[vadersquest]

New Ask Sideshow Q and A posted/ 11/18/09

[vadersquest]

Sideshow Collectibles ‘Ask Sideshow’ Answers - 11/18/09

Q-I’m a huge fan of Final Fantasy, and I only see two characters on Sideshow’s site - will there be more on the way?

A-Final Fantasy is an amazing franchise but not one that Sideshow is currently licensed to produce collectible product for.

Q-I am enjoying the upcoming Street Fighter diorama. What other diorama or Premium Format for Street Fighter are you working on?

A-Our good friends at Pop Culture Shock are responsible for the wonderful Street Fighter products that you mention. Jerry Macaluso is the man behind PCS, he’s a very talented designer, sculptor, and businessman - he’s doing amazing work on the Street Fighter line. From what’s he has shared with us, there are some killer products coming in 2010 for the Street Fighter and Darkstalkers licenses. We don’t want to let the cat out of the bag yet, but we’ll tell you that it’s an exciting line-up.

Q-Will you be making 1:6 and Premium Format figures from Disney licenses such as Tron and the Black Hole? A PF of Maximilian and V.I.N.C.E.N.T. would rock as would an electroluminescent Tron figure and Lightcycle. Will you also be producing items from the upcoming Tron Legacy?

A-We’re currently licensed to create Premium Format style Disney character products, but it’s a safe bet that we’ll look to expand our Disney range in the future. We do have an interest in Tron Legacy… stay tuned!

Q-Sideshow’s “Brotherhood of Arms” 1/6 series is really a hot item on eBay and the secondary market at the moment and although back in April 2009 you stated: ‘We don’t currently have any plans for new 12-inch figures for the BoA series, but it is something that we review periodically.’ I am wondering if you will shortly review it? A couple of “Ask Sideshow” questions from May 2008 and the April 2009 had wonderful suggestions for new subjects, and I might add Gen. McClellan, Jeff Davis, and the Chicago Zouaves. Also, as an accessory, we have a couple of Cavalry and a few Generals lacking a magnificent steed to sit upon. Could Sideshow consider providing a horse or two (no articulation required in my opinion) for our warriors? I believe one of your competitors offers horses in their WW 2 line. Thanks for your consideration!

A-We’ll certainly share your suggestions with our creative team. We’ve looked at horses many times with hopes of incorporating them into various 1:6 scale lines, but it’s very difficult to satisfy aesthetic and articulation ambitions, which is to say that maybe someday we’ll strike on the right balance and bring a great 1:6 scale horse to market. Sorry that our answer isn’t more complete, but the design and development teams are currently more focused on representing historical characters in 1:4 scale.

Q-How about a Sideshow Original line of witches - lots of them, in various stages of corruption, all ugly, all in premium format scale, and each with interesting display bases. Possibly some conjured demons of different forms could also be developed to enhance this dark theme! Have fun and try to scare us!

A-An interesting suggestion, which may fit within one of the conceptual lines currently in discussion at Sideshow HQ. Who knows?!?!

And, of course, there’s always the terrible old hag from Snow White to consider…

Q-In the September 9th edition of Ask Sideshow, you indicated that you’re not considering putting square holes in the 1/6 scale environments so that we could plug our figure stands into them for additional stability. Your answer was that the figures tend to stand well enough on their own so there’s no reason to mess with the look of the environments by adding holes. Well … perhaps I’ve just been unlucky, but MOST of my Sideshow figures need a little help in the standing department. They really do need the figure stands. (And if the floors in your house are at all “bouncy” you know how easy it is for your treasures to take swan dives off the shelves!) As a compromise, would you ever consider casting figure stands out of clear plastic? (Sorry to be a pest about this!)

A-There’s nothing pesty about the question at all; it’s a very good discussion. You may consider using some of the blue sticky tack or Earthquake putty to hold your figures feet to the ground, which would at least anchor them from long-falls if the worst should happen. We will keep an eye out for opportunities to hide base connector fittings in future environments, and we will discuss a release of the base parts cast in clear plastic (although there’s nothing to be done about the metal wire) fitting. There are some discussions in progress about a new base design, but there’s nothing decided yet that we can share with you.

Q-What happened to the Warhammer 40K line, the statues were awesome and they are so hard to find now, and the prices are usually 4 times as much as the original cost. Will you ever reproduce the line or continue with new sculpts?

A-That’s very interesting - we had no idea that the 40K figures had risen so much in value! At this time, we’re not involved in any Warhammer 40K product development, but it was discussed in the not-too-distant past and is likely to be discussed again in the future.

Q-Seeing how involved Peter Jackson and Weta were with District-9 is there any chance there will be products from it? The exosuit and prawns would make excellent pieces.

