Firefly Flanatic

09-15-2005, 07:44 PM

Thanks Dave - Here's the original (please keep in mind that the photo hosting service I use doesn't upload it in the full size it is on my pc and the shirt is also darker so you can't see the material as clearly).

http://static.flickr.com/33/43671347_a1966b0436_o.jpg

Darklord Dave

09-15-2005, 07:46 PM

It does look a little rough there - but I think it's just because it's magnified.

Firefly Flanatic

09-15-2005, 07:54 PM

You're probably right! Glad to hear it's the t-shirt material. Here's a link to some more photos - this girl takes some great pictures! She's taken one of him in Spike's coat. The pictures are near the bottom of the page:
More Spike Photos (http://btvsfigs.proboards48.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=sideshow&thread=1126744492&page=2)

Aerosmith

09-15-2005, 11:10 PM

I'll have to see him in person before I decide if i'll get him or not.

sueworld

09-16-2005, 01:10 AM

Firefly Flanatic Well the only reason I get 'fussy' about little details such as the shirt etc is that I want these items to be as authentic as possible, especially as Spike is my favorite character from the show.

Also I feel that If I could spot there was something going on with the shirt front (even looking at my cap you can see there's some colour showing) then so can Sideshow. Granted I'm a fan, but I'm not trying to produce a product that doll collectors/Buffy fans will buy.

Those photo's on the other forum do make him look better, especially when his jointed arms are covered with the coat. The likeness is still 'dodgy' but as this one was created 'freehand' and not based on a worked over scan (as apparantly the first Spike was) so I expect a bit of 'leeway' on that.

I will probably still get this If I can pick him up cheap on eBay.

Firefly Flanatic

09-16-2005, 04:01 AM

Sueworld - I totally get what you're saying and why it bugs you - these particular details don't bother me on this figure but on the Vamp Spike I just thought his skin was way too dark (especially when posed next to human faced Spike) - it's a little thing that bugs me everytime I look at him. And my Willow's face is so pale that it is so noticable even from a distance away and I think if her coloring had been better she would've looked better too so I have some things that I'm fussy about too.

And I agree that the pants do look better in the other pictures from the other forum. I also wish they had given this Spike a coat too because it is the episode where he gets it so it would be more significant for him to have had that as an accessory.

Hey Sideshow - Could you possibly offer up Spike's coat as an extra purchase item?!!

sueworld

09-16-2005, 06:02 AM

I agree with you on the vamp Spike doll. As you say the skin was way, way too dark. You wonder if someone at Sideshow is colour blind or something.

As to Willow *shudder* the only way to improve how she looks is to put a bag over her head and write 'Willow' On the front.

I may moan when they get things wrong, but I do praise when they get things right as well. I adored the first Spike release and I thought the first Angel doll was excellent as well. Both the first two Buffy's were superb, but I found the last version hideous beyond belief.

In the end I loved vamp Willow and I'm so looking forward to getting the new Xander doll and vamp Dru doll. OZ of course was also an excellent likeness and it was great that they used a smaller body for him.

So you see I don't think the whole line is bad, just certain ones. Which when they dissapoint, they do big time.