Gladiator Hulk Premium Format Review.

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JAWS

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"What *kik* now?"
"WHADDAYA THINK?? WE TEAR THIS MOTHER DOWN."




BEHOLD!!! The Gladiator Hulk Premium Format statue by Sideshow Collectibles.

Ya know, about four years ago I made myself some rules when collecting. I was not working (stay at home dad) so I needed some rules. I could not bankrupt the family so I had to sell items I already had on ebay or here on the freaks board. I could only have so many items. I had to have some sort of connection to the character in my childhood yet still love that character today and I could have only one piece represent that character.

Now that the kids are in school and I am back to work it is a little easier to bend some of these rules.

Well I really break that last rule for HULK. As fellow board member Spidey976 said "Hulk is my Kryptonite" I just can't help it when it comes to this character. He is everything I love about collecting these high end statues. I loved the character as a kid and I love him as much if not more now. I love muscular body sculpts. I love the detail that goes into the muscles, fibers and veins. Hulk is Huge and there are so many things SSC can do with his character. I made the mistake seven years ago selling my original Hulk PF. I also sold my Hulk Comiquette so to follow the only one rule (I got the avengers maquette) well I was able to get my comiquette back but I will probably never see that PF again: But with this Gladiator piece, the green, grey and possibly the King... Six Hulks might be all I have room for.

Anyways on to the Gladiator.

Not only is Hulk my fav. character but the Planet Hulk storyline is my fav. comic story ever. It has it all and makes for a great read. If you have not read it... You should. It will not disappoint and it will make you want this piece more then any pictures of this statue will.

Face Sculpt - Reg and Ex 10 out of 10 - This face sculpt is killer. SSC creative team did a fantastic job of capturing his anger and also his disgust. Those of you who have read the story know that Hulk spent a lot of time being disgusted by his situation. I could not ask for a better head sculpt. It's amazing. The Helmet is done perfectly. Some of it is Resin sculpted and some is soft pvc type material The feathers is a great example of this... I think it was brilliant by SSC to do this. I was wondering how many people were going to get this piece with broken/chipped feathers... Catastrophe avoided. Anyways this is as good a face sculpt as any done by SS.







Body Sculpt - 9 out of 10 and Paint - 10 out of 10- Overall the body sculpt is great. I could almost give this a ten for the boots alone. But I find his back (while huge) to be a bit strange looking and the fact that his abs stick out more then his chest leaves Hulk looking a little deflated in the Pectoral area. Other then those to small complaints and they are small, everything else is perfect. It is hard to tell what is sculpted and what is mixed media. The straps on his chest are mixed media as is the meshing under his arm armor.. But they both look real. The boots.. I am still not sure if they are mixed media or sculpted. The way they are tied in the back make the calf area look like mixed media. The foot part is defiantly sculpted. Really amazing work. The Shield and Sword and wonderfully done and are massive. These are weapon truly meant for the Hulk. The paint apps are perfect and it's good to see a SSC piece get back to the Dark green that the original PF had. The painting on the weapons and armor are perfect as well. No complaints at all.











Clothing / Tailoring 8.5 out of 10 - Wait? What?? You mean this is not the same leather straps as they proto piece?? I cry fowl.. It's going back.. It's... Ok Seriously SSC should have given us the better material. But I never would have noticed had others not pointed it out. But I think the complaint is legit even though I think it still looks good. It's why I took off a point. Otherwise this would be an easy 10 out of 10. Again it's not just the fabric but the sculpt also.. It is hard to tell what is mixed media and what is not.



Base - 9 out of 10 - Personally I love the base and feel it conveys the look of a roman type architecture very well. Some have said it's a bit plain. I think there is plenty of shading and tit serves it's purpose very well. There are some piece you have to put in place via magnets. They fit well and stay in place.

Overall - 9 out of 10 Stunning, Presence, amazing, huge, heavy, all of these things come to mind when it comes to this statue. This is everything that I got into this hobby for. Pictures can not do the size and presence of this piece justice. It's been a while since I have looked at a piece and said WOW! Well I have about 10 times about this piece. A few small complaints keeps it from a perfect 10 but it's close to that score despite the problems and those problems are personal preference. You may find them no issue and give the piece a 10 no problem.

 
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