Quote:
Originally Posted by Subby1938
thanks for reply my friend it's appreciated . I was hoping for weathered not destroyed
Shoulder pad armour I think that's all I would need to give the look of Hulkbuster not being totally destroyed. I'm not sure how they mount if it's magnets could you guys please add 2 weathered shoulder armour pads to give us one more option for display please.
If it's possible I'd love to see that done. It's a perfect piece you did promise us 4 display options  . |
Hmmm... I'm not sure if I've promised 4 display options specifically and if I have misled anyone, I truly apologise
But yes one of the initial dilema we had was to go with Weathered/battle damaged or Clean from factory paint look? The final conclusion we came to was based on story first, followed by practicality. The hulk buster concept context was Ironman is stepping out of a damaged Hulkbuster, continuing a battle (hence his raised hand to strike). So Hulk Buster is weathered and Ironman is factory clean paint (since he is protected in the suit) so we get to tick both boxes and artistically, there's contrast between damage and undamage when Ironman steps out of Hulkbuster, or even when displayed side-by-side. We tried having Clean switch out parts on Hulk buster for that added clean Hulkbuster option but the cost was too high (he is a huge piece), simply switching out a few parts doesn't work as the main body will look "new" whereas certain armor parts look weathered - it would look strange that those parts such as Shoulder guards are meant to take the brunt of most damages as well. To have a nice clean version pretty much means having a switch out Hulk Buster upper Torso as a whole and that is a very costly switch out which we felt is not cost effective for collectors. Also, this piece is so huge and heavy with intricate parts, I'm pretty certain once you set it up, you'd avoid moving or switching out options that often!
Quote:
Originally Posted by NorthernLadMSP
Can you confirm what you mean by this statement? Are you saying that Storm, as she is now, is not very stable on her base?
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I meant that Storm's base is a whirlwind so there's a 'hollow' point in the middle aka eye of the storm. The base isn't stable enough to hold the weight of Storm on it so Storm is most secure and stable in the center of the base surrounded by the whirlwind, rather than being on the whirlwind. Hope that makes sense?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lockdown
Hey Bryan/XM, congrats on an amazing convention. The Transformers line looks very detailed, dynamic, organic and awesomely beautiful. For Optimus, I would like the matrix of leadership to be more crystal like with some bluish hue to it or just a clear regular crystal or resin similar to the crystal on the cat's feet on the Black Cat statue or the crystal on King Pin's staff. The throbbing light is a nice touch like a heart beat. Right now, the matrix looks very plasticky when the light is not turn on.
Megatron concept looks fierce and badass, and will Bumblebee have the hologram screen? Bee is a scout and would be nice to see holding that to relay information back to the Autobots.
Also, can the side mirrors on the Optimus robot mode be plug-in instead of gluing them on the final product, some people prefer them to be left out. The holes won't be noticeable at all just like the truck mode's side mirrors that have been left out for some reason at the convention.
One more thing, I hope the 1/1 scale of Ang and Bryan statue doesn't cost a fortune. I don't think any paint app will make them any prettier :-0 Thanks.
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Thanks for the encouragement!
The matrix and optimus' eyes (same as Starscream) are actually a new material we are using. When unlit, it doesn't look transparant and looks like a fully painted material but when lit, light shows through. It's pretty cool and everyone who saw it in person at cons in Singapore, Thailand and Shanghai liked the effects. The windscreen chest for OP will also be tinted darker because we didn't want the Matrix to be so obvious. The idea is to view the matrix when you open up the chest.
Megatron and Bumble Bee wil be revealed soon and yes BB has scouting context to it. Megatron is just plain badass. Interesting why people would prefer the truck not to have side mirrors, why not? If making it optional, the holes would be visible and for some people (like myself) would find it distracting.
Despite your smooth glib tongue, the 1/2 Ang and Bryan will be VERY costly. Don't get me wrong, their base price is cheap but feeding them - gawd, that would be very costly.
Quote:
Originally Posted by marvelboi77
Any plans for Spider Woman?
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Yes sir!
Quote:
Originally Posted by nearmint
When is Shibumi shipping?
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Scheduled for shipping within Jan to Mar 2018!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vince_be
Thanks Bryan for those answers ! Any little chance to see the third portrait for Poison Ivy ?
All the Alien and Predator line will be 1/3? or 1/4 is also on the board ?
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I think this may have been answered already but for clarity there will only be 2 heads. The third portrait with long hair has not been approved because it looks too much like classic comics Ivy. Our license is to make original creative representatives of these characters so we needed to keep the designs more unique and less close to the comics look that people are used to.
Alien and Predator currently are planned to be a new scale we nick name "Supreme Scale". It's neither 1/3 nor 1/4 but more towards 1/3.5. The reason we went with this new scale is because after consulting with Narin, these creatures have amazing details which won't shine in a 1/4, and a 1/3 would be too big so we went for the most balanced scale which shows off the details best, and optimum size for display.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nebulhym
Bryan you rock!
