BDoggWhite
Super Freak
After a few years of lurking, I finally began to post a bit this year after the majority of my pieces on order began to be released. My setup/display has been the product of sticking to a plan for the last few years. Now that it's finally coming to fruition, it's a good time to share a bit more. Since Wonder Woman will ship for the majority in 2015, I figured I'd close out the ballot and do an exercise in my 2014 "Best of..." with a few categories the family admirers and I came up with. (Reading things like this inspired me to start and choose a focus to my collection) These are limited to the pieces I received this year and are Marvel and DC licences only. Without further ado, the categories and nominees are:
Categories
Best Base
Best Head Sculpt
Best EX piece
Best Accessory
Best Use of Mixed Media
Best Fully Sculpted
Best Resemblance of Prototype
Best Bang for Your Buck
Sleeper of the Year
Statue of the Year
Nominees
Sideshow Apocalypse PF EX
Sideshow Batman (Comic) PF EX
Sideshow Captain America - Allied Charge on Hydra PF EX
Sideshow Red Skull - Allied Charge on Hydra PF EX
Sideshow Superman (Comic) PF EX
Sideshow Thor Frog Diorama
All picture below (SS Joker and NECA Iron Man are from previous years)
Categories winners forthcoming. Forgive picture quality in advance...I've decided to put my money into the figures, not my camera.
Best Base:
Sideshow Batman PF
Though many complained of the Bat-Gargoyle theme, it was the appropriate decision for the base to sum up our hero. I love the detail and how the smaller Bat-heads are in concert with the theme of the Joker base.
Best Head Sculpt:
Sideshow Superman (Comic) PF - Regular Portrait
Iconic. Not too old, yet not too young. (Good thing, too since it allows me to keep this head on since moving the cape on/off around the neck scares the bejesus out of me!) A lot of competition for this one, particularly from both Red Skull portraits, but there's no shame to losing out to this Superman portrait.
Best EX Piece:
Sideshow Red Skull Allied Charge on Hydra PF EX Head
A fantastic comic book representation! Menacing and expresses the traditional meaning of thug: a brutal ruffian or assassin. Though Captain America's rifle and Apocalypse's chainsaw are worthy of consideration, an extra portrait that receives display time wins out.
Best Accessory:
Sideshow Captain America Allied Charge on Hydra PF - Regular/Round Shield
Excellent work done here. If only the same methods had been used for the WWII shield.
Best Use of Mixed Media:
Sideshow Captain America Allied Charge on Hydra PF
Where to begin? From the weathered pants, the utility belt with weapon and shovel, and the fabric torso, this Cap has a lot going for him! Adversary Red Skull is in the mix for this award with his tremendous tailoring, however Cap has more "mix" in his mixed media than does Red Skull who is essentially fully tailored. Coupled with the aforementioned fabric items, the sculpted scales on the Captain's suit puts him heads above the rest and into consideration for Statue of the Year.
Best Fully Sculpted:
Sideshow Apocalypse PF
Literally zero competition for him here, so a winner by default even though a great sculpt. That all changes next year, however, with the new kid on the block that specializes in this category. Despite being maligned with paint issues, bubbling, and more, a few pieces arrived as they were envisioned. When in intended form, he's intimidating and hovers over his PF brethren and is a piece that will capture your eye. It appears Sideshow has produced replacement parts for those that arrived damaged that should arrive in early 2015, hopefully allowing others to see him in his glory. A shout-out to Atheris on this one!
Best Resemblance of Prototype:
Thor Frog Diorama
The would-have-been Best EX of the Year piece was so good, Sideshow opted to give him his own release instead of packaging him as the EX in the upcoming Modern Thor PF. Superman (Comic) PF is right on Throg's heels, but this one is exactly as solicited. Who can resist this li'l guy?
Best Bang for Your Buck:
Sideshow Captain America Allied Charge on Hydra PF EX
With the steady increase of cost in this hobby, we're all looking to get the most out of our money. This year's version of Captain America gives us several switch-out options with two shields, three right hands (2 with the regular), and a utility belt of weaponry that can be removed if you'd like to go without. The multitude of display options is paramount for this collector and wishes it were more the rule than the exception.
Sleeper of the Year
Sideshow Red Skull Allied Charge on Hydra PF EX
This piece is in consideration for Statue of the Year as there are essentially no flaws to speak of. It has two portraits that score as high as any others and the cut and sew department hit a home run on this one. Perhaps the release of Cap overshadowed Red Skull, but I have a feeling many will regret passing on this at it's release....especially given the low edition size of the EX at 500. Get him while you can or pay for it down the road. He's a regret-free purchase right now. Apocalypse is a runner-up and could be the most desired of the two down the road as the namesake of the next X-Men cinematic installation, but the aforementioned QC issues/corrections have given him somewhat of an "Incomplete" grade. At any rate, "Hail Hydra!"
