XM Studios Magneto

[nemenforcer]

Iv been collecting statues at least 15 years now. This Magneto was something I wanted for a long time. I had the full compliment of X Men characters by SS in both 1/4 and 1/5 scale and even had the Bowens. All that time Magneto was never done justice. For those who are long time comic readers of the X Men, or played the video games or enjoyed the Movies, he was clearly the character most needed in their collection. I have been in this game a while now and I do believe he will hold value. The sculpt is terrific, the helmet and non helmet versions are incredibly fun to switch out, the Sentinel hand is mind blowing, the execution from the factory came out top notch and last but certainly not least the ES will be lower than other 1/4 piece likely to come out. For me, the story is there, he's hardened, he's angry, he's seen things. Its not easy to capture emotions in a statue.

I hate saying this but I think some of the recent price pressure is coming from people who simply are not meant to be long term custodians of this piece. Some have small collections or are college kids with limited funds. Maybe he is to good to be true and is a jackpot. I'll say that I have over 40 PF's carefully displayed in a collection room. He fits it in very well and isn't going anywhere. I don't need to sell him for 5 or 10 other pieces, I don't have tuition to pay. Point is, eventually I think he will find his way home to long term collections and then the price will stabilize in a higher range. Make not mistake, this is the definitive Magneto imo.

 

[filip629]

yea man this hobby is funny i predict when SSC announced that they making doom lsf and doom 1/4 the doom throne price will go down...but it isnt (well maybe the price is down but not so much that i know)

Doom throne 500 ex and 1000 reg.... = 1500 with 300$ tag price to increase to its price now is in 3years or 6years time?

magneto throne 1000es , 820SGD went up to 3k$ within 6 month on its release ....what the hell happened man.. this statue beat Facebook stock and apple stock... LOL....
and in other side of world that iron studios magnetos doesnt received the hypetown what the hell happened man??

There are only 800 XM Mags, not a 1000. It will always be a pretty rare bird.

 

[filip629]

Iv been collecting statues at least 15 years now. This Magneto was something I wanted for a long time. I had the full compliment of X Men characters by SS in both 1/4 and 1/5 scale and even had the Bowens. All that time Magneto was never done justice. For those who are long time comic readers of the X Men, or played the video games or enjoyed the Movies, he was clearly the character most needed in their collection. I have been in this game a while now and I do believe he will hold value. The sculpt is terrific, the helmet and non helmet versions are incredibly fun to switch out, the Sentinel hand is mind blowing, the execution from the factory came out top notch and last but certainly not least the ES will be lower than other 1/4 piece likely to come out. For me, the story is there, he's hardened, he's angry, he's seen things. Its not easy to capture emotions in a statue.

I hate saying this but I think some of the recent price pressure is coming from people who simply are not meant to be long term custodians of this piece. Some have small collections or are college kids with limited funds. Maybe he is to good to be true and is a jackpot. I'll say that I have over 40 PF's carefully displayed in a collection room. He fits it in very well and isn't going anywhere. I don't need to sell him for 5 or 10 other pieces, I don't have tuition to pay. Point is, eventually I think he will find his way home to long term collections and then the price will stabilize in a higher range. Make not mistake, this is the definitive Magneto imo.

The XM Mags looks fantastic. I gotta say though, the Koto Mags also hits the spot for me as well. IMO, both are special pieces that capture the character perfectly.

 

[nemenforcer]

I agree the Koto Mags is a great piece. I saw him in person at my lcs. Very nice piece if he fits into your collection

 

[Orko'sRevenge]

If they paid retail, it's a win situation. But I can imagine that some of those who paid $3000+ for it, get a bit disheartened when looking at it after a few months. Simply because of the cost/satisfaction ratio after owning for a bit.

Same could be said about Doom on throne. I know I was like that spending $2k on Doom on throne, and eventually sold him to own the sideshow TMNT comiquettes. I probably would have been a lot more disheartened with current rates for doom, what he's going for now, and sold him the moment I got him. lol!

 

[SurlyJ]

What's with trying to come up with ulterior motives as to why someone has a differing and lesser opinion of this piece?

