#2 FEB 25, 2010 · 16 yr ago
[FONT=Calibri]Finally got my long anticipated Lion-o and I would like to put down my thoughts too. I’ve carefully read the posts and comments over the impressions left of the final product. Need to mention here that honestly I don’t consider myself a statue specialist or an experienced statue/bust collector. Someone could regard my evaluation as an inadequate opinion of an unobjective fervent Thundercats admirer, but with all due respect I’ve been reading comics for many years and always kept an eye at most of the merchandise related items. Up until now the only and much cheaper statues I owned were a Brian Bolland Black and White Batman, a Kolby Jukes Joker mini-bust and a Michael Myers Halloween Resin bust sculpted by Kyle Windrix & Ray Santoleri. When I heard about a new Hard Hero Lion-o statue coming out my excitement went over the top since I’ve singled Lion-o out of any other superhero, anime or comic book character and happens to be my personal favorite by the time I was 6 years old. The most important thing I checked out was the man behind Lion-o, actually Paul Bennett and his previous works weren’t familiar to me at all. I visited Paul Bennett’s BlogSpot to get acquainted with his portfolio to further help me form an intimate look of what should expect in the release. Scrolling down his works of art I was amazed by the range of concepts he was involved into and the way he created each one revealing the aesthetic features of a true artist. There is a genuine distinction between the creation process for mass market oriented goods and eminent, out of the ordinary products which bear conspicuously the traits of great craftsmanship. The style and detail of Hephaestus, one of Bennett’s early achievements, the mighty Hercules standing 21” tall at a full dynamic pose as well as his version of another Greek myth figure Achilles portrayed at an aggressive and arrogant stance poised to plunge into battle or the expressionistic and mysteriously beautiful Handman, additionally the highly artistic kinetic scenery of Bibliophile which transforms a simple picture of a woman sitting on a park bench while reading a book when abruptly the wind kicks up, into an iconic and masterful depiction stimulating thoughts and emotions, speaks volumes for his virtuoso skill and talented procedure towards completing and bringing to “life” a personal yet elegant style on his sculpts.[/FONT]
[FONT=Calibri]Pose[/FONT]
[FONT=Calibri]The statue is measuring approximately 14’’ tall including the rock base which is pretty large and heavy and the sword of omens at its full height. Lion-o’s position lying back, lowering his legs and with both hands forward hiding so his chest and armor doesn’t seem or sound the best possible representation to show off Lion-o’s grandeur. Normally, we would call for an erect posture, standing straight up defiantly with unbowed back like the exclusive image of Lion-o Concept 1, provided by this forum, where there is a clear sight of the figure’s detailed attributes and radiates a certain prestige as someone would claim occurs in He-man’s statue due to the vertical position. However, as risky as it was to choose this specific pose from the opening the result was absolutely magnificent doing credit to the outstanding work of a sculptor who successfully pulled off such a demanding task and managed accurately to convey all the magic and vital core not merely of a single caption or intro but of a whole series worldwide respected. Without a doubt, there lies the artistic quality emanating from the Lion-o statue. Keep in mind that it wouldn’t have been so easy to make as the outcome demonstrates but unquestionably it is a lot better than a dull and unsophisticated upright post lacking movement and emotion. I guess the difficult part would have been to maintain the right symmetry of body, face and the sword without obscuring any characteristics given that in the reclined position the angles for viewing are limited and Lion-o’s visual perspective has such a harmonious combination of simplicity and elaborateness it would be wrong to conceal. [/FONT]
[FONT=Calibri]The first thing I lay my eyes onto was the sword of omens. Irrespective of the direction you are watching it I believe this pose accentuates on the sword, emphasizing at its might. The iron spikes projecting from either side of the eye of Thundera are framing Lion-o’s eyes and despite the hilt being hidden by the imposing claw, the sword of omens at its full length looks truly unblemished. Lion-o’s face along with the fierce expression has raised a few questions since it isn’t the usual cartoonish countenance. Indeed, we haven’t seen on the animated series so often or Lion-o doesn’t primarily come to our mind in this intense mien bearing angrily his teeth. Nevertheless, I consider the face selection a splendid choice doing it even more appealing by avoiding a monotonous –spiritless expression which is very common on action figures.[/FONT]
[FONT=Calibri]Sculpt[/FONT]
[FONT=Calibri]The main advantage of cold-porcelain is that it requires few specialized tools, it is easy to use and when it dries becomes flexible and quite durable making it ideal for thin delicate creations. With a closer inspection from top to bottom, scrutinizing Lion-o from boots to hair each piece is individually molded and finished to exacting standards with unique quality and detail that is the trademark of a handcrafted statue, sculpted to recreate Lion-o as authentically as possible. Literally no detail was spared on this exquisite rendition of the lord of the Thundercats. The clawshield is fashioned to meticulous precision, extending to the elbow as it should be and grasping firmly on Lion-o’s sword and the fist of his right hand. I am fond of his serious, enraged expression while the long thick growth of hair truly resembles the mane of a proud male lion. Generally, the head is precisely cartoon-realistic and intricately made covering every level of naturalism. In my belief, probably the best feature of the whole statue. Furthermore, the eyes outlined by the wide black eyebrows contain the intensity of the character’s penetrating stare that we all loved to see in the series. I totally praise Bennett’s sculpting technique and his ability to stay true to the original facial image but also insert slight personal elements out of artistic liberty, besides the good statues should be valued as works of art commissioned to proficient artists. His legs and arms show exceptional detail granted the bend position, even the boots have a narrow wrinkle where the feet are curved. The muscular thighs along with the sinewy upper limbs are identical to Lion-o’s robust body devoid of any superfluous muscle tissues that would make him look like a pumped-up wrestler. Lion-o’s front armored chest and notably the belt holding the insignia are expertly crafted to create a stylized perspective. In spite of the body being mostly covered by the protruding arms and his back spine crooked forward the sculpture is still seamlessly balanced, capturing the slightest detail or even more… And this is not an overstatement. [/FONT]
