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View Full Version : Top 4 Sculpters Rated. Today#4: Tim Prow


voNvinGeLimeR
02/27/2003, 23:07
Passing time till Xplosion...what to do?

Something I thought would be fun is rating the 'big four' sculpters
for the cLiX...they are the ones that make the majority of the figures
from set to set for Wizkids. This is just my way of giving praise where
due as well as calling for accountability for bad representations of
the characters we all love (ie. Great Job or You Can Do MUCH Better).

Quality control fellas...keep the level up...and thanks for the great game.

I'm listing from best efforts to worst (SCALE OF 1-10) based on 2 factors:
quality of sculpt (strict aesthetic value)
and functionality (whether you can turn the d*mn thing or not!)
...feel free to disagree.

...and remember these are just my personal opinions and this is all in fun.


To begin #4th Rated TIM PROW:

HALL OF FAME (10's & 9's):

10-(The Key) Consistently well painted, detailed and one of the best
sculpts in any set thus far.

9-(DR.DOOM) The spirit of this character is well captured...he is
regal, he is powerful, he is confident...he's DOOM.
And he's got the whole world in his hands 'sing it with me!'.

9-(Black Panther) King of the Wakandas is well represented here.
Ever ready for action and always with an alternative plan.


NOT BAD (8's & 7's):

8-(THE THING) Good sense of power for ole' Benji...but when did he
gain that six-pack?

8-(BANE) Very threatening pose, just looks like someone you wouldn't
want annoyed with you(SMACK).

7-(Quasar) Gotta love a guy who can 'work' a starry cape and gold bracelets.
I'm just saying...

7-(Annihilus) Good pose...and who looks as good with a serving tray as
a neckpiece?

7-(Shield Trooper) Just a good, solid hard as nails flattop fightin' man!

7-(Avalanche) Nice strong pose and a sense that he's really concentrating
on whatever it is he's doing.


NOT GOOD (6's/5's & 4's):

6-(JUGGERNAUT) For pose and stature alone one of the most intimidating figures
to see coming at you. Would have rated higher but for the consistently sloppy
paint jobs and inability to turn his dial "no one's so tough that they can't
take damage!"

6-(Cyclops) With BIG *SS hands perfect for "slappin' people upside the head"
why is he a range specialist? If the old adage is true (about large hands) then
Jean's a lucky woman. Hair Ledge...need I say more?

6-(Nick Fury) You know I kinda liked Fury...once I repainted him.

6-(STEEL) Just look Mr. Irons deep in the face an tell me who's gettin' the
wrong end of the Hammer.

6-(Hawk) Paint job once again pulls fig. back in the pack. Dirty wash on
pink and white...not good.

5-(TITania) Face of a fish...nuFF said.

5-(Blizzard) Pose good...Paint job not.

5-(Shield Medic/Agent/Hydra Medic) Poor paint jobs really hurt these guys
as well.

5-(Kingpin) All paint jobs I've seen of Wilson "complexionwise" kinda look like
Michael Clarke Duncan!...points for great movie tie-in waaay before the release.

5-(Constrictor) Based upon bubble muscles and square jaw let's just call him
'Dark-TICK' and leave it at that.

4-(Boomarang) He looks ready to fall down even before he gets hit...what's
with the lean?


HALL OF SHAME...or of total INJUSTICE or just 'What Have You Done?'
(3's and below):

3-(Blade) What's he doing?...somebody please, are we dancing or fighting?
In his case neither...cause he comes off his base so often he's never in
play.

3-(Mr. Fantastic?) This is not my Reed Richards...is it yours?
Where is the dignity...the respect...intelligence?...he LOOMS well though.

2-(Thor) In the comics we've had 'BeTa Ray Bill Thor'...'Froggy Thor' and
now we have 'GUMBY Thor'! That face! Physical proportions in relation
to other figs way off (he's a very tiny 6'6" god wouldn't you say?)...and since
when did he become a lefty? I don't think I've ever seen him depicted as
holding Mjolnir in his left hand. In terms of faithfulness to character
in a word simply UNFORGIVABLE.

Let me know your thoughts guys, if well recieved I'll post sculpter number
three soon!...again all in fun.

Nevest
02/27/2003, 23:24
Interesting thread. Guess I've never really thought before about how many different sculpters there are for a given set or overall. I'm not really sure that you can fault them for bad paint jobs though. I really doubt that they paint all the figures themselves ..... that would be the little Chinese kids. ;)

Overall though I enjoyed the read. I agree that Mr. Fantastic looks like poop, but hey, he plays like poop too so maybe they did it on purpose or something. Thor could have also been done much better. I think I would put Thing up in the 9s and 10s though, I just love the way he looks, even if he is a little slimmer than we remember him. You also could have ranked Steel and Titania lower in my book, their sculpts just plain suck.

Looking forward to the other sculpters ... if for nothing more than to learn who they are and what they've done.

voNvinGeLimeR
02/27/2003, 23:40
Thanks for the reply and I agree that the sculpters aren't directly
responsible for paint production. Once passed on to the assembly line
it's probably out of their control, but it is a major factor in the overall
impression we get of each figure and must be considered when rating
them.

...anyone else?

greenhornet
02/27/2003, 23:43
A very clever and extremely funny thread! It's amazing to me, to think that such a great fig like Dr. Doom and such goofy one like Reed (river dance) Richards/Mr. Fantastic could be done by the same dude.

Please continue, I can't wait to see number 3 on your list.

