Sideshow has just posted a sneak peek at their Predator 1 LSB format and from what we can see, it looks pretty damn awesome!  So if you missed out on the full scale bust and don’t have the $1500 to buy one on the secondary market, here’s your chance for a badass bust for a fraction of the price.  Right now this is the only image available, so stay tuned for additional information in the near future:

I love start the new year on a high note… Happy New Year everyone, here’s to another year of kick-ass Predator and sci-fi collectibles!  By the way if you didn’t receive our year-end newsletter sent out just before Christmas day, be sure to sign up by adding your email to our newsletter subscriber list using the form located in the middle column of this site.  If you are a subscriber, make sure you whitelist @predatorstuff.com so you receive our emails!

Take care,
Dan

Good afternoon everyone, hope everyone has been well and have been out getting an early start on your Christmas shopping!  I of course have done no such thing and plan to wait until the very last minute so I can go absolutely mental in the mall on the 24th in a blizzard.  That’s how I roll…  OK enough of me, lets talk about Predator kits and one hell of a badass project coming from Predastore called the Until Death Diorama.  The Dio will be a series of 4 statues, each with a base and divinity totem that will all interlock together to form a single diorama.  Today we’ll get out first look at the first statue in the series and talk about what to expect later down the road… so without further ado, check out the Assault Hunter!

The Assault Hunter (as well as all the other kits in this diorama series) is sculpted in a large 1:5 scale format by the artist known simply as Sky, who has really started to make a name for himself over the last couple of years with several very cool Predator and Alien sculpts release through Nightmare Collectibles.  This particular piece features a nasty looking cyborg style Predator hauling some serious weaponry, curved wrist blades and some beautifully detailed armor.  The backpack and dual cannon rig is insane and I love the heavy arm gauntlets.  Top it off with a terminator style cyborg eye and you have one seriously pissed off looking Predator ready to take down just about anything unfortunate enough to get in his way.

The base is part of the interlocking series that will fit together with the other diorama pieces, and features a Kapatek Kalowac idol.  The kit is cast in solid high quality resin, including a new special soft style resin for the dreads, allowing them to bend and be shaped without snapping.

The additional kits in this dio are also already planned out and in production.. here’s an approximate schedule of when to expect the other releases:

1. Assault Hunter and Kapatek Kalowac idol sculpted by Sky – Available Now!

2. Spitter-Hunter and Rataka idol sculpted by Sky – Coming Soon!

3. Last kiss good-bye and Pakawana idol sculpted by Narin – Coming in 2011

4. Tromblon-Hunter – Coming summer 2011

The Assault Hunter is ready to ship now and retails for $239.99 plus shipping from the producer.  To give you an idea of the freight costs, shipping to the USA or Canada runs $38 and shipping to Europe is $45.  Please contact us should you need additional shipping information or have any questions about this kit!

Looks like another amazing release from Predastore, I can’t wait to see the rest of the series!  Check out more photos of Joe Dunaway’s build-up of this piece by clicking on the photo icon below:

I should also mention that very soon Predastore will have their very own shop online, looking forward to checking that out!  I’ll update you guys when I hear the site is up and running live for the world to see.  Congrats to Predastore on another badass release, I honestly can’t wait to see how the entire diorama looks once it’s done.  What do you guys think?  Post your thoughts by clicking the comment button below.

Enjoy!
Dan

Hey gang! Check it out… NECA has announced a line of HUGE 19″ classic P1 Predators..  they’ll be available in 3 flavors: Unmasked open mouth, unmasked closed mouth and masked.

Apparently they will be selling for around $80 each and I was told that all 3 were available for Preorder on BBTS as a package for $200 but I just dug around on their site and didn’t find any order or pre-order info for these guys on the BBTS.  So bear with me while I try to find a link, or feel free to post one if you have it!

Gotta love how they didn’t just sell 1 figure with 3 alternate heads…  Should I pick one up for a review?

UPDATE!  BBTS just emailed me the proper link… order the bundle by clicking HERE!

