Review of Bad Robot Maquette - Statue

Introduction

J.J. Abrams is probably best known for Lost, but with shows like Alias and Fringe, and movies like Star Trek and Cloverfield, he's become one of the Gods of Nerddom. His next big film, due out this summer, is Super8, and it's already got my fellow geeks all abuzz.

Abrams production company is called Bad Robot Productions, and the mascot is a small red robot that runs through a grassy meadow at the end of any Abrams project.

One of the neatest statues at last summer's San Diego Comic Con was Quantum Mechanix's take on this mascot. QMX is best known for their high end collectibles, like the Farnsworth replica from Warehouse 13. It took awhile, but the Bad Robot maquette has finally seen the light of day in a limited edition of 1000. This statue will run you around $80 - $90, depending on the retailer. There is no exclusive version, but the regular version does come with a swappable left arm. More on that in a minute!

Packaging - ****
Most statue and bust packaging is pretty straight forward - put the logo on there, a few shots of the actual item, basic license colors...that's pretty much it. It's usually more about the proper design of the interior trays, and their ability to keep the fragile collectible safe.

That job is successfully accomplished with the high density foam trays, but there's more this time around. They went with an old school, vintage robot toy look to the exterior design. It reminds me of something you might have seen in Popular Science magazine in the 50's, and the text is reminiscent of toys of that period as well. There's even some fake weathering and aging that works extremely well with the overall design.

To top it off, there's a Certificate of Authenticity done in the same general classic retro sci-fi style. It's a really nice touch, and shows quite a bit of creativity over the norm.

Sculpting - ***
As statues go, this one is medium in size, standing about 10" tall. It's much heavier than other statues in this scale however, because the large head, torso and feet make up a big chunk of resin.

The sculpt matches the on screen version extremely well, certainly as well as it could. We only get glimpses of the robot, and those are pretty roughly drawn, turning the nose into not much more than an L shape. They went with a bit more detail here, but still kept the general feel of the basic 2 dimensional design.

There's plenty of small detail work too, including the rivets and some of the mechanics. Nothing was merely painted on - it's all sculpted to give the robot a bit more realism.

I love the selected pose as well, with one foot slightly back from the other, one hand on a hip, and the head slightly turned. There's a jaunty, fun feeling to this pose, as if the robot himself were a child.

There's no base for the figure, but the large feet are flat enough to maintain his balance just as well as any additional base possibly could. The edition number is printed on the feet as well.

Paint - ***
The on screen robot is a bright red, but not a consistent red. That's the look they tried to replicate here, with a wash-like coverage over much of the main body.

I get it, I do. I understand what they were shooting for. Sadly, I don't think it quite worked. Instead, the obvious brush strokes makes it look like the paint job it is rather than a weathered metal mechanical man.

The silver areas - trim, bolts, rivets, etc. - look much better, and the yellow eyes are clean with just the slightest slop to the edge.

Another nice touch is the Slusho cup, who's colors look great right down to the light blue drink and the straight tampo.

Accessories - ***1/2
Statues normally don't have accessories, but we get a pretty cool extra this time around.

Both the right and left arm come unattached, and you insert a small plastic post on the arm into a plastic lined hole buried in the shoulder. It's a tight fit, so take care.

There is only one left arm, but there are two rights - one in a standard 'waving' pose, and one holding a Slusho, complete with straw and logo. Slusho was briefly mentioned in the film Cloverfield, and was used pretty heavily in the viral marketing leading up to the film's release. Slusho has even popped up since then in some other Bad Robot related releases, and has become sort of their inside joke. It's a cool addition here, and I think it's the version I'll use in my display.

Value - **1/2
At 10" tall, this is a pretty decent sized statue, similar to the Cover Girls of the DCU. There's also a ton of resin here - that big head, solid body and thick feet all cost. I'm assuming you can pick him up for around $80, which is about $10 cheaper than the aforementioned girls, and the edition size is much, much more limited, making this bad boy a slightly better investment.

Things to Watch Out For -
I was very hesitant putting the arms on and taking them off, and I'd recommend taking your time and insuring the pins are line up properly. I'm going to leave the Slusho arm on mine, and I'd suggest picking one and sticking with it for the most part.

Overall - ***1/2
My only real grip here is with the paint work, and it's not one of quality but more of taste. I know they were going for a weathered look, but it just doesn't work for me.

Still, I love the overall appearance of the statue, and being able to swap in the Slusho arm really adds to the value. It's unusual to get options like that in small or medium sized statue, and they could have easily used the Slusho arm as an exclusive feature rather than including it across the board. I'm glad they didn't, and I bet most fans will be too.

I'm still pissed about the "Touched By An Angel" ending on Lost, but this Bad Robot will still get a place of honor in my display.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ****
Sculpting - ****
Paint - ***
Accessories - ***1/2
Value - **1/2
Overall - ***1/2

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- you can pick it up through Sideshow for $90.

- Entertainment Earth also has him at $90.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
As you'd expect, this is a pretty unique item. However, you should check out the official Qmx site for their other releases!

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

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