The Incredible Hulk v Spider-man Diorama –sculpted by the Gore Group

[Bullseye]

The Incredible Hulk v Spider-man Diorama –sculpted by the Gore Group.
http://www.sideshowtoy.com/mas_asset.../9002-QTVR.mov

This is the third in the Marvel versus line and contains Marvel’s two most loved characters The Incredible Hulk and Spider-man. It is also the second piece to be sculpted by the Gore Group for this line. The sculpt is based loosely on the artwork of McFarlane and Romita Jr and shows them in a struggle not commonly depicted in comics. The first two pieces pitted mortal enemy against each other while this has two of our hero’s doing battle, which formed one of McFarlane’s stories in the 90’s.



SF: Martin what was the inspiration for this piece and difficult was it to execute?

Martin Canale: “Well about the inspiration, I tried to see all the references images I could, and choose the most representative for each character. But I never work with just one artist style reference. I like to work like Victor Von Frankenstein, just choose the best parts from each artist style to make my figures, so that it is common for people to find many influences in the same figure”

“About the difficulty in executing this piece without doubt the Hulk figure. So in fact this was a very heavy piece of work”.

This piece came in three options. The regular version which contained no electronics and the two exclusives Green and super exclusive Grey limited to 50. Both of these versions contained electronics, which enabled one of the traffic lights to illuminate. Unlike the complex wiring of the previous diorama this one has little to go wrong.

The Sculpt: Firstly let me tell you that pictures will not do this piece justice. The subtle skin markings on the Hulk is quite incredible and shows that this sculptor is at the peaks of his power.

[Bullseye]

The Hulk is depicted in a fit of rage gouging out sections of pavement and ready to hurl it at Spidey. The movement of this sculpt is perfect. I don’t think I have seen Spider-man sculpted better than this piece. The movement and grace of the character is captured balanced on the traffic lights ready to evade the oncoming missile. Spider-man is fixed to the lights, which in turn can be detached from the base of the diorama.


The Hulk displayed by himself. I know a lot of people have displayed him this way but they are missing out on the greatest ever-sculpted Spider-man by doing so.


Spider-man perfectly posed. It does not get any better than this.

The Paint: The paintwork on this piece is excellent. The green tones on the Hulk, the white of his shirt and the purple of his trousers are all masterfully finished. The mouth area of the Hulk is incredibly detailed and looks almost moist.



But it is the paintwork on the Spider-man, which excels with the webbing masterfully completed.



Display-ability: I’ve decided to include this as part of my review as displaying of sculpts is the single most important aspect in collecting. Unlike paintings, sculpture, which is 3-D, requires to be viewed 360 degrees. This is impossible of course unless you have an extremely large house or have invested in turntable displays, which would be perfect for this piece. This is the only criticism I have for the piece. How to best display it. If you want to see the Hulks face then you miss out on Spidey and vice-versa. Some people have suggested shelves backed with mirrors but I personally feel that if affordable the turntable option is the only way to go with this piece as there is just so much to see.

Conclusion: This is one of the finest sculpts to come onto the market in a long time. The Hulk is indeed incredible but for me it is Spider-man who steals the show. Incredible detailing and excellent paintwork. The only problem as I see it is how to display it. I will give this piece 8.5 out of 10. I have deducted marks for display-ability and for the use of hollow-casting technique on this piece, which has resulted in a number of breakages. This has nothing to do with the sculpting but the manufacturing of the piece. If you have not added this piece to your collection then do so and quick.

[Bullseye]

Big thanks to Martin for answering my questions on this piece. The guy is a class act.

[JLM]

Nice review Bullseye. What the rough dimensions of this? It looks massive!

[SolidLiquidFox]

Excellent. I agree this is one of the finest sculpts out there. Great job Martin and nice review Bulls!

[carrillj]

Originally Posted by Bullseye

The Hulk is indeed incredible but for me it is Spider-man who steals the show.

Interesting review. I thought the Hulk was the centerpiece of this sculpt and that Spidey was just an added bonus. I was one of those that removed Spider-Man from the base, so that I could display the massive Hulk in the best position to highlight all the impressive details. Spidey was more of a displaying distraction, because I couldn't find a good angle to see both the Hulk and Spider-man sculpts.

[titan7170]

Great review, Im glad I got one. Hey Bullseye, if you would like you can use one of my full figured Spidey pics in place of that blurry one. Spidey is pretty much overshadowed by the size of the hulk but if you like spidey this is one of the nicest sculpts out there even though he is not solo.

[titan7170]

one more

[Alex655321]

Excellent Review Bulls
Nice pics as well.
Still can't believe how big this is!

[MONSTER]

Originally Posted by carrillj

Interesting review. I thought the Hulk was the centerpiece of this sculpt and that Spidey was just an added bonus. I was one of those that removed Spider-Man from the base, so that I could display the massive Hulk in the best position to highlight all the impressive details. Spidey was more of a displaying distraction, because I couldn't find a good angle to see both the Hulk and Spider-man sculpts.

I completely agree. I almost consider the Spidey to be a bonus to the massive Hulk statue.

To me Hulk is the meat and potatoes of this statue and Spidey is the garnish.