Sideshow Predator 2 maquette repaint

A good friend of mine is a known pro painter in the predator collectible community and I asked him to repaint the unmasked headsculpt of my Sideshow Predator 2 maquette. The armor I repainted by myself going for a more copperish look with lots of drybrushing and adding more green oxidation effects. Also i went ahead and repainted the base going for a lava rock look with bright drybrush highlights - by far the best and most visible change you can see on the skulls on the base: i used mainly vallejo acrylic colors in this process.

Also enjoy some comparison photos and if you want to see the original product, please see my review here.

More after the jump.

Hot Toys Sneaky Mark 15 - Iron Man 3 1/6 MMS348 - photo & video review

Another addition for the ever growing Iron Man 3 house party protocol line by Hot Toys: this time it's Sneaky, the Mark 15 / XV which basically is highly advanced stealth suit. Hot Toys did a good job on this release and went for a total fresh sculpt without recycling parts from earlier releases.

More photos after the jump.

Hot Toys War Machine Mark 1 diecast - Iron Man 2 1/6 MMS331 D13 2016 - photo & video review

Been some time guys - i was on a 4 weeks vacation during summer and work kickstarted again. But this Hot Toys release I could not pass up: it's the diecast re-release of the original war machine from Iron Man 2, but with lots of other upgrades, it's basically a total new figure. Enjoy the photos and the video review. Get yours on sideshowcollectibles.com .

More after the jump.

Hot Toys Elder Predator 2.0 - AvP1/6 MMS325 2016 - photo review

A rather uninspiring release of Hot Toys: The AvP Elder Predator 2.0 from 2016, MMS325. It's alright, but no stunning piece. The headsculpt is a let down: googly eyes and quite a cartoony look. It does not fit to the other Preds of this lines in terms of the face sculpt. The rest of the figure is well executed though. The accessories are well built and with some cool details, but overall I can't justify the Hong Kong release price of almost 300 USD. I decided to share only some photos on this piece.

More photos after the jump.

Hot Toys Alien Warrior - Aliens 1/6 MMS354 2016 - video and photo review

It's about time! I finally  my hands on a 1/6 Alien by Hot Toys. After years of collecting Alien stuff in the early 2000s I had a break from that franchise for some years (though this channel and my nickname originated from there and the stuff i collectet at that time - mosly resin kits and statues of Aliens). I always had an eye on the original Hot Toys releases around 2006 but read about serious quality problems. Seems Hot Toys listened to collectors and they probably plan to re-release some of the Aliens now. The first release is the Alien Warrior or Drone from the Aliens movie.

The final product came out pretty good. Some limitations in terms of waist and thigh articulations are present, but for me it's a minor thing. It would have been amazing to have him in a crawling pose but it seems Hot Toys went the safe way. Excpetional is the paintjob which mimics a blend between movie accuracy of the suit (brown, black) and the ambient blue hue colored look from the movie scenes. The shine is awesome and i love the areas where you even have a pearl effect going on. The only real rubber part seems to be the gums around the mouth area - here it's suggested not to have the inner-jaw out the whole time to avoid loosing of these rubber elements.

Full video review on youtube:

If you want one, please head over to Sideshow: http://side.sh/ap

More photos after the jump. Will add on some more photos in some days.

Hot Toys Iron Man Mark 45 XLV - Avengers Age of Ultron - 1/6 MMS300D11 - video and photo review

What a beautiful suit this Mark 45 is! Hot Toys latest 1/6 Iron Man suit in the Avengers Age of Ultron line is an eye-catcher. The paintjob is very metallic and has a depth to it that we haven't seen before on any other Iron Man suits. Enjoy the video review on youtube and some photos.

More after the jump.

Hans Zimmer live on tour - Zurich 9th May 2016

Movie soundtracks are another passion of myself. I had the chance to visit the Hans Zimmer live on tour concert in Zurich on May 9th 2016. Enjoy some impressions of live recording paired up with movie scenes in the video.

Collection update & room tour May 2016

I wanted to share my current collection room and give you a quick tour in this youtube video - enjoy:

If you're looking for the perfect LED kit for your ikea detolf check out Dave's thecollectioncorner.com . He does some amazing custom LED kits, already covered in this post. 

And if you're searching for some amazing display stands for your figures and accessories, then head over to Stoney's stands.

Hot Toys Ultron Prime - Avengers Age of Ultron - 1/6 MMS284 - video and photo review

Hot Toys Ultron Prime MMS284 arrived today. It's a welcome addition to your Avengers Age of Ultron display and finally delivers the main villain. I expected a bit more from this release: somehow the paintjob could have used a bit more depth to it - it feels rushed overall. The LED light-up features really add to the overall impression though. Definately cool is the Avengers "A" base with exceptional light-up effect.

Get all the detail on my video review and the following photos.

A lot more photos you'll find after the jump.

Hot Toys Nick Fury - The Winter Soldier 1/6 MMS315 video and photo review

The 2016er version of Nick Fury arrived this week: This last "Winter Soldier" release by Hot Toys ends this line with a real bang. The likeness and quality of tailoring is amazing. Enjoy a video review and also comparison photos with the 2012 Avengers Nick Fury version - Hot Toys made a huge step forward in these 3 years considering the updated likeness. Also a nice detail on the latest release is the removable eye-patch and sculpted eye-details / veins / scratch marks. Get yours at Sideshowtoy.com: http://side.sh/7q 

More photos after the jump.