Enjoy!
Dan

Hey guys!  In our last two videos, I showed off a sweet new T-Shirt designed and produced by Lair member Matt Skeins featuring a gorgeous illustrations he made, and even a custom Lair product tag!  Here’s how you can place your own order if you haven’t already been able to get your hands on one…

Neither Predatorstuff or the Lair make any money with these shirts, they are fan-base items made by one of our members to show his love for the community and to help spread the word about the Lair.  Just in case you didn’t know about the Lair, The Hunters Lair is the net’s largest forum dedicated to Predator fans, specifically those looking to create costumes of their favorite Sci-Fi alien badasses!  The site also discusses prop replicas, collecting, statues, kits, movies and just about anything else you can imagine that deals with Predators.  You can visit the site by clicking HERE!

Now, lets get to the order part!  The shirts are $20 each plus shipping, and shipping is available worldwide.  To make things easier for you, I have available a Microsoft Word .doc file with all the order information, how to pay, where to send funds, how much for shipping etc.  So please download the order information document by clicking HERE!

Check out the detail on the front and back, including the custom retail style tag, all custom made by Matt:

State of the bad-ass-art!  Thanks again to Matt who took the time to design these shirts and make them available to us at a reasonable price.  Again, be sure to download the order document for all the instructions on how to place an order, or contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

Thanks and enjoy!
Dan

Good morning everyone, hope you all had a great weekend! Playing more catch-up today as we look at the latest Predator related releases from Sideshow Collectibles since I was away. These products are all still available for Pre-Order, so if you haven’t put your name in, now is your chance! Here’s what the folks at Sideshow have been up to…

First up is Royce from the movie Predators, coming from the awesome 12 inch line from Hot Toys… at this point I think these figures are legendary.  Every release they have Predator related sells out, and within months the figures sky-rocket on the secondary market.  Try finding one of their AvP figures or the P2 Elder on eBay and check out the going prices… yikes!

Anyhow, the latest offering is Royce, and here’s the scoop on this bad-boy…

Sideshow Collectibles and Hot Toys are proud to present the 1/6th scale Royce Collectible Figure from the Predators movie. The movie-accurate Royce collectible is specially crafted based on the image of Adrien Brody in the movie, highlighting the newly sculpted head, detailed costume and weapons.

The Royce 12 inch Figure features:

• Authentic and detailed fully realized likeness of Adrien Brody as Royce in the movie Predators
• Approximately 30 cm tall
• Muscular body with over 30 points of articulations
• Dark brown colored hair sculpture
• Movie-accurate facial expression with detailed wrinkles and skin texture
• Four (4) pieces of palms including:
• One (1) pair of gloved palms for holding gun
• One (1) gloved relaxed left palm
• One (1) gloved right palm for holding knife
• Each piece of head sculpt is specially hand-painted
• One (1) light brown colored shirt
• One (1) white colored undershirt
• One (1) brown and yellow colored scarf
• One (1) pair of blue black colored pants with pouches
• One (1) tactical vest with belt, pouches, gun holster, magazine pouch and two (2) packs of a total of sixteen (16) bullets including eight (8) on each side in the front
• One (1) pair of black colored boots
• One (1) pistol
• One (1) machine gun
• One (1) machete with sheath
• One (1) combat knife
• One (1) watch
• One (1) ax
• Figure base with Royce nameplate and Predators movie logo

Click here to view the Royce product page and you can check out all the photos, details and/or place an order!

You might remember back in July I told you guys about the classic style Predator 1 skull that Sideshow and KNB EFX had released and that was a huge success among collectors.  Well now Sideshow has announced the next piece in the series, a full-size Berserker Predator skull or as they are calling it, the Super Predator Skull.  Here’s the scoop on this amazing replica:

Sideshow is proud to partner with KNB EFX GROUP to bring you the Predators Collectible line from the 2010 film release. Each prop replica is an exact full-scale reproduction of the original on-screen prop, as created by KNB. Each piece is individually painted and finished, each with its own unique quality and detail that is the trademark of a handcrafted Sideshow Collectibles product. The Berserker Predator Skull Prop Replica is an incredible addition to any Predator legacy display, an outstanding addition to the new Sideshow’s new Predators collectible line.