 

[Orko'sRevenge]

I don't deny it. But eventually the "story" of the statue stopped making sense to me. I mean, I get the story. Magneto wins and he is sitting on his high horse. But that's what bugged me. To Magneto, there is no winning really. Not against the xmen, because his battle was never with them, truly, it was against the human race. The xmen were just always getting in his way in that battle. That's a big reason that I sold it. I realized it looks like Magneto, but never really felt like him to me. Magneto is an aggressive character. A doer. He doesn't command orders from a chair. So while there is a lot going on in the statue and the story it tells, for me it was telling the wrong story.

Would Magneto sit and gloat in a sentinel hand if he had his way, slaughtered the xmen and killed all the humans? Sure, maybe. But where's the fun in that?

.

You see though, thats whats so great about this piece. The story is open to interpretation. My interpretation of the story is, there was an attack on the mansion, an all out battle was waged in an invasion, by an army of sentinels. The X-Jet was taken out, the school/mansion in ruins and Xavier has fallen. The X-men needed a leader in Magneto.

Magneto helps the X-Men destroy the sentinels, using that sentinel hand as a weapon of destruction, on top of his magnetic powers, and has single handedly help the X-Men win that battle. The battle was won, but the war is still ongoing. Magneto uses his powers and pulls together his sentinel throne and rests briefly, after winning an all out historic battle. The sentinel hand for his backrest, a part of the x-jet for his armrest, the crumbled Xaviers school for the gifted emblem at his feet, and Magneto levitating cerebro is symbolically depicting him in my interpretation as the new leader of the X-Men. But he will always be an anti-hero to me. The character himself, in a lot of ways, in his beliefs I can relate to. Thats why I love this statue so much and am a huge fan of the character. Anyone with the same passion for the character will understand what Im talking about.

And that is why I love art. Its because not one person views something the same way. It was interesting seeing how you viewed the story, that was so different from mine.

 

[Orko'sRevenge]

What's with trying to come up with ulterior motives as to why someone has a differing and lesser opinion of this piece?

Its not an ulterior motive. Thats exactly how I felt about Doom. And its how other people feel about Magneto. Some pieces just dont sit well with others, just like how Magneto doesnt sit well with some. Thats the point.

 

[Orko'sRevenge]

Large scale and Statue of the Year winner!

 

[SurlyJ]

It's awesome that you have a whole backstory for it and that it lends to your enjoyment of the statue. But I really don't understand the need to add things to insinuate that if you don't like it you must not love the character. Magneto is one of my favorite comic characters and has been since I was a kid. I just have a different feeling about what embodies the character and this doesn't capture how I feel about Magneto. There's really no need to bandy about who loves the character more. I understand what you're talking about.

On a second reading of your post I'm not sure if I'm reading your point correctly, so if that wasn't it I apologize.

I sold this and bought the Bowen Magneto museum painted statue to hold the Magneto fort down in my collection until a different 1/4 comes along that speaks to me more. Of course that statue has nowhere near the presence or quality of the xm piece, but it captures to power for me of Magneto more. the koto is nice, which I also had, but I disliked the raging hulk muscles on him, as bothers me with most of Sosa's pieces, but the straining thing for Magneto never did it for me. I love the Magneto that has such enormous inner power that he can bring down a building with a calm wave of his hand. That's what drew me to the bowen museum. He's an angry character, which fuels his beliefs, but his anger isn't what fuels his abilities. He is an anti-hero, as his ideals and what he fights for are a better life for his people, and when he is at his most dangerous is when he shows no emotion for the humans he wants to destroy. But again that's where my view of Magneto has always been. It's not Magneto vs the X-Men. It's Magneto vs humanity and the X-Men are there to defend humanity and mutants alike.

I love MadX's custom Magneto, but the quality doesn't seem to be up to where the price is, otherwise I'd buy that. Hopefully SS does get approval for Magneto at some point in the future.

I also had the iron studios Magneto but found it difficult to display properly and the sentinel face was a little goofy to me. But Magneto himself was damn near perfect and had that quiet inner strength I look for in Magneto.

