Sideshow 1:1 life sized ESB Boba Fett Statue COMIC CON PICS!

[Art Andrews]

Over the years, I've collected many of the lifesize offerings from Don Post, Illusive Concepts and Sideshow. In almost every case, the prop builders do a better job, however, this one is going to be dam* close!!

I really like what I'm seeing so far... Please don't compromise on quality and accuracy!! Keep the faith and this will be a highly-sought after collectible for years to come!!!

This is indeed often the case... the most hardcore of fans do a better job than licensees, but what you are seeing more and more (starting quite a few years ago, but becoming almost an every day event now) is the licensees reaching into our communities and cherrypicking those hardcore fans to help elevate their licensed pieces. You see it with all three of Sideshow's 1:1 pieces this year! The results are staggering and if anyone doesn't think so... let me just throw out a small "reminder" of the difference between involving the fans and not involving the fans:

View attachment 103750

 

[jme3]

This is indeed often the case... the most hardcore of fans do a better job than licensees, but what you are seeing more and more (starting quite a few years ago, but becoming almost an every day event now) is the licensees reaching into our communities and cherrypicking those hardcore fans to help elevate their licensed pieces. You see it with all three of Sideshow's 1:1 pieces this year! The results are staggering and if anyone doesn't think so... let me just throw out a small "reminder" of the difference between involving the fans and not involving the fans:

View attachment 103750

I understand your point and I agree completely with how far we've come concerning the quality of what's available to the fans, but the Fett comparison is a bit unfair. The 1997 or 1998 (whichever it was) Don Post Fett was without a doubt the most well-executed and anticipated lifesize there was at the time, and it was done at a time for people who had not yet become sophisticated by the vast amounts of insight and discovery that had been made possible by the as-yet-to-be-christened rpf. As has been discussed here countless times, these things have been produced for the average Joes of collecting for whom the pieces were far more than good enough. In fact, I recall a certain Fett aficionado here who took more than one or two measurements and other reference info from mine to help with his lifesize efforts. So the DP Fett was definitely a watershed! And at the risk of sounding politically incorrect, at least back then they weren't made in China...:lol

All jabbing aside, again I see the point you're making though and I couldn't agree more. It is indeed a very good time for collectors of these things. :thumbsup

 

[darthwhitey]

I agree that many here (and on other forums) have great 1:1 Fetts, but few match the pose of this SS piece.

Most dudes just slap their Fett costume on a $100 dime store mannequin that we all know and love and that are so readily available. To my eye, these stand out like a sore thumb.

With my limited experience in designing and building 1:1 pieces, I'm finding more and more that the manny is the key. A great, dynamic pose can make an inferior suit shine, but a sloppy, ugly manny can kill even the best costume.

If money could be made at it, someone should come up with a super articulated and posable manny that can hold weapons and poses and have posable fingers. I've looked everywhere and the perfect one just doesn't exist. I can't believe that the foreign companies can knock off every single other thing, but can't make a posable manny? I'd personally pay $1000+ for one or more.

Sorry for the rant......LOVE the SS Fett and Vader, my two favorite things from the 2012 SDCC

 

[Art Andrews]

James,

You make some valid points, and I agree that for the time, the DP Fett statue was considered good by many, but my criticism comes because DP had unlimited access to the original Fett at the archives (there is an entire Star Wars Insider article about it). There is absolutely NO excuse for the end result DP achieved considering the direct access they had to information. And considering that access and the US production, there is just no reason why that statue shouldn't have been closer.

You talk about the quality of what is available to the fans now makes it an unfair comparison, but what is available to the fans was created BY the fans... and no matter how masterful the fans are, you can't compare fan work with the direct access DP had to the original Fett.

What impresses me the most is that this project is a success due to fan input and Tom and Sideshow's willingness to take that input. Just think about that in comparison to the access Don Post had...

Don't misunderstand. I am not here to beat up Don Post. Many people STILL consider it a great statue, but I think the comparison I posted above shows just how far things truly have come.