And finally, we have the new Falconer Predator Maquette! One little sidenote on this guy if you’ll allow me… I wonder why this is called a maquette rather than a diorama?  Sideshow has typically released maquettes as huge 1:4 scale statues, such as the Predator 1 Maquette, Predalien Maquette and Pumpkinhead just to name a few.  We’ve also already had 2 Predator dioramas (Predator 1 and Predator 2) and both were in 1:6 scale as well as several Alien based dioramas.  The Falconer is 1:6 scale, so again, why are the Predators movie dios being called maquettes?  So don’t be confused, these are not 1:4 scale pieces, although at 14.5″ tall, it’s still a nice sized piece.

Sideshow is proud to partner with KNB EFX GROUP to bring you the Predators Collectible line from the 2010 film release. Each piece is individually painted and finished, each with its own unique quality and detail that is the trademark of a handcrafted Sideshow Collectibles product. Presenting a scaled full-figure study of the newly developed Predator creature designs for the film by KNB, The Falconer Predator Maquette is an incredible and detailed addition to any Predator legacy display.

Click here to view the Falconer Predator Maquette product page and you can check out all the photos, details and/or place an order!

You guys might remember back in March of last year I reviewed the Sideshow Predator 2 Diorama, which was an awesome piece and deserved a great review.  Sadly I had to let this piece go when I sold my collection but I have seen a few emails come in asking if I still have it available.  Well not sure if you guys realized this, but this piece is STILL in stock at Sideshow! Not only that, you can even use a gift card on this guy…  check it out by clicking HERE and visiting the Sideshow product page!

That’s about it from Sideshow on the Predator front, enjoy!
Dan

So who’s ready for a Narin attack? Ready or not, Narin has a new line-up of amazing sculpts coming down the pipe and he just sent me some work-in-progress photos for us to drool over… so here’s what’s cooking in that studio of his:

First up is a 1:6 scale Berserker Predator from the Predators movie.  This will be offered with 2 heads so you can pick between masked or unmasked poses (The kit will include both heads).  Here’s a shot of both head sculpts:

Next up is a HUGE full-body 1:3 scale Wolf Predator.. this was actually started quite awhile ago so it will be cool to see this piece finalized…  for those of you that have seen the 1:3 Scale Wolf Predator bust released over a year ago, you should already have an idea of how HUGE this will be.  The head on this new piece is taken from the bust sculpt!

Next up is a piece I am sure MANY of you will be very excited about…  Narin has done two diorama style P1 kits, but now you will be able to purchase a classic, accurate and standalone P1 Predator in 1:6 scale!  Best of all, this sculpt is just about done and ready for molding and it looks INSANELY awesome.  The base of the kit is from the Encounter kit, so this baby will be closer to 1:5 scale and will include 2 head poses.. regular masked and battle damaged!

There’s actually a bunch of pics for this badboy, CLICK HERE to check out the rest of the photos Narin sent me!

And finally, it’s been awhile since we’ve seen a new Narin Series sculpt.. and after the success and awesomeness of Series 03 (aka Death Warrior) and Series 04 (aka Bad Blood) you can imagine how exciting it is to get a glimpse of Series 05, which is currently unnamed.  Check out this killer teaser:

DIsclaimer: Predatorstuff.com and Narin are not responsible for blown-up optics or wallet suicide. *sigh* Time to start selling my body on street corners (otherwise known as dishwashing at dirty spoon cafes) to keep up with Narin in 2011.  I’ll have more details on these pieces as they come in!

Enjoy,
Dan

It’s thanksgiving weekend here in Canadaland and before I dive in to family, fun and several tables heavily laden down with turkey and his tasty friends I thought I’d continue the fun of Predators in October with your first look at a HUGE half-scale full-body Wolf Predator statue that is in development from a company called Halimaw! Sculptures.  The Wolf is my absolutely FAVORITE Predator of all time (even the though movie was perhaps not so great) so you can imagine how excited about this project.

OK OK OK, let me answer as best I can… here’s what I know so far about this piece:

This will be available both as a kit OR as a prepainted statue, and both will be extremely limited.  Estimated retail price of the prepainted version will be around $1600 and will feature the following sexy items:

- LED lighted Bio mask
- Detailed mask inside
- Removable bio mask
- Real glass and fine mesh wire for the eyecover
- Dead alien on the base with clear cast
- Glass eyes for the wolf pred
- Real net
- Leather clothes
- Hair would be silicone (still under testing)

At this point I have no details on what the raw castings will include or what the asking price will be.

