The Man, the Myth, the Legend, Forps is back. He is back to fight the pushers, the hypers, Sideshow haters, pushers of XM (well, are they any left?), LBS etc.
So Sideshow is mopping the floor with the competition following EXACTLY what Forps advised her to do. And now the final battle is looming.
The battle to finally end the discussion about what company is the BEST, is the most ART(S)Y?.
The battle is not ofc, Sideshow vs XM. It never was. XM was the creation of continuous pushing and hyping by Tubers, by forum members, by anyone and their mother pushing XM?s agenda and receiving his "freebies" (you know what I mean).
I screamed this, years and years ago.
Sideshow should have NEVER cared about XM. XM's statues has always been a JOKE, yes, a JOKE in this hobby. What to talk about?
XM She-Hulk? Kraven? Sandman? Ant-Man?
LAUGHABLE sculpts on par with some toys you buy for 20 bucks in a toy store.
But XM's strategy of "feeding" a lottttttt of people to constantly praise her and bash Sideshow, worked for some time. Nevertheless, XM could never become a true competitor for Sideshow.
The same applies nowadays to LBS. This company follows the strategy XM followed in her early days. Having an ARMY of online pushers and hypers, Tubers hyping LBS constantly, "reviews" popping up praising LBS etc.
Nevertheless, with the exception of LBS Hulk 1/3 (which had production problems though), all of LBS offerings are a JOKE. They exude a strong Bowen-vibe. They look like big Bowens.
And Forps HATES, he LOATHES Bowen-looking sculpts. And mind you, it is not only Forps that hates such sculpts. Majority of deep-pocketed collectors, collectors with an art(s)y background, HATE Bowen-looking sculpts.
We HATE Bowen's so called "comic-accuracy" or better said, simplicity.
Successful individuals want comic-inspired sculpts but REALISTIC looking ones. They have a social life and they want to be able to show their collection without looking TOTALLY CHILDISH.
Ok, I know, I know. The whole hobby gives such a vibe, but Sideshow's sculpts with their realism offer an "excuse" to collect them.
XM or LBS (which is copying XM's strategy) were/are not Sideshow's true competitor. Their sculpts are a JOKE.
Forps wrote it years ago.
Sideshow should aim for Prime 1.
Prime 1 is/was going to be a true rival for Sideshow.
Sideshow was asleep. It had toooooo much slack, it had employees and art directors living in "La-la-la" land, drinking coffee all day and thinking that they "worked". These individuals, being so disconnected with true economy and how competition works, could never get why Prime1 posed a real threat for Sideshow.
Prime1 stepped in and offered something new. 1/3 scale.
Prime1's sculpts are nothing special. They are just BIG. And the average collector gets excited.
Prime1's sculpts basically look like OVERSIZED ACTION FIGURES. Yes. I said it.
And i own 73 Prime 1 statues!
They seem like they were creating by the same person or better said by a software. They are LIFELESS and they look alike.
Check their 1st and 2nd Banes 1/3 which Prime1 now gives for 349 bucks! And still no one buys them!
They look like BIG ACTION FIGURES.
Lifeless, PLASTICKY, they also have this GLOSSY paint job that Prime1 always applies.
I HATE THEM. I LOATHE THEM.
Sideshow's sculpts are always art(s)y, they have a flavour.
Prime1's sculpts could have been created by one software or AI program. They are lifeless, plasticky-looking, action-figurish.
?But, you, crazy bas..d, Forps, why 100% of collectors are amazed by Prime1? Why they think Prime1 is the best??
It?s the SIZE, stupid. The average collector, having ZERO art knowledge, having an untrained "eye" for art, gets excited by size.
I get it. It is understandable. You can't expect by drivers, teachers etc. to have an art(s)y eye.
They are not Forps ofc.
So Prime1 amazes the average collector by producing BIG, BRUTE sculpts.
Nevertheless, they all look alike. Unrefined, plasticky, software-created sculpts.
Compare Prime1's Batman who Laughs 1/3 with Sideshow's BWL PFF. Night and day.
I HATE that Prime1's Batman Who Laughs 1/3. ZERO details, ZERO ART TOUCH, being painted by throwing a bucket of black paint all over it.
Sideshow's Batman who Laughs PFF is a MASTERPIECE.
Art(s)y, REFINED, with an attitude, painted magnificently.
I DON'T CARE if it has a zillion ES. I don?t care if it is smaller than Prime1's BWL 1/3 and it looks small next to it.
Sideshow's is a MASTERPIECE, Prime1's is a JOKE. I hate it. I loathe its lack of any artistic value, its brute, unrefined sculpt, its paint (someone simply throwed black paint all over it and then adding some gloss).
Or compare Sideshow's OG Lobo PFF vs that MOSTROSITY Prime1's Lobo 1/3.
Prime1's has again ZERO definition. ZERO artistic value. HORRIBLE paint. It is simply enormous.
The same applies to all of Prime1's sculpts. They look like INFLATED ACTION FIGURES. If someone told me that they were all created by the same software, I would not be surprised.