Another extremely impressive show in Singapore and I am personally glad you know of Dormammu! 
I absolutely loved the green goblin bust! Are we going to see the 1/4 statue soon?
Once again, thanks for being so close to your fans! |
Thank you, brother! You SF guys rock too! Yup, we're reworking Green Goblin with the spectacular K Bros and should be revealed soon in Q1 or Q2 next year.
Quote:
Originally Posted by slynger
Congrats on a great show. Truly some spectacular pieces.
Ivy stole the show for me, the level of detail achieved is amazing. Hoping you can come up with another portrait and not have license issues as you mentioned with the other long haired one shown in concept. Any chance of that lantern lighting up?
Curious if you still plan on showing us more regarding your own IP, seems you've been quiet about those for some time? Please know, we want to see those come to life as well.
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Ivy long hair portrait answered - as for IP, we've decided to do more work on Visual Art of the world and characters before delving into statues. The story and characters are more of a priority for us so we've taken our time to get it right. We've 6 key character stories fleshed out by a talented Story writer Kurt (who wrote Might and Magic, worked in Ubisoft on their flagship game titles such as Assasin's Creed etc). It's taking much longer than we anticipated. Originally we thought coming up with an original line was just making a cool looing statue with details but we realized it's not the right nor sustainable way. It's much better that we make characters that are endearing, engaging, and people like them before they even consider the merchandize. Batman Samurai took us 2 years to create so it seems that Moonless Nights will take a year longer which means we will see something by next year for sure.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Demona
Might be opening a can of worms, but here I go....
As XM appears to have the rights to X-Men, is there any way to make smaller scale (1:6) dios? Some dio examples that would be great:
X-Men vs Dark Phoenix (moon themed base, Byrne costumes, straight from the comics so that roster)....X-Men vs Brotherhood.....X-Men vs Onslaught
Some smaller fight dios could be: Wolverine vs Sabretooth......Storm vs Cyclops (ala Uncanny X-Men 201)........Jean (Phoenix garb) vs Emma Frost (Hellfire design)
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Who doesn't love a good can of worms!? But this is a cool idea... we did have a series of this concepts drawn up 1 year ago TBH. Looks like we need to go back into it!
Quote:
Originally Posted by NorthernLadMSP
Speaking of Emma Frost, is XM working on a 1/4 scale Emma Frost? I need a good Emma in my life (I have the Sideshow Hellfire PF and I hate it).
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I like Sideshow's Hellfire PF - its pretty cool! But yeeeees.... we will be making Emma. She's hard to resist.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Joel
Hi Brian,
Theres a lot of fierce debate on the colour of Weapon X's helmet. I think we need to judge XM Studios' artistic eye after on having the actual peice in hand and trying both.
If you changed the colour back to silver due pressure we have caused here based on nothing but render comparisons, I'd be disappointed.
If you guys think the whole statue is balanced better with the green helmet then im happy with that final decision. I'm personally quite neutral to either from the digital vs. actual shots I have seen... but maybe;
You could show us a real world photos of both versions and then let us vote? Would be a pretty unique thing...take good shots of both from same angle same lighting and let the forums choose....
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When I first knew about this silver vs XM's green, I was actually on the side of Silver based on my recollection of the comics. However, after seeing the Green in person, in the setup and environment, I begun to understand Seng's vision. The military green color stands out better against the grey and silverish backdrop, and also against other Weapon X on the market. It actually added some realism to the piece because the Green Helm works really well with the other body accessories like the straps and belt machinery, as well as the green panels on the monitor screens. If all those pieces are done in Silver, it would blend in too well with the backdrop.
We also asked many people during the conventions and to date, it was mostly yes Green is cool or I'm on the fence but not really a case of "silver for sure!" yet. I think at this point we are pretty much set on keeping it Green based on our own artistic direction as well as feedback (which thankfully happened to be the same!)
Seng's busy now painting a fish statue I scored from Shanghai so nope - I'm not distracting him and asking him to do a silver helm! Sorrrrry!
Quote:
Originally Posted by loricstone
Will the White Mangeto, Bane, Dark Phoenix and Joker be painted in time for the next con in a month or so?
Secondly, when does XM expect to officially start the website PO for the Transformers? Will Bumblebee be the next painted reveal in the line? If not...who?
Thanks for any answers you may provide.
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Sure many of you have seen the painted White Magneto, Bane, Dark Phoenix at the Shanghai con show. Those are not yet vetted by Seng and the Team. We will usually get the physical protos into XM's HQ and look through first. A note here is that the Shanghai Con lighting isn't the best and very yellowish in general so most photos do not reflect the accurate colors.
