Nick Fury Milestones Statue by Diamond Select

JDH · 07-07-2006, 03:03 PM

Spot the odd one out:

Yup, in a cabinet full of Bowen Designs statues and busts, there’s now an interloper in their midst – only fitting that the guy who has infiltrated the ranks is a superspy. I’ve long been one of those who is fussy about pieces working well together, wary of a clash of styles that might result from introducing a Sideshow piece, or the problems of scale that could be caused by a Hard Hero statue. As for Diamond Select, well, to me, their pieces have never been a patch on the competition. Until now. This is most definitely a ‘patch on’ statue.

Eye-catching immediately, this is one of those special pieces that captures the definitive take on a character in three-dimensional form. There will be other sculpts down the road that expertly capture an old guy in an eyepatch ready to take ass and kick names, and for many comic fans that will be enough. But for another breed of comic fan, the name ‘Nick Fury’ has an immediate word association: Steranko.

JDH · 07-07-2006, 03:04 PM

Modelled after Jim Steranko’s cover to 1968's Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. # 4, Gabriel Marquez’s sculpt is as respectful as anyone could wish, capturing the image in all its 60s superspy bombast. Nick’s legs are impossibly far apart for one who, one assumes, speaks in a deep voice; his gun leaps out of the cabinet at you; his hair has more action in it than some modern artists put in an entire issue. In short, Marquez nailed it. If anything, the statue improves on the original when it comes to the face – replacing the slight ‘apprehensive teen’ expression of the original art with a touch more menace and gravitas. The detail is superb, all the more impressive when considering that Nick’s outfit has more fiddly bits than the conventional superhero.

Scalewise, Nick stands a bit bigger than most Bowen Designs statues. But with clever display you don’t notice – Nick’s a tough old warhorse, who’s to say he isn’t on the tall side? Here he is sharing some Strange Tale or other with an old co-star.

The paint quality is high – the boots have a military shine to them, the flesh, while a tad pink, is not over-shaded like some other pieces. My only criticism would be the use of blue paint to highlight the white costume details, but this is a bête noire of mine that seems to afflict all statue companies.

The other slight negative would be the base. Shapewise, it’s a plain oval and the rounded edges make it look less professional than other pieces on the market. The silver paint application could also be better. Plus, it’s a logo base, which is a concept that has its fair share of detractors. I would have loved the base to draw inspiration from Steranko’s trademark monochrome cover patterns, rather than the logo approach that DST seem to like. Even then though, the logo works here where it wouldn’t necessarily for other characters, partly because they’ve just used the S.H.I.E.L.D. part. Imagine Nick standing in the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier operations room, where the insignia could feasibly be emblazoned on the floor (after all, much as we love it, the Silver Age was goofy as hell). A nice touch is the sculpted in bullet holes paying homage to the old series logo – it looks like that imaginary helicarrier floor has come under fire, and Nick is making a last stand against the forces of Hydra, or A.I.M. or whoever has attacked this week.

Plus, there’s a lot to be said for a simple base – it can be the best thing for showing off a high quality piece without detracting from it. And that’s what this is, a high quality piece: in terms of capturing everything that is important about a character and delivering the iconic pose that comes to mind whenever you think of him, it’s one of the best. With this and the forthcoming Hawkeye – which from preview pics looks like being the best and only definitive Clint on the market – DST are raising their game, which can only be good for everyone.

With 2,500 pieces out there, this one can currently be scored for an absolute song. It’s honestly worth every penny of its $175 official pricetag, and I would have gladly paid it. I was even more delighted to buy one for less than half. A small price to pay for a piece that gives new meaning to the S.H.I.E.L.D. acronym:
Steranko’s Heroic Image Expertly Leant Dimensionality.

carrillj · 07-07-2006, 03:40 PM

I picked this up about 2 days ago and was impressed by the large size and the quality of the sculpt/paint. It's one of the better Milestones statues that will unfortunately be passed over, because of the low popularity of the character.

bat_collector · 07-07-2006, 04:12 PM

Excellent review jDH. Would love to see more from you! Awesome!

Haste05 · 07-07-2006, 04:39 PM

Great review. I have and love this piece. I cant wait for the Hawkeye either. The actual official price is $175. So far in the Milestone series, I have Spidey, Hulk, Nick Fury, Venom, Green Goblin, and Doom. I want to get Kraven, Carnage, Doctor Strange which looks amazing, Hawkeye, Thing, Wolverine unleashed, daredevil(earlier one released), and the Thanos. I have always liked this line, and some of the newer pieces are impressing me more and more.

JDH · 07-07-2006, 05:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Haste05

Great review. I have and love this piece. I cant wait for the Hawkeye either. The actual official price is $175. So far in the Milestone series, I have Spidey, Hulk, Nick Fury, Venom, Green Goblin, and Doom. I want to get Kraven, Carnage, Doctor Strange which looks amazing, Hawkeye, Thing, Wolverine unleashed, daredevil(earlier one released), and the Thanos. I have always liked this line, and some of the newer pieces are impressing me more and more.

Oops, I'll edit it. Thanks! Just goes to show how much of a value-for-money piece this is!

Quote:

Originally Posted by bat_collector

Excellent review jDH. Would love to see more from you! Awesome!

Woot! I felt for sure you were gonna kick this into the DST section!

Thanks B_C, this was fun. You never know, it might happen again.

Azog · 07-07-2006, 06:03 PM

Nice to see your review Jess, hope my input was helpful when you purchased...

JDH · 07-07-2006, 06:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azog

Nice to see your review Jess, hope my input was helpful when you purchased...

It definitely was. Thanks for taking the pic alongside Vision that convinced me the scale could work. Post it here if you still have it.

Azog · 07-07-2006, 06:21 PM

Here ya go...

JDH · 07-07-2006, 06:25 PM

Damn, I wish I could take decent pics...