Sideshow's Wave 5: Officially Unveiled!

frogboy4

Inactive Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2002
Messages
10,080
Reaction score
358
Sideshow's Wave 5: Officially Unveiled!

(scroll down to look at the individual pictures)

I have been critical of the new Piggy and I still am, but the rest are rather impressive! Animal is very pink, but hopefully that will be corrected. Either way he looks great. The same with Teeth, although the images from the con looked a little better. Harry now has more hair. It's so hard to sculpt Muppet hair and even harder to figure out how to make it so it doesn't break in shipping. I think all three busts are at least B+ level work. Can't give them an A until I see them in person. This washed out and lifeless looking Piggy gets a C- from me just because the original was so much better. I wish they would offer both. If they did, I'm certain buyers would prefer the earlier prototype. Well, three out of four aint bad at all! :crazy: :halo: :big_grin: :mad:
 

Chad Kermit

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 19, 2002
Messages
104
Reaction score
0
Another issue I have with Piggy is that that is not an outfit she wore on the Muppet show that I know of. I think a Karate chop Piggy would have been perfect. All the other characterts are featured as they were in the Muppet Show. The Swedish Chef does not have the new outfit on but rather the old white shirt. I agree that the other Piggy benifited from a natural blond hair color (if their is such a thing) and less pasty skin. It's very doubtful at this point they would change her I would assume. Two of OZ's characters had great potential but didn't make the excellent cut. I'm adding Fozzie to that list. I wish the guy who sculpted Rowlf had been given Fozzie. Rowlf is still the star in the line. Maybe some day henson will get Piggy right. We all know how long it took to get a perfect Gonzo which will be in Palisades Series 5.
 

Thijs

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2002
Messages
837
Reaction score
2
I love the Dr. Teeth, and the Animal too. Crazy is less good and the Piggy is very very ugly. But Fozzie is still the worst.
 

HerryGrail

Active Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2003
Messages
41
Reaction score
0
Harry looks really off. His pupils are too small, eyes too far apart, or something. Dr. Teeth is awesome except for the jug ears. I don't remember ever seeing his ears so prominent on the puppet. I agree that Piggy's hair color is not right, and her cheek bones (jowls?) are too pronounced.

It's hard to be critical when Sideshow and Palisades have been the first to care about authenticity since Child Guidance designed the first Sesame Street hand and finger puppets. But setting your own higher standard raises the bar when results are analyzed.

Why are the Palisades and Sideshow choices of characters so similar? I would be much more likely to buy an expensive bust if a cheaper and similarly sculpted figure hadn't just been released (or was soon to be).
 

frogboy4

Inactive Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2002
Messages
10,080
Reaction score
358
They both are releasing core characters. I don't see them as similar choices though. The first wave was very close to Palisades' first in that Kermit, Bunsen and Beaker were included, but that's where the similarities end. The sculpts are quite different too. I prefer most of Palisades to Sideshow except for Rowlf so far. Their Gonzo is very good but the new Palisades Gonzo looks even better and correctly colored.

If by some act of God all figures were made into megas, it would totally negate the need for busts because megas are bigger, have more shading and are full bodied with much articulation.

I doubt one company knew what the other was doing. They are both high quality pieces and I encourage everyone to get what they can and support Muppet products so we will have more in the future.

It's funny; Sideshow announced a year ago that they would make figurines. I guess they've scrapped that because who would buy one at that kind of expense when you could have a figure or PVC from Palisades at a fraction of the price. All of my inquiries at Sideshow have gone unanswered. Not to big on their customer relations, but I do enjoy much of their product.
 

HerryGrail

Active Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2003
Messages
41
Reaction score
0
I guess my point was that in addition to the core characters the "secondary" choices seem repetitive. The Palisades Crazy Harry and Lew Zealand figures are awesome, for example, so who needs a bust? For the last 25 years I would have loved a 3-D Crazy Harry, but that need was satisfied by the superior Palisades figure months before. (I see the same problem with their Simpsons busts.)

The only people paying big bucks for these are Muppet fans, who I believe would salivate over, say, an Uncle Deadly bust as much or more than a Scooter. So why not hold back some of the major characters rather than releasing them all so early? (That said, really superior and "lifelike" sculpts like Sam and Rowlf can make a big difference.)

As the lines grow, I'm sure there'll be more variation. But it seems that Sideshow is at a disadvantage because Palisades got a head start.

I also like Sideshow's product lines, particularly the Universal Monsters series, including all of the classic "Frankenstein" movies' monsters in the likeness of the respective actor playing him/it, even all three of Boris Karloff's makeup variations.
 
Top