XM Studios Magneto 1:4 Scale Statue
Product Size: approx. 18" Tall x 16" Wide x 19" Deep
Product Weight: approx. 30 lbs.
Artists: Suheryanto Hatmaja (sculpt), Studio HIVE (Illustrator, Design and Concept), XM Studios Design and Development Team (Design and Concept)
Originally Released: January 2015
Edition Size: 800
Magneto Fun Facts:
First Appearance: X-Men # 1 (September 1963)
Real Name: Max Eisenhardt
Alias: Erik Magnus Lehnsherr, Master of Magnetism
Place of Birth: Unrevealed (possibly Germany?)
Height: 6’2”;
Weight: 190 lbs.;
Eyes: bluish-grey;
Hair: silver
Powers: Can control all forms of magnetism, including any form of energy that is part of the electromagnetic spectrum, including visible light, radio waves, ultraviolet light, gamma rays, and x-rays.
Abilities: Considered a genius in the fields of genetic manipulation and engineering.
Being by far the X-Men’s most notorious villain, and arguably one of the most important villains in the entire Marvel Universe, it is somewhat surprising that Magneto has not been released as a 1:4 scale statue in the past. There are several excellent smaller scale options out there for collectors, but this offering from XM Studios is really the first in this very popular larger scale format. Being such an important and popular character in the Marvel universe, let’s just say that collectors have been salivating over this piece since it was first announced.
XM Studios made a name for themselves with previous releases like Captain America (winner of the StatueForum Best Large Scale Statue of 2014) and the Incredible Hulk, but this Magneto statue is their flagship piece…this is the piece that, depending on how it turned out, would either establish XM as a major player in the industry or create doubt in collector’s minds. The hype surrounding this piece has been fever pitched, so if it flopped, it would have been hard for the company to live down. There was a ton riding on the success of this piece.
I feel it’s safe for me to tell you right now, XM absolutely nailed this release!
I hope to add a video component to this review where I get into more detail, but I’ll give you guys a breakdown right now.
Sculpt: 10/10
Every square inch of this statue is well-thought out and detailed. There is literally nowhere you can look on this statue and think, “that looks like an afterthought” or “they missed this area.” The details on the sentinel hand add so much to this piece. The exposed gears and wires, the scratches, tears, crumples and dents on the metal sheathing of the fingers make it really look like a massive battle has just taken place. But Mags didn’t stop at laying waste to a mere robot. The throne also incorporates elements of the X-Men’s blackbird jet, as well as massively gouged signage from Professor Xavier’s famous school for young mutants.
(^ Even the back of the throne is immensely detailed.)
(^ The excellent attention to detail continues on the base.)
The pose is also very fitting for the particular story XM is trying to tell with this piece. The Master of Magnetism is sitting like a boss after a (presumably successful) large scale battle with the Sentinels and the X-Men. As with most of their upcoming releases, XM has added several details to the suit for a modern take on the classic theme. The clasps around the cape collar, the belt and buckle, the strapping and buckles on his boots and gauntlets, and the weaving cross hatch pattern on the chest and legs…these elements all combine to lend some realism to the costume. Design changes like these can sometimes rub people the wrong way if they become too prevalent, but XM has still maintained a very familiar feel and there is no mistaking the comic inspiration. XM didn’t mess around with Magneto’s iconic helmet, it’s a seriously classic representation.
All said, the sculpt on this piece is superb, with seemingly no detail forgotten or out of place. Quite simply this is one of the best sculpts on the market today.
Paint: 10/10
The paintwork is nothing short of prototype quality, with seemingly not a single misstep anywhere to be found. Both Magneto helmets have an amazing glossy metallic finish (I almost don’t want to touch them for fear of getting fingerprints on them!)…they are so shiny you could use them as a mirror when you do your hair in the morning! The paint on the sentinel hand looks great, with scuff marks and scratches throughout. Magneto’s suit has excellent shading and attention to detail…not a single “paint slop” that I can find.
