Star Wars Mythos - Darth Maul Statue by Sideshow

[Kicksplode]

Sideshow's Star Wars: Mythos line of 1:5-scale statues has proven to be very popular over the past couple years. The aim of the Mythos line is to shift away from providing movie-accurate statues to something with a more artistic slant that conveys a story. But while the Obi-Wan Kenobi and Gamorrean Executioner statues have sold out, and the Boba Fett statue is well on its way, the original entry in the Mythos line, Darth Maul, is still readily available two years later. Does this Maul have the chops to compete with previous efforts from Sideshow and other companies? Read on to find out.

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[Kicksplode]

SCULPT

As I said, every Mythos statue tells a story, and this statue captures Maul in the throes of victory after a hard-fought battle. This statue is actually based specifically on the short story “Nameless” from Star Wars Tales #10. That story told the origin of Maul's signature double-bladed lightsaber. There, we learned that Maul was tasked by his master to kill a retired Jedi Master named Siolo'urmanka. But Siolo'urmanka defeated his attacker with nothing more than a wooden stick. Maul then replaced his standard blade with a double-bladed saber and used the element of surprise to kill Siolo'urmanka.

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It's an interesting corner of Star Wars lore to pull from, but ultimately I think it's also the major flaw of this statue. Most of the Mythos pieces tell their story clearly independently, and even a layman can understand what the sculptor was going for. Vader is lamenting his fall from grace. Obi-Wan is traversing the Tattooine desert with the weight of his past life as a burden. But with Maul, some of the effect is lost without knowledge of the source material. And so you're left with either a cool but fairly standard sculpt of Maul snarling and flexing, or a weird glimpse of him holding a stick for some reason.

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But if you're just in the market for a really solid Darth Maul statue, this one has a lot to offer. The flowing robes convey a sense of movement, and the veins and muscles on his torso lend a sense of power and fluidity to that movement. It's a much more exciting and energetic sculpt than Sideshow's first Maul Premium Format Figure.

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One of the cool elements of the Mythos line is the inclusion of swap-out accessories for a customizable look. In Maul's case, he includes two heads (one grinning malevolently, the other with a more neutral expression) and two right hands (one holding Siolo'urmanka's staff, the other in a sort of “Force push” arrangement). Both lightsaber blades are also removable.

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While it's nice to have options, I see myself sticking to the grinning head and Force push hand most of the time. Again, the staff alone doesn't tell a story as well as it should. Meanwhile, the neutral head is sculpted at a bad angle, so it's really obvious Maul isn't looking in the direction he's launching his attack towards. As for the blades, the position of Maul's body makes it impractical to have the back blade inserted in most setups unless you happen to have a lot of room behind the statue. It's possible to turn the statue so that both blades face right and left, but then Maul's body is tilted so far to the side that you miss the best parts of the statue.

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There are a couple other things to point out in terms of durability. For one, while the statue is mostly made of polystone, the lightsaber hilt is a cheaper, more brittle plastic. Be very careful when inserting or removing the lightsaber blades. Mine had already cracked on one end, and by the time I was done taking picture it had nearly fallen off completely. The other is that both hands attach by thin pins rather than typical peg attachments. The right hands are fine because Maul's arm is horizontal, but the left hand has a somewhat loose fit and can fall off if you're not careful. After learning that the hard way, I stuck a wad of Sticky Tac in there to make sure it fit more snugly.

Score – 8.0

[Kicksplode]

PAINT

While I'd say the unclear story of this statue is its biggest flaw, the paint application also probably contributed to his relative lack of popularity. Mind you, I wouldn't say the paint is badly done, but there are two key things to be aware of.

For one, the red portions of Maul's Sith tattooing appear much brighter in Sideshow's promotional images than they do in person. The end product has a fairly muted red compared to most Maul statues. No two Maul statues are ever alike in that regard. It could definitely have been worse. The lines are sharp and crisp, with no bleeding of red into black. And compared to Sideshow's second Maul PF, which was more orange than red, I definitely prefer this shade. But I still wish the prototype had been more indicative of the final product.

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The other thing to note is that many collectors had issues with the heads being painted with a glossier coat than the torso, so that Maul's head is noticeably shinier than the rest of his body. Luckily, mine doesn't seem to have that issue, and it sounds like this is something Sideshow corrected with later batches.

