My Darla review

Nope, the package I was waiting for STILL hasn't shown up, and by the time it does, it's going to be a whole lot less exciting. But some terrific Sideshow stuff did show up this week, and tonight's review covers their latest addition to the Buffy/Angel 12" series - Vampire Darla!

Now, I suspect a lot of people are going to rag on this sculpt, but it's not nearly that bad. It's not the best, but it's not Faith bad either. Darla won't end up in my top ten Sideshow figures ever produced by any means, but she's a sight better than Faith, Pammy, or Willow.

You can find all the reviews at the usual:

https://www.mwctoys.com

Odds are pretty good right now that Sunday night will bring another Sideshow review, in the 18" scale this time around...have a great weekend!

Michael
MWC

Thanks for the review and pictures. I'm still waiting for my figures and they just shipped out today so I'll be getting them next Wednesday.

Everything you said about the sculpt and screenshot used is almost the same exact way I see things. I've said in a couple of other posts that I thought the sculpt matches that screen shot nicely but just doesn't capture the true evilness of Darla. A snarling smile would have really captured her. Still, your pictures look great and I'm looking forward to getting her and posing her.

Another great reviw, Michael!

It's been a LONG time since I saw the first season of Buffy. Was Darla always in the school girl outfit? Which color did she wear most? Which one did she wear when she was branishing those two pistols... just before she got dusted?

The reason I ask this is simple... I plan on getting one eventually but I only want to get one. I'm leaning more toward the blue outfit one.

As for the sculpt, it's not the worst like you stated. I kind of like the "vamp-ed out" or "game face" figures anyway. However, Darla... now, I'm not ragged here... but when the light hits her just right, looks a bit like Ted Cassidy.

She mostly wore the blue outfit. She wore the red outfit in the episode where Angel kills her (where she has the two pistols). If it helps, it was the blue outfit she was wearing for the screenshot used for the figure. I ordered both figures but I actually prefer the blue outfit myself.

And yes, we only see her wearing these outfits on Buffy - at least until we see her again in Angel's flashback scenes.

Protozaius said:

As for the sculpt, it's not the worst like you stated. I kind of like the "vamp-ed out" or "game face" figures anyway. However, Darla... now, I'm not ragged here... but when the light hits her just right, looks a bit like Ted Cassidy.

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Lurching forward...

As bas as the Willow and Faith headsculpts are, I can still see some passing resemblance to the actors, I see nothing of Julie Benz in the Darla sculpt. Awful.

I most whole heartdly agre. She has more akin to Lurch then poor old Darla. Even in vampface she wasn't as 'hard faced' and masculine as this 'thing'.

I have to echo those who feel the sculpt is...blah. I passed based on the look of the figure in general, but these pictures definitely do nothing to flatter the sculpt. I have vamp Drusilla and when you compare the two...wow. You can see Juliet Landau in Drusilla's vampire face, and Drusilla stills looks stunning even in vampire mode. Darla...the sculpt just doesn't cut it.

It's definitely not perfect by a long shot, I have to admit Benz was a lot more difficult to capture than someone like Landau who's got such distinct features. I also think the 'dome' of the head is throwing the likness off in the final product, it was originally sculpted flatter but must've gotten pinched up a lot during production.

Great review as always Michael.

Sideshow Andy said:

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Like I said, this figure is not in the top ten by any stretch - not even top ten Buffy/Angel - but it's not as bad, considering the reference material, as some are making it out to be. I really do love the hair, and you did a great job there.

If you cover up the chin, it's much better too, and it looks like somehow the production chin ended up more "Jaws"-like than the prototypes.

The shots you post with the wax scuplts are great Andy.

You can really see how the width of the head behind the temples is lost under the hair, and the shadow underneath the hair slims the whole face down.

I am no Buffy afficianado, so the likeness or lack of it is lost on me. I have only seen episodes of the series on TV, and that was ages ago now. The impressions I have are well served by the end result. I like monsters and demons, and was disappointed not to be able to afford D'Hoffryn direct. I am just glad I will be able to get a regular version of another vamp.

