Premium Format

Sideshow Collectibles was also one of the first collectible companies to coin the phrase, “Premium Format”. Other companies now use the same term or others such as, “Museum Quality” or “Museum Pose” to describe something that’s a little higher end than the usual 1/6th scale statue format. For Sideshow, “Premium Format” has come to mean a statue that is larger in scale than normal and also offers a mix of mediums. What this means is that the statue is not an entire piece of painted resin. For the Premium Format Grey Hulk Exclusive, this means that while the overwhelming majority of the statue is painted polystone, his shredded pants are actual cloth/denim material. I was skeptical as to how this would turn out in the final product, but I was pleasantly surprised as the denim pants offer an added dimension and give a more realistic feel to the overall statue itself. Nice job by Sideshow in this regard. 

Unleash The Beast

Removing the Hulk from his box takes some doing and if you have another person around to help you, by all means use them. Unfortunately for me, I was home alone when my statue arrived and I couldn’t wait for someone else to help me open him up. I had waited too long to see this thing in person and the temptation was killing me. I opened the top of the brown cardboard box to find the interior display box covered in the usual plastic bag to protect it from abrasions and scuffing. I laid the whole thing on its side and slid the interior box out from the exterior box. The interior box had a lot of comic book pictures mixed with pictures of the actual statue. The statue shown on the box is actually the green (regular edition) version of the statue with a small picture of the Grey Hulk Exclusive shown in the upper left hand corner of the box itself. 

I opened the top of the interior display box and slid the inner foam protection pieces out of the box. The Styrofoam used by Sideshow is extremely firm and needs to be to protect something of this size and value from being broken in the transit process. The two pieces of Styrofoam are taped together and need to be separated carefully using an exacto knife or other razor blade. Once the two pieces of Styrofoam were separated, the massive size of this piece was truly realized. Wow… just Wow… that was the only thing I could say to express what I was seeing. 

Wow… Just Wow!

There’s really no way to describe the size of this statue without seeing it in person. To say that it’s 22 inches tall doesn’t really do it because it’s not merely the height of the statue, but the bulk and mass of it that is what’s truly impressive. After all, Sideshow has already produced a 24” tall statue based on the Dark Lord Sauron from “The Lord Of The Rings”, but side by side, the Hulk still dwarfs Sauron even though Sauron is taller. It’s all about his mass. This Hulk statue is solid, tall, thick, and heavy. Lifting him out of the Styrofoam felt like I was lifting a 45 pound plate weight onto a barbell at the gym… that’s no exaggeration at all. I was afraid that the weight of the statue would actually crack the base on which he stands. (The statue comes in two pieces… the figure itself and the base on which he stands.) In a word… he’s massive. 

Checking him over for any damage or flaws it was clear to see that great care had been given to the paint apps and detail of this Hulk figure. This isn’t hard to imagine simply because of the sheer size of him. It’s a lot easier to paint and detail something that’s 22 inches tall as opposed to a 12” statue or 6” action figure even. Still, the shading done to give the Hulk depth, definition, and musculature is done with great care and nothing looks out of place. The denim pants that I spoke of earlier compliment the entire statue well and don’t look out of place in the mixed medium style at all. Finer detail exists where it should in the Hulk’s eyes and other facial features once again showing the quality and care given to Sideshow’s products. You’ll pay a little more than average for their products, but this is one statue that’s well worth its weight and then some. 

The statue fits snugly on his base. You have to be careful when lowering a 45 pound giant onto a somewhat fragile base, but once he’s on there’s no give or teetering to the statue at all. (Probably in part to his massive feet, but I digress…) All in all if you were lucky enough to get one of these in their initial offering you will not be disappointed. 

It’s not easy being gray…

One of the first questions I get asked by people after seeing this statue is, “Isn’t the Hulk supposed to be green?” So, without further ado:

Using the source link above you can also view other pictures of this statue as well as a 360 degree Quicktime viewing of the regular edition Green Hulk Statue. 

Decisions, Decisions

The only problem with this statue that I can foresee is where the heck do you display him? For normal 1/6th scale (12 inch) statues, it’s not difficult to put them in a display case or place them on a shelf. In the case of this Hulk statue, I don’t have a display case deep enough or a shelf that’s strong enough to hold him. At this point, a table or specially designed case would be something of an option, but you don’t really want something of this value displayed out in the open where something bad could potentially happen to him. Until I figure something out he’ll have to stay hidden away in his massive cardboard tomb. Finding a place to store that is something of an issue as well. Oh well, these are the kinds of problems I don’t really mind having. Collect on fellow fanboys… collect on.

Overall - ****