Red Sonja She-Devil with a Sword PF - Not so expensive anymore

[Khev]

Originally Posted by Canadaguy705

lol You guys do realize that the more you talk about how much you love it tells SS they can jack up the price and ES for her.

The more we talk about it the more we also tell Sideshow how pissed we'll be if the production paint sucks. So let them hear the enthusiasm and make sure they get it right.

People went nuts over the first Red Sonja and now the Regular just sits on their site, waiting to be sold out because people were so annoyed with the drop in quality.

[Shoo]

Originally Posted by Shanesg

Lol I was kidding. Impossible to tell, I know. I just thought it was funny because he's been mentioned on about every page since this has been revealed.

Oh. Yeah, that would have been funny. And embarrassing.

[Canadaguy705]

Originally Posted by Khev

The more we talk about it the more we also tell Sideshow how pissed we'll be if the production paint sucks. So let them hear the enthusiasm and make sure they get it right.

People went nuts over the first Red Sonja and now the Regular just sits on their site, waiting to be sold out because people were so annoyed with the drop in quality.

Sorry, talk won't get you anywhere. Money talks. And just like the last Red Sonja, people will be lining up when the PO opens for this even knowing what happened the last time.

So all that tells SS is "Well we butchered the paint app for the last Red Sonja but yet these people keep coming back for more. No need to spend the money for better QC"

[I and I]

I really like her, but its difficult for me to believe ss will deliver this quality at the end.

[kaza5555]

Originally Posted by Khev

The more we talk about it the more we also tell Sideshow how pissed we'll be if the production paint sucks. So let them hear the enthusiasm and make sure they get it right.

Same can be said when everyone talks about how much they think it will cost and what they will pay. Sideshow is listening. And we wonder why statues cost more and more each year.

[z28barry]

Originally Posted by Canadaguy705

Sorry, talk won't get you anywhere. Money talks. And just like the last Red Sonja, people will be lining up when the PO opens for this even knowing what happened the last time.

So all that tells SS is "Well we butchered the paint app for the last Red Sonja but yet these people keep coming back for more. No need to spend the money for better QC"

Well said.
I want a kit option that reduces the price!
Then I can apply the savings to have her painted.

[Khev]

Originally Posted by Canadaguy705

Sorry, talk won't get you anywhere. Money talks. And just like the last Red Sonja, people will be lining up when the PO opens for this even knowing what happened the last time.

So all that tells SS is "Well we butchered the paint app for the last Red Sonja but yet these people keep coming back for more. No need to spend the money for better QC"

Except the non-sold out first Red Sonja literally proves you wrong. Money did talk. The people went nuts when the first one went up for preorder, saw the finished production version, and then voted with their wallets and cancelled like crazy.

So what if people are excited now. If it sucks in the end they'll cancel. Sideshow would be wise to recognize that.

[pdenham]

Originally Posted by COI

I'm not telling anyone to get their hopes up. I responded to someone who said this enthusiasm needed some wet blankets to keep perspective, pointing out that this place is skeptical 350 days of the year, leaving out a few days for events like this. Somehow this escalated.

So for the final time, I'm not saying skepticism isn't warranted, just that we don't need to be told to keep perspective because this thread will be full of skepticism for the next year.

Well that was me and I was speaking purely for myself.
Seeing this for the first time last night, I was getting positively drunk with awe for how good this looks. I honestly wanted someone to step in and either splash water in my face or slap me silly to snap me out of my babbling stupor.
If you think I beat a dead horse when I feel something misses the mark, just wait till I see something that hits on nearly all cylinders

Honestly guys, this is the work of an artist's artist here. The aspects to it that blow me away are the exact same areas that I've been criticizing for years here on other pieces. People might have thought I was off my rocker to find fault with how the last Sonja was holding the frost giant head, or to rip on her stance for not being 'right'. All I can say is, the changes I would have made to it would have been nearly invisible to most people. Except for Mr Harbottle here. I think he would have understood exactly where I was coming from because I see in his work the same thought processes going on to ground the material and give it verisimilitude.

And all my -----ing and moaning over the years was to one purpose- to see SS step up their game.
Hiring Harbottle tells me that they may have finally crossed a major threshold. Hopefully SS's art direction 'teams' won't hamstring him or drag down the quality of work we know he is capable of producing.

Sad to say, but very few of SS artists, as talented as they may be, execute at anywhere near this guys level. His choices are always sound and rooted in studied observation of the way things work....not just what might look cool to a casual bystander. It's the difference between a flashy surface and the much more boring (but fundamental) interior nuts and bolts.

[Shoo]

Originally Posted by pdenham

Honestly guys, this is the work of an artist's artist here.

OK, I was about to post this earlier on, but I refrained from it at the last minute for fear someone might find it controversial - not in the mood to argue. After pdenham's post, though, I decided to go ahead and post it anyway. Good thing I still had it handy.

---

Originally Posted by Khev

But Sideshow didn't paint any of those statues. Therein lies the rub.

Originally Posted by mistermark

Yeah seriously, all these guys are losing it over how beautiful the proto is. So was the proto for Rogue and Catwoman and the first Poison Ivy and the first Red Sonja and then remember the terrible production pieces we ended up with... good luck with the paint job Sideshow. If XM and GG can get good painters why cant Sideshow? Beautiful lies is right.

I don't think it's that simple. The keyword in Harbottle's stuff is "natural". This is not meant as a slight on other Sideshow sculptors at all, some of whom I really admire, but I've seen quite a few WTF poses or at least odd/forced bits on some of SSC's stuff. Even if that's not the case, their statues often give me that "Yeah, nice, but somehow it feels like a statue" vibe. What you'd expect from a statue. (Bear with me.)

It's just that I look at this guy's portfolio and I go "Wow". All of his poses flow so... (again) naturally, it's scary. Not only is his anatomy flawless, but his pose choices are elegant as well. His work doesn't look good in an idealized way, it simply feels real.

Had we seen this Red Sonja unpainted, we would have all gone "Oooh aaah" anyway. Yeah, the excellent paint job takes it to another level, but even as a B&W picture everyone can see the strength of the raw sculpt.

[COI]

Originally Posted by pdenham

Well that was me and I was speaking purely for myself.
Seeing this for the first time last night, I was getting positively drunk with awe for how good this looks. I honestly wanted someone to step in and either splash water in my face or slap me silly to snap me out of my babbling stupor.
If you think I beat a dead horse when I feel something misses the mark, just wait till I see something that hits on nearly all cylinders

Honestly guys, this is the work of an artist's artist here. The aspects to it that blow me away are the exact same areas that I've been criticizing for years here on other pieces. People might have thought I was off my rocker to find fault with how the last Sonja was holding the frost giant head, or to rip on her stance for not being 'right'. All I can say is, the changes I would have made to it would have been nearly invisible to most people. Except for Mr Harbottle here. I think he would have understood exactly where I was coming from because I see in his work the same thought processes going on to ground the material and give it verisimilitude.

And all my -----ing and moaning over the years was to one purpose- to see SS step up their game.
Hiring Harbottle tells me that they may have finally crossed a major threshold. Hopefully SS's art direction 'teams' won't hamstring him or drag down the quality of work we know he is capable of producing.

Sad to say, but very few of SS artists, as talented as they may be, execute at anywhere near this guys level. His choices are always sound and rooted in studied observation of the way things work....not just what might look cool to a casual bystander. It's the difference between a flashy surface and the much more boring (but fundamental) interior nuts and bolts.

Cool.

The good news is, the sculpt will be there even if the paint isn't up to snuff.