Thanks Creech. You're right about the shadows, I probably should have exaggerated the width of the face more to compensate for that illusion. I also suffer from the same lack of show knowledge that you do, which is probably something I should have remedied before sculpting this piece. I know nothing about the character (or the Buffyverse in general) and might have suggested a different expression if I knew this wasn't a very characteristic look for Darla. For now I'll put all the blame on Brant.


edit: Didn't see your post Michael. Totally agreed, especially about the chin. Looking back, I really did give her way too much chin didn't I...?

Thanks for posting the original sculpt andy. It does appear she got a bit elongated in production.

As for the expression - it's fairly consistent for a game face Darla. When they're in vamp make-up there's not much room for facial expression. I probably would have gone to Angel episodes for some better and more varied vamp expressions though as she wasn't in Buffy as much.

Sideshow Andy said:

It's definitely not perfect by a long shot, I have to admit Benz was a lot more difficult to capture than someone like Landau who's got such distinct features. I also think the 'dome' of the head is throwing the likness off in the final product, it was originally sculpted flatter but must've gotten pinched up a lot during production.

Great review as always Michael.

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Now I can see Julie Benz a bit better. It's still not quite as sharp as Dru or vamp Buffy in my opinion, but she's definitely there.

My apologies to Andy for blaming the sculpt, it's obviously the production process that killed this one.

I think its very cool that you are posting here Andy and are sharing the pictures. One figure that Im sure everyone feels the same way about was the Willow figure (human), what exactly happened to that one between the original one we saw when ordering, and the final product. I had emailed sideshow customer service about this but never heard back.

Do you have the original sculpt of that to see? It really was very cool.

Morbid, your guess is as good as mine. I didn't follow the production of Willow closely, but I'd guess any differences in the product vs prototype were due to paint apps and slight warping during production. I don't have any images of the original sculpt anymore, although I think I may have posted one way back when the figure was first released.

I still think the final outcome looks pretty close to that screen shot. I'll be happy to get mine. When Darla was on Buffy there really wasn't a whole lot of scenes with her. She wasn't really that important of a character until they decided to amp up Angel's history and started bringing her back in flashbacks. At that point, I think the vamp make-up was improved and Darla as a Vamp in the flashbacks is much more pretty to look at than Darla in the school girl outfit. Her real story was really shown on Angel. But, I like the school girl outfit and look forward to posing her next to the Master.

In regards to how Drusilla looked as a vamp, Joss wanted her to look pretty and elegant in vamp face so the make-up for her was changed.

Sideshow Andy said:

Morbid, your guess is as good as mine. I didn't follow the production of Willow closely, but I'd guess any differences in the product vs prototype were due to paint apps and slight warping during production. I don't have any images of the original sculpt anymore, although I think I may have posted one way back when the figure was first released.

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Definitely was more the production and paint that changed the look of Willow. Someone photoshopped the figure and squished the head down a bit and looked pretty close to the prototype and looked great. The paint for that figure is barely there. The face is way too pale and the eyes are way too light and also the wrong color.

It's great to see these Darla pre-production pics!!! Great work, Andy!

I understand that in the process of mass production of these pieces, be it in the molding or the painting, something can be lost in the translation. That is why I really think it's interesting to see the original sculpts for comparsion.

That is why I've really enjoyed the Production Blog where many of these sculpts can be enjoyed in their raw form.

Also, I have been enjoying Oluf's webs site where his original work is displayed for such comparsions. I wish that it was possible to see the original sculpts for ALL of the artists at Sideshow. I would love to see the original Ape heads as Mat sculpted them!

Thanks for sharing Andy!

Andy, that sculpt is spot on! It really sucks that such a beautiful sculpt has been changed in the production stages. Another fine job though





*Prays for Darla from Angel season 3 for Angel line*