The kit is 1:2 scale and will measure around 4 feet in height! BOOYA!  As of now, the body in finished and has been cast, so now they are working on completing all the armor.  In the work-in-progress photos, he looks a bit lean, but this is totally normal without the armor, so no worries there.  The photos look AWESOME, tons of great detail and the armor is already looking badass.  I do not have a ship date yet BUT I have been promised a unit will be sent for a full review on Predatorstuff.com!

While we wait for more details, check out all the WIP pics I’ve received by clicking on the photo icon below and please be sure to post constructive comments and your thoughts by clicking on the comment button below and I will forward any good ideas to the production company.

More on this piece in the near future, now GO EAT and Happy Turkey Day (Canadian version)!
Dan

September’s Ragweed season is finally over, home renovations have calmed down a smidge and Spookfest is coming in a few weeks, you know what that means -  October is here!  That means TONS of Predator and Sci-Fi collectible related news is coming to Predatorstuff.com as I get back in the saddle and start posting like a madman.  We start off my favorite month with a GORGEOUS new kit by Black Heart Enterprises simply called The Elder… enjoy!

Oh sweet mamma does it feel good to see a new build-up from Joe Dunaway, it’s been WAY too long since the smell of fresh paint and the buzz of perfection has wafted in to my office within seconds of cracking the tape on a box with Joe as the ‘from’ address.  As I unpack this stunning piece from the generous bubble wrap and padding, the only downer is that this piece of kickass Predator collecting grail goodness isn’t mine, it’s a loaner and it has to go back to his daddy in a couple of weeks.  It’s still worth it, and it is a tremendous honor that Black Heart founder George Stephenson has entrusted me with one of his prized collectibles just long enough to share it with thousands of fellow Predheads like you and me!

Black Heart Enterprises is a garage kit organization with some big industry names… George has recruited the awesome casting talents of Earthbound Studios and the amazing skills of guys like Mark Brokaw, Joe Simon, David Fisher and many other big names in the GK community.  Heavy hitters in the industry, so you can imagine the mess I made drooling all over the place when I first heard about their P2 Elder Predator project and my mind was totally blown when George contacted me after Wonderfest to see if I would like to review this piece.  I did warn him that I review all pieces honestly, and if the kit wasn’t up to par, I wouldn’t be afraid to say so… I think he just smiled to himself knowing my jaw would hit the floor.

So, my reaction when I cracked the box open?  Mind was blown, drool and jaw were transferred the the floor, and I was filled with the same kind of love I had when I first saw Jessica Rabbit…  You knew it wasn’t real, but you felt lust anyhow! And best of all, George was extremely generous and provided me with a raw casting to see how the unpainted product looked before Joe Dunaway did his magic.  Let’s break it down!

THE SCULPT

If there was anything that worried me about this piece, it’s the previous experience I’ve had with wall mount 3D relief style statues or kits.  All of the bust style wall mounts I have seen to date suffer from a loss of perspective, meaning that it looks too squished depth-wise and looses the realism and proper proportions of a Predator.  The best comparison I can make is expecting the head of a German Shepherd dog but it ends up looking like a Pug.  In my mind, a wall mount relief should basically look like it was once a full size, fully sculpted bust and someone sliced it right down the sides and voila, you have your relief.  Too often, they end up looking like someone took a full bust and quashed it in a vice.  So, that was really my only worry, but it’s damn hard to go wrong with Joe Simon at the sculpting helm.  Joe has dipped his toes in the Predator and Alien world before (He sculpted the Geometric Designs Predator busts, a bare Predator warrior for Nightmare Collectibles and a Predalien concept design under his own company) so this is familiar territory for him, but that honestly didn’t prepare me for what I was going to see.

This is easily the most stunning Predator piece Joe Simon has ever done, the full scale head is mind-blowing, with tremendous amounts of detail on every square inch.  The piece overall measures 22″ in height, 15″ wide and pops out from the wall somewhere around 8″.  At nearly 2 feet in height, the piece has the perfect size factor to it and with the high detail factor, it’s the perfect combination.  Everything looks in scale and the dreads look fantastic.  The perfect sculpt… as far as I’m concerned, this is the best piece I have ever seen from Joe Simon.

