The Warner Brothers stores, are,
sadly, closing. Many collectors have come to enjoy shopping there,
particularly for their gallery items. These items are the types of
things we've never had much of an opportunity to purchase before, at least
not so easily. Statues, prints, lithographs, animation cels, and
more have been the staple of the gallery areas. Now
with the stores coming to an end, most collectors are concerned that
finding these items in the future will be tough. It's likely we
won't see the same number or quality of items as we have through the
stores, and because of that, many of the pieces are selling out quickly in
these final weeks. Current rumor is that all stores will close by
May 25th, although not all stores believe that.
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I received the new animated Batman maquette from my lovely wife this
weekend as a birthday present. The price has risen this year on the
maquettes - they were $150 last year, but are now $175. I never
picked up the first version because I was never impressed by the extremely
static pose they used (it was based on control models used by the
animators, and these are generally very static since they are reference
material). However, this new version is in a terrific dynamic pose,
and I'm glad that this saw the light of day before the lights went out on
the stores. Sculpting
- ***1/2
Beautiful work once again. These higher end maquettes are generally
very well sculpted, as you would expect from the price tag. Most
important here is the pose selected. It's dynamic, intimidating, and
yet not extreme. And while it is never as difficult to capture the
look of an animated character as one that is living and breathing, they
have still done an above average job getting the look perfect. There are
two big differences between this maquette and the first. The pose is
obviously one, as I mentioned that the first was far less 'mobile'.
The first was also based on the newer look of Batman on the animated
series, while this figure is based on his original look.
Technically, the first version goes better with the small Robin maquette
they've also produced, but for those of us that are big fans of the
original show, this is the statue to have. Paint Ops - ***
These are hand painted, I'm assuming, and as such the ops are pretty
good. There's a little sloppiness around the face, but it's not too
bad. At this price I'd love perfection, but since hand painting is
never perfect, this isn't unacceptable. Value -
***
A year ago I would have ranked the value on this as only **. But
considering the ridiculous prices that the other maquettes, particularly
the original Batman, are now going for, the current retail price is a
pretty good deal. Overall -
***1/2
A truly beautiful maquette, even in
it's simplicity and straight forward design. Through a static
object, we are given the sense of motion, of power, and that's really the
trick for any artist.
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