worstgamerever
Super Freak
Hey guys
So this review is based mostly on the #1 diorama, but I've also included a lot of detail about the other two, as personally I think that #1 looks much, much better displayed with #2 and #3 and considering #2 and #3 are so much cheaper as of writing, I'd easily recommend that you get all 3. It'll be really nice if other owners can join in and add any comments about this awesome dio set! but here's my review below, as earlier promised.
Journey to #1:
I first saw the X-Men vs Sentinel #1 diorama a couple or so years ago. I thought how nice it was at the time, but honestly, didn't think too much of it on the single pic I saw. The truth is that some pieces can't really be done justice in a single pic; perhaps in a gallery of pictures, yes, but I don't think any one pic can really emphasize how stunning the #1 dio truly is.
Anyway I passed at the time, and if memory serves it was only about $400.
About 6 months ago, I started agressively acquiring SideShow pieces. I would come on here, listen in to various opinions, go over to SideShow and see the galley of pics and if possible also try to see the piece in person, before I buy. Every now and then someone would mention the X-Men vs Sentinel #1 dio as a "grail". So I decided to find out more about this piece, and after heading to the product page on SideShow's website, I was pretty blown away by the kind of positive feedback left for the piece there... I don't think any other [Marvel] piece got the same type of feedback. That's when I realised I wanted this piece, and every additional pic I saw [especially the stunning ones from SquiderM3] made me want this diorama even more....
I got a couple PMs from board members and not surprisingly, no one was willing to sell at anything less than around $1200 for the EX and $850 for the regular; this mind you is cheap, considering how much an EX sold for on eBay recently. I had a lot of other things to sort at the time so I held out until last month, when I found the piece at a right price, and decided it was time to strike...
At the same time, I got the #2 and #3 dioramas for an 8th and a 5th of the price respectively... I couldnt display them as I had an exam at the time, but with that out the way I finally had them displayed over the weekend.
X-Men vs Sentinel #1
============
Colossus.
#1 is the main attraction of this diorama series, and the star of this diorama, is Colossus. His pose, the look on his face, the balance of his spread legs, the power in his clenched fist, and the balance of the sentinel head atop his elbow/forearm, is just unbelievable. I think he's about 1/5th scale (he's certainly larger than 1/6th, unless we factor in Colossus being over 7ft when transformed).
It's hard to give a sculpt a 10, and even though some people have say his knees (and in some way his pose) look a bit akward, I've got no problem at all with the pose after looking at it from various angles. On a side note, his face sculpt is the best I've seen on any statue on this scale. A 9.5 it is then...
The paint job here is impeccable, and the dull-grey metal of Colossus works better than any of the chrome variants I've ever seen. Then you've got that ferocious look on his face, and the dull yellow of his costume -- a far cry from Wolverine's bright yellow outfit -- but perhaps even better in it's own way. Folks, I've gotta tell ya, SideShow knocked this one out the ballpark. One aim of a diorama is to be picture-perfect at depicting a scene... this diorama does this, and does it in style. Another 9.5..
Cyclops:
Cyclops is very well done. I like the fact that they used this costume variant, the navy blue and gold (especially the bands) really make this one of the best Cyclops statues out there... this is my personal favourite in fact and before now I always wondered if I'll see a Cyclops statue that didn't show Scott in his traditional X-Men attire. Does anyone know what storyline this costume came from?
The balance in the pose is also very nice, and a closer look will show you something else: It actually seems like Scott is in pain from using his optic blasts; perhaps it was intentional -- kinda like wolverine when he extracts his claws -- or perhaps the emotion on his face is meant to be one of anger, rather than pain, but there's definitely more than a hint of agony on Cyclops face, as opposed to Colossus who only shows pure rage!
I'll give this an 8
The Sentinel Head:
Huge! Matter of fact, if snapped from an birds-eye view (see below), Colossus feet -- as wide apart as they are spread -- are barely visible. The level of detail in the Sentinel head really underscores the fact that SideShow wanted to make this the definitive X-Men dio. The demage to his head, and the parts sticking out from his neck, as well as the skin-tone and the look in his eyes are all dead-on. The light-up feature will really make this piece look extra-creepy but for me it wasn't a must-have feature...
Another 8.
The Sentinel Hand:
Arguably the least visible (and least mentioned) piece of this diorama, the sentinel hand is the most "metallic-looking" piece in the #2 diorama and it wouldnt surprise me at all if it were made of metal. Again it shows a lot of damage taken from the fight and the amber-like material used for the circular center is really well done, just like everything else here. This is actually one of the more under-rated pieces of the #1 diorama in my opinion, and gets another 9.5.