Hot Toys Shotgun Mark XL Iron Man 3 1/6 MMS309 video and photo review

Something new from Hot Toys Iron Man 3 line - which slowly but surely seems to end soon: The Mark XL / 40 - Shotgun. A hyper-velocity suit. It's all plastic, but a great release apart from this. Super crisp sculpt work, nice battle damage features and cool light up functionality.

I went for the special edition with the miniature Mark XX Python which is a neat addition.

Enjoy some photos and a video review.

More photos after the jump.

Hot Toys Iron Legion - Avengers Age of Ultron - 1/6 MMS299 - video and photo review

Happy easter 2016 everyone! As a recent addition I got myself the Iron Legion MMS299 figure by Hot Toys Avengers Age of Ultron line. It's a good figure but more something for Iron Man or hardcore Avengers fans. Hot Toys introduced a new way to open / close the battery compartments with a plug-in cover - a nice addition and I hope they continue with other figures soon.

Enjoy some photos and the usual video review.

More after the jump.

Hot Toys Ant-Man MMS 308 1/6 - video and photo review

Ant-Man by Hot Toys has arrived - a very welcome and very good release. Check out photos and the usual video review. Watch out for some quality assurance problems on the first batch: it seems a certain percentage of units are missing the magnets on the mask - i suppose this will be fixed with the following batches. The chinese assembling line seems to have had a lazy day...

Headsculpt, suit and mask sculpt are very well done and the highlights.

Jump for more photos.

Hot Toys Vision - Avengers Age of Ultron - 1/6 MMS296 - video and photo review

Another member of the Avengers has finally got into my collection - Vision! Hot Toys did a very good job on this one, it might not be the most iconic character but a very nice and different addition to your shelf. Vision can be ordered at Sideshow Collectibles and should be available in April.

Top work on the headsculpt and i really love the eye lens replication - it looks like in the movie. Impressive work at such a small scale. The biggest flaw is the ridiculous "shower curtain" on his back...well...you could call it cape...but i don't like it. It's nowhere accurate to the movie design. Let's hope for some customizers to get on board and make something cool. Enjoy some photos and a vid review in this post.

Lots more after the jump.

Sideshow Collectibles Predator 2 maquette exclusive video and photo review

So I decided to invest in the Predator 2 Maquette by Sideshow Collectibles. After early reviews I got really interested in this piece and bought it right away (lucky me some hours before it sold out...) - the presence and overall quality looked really good. Fedex shipment from the US to Switzerland only took 5 days and Sideshow had an amazing shipping quote of 40 USD...unbelievable for a 15kg piece.

I was not disappointed, the first impression is damn fine - and I had this nice "woow"-feeling! It oozes of room presence and i really dig the armor paint with lots of color shades that you could not see on most photos. For 1200 USD you get a lot, but after closer inspection it lacks a bit in detail-love. Especially the paintjob on the unmasked headsculpt on mine was in some areas sloppy. If you're a hardcore Predator collector it's probably a must and you should track down one now.

It seems the first inhand reviews had a very positive effect and to acquire one directly at Sideshow will be a challenge: all exclusive versions are sold out and the regular edition is on the wait to distributors. Maybe you can try an get on the waitlist at Sideshow. The exclusive comes with additional hand sculpts with 2 items: breather mask of the left hand and a nicely sculpted disc for the right arm - not a must but i really like to display him with Spear and disc - totally badass.

Unfortunately i had one noticeable paint flaw that bugged me to hell: a yellow-white paint spot on his cheek. I decided to repaint it and at the same time i took the chance to repaint the gum area on the mandibles to a rose tone. Out of the box it was more yellowish than fleshy. See photos below with the repainted gums.

Enjoy some photos and a video review:

About 50 more photos after the jump.

Hot Toys Scarlet Witch - Avengers Age of Ultron - 1/6 MMS301- extended photo gallery

Tried some different poses with Scarlet Witch today. Enjoy the new photos covering all the details:

More after the jump.

Hot Toys Scarlet Witch - Avengers Age of Ultron - 1/6 MMS301- video review and photos

Hot Toys Scarlet Witch arrived yesterday in my collection. This will probably a not so interesting release for many of us. It was more of an impulse buy for me and primarily to complete the Avengers 2 setup. She's definately some highlights but also some lowlights - a solid release, but no must have. Especially considering we getting a civil war version in some months anyways. You can get her at sideshowtoy.com for an OK price but i would not suggest going down the route to overpay in Hong Kong right now. Make up your mind for yourself in the video review:

Following up some photos:

Custom Arc reactor LED cover for Sideshow LSF Iron Man Mark VII

A neat idea for a custom product by sideshowcollectors forums member "jorge_itachi". This is a plastic LED cover for the arc reactor of the LSF Mark VII by Sideshow Collectibles. It's basically just an optical modification and noticeable best when the light is activated. It makes one of the baddest things on this product a bit more acceptable to give it at least a bit of death and apperance that there might an arc reactor behind the light. Its a small laster cut plastic disc that you just lay on top of the LED on the chest. Contact him best on the sideshow boards:http://www.sideshowcollectors.com/for…/members/jorge_itachi/

More photos after the jump.