Muppet Busts Series One, well...

[frogboy4]

Rowlf rocks. They nailed him. I must admit that it appears superior to Palisades' series three figure. Some have complained that there isn't enough paint on the fur, but I understand that they were going for the look of depth. Definite A++ One of the best Muppet products ever.

Now the rant begins...Beaker seems off. I enjoy the bust, but Palisades captured the likeness much better. There was also more detail in the mouth on the figure. This one has no throat painted inside the mouth. I expected more detail. You might think I'm being picky, but for 50-60 bucks a pop, this is a fair criticism (though it was a gift ). The hair is fun, but a little bit off. Hard to sculpt hair. I'd give this a B.

Kermit is missing the kind of spark a statue should have. He's a lifeless puppet sitting on a peg. The paint job is a bit thin on this piece - especially around the mouth - and the green doesn't look the same as in the posted picture. It doesn't seem like Kermit green to me (Palisades' figure had some of this issue too so it could be a Henson thing). The lifted portions of his collar aren't painted the same color as the surface. They are painted Kermit's skin color. This is the kind of detail that should not be overlooked on this type of item. I'll have to give him a B too. I expected extra attention to the main frog.

Bunsen has a coney type of head and his nose appears sharper than the puppet. Some of the paint falls outside of the lines (this occurred a little with the others) and it just seems half-hearted. This one gets a borderline B to me. I'm nice, so I rounded up.

A "C-level" product is truly middle-of-the-road in my view, and these certainly do not fall in that category [yet]. I am concerned after seeing some other pics of the Fozzie bust on another site. It looks terrible. Statler and Waldorf aren't the least bit impressive either. They look like C- work to me. I mean, they are nice statues, with texture and such, but not good likenesses of the puppets. I would understand if they went for a particular period look, but they are just bad representations. I hope these are just prototypes. I will hold my tongue until we see more, but I remain skeptical. Palisades had much less material to work with, articulation to consider, breakage issues and didn't access any of the actual puppets. Sideshow had none of those handicaps and I expected far better than the series one statues. The packaging was top-notch. It's almost a shame to take them out, but the series still gets a B from me.

To be completely clear - I will buy all of these and I do love them. I am jumping for joy that they we even have such a cool product. However, it's all about the details and Palisades has raised the bar. I'm not sure about the rest of you, but Ken and the team have sure spoiled me!

 

[Zack the Dog]

I must admit that it appears superior to Palisades' series three figure.

I only buying one of these busts and lucky me i'm getting it as a late christmas gift because they were on back order, of coures it's Rowlf and i've only heard great things about him!

 

[frogboy4]

Yup. He's wonderful. Probably the best of the series. Kermit is worth getting too. He's the main frog and its a good likeness. Just wish it were better. I'm toughest on his likeness.

Gonzo looks like he'll be good too. Janice would be interesting to have and I am looking forward to seeing Dr. Teeth and Animal. We all know Miss Piggy will look nice. Sam looks good too. So, to me there are about 8 must haves, but I will get them all. Woohahaha!

 

[Zack the Dog]

I must admit that it appears superior to Palisades' series three figure.

yes i agree with you there from just the photo's i have seen. the figure is nice but lacks something, they eye's are just not right, no matter what i have heard.

one time i heard it's the flaut of how the character was built....You can't blame Rowlf! This is not the first Rowlf product every made. When i look at my other rowlf stuff (stick puppet, plush, puppet ex) They are all looking right back at me, but it doesn't seem so with the photos of the Palisades Rowlf fig. he looks like he'd be rolling his eyes at me! Rowlf the dog rolling his eyes at me! I don't belive this.

I guess we have to remember that Henson and Palisades DO make mistake too just like the rest of us have and we all know this too.

Zack) Rowlf the, Well there's still hope for the reg Rowlf fig....I hope? Dog.

 

[Luke]

I've not seen em in person but although this is just one case out of so many that Palisades have nailed, sideshow do seem to have done a better job on Gonzo than Palisades.

BTW Palisades didn't access any of the actual puppets - are you sure ? I'm sure both Ken and Travis have said they've seen some of the actual puppets for the figs.

I agree with you though totally, no wonder why Piggy's being kept back !

 

[Zack the Dog]

BTW Palisades didn't access any of the actual puppets - are you sure ? I'm sure both Ken and Travis have said they've seen some of the actual puppets for the figs.

Hi Luke, no i didn't mean it that way, i'm sure they have seen the puppets and used them for refrence as i remember Ken saying they had to get the Bunsen puppet for his color, i don't know if they did this with every muppet fig they made.

i can just tell Rowlfs eyes are off by looking at any photo, watching any muppet movie or looking at any Rowlf product. His eyes don't face that way. Jim Henson has said himself that the eyes have to be placed just right on Rowlf, i could see them easily over looking Rowlf's eyes because they are more simply made then say Fozzie or Piggys, it's all about where the black pupil is place, how far apart they are and what angle the white eye is placed with even more small details that could easly be over looked.

 

[Phillip]

Just like Palisades series 2 is significantly better than series 1, hopefully, Sideshow will continue the same improvement as they learn more about the characters and the line. The busts are very good, but they aren't top notch just yet. Series 2 of the busts will be available in about six weeks, so it will be interesting to see how they compare.

 

[Luke]

Hi Zack,

Sorry, i was replying to something Jamie said - should have made that more clearer. I get your point - unfortunately they aren't on display here for me to see for myself but from the photos i get what you mean.

 

[frogboy4]

I don't think Palisades has been to see the puppets yet. Maybe with Bunsen. I'll have to check on that. I know Sideshow has had much more access to them.

There is definitely a learning curve. I just expected more from Sideshow because they had more opportunity and fewer limitations (joints, size etc).

I must say that the Sideshow images have been pretty close to the final product. The opposite is true for Palisades. Their photographs look nothing like the finished figures. I don't know why that is, but they all look much better in person. The Kermit pictures just looked terrible at the beginning, but he's a great figure. And Fozzie seems off in the pics too, but is the most spot-on figure likeness to date IMHO.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see. I'm going to get all of these if I have to sell a kidney on Ebay!

The Rowlf figure does have eye issues. I think it might be a case of poor photography, but I can't see it being better than the bust. That was too spectacular.

I think Palisades' next Gonzo will look a lot better than daredevil Gonzo. The bust does look good. The hair looks a little long, but good likeness.

 

[Gonzo]

Some of those busts do look excellent, but unless I win a million dollars...oh wait-- I screwed that one up.