DEMONA

 I am not really into busts, actually i dont remember owning any aside of some Devilman gashappon but for many this is theyr main collection and the one to blame is Diamond Select. Over the longest time Diamond released resin minibust  of Batman The Animated Series, Marvel, Star Wars and an awfull lot of other series and each collection had a huge amount of characters as well, all of them sharing the same scale and base and this was perfect to build a theme based collection, specially with the high quality of said busts.

Sadly, Diamond Select exist no more but before it was gone they release a set of Gargoyles busts into the wild and a few months ago i got Goliath and i was extremelly happy with him and how he looks along side the Applause, Quantum Mechanix and NECA figures soo of course i had to HAVE Demona deffinetly, its imposible to not get the pair together.

Demona is in the same scale as Goliath soo wath does this means: she is much more smaller since theres even a lot of empty space on her base while Goliath huge body covers the entire base. She is also shorter and also she is much much much lighter as well. Really, is hard to belive the weigth difference bewteen Demona and Goliath!!

She can stand on her own perfectly since the base have soft rubber tiny legs on each point and she have no accesorys or articulations at all tough her wings are detached. Put the wings on her back is easy but this are not magnetic unlike Goliath´s that have a strong magnetical lock on his wongs and hair. I guess this is because the wings are not as heavy as Goliath´s but this also means they ccan fall if you put her back down. Then again, no problem with that if she is being displayed but move her around demands to be a little bit carefull with the wings.

Designed by Barry Bradfield and sculpted by Varner Studios this is one amazing looking statue. While i had some issues with Goliath, like the shape of his head from a side view or the size of his jaw, this Demona is 100% acurate to the on screen character design and unlike the NECA figures this looks 100% like an animation cell. 

The nose size, the cheekbones, the shape of her jaw, everything matches Demona´s design perfectly and the sculpt is clean and defined, specially on her body since her muscular structure is really good looking as well. With her hands around her thin waist and the smile she looks feminine enough to be sexy tough her wings are smaller than expected, they dont have any issue for the base to work.

Demona have my favorite wings from the entire cast of character, with the claws on top and no "fingers" in the membrane yet the membrane is bat wings shaped. The hair is very similar to the NECA´s design and i guess theres no other way to do a 3D render of it with smal spikes on all directions tough i wish her hair piece was longer, i guess this would have created issues for the wings.

The base is the same as Goliath´s, with the brick design and the strange gargoyle face at the front, also this is the only part with a texture while the rest is clean. Painted in grey it contrast nicelly with Demona´s color palette; red, pruple and electric blue. The paint aplication is perfect except in the outer finger of the wings where the purple and blue mix a little bit but is nothing to evident.

The beautifull purple have some dark wash to give shadows to the wings and the blue of Demona´s skin have also soft black brushes to high light her muscular anatomy. The red in her hair looks good and theres a darker section in the middle and around her face that makes it looks acurate to her two color hair deisng. Eyes are big and clean while the link lips and white on her teeth is very delicatelly painted.

Her golden tiara as well as her earrings and the ornament on her arm also have an extra layer of shiny finish soo they looks metalic and stand out to the rest of the body. Everything looks really good and i think thats quiet a feat considering how difficult it seems to paint such clean to the touch material.

Also the bottom of the base points out this is actually a limited edition product of 3000 pieces and this Demona in particular is the 330 one and while not an accesory, they also included an autenticity certificate that points out the same number. Very classy.

I really dont regret getting this, she looks amazing on the shelf and specially, with Goliath close to her. There is just something ornamental on this bust sculpts that feels quiet elegant mixed with the heavy resin material tough it worrys me how delicate they are. 

Theres also a Xanatos and as much as i love sexy Xanatos, i think i wont get him at all. I got the feeling he would mess the display completelly since Goliath and Demona are the perfect pair to be together.

WOLFMAN

 

And speaking of the now gone Diamons Select, my very thin relationship with the brand was born from the Universal Monsters, just like with Sideshow. They started releasing toys of the Monsters in a moment were the characters had not much popularity. The line had up and downs, like for example, Dracula; they didnt get the rigths of Lugosi familly soo they had to make a completelly generic Dracula and the same happened with the Bride of Frankenstein but they also had some really amazing pieces, like the Mummy that came with his sarcophagus and the Creature of the Black Lagoon that included Kay Lawrence for display.

Pretty soon those figures started to be more and more rare soo i wasnt able to complete the collection but just recently i found the Wolfman lose but complete and in very good condition. This is the black and white version of the figure and is very rare for me to get this version of the Monsters but given how difficult to get is this figure, i cant complain at all.

