Review of Wyatt Earp Premium Format Statue

Introduction

One of my top ten favorite films of all time is Tombstone, with Kurt Russell as Wyatt Earp and Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday. But my love for this movie started with a love for all things Western, and all things gunslinger. And to love the story is to understand and love the original characters it's (fairly accurately) based upon.

I'd kill to get a Russell Earp and Kilmer Holliday, but sadly it looks like that's never going to happen. Sideshow has given us the real deal, however - Premium Format statues based on photographic evidence of the two historical gunfighters.

I reviewed the Doc Holliday back in February, and now he's been joined on the shelf by his best friend Wyatt. As usual, there's a regular statue (just 500 produced) and an exclusive (at the truly limited number of just 200), but also as usual, these don't come cheap. The regular version is $275, but this time around the exclusive could be had for the exact same price, a better deal if such a thing exists at this price point.

BTW, while we might never get the fictional versions in three dimensional form, you can (finally!) pick up the blu-ray of the film starting next week on April 27th.

Packaging - ***
In an obvious attempt to keep the costs down on both the Doc and Wyatt, Sideshow went with the same box for both. Yep, it's odd - I don't ever remember them giving us an identical box for any items before - but not a major issue, I suppose.

There's no Certificate of Authenticity, but then that's not a Sideshow thing. The edition number is on the bottom of the box though, as well as the bottom of the statue.

Since you've already seen the front of the box in the Doc Holliday review, I thought you might like to see the back of the box this time around.

Sculpting - ***1/2
It might be that Kurt Russell managed to pull off a very accurate Wyatt Earp, or maybe it's just that if you throw that monster of a mustache on anybody they'll look like the infamous gunfighter. Either way, this portrait captures the essence of the character, and does it with clean, sharp lines and nice detailing.

The head is held in place with a very strong magnet, as is the right hand. The hands on the exclusive swap easily enough, but the gangly E.T. fingers bug me, especially on the splayed left hand.

On the prototype, this left hand was positioned to hold back the left side of the coat, as though he'd just drawn his weapon. It doesn't work as well on the production version, however, due to a slightly different angle on the arm and hand. They needed to bring this in closer to his body, and tilt it slightly to give us a better pose.

The rest of the pose is perfect, with the feet place just right, the right arm bent slightly at the elbow, and the head tilted with a deadly expression. I find it interesting that this pose is almost identical to the stance taken by the Kotobukiya Iron Man Mark IV statue I just reviewed last week - it's a classic shooting stance.

He's standing on a base that's about the same size as Doc's, but recreating a completely different situation. While Doc was clearly standing on the wooden floor of a saloon, Wyatt has just stepped into the street off the wood walkway behind him. Horseshoe prints are visible in the dirt, adding additional realism to the base.

I do wish they'd gone for a matching look with these two, however. While some folks may buy only Wyatt, I doubt many bought Doc alone, and for those of us displaying them on the shelf together, a similar base would have been much appreciated.

Paint - ***1/2
The paint quality is on par with what we saw with Doc, with generally above average levels.

The skin tone is good, and the black on the sculpted pieces - the hat and boots - matches the cloth costume well.

The eyes suffer from some of the same bleed though, and the edging around the mustache shows a bit too much skin riding up on the hair. I'm also not particularly thrilled with the dirty fingernails look, which may very well be historically accurate but ends up just looking like sloppy paint here.

These are minor quibbles though, and when he's on the shelf and you're scoping out the complete picture, you'll probably find little to complain about.

Accessories - Regular **1/2; Exclusive ***1/2
While the exclusive version only has one extra item, it's a pretty important one. In fact, I'd say this was one of those rare times when you really want the exclusive over the regular due to the coolness of the extra goodie.

He comes with a second right hand, this time holding a Schofield pistol. He supposedly carried a Schofield with him to the O.K. Corral, one that was gifted to him by Bat Masterson, making this gun a tad more interesting than the standard Colt. Let's face it, a Colt in Tombstone was like a cel phone in L.A., but the Schofield adds a little extra personality.

Sadly, it's not nickel plated or engraved like the supposed actual gun was (there's lots of controversy over this particular weapon), but it's still well sculpted. The second hand has the same dirty fingernails and long fingers as the regular.

Both the regular and exclusive have one other extra - a set of cartridges to fill the loops on his belt. These appear to be metal, but since the magnet has no effect on them, I'm betting they are cast in lead or pewter. There's enough to fill the belt, and they slip in pretty easily. The belt is not attached to the body in any way, so you can rotate it on his hips to get at some of the more hidden loops.

Outfit - ***1/2
Historical figures like these really allow the Premium Format style to shine through, especially in the outfits.

The high white collar is made of plastic, allowing it to remain stiff and be less likely to get damaged when putting the head in place. There's a black tie, black coat, black pants, and black vest, all made from high quality materials and tailored for a perfect fit.

Running from the vest pocket to the vest buttons is a silver watch chain which is metal, of course.

The leather belt has a metal belt buckle, and a leather holster on the left hip. These are made from a very soft leather, and look great slung low on his hips.

There's no wire in the jacket, but you can flip it behind his back if you'd like. You'll notice that in some of the photos I have it hanging straight, while in others it's pushed back to reveal the watch chain and cartridges. I think I prefer the latter, but your mileage will most certainly vary.

The score would be a full four stars here had it not been for one issue with the watch chain. Mine is attached so that the top section has a kink or twist. Short of cutting the stitch on one end or the other, straightening it and re-attaching, there's not much I can do.

Value - **
Both Wyatt and Doc get a three star score in this category, and I know that's hard to believe at this price. That is until you start thinking about the price of many of the other Premium Format statues right now. Disney's Evil Queen? $300. Yoda and the Clone Trooper? $350. Blackbeard? $400! If you're not going for the exclusives, you can pick up either Wyatt or Doc at several places for around $250 each. Considering the quality of the outfits and weapons, as well as the extremely low production numbers, that's actually a better than average value.

Things to Watch Out For -
As always, take care inserting the metal post on the foot into the softer resin base.

Overall - ***1/2
While I'm sad that we'll probably never see a Russell Earp and Kilmer Doc, I have to say that I'm extremely happy with the real life counterparts. I generally don't spend my money on any non-licensed figures in this scale (for example, as much as I love zombies, I did not order the Dead Premium Format statue), but this time it was cash well spent. These two will have a very high place of honor on the shelves, mixed in with other movie licensed statues, and they'll hold their own in quality and style.

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

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Sideshow has the exclusive on wait list at the same price as the regular, $275.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Obviously, the most important related review is the Doc Holliday PF that Sideshow released just a few weeks ago.

If you're a fan of the historic old west, you should also check out Sideshow's Six Gun Legends figures.

Sideshow also did a Custer and Crazy Horse, and Drastic Plastic did their own extremely authentic Custer.

- and a company called Dog Soldiers has done a ton of western them figures, including a Buffalo Soldier, Apache Warrior, Pawnee Warrior, and Cheyenne Warrior.

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

Discussion:
Want to chat about this review?  Try out one of these terrific forums where I'll be discussing it!

Enjoyed this review? Be sure to head back to the main page to find thousands more just like it!