I understand your point and I agree completely with how far we've come concerning the quality of what's available to the fans, but the Fett comparison is a bit unfair. The 1997 or 1998 (whichever it was) Don Post Fett was without a doubt the most well-executed and anticipated lifesize there was at the time, and it was done at a time for people who had not yet become sophisticated by the vast amounts of insight and discovery that had been made possible by the as-yet-to-be-christened rpf. As has been discussed here countless times, these things have been produced for the average Joes of collecting for whom the pieces were far more than good enough. In fact, I recall a certain Fett aficionado here who took more than one or two measurements and other reference info from mine to help with his lifesize efforts. So the DP Fett was definitely a watershed! And at the risk of sounding politically incorrect, at least back then they weren't made in China...:lol

All jabbing aside, again I see the point you're making though and I couldn't agree more. It is indeed a very good time for collectors of these things. :thumbsup

 

[jme3]

I do agree with you, and my eyesight has improved a lot since the days of Don Post... :lol But I don't think I'll go back to a licensed anything anymore.

James,

You make some valid points, and I agree that for the time, the DP Fett statue was considered good by many, but my criticism comes because DP had unlimited access to the original Fett at the archives (there is an entire Star Wars Insider article about it). There is absolutely NO excuse for the end result DP achieved considering the direct access they had to information. And considering that access and the US production, there is just no reason why that statue shouldn't have been closer.

You talk about the quality of what is available to the fans now makes it an unfair comparison, but what is available to the fans was created BY the fans... and no matter how masterful the fans are, you can't compare fan work with the direct access DP had to the original Fett.

What impresses me the most is that this project is a success due to fan input and Tom and Sideshow's willingness to take that input. Just think about that in comparison to the access Don Post had...

Don't misunderstand. I am not here to beat up Don Post. Many people STILL consider it a great statue, but I think the comparison I posted above shows just how far things truly have come.

 

[Slave1]

Looks like Sideshow just trumped their own announcement of this with something even bigger....a 1:1 Vader. :eek

I don't know if by "something even bigger" you mean more impressive, but having worked on replicas of both Vader and Fett, I know Fett is the more intensive project to get right. The components alone are far more numerous, the detail is far more intricate.

I can't imagine the Fett not being more costly to produce than the Vader, but maybe the price point will be the same with the justification that it will all even out.

 

[SpideyFett]

Tom
It was a pleasure to work with your team on this project. Thanks for letting me be involved!! Big shout out to Alex AKA Spideyfett....I got to watch him paint every single part and let me tell you this guy has mad skills.

Thanks Miller Man, but this thing would not have made it to SDCC without your help, that's a fact... Thanks Dude.:cheers

Some great close ups in the Rebelscum gallery here: Rebelscum.com: San Diego Comic Con 2012

Alex Alva did an outstanding job with the paint work on that helmet! We tried to take a fresh look at all the colors and such and IMO, the results thus far are wonderful!
Tom

Thanks Tom, don't sell yourself short, you made the call on the lighter grayer helmet color, and well... In my Darth Vader reveal scene voice: "you were right, tell your sister.. you were right"...you nailed it!

And thanks again for letting us be apart of an amazing project... I think I can say that based on the R&D this entire team has done from start to finish, Sideshow will definitely have great success in producing the production version. I think people will be extremely happy with the end result and I know Sideshow is committed to producing a quality product... all I can say now is, "stay tuned". :thumbsup


Alex

 

[SpideyFett]

let me just throw out a small "reminder" of the difference between involving the fans and not involving the fans:

WOW, never looked at it like that... I think it came out better than the last time, No?

 

[Stormy320]

I agree that many here (and on other forums) have great 1:1 Fetts, but few match the pose of this SS piece.

Most dudes just slap their Fett costume on a $100 dime store mannequin that we all know and love and that are so readily available. To my eye, these stand out like a sore thumb.

With my limited experience in designing and building 1:1 pieces, I'm finding more and more that the manny is the key. A great, dynamic pose can make an inferior suit shine, but a sloppy, ugly manny can kill even the best costume.

If money could be made at it, someone should come up with a super articulated and posable manny that can hold weapons and poses and have posable fingers. I've looked everywhere and the perfect one just doesn't exist. I can't believe that the foreign companies can knock off every single other thing, but can't make a posable manny? I'd personally pay $1000+ for one or more.

Sorry for the rant......LOVE the SS Fett and Vader, my two favorite things from the 2012 SDCC

I couldn't agree more. You have to get a good mannequin and pose to make the costume shine. This seems to be often overlooked.