(^ Incredible glossy metallic finish on the Magneto helmets.)
The most impressive aspect of the paint for me is the unmasked portrait. I am told that XM used a new process for the skin, and the result is incredibly realistic. I feel like I have a miniature old man staring back at me! The eyes are incredible as well…no googly eyes here, and the colour (a steely grey/blue) is exactly how I would imagine his eyes to be. Originally, I had no intent on using the unmasked portrait, but the astounding paintwork has me thinking twice. I will probably switch up the display regularly.
(^ Check out the amazing paintwork on the unmasked portrait)
In short, I have never personally seen a better paint application on a (non-custom) production piece. Absolutely amazing.
Design: 10/10
Although the Sentinel and Xavier School theme isn’t totally original (elements of both have been incorporated into Magneto and other X-Men statues in the past), the way XM Studios pulls them all together here is something I have never seen before. Using the Sentinel hand and elements of the Blackbird jet for the throne is just…for lack of a better description…very, very cool! All of the elements combine to tell a story for the piece…he’s not just standing on some random rock, he’s just been involved in a massive battle, and he is sitting, contemplating what he’s going to do next.
There are two portraits, two forearms, and several empty helmet accessories to allow you multiple display options…you’re sure to find one to your liking, or you can switch-up periodically to give your collection a whole new look.
(^ Just one of the several display combinations available to choose from.)
There is an empty Cerebro helmet and empty Magneto that can be placed on either armrest of the throne. When you place either helmet on Magneto’s left, there is a switch-out left forearm that depicts his left hand sort of “palming” the top of the helmet, like a basketball player does with a basketball. When using the unmasked portrait, you can place a helmet on each armrest (both helmets work on both armrests, so you choose where you want them to go). You also have the option of using a “levitating” cerebro helmet in his left hand, a clever way of depicting the use of Magneto’s powers. One small nitpick is that when using the masked portrait, you are kind of forced to use one of the Cerebro options on the left hand. There is no accessory to display on the right armrest (since he is wearing the helmet and he’s unlikely to carry around two helmets), leaving a bit of a noticeable empty space there. It would have been cool to have some sort of extra X-Men or Sentinel related accessory to use when displaying the masked portrait, but, it’s a very minor issue.
XM’s take on the Magneto suit, adding various details to modernize and add some level of realism, is extremely well done. This suit looks like something a “real” Magneto could wear, and achieving this look is probably not as easy of a task as it may seem (especially given that the suit was first designed back in the 60’s).
(^ XM added many fine details to the classic suit to add a more modern, realistic feel.)
Another fine touch is that the wires dangling out from the broken Sentinel thumb are real wires…these look very cool in person and really add to the premium feel of the piece.
Overall, this design is a unique and fresh take on the incredibly popular Marvel villain.
Production & Build Quality: 10/10
The entire statue is solid cast and the statue itself is quite large, so you can imagine that the statue has good weight to it (it weighs in at around 30 lbs.). The piece is constructed of cold cast porcelain, not polystone. They are similar materials, but I find that the cold cast porcelain has a slightly smoother look and feel to it.
When the early in-hand pics started popping up, there were some concerns expressed about the scale of the piece, that perhaps Magneto himself was a bit undersized. There should be no cause for concern here. If you could stand Magneto up from his throne, he’d measure roughly 18” tall, making him almost bang on 1:4 scale. The sitting pose can sometimes play tricks on the eyes in photographs, but if you get to see the piece in hand, there is no doubt that it is true to scale…the piece is quite large and can easily form the centrepiece of your collection.
I don’t normally mention packaging in my reviews, but I want to make a note of it here. From the moment you open up the shipper box, you will get a warm feeling that this is a quality item. XM has used a fairly plain black box with minimal white logos and font for all of their previous statues, and this one is no different. The box material itself is quite thick and sturdy, so you will find that the box is probably heavier than you are expecting. Rather than having a flap at the top, the box has a lid that slides off, revealing the foam packaging. One interesting thing XM did here is they secured the two halves of foam with Velcro straps, rather than taping them together. These straps are a very sleek touch, and again, add to that sense of quality right from the get go. Everything inside the box seems safe and secure in its designated spot. XM’s presentation of the piece is absolutely top notch.