This is what is fun about statues, the personality that gets infused into them is as important as all the other things we look for like size, paint, production quality, etc.

 

[SurlyJ]

Its not an ulterior motive. Thats exactly how I felt about Doom. And its how other people feel about Magneto. Some pieces just dont sit well with others, just like how Magneto doesnt sit well with some. Thats the point.

I wasn't referring to you

 

[SurlyJ]

One final thought on this for the night. Thrones are a symbol of power. They are sat in by people who crave power. While Magneto is definitely powerful and is a leader, he has never been a character I have thought of as craving power. He cares about it only as a means to an end. So the status symbol of it wouldn't mean much to him from my view. Unlike a Thanos, Doom or Loki, who very much are your archetypal villain that craves power for the sake of power.

 

[El Mule]

I think you're trying to force your perspective here, mate. Everything you say is fine if it works for you, but some random points:

-thrones are a symbol of leadership and power, always been, this by no mean implies that whoever sits on a throne is a villain looking for power. Magneto has been drawn sitting on thrones multiple times (Ultimatum, Ultimate X Men, Age of Apocalypse), and that's official stuff by Marvel - they seem to think it fits the character. It's much more convincing to me to see Magneto on a throne, than Doom, for example. You only see Doom sitting around when he's chilling and literally doing nothing, that's not the "he's plotting something" pose that people make it pass, even the Doom Emperor comic serie has him standing on the covers, not sitting. Just the recent Secret Wars serie has him sitting around as a god. While for Magneto, it makes much more sense (see below)

-while it's true that Magneto is a doer and he doesn't mind getting his hands dirty, he will always be first and foremost a leader. Whoever knows him and has read enough comics knows that his best moments are not when he's throwing stuff around. The scene depicted in the XM statue is the single most "in character" pose and theme I've ever seen in a comic statue - the X Men mansion has just been destroyed, he took care of the Sentinel and now he's sitting on his throne, staring at Xavier's helmet and thinking "it wasn't worth it". To fight each other for so many years, just for their true enemy (humans) to divide them and hurt them. Exactly like it happens in the recent Magneto run by Cullen and Bunn. And I can also picture Xavier's voice whispering back to Erik "What I'm trying to tell you... is that you were right all along."
That stuff is more in character, more complete and deeper than any other comic statue done so far. A lot of people who buy this stuff, often at inflated prices, knows jack about the character itself. But people should bother more to develop a knowledge of the character before they criticize it.

 

[lucifixion]

Well that's ridiculously assumptive and judgmental.

I'm being ridiculously assumptive and judgmental of my own opinion of a statue? And even you concede my point by saying its "story" appeal made no sense, and thus putting you in my "something else" category of probably should never have owned it for that reason???

 

[wolf-brother]

 

[SurlyJ]

I'm being ridiculously assumptive and judgmental of my own opinion of a statue? And even you concede my point by saying its "story" appeal made no sense, and thus putting you in my "something else" category of probably should never have owned it for that reason???

Not OF your opinion. Your opinion IS judgmental and assumptive. You just threw out "something else" after proclaiming that if one doesn't like this statue they have no business collecting statues. And you are still assuming that I should never have owned it. I shouldn't have enjoyed it for 8 months? My opinion of it changed over time. This doesn't need to have such declarative implications beyond just that.

I think you're trying to force your perspective here, mate. Everything you say is fine if it works for you, but some random points:

-thrones are a symbol of leadership and power, always been, this by no mean implies that whoever sits on a throne is a villain looking for power. Magneto has been drawn sitting on thrones multiple times (Ultimatum, Ultimate X Men, Age of Apocalypse), and that's official stuff by Marvel - they seem to think it fits the character. It's much more convincing to me to see Magneto on a throne, than Doom, for example. You only see Doom sitting around when he's chilling and literally doing nothing, that's not the "he's plotting something" pose that people make it pass, even the Doom Emperor comic serie has him standing on the covers, not sitting. Just the recent Secret Wars serie has him sitting around as a god. While for Magneto, it makes much more sense (see below)