I know a local mannequin dealer that may have a solution. More to come on that.

 

[Stormy320]

James,

You make some valid points, and I agree that for the time, the DP Fett statue was considered good by many, but my criticism comes because DP had unlimited access to the original Fett at the archives (there is an entire Star Wars Insider article about it). There is absolutely NO excuse for the end result DP achieved considering the direct access they had to information. And considering that access and the US production, there is just no reason why that statue shouldn't have been closer.

You talk about the quality of what is available to the fans now makes it an unfair comparison, but what is available to the fans was created BY the fans... and no matter how masterful the fans are, you can't compare fan work with the direct access DP had to the original Fett.

What impresses me the most is that this project is a success due to fan input and Tom and Sideshow's willingness to take that input. Just think about that in comparison to the access Don Post had...

Don't misunderstand. I am not here to beat up Don Post. Many people STILL consider it a great statue, but I think the comparison I posted above shows just how far things truly have come.

I am not a Don Post fan. I purchased the life-size trooper in 1998. It was a huge expense for me at the time and I contemplated the decision for months. I finally decided to go through with it because it was presented as an exact replica.

I got it home and started looking at it and the disappointment began to fester after I spent $1000s. The helmet isn't even close.

Don Post had total access to the archives, frequently showed screen shots in the advertisements, and claimed to have modeled an exact replica.

 

[Sidewinder]

The scope on the blaster has a few things wrong with it: Rear bell looks wrong shape (diameter transition too sharp), windage unit too far forward and front scope ring is the wrong way round.

The first two are :rolleyes but that last one is just :facepalm

SAS

 

[TomSpinaDesigns]

SAS,

Saw you posted this on the Dented Helmet too... we were already aware of all of those, thanks though

Tom

 

[Sidewinder]

:thumbsup

 

[Art Andrews]

Just thought some of you might appreciate this bit of nostalgia, the Insider article featuring Don Posts creation of their Boba Fett statue.

 

[DarthThrasher]

I am not a Don Post fan. I purchased the life-size trooper in 1998. It was a huge expense for me at the time and I contemplated the decision for months. I finally decided to go through with it because it was presented as an exact replica.

I got it home and started looking at it and the disappointment began to fester after I spent $1000s. The helmet isn't even close.

Don Post had total access to the archives, frequently showed screen shots in the advertisements, and claimed to have modeled an exact replica.

I also purchased the Don Post Stormtrooper back in the day. I eventually replaced the head with the fiberglass MR/eFX helmet. The finishes match up near perfect. See below.

 

[Slave1]

Just thought some of you might appreciate this bit of nostalgia, the Insider article featuring Don Posts creation of their Boba Fett statue.

I loved that article when it came out. It really excited me to the point where I had serious plans to get one of those things.

Then I saw pics of the real thing and thought, "I can do better than that."

Thus began my looonng pursuit of building a true replica.

 

[jme3]

I remember that article Art and still have it somewhere myself...

I bought the Rubies Darth Vader, the DP Stormtrooper and the DP Fett when they came out in the late 90's. With the advent of my discovering the rpf, it goes without saying that I sold the Vader and trooper a long time ago, but I do still have the Fett though. Not because I think by any means that it's the "be all"; I've been around here more than long enough to know better than that. It's that Fett, to a degree more than any other character, is very, very involved and it's not something I've wanted to tackle considering I've had so many unfinished things on my plate. And after having sold, crated and shipped the two other lifesize characters, getting rid of this Fett is a logistics headache that I haven't wanted to revisit...

 

[TomSpinaDesigns]

Just thought some of you might appreciate this bit of nostalgia, the Insider article featuring Don Posts creation of their Boba Fett statue.

Wow, that brings back a lot of memories! I was (and am) a huge fan of the old Don Post masks (60's and 70's stuff) and I remember the anticipation surrounding that Fett.

Tom

 

[rllanos87]

I need this in my life!

 

[chuckyAPP]

Tom when I saw the preview pic on the sideshow website i have to say I was disappointed. But seeing the con pics I stand way corrected. I've built lifesize fetts and i know how hard they are to do and yours is amazing. Really really pleasantly surprised by this. Great collaboration, its really great.