A-We agree! There are some excellent product potentials from District 9. We’re not actively engaged, but it is on our radar!

Q-Would you ever consider making the monster from “Cloverfield?” Hasbro took a shot at it, but it really deserves the Sideshow treatment.

A-While many of our staff LOVE Cloverfield, the general opinion is that the design of the Monster makes for a difficult collectible product subject. It’s very gangly and awkward, but so very cool. Perhaps we’ll strike on the right idea at some point and seek out a conversation with JJ’s people.

Q-I am a huge fan of 24. There is nothing I’d like more than a Sideshow quality 12-inch sitting in my office, protecting me from terrorists everywhere. Have you ever considered approaching the creators for a license to create such a masterpiece?

A-Duly noted, and it’s not a property that has ever been conclusively evaluated within Sideshow’s meetings. We will pass along your suggestion.

Q-I would love to see a Neo and Trinity PF from the Matrix, is there any chance that Sideshow will take on this challenge? -AND- I know that Sideshow is releasing a Sentinel from the matrix, but does Sideshow have the Matrix license for other items as well. Any chance of a Premium Format Neo???

A-While there is a chance that we’ll find a place for the Matrix within Sideshow’s line-up, we’re not currently engaged in any Matrix licensing. The upcoming Sentinel piece is a product of the mad-minds (aka amazing designers) at Hot Toys.

Q-Any consideration of a 12″ figure of “The Crow” ?

A-Yes, it is a property that we look at from time to time, and one that we’re likely to tackle at some point, although in what format we couldn’t say.

Q-Do you randomly insert gift cards or swag into packages shipped out? How about a random autograph inserted from the star the figure represents? (ala Enterbay with Jet Li)

A-Interesting idea. It’s not likely, but it’s interesting.

Q-Has Sideshow ever considered pursuing the “Back to the Future” license? Even without the likeness of Michael J Fox, next year for the 25th Anniversary of the franchise some BTTF figures, statues and busts would be great. A Doc Brown figure or statue alone would be worth it!

A-While we do love Back to the Future, it’s not a property that we’re pursuing at the moment.

Q-Star Wars and GI Joe seem to be going strong, but are there any new 1/6 licenses on the horizon for Sideshow? If so can, you tell us if they’re from newly created properties or from more vintage titles? Are there plans to add 1/6 figures to any of Sideshow’s current licenses such as Conan? And finally - the Dead seem popular, any plans for other Sideshow Original 1/6 lines?

A-The magic 8-balls answer here is definitely inconclusive. We recommend to shake the 8-ball again and ask us in a few months.

Q-With such attention to detail and collectible value, has Sideshow ever considered a line of silver screen comedic icons such as: Abbott & Costello, The Three Stooges, and Laurel & Hardy?

A-In the very early days of the company, Sideshow was in fact a Three Stooges licensee. We’re not actively engaged with or pursuing any of the properties you mention, but if the right idea comes along…

Q-What is Sideshow Collectibles’ stance on censorship, given the recent spate of mainstream female comic book characters, which are still targeted for children, being given the blatant sexualization make-over by artist such as Adam Hughes and brought to ‘life’ by your very talented sculptors? I appreciate that there is a market for these type of pieces, but I think it should be pointed out to parents that some of these pneumatically enhanced figures are definitely aimed at the adult collector and should be advertised more openly as such. I’m not questioning the quality of the sculpts etc, just the interpretation of the character and who it is meant to appeal to, as there is a big difference between a comic book image and a sculpted piece. Sorry to raise such a tricky subject, and I am obviously expressing my own personal view as a concerned parent and grandparent.

A-We certainly do respect your opinion, but we’re likely to fall more in the anti-censorship camp. The vast majority of our collectors are adults who, like yourself, make the decisions about to what to expose their impressionable youths. We don’t want to encourage any corruption of the wonderful young minds that read comics or watch movies, but we do enjoy the opportunity to capture the imaginative and artistic interpretations of well-known characters. We don’t see ourselves as impacting a huge segment of the populace or defining cultural tastes. In large part, we are capturing established cannon appearances in physical form for a relatively small, specific and adult audience. On several occasions, we have been frustrated by talent or studio approvals asking us to remove details of a sculpture which are accurate to source materials, degrading the authenticity of our product in favor of satisfying the views of a particular actor, actress, or studio head who does not, for instance, believe in nipples, endowed women, g-string underwear, or more innocently, the true size of someone’s nose. We aim to be true to the inspirational material, to maintain the spirit and adhere to our general goal of extreme authenticity. For some, that’s a declaration of sexuality, and for others just an appreciation of beautiful art.