THE CASTING

The castings are made up of a high quality matt white resin, perfect for dremeling in extra details or jewelry and for paint adhesion. The main head and dread sections are hollow cast, but still thick enough for a solid feel without excessive weight, not to mention strong enough that you can drill in to the back of the head to mount it to a nail or screw in the wall with no fear of it break off.  The castings are extremely clean, with the tiniest seam-lines you could dust off with a finger nail and immediately start to paint.  Not a single bubble or imperfection anywhere, the casting work is as impressive as the sculpt.  The kit is broken down in to 44 parts, 30 of which are quills for the face and jaw line, the head, two dread sections and the rest are teeth and mandibles.  I should also mention that the sculpt includes all the quill holes, so you just have to dab a bit of glue on the end of a quill and it pops right in to place with no fuss or having to hold it as the glue sets.  Earthbound Studios knows their stuff and it shows, this rates right up there with the extreme high quality of the high end Narin kits, I’m totally impressed.

PAINT APPLICATION

While this is a raw kit only and NOT available in a pre-paint format, I still have to mention the AMAZING talents of Joe Dunaway…  I’m not sure I can say anything original about him and his work that hasn’t already been said or typed in prior reviews, but I am still completely blown away every time I see one of his buildups for the first time.  No one can touch his Predator paint applications, no one.  If you have the budget to have a piece built by Joe, know that you will have the best of the best in your collection, it really doesn’t get any better than him.  Congratulations Joe, another amazing piece.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I love the GK community… GK artists from around the world provide collectors with some of the most unique, exciting and AMAZING statues available and I am so proud to be a part of it and it always makes me feel so excited to see a group getting it right.  This is my first experience with Black Heart Enterprises and there is no question that this is the kind of company that provides fellow collectors with the best of the best, both in terms of sculpt and final casting quality.  There’s a professional feeling to dealing with George and his group, from the boxing materials the kits ship in, the wrapped parts, the instructions, to even shiny mini posters for their products that include product character origins and information on the back.  Congratulations to Black Heart Enterprises on a phenomenal release, I would recommend anyone that digs the Elder Predator to pick one of these up, I promise you won’t regret it!  Even if you can’t paint models yourself, just finishing this in a simple faux bronze paint application (it’s really easy, google it and you’ll see what I mean) would look stunning on any collector’s wall.

The kit retails for $195.00 and costs $20 to ship within the US… no worries though, Black Heart ships worldwide, so don’t be shy and contact them for a shipping quote.  Please bear in mind these kits are only cast as ordered, so please allow 2 to 4 weeks after payment has been sent for your kit to go out.  You can visit Black Heart Enterprises by clicking HERE, and they can be contacted by clicking HERE!

Be sure to check out my HD video review on YouTube and you can see just how huge this piece is standing next to me, it’s extremely impressive.  And I am ABSOLUTELY sure you want to pay attention to this video, as it may come handy in the not-so-distant future *wink*  Check out the video review by clicking HERE or clicking the YouTube icon above.

OK who’s ready for some sexy pics?  I had a BLAST photographing this piece because there is just so much detail I wanted to capture from every possible angle.  I tried to get some close-ups so you can really get a sense of the quality of this sculpt and of course so pleasure your retinas with Joe Dunaway’s paint skills!  Click the icon below to view the gallery:

I loved this piece so much, I even made some wallpapers to share with you guys!  Click on the resolution you need for your PC and have this guy taking over your desktop in seconds!

To download a wallpaper, simply right-click on the appropriate resolution for your desktop size and click “save as” to save it to your computer.

Overall, I am extremely pleased with this statue, it’s a gorgeous piece that is extremely well done, both in terms of sculpt and the final painted product. 

Hop you enjoyed the review gang, and I’m glad to be back at the helm!  Stay tuned for tons of content of the coming days and week, I promise you a steady stream of wallet killing goodies and eye candy for all!  Please coming VERY soon we’ll find out who walks away with prizes from our last contest and we might have a small scavenger hunt for you that could score you some swag if you’re quick enough!  Enjoy, and remember to share your thoughts and comments by clicking the comment button below.  Comments = goooood.

Peace out dawgs!
Dan