[FONT=Calibri]Much to my amazement I’ve read fans expressing their disappointment about the “fur” which has raised some controversy. Thundercast fans and collectors (I am not excluding myself) justifiably bring to mind as a model to follow the LJN Lion-o toy which arguably had a faithful resemblance to the animated series. His skin was sleek and smooth free from irregularities and roughness. On the other hand, it was a simple design consisting of unrefined details with many imperfections. Maybe the dissatisfied fans would opt for the statue’s skin texture to be lean and even parallel to LJN’s Lion-o. I am trying to envision the statue in this shape and I am rejecting it right away. The majority of the fans are in favor of a Thundercats upgrade without losing any of the outwardly attributes whether on new movie, toy or animated episodes and this statue delivers exactly the closest we can get, not deviating a bit from the classic image but to a larger degree adding and improving it considerably and still some people dismiss it as an inaccurate version. Of course there is the subjective factor that we should all show respect but still be receptive to new good ideas. In reality, Lion-o’s skin treatment is very subtle and delicately made giving off a mature tone on the overall statue appearance. Therefore, it should be judged collectively as a harmonious composition instead of separately. Cheetara’s initial facial sculpture was problematic and undeniably changes were by all means necessary. On Lion-o’s case we have a perfect example of a fine structure paying homage to the original design. [/FONT]
[FONT=Calibri]Paint [/FONT]
[FONT=Calibri]Lion-o’s color palette isn’t the regular one and run-of-the-mill, most commonly seen on statues or busts even among of those with best quality. I am observing him closely and it is not readily distinguishable to describe exactly the range of colors used since the angles of illumination and viewing conditions play a major role. The skin is a weird mixture of Bronze Brown, brownish-Yellow and carrot-Orange which are all darker and lower in chrome or saturation variations of their basic parent colors. The hair dye looks to me more like Burnt Orange and less or zero red. The creamy white around the mouth and arm is very similar to the cartoon Lion-o image. A lot of things have been said about how accurate the color decision was, especially for the skin which admittedly doesn’t remind strongly of Lion-o’s light yellow-orange tone. However, let’s not forget that during the episodes Lion-o was animated with darker or brighter skin versions as well as orange-tinged and not so vivid red hair. I am not saying that while painting the sculpture the main thought was to pick one or more of Lion-o’s cartoon skin variations in order to justify its difference, but most likely bestow a genuine icon matching the entire gamut of the cartoon’s various semblances. Like encompassing the diverse visual aspects into one, yet if that’s not the case our prime concern should be how real and bona fide this “adaptation” is. Honestly, I can’t find fault on Lion-o’s painting whether it is the silver instead of white stripes or the small dot missing out of the three from the belt’s right side, next to the badge as most of you might have noticed. [/FONT]
[FONT=Calibri]The first pictures from Lion-o surfacing the internet belonged to the box art and they had Lion-o’s hair presented with a much darker red shade. Comparing and contrasting the statue to the front cover red hair one, I honestly can’t say the red fits better. On top of that, I presume the red hair color would make it look out of proportion to the rest of the body, whereas the present paint job has the right interconnection and balance. Likewise, the rough texture of the skin with the little undulations on its surface suits perfectly to the rare color it is applied with. Having said that, if we want to be 100% accurate we should also take into account the pose from the intro sequence that the statue was inspired, where the background fond is dark blue reflecting a dim light on Lion-o’s body. The same goes for Cheetara’s recent statue whose pose was also taken from the intro and with a closer look on her silhouette it is lacking clarity and brightness. Consequently, as far as I can detect from the uploaded Hard Hero Cheetara pictures her rich yellow hair and especially her clothes seem rather toned down in chrome intensity. I am not criticizing the caption selection,on the contrary, but I tend to believe that both of them were reasonably less vivid because of the opening’s overcast illumination. I bet in 2 months we will be discussing the same issue! Back to Lion-o and I would like to stress the exceptional work done for the clawshield. The combination of Dark brown and Metallic gold emits a highly colorful and glowing hue adding extra points to the dynamic presentation. The eye of Thundera on Lion-o’s sword and belt, though I am not absolutely sure if it is painted or a printed reproduction pasted on the circular spots, it interacts wonderfully with the silver blade of the sword and the blue armor respectively. In the series, Lion-o’s eye lenses are normally red, when he is using the sword’s secret powers his pupils are dilated turning from red to radiant orange and this is the exact moment the gaze of the statue reflects highlighting Lion-o’s visual sharpness.[/FONT]
[FONT=Calibri]Finally, personally I am very pleased with the final result and really wish the rest of the line is up to par, bringing us after 20 years the Thundercats ready for full display.[/FONT]