This Wolfman is in the same scale as most action figures like McFarlane and NECA and fits perfectly with the rest of the Diamons Monsters and, to my very big surprise, this guy can stand on hiw own!!! I mean, the Wolfman is digitigrade and it dosnt matter the scale, this guy always ALWAYS need a base to stand but this one in particular dont need it and thats a very particular achivement from Diamond Sleect.

Back in 2010 the Diamond Select toys didnt had too much articulation at all, just like NECA. Soo this furry guy only have articulation on his head, waist, shoulders, elbows and wrists. The ehad have a ball joint but the up and down movement is minimum and while the shoulders are also ball jointed and have a much better range, the sculp dont let them move totally up. The elbows have a very basic hinge articulation while the wrists and waist only rotate.

Soo from the waist down he is totally static and maybe thats why he can stand on hiw own soo well because this figure feels extremelly sturdy. Wath we got here is the Wolfman in his classic stalking position, with his back crouched to the front and one leg in front. The sculpt on the shirt and legs is really really good, the wrinkles of the pants flows nicelly with his legs movement and the shirt hangs from his torso in a very natural way.

I love the sculpting on his long fingernails and the stance of his hands looks perfect and his feet are super cute, round with pointy tiny claws like a kitty but the hair sculpt looks realistuc enough. The hair sculpt on his head is good but theres something on the shape of his ehad that i really dislike...he dosnt looks too much like Lon Chaney Wolfman soo i think it was a rigths thing, but the shape of the head isnt rigth at all tough i really like his open mouth and little fangs sculpted.

I seen pictures of the color version of this figure and somehow the face sculpt looks much worse on it, in the black and white the different sculpt is somehow hidden and dosnt looks that much different of the on screen Wolfman. I have to say, i am really imprsed with the color of this figure!!! Yes is black and white but it have a HUGE array of greys in here is stuning!!

Is pretty easy to notice the difference of color between the pants ans shirt, the buttons, the furt and the base, every single element have a different grey that stands out on his own and at the same time looks pretty harmonious as a whole. But also the shirt and pants have a darkery grey wash that gives a much better flow to the wrinkles and the fur also have a different dark wash.

The eyes, fangs and claws are completelly white soo they stand out a lot, but overall, this figures looks pretty natural with this black and white palette.

His only accesory is a base soo yes, he stand on his own perfectly but the base helps keep him in perfect blaance and also help make the display looks better and consist ona  rocky surface and nothing more. The sculpt and grey coloring are really good since the greys used on the base are different to those in the Woflamn soo it looks like a realistic rock texture. Also the base includes a small and dry tree that can be attached at front but it falls pretty easy. But again the black used on this thing make it looks like it was burnt.

Overall, i am impressed by how good looking is the black and white paint and make this figure looks not only elegant but very natural and i like how sturdy it is but the lack of articulation dont give him much options for display and the face looks like a generic random wolf than the actual Chaney Wolfman.

Years later Diamond Slelect released a much better version with a bigger diorama stand as well as more articulations and more screen accurate sculpt but that one is very very rare....and i am still looking for it in a descent price. I regret not colecting this series despite i dont like some of this figures and also the very few i have are colored, soo this Wolfman looks out of place......mmmmm.....i guess my hunt for more Diamond Select figures continue.

GOLIATH

 After 20 years Diamond Sleect Toys exist no more...just like Palisades, Sota, Quantum Mechanic, Epoch and many other figure brands that dissapeared sudenly, Diamond Select stoped existing a few months ago and cancelled an awfull lot of stuff that was on pre-order. Certainly Diamond had its ups and downs, it released an amazing collection of Ghostbusters with a build diorama and had some really great Universal Monsters pieces as well but it also had some really awfull The Nightmare Before Christmas figures, but in the end, it leaves a huge hole in the collectors field and pretty much stop us from getting some trully stuning pieces, like the Gargoyles statues.

The Gargoyles statues.....i dont even want to think about them ebcause they looked really amazing but the good news is that Diamond managed to actually release some merchadise of the series in the shape of resin mini busts: Goliath, Demona and Xanatos. And while i love all of them Goliath is always my number one soo i decided to get him before it gets too rare and expensive.

Firs of all, this is a statue soo theres no articulation at all or accesorys and is made with resing, soo is EXXXXTREMELLY HEAVY specially fir its size!! This is exactly the same size as the NECA Gargoyles Goliath but given its a bust, the scale of the upper body is different, but just like the NECA Goliath, th wing take a huge amount of space on the shelf. This piece demans a pretty specific place to be displayed not only for its size, but for its weigth as well.