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The paint works nicely on Maul's clothing, giving his robes a gritty, rough-hewn feel you'd expect from a man who just had a duel to the death in the desert. Elements like the sand caked into his boots are an especially nice touch.

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You might notice in some pics that there appears to be some spillover of the silver lightsaber paint onto Maul's left glove. It's actually a chip from when the piece fell off (like I said, make sure you secure that hand piece well).

Score – 7.5

[Kicksplode]

BASE

There's not much to say with the base in this case, other than that it's very large. The top layer of the base portrays the rocky, desert terrain of Ryloth. There are various dips and grooves and a weathered look that suits the statue well enough. The rest of the base is a dull gold color, featuring some sweeping lines that add to the overall artistic impression of the piece. But while that's all fine and well, it might have been nice for there to be other details on the base apart from the Rylothian environment, much like how the Gamorrean Executioner includes a giant skull. More residue from Maul's recent battle might have helped convey the story of the piece a little better.

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Really, I don't understand why the base needs to be as large as it is. I don't find that the random detailing on the side adds enough to the overall look of the statue. Having a base that's 3-inches tall makes the overall statue taller, certainly, but why bother? It only makes Maul stand out all the more if you try to display him with, say, Attakus' 1:5-scale statues or smaller offerings from Gentle Giant or Kotobukiya. One problem with the Mythos statues is that they only really look good alone or displayed as a set, not mixed and matched with other lines.

Score – 6.5

[Kicksplode]

ACCURACY

Accuracy isn't necessarily the prime goal of the Mythos line. Obviously, the designers didn't set out to capture an iconic moment from the films or Clone Wars TV series. This is based on a more obscure comic book. And even then, the sculpt isn't terribly reminiscent of the art from “Nameless,” which was fairly dark and scratchy as far as Star Wars comics go.

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But I think the overall design strikes a nice balance between paying homage to the story and still providing a take on Maul that's instantly recognizable to fans of the films. The pose is new, but this is very much Ray Park's Darth Maul. I can't say I'm hardcore enough of a fan to know whether the Sith tattooing design is 100% accurate, but it certainly looks great to me.

Score – 9.5

[Kicksplode]

FINAL THOUGHTS

There are enough flaws with this statue that I can understand why Maul hasn't been the hot seller the rest of the Mythos line is. The sculpt needed some tweaking and fine-tuning to better convey the story it's supposed to be telling, as well as to make it easier to display the statue with both lightsaber blades attached. And the paint could have been closer to what was initially advertised.

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But while these are annoying flaws, they aren't enough to kill the statue's appeal for me. Aside from the Legendary Scale bust, I think it's Sideshow's best take on the character so far, and it rivals similar products from other companies.

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The price point also helps negate the flaws to an extent. Sideshow sells this for $250 as a sort of cheaper introduction to the Mythos line. In today's market, $250 for a 1:5-scale statue with a hefty base and multiple switch-out pieces seems very fair. And I'm convinced that this will be one of those pieces that does finally become a sought-after collectible once it does sell out and the aftermarket prices begin shooting up.

Final Score – 8.0

[JP Sarri]

Fantastic review on a very awesome piece, Jesse!! I really appreciate all the information that you provide in here. Terrific job!!

I like the overall detail on the piece. It is definitely the best representation of the character thus far. You photos by the window silhouettes give the piece and impressive and sinister look. It translates well and clearly represents the obscurity of the source material. Great job on the review! Keep them coming. :thumbs2:

[built2shred]

Nice review, pretty much spot on....

I do think this is a underrated statue though, it looks a lot better in person then it does in photos.

I think the reason it's still up for sale was they overestimated how many people wanted a Darth Maul statue, where the Gamorrean Executioner only had a ES of 750 they went with a 2500 ES for Darth Maul. I think his ES should of been around 1500 tops..

[Force of Nature]

Thanks for sharing this incredible review; I loved reading it! :buttrock:

Keep up the good work since you really impressed me. :D

Rainer

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Nothing can stop The Juggernaut... NOTHING!

[Kicksplode]

Thanks guys. Hopefully this will be the first of many reviews, and maybe I'll even cover more of the Mythos line at some point.