-while it's true that Magneto is a doer and he doesn't mind getting his hands dirty, he will always be first and foremost a leader. Whoever knows him and has read enough comics knows that his best moments are not when he's throwing stuff around. The scene depicted in the XM statue is the single most "in character" pose and theme I've ever seen in a comic statue - the X Men mansion has just been destroyed, he took care of the Sentinel and now he's sitting on his throne, staring at Xavier's helmet and thinking "it wasn't worth it". To fight each other for so many years, just for their true enemy (humans) to divide them and hurt them. Exactly like it happens in the recent Magneto run by Cullen and Bunn. And I can also picture Xavier's voice whispering back to Erik "What I'm trying to tell you... is that you were right all along."
That stuff is more in character, more complete and deeper than any other comic statue done so far. A lot of people who buy this stuff, often at inflated prices, knows jack about the character itself. But people should bother more to develop a knowledge of the character before they criticize it.

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Perhaps it is coming across that I am trying to force my opinion on others. That is certainly not my intention, as I don't the garage anyone there enjoyment of the statue were the reasons for it. I also don't mean to say that my neato would never sit on a throne. I know he has. My point is simply that to me, it doesn't embody what draws me to the character and always has. I certainly never took your perspective of "it wasn't worth it" from the statue. Perhaps a little bit in on masthead, but I don't really like displaying on mastheads in general on comic statues.

I haven't been keeping up with the recent magneto run since the first few issues. I didn't enjoy the art file and my pull list was becoming far too large so I made several cuts to it with the intention of picking up some trades later on down the line.

You can disagree with my assessment of the character and that's fine. But there seem to be a need to denigrate mine.

I don't want a statue of him throwing crap around. It's a reason why I sold the kotobukiya piece. Too much focus on that. The ideal Magneto piece to me would be a floating Magneto, with his arms calmly out in a gesture that can be interpreted a few ways as manipulating magnetism, giving orders or simply floating in place as he contemplates his next move. Kind of a combo of the two bowen pieces. I don't like Magneto looking angry and since I want to display him with a helmet, neither the xm head, nor any of the customs did it for me. I did have some of the other custom accessories that were made... The wolverine skull, the doom mask and the apocalypse head. All very cool and well done, but the statue became cluttered with all of them displayed.

Oddly enough, if I ever tried to force my perspective, it was in the opposite way you are thinking. I tried very hard to force myself to think this was the definitive Magneto statue and for a long time, I did. My opinion changed slowly and organically over time as I thought about it more and I tried very hard to not let that happen. I tried to convince myself my doubts about it were invalid. Didn't work.

I do enjoy the aspect of Magneto that brings him back and forth from evil to good, determination to questioning himself and his methods, as shown in the pages you posted, but that isn't what I want portrayed in a statue.

 

[lucifixion]

Not OF your opinion. Your opinion IS judgmental and assumptive. You just threw out "something else" after proclaiming that if one doesn't like this statue they have no business collecting statues. And you are still assuming that I should never have owned it. I shouldn't have enjoyed it for 8 months? My opinion of it changed over time. This doesn't need to have such declarative implications beyond just that.

Yeah. I never wrote that, but I know it's the cool internet thing to be offended by everything. I don't know how my writing "this one" statue equals all statues, but whatever.

It's fine that your opinion changed over time, but even you admit it's due to you trying to convince yourself it was what you wanted, thus you have placed yourself even more firmly in the camp of "something else" from my original statement, which if you reread, the something else was attached to not liking the character... If that's not exactly what you are saying in less words, I don't know what is. Basically, you would have been better off not buying this statue in the first place, which is actually what I wrote.

Essentially, I wrote that I didn't see how anyone could get rid of this statue for the statue itself, which you later write that you agree, yet you feel some need to argue because you feel you are being picked on and are placing meaning behind my words that simply doesn't exist. But it is what it is, and I don't make a habit of arguing on the internet. Enjoy the statues you enjoy, "Surly." That's all that matters. Let's agree to agree, even if there's a quibble over the exact way it was written.