We are ready to PO Transformers' OP and SC - the only thing holding us back is approvals for the Alternate modes' bases. Hopefully Licensor clears that soon and we can announce offical PO dates.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chipbutty55
Hey Bryan, could you please clarify the position of the XM and the Star Wars license? I read on one of the threads here, from someone who was at STGCC this year, that XM was reviewing the Star Wars license, possibly with a view of discontinuing? Any more info you can pass on about this?
And if true, where does this leave pieces already shown?
Thanks mate
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Licensing stuff wise I can't disclose as non disclosure clauses are very very strict but I can say that shown pieces you've seen so far will be produced and sold for sure!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lockdown
Hey Bryan, will the tentacles on the Spiderman statues be changed to match the ones on the Dr. Oct. statue and maybe red lights added to the claws too? This is a very dynamic statue and looks awesome when he is swinging away from his enemies.
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We'd still be reviewing and making changes to Spidey such as removing the arm seamlines etc. Agree with you the tentacles need to match - it's details like this that we all geeks appreciate yo!
Quote:
Originally Posted by khrisc
Hey Bryan,
any insight on why the 3rd portrait for Ivy was not approved? i already POed Ivy during the con thinking the 3rd head is still coming but it was too late when I learned it wasnt. So sad because that is the one I am looking forward to |
Answered above... it's licensing and approvals reasons mainly. I know it's not ideal for many but the replacement (red cropped hair version holding a mask), IMO beats the long hair classic portrait and adds much more Eastern flavor to the piece!
Quote:
Originally Posted by queens87
~INQUIRY ON THE HULK BUSTER~
1) Is each light source is fueled by an individual battery?
2) Type of battery used. Re-watched videos over and over again but cant seem to find the battery slots
3) Are these batteries changeable (Simple troubleshoot if it runs out of power)
4) Can you kindly advise on repairing the led lights if any of the bulbs were to blow over long-term display? Or is it possible to completely replace the individual parts of the Hulk Buster?
While XM is quick to process payment for their statues, they are awfully slow and inefficient in answering or responding to inquiry emails. They do deliver nice statues but definitely very lacking in customer service and experience.
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The light sources are fueled by small batteries (typically a pair of batteries), not a single individual battery. As we are not fans of putting wires into statues (long term issues), all light up pieces are designed to be removed as an individual piece (much like a switch out). The battery slots are designed to be hidden so it doesn't affect the aesthetics of the piece and it's good that you didn't see them! Means it worked!
Yes batteries are changeable rather easily - just pop out the light up part to replace and pop the part right back in. We designed it this way so that if the Leds blow (and LEDs have a very long lifespan), we can easily replace the entire small part. (we've made more of these so customers can get it if necessary) If light up parts was wired within the statue, it would mean breaking the statue apart, repainting it just to replace the lights which is not ideal for most collectors.
I agree our Customer Service still require much improvements. That's one of the key areas we've always had issue due to our lean staff strength. We've admittedly placed more priority on beefing up Quality checks specialists, painters, sculptors, designers because those are core to our producing business but neglected in the CS dept. Only recently last week, we've restructured internally and now have 2 CS staff dedicated to improving email inquiries. Just wanna say thank you for looking out for us and letting us know where we're bad at. We sometimes get so caught up in producing sometimes we overlook stuff. I can now screen grab this and show to the XM boys I was justified in hiring more CS resources! YAY!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vince_be
Is XM gonna have a real warehouse like F4F in Europe one day ?
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I hope so! Are you able to help us set one up with cheap rent? We could pay via statues or having you stay with Seng for a night!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Subby1938
Sorry for double post I'm very close to purchasing Hulk Transformation but I need another picture to see Sculpt from the side please. It's expensive I'd like to know what I'm buying to make sure I'm happy with it.
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Buddy, I have a piece of advice for you - don't buy based on hype or pressure. With so many statues and producers on the market, you guys have lots of choices now. Take your time to do research, view more prototypes and reveals before deciding to buy something. You're right, things are getting expensive so you should be sure. I don't have any more reveals for Hulk Transformation right now, but you should be seeing them around Q2 next year. Wait for pictures of the prototype, be sure that it's something you truly are happy with before buying. Even if you're afraid something may sell out so you want to reserve it first, my personal opinion is that it's better to pay a little more for something that sold out because you really dig it, than to pay retail for something you find disappointing and wouldn't display.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Demona
Bryan -- On Dark Phoenix, is there an option to not display all of the fire/debris that's around her legs and waist? It's a shame that so much of the lower half sculpt is blocked by that. It's truly a beautiful piece.
IF there it's not a integral structural piece it would be nice to have display option with plugs to cover the empty holes in the base (just like you guys did with Red Skull).