They are not ART(S)Y.
So, Sideshow is now having a run for the ages.
Sideshow is GOATing, left and right. She is mopping the floor with the competition. She is back in heat.
How Sideshow managed to do it?
Well, she listened to Forps.
1) She got into 1/3 scale with Wolverine. I bet that this is ONLY the beginning. Sideshow is clearly coming for Prime1 (or LBS) a.s. My advice is to keep producing 1/3 but keep the bases and footprints logical (taking into consideration space).
2) Mark Newman is back. I was the FIRST that I wrote that Sideshow should get Mark Newman back. He is the MASTER of women sculpts and especially faces along with the God (yes, not Semi-God anymore), the God, Will Godbottle.
3) Totally scrap any NON-REALISTIC looking sculpt and only go for ultra-realism to cater for deep-pocketed collectors. Deep-pocketed collectors can only sustain this hobby with the prices of today and they want REALISM. PERIOD.
And many other things. What should Sideshow also do?
a)
Keep MIXED MEDIA at all costs. Do not listen to CASUALS crying about MIXED MEDIA. Check how JND had success or Blitzway etc. A character wearing a suit eg Joker, ALWAYS needs mixed media or else it gives a plasticky feeling. A character eg like Flash having a skin-tight costume, can be sculpted but Joker needs mixed media. Two-Face needs mixed media (what was that monstrosity, Two-Face by Tweeterhead? Looking like a plastic toy and a dated sculpt of 2005?). MIXED MEDIA is a must. Casuals saying otherwise are just casuals.
b) 1/2 scale should be scrapped, once and for all. I wrote it in the past. You can read why.
c) Apart from 1/3 Marvel, slowly and carfully get into 1/3 DC to take Prime1's, bread and butter (till now) away. And to fend off the new Tubers "darling", LBS.
d) Continue to give ZERO about Tubers. Nobody cares about them or their constant "pushing". They also have 2-3k views at most. They get views from Shorts. I pity companies like Tweeterhead, LBS, PCS, thinking that Tubers can influence anyone in this hobby. If Sideshow wants to send a statue for a review that Star-Wars related woman is a good choice or ?outsiders? of the hobby having 200k views on each of their videos are a better choice. Having followers due to Shorts and having 2k views on your main videos is a sign that Sideshow has chosen the right way.
I also praise Prime1 for this (not caring for Tubers and their agendas). And ECC also.
e) Partner with Blitzway. Prime1 is right now breathing heavily. It is on the ropes. Its partnership with Blitzway is keeping Prime1 relevant these days. Sideshow should aim to partner with Blitzway for her movie sculpts and to go 1/3 scale to also aim at JND.
Prime1 is on the ropes, Sideshow. WAKE UP. Getting to talk with Blitzway and having her producing 1/3 sculpts is also going to KO the other "darling" of hypers, JND.
Do it, Sideshow. Partner with Blitzway.
f)
Assign to the GOAT of LSB sculpting, Ryan Peterson, to sculpt 2-3 new LSBs. Let?s say a Lobo with a cigar and a grimace only Ryan can achieve. Or a Thanos LSB.
I can write 100 things about the hobby, what is happening "behind the curtains", about companies like Tweeterhead, LBS etc getting fooled by believing that Tubers can achieve anything (or even taking feedback by Tubers about their future products!!! These guys know NOTHING about economy, about the status of things, they have zero art knowledge, they have zero "feel" about what is going to sell or not etc).
I am probably going to open a new thread where I am going to give advice to all companies. XM. LBS. Tweeterhead. PCS etc.
Mind you, though.
Forps' favourite companies are
Sideshow (the QUEEN of western-comic statues).
Infinity Studio (the king of LSBs. Wayyyyyy better than Queen Studio.). Blitzway (wayyyyyy better and not as c..y as JND). And ofc,
ECC (the favourite company regarding monsters).
Sideshow is on a roll.
Its competitors are breathing heavily. They cannot follow. Sideshow has them on the ropes.
Sideshow punches relentlessly and should continue to do so.
She should give ZERO F...S about edition sizes atm. Ediition sizes are going to be small due to the difficult market situation.
Her aim should be to have all collector?s throwing their money to her and NOT to her competitors.
To behave AT LAST as a true company. To be competitive and to punch and punch. Relentlessly. Until opponents give up and admit it.
Sideshow is back for her throne. Noone can stop her.
Prime 1 should be aware. Sideshow is not joking.
For the time being, Prime 1 has 2 advantages. It produces BIG sculpts that "amaze" average collectors having though ZERO artistic value and it also has its cooperation with Blitzway regarding movie pieces.
Sideshow FINALLY stepped into 1/3 territory. 3 or 4 1/3 offerings per year are going to further suffocate Prime 1. A cooperation with Blitzway then is going to create havoc.
So Sideshow should SLOWLY offer more 1/3 Marvel sculpts and then try to go into movie pieces eg cooperating with Blitzway.
Sideshow is back, guys.
Ohhhhhhh yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh??
