Marvel's changes to Firelord:
They have echoed pretty much what we have said.
Hopefully Joni can take in the changes. Nuff said.
Firelord cover:
Andie Tong
...and now to fill some space...
A Blast From The Past: The EM Vaults (part deux?)
Some old development ideas from way back in the mists of time (2004):
Dene Mason's first sculpt for us. We went with pose no.2. (as I recall there were problems with scale at the time because Toby Whiting had done the first 7 or 8 sculpts, and for whatever reason Dene's Goblin came in to too tall - so we had to do a hack job on his legs - didn't turn out too bad, but would of had a much more dynamic pose otherwise (paint job was a more cleaner style aswell, which wasn't in keeping with the realistic style we went for).
My original concepts for the plinth:
(note the original early sculpts that were done!!! deemed to actiony and childish - The Hulk was amazing though, and may still see the light of day one day!).
Crazy plinth idea!
Some box concepts (most are better than what we got in the end, but cost ruled the day - still some of the comic design elements would be an improvement on the drab grey box we have now (you can guess I didn't have a hand in it! I've since tried to make some of the special boxes more interesting but have had to stick with the grey palette):
A tin was also considered (way too pricey though):
See you sooner than later.
I'll 'hopefully' tune in to the comments section later tonight (or over the weekend). Catch you then...
44 comments:
I take it your hopeful for an extension then Dan? What do you think the chances are realistically on this and further extensions?
Firelord improvements look good. The flame on the head is how it should be in the sketch but I dont see flames on his shoulders? The cover art is fantastic.
I'm pretty happy with the boxes we have they're easy to store. The other designs look like they'd have taken up alot of space.
This was a brilliant blog.
Thanks for sharing with us.
Great update.
personally i like the green goblin figure which wasn't chosen compared to the one we have. I like the boxes because they are easy to store.
I agree with Banshee, the cover art of Firelord is indeed fantastic. Good work there. I love original art cover.
Interesting to see Green Goblin's different ideas. I prefer the one we have actually. And I also prefer the boxes we have also. Easier to store and takes less place.
I was wondering how Mojo is coming along? Do you have the cover art yet? Or which poster will be included? I can't wait to see the final version of him. May is coming pretty fast. Can't wait for it.
Nice of you to update as much as you can. It's always fun to get some news.
Oh and fingers crossed for a new extansion soon :)
Very, very interesting to see what might have been.
I doubt those action style figures would have been as successful, and we certainly would not have been looking at a Firelord prototype today if EM had gone down that route.
I liked the collection initially because it seemed to take the MU seriously rather than in a Heroclix kids' style.
Rarely mentioned is the beautiful sculpt of Spider-Man which launched the collection. That sculpt is still front and centre of my collection.
As I have mentioned before I consider this to be the greatest and most important representation of the MU yet attempted. I think the passion it evokes even all these years later proves how many of believe that.
Here's to many more extensions.
Thanks, Dan. Love seeing the behind-the-scenes stuff. The initial designs were awful and I'd definitely have passed on this collection if they had looked anything like that. Still, can't help thinking the Goblin pose is rather underwhelming and a little dynamism would have helped it.
Some of the packaging designs looked pretty cool, but then it's the figures themselves I display, not the boxes they came in!
Oh, and a thanks to Leigh for putting up the link to the Avengers trailer. Is it me or is there a goof in the trailer? When the camera spins around the circle of Avengers, Hulk isn't there and then, suddenly, there he is! He can't have jumped into the circle off-camera or we'd have heard a massive thump. Anyone else think that was a mistook?
Yes, the CMFC is a total dream come true! May this dream continue for a long time and bring us so many othet great characters, including some of our favorites, who, if there is a new extension are pretty close to getting in! Dan, it's very thoughtful of you to update the blog with interesting info from the past, when there aren't many new stuff to post. It was a pretty entertaining blog! It does seem like you are optimistic about a new extension... Or is it just wishful thinking from us? Well, I'm keeping my hopes up!
Dan, thanks for this great update.
Firelord needs the head which he had in phase 2 of sculpt development. Can you do a simple head swap? It was perfect.
As for the Firelord cover, it is superb. Possibly one of the best in the entire CMFC series, imo.
Dan, I'm ecstatic to see that you speak of a new extension with such optimistic tones. The CMFC has plenty of life in it.
Dan, and all of you my fellow collectors, I have created a new research resource for you. I am delighted to announce the arrival of
A-Z VIRTUAL GALLERY
Please visit it. Here you will see more than 280 Marvel characters in solo pictures in alphabetical order. These virtual figurines include some real curveball gems, and some big players of the MU that we need to see in next extensions.
I hope this new A-Z Gallery will help you (Dan) and your creative CMFC team with the selection of candidates for inclusion in the collection.
And you, fellow collectors, get an idea of the awesome potential of new CMFC extensions. It was a lot of work, but I hope it will get us more extensions. Please visit the
A-Z VIRTUAL GALLERY
Great blog update, very interesting to see what could have been! I really like the Goblin with his hand reaching into his bag but I like the one we got still. I do wish he had got the more vibrant paint job though!! Glad we never got that Wolverine, Spidey or Thing mind - yuck ;) A shame we never got that version of the Hulk though, I do think it's better then the one we got.
The plinth ideas are pretty wacky, especially that street/hotel one. But then I don't buy them anyway :P Some of those boxes are real nice but I'd imagine each issue would have ended up costing £10 or something so in the interest of savings I'm happy enough with the current ones!!