Spiritual_Ex
02/28/2003, 00:09
I think most of the heroclix sculpts are pretty well doen, the big problem is that alot of times paintjobs just don't do them justice. One needs only to look around at some of the repaints and mods going around to see that with time and patience alot of these sculpts are of pretty high quality.

Mournblade
02/28/2003, 00:55
For Dr. Doom and Thing alone he deserves to be #1.

They're the only figures I know that keep me looking at their sculpts and saying, 'Damn they're gorgeous!' while my opponents tell me to stop fondling the 'clix.

Those two figures are just the best, anyone who says differently is not sharing the wacky tabaccy.

My-Evil-Twin
02/28/2003, 01:20
I agree about the paint jobs taking away from the sculpting some of the time.
I think that out of all the Prof X figures that I've seen, they all look like Daddy Worbucks...where's his pupils?

But sometimes the sculpt is a little flawed.

Take a look at Captain America's waist...is he wearing a corset to get that ultra thin look?

Does anyone else agree that Cyclops looks like Beavis?

I'm just funning around. ^_^

The Stinger
02/28/2003, 01:24
I think my Thor died. His eyes are all rolled up into his head.....

MEDIC!!

Spookythecat
02/28/2003, 03:18
I don't think it's fair to blame the poor sculptors for the paint jobs. Avalanche and Blizzard have great, great (If similar) sculpts... And that's all that Mister Prow can do. I don't think the poor guy has any control of how his paint jobs are mangled. :)

And a couple differences of opinion:

Quasar: Paint job: Awesome. Sculpt: Dorky. I'd rate him about a fourish if based only on sculpt.

Anihilus: THIS is the dark lord of the negative zone, the ravening engine of destruction that dwells in the heart of nothingness? He should be crackling with raw destructive energy about to swoop down on some hapless mortal, not lookin' like he's ice skating backwards. Give Annie (He HATES being called that) a five.

Mister Fantastic: Dignity? Intelligence? This is a guy who turns regularly turns himself into a talking wall with a neck, and swells his fist up to the size of a VW bug. I hate to tell you this, folks, but Mister Fantastic's powers are downright Goofy! And this figure, besides being one of the two or three most distinctive and eye catching in ANY set, perfectly demonstrates Mister Fantastic's super-abilities. How many Heroclix can make THAT claim to fame. 9. 9 and a half, even.

Blade: Yeah, he breaks easy, but I get the impression that he's leaping donwards into battle, swords flashing and a cry of defiance on his lips. I'd give him a six, and that's taking away two for his lame leg.

Constrictor: Ok, the figure itself is kind of stupid looking, but tentacles= cool! 7

Steel: His anatomy is weird, his face looks scrunched, and I get the feeling he's gonna hurt himself with that hammer. I'd use him all the time... If he didn't look so #### geeky. Give him a three.

Otherwise, I'd call your list dead on, although on pure SCULPT, I like the Panther better than the Key.... Although once paint job is factored in, I think the Key is the very best looking figure in all three sets. And, yeah, Thor looks horrible.

Silver Lantern
02/28/2003, 03:51
Is it just me, or is every single Thor wearing black lipstick? WTF is that about??? I mean jeez, Thor got absolutely raped with that sculpt. The mightiest avenger looks worse than a Shield Agent.

Some of my favorite sculpts are:
1) VISION
2) THANOS
3) MAGNETO
4) Unique WOLVERINE
5) GORILLA GRODD

skforeman
03/01/2003, 01:10
i agree... for the most part.

- i'd put the SHIELD trooper a little lower - wassup with the left arm? that CAN'T be a comfortable way to hold an M-16.

- Thing is a good one, too, but did he always have that ninja-turtle esque grin in the books?

- and i'd move blizzard right up next to avalanche; makes sense to me to keep the icy-powered dark blue & white painted guys together; both sculpts are good and both have paint jobs that are hard to mess up.

Doom would be my pick for the best of his bunch. Great 'got the whole world in his hands' pose, and mine's got a grrreat paint job. boo-yah.

WarHULK
03/01/2003, 01:43
Avananche has the power to create earthquakes, not "icey-powers" :D easy mistake.


I have to admit I love the Dr. Doom sculpt. Thing, Bane, Black Panther, Blade (he might break easy but he looks cool and the detail is really good), and the Unique Cyclops (it is the same figure without the goofy hair so I think he must be credited with this one, right?) are also some favorite sculpts of mine that he's done.

It's amazing that some of the best and worst sculpts (Mr. Fantastic, Titania, Kingpin) were made by the same person.

I'm definately looking forward to the next thread.

MidnigherApoll
03/01/2003, 01:46
I loved the Key's sculpt, but I think Blade needs braces! He doesn't have fangs, he has buck teeth!

WarHULK
03/01/2003, 01:53
that's definately not the fault of the sculpter but the painters. I honestly can't hold the designer responsible for that.

AKACAY
03/01/2003, 02:00
Great thread and idea. I agree with a lot of what you're saying, but really you should be focusing on the sculpts, the paint jobs are totally outta the sculptor hands. Maybe if we all knew what the sculptor's original paintjob was like than sure, but ranking something as a bad sculpt for something a someone else did hundreds of miles away in a factory ruins the whole best sculptors idea.
Focus on the sculpts because you're rating the sculptors. That's their job, not painting. Also, blade's sculpt sucks... he does look like he's dancing...

Angafea
03/01/2003, 08:44
Great idea for a thread!

Bravo!