Species Maquette Review
For my first Statue Forum statue review, I decided to dive deep into my walk-in closet full of statue boxes and pull out what I consider to be one of my favorite pieces to date. This lovely…alien has been in my collection for at least five years. And that says a lot. I tend to grow tired of pieces, sell them and replace them with something new on a regular basis. This piece hasn’t fell victim to my purge yet.
This is definitely one of Sideshow’s most underrated pieces. I am shocked that this piece doesn’t get more focus and praise than it does. It is definitely stunning and unique. Every time I open this piece up, I am startled by how amazing it is.
I have to admit, I am not the most articulate. So I will keep my points as brief as possible and let the images speak for themselves. I apologize for the poor photos. We have been experiencing a lot of rain and overcast skies here.
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Pose
Poses are an important aspect of these collectibles, obviously. In my opinion, they need to transmit something about the character. The pose used on this piece definitely does that. The crouched, ready to strike posture conveys aggression which matches the demeanor of the character from the motion picture. My only gripe about the pose is the outstretched arm, which can make displaying her difficult and can make moving her around horrifying.
Sculpt
I am going to try to avoid the pain of having you read “unique” over and over again. Let’s just say almost every aspect of this piece is “unique.” Especially the sculpt. That is what really sold me on this piece. How many pieces out there have a layered sculpt? I can’t think of any other piece like this.
I love how the portrait and torso have this layered effect. Using a clear resin for the out most layer and opaque polystone for the rest of the sculpt. What really sold me on this piece were some of the work in progress pictures posted on Sideshow’s site when this piece was revealed (above photos). You got a glimpse of what the internal sculpt looks like. And I have to admit, the inner portrait is so freaky, to the point that it kind of intimidated and intrigued me at the same time.
The amount of detail on this piece is amazing. It doesn’t matter how many times you look at it, you will always notice something new. There is a considerable amount of tiny pieces that project out from this piece. This includes the spikes on her back, arms and legs. They are extremely small and thin. I think they look awesome, but can prove bothersome when you are unpacking, packing or moving the piece. You really need to make sure you are aware of where you place your hands.
Paint
Is this piece painted?! I have no idea. It looks too perfect to be painted. There are no drips or brush marks. It looks like she was carved out of some exotic marble. I just don’t get it, I am completely boggled by her finish. It is just too detailed and perfect to have been produced by the factories that produce Sideshow pieces now. Every detailed line and speckle of paint is perfect. Transparent paint is used throughout the clear resin. This is more visible in photos than in person. For example, the black shading around the eyes and the red lip color. Both are more apparent in photos, but in person it is faint.
Base
The base on this piece is great. I love the nameplate. It isn’t distracting at all. Even though it is a huge “Frisbee” base, it seems to work well with the pose. She fills it. It doesn’t feel like the base has any wasted or unnecessary space. The rough terrain is a nice touch. It isn’t a huge boring logo, like most of the boring “Frisbee” bases we have witnessed lately. The base is nice, neutral and balanced.
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Grading:
Sculpt 10/10
I really don’t want to give out perfect scores, but this piece definitely deserves it. Compared to what we have witnessed from collectible companies so far, it is unquestionably perfect. The sculpt is remarkably detailed and clean. I don’t see any air bubbles or rough paint. And the layered sculpt? That is just too cool. Sideshow was able to make the transition from clear resin to polystone impeccable. There aren’t any ugly or obvious seams.
Paint/Mixed Media 10/10
It is beautiful! I can’t find a single flaw. Even the top finishes are perfect. The painted textures are so interesting. There isn’t any fabric on this piece, it is a full sculpted maquette.
Design 10/10
I really don’t know how this piece could be improved. It isn’t hard to see that a lot of thought and passion went into this maquette. All aspects of it work well together. Viewing this collectible reminds me of the sewer scenes in the first movie. There are no elements of this piece that make me ask, “what were they thinking?” Everything makes sense.
Production & Build Quality 10/10
What was previewed is exactly what we received. Statements in this review are based on the piece that I received and I haven’t found a single flaw in this piece yet. Was this even sent to a factory?!¬ Or did I get the proto? Obviously, I didn’t get the prototype, but they could have fooled me.
Overall Grade: 10
It really does make me cringe to give out a perfect grade. But, I can't think of a single thing that would improve this piece.
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Product Information:
License: Species
Scale: Maquette
Manufacturer: Sideshow Collectibles
Product Size: 12" H (304.8mm) x 14" W (355.6mm) x 15" D (381mm)*
Limited Edition: 750
Approx. Reveal Date: 07/2008
Approx. Ship Date: 01/2009
Retail Price: $249.99
Artists: Martin Canale, Jeronimo Duarte Arjerich, Martin Demonte, Anthony Mestas, Tom Gilliland, The Sideshow Collectibles Design and Development Team
Summary from Sideshowcollectibles.com: The Species Maquette is cast in high-quality polystone, and features all the fearsome details that went into designing the full-sized creature in the film, from the mind of legendary creature designer H. R. Giger. Each piece is hand-cast, hand-finished and hand-painted to exacting standards, then individually hand-numbered for authenticity. Crouched for attack and ready to spring into action, the Species Maquette is the perfect addition to any display.
