The Warriors 3 by Bowen Designs

When Asgard is in great danger Odin summons its mightiest warriors – Fandral the Dashing, Hogun the Grim and Volstag the Voluminous. Together these 3 individuals form the Warriors 3 and aids the Mighty Thor in battles. I first noticed them when I read X-Men: Asgardian Wars (great job by Arthur Adams) more than 10 years ago and there were some scenes where the New Mutants came face to face with them and Volstag just kept on eating.

Following the releases of Bowen Designs (BD), I’ve been wondering for some time as to when these guys would have their own statues/bust and BD came through. My friend Kenneth who is a die hard Thor fan grabbed this opportunity to buy the Warriors 3 mini busts set when it was released. Ken’s the only person I know who collects nothing except Thor related collectibles and patiently waits for each Thor statue to be available. However my heart goes out to his Beta Ray Bill bust (boxed and stored) because wifey objects to how scary it looks on his display.

I was surprised to see how small the box of the Warriors 3 mini busts but BD made good with the details and paint job of each character.

This sells online for about $165.99 (http://www.urban-collector.com/warriors-three-mini-bust-bowen-designs.html) and another one at $178.95 (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003B9EIBY/ref=asc_df_B003B9EIBY1263174?smid=A2I2G3C668O1EH&tag=nextag-toys-mp01-delta-20&linkCode=asn&creative=395105&creativeASIN=B003B9EIBY)

PhoTOYgrapher’s Perspective:

When I saw these guys the thought of having a thunderous background suddenly came into my mind or maybe a fortress (Asgard maybe?) so I did some tabletop setup and came out with these pictures. These mini busts would be awesome standing next to the god of thunder had they been made full, but otherwise they are still masterpieces.

Lighting Setup:

I basically used one piece of 400w light fitted with an octabox and a white board across to lessen the shadows on Fandral. The black background is by Savage and already pre cut to fit with my Falcon Eyes table.

Kingdom Come Superman Deluxe Collector by DC

I’ve been following the art of Alex Ross for a while now and consider him to be the best painter in the comic book industry. I’ve somewhat studied his lighting in illustrations and they are pretty amazing. When I was shooting action figures a few years back I was not aware that my style resembles how Alex draws (or paints) his characters.

I found out about this 1/6^th scale Kingdom Come Superman figure while browsing through one of Jon’s magazines and told him about it. Jon also a Superman fan ordered one and informed me when he finally got it.

I was very excited when he lent it to me (to the point of buying one for myself) because it was by far the best rendition of KC Superman in a toy that I have ever seen. I opened the box with much anticipation and my jaw dropped when I saw the figure. Alex Ross is indeed an awesome artist! The face sculpt of Superman is incredible; it captured the same essence in the comic book line. With regards to the rest of the figure check out my issues below.

Jon bought this for P5, 000.00 (approximately $113.00) locally. It is available online for $99.00 at DC's website (http://www.dccomics.com/dcdirect/?dcd=14180).

If you are a Superman collector then you got to have this. If you are an Alex Ross fan then you got to have this. Enough said.

PhoTOYgrapher’s Perspective:

I did a few light painting techniques to try to duplicate Alex Ross’ style and some fellow flickr colleagues immediately guessed what I was trying to do. I also tried some rim lighting and it worked as well.

Some Issues:

1.) My problem with this figure though is the Mr. Olympia like body and arms. This ruined (in my humble opinion) an otherwise good figure. I can do the famous Superman pose where he puts both hands on his waist but that is about it. I cannot bring down his arms side by side to his body because of the Olympian like pectorals inside his clothing.

2.) The plastic stand looks and feels cheap. Be careful with how you insert the stand to the base because mine slipped and made a slight scratch on the base (sorry Jon).

3.) I would prefer if the head tilts backward so I can do a flying pose.

Toy Story Revoltech by Kaiyodo

Toy Story is probably one of the successful Disney/Pixar movie of all time and despite ending the series with its 3^rd installation, its merchandise keeps popping up in toy stores all over the world.

The Revoltech phenomenon continues with their release of Toy Story’s two main characters in Woody and Buzz Lightyear. Revoltech is known for producing good quality and pose able figures and the poses are only limited by your imagination. While some poses are hard to do, I find others are almost next to impossible to accomplished. Almost all parts of their figures are bendable so collectors will have a grand time putting them on display.

If you check the diagrams in their boxes (Japanese words), it explains the joint system technology that they incorporated in their figures, hence the ability to do complex poses.

The Woody and Buzz Revoltech sells for $38.99 a piece at Bigbadtoystore (http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=KAI10311&mode=retail and http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=KAI10310&mode=retail).