 

[El Mule]

No intention to denigrate at all mate, and it's all good. Your opinion is solid, my reference to people not knowing the character is generic to people who buy lots of this stuff, I could tell by your post that you do know the character. And I agree that a floating Magneto would probably be a more striking choice, I'm looking forward for something like that as soon as someone makes it (probably a custom will pop up early).
Bottom line, you summed it up in your last sentence, people search for different things in the statues they own and Magneto is more complex as a character than the standard superhero, can't expect a single statue to really embody ALL of his traits.

 

[SurlyJ]

Yeah. I never wrote that, but I know it's the cool internet thing to be offended by everything. I don't know how my writing "this one" statue equals all statues, but whatever.

It's fine that your opinion changed over time, but even you admit it's due to you trying to convince yourself it was what you wanted, thus you have placed yourself even more firmly in the camp of "something else" from my original statement, which if you reread, the something else was attached to not liking the character... If that's not exactly what you are saying in less words, I don't know what is. Basically, you would have been better off not buying this statue in the first place, which is actually what I wrote.

Essentially, I wrote that I didn't see how anyone could get rid of this statue for the statue itself, which you later write that you agree, yet you feel some need to argue because you feel you are being picked on and are placing meaning behind my words that simply doesn't exist. But it is what it is, and I don't make a habit of arguing on the internet. Enjoy the statues you enjoy, "Surly." That's all that matters. Let's agree to agree, even if there's a quibble over the exact way it was written.

Alright well I went and reread your original comment again and I see where I may have inferred incorrectly. You specified that YOU would sell all your statues if the appeal of this one wore off. I took "I" in your last sentence as a sort of royal "I" as it seemed to be a conclusion to your initial thought "anyone for whom the appeal of this statue has worn off just doesn't appreciate statues enough and/or had no business owning it in the first place".

I don't feel I am being picked on, the fact is that every time I express my opinion on the statue I am met with comments that outright say or insinuate rather directly that I must not love or know the character enough. I These comments aren't even constructive to making the points in favor of the statue. They are purely insulting for no other reason. I'm not personally offended so much as I'm perplexed why they show up at all. I vehemently express my opinions because I enjoy argument and debate, but I at least try to make a point of not bringing things down to a personal "my opinion is better than yours" level. We can share and disagree with opinions without attempting to lessen the quality of another's opinion.

And sure, I fall in to the "something else" category seeing as that encompasses everything other than disliking the character and I like the character.

As for me being better off having never bought the statue... Why? I enjoyed it for a fair amount of time and then I made a tidy profit on a statue I fell out of love with. Seems like a win-win from my end. I bought a Modern Age Batman Premium format and a 9.6 ASM 129 with the money. So I thank XM Magneto and it's popularity for that.

I apologize if I misinterpreted your initial comment, though I do find reducing my opinion of the statue changing down to the binary that either I should never have owned it or I don't appreciate statues enough to be bizarre. I'll maintain it is assumptive and needlessly judgmental as I disagree with both points.

 

[lucifixion]

No worries, Surly. I just get annoyed when people tell me I am saying negative things when I am not. There's only so many times I'm willing to reread something I wrote before posting I enjoy a debate too, but unfortunately feel the only good forum for that is in person.

As far as the judgmental and assumptive part, I fear you are still reading too much into what I wrote. It's not assumptive, it's an opinion based on my own values, which as you saliently point out, were not filtered through the idea of selling for a hefty profit. I guess that would make owning any statue "worth it" in the end. And last word on the judgmental thing because I was being nothing of the sort. Judgmental would mean I thought less of you for your values or opinions, and nothing could be further from the truth. My statements were made from a viewpoint of ignorance as to how someone's enjoyment of this particular statue could change over time, at least any more than any other statue that I ask myself did I really need to buy that?

Anyway, sorry for the misunderstanding. For future reference, I will never look down on someone's reasoning for what they do. If you can afford it/it makes you happy/it fulfills you in some way, I say go for it. That's just life, in general. Now, I may wonder if you're crazy for feeling a certain way I don't understand, but I will always reserve that right. I just probably won't try to convince you that you are wrong for it. Well, unless we're hanging out in my living room sharing a beer. Then, I might argue with just to do it.