Advice Wanted: Sideshow Muppet Busts

[AnimalAttack]

I originally passed on the Muppet busts that Sideshow started producing in 2002. Wow, has it really been that long? That decision may come back to haunt me as I view pictures of the set now and find them very cool and appealing. Since I've never owned one of these, or even viewed one in person, I'm looking for some help and advice in deciding what I should do. By the looks of the auctions on ebay, they do not come cheap!

Here is a list of questions that come to mind, but if anyone has advice outside these points, I'm all ears

1. Is there a common or less expensive character I could start with to test the waters?
2. If I bought a new one, how do I know it's really new? Were these sealed in some way?
3. What are the rare ones and what are the most common ones? Any idea what each is going for?
4. I'm a stickler for quality. Do I have to worry about paint variances or other quality issues from one bust to another?
5. Why the $%$@#@! didn't Sideshow make Floyd???

Any help would be welcomed and appreciated!

 

[AnimalAttack]

I thought of a few more questions...

6. How big are these busts? Does anyone know how they would compare to Sideshow's Lord of the Rings mini-busts or Star Wars mini busts?

7. Do they break easily? I owned a few Lord of the Rings busts and they seemed fairly sturdy, but then again, I wouldn't want to drop one.

 

[Reevz1977]

Hi,

I'm no expert but own them all, so I'll try and help out if I can. Firstly, you will kick yourself for not getting them originally as the price has gone crazy. That said, they are amongst some of the best Muppet merchandise there has ever been and worth every penny.

With regards to a cheaper character, from what I have seen Kermit can be reasonable...ish. He is almost THE character you need really too.

You probably wouldn't be able to tell if they new or not really. They are packaged in a tight foam casing and have tissue over the base. I would suspect most people who have these have removed them from the packaging though as that is the only way to know what number you got out of the 3000 or 5000.

Rare ones tend to be Rowlf, Fozzie and Dr. Teeth with Kermit and Animal being the more accessible ones. I haven't seen many Swedish Chefs, Piggy, Sam the Eagle or Statler and Waldorfs come on the eBay, come to think of it.

I haven't heard of any paint issues, but don't quote me. Mine were all spot on which is more than I can say about the Palisades figures, and the quality control on the Master Replica's Gonzo...dear lord!!

They didn't make Floyd because, like with all Muppet Merch it seems, they want to leave the promise unfulfilled!! The Muppet Show DVD's, the Palisades figures, the Master Replica's (I would put EFX too but they did sod all with the license!!) Photo Puppets all promised more than they ended up delivering. I guess from a merchandise perspective, Muppet fans are cursed! I would have loved Floyd!!

The busts vary, though probably measure, at a guess, an average of 8 inches(??)

The seem extraordinarily delicate. Many of them, like Gonzo have intricate little bits like feathers on them.

Good luck in finding them - if you have deep pockets, you will not regret it!!

 

[AnimalAttack]

Thank you Reevz1977 for the information...

I think your suggestion to start with Kermit is a good one. After all, he is the obvious centerpiece. If I take the plunge, collecting these will likely come over time considering the obvious high prices on ebay, but that's the way collecting should work anyway, right?

It looks like the four busts in the final series were only 3000 in edition size, so I'll watch those as well in comparison to the others. I'm curious if they made another series, who might be included? I think Floyd would be obvious.

I remember when these were first announced, and I assumed the busts would be larger. When I think about it though, it would be very impractical to have so many huge lifesize busts at your house. The cost would also be outrageous from the start.

Maybe I'll create a post on the buy/sell/trade boards and see what comes up. Thanks again for the info.

 

[JJandJanice]

I have six of these in my collection and would love to have the whole set someday. Maybe when I win the lottery,.

However I'm surprised at the saying that Kermit and Animal are easy to find. Especially Animal. I think judging from what I've seen on eBay, more of the "minor characters" like Beaugrad, Lew Zealand and Link Hogthob seem easier to get, Scooter doesn't seem to bad either. But still most of these, as mentioned aren't cheap.

The six in my collection are Kermit, Piggy, Rowlf, Scooter, Janice and Link. Least I got a few of the rarer ones. Interesting I got Scooter at a SUPER great price of 25 bucks, which won't happen now.