Sideshow Vampire Willow?

[rileyfan]

buffyssolace said:

Sweet, Tomarts "says" that Giles, Xander and regular willow are planned. Score!

They said "probadly" So they know something. Tomarts talks directly with the companies for press releases so hopefully it's true.

Also Tomart doesn't mention a regular Willow.
Brant said that in that Sideshow forum yesterday.

[buffyssolace]

So by regular willow are we talking like, regular non vamped face vampire willow or "regular" willow?

[rileyfan]

buffyssolace said:

So by regular willow are we talking like, regular non vamped face vampire willow or "regular" willow?

I have no idea.

The quote above from Brant says

"I can neither confirm nor deny any specifics about the non-Vampire Willow at this time, other than:

It exists, and comes with:
Amy the Rat
Tranquilizer Gun
12" Figure Display Stand "

He says "it exists"

When did Willow use a tranquilizer? This should give us a clue as to what eps she's from. I don't know.

[CMK1887]

Willow might've used a tranquilizer gun to shoot Oz...whenever she did that, it could be from that episode.

-CMK

[kakistos]

She also used one in Doppelgangland against vampire willow.

[CMK1887]

kakistos said:

She also used one in Doppelgangland against vampire willow.

So, maybe Sideshow is coming out with Willow in the fuzzy pink sweater...?

-CMK

[rileyfan]

kakistos said:

She also used one in Doppelgangland against vampire willow.

That sounds the most logical, it would tie the 2 figures to 1 episode. That's cool.

And Pink Fuzzy Sweater would be new, so that's a great idea. I just hope she's shorter in the final version.
She shouldn't be the same size as Spike and Angel.

[Rogue]

I really hope those pics are of a rough prototype. I would love to get a 12" Vampire Willow, she's my top favorite Buffy character! (Spike is second only to her!) I don't need to point out what I think is wrong with her currently, everyone else has already said it Also, I take it from what SSB said in that paragraph that the non-vamp Willow will be a regular Willow, not a human-faced vamp Willow. For what my opinion's worth By the way, where has Sideshow Brant gone to? Haven't seen him around in a while... hope we didn't scare him off with the criticism of the Faith figure...

About the stock body, it looks worse when more of the "flesh" is exposed. There's a lot of articulation in it, like double jointed elbows and knees, really thin wrists, etc... I have the older Buffy ("Hush" based) 12" figure, she's great, but without her jacket she does look anorexic. As much as I want a "Halloween" Willow, I'd rather get a 6" figure, or even a Barbie doll type with those rubbery legs with the hidden knee joints. But that would be very cool, and feasible for Sideshow... Willow with the "slutty" outfit, and a ghost outfit to wear over that! The same thing could be done with a 6" figure, but making the ghost oufit out of cloth might be a little more work 'cause it's a smaller scale... *gets and gives ideas for customizing*

[Higher Power]

Wow that is...really ugly! It doesn't look anything like vamp Willow. The only one I would want, if I wanted any at all, is Buffy. Spike and Angel are okay, but Faith and Vamp Willow are horrible! They need alot of work. And I know this is a little off topic, but how do you get your names on your avaters?

[gooball]

btvskid3 said:

actually its btvskid3, but whatever, that doesn't matter. vamp willow is curvy if only because she's wearing a corset like top which is shaping her upper body. and willow does have a nice butt. the 12" figure doesn't have any of that (as someone has pointed out, its cuz of a stock body). sideshow has failed to excite me to spend my money on their newest idea.

oops, sorry about the name.

and i was thinking of the wrong curves, it seems. i definitely agree with what you're saying, now that i understand what you were specifically referring to.

[FM]

I really hope the other Willow is regular willow with a different outfit and not another figure with this horrible suit on and a new head. I think it is...

And they had BETTER get a couple more stock bodies before they make Tara because if they try and put her beautiful face on that twig of a body...there will be hell to pay. She needs a nice, curvacious all new body...

[gooball]

Vampire Willow, as she stands, is terrible. But seeing as Sideshow have said that it's an extremely early prototype, essentially rushed to display at Toy Fair, further criticism should be reserved, imo.

Of course, Sideshow could only be saying it's an early prototype due to the backlash. But in any case - prototype or not - after all the negative reactions there are no doubt major revisions that will be made. But I'm sure that they would have been made, anyway.

[brant]

Hey gooball - I'm not following you around, we just happen to run in some of the same circles.

I'm still lurking - just not posting as often. It's always good to read the constructively phrased criticisms, and even better to read the praise... but I do read it all, and pass along what I can.

We have developed some new body parts - so Willow(s) will be shorter than the menfolk, as will most future 12" Buffy female figures. We've also got a shorter male body (primarily for a new license we'll be announcing later this week) - but it could come in handy down the road (not hinting, just speculating).

Vampire Willow will be somewhat improved by the time Toy Fair coverage is hitting, and will improve again after Toy Fair. For the costume concerns - as you know, the prototype costume is hand made and adjusted to get the best approximation of what we're trying to achieve. When it's time for mass production, we REALLY massage the cut and fit of the clothing for the best possible appearance. I *promise* that the final clothing will be better than what the current pictures show - she'll beef out as much as possible. I wish we could make a new body for each character and body type - that's a strength of the sculpted action figures - but 90% of the time, we can do a darned good job representing the feel of the character.

