Hey everyone, now that STGCC is over, I wanted to point out what I thought were the highlights and lowlights of the STGCC show for XM studios this year. It's pretty easy to see that XM and all the sculptors associated with them are hard at work on tons of great things now and in the future.
As great as XM is and will hopefully continue to get better, there will always be things that can be improved on or be done better in the future. With that being said, I wanted to get everyone's RESPECTFUL take on what they were impressed with and not so impressed with at the show.
So I will set this up in four sections: Most Liked, Least Liked, WTH Happened, and Future Anticipated for us to talk about. If you have nothing respectful (positive or negative critiques) to say then shut your mouth because I don't think many quite want to hear ignorance spew forth. But I think I and others, and definitely XM themselves welcome comments, critiques and hopeful changes for some or all of the statues / concepts / protos shown. So without further ado.....
Most Liked
1) Darkness - Top Cow (concept / 3d render)
2) Medusa - Marvel (painted proto)
3) Black Panther - Marvel (concept)
4) Black Bolt - Marvel (painted proto)
5) Batman - DC (3d render / unpainted proto?)
6) Kraven - Marvel (unpainted proto)
7) Joker - DC (concept)
Honorable mentions: She-Hulk, Green Goblin, Venom, Dr. Strange, Doc Ock, Thor, Rhino, DD, Punisher, Ghost Rider, Thanos, 1/6 HMO Avengers, 1/4 busts (Thor and Punisher)
Least Liked
1) Harley Quinn - DC (concept)
2) Elektra - Marvel (painted proto)
3) Classic Iron Man - Marvel (unpainted proto)
I wanted to talk at length about Iron Man because this is one of my most anticpated statues to come from XM. In its current incarnation, the Iron Man is just GOOD...but it needs some CHANGES for it to be great. Firstly, the guantlets MUST come down further on his wrist. As it stands now, it looks like chicken feet and it is giving the appearance of improper anatomy of his bicep and elbow even though in reality, it is fine. This is a MUST CHANGE for me. Secondly, when looking at IM from the back, it becomes easily visible that his neck is too long. The neck needs to be shortened and maybe even thickened a little bit as well. Thirdly, although I know XM stated the base is a WIP, I just want to reiterate that the round circular part of the base is not needed. No other Avengers statue has something like that and it would not work when displaying them together in a NY fight scene. Outside of those three main issues, the statue looks Good. But this can go from just being good, to being spectacular. Take a look at Imaginariums IM to see how thick he should be. I trust XM to get it right.
WTH Happened
1) Mysterio - Marvel
I don't honestly know what the hell happened to him or why he wasn't at the show or at least shown in (3d rendered form) but this has to be the most puzzling no show down there....even moreso than the Star Wars no photo taking. This is perhaps the most impressive of all the Spiderman Villains and the one I was most anxious to see at the show.
2) Sandman - Marvel
Once again, I don't know what happened with this not even being shown in unpainted proto or at least final 3d rendering at the show. Another stellar Spidey villain that I wanted to see in person to appreciate all the details.
3) Star Wars - Disney
This was the biggest tease I have ever seen in my statue collecting life. First there was huge expectations to see the reveals of what XM was working on and if you were lucky enough to be an early bird like me, I did manage to see oh so quickly all the concepts before they were quickly removed from the web. What upset me so, was that....all the concepts looked pretty damn spectacular. I can't stress enough how awesome I think the Stormtrooper concept and Vader concept were. The Luke pilot concept appears to be awesome (Luke portrait wasn't shown at time...but sounds like it will be included).
4) Ghost Rider - Marvel
This one is surprising because it was the first exclusive statue for XM. Ghost Rider should have at least been down there in physical unpainted proto form. If it wasn't an exclusive, I would be less inclined to feel it needed to be there in physical form.
5) She-Hulk - Marvel
This is not a knock on XM at all. In fact, it's a surprise. I don't think I've ever seen a 180 on a statue simply due to a new headsculpt. Not only do I think She-Hulk was one of the most impressive at the show, I think it's without question one of the best female headsculpts I have ever seen....just as good as SS Red Sonja and just about anything from any other company I have ever seen. This took my anticipation (which was already high) through the stratosphere. Spectacular!!
Future Anticipated
Believe me, if there was more information about XMs newest license aside from the three concepts shown, they would have made my top 5 list because it looks that damn impressive for a concept. I believe it is a 1/4 new license, but little is known about FEARFUL FAIRYTALES. I am highly excited about this and the Dragon Tiger line. Its understandable not much was shown there, with the focus on Marvel related products. But these two lines are hotly anticipated, and I can only hope the Fearful Fairytales is a worldwide license.
All in all, great job XM and I look forward to what you will and can do in the future. Please get the Transformers G1 license so I can achieve a state of bliss in this hobby.