This is completelly based on the animated series visual style, soo unlike the realistic style action figures, this Goliath lack sompletelly any texture soo he looks completelly clean, like an animation cell in 3D. Designed by Barry Bradfield and sculpted by Varner Studios, this piece show Goliath turning around with a closed fist and an open claw, a pretty simple pose that showcase his manly character pretty well.

The anatomy is soo perfect......HUGE shoulders, HUGE back, HUGE pectorals and biceps with a thin waist, his shape is exactly the same as in the animation and his claws and spikes on his elbows are actually quiet pointy. The wings are evidently not as big as they had to be but they are big enough to have a strong presene on the bust.

The face tough is ALMOST perfect but not quiet rigth since his jaw must be much more square and his cheek bones are too protunding. This is specially evident on the sides but from the front he looks much better. The shape of the nose, eyes, mouth, pointy ears and spiked eyebrows looks perfect and his hair have the perfect shape as well as is quiet long and flows on top of the wings.

The hair is a separate piece that must be removed in order to put the wings tough it dosnt rest on his head as good as i want too since there is always a gap between the hair and skull but this is because the hair is resting on top of the wings. Each wing as well as the hair comes with magnets soo they attach pretty strongly into Goliath´s body.

The base is a stone structure made with bricks and some medieval designs and this is the only section that actually have a rocky texture and it feels really really nice. The paint is grey with black airbursh to give a little bit of shadows but not too much. Same for Gpliath´s body, is perfectly purple with a darker purple brush to highlight the muscles but the paint is extremelly basic to keep that animated feel.

The hair is plain black and the wings have a beautifull looking dark blue/purple that stands out nicelly with light. Eyes are perfect as well as mouth and the brown loincloth and belt have no shadows at all tough some of the paint is invading other areas, like the brown invading the yellow buckle and some of the blue of the wings invading the purple "fingers"....i guess this is because of the material, it seems paint is extremelly runy on it soo i dont know how posible is to make a perfect paint aplication but the mostakes are at minimum.

Under the base is the numbered print of the piece, this is the number 500 out of 3000 but the bust also include a printed autenticity certificate that replicate this same number. 

I usually dont buy bust, i tough this was my very first one but i have a few Universal Monsters busts that are actually banks, soo i am not sure if they count, but this piece is really fantastic for any Gargoyles fan and it suits perfectly with the Applause vynil figures or other retro 90s merchadise of the series. I am not sure if i will get Xanatos but i will deffinetly try to get Demona to have the perfect Gargoyle couple.

VALAK

 I have lots of issues with modern horror movies, they range from being too goofy to being way too boring (The Witch), very few are worthy of amy interest and one of them is the Conjuring, wich i find way too chessy and inocent. The only Conjuring movie i kinda liked was the second one, mostly for its great monster design in Valak and Crooked Man.

The "Nun" or Valak; the Marquis of Snakes turned out to be a really good monster design simple enough to not be ridiculous and revolting enough to not be boring, mixing the demonic and sacred elements of a demon disguised as a nun in a brillant way. Too bad the character was wasted in a pretty basic and generic movie of his own.

I was susprised when i found a statue based on the character, from Diamond Select; a brand of very questionable quality...but i ended getting it anyway because of the impact this statue had even inside its box. It was expensive!! But it was worth it for sure. He is REALLY BIG...like a Hot Toys figure, this creature is one of the tallest figures i own.

He can stand perfectly, and have no articulations or accesoryes, its an sculpture on all sence of the word. Valac is standing, on a pretty static pose and pointing out with his hand at the front with a menacing face expression. There is nothing more to ask for a character like this, a serious and powerfull pose to give him an aura of danger.

Valac is not static tough thanks to his nun outfit and coif that is sculpted moving around as well as the belt and the long sleves. The other element that gives it movement is the base; a whirlwind of green fire around the creature feet. This fire is not only green to stand out against the black and white character, but is made with transluscent plastic wich makes it shine and is really helpfull to add it a led to give even more impact to the display.

The sculpt is really good but simple, most of the sculpting comes in the rugged texture of the outfit as well as the wrinkles that flow with the subtle movement. The hands are nicelly sculpted in a claw like pose but most of the sculpt is on the face, wich is really fantastic and have all the bizarre face features this character portrai: the long nose, sunken eyes, big jaw and pointy teeth on an almost serious expression since it looks like is about to scream or growl.