Toy Story collectors will definitely appreciate the good attention to details, articulation, accessories and paint quality of each toy. Woody comes with several interchangeable hands, his hat, a microphone, an extra face and that cute binocular in the movie. Also as an added bonus a piece of Buzz’s hand is included.

On the other hand Buzz comes with detachable wings, an extra face and three little army green men. Aside from these accessories each figure comes with a plastic coin, storage box and name plate.

PhoTOYgrapher’s Perspective:

I used to own several Revoltech figures and more or less have a hard time giving them proper poses. Woody and Buzz are the same. It is a challenge to make both Woody and Buzz pose (Woody is harder) and I spent several minutes just making them stand.

These figures are very good subjects for phoTOYgraphy. Tabletop shooters will appreciate their small size and pose ability so you can probably pull off cool diorama photos with these two guys.

My colleague Ryan did a flying pose of Buzz with a Star Command background and he indicated that posing Buzz is a bit of a challenge as well.

Issue:

Despite the articulations, Revoltech products are harder to pose than most action figures and this is probably the drawback for me.  


For more pictures kindly check
http://www.flickr.com/photos/powerpee/sets/72157625002371218/

Iron Man Mark VI 400% Bearbrick by Medicom

The first time I saw a Bearbrick was when the local vinyl store FRESH Manila used to operate a few years ago. The owner who had several Bearbricks of different sizes on display introduced me to this.  I saw a small one, roughly about 3-4 inches and another one that is almost twice the size. What caught my eye were the bigger pieces to which they were coined 400% in size.

One of Jon’s haul during his Singapore trip was a 400% Bearbrick of Iron Man Mark VI. Even Medicom, the company who manufactures these Bearbricks capitalized on the success of the movie and made their own version of Iron Man.

I browsed online for the cost of this item and I saw someone selling it on eBay for 120 Singapore dollars http://cgi.ebay.com.sg/Hot-Bearbrick-400-Iron-Man-Mark-VI-Be-rbrick-Toys-/380257967437

Packaging:

Bearbrick collectors will definitely grab this opportunity to own a fantastic piece of Iron Man memorabilia with this purchase. The print on the figure is of high quality and captures the essence of Iron Man Mark VI. Also when you try to move the arms and legs there is a clicking sound with each rotation that informs you of the certain degrees to which you can move both the arms and legs.

PhoTOYgrapher's Perspective:

The posing is limited so I was able to get only a few shots of it. I was impressed with the paint job (printing) done with this figure. After taking several shots I decided to imitate the famous Adi Granov pose with a touch of rim lighting effect.

Issue:

1.) Light up eyes and chest? Nah, too much.

* Comparison in size between the 400% Bearbrick and Hasbro Mark V

Iron Man Mark VI by Kotobukiya

My friend Jon recently went to Singapore and had several toys shipped here in the Philippines and of the toys happens to be an Iron Man Mark VI by Kotobukiya. Having seen and photoygraphed the Mark III I was expecting the Mark VI to be better.

Kotobukiya incorporated a different design scheme for the Mark VI by inserting a peg under his left foot. This peg acts as a connector that when inserted to the base activates the light up eyes, chest and hands of Iron Man.

The Mark VI is available online at http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=KOT10542&mode=retail for about $149.99.

The Mark VI (which is around 13 inches) has a limited production of 1500 and there’s a label on the box that indicates which number you get. Kotobukiya continues to use a simple and sleek box design with pictures of portions of Iron Man’s armor. I would have preferred an action instead of this museum pose but I guess Kotobukiya designed all of them that way.

PhoTOYgrapher’s Perspective:

A typical studio shoot type would bring this statue to life. You can also make use of the light up eyes, chest and hands to create mood shots. I was not able to fully insert the foot with the peg into the base for fear of damaging either component. Because of this the statue was not that stable and the lighting of his eyes, chest and hands were flickering.

It does not differ much from the Mark III for me except for some minor modifications to which it fell short of my expectations.

Some Issues:

1.) The paint job falls short of my expectations. It does not have that shiny armor effect that I prefer and some there are some paint consistencies.

2.) The peg on his left foot does not insert fully well to the base, which makes Iron Man a bit unstable when attaching him to the base.

War Machine by Bowen Designs

When Jon informed me that Bowen came out with a War Machine statue I immediately checked online to see what it was. Ever since I saw WM from Iron Man Movie: 2 I began to appreciate him it even more than Iron Man. The cool gray/silver combination and extra ammos on his shoulders makes him a mean fighting machine.

It took him a few days to lend me his statue because of a minor defect – the slot of the Gatling gun is filled up with plastic. He informed the seller of the problem and they were able to fix it.