So this review is based mostly on the #1 diorama, but I've also included a lot of detail about the other two, as personally I think that #1 looks much, much better displayed with #2 and #3 and considering #2 and #3 are so much cheaper as of writing, I'd easily recommend that you get all 3. It'll be really nice if other owners can join in and add any comments about this awesome dio set! but here's my review below, as earlier promised.
Journey to #1:
I first saw the X-Men vs Sentinel #1 diorama a couple or so years ago. I thought how nice it was at the time, but honestly, didn't think too much of it on the single pic I saw. The truth is that some pieces can't really be done justice in a single pic; perhaps in a gallery of pictures, yes, but I don't think any one pic can really emphasize how stunning the #1 dio truly is.
Anyway I passed at the time, and if memory serves it was only about $400.
About 6 months ago, I started agressively acquiring SideShow pieces. I would come on here, listen in to various opinions, go over to SideShow and see the galley of pics and if possible also try to see the piece in person, before I buy. Every now and then someone would mention the X-Men vs Sentinel #1 dio as a "grail". So I decided to find out more about this piece, and after heading to the product page on SideShow's website, I was pretty blown away by the kind of positive feedback left for the piece there... I don't think any other [Marvel] piece got the same type of feedback. That's when I realised I wanted this piece, and every additional pic I saw [especially the stunning ones from SquiderM3] made me want this diorama even more....
I got a couple PMs from board members and not surprisingly, no one was willing to sell at anything less than around $1200 for the EX and $850 for the regular; this mind you is cheap, considering how much an EX sold for on eBay recently. I had a lot of other things to sort at the time so I held out until last month, when I found the piece at a right price, and decided it was time to strike...
At the same time, I got the #2 and #3 dioramas for an 8th and a 5th of the price respectively... I couldnt display them as I had an exam at the time, but with that out the way I finally had them displayed over the weekend.
X-Men vs Sentinel #1
============
Colossus.
#1 is the main attraction of this diorama series, and the star of this diorama, is Colossus. His pose, the look on his face, the balance of his spread legs, the power in his clenched fist, and the balance of the sentinel head atop his elbow/forearm, is just unbelievable. I think he's about 1/5th scale (he's certainly larger than 1/6th, unless we factor in Colossus being over 7ft when transformed).
It's hard to give a sculpt a 10, and even though some people have say his knees (and in some way his pose) look a bit akward, I've got no problem at all with the pose after looking at it from various angles. On a side note, his face sculpt is the best I've seen on any statue on this scale. A 9.5 it is then...
The paint job here is impeccable, and the dull-grey metal of Colossus works better than any of the chrome variants I've ever seen. Then you've got that ferocious look on his face, and the dull yellow of his costume -- a far cry from Wolverine's bright yellow outfit -- but perhaps even better in it's own way. Folks, I've gotta tell ya, SideShow knocked this one out the ballpark. One aim of a diorama is to be picture-perfect at depicting a scene... this diorama does this, and does it in style. Another 9.5..
Cyclops:
Cyclops is very well done. I like the fact that they used this costume variant, the navy blue and gold (especially the bands) really make this one of the best Cyclops statues out there... this is my personal favourite in fact and before now I always wondered if I'll see a Cyclops statue that didn't show Scott in his traditional X-Men attire. Does anyone know what storyline this costume came from?
The balance in the pose is also very nice, and a closer look will show you something else: It actually seems like Scott is in pain from using his optic blasts; perhaps it was intentional -- kinda like wolverine when he extracts his claws -- or perhaps the emotion on his face is meant to be one of anger, rather than pain, but there's definitely more than a hint of agony on Cyclops face, as opposed to Colossus who only shows pure rage!
I'll give this an 8
The Sentinel Head:
Huge! Matter of fact, if snapped from an birds-eye view (see below), Colossus feet -- as wide apart as they are spread -- are barely visible. The level of detail in the Sentinel head really underscores the fact that SideShow wanted to make this the definitive X-Men dio. The demage to his head, and the parts sticking out from his neck, as well as the skin-tone and the look in his eyes are all dead-on. The light-up feature will really make this piece look extra-creepy but for me it wasn't a must-have feature...
Another 8.
The Sentinel Hand:
Arguably the least visible (and least mentioned) piece of this diorama, the sentinel hand is the most "metallic-looking" piece in the #2 diorama and it wouldnt surprise me at all if it were made of metal. Again it shows a lot of damage taken from the fight and the amber-like material used for the circular center is really well done, just like everything else here. This is actually one of the more under-rated pieces of the #1 diorama in my opinion, and gets another 9.5.
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these characters are chosen because this is ASTONISHING X-MEN. 