So in summary - Vamp Willow is admittedly NOT at her prime, but will be. Faith looks better in person than in the photos so far, and that's an honest truth. No excuses or lies from me - I'm first in line to complain when something is wrong. I'll be proud to own both when all is said and done. Whew, it'll be nice when we can go back to hiding all the new info from you guys until we've got the figures fully approved and looking as good as they should.

Oh, and for the record... Dopplegangland is definitely one of my favorite episodes.

[cosmicspidey]

I love the fact that people from Sideshow and DST (hopefullt again) actually look and post at this forum. I belong to another proboards forum, and I can assure you the manufacturers of those figures couldn't give a crap what the users have to say about the product. Thanks, Brant.

And BTW, Willow also used a tranq gun in "The Zeppo" when they had to move Oz to the basement because the Hellmouth was reopening.

[gooball]

lol, Brant, when I visit every board on the planet we're obviously going to run into each other .

I recognised your name earlier in this thread, and was intrigued to know what details you've mentioned on this board. Unforunately, I couldn't bring anything up.

Some times I think I let my mouth (or is it hands?) get ahead of me and am a little too critical. But as I've said elsewhere, the reason I'm so disappointed (and ultimately critical) with Vampire Willow is that I know that Sideshow can do better . Basically think of this as a compliment in disguise.

I can understand that it may be hard to read negative comments, but I'm sure you appreciate their benefit as well. But in the end, I think you know that many of your customers love your company's work, which has the effect of exaggerating disappointment.

All I can say is that I'm looking forward to being slowly convinced to add Sideshow's, rather than MAC's Vampire Willow, to my collection. I was really not looking forward to having a 6" vamp go alongside the Buffy, Angel, Spike and Faith figures, which I've already preordered.

Thanks again for the post, and if you see me posting criticisms of Sideshow's product elsewhere, please understand that my intentions are anything but malicous. It's simply a case of me having an expectation from Sideshow, which is met nine times out of ten, but unfortunately sometimes is not. But when the one time is due to a figure being an early prototype, there's ultimately not much to complain about, really .

One other thing, whilst sculpting the body has obvious advantages, I personally believe that in the vast majority of cases Sideshow are able to produce an end result as equally amazing as a sculpted body, thanks to their amazing cloth work. BTW, is it possible to have the people who design the clothing credited, alongside the portrait sculptors? I believe both are equally important.

I'll finish off by saying, please make The Judge with a rocket launcher for Buffy .

[deannaB]

I suppose it's not that bad for an early prototype. The eyes, forehead wrinklies and nose are good. It's the mouth that's completely wrong and is making the face look so bad, so that's the part that *really* needs to be fixed. The widow's peak of her hair should probably be a touch more pronounced, and the hair given a little more body towards the bottom. Other than that, the head's not bad. Mostly it's just that cartoony mouth that's making the head sculpt look so horrible.

Of course the body is completely wrong. The main trouble is that the figure's height is seven times the size of the head, which would be fine if Willow were taller than Riley, but she's not. She needs to be at least one head's worth shorter. The details of the costume are pretty accurate, it just needs to be fitted better, but first it needs a new body to be fitted to.

If it's coming out in August, I suppose we'll see the final version in time for San Diego Comic-Con.

And hopefully Faith will look more like Eliza Dushku and less like Brenda Vaccaro by the time it's released. I suppose we'll see more photos from Toyfair that should give us a better look at it.

[bettycooks]

Wouldn't it be best if Sideshow holds off showing these early figures since they are not the final one?

Sideshow was riding a high after the release of the Buffy, Angel and Spike images, they are all great looking and anyone would want those even with the high costs.

But by releasing early prototype images of Faith and Vampire Willow they deflated the anticipation for the line and really hurt themselves.

I think it would be ok if they held off showing those pics since the figures are not due for 6 months. What's the rush? Take your time and do it right. We don't need to see ever step in the process. Now we're all waiting to see the new corrected Faith and Willow pictures.

[gooball]

I agree and I don't agree, bettycooks. By showing early prototype images, the fans-at-large are more able to express suggestion than they'd otherwise be able to be.

But then there's the downside that some people, as was demonstrated primarily with Willow, will believe it is the final product

As it stands, though, I prefer seeing the pictures early because Sideshow may have made a big faux pas by the fans which might otherwise go undetected.

In any case, I like early announcements, even if it only a lineup, for no other reason than for budgeting.

[werewolf]

HELL NO! I love seeing the newest images of anything. Would you not want to see early pictures of the MAC lines? NOOOO!!!! please keep showing us as much as you can, as soon as you can! It's always awesome to see works in progress, same goes for forumers customs and all.

[buffyecstasy]

Whoa, whoa, whoa! What's with all the hating? I'm no wher near new to this whole collecting Buffy thing and I see no huge problems with this figure. So what if her bondage clothes don't really fit around the shoulder area?! She still looks pretty good aside from that...I'll buy her. Plus, she's got a whip...come on, don't tell me you can't have fun with 5 twelve inch figures and a nice leather whip for some kinky fun.