I got the original notification ( Chris Trout sent you a package...)
on 12/20. That notification had an 8 day delivery estimate.
However, it actually only first entered the system and then arrived at the regional facility in Seattle on 12/23.
The next update was 12/27 when it was noted to be in transit to the next facility
Next update was 12/29 when it arrived at the local distribution center here. It was scanned out of there early morning 12/30.
It arrived at my local suburban PO at 6 am today and was out for delivery by 9 am.
So it was 11 days from the initial email notification, but bang on 8 days from when it was accepted by USPS and actually physically entered the system.
I'll spoiler the preamble and the photos separately so you can skip the words and just get to the good stuff
Spoiler
First off- Back in the spring, before I placed my order, I emailed them to feel them out. I'd gotten burned bad by ARH and was not eager to repeat the experience. As far as I knew, this was an untested company talking up a good game, just like ARH had done when they first got their license.
here's part of the reply I got back
Quote:
Hello!
Let me address all this the best I can.
Firstly we are not ARH. I understand the situation that happened with them and we can guarantee that doesn't happen with us. We are an honest and open team of artists who strive to provide the best work possible for our clients and customers. We also do production for large companies like Sony, Paramount and Tgq Nordiq to name a few. So we have things in place that I am sure ARH never considered like 10 million dollars in Occurance Product Insurance.
Beyond we are working with an amazing factory with a long history of success, the Lucky Group, they have done most of Blizzards Statue and almost every Prime 1, XM and SS statues to date. We pay a little more because the low runs we do but it's worth it.
After finally having unboxed this, I can say with no hesitation whatsoever, that Level 52 is the complete antithesis of ARH, in every single facet.
Right from the moment you crack open the shipper, everything about this screams premium quality, TLC, and "we know WTF we're doing".
Actually, that last bit is a massive assumption and I'm probably wrong. Only because when I look at what I paid for this, even inclusive of the high shipping, then take into account the ridiculously small ES, and then look at what SS is charging for their 5000+ run "kits", I can only imagine that this release was not intended to make a profit so much as engender enormous goodwill, highly positive WOM, and establish them as a high quality studio that prioritizes customer satisfaction.
Whereas ARH promised the moon and delivered far less (or, as in my case, hasn't delivered anything at all), these guys (and gal) blessedly undersold and overdelivered.
...OK, now the pics-
Spoiler
the packing
nice surprise
Love the straps. So much easier to take the shell out of the box with them.
Two pieces...that's it?!? If this were from Sideshow, there'd be fourteen different parts to key in.
The base. The USB powered black light is peeking out from behind.
I was going to put the figure on it, but my initial attempt to set it spooked me. It looks like it is going to be way too easy to scratch either or both pieces, as you have to thread the one arm behind the one trunk and the other between the other two trunks, all while hitting the mark for the feet. All three points have really tight tolerances and almost no room to maneuver.
TNovak- looks like you didn't have any problem getting yours seated- any tips there?
I'll probably just leave the figure in the box for now as I want to take the next few days to conceptualize and engineer the backdrop anyway.
TBH, being a lifelong cat person, I'm really digging just the cats and the trunks by themselves.
Those were actually the element that sealed the deal for me.
In the meantime here is the base with the blacklight.
As sidelighting...
The sidelight with no flash
the black light used for back lighting (high intensity)
Unfortunately all I have is the camera on the phone, and the UV light is not coming out anywhere close to what it looks like in person. I tried to tweak some of the pics to get it to look closer to what I'm actually seeing, but it's still off. It looks much mellower in person.
The bright wall is also exacerbating the effect in the pics.
My intention is to use a backdrop of black foamboard, probably covered with black velvet, and paint/airbrush some fluorescent colors onto that in a loose, diffused jungle foliage design.
I'm encouraged by the quick and dirty tests I've made so far.
I have some test shots of those I'll upload to this post later.
There's very little room to maneuver here when you try to seat the girl in. It's going to be way too easy to bang various edges into each other, while focusing on trying to keep some other point clear.
I'm still hoping TNovak, or anyone else with it, will chime in with their experience.
But I'm also not lying when I say the primary appeal of this piece for me has always been the base.
The circular composition, besides being unique to anything else I own ATM, is potent and imparts a spiritually strong vibe. Usually in this hobby we only see overt circles horizontally orientated. The vertical use here is a blast of fresh air to me.
Meanwhile, the panthers provide just enough of a relatable character element to keep it from being purely an exercise in composition.
The CatGirl itself has always been problematic for me.
While it's attractive enough on it's own (and the paint apps look to be well done), I find it a fairly weak approximation of a Frazetta woman.
They got the voluptuous hips and thicker lower body right, but the portrait is a big miss to me as is the basic attitude of the figure itself.
I give Level52 generous props for the execution of this in general- including the overall product experience.
But I've always had criticisms of the primary figure.
Other people's MMV, of course.
I'll probably have the figure set up by the end of the weekend, but I'm honestly enjoying this almost (just? even more?) as much without her.
I don’t know if I did it right but there is an indentation for her plant heel so I just leaned her back a little and slid her hands behind the tree and as I straightened her into position she fit snugly.
What I thought was a key for the foot was just a piece of crud/moss.
Got her in, but I did bang her head on the cats paw a couple times. Fortunately no scratches.
While the paint app is generally solid, there are a couple areas that are bothersome.
One is the forehead, where for some reason there is some dark shading that doesn't go all the way to the hairline. It shows up more clearly in the photos than it does in person, but at some point I still many try to use some Tamiya weathering pastels to smooth that out better.
More irksome is the point where the two thighs touch. I don't understand how you can airbrush shading on one side, and then the other, and at the same time leave a gaping highlight like that where an even deeper shadow should be. Weird.
It almost looks like a line wash could fix it, but it would probably just darken the shading already there before it ever covered the lighter area.
I spent hours experimenting with more lighting.
As I anticipated, This thing is a lot of fun to light, given the interior negative space and photo reactive paints.
First off is some front lighting using the uber-handy, and inexpensive, LED pucks
Since the painted black velvet behind this was only a test sheet, I decided to take it out for a little while and play around with the lighting without it.
Ended up that removing the backdrop allowed for the back lighting to be amplified by the light walls. This vivid, solid color really pops the figures out. It may be the opposite effect of the painting, which had them melting into the black, but it makes for a vivid and alluring effect all it's own. After all that effort, I think I even prefer the simple, clean, and uncluttered look.
In conjunction with the black light used in front to activate the eyes and the moss, some truly wicked color combinations can be achieved.
My favorite was the purplish black light with the complimentary green back lighting.
The end result is like something out of a Mario Bava, or Dario Argento movie
I regret that I can't get the UV effect to translate properly with my cellphone camera. I tried to tweak them after to get close to what I'm seeing in person.
These are only a rough approximation.
Spoiler
everyone can now breathe a sigh of relief as this is gonna be it from me for a while- at least as far as the long winded posts go.
I'm gonna kick back and look forward to reading/seeing other new owners impressions of this one.