Statue of the Year:
Sideshow Superman (Comic) PF EX
Superman tops Captain America and Red Skull for Statue of the Year. Simply put, it's flawless and iconic. When coupled, that pairing is hard to topple.
Categories
Best Base
Best Head Sculpt
Best EX piece
Best Accessory
Best Use of Mixed Media
Best Fully Sculpted
Best Resemblance of Prototype
Best Bang for Your Buck
Sleeper of the Year
Statue of the Year
Nominees
Sideshow Apocalypse PF EX
Sideshow Batman (Comic) PF EX
Sideshow Captain America - Allied Charge on Hydra PF EX
Sideshow Red Skull - Allied Charge on Hydra PF EX
Sideshow Superman (Comic) PF EX
Sideshow Thor Frog Diorama
All picture below (SS Joker and NECA Iron Man are from previous years)
Categories winners forthcoming. Forgive picture quality in advance...I've decided to put my money into the figures, not my camera.
Best Base:
Sideshow Batman PF
Though many complained of the Bat-Gargoyle theme, it was the appropriate decision for the base to sum up our hero. I love the detail and how the smaller Bat-heads are in concert with the theme of the Joker base.
Best Head Sculpt:
Sideshow Superman (Comic) PF - Regular Portrait
Iconic. Not too old, yet not too young. (Good thing, too since it allows me to keep this head on since moving the cape on/off around the neck scares the bejesus out of me!) A lot of competition for this one, particularly from both Red Skull portraits, but there's no shame to losing out to this Superman portrait.
Best EX Piece:
Sideshow Red Skull Allied Charge on Hydra PF EX Head
A fantastic comic book representation! Menacing and expresses the traditional meaning of thug: a brutal ruffian or assassin. Though Captain America's rifle and Apocalypse's chainsaw are worthy of consideration, an extra portrait that receives display time wins out.
Best Accessory:
Sideshow Captain America Allied Charge on Hydra PF - Regular/Round Shield
Excellent work done here. If only the same methods had been used for the WWII shield.
Best Use of Mixed Media:
Sideshow Captain America Allied Charge on Hydra PF
Where to begin? From the weathered pants, the utility belt with weapon and shovel, and the fabric torso, this Cap has a lot going for him! Adversary Red Skull is in the mix for this award with his tremendous tailoring, however Cap has more "mix" in his mixed media than does Red Skull who is essentially fully tailored. Coupled with the aforementioned fabric items, the sculpted scales on the Captain's suit puts him heads above the rest and into consideration for Statue of the Year.
Best Fully Sculpted:
Sideshow Apocalypse PF
Literally zero competition for him here, so a winner by default even though a great sculpt. That all changes next year, however, with the new kid on the block that specializes in this category. Despite being maligned with paint issues, bubbling, and more, a few pieces arrived as they were envisioned. When in intended form, he's intimidating and hovers over his PF brethren and is a piece that will capture your eye. It appears Sideshow has produced replacement parts for those that arrived damaged that should arrive in early 2015, hopefully allowing others to see him in his glory. A shout-out to Atheris on this one!
Best Resemblance of Prototype:
Thor Frog Diorama
The would-have-been Best EX of the Year piece was so good, Sideshow opted to give him his own release instead of packaging him as the EX in the upcoming Modern Thor PF. Superman (Comic) PF is right on Throg's heels, but this one is exactly as solicited. Who can resist this li'l guy?
Best Bang for Your Buck:
Sideshow Captain America Allied Charge on Hydra PF EX
With the steady increase of cost in this hobby, we're all looking to get the most out of our money. This year's version of Captain America gives us several switch-out options with two shields, three right hands (2 with the regular), and a utility belt of weaponry that can be removed if you'd like to go without. The multitude of display options is paramount for this collector and wishes it were more the rule than the exception.
Sleeper of the Year
Sideshow Red Skull Allied Charge on Hydra PF EX
This piece is in consideration for Statue of the Year as there are essentially no flaws to speak of. It has two portraits that score as high as any others and the cut and sew department hit a home run on this one. Perhaps the release of Cap overshadowed Red Skull, but I have a feeling many will regret passing on this at it's release....especially given the low edition size of the EX at 500. Get him while you can or pay for it down the road. He's a regret-free purchase right now. Apocalypse is a runner-up and could be the most desired of the two down the road as the namesake of the next X-Men cinematic installation, but the aforementioned QC issues/corrections have given him somewhat of an "Incomplete" grade. At any rate, "Hail Hydra!"
Statue of the Year:
Sideshow Superman (Comic) PF EX
Superman tops Captain America and Red Skull for Statue of the Year. Simply put, it's flawless and iconic. When coupled, that pairing is hard to topple.
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