My high expectations of the War Machine statue were not met because of some issues, but mostly personal ones. The craftsmanship is excellent and the paint job was well taken care of. BD limited this production to about 1,500 pieces and the best thing is that this is an action pose. The package consisted of 4 pieces, War Machine, the base, shoulder cannon and a gatling gun.

The statue is available online for about $184.99 at http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=BWD10212&mode=retail. Jon bought it for P11,000.00 at one of the local malls here in the Philippines.

PhoTOYgrapher’s Perspective:

Because of the color of War Machine I was able to apply my rim lighting style and it worked for me (see picture below). I am so used to seeing museum poses by BD (Bowen Designs), it was a refreshing change to do this fighting pose War Machine.

Rim lighting works pretty well for this statue because of the color combination of gray and silver. 

Some Issues:

1.) The armor looks more of a body suit than an armor. I guess this is a preference of taste and I do prefer a more armored version of War Machine. The body needs more details for me.

2.) The face is a bit long for my taste. 

War Machine 1/4th Scale Bust by Hottoys

I saw an actual display piece of this at Toy Hunter in Mongkok and my jaw dropped. It's practically a masterpiece! I was not able to buy it because it was not yet available for sale.

More than a month later Jon was able to get this at one of the local toy stores here in the metro area (R-Toys to be exact) and immediately loaned it to me for a photo shoot/blog. My initial impression was the price, because I feel it’s a bit pricey for a plastic 1/4^th scale bust. However, after I opened the box and saw the actual piece I knew that collectors would definitely skip lunch or dinner for this piece.

The packaging is simple, black box with some illustrations and wordings. War Machine comes with a Gatling gun (with ammo) and features light up eyes and chest. The red lights of his eyes are awesome! The details are stunning and the craftsmanship is very impressive. Though the Iron Man Mark IV is nice, this War Machine is even better.

Big Bad Toy Store is selling this for $74.99. Jon bought it around $88.00 (which is the normal selling price here in the Philippines) that is $13.00 more.

http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=HOT10291&mode=retail

Iron Man fans will definitely want to add this to their collection.

PhoTOYgrapher's Perspective:

As with statues there are no moving parts here so basically this works best (in my humble opinion) with a tabletop treatment. I would probably get some props to go along with this bust (maybe some Iron Man cosbaby guarding it) or maybe do a composite by adding a cool background later.

You can also do a comparison photo by shooting it eye level and below eye level. I find the latter works for me because it makes him look big. The lighted eyes (red) and chest (powered by 3 AAA batteries) are good additions to this awesome bust.

Some Issues:

1.) The built is plastic.

2.) I would have preferred HT not to include portions of the arms because it looks as if they are dangling. It would be better if they leave the sculpting until the shoulders only.

Stealth Iron Man by Bowen Designs

One of the most popular statues under the Marvel banner is Iron Man. I have seen countless Iron Man statues from classic to stealth to even a Hulk buster and a Thor buster version. With so many IM statues available I already lost track which is which.

When I decided to do a PhoTOYgraphy blog I asked Jon to loan me his collection. Jon being an Iron Man fan had several statues with him and I am going to start off with the Stealth Iron Man.

The stealth is packed in Bowen’s conventional styro and box with colorful illustrations. The base is separated from the figure, which shows Iron Man blasting off. Bowen Designs released this statue last April 2009, so chances are this is already sold out. Amazon is selling this piece for $ 119.99.

http://www.amazon.com/Iron-Man-Stealth-Statue-Designs/dp/B001VDYK24

Personally if you are an Iron Man fan then you will have to add this to your collection. The sculpting by the Kucharek Brothers made this statue come to life. The paint quality however is a different story. There are mixed reviews as to whether the blasting off pose is good or not, however I find it a bit stiff.

PhoTOYgrapher’s Perspective:

Iron Man is an interesting piece to phoTOYgraphed because you have to do well with the lighting to show off his armor. The stealth is dull compared with the classic red/gold combination but given a proper lighting treatment it will come to life.

I usually do 2 types of lighting here, one a rim lighting style and the other a high key effect just to show my flickr colleagues what the statue looks like. The fact that statues do not move gives me more time to prepare for the shoot and not worry if my model is uncomfortable.

It would probably be nice to bring this outdoors for some realistic scenery shot but it is not mine.

Issue:

1.) The blasting off pose is a bit stiff for me.

Lighting Setup:

Here is a diagram of how I did the lighting. The Octabox acts as a reflector only (notice there is not strobe/flash gun attached to it) so basically what I did was a one light setup. I did the same shot with the classic and the stealth so the pictures are similar except the classic has more punch.