I have my doubts about the face expression tough....is not bad, but a screaming face with all the piranha teeths out would have been much more impresive but maybe too unnerving? I am not sure...i wish they added an extra head for display options.

The color is pretty simplistic: non on the base and the entire body is just jet black and pure white. No shadows or shade of any kind, just black and white like a domino piece. The hands and face are different tough, since they come in a grey tone with green almost rotten fingernail and lots of blue veins. The face have black lips with black eye bags aside of the soft and tiny veins covering the skin.

The little yellow rings stand out nicelly from the darkness in the eyes. The figure not only looks really creppy and menacing on any display, but is pretty easy to handle and is very sturdy. I just wish they added an extra face screaming, but aside of that i am impressed by Diamond quality in here.

CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON

Almost a decade ago Diamond Select had the licence of the Universal Monster and i think that was the very last time any company give any attention to this characters since they release an action figures serires full with ups and downs, Mego style retro dolls and mini-mates, but they also release a small collection of banks that act as bust as well.

The very first ones i got were the Bride of Frankenstein and the Wolfman but i knew the one i wanted the most: the Creature From the Black Lagoon. It wasnt easy or cheap to get him and i only saw him once but it was worth all the hard work. He is as tall as the action figures and can stand perfectly, with the slit on his back and the tiny door under him very well hidden, he seems to be in scale with the Wolfman since he is portrayed from the waist up.

Unlike the Wolfman, he is not articulated tough his pose is very similar, with claws in front triying to catch a prey in front, tough he is standing tall and not hunched and stalking. The sculpt is really really good, with a lots of details on the scales and his claws, specially his claws, with his finds in between his fingers and the kind of suction cup structures on the palm of his hands, this figure helps a lot to find out structure details of the character.

His face have the same amount of details, with open mouth and natural looking greens, his head have the rigth proportions too and looks great from a side point of view, pretty good compared with the poor first version of the Creature they did.

He is coming out from the water to give him a much more spectacular look, the water move around his lower body in a mix of soft blues and white. I wish tough this section was made with tranparent plastic to make it looks more realistic but maybe that would had been troublesome for the structure of the bank

I really dont know wich one i like the most, this one or the Wolfman, both looks really amazing and complement each other perfectly, looking more like art sculpture than bank. I was soo impresed with this pair that when i saw the Frankenstein Monster, i wasnt impresed with him, wich now i regret not getting him but anyway, this small colection would be forever incomplete anyway, since Diamond didnt release the Mummy or Dracula for some unknown reasons.

WOLFMAN

A few years ago (almost 10 by now!!) Diamond Select had the Universal Monsters licence and not only they release action figures based on the characters, but they also released retro looking dolls, mini-mates and banks. From all theyr assortment of products, the ones that picked my attention aside of the action figures were the banks. This banks had a pretty well hiden slit on the back and an even more hidden trap door under the figure but looked more like bust sculptures of the Monsters. I buy ine on a beautifull and classy library on my city a few years ago, the very first ones i got was the Bride of Frankenstein and the Wolfman. The Bride was good looking but had some very rough sculpt and paint details, the Wolfman is pretty much the opposite.

This Wolfman is STUNNING!!! From a sculp to pain, he is trully fantastic looking and looks more like a fine art sculoture than a cheap plastic bank. He is more light than the Bride and for some reason, he was sculpted from the waist up, making him in different scale to the Bride (kind of smaller looking).

Despite the inconsistency on scale, he is still as big as an action figure and for some reason he is even articulated on the arms. He is the only articulated bank and moving his arms dosnt help too much aside of helping him stand, since if you pose his claws in front, he tends to lose balance, something that can be fixed by placing a small object under his front side because he looks great with his claws in front!!

The sculpt on his claws is really good, with the thick fingernails and hands posed like he is stalking his prey in front of him, looks pretty classic for a Monster. His shirt is made on a dark green with some dark washes to highlight the wrinkles and looks very natural and his face is pretty awesome for a Lon Chaney Jr representation.

I think both the sculpt and paint works together in a fantastic way, since the paint is very clean and have the rigth amount of dark brown to give him a natural look of shadows on fur. Each one of his fangs on his jaw are painted perfectly as well as his cute dog nose and the eyes. The eyes....those eyes...are really animal eyes, menacing and full of rage, they even painted the pink on his eyelid edge.

Unlike the Bride, he is full of expression and attitud and dosnt looks like a doll at all, this is a big surprise considering the awfull looking action figures Diamond Sleect did on this character, this little bank is in my opinion one of the best representations of the character to date.