Now that I've picked up the old Sideshow 1/4 Queen Alien bust, this Ripley feels like it would be a great companion piece. Still want to see how Blitzway's Lynda Carter turns out before I reserve one of these, though.
Likeness works for me, especially in the behind-the-scenes shots. If all it takes to improve it is Photoshopping the color and size of her irises, that must mean there's already a good foundation in place.
I think this is similar situation to the 1/4 Dutch and T1 PFs that Trevor Grove sculpted for Sideshow, although they were initially met with greater praise. Trevor's Arnold sculpts evoke the feel and personality of the characters, but they're also styled to be more angular and severe than the actor in real life.
Not sure where other members stand on this, but I'd rather a company lean into "statue-fying" the character than creating a hyper-realistic human who simply has the wrong face. That's where Prime 1's 1/2 Arnold went wrong. The silicone skin and punched hair creates the expectation that you'll see a perfectly accurate face. When that expectation isn't met, it feels like a cheesy, uncanny wax sculpture.
When I look at something that's styled more like a typical statue, there's a subconscious understanding that the sculpt may be streamlined or heightened to feel more dynamic for that medium. Case in point: if this Ripley had rooted hair, I'd probably be harder on the likeness because true-to-life hair requires a true-to-life face to match.
Having that said, Weaver is an extremely tough likeness to crack. There are a number of pitfalls you can fall into and features you can favor. Here are some of the best sculpts I've seen.
Yingkang Luo:
İlhan Yılmaz:
Last but not least, Hot Toys' second Ripley prototype. Still can't believe they abandoned this one in favor of what we ended up getting.
Likeness works for me, especially in the behind-the-scenes shots. If all it takes to improve it is Photoshopping the color and size of her irises, that must mean there's already a good foundation in place.
I think this is similar situation to the 1/4 Dutch and T1 PFs that Trevor Grove sculpted for Sideshow, although they were initially met with greater praise. Trevor's Arnold sculpts evoke the feel and personality of the characters, but they're also styled to be more angular and severe than the actor in real life.
Not sure where other members stand on this, but I'd rather a company lean into "statue-fying" the character than creating a hyper-realistic human who simply has the wrong face. That's where Prime 1's 1/2 Arnold went wrong. The silicone skin and punched hair creates the expectation that you'll see a perfectly accurate face. When that expectation isn't met, it feels like a cheesy, uncanny wax sculpture.
When I look at something that's styled more like a typical statue, there's a subconscious understanding that the sculpt may be streamlined or heightened to feel more dynamic for that medium. Case in point: if this Ripley had rooted hair, I'd probably be harder on the likeness because true-to-life hair requires a true-to-life face to match.
Having that said, Weaver is an extremely tough likeness to crack. There are a number of pitfalls you can fall into and features you can favor. Here are some of the best sculpts I've seen.
Yingkang Luo:
İlhan Yılmaz:
Last but not least, Hot Toys' second Ripley prototype. Still can't believe they abandoned this one in favor of what we ended up getting.
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the only thing that bothers me is…that the final product will be different than this proto…we will se what we finally get…
I think this looks much better. So much of the Photoshopping we've seen was paint-related, so the likeness issues must be a mix of paint and sculpt. But as others have said, whether this change translates to the final product is a big question mark. There's a lot more subtlety and softness to the new paint app now and Prime 1's factories don't handle that very well. It would've been easier for them to knock out a sharper, more stylized Ripley than this.
