Sculpt: Following the success of fan favorite Sideshow statues like Ms. Marvel and Lara Croft Premium Formats, as well as the Rogue, Mystique, and Black Queen comiquettes, Tim Miller once again does not disappoint. Working alongside a top notch development team, Tim delivers in a major way by offering arguably the definitive Black Widow statue.
I imagine this comes as no surprise - The Sideshow fanbase loves women dressed in skin tight leather. And, if the stealth design happens to accentuate the character’s other fine attributes in the process, I doubt you’ll hear too many people complaining. Like Tim’s numerous successful earlier efforts, this piece captures the imagination and provides a remarkable interpretation of everyone favorite and former Russian super spy, and now highly respected Shield agent and valued member of the Avengers.
Displaying at 19 inches in height, this piece displays really well alongside other ΒΌ scale Marvel Universe premium formats. While she does not have the “A” base like some of the other Avengers PFs, it doesn’t take away from the piece in the slightest. In fact, it actually sets it apart from other pieces, which in my opinion, is a definite plus.
The statue comes with a base, figure, belt, one right hand and two different left hand pieces. The right hand features an impressive looking Russian sniper rifle. The left hand pieces are: one left hand holding a pistol with silencer and the exclusive left hand piece holding a knife. Both left hand pieces look really good and provide a different look to the statue. In all fairness though, I would have preferred a clenched fist or no-weapon left hand option as the big Russian sniper rifle kind of defeats the purpose of the smaller handheld weapons. Also, I would have preferred just a slight adjustment around the Russian rifle area which would allow for a better eye contact display and less potential rubbing against her belt.
I absolutely love the classic 60s feel of her belt. It's incredible how something so simple can add so much to a piece.
The snow covered mountain base has some wonderful touches to it. If you look closely, there is some discoloration to the snow, suggestive of other footprints, perhaps even gunshot residue. While not the most complicated base we’ve seen from Sideshow, it works extremely well here. Let’s face it, we all know what the fans are really focusing on. Very nicely done.
Rating – 8/10
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Paint/Mixed media: As the Black Widow is mostly covered in a black body suit, there isn’t much going on paint-wise, save for the acrylics on her face, hair, boots, and the snow covered mountain base. Let’s start with the facial features. Natasha looks absolutely fabulous. No paint smudges or painting over lines. Overall, a solid job. If there is any downside to this statue, it’s that the eyes aren’t completely aligned. One would hope Sideshow would have rectified this situation by now. Thankfully, it isn’t anywhere near as noticeable as some of Sideshow’s earlier releases.
Rating 8/10
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Production and Build quality: The statue ships with 6 separate pieces, i.e., the Black Widow figure, right hand Russion rife piece, two left hand pieces, the belt, and the base. Magnets are used to connect the hand pieces and pegs for the base. This piece is relatively easy to put together with no fuss or exertion of force. As a general rule, I much prefer pieces with as few accessories as possible. Compared to other PFs, this is a very light piece.
There are a couple negatives here. The rifle gun rests too close to the figure which means there will be some occasional rubbing especially against her belt. While no big deal at the end of the day, why not fix that at the developmental stage? Also, the belt stays together via this tiny piece of Velcro. I would have preferred a bigger/longer piece of Velcro so that it doesn't risk looking like it's sagging over time. Those points are probably nit-picky, but it's something worth mentioning. However, the part which irks me the most is that there are angles where BW's derriere looks angular as opposed to curved (like all firms behinds should). This was a stitching issue which could have been corrected as well.
Rating 8/10
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Design: In my opinion, this is the definitive Black Widow, i.e., originally designed by John Romita Sr in Amazing Spiderman #86 .
Rating: 8/10
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Overall rating - 8/10