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Good point - I'd have to check if this is possible, no promises though. The flame pieces may have been engineered to be supported by parts of the body and holes on body would be hard to plug and still look good.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nebulhym
Hi Bryan!
Just saw the painted dark Phoenix and it's areal real beauty! So happy to own it soon I hope!
However, the clothing needs to be MORE RED, as it is, it looks brownish and it's not popping enough.
Would you guys agree with my observation? I really want this to be the be all end all of Phoenix statues....
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Shanghai con lighting is bad and very yellowish. Please wait for better pics!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Joel
Hi guys!
After receiving Iron Fist and finding out the batteries go flat on the light up after only a couple of hours it got me thinking about hard wiring Hulkbuster...
Any chance you could consider having tiny channels through the main bodies of HB and IM so we can add our own external control/power to each light-up? I found something like this:
https://youtu.be/ElKNkqvmEEU
The channels could be tiny and then one slightly larger channel in the bases so the wires can come out the back........ a small removable peice could cover it up for anyone not using it (or a peice that goes over the exit hole like a hood to make it look neat where the wires would exit if people go down that path)...
The lights on this guy deserve to be on wherever possible! As it is I'm 3 sets of batteries through Iron Fist and have given up and switched to the non-light up torso. Such a shame cause the light up one is by far the best! |
The link didn't work for me - something about video taken off. But to add on to my previous comment to queens87 on Hulkbuster lights (scroll up), reason why we prefer not to put wiring into statue bodies is because sometimes, the wires themselves breakdown or get faulty in the middle of the statue. It may be rare but it is possible and when that happens, it would be a hassle to fix and devalue your collection quite a bit! We believe that majority of collectors uses light up effects for temporary enjoyment, that is they switch it on to take some photos or wow some visitor friends, rather than leave it on for long durations like lamps etc. Hence we designed the light sources to be easily replaceable, non permanent light up parts, rather than wired in body external power sources. Of course the downside to this is that the lights doesn't last perpetually when plugged to a socket but on the other hand, they last long enough for a photoshoot or quick appreciation show-off to friends. We are constantly on the look out for new technology or ways to improve so we might one day do a piece with detachable wiring that can connect to sockets, but only if we are absolutely certain it would not cause future problems for a statue and collectors.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vince_be
EDIT
Please XM Regarding Storm, .....Edit Bla Blaa Blaa...it seems that It's Sisko said it hasn't been repainted so i've to trust her...
Regarding XM White Magneto, the paint of the base needs more contrast, X should be totally rusty ..Edit : but if it is again a lighning issue then i have to shut my mouth...and wait for better pics
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Yup wait for better pics! Shanghai Con lighting wasn't ideal.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Balthazar
Are there any new information or pictures about bronw costume wolverine?
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Not yet. Still waiting for the greenlight.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RossMcCollector
Regarding Doc Oc, would you guys be able to at least remove the brown from the gloves, belt, and boots?
I think there is too much brown at the moment. Maybe a darker shade of yellow?
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Not final paint up. We will still review and touch up so keep feedback coming in!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lockdown
Hey Bryan,
The Transformers line banner looks awesome! If prints come with this line, can you use these digital sculpt screenshots as prints instead? I like the slight touch of colors added to the grey scale of the prints. Maybe they can be sold separately for those of us who can't buy this whole line? I like this style way better than the prints that come with the statue with the same pose.
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Interesting idea and something I would table with the team but no promises!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Femto
Hey Bryan,
What licenses can ship to the US? I know DC can and Top Cow, are there others? I hear power rangers may be able to too.
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Yes, as of now, global licenses are DC Samurai 1/4 range, DC Justice League Comics 1/6 range. Top Cow, Jade Comics, Power Rangers and Art Series (which is Artist's IP products).
Quote:
Originally Posted by loricstone
Hi Bryan...uummm...I am surprised to not see Ultra Magnus as one of the first 8 Transformers. What happened? Provided the Transformers sell enough for the line to continue, might he be in the next few? I got to have Ultra Magnus and Cyclonus while I am at it.
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I have faith our TF line will do well judging by the response so far
so Ultra Magnus will happen in the second line up!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Subby1938
I ask lots of questions Bryan sorry with upcoming Hulk Transformation will he be in scale with Hulkbuster. I'd like to display these together if they make sense. Would you have base options :
1 . Banner plus smashed up lab
2. Possibly second base that can match better with Hulkbuster such as rubble
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Yes the Hulk Transformation will be 1/4 same scale as Hulk Buster. We didn't design the Hulk Transformation piece to be a VS or compatible piece with HB actually. Hulk Transformation piece is designed to be a standalone rendition of the process between man and monster - more of an emotive piece than a combat piece. HB is on the streets and Banner/Hulk is in a lab so it's gonna be a lot of work to make them look like they are in the same scene and I'm not sure if many collectors want to pay extra for this to work.
