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Old 12-14-2016, 06:12 PM   #1
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XM Studios - GHOST RIDER - StatueForum Review

XM STUDIOS – GHOST RIDER STATUE – StatueForum Review


XM Studios proudly presents its final ¼ scale production of 2016: The Ghost Rider statue. This latest premium quality sculpture could conceivably be XM Studios’ most eagerly anticipated release since its ground-breaking design and development team first began producing extraordinary statues under its present banner just a few short years ago, which incidentally already includes the incomparable and defiant Magneto, the majestic Black Bolt, and the magnificent Samurai Batman. This truly is a masterpiece.

Ghost Rider first appeared in Marvel Spotlight #5 published by Marvel Comics in August, 1972. He was originally created by writers Gary Friedrich and Roy Thomas and legendary comics artist, Mike Ploog. Although Ghost Rider assumed numerous identities and aliases since he first launched into the comics scene over 40 years ago, i.e., Johnny Blaze, Danny Ketch, and Robbie Reyes, he has and always will be the unrelenting spirit of vengeance, the merciless supernatural phenom, and the inexorable tormentor of the damned. Beware his penance stare.




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Old 12-14-2016, 06:12 PM   #2
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Old 12-14-2016, 06:12 PM   #3
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Old 12-14-2016, 06:12 PM   #4
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Old 12-14-2016, 06:12 PM   #5
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The body parts:






















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Old 12-14-2016, 06:12 PM   #6
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Old 12-14-2016, 06:12 PM   #7
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Below pics of the assembly booklet are instructions on how to insert two other hell-cycle parts. These pieces should be inserted prior to placing the Ghost Rider body.
















The stunning print and nearly indestructible box.







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Old 12-14-2016, 06:12 PM   #8
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Some day 1 nighttime shots

















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Old 12-14-2016, 06:20 PM   #9
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XM STUDIOS – GHOST RIDER STATUE – Statueforum Review

The impressive team behind the Ghost Rider statue are Studio HIVE (illustration and design in collaboration with XM Studios), Adam W. Ross (sculpt) and the XM Design and Development team. Originally offered at conventions in select and licensed parts of Asia, this XM Studios exclusive was limited to only 999 pieces worldwide at a retail price of 990 SGD (approximately $700us). XM Studios began shipping out first batches of this statue in late December, 2016.

Sculpture: The sheer magnificence of the Ghost Rider statue quickly becomes evident the moment you open the box and begin assembling the piece. Upon completion, it stands an imposing 25 inches tall to the tip of the chain, spans 33 inches in length and 16 inches deep, and weighs approximately 50 pounds. This could very well be the longest ¼ scale Marvel Comics statue ever produced.

The attention to detail on this piece is nothing short of remarkable: The buckles on his biker boots, the chilling demonic ram skull affixed to the handlebars, the charred crushed skulls of the anguished and tormented by the base, the singed texture of his leather jacket, the spear tipped chain borne of hellfire, the perilous spiked forearm bands and boots, and a petrifying portrait ablaze with combustion and purpose. Also, each hell-cycle ships with an individually numbered license plate, which further uniquifies each and every sculpture.

The scorching debris floating within the hellfire by the base provides a remarkable sense of movement to the piece. This painstaking regard for authenticity adds an element of fluidity and grandeur to the design. The sculptor, Adam Ross, practically dares your eye to fasten itself to its concept of movement and to freewheel alongside it at a breakneck speed.

XM Studios presents the fanbase with an extraordinary interpretation of the spirit of vengeance and successfully captures the horrifying and bloodcurdling aspects of the denizen of perdition. Wreathed in ethereal flame and bombastic exhausts, the brimstone biker of the netherworld presents as a formidable and daunting poetry in motion, poised for battle, and unrepentant in its expression. This is an incredible sculpture.

XM Studios selected the ideal interpretation of the spirit of vengeance as its main source of inspiration, i.e., the Danny Ketch Ghost Rider of the 90s, originally conceptualized by Howard Mackie, Javier Saltares, and Mark Texiera. Clad in sharp black leather, spiked biker boots, ethereal silver-black chain, Ghost Rider razed literal Hell on Earth for decades as he meted out his own brand of unearthly vigilante justice upon any who dared plague the innocent and defenseless. Although subsequent artists and writers would modify the appearance of Ghost Rider and his infamous hell-cycle, it seems Marvel never reverted back to Johnny Blaze’s circus stuntman look, and with good reason. The 90s version simply looked much more menacing, and terrifying.

The statue comes in 23 pieces: The Ghost Rider body, numerous bike and flame parts, a full color print and an assembly booklet.