(^ A quick glimpse at the packaging. Photos courtesy of Nigit, who obviously had more forethought and patience than me while unboxing!!)
Once you open the foam, you will see that the statue is comprised of many separate pieces, so I will list them for you here:
- Four sentinel fingers and one sentinel thumb: these pieces fit securely into the hand with metal pegs.
- Two portraits, one with helmet and one without.
- One empty Magneto helmet
- One empty Cerebro helmet
- One “levitating” Cerebro helmet: this helmet comes with the thumb attached, and fits into the “levitating” forearm with a metal peg.
- One palm down left forearm.
- One palm up, “levitating” left forearm: connects to the “levitating” Cerebro helmet noted above.
- One set of gears/cogs that are placed under the left boot.
- Magneto body & throne are connected as one piece.
(^ Pure boss.)
All of the pieces (aside from the sentinel fingers/thumb and the levitating Cerebro helmet) are held in place with strong magnets. The thumb of the Sentinel was a bit of a tight fit, but aside from that, everything fit together securely with no obvious seams or ugly transitions.
Each of the 800 pieces shipped comes with an art print inside the box. The print depicts the concept art used for the piece created by HIVE studios. The print uses fairly heavy cardstock, and looks and feels like a high quality print, so it’s a nice bonus.
Also included in each box is instructions on how to register your product on their website. Each statue comes with a unique serial number on the underside of the base. Make sure to keep this number a secret when you receive your statue…don’t go posting pics of your base. Essentially, this is a feature that allows you to authenticate your XM product, and you can use it to transfer ownership of your statue if you ever decided to sell down the road (but, why would you ever sell this masterpiece?!?!?). A pretty neat feature to help prevent someone getting duped by a recast in the future.
As many of you also know, XM also ships a silver coin with about half of the statues. The coin itself is roughly the size of a silver dollar (or a toonie for fellow Canadians) and comes encased in a clear plastic holder. A small plastic display stand for the coin is also included. The coin is a unique feature that looks nice when displayed alongside the statue, but I wouldn’t feel too disappointed if you do not receive one…the main prize here is the statue itself. (Note: It seems that XM may be discontinuing the coin feature in the future for various reasons, so perhaps only the “first wave” of XM statues will be available with coin.)
In summary, the production quality and overall presentation of this Magneto absolutely top notch. Quite frankly, this statue is the best produced piece I have ever seen, in terms of matching (and arguably exceeding) the prototype quality.
Overall: 10/10
XM may produce better or more exciting statues in the future (heck, you could argue Phoenix may surpass this piece in terms of style and desirability), but I believe that this Magneto will forever be known as XM’s flagship piece…the piece that officially put XM on the map.
I like to call this piece the collecting community’s baby…we all basically had the privilege of watching this statue grow right from the initial 3D renderings, to the printed prototype, the painting process, the factory production process, and then into our grubby little hands. XM even listened to the fan comments and constructive criticism, and made last minute changes before sending the prototype off for production. Essentially, the way XM goes about things gives fans a sense that they positively contributed to the development of the piece.
I think when it was first revealed, there may have been a sense of “it’s too good to be true” with this Magneto…someone is finally making a 1:4 scale Magneto AND it looks totally BOSS? How can that be? Well, I am happy to report that this piece absolutely lives up to all expectations. The packaging and presentation is slick and refined, and the paint and overall quality set an industry leading standard. If you are lucky enough to have secured one of these statues, I am positive it will become a cornerstone of your collection.
(Note: this is the first piece that I have reviewed to receive a perfect 10/10 overall score!!)
(^ "You were saying something, Charles?")
