Juggernaut by FBS

When I first read about Juggernaut I was intrigued with this character. He is someone who can go head to head with the likes of Hulk, Thing and the X-Men and would often surprise his adversaries. Immediately thoughts came to my mind like what if he goes against my favorite Superman or how we would fare against the Blob. Years ago I remember reading in a comic book a line that says something like, what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?

That was never answered as far as I can remember. It would be a good theory to test using Juggernaut as the unstoppable force and Blob as the immovable object.

Anyways, I’ve been fascinated with Juggernaut figures from the Marvel Legends line and some statues that were loaned to me for pictorial and one such statue is Juggy made by FBS, a local group here who caters to custom made statues.

FBS’ version of Juggernaut is part of a diorama where he is running towards the other guy (Colossus). If you notice the base is just a portion of the dio which when attached with the Colossus piece gives us a battle scene.

Juggernaut is quite huge (1/4^th scale, more than 15 inches tall), the sculpture and details were executed well. For those interested with this statue you can send me a PM for pricing details and I will refer you to the seller.


PhoTOYgrapher's Perspective:
I used to photographed action figures a lot then started with 12inch or so statues. Now they are getting bigger and bigger. Like I mentioned above, the details were greatly done and the paint job is comic book accurate. 

The main difference between a statue and an action figure is pose ability. With a statue what you see is what you get so a couple of things should come to mind when doing a pictorial of statues.

You can bring this statue outdoor but be prepared to get stared at by bystanders (I'm used to this), some even touching it. Lighting and angle of shooting are also factors since you want to emphasized his massive body. I did several shots of Juggernaut since he is in a running pose, I wanted to get the right angle of him running towards me. Finally after several minutes (and clicks) I finally got the shot I wanted. I added a bit of radial blur to create a picture of Juggernaut running towards me.

Setup:

For the pictures above with the black background here is a picture of how it was done.

*Note: There was a slight tweaking done to make the background solid black. My current setup does not have a big black solid background so I had to make the best of what I have.

Phoenix by Kotobukiya

Before Dark Phoenix came into the picture there was Jean Grey aka The Phoenix. Kotobukiya's rendition of Phoenix in their Marvel Bishoujo line is indeed a masterpiece. If I were to choose only 1 character to own in the Bishoujo line then I would either choose Phoenix or Dark Phoenix. 

Package Contents:

Phoenix is packaged in a window style box, all 9 inches (1/8th scale) of it. The design on the box alone is enough to sell me the figure.

Collector's Perspective:

As with my opinion on Dark Phoenix this is definitely a must for collectors. You cannot have Dark Phoenix on your shelve without Phoenix (and vice-versa). SInce this figure is jus 9 inches tall, you can practically display it anywhere (imagine this piece as an accessory on your office table or study desk).

Amazon is selling this for for $ 64.99 (http://www.amazon.com/Kotobukiya-Marvel-Comics-Phoenix-Bishoujo/dp/B0038OMC6A/ref=pd_sim_t_1). My friend was able to get this locally here in the Philippines for P 3,300.00.

PhoTOYgrapher's Perspective:

So far I favor this over the other Marvel Bishoujos because of what I was able to achieve with it in a short period of time (same with Dark Phoenix). The posing is perfect for me and creates the essence of Phoenix. I had to return this piece otherwise I would love to bring it outdoors and experiment with it some more.

Gears used:

Canon DSLR

Canon 100mm f2.8 Lens

Benro A300 Tripod

3 pcs. Jinbei 180 watts (each), Sofbox and Grid.

Falcon Eyes Product Table

Dark Phoenix by Kotobukiya

One can never have enough of Kotobukiya's Marvel Bishoujo line and Shunya Yamashita's design of the Dark Phoenix is a fantastic masterpiece! Among all the current releases of Kotobukiya including Rogue, Scarlet Witch, Black Widow, Phoenix and Psylocke, my favorite by far is Dark Phoenix. There is a white version which is an exclusive that I have not yet seen.

Package Contents:

Dark Phoenix is packaged beautifully in a window style box, all 9 inches (1/8th scale) of it. The design on the box alone is enough to sell me the figure.

Collector's Perspective:

I usually like pose able statues or figures when I am out toy shopping but this is an exception for me. The figure is very appealing and I love way she is posed.

You can buy this Amazon for $ 64.99 (http://www.amazon.com/Kotobukiya-Marvel-Comics-Phoenix-Bishoujo/dp/B0038OMC6K). My friend was able to get this locally here in the Philippines for P 3,300.00.

PhoTOYgrapher's Perspective:

So far I favor this over the other Marvel Bishoujos because of what I was able to achieve with it in a short amount of time. There are portions of her that are transparent (hand, hair and base) that made it easier for me to project what I wanted.

Gears used:

Canon DSLR

Canon 100mm f2.8 Lens

Benro A300 Tripod

3 pcs. Jinbei 180 watts (each), Softbox and Grid

Flash Light/Pen Light

Falcon Eyes Product Table

Psylocke by Kotobukiya

Kotobukiya http://www.kotous.com/news/psylocke-addition-marvel-comics-bishoujo-collection/ did another fine job when they released one of the X-Men's babe, the Ninja mutant Psylocke. Shunya Yamashita is the artist once again responsible for this beautiful masterpiece. Every time Kotobukiya comes out with a product I always have high expectations and the company never failed to deliver.

Package Contents:

Psylocke stands about 9 inches tall and comes with 2 samurai swords and a cool base with the X logo. It is packed in a window style box so you can see the figure inside.

Collector's Perspective:

Psylocke is definitely a collectible and together with Black Widow, Rogue and Scarlet Witch you can have a display full of beautiful female heroines. Kotobukiya's Bishoujo line are considered masterpieces (in my opinion) and once you start collecting one you just have to have another.


Some Issues:
1.) Psylocke is not poseable. Whatever you see in the pictures are that's the same one you are going to get.
2.) I am not somewhat satisfied with the pose because for one the samurai covers a portion of her face. Another is that I think the hips is not proportioned to the rest of her body. 


Amazon is selling this for $ 59.99 (http://www.amazon.com/Marvel-Comics-Psylocke-Bishoujo-Statue/dp/B0031M98PW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1277202334&sr=8-1), my friend was able to get it locally here in the Philippines for about P 3,300.00.


PhoTOYgrapher's Perspective:
There is a limit to what you can do because this is not a pose able figure. Basically you can do angled (or perspective) shots to come up with interesting views of Psylocke. Add a touch of lighting and she becomes a cool Ninja Assassin. You can also check out Brian Mc Carty's works http://www.mccartyphotoworks.com/ for some ideas. 

Gears used:

Canon DSLR

Canon 100mm f2.8 Lens

Benro A300 Tripod

3 pcs. Jinbei 180 watts (each), Softbox, Grid and Smoke Acrylic

Falcon Eyes Product Table