Hi folks. I am continuing my quest to provide a variety of reviews from different manufacturers, statue types and varying quality. I am not going to choose all A+ statues as that's not a fair representation of our hobby. And this next statue doesn't quite make the grade.
I am a fan of the popular webseries The Guild (
http://www.watchtheguild.com/) created by and starring the adorkable Felicia Day, YouTube channel Geek & Sundry co-founder. The Guild is about Cyd Sherman, an online MMORPG player and her guild outside the gaming world. Cyd's online avatar is Codex, the guild's priestess.
SPECS
Name / Series: The Guild: Codex
Character: Codex
Scale: 1/6 (advertised)
Edition Size: 500
Year: 2012
Box Size [HxWxD] (inches): 12 3/4 x 9 1/4 x 5 1/8
Max. Dimensions [HxWxD] (inches): 11 x 6 x 6
Producer: Qmx
Original MSRP (USD): $180
Designed By: Unknown
Sculpted By: Unknown
REVIEW
Design:
Codex was designed based on a promotional shot of Felicia (see below). The poses and expression is unfortunate as it fails to represent the rather expressive character of Codex (see the animated GIF). The pose is boring and rather stiff.
The choice of elongating the staff was a bad idea as it not just fails to enhance the statue, but it distracts from the face by being so close. I'm not sure if the staff's diameter was a production decision but it looks silly and a thinner staff could have been made but more of that later. The base is also rather plain and the treasure chest doesn't look like any treasure I've seen before, but more on that in the sculpt discussion.
Source of the design.
Sculpt:
The sculptor is quite proficient on figure sculpting as the figure is proportioned correctly. But it is off from the advertised 1/6 scale. I'm not sure if this due to factory shrinkage or if the original sculpt is off. Felicia is 5' 5" and she seems to have 3" heels here, so 5' 8" overall. The figure measures in at 10.5" which scales to 5' 3".
Despite the claim of accuracy on the Qmx website, the likeness of Ms. Day is not quite there. The figure does resemble her, but it doesn't capture her face enough for me. The jawline is the biggest error as it is too square.
The base and the treasure chest sculpt is lazy and looks like an after thought. I have never seen anyone represent treasure as gold chips before. Are those supposed to be gold coins on the base? Round red and green gems? Where are the goblets, crowns, and other jewelry that treasure chests are traditionally pictured to include? The outside of the chest is nice and textured, but the treasure itself is completely uninspired.
Build & Construction:
The build of this statue was done quite well. There are no gaps, air bubbles or warped parts. The use of translucent resin is always quite tricky as defects cannot be fixed with putty and primer like traditional resin. The rod of the staff is made of wooden dowel. I had to cut it down some as the original height was too high. But as I stated before, the staff is completely off as it is too tall and large in diameter. The large diameter of the dowel required the open hand to hold the staff. A steel or brass rod could have been easily used for a thinner and more accurate representation. Codex is mounted to the base by one large pin while the chest just rests on top. The lid of the chest is hinged for choice of display.
Paint & Mixed Media:
The paint application is decent as there is no sloppiness. Paint washes could have been used to accentuate the details in the corset and kneepads like what was done on the treasure chest wood. While the glitter on the trim adds some sparkle, glitter tends to come loose and there are always a few stray flakes. The color of the orb is lacking and pale. The green orb on the staff should have more clear and more of an emerald green. I'm surprised that gold beads were used in the treasure chest instead of a string of pearls. The cream colored dress is a bit dark and more yellowish that it should be. It should look more like an off-white.
Final Comments:
A swing and a miss. Fandom of The Guild is probably not large enough to warrant another attempt at Codex. So this is a missed opportunity. Looking at the previews of the new Malcom Reynolds statue, Qmx has learned their lesson and hired Trevor Grove to do the portrait. This could have been a more fun statue with a dynamic pose reflecting the vivacious Codex. I can only hope that someone else will do another Codex statue.
The kind of energy the statue should have embraced.
Overall Score: 3 out of 5