Rating: 10/10


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Paint/Mixed media: The paint applications on the polystone body, motorcycle, and smoldering molten base are largely shades of white, black, red and yellow. While that might seem a simple enough palette to work with on the surface, it actually is not. The key to any statue’s success is ultimately found in the choice of shading. On a piece like this, the paint applications can’t be too bright otherwise it risks presenting as too animated or exultant and it can’t be too dull as that would risk presenting as unimposing and bland, neither of which would adequately embody the scourge of the NetherRealm. This piece needed to be bold, audacious, and definitely unapologetic in its expression. Fortunately, the XM Studios design team discovered the right balance between dedication and interpretation. Ghost Rider is the spawn of hellfire and the paints exemplify and epitomize this unique and accursed honor.

A slight I might consider is the paint design choice within Ghost Rider’s eye sockets. I would have preferred a more pronounced use of hellfire to embody his eyes as that might better depict his deadly and infamous penance stare. I also would have preferred a more singed weathering look to Ghost Rider’s biker boots and overall appearance, if only to look more like he had been to the fiery pits of Hell and back. However, to be fair, these are more design preferences than design flaws.


Rating 9.5/10

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Production and Build quality: This is unquestionably the largest and heaviest XM Studios release so far. The production house actually added genuine metal parts to the piece so that it looks more like an authentic motorcycle and less like a painted one. The development team definitely succeeded in presenting a more realistic appearance to the sculpture.

There’s no tilting or imbalance to the statue or cause to be concerned about long term leaning issues. The magnets are strong. The body/bike/flame seams aren’t noticeable, which is always a categorical plus, especially since there are 20+ pieces to this statue. The assembly took some doing, lots of doing, in fact. I actually spent more than an hour assembling the statue. Thankfully, the statue comes with an assembly handbook filled with instructions and pictures so it should be relatively easy to both assemble and disassemble the statue when necessary for later storage or transport. Although I typically prefer as few pieces as possible in a piece, the decision to offer this many parts certainly falls under the 'better-safe-than-sorry' category, which makes complete sense from a shipping perspective. If it means receiving an even more striking piece, I’m generally all for it. However, because there are numerous flame-themed pieces protruding from various areas on the base of the sculpture and body, I felt a need to be cautious as I didn't want to inadvertently break something. It would be wise to be vigilant when moving this around. However, once everything is assembled, the piece looks sensational.

I would recommend being careful when placing the Ghost Rider body on the hell-cycle so you won't accidentally scratch the hell-cycle with one of the sharp spikes on his boots. You also want to be wary of not poking yourself with one of those spikes either. Worth noting, however, is that two of the biker boot spikes located in closest proximity to the hell-cycle appear to be made of a durable rubber so it does limit the potential dangers of scratching the hell-cycle.

This statue weighs approximately 50 pounds which might impact the display-friendliness aspect of the piece for some collectors. Incidentally, the sheer weight of this statue actually broke the spring mechanism on my lazy-Susan (i.e., the revolving tray I use to rotate the statue in order to take pics) which is why there's a blue cloth underneath this statue which enabled me to rotate it without breaking my back! As this is a massive and heavy statue, it might limit where it can be displayed and how it could be moved around or shipped. The FedEx delivery man actually needed my help carrying this one into the house!

Note: XM Studios informed the fanbase of two motorcycle parts which were not featured in the enclosed assembly booklet. I’ve posted pics of the two pieces in post #7, just above. I would recommend assembling those two pieces just prior to placing Ghost Rider on his hell-cycle (i.e., between pieces #10 and #11).


Rating 9/10
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Design: The design of this piece completely embodies the pure horrific and plagued essence of Ghost Rider. It quite literally is the comic book form come to life. With bombastic exhausts in tow, ethereal flame poised to leap off your display stand, a swirling chain made of hellfire, and an action pose ready to triumph over the guilty and damned, I cannot imagine a better representation of the spirit of vengeance. The designers of this remarkable piece clearly did their homework on this one. It is a perfect interpretation of the spirit of vengeance.

As always, the statue also features a stunning full color print designed by Studio Hive, all prepared and suitable for framing.

Rating: 10/10

This is an outstanding statue, and easily among the most impressive statues I have ever had the privilege to review. There isn’t much more I can say other than to recommend that you do whatever you can to acquire this one while you still can at a reasonable price. This sculpture will completely captivate your attention and quite likely anyone else whose eyes may feast upon it. It truly is an extraordinary and exquisite work of art, and arguably one of the most ambitious and awe-inspiring creative designs ever undertaken by a statue production company in recent memory.

Overall rating: 9.6/10 (38.5/40)


P.S. Lastly, please do not forget to register your statue’s serial number on the XM website. Join the fight against recasters who continue to plague our industry in growing numbers.







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Old 12-14-2016, 07:10 PM   #10
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