As for Firelord, he's coming along nicely. The cover art is looking ace too :)
An unexpected treat, interesting backstory to the collection.
Seven years in and still going strong . This collection really is a once in a lifetime kinda deal. ( for an old fart like me anyhow) Just got a wee pile of bronze age nonsense , made me realise there must be at least another 50 or 60 weird and wonderful characters I would love to see before completion...( along with a good few redoes )
I have removed the Clayface sticker from the base and replaced it with "the Blob" Hulks old sparring partner. ...just until the actual CMFC Blob fig is released in 2067 ;)
I'm totally happy with the way the colection turned out and I'm more than pleased with the boxes the figures come in.... The A-Z of characters has made me realize there are even more characters I'm dying to see reproduced in lead..... In the past I've listed my preference but I'm aware that my passion centres around the women of the marvel universe.... however what does everyone think of some of the following characters? The Beyonder, Mastermind, Molecule Man, Paladin, Phantom Rider, Puma, Starfox, Tarantula, Whirlwind and Vulcan?
Blob?????? I meant of course The Glob d'uh
The Glob! There's one for the teenagers...
I think that DC Clayface might be my favourite figure across both collections.
Thanks for the all comments about the update. I had some old cover designs to upload, but couldn't find them on the EM servers! (oh well, they were rubbish anyway!). Should have new sculpts and paint jobs coming in trickles over the next few weeks/months.
The A-Z gallery is an amazing piece of work, and one I hope I will have the pleasure of reviewing in the event of another extension.
I'm 'hopeful' of an extension, mainly because I prefer to stay positive - but I have no actual evidence to go on (except the fact that historically subscriptions decrease rather than increase over the life of a part-work (a negative) - although CMFC has been an exception in many ways as it has a very strong "retention" of subscribers (plus the Diamond distribution which was a new avenue for EM) (a positive). In many ways the success of CMFC has been great for them but to some it has confused and bewildered - as they prefer the predictable traditional course of the part-works industry).
Anyway back to the point: I'm not even sure if they have made any decisions as to yay or nay, as they don't include either myself of John the editor in any marketing or planning meetings/decisions. Richard has the inside line moreso than us into these things, and I'm sure as soon as he is given the secrets of the CMFC he will tell us poor miners at the coal face! and I'll tell you guys!!!!
Wow, great update Dan! Absolutely love all this stuff. Like I said before, bind it all in a book and i'm sold.
Amazing to see how the collection was first going to look, and like others, I would never have got into the collection with those figurines. But the one saving grace is the gorgeous looking Hulk figurines which wouldnt look out of place in our collection 1 bit.
I am also happy with our plinth, despite it being abit redundant nowadays. Couldnt imagine owning more than 1 of those city backgrounds! lol
Some of the packaging looks abit naff and too complicated, but I really liked the simple rectangle box with the marvel comic panels printed on it. But I dont mind the gray boxes, they are easy to store, but really, I wouldnt mind no packaging and if they just came in the plastic instead of the cardboard.
And I did wonder what happened to that Green Goblin! I remember seeing pics of him thinking ours looked nothing like it. I would love to have that figurine...any laying around the office? lol
A fascinating insight to the early stages of the collection. Thanks Dan!
Oh, and Robert, nothing wrong with the trailer and Hulk's positions. The shot opens with Hawkeye centered, and Hulk is offscreen to the left of our screen. As the camera circles, there isnt really a point in the action where the hulk would be visible until the angle in which he is finally shown appears.
So, by my eye, seems fine.
Well, remembering what happened to the DC collection, I'm sure we get at least one more extension!
Dan, since Blake shared with us his amazing A-Z virtual Gallery, I hope it's ok if I ask you to take a little look at a few pictures I've done with some of my figurines, they've had good feedback from the forum, and i'd love to hear what you think about them, for I believe they really show my great passion for this collection. I chose a few of my (and the forum's) favorites:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/osvaldoeaf2/6601384297/in/photostream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/osvaldoeaf2/6342375545/in/photostream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/osvaldoeaf2/6447891373/in/photostream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/osvaldoeaf2/5948584863/in/photostream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/osvaldoeaf2/6089367699/in/photostream
Probably my fave update Dan. Love it. Very interesting .
RE: Osvaldoeaf
Wow I love those photos, really imaginative team-ups and angles.
I'm gonna use one of your shots on the blog if you don't mind.
NEW SPIDER-MAN TRAILER!!!!!!!!! - http://lawaycartoons.blogspot.com/2012/02/amazing-spider-man-trailer.html
Thanks for the update Dan.
I'm not one to get overly excited by covers but Firelord's is special.
Echoing others comments its very interesting to see some of the behind the scenes early design work.
I'm very happy with the boxes we have. Name tags somewhere on each box would have been beneficial but its not too much of a bind to write them on paper and leave in the clamshell.
I'm also very happy with the final design of the plinths which really make the figurines pop.
I use them for displaying Super Hero Squad and Marvel Universe 3.75 too and am about to try out the new case of Legends that arrived this morning.
Anything Marvel looks good on them.
I'll buy that original Hulk if you guys make it !
Fingers crossed you get a positive answer on an extension soon.
Blackheart to Shanna arrived this morning + N&A and.......MODOK !
I wanted to skip MODOK but decided to support the CMFC instead.
Not opened them up yet so wish me luck with paint guys.
Hopefully I wont be back on ranting later..........
Really interesting update, love seeing all the packaging ideas and that plinth is so cool.
That Firelord cover is stunning, looks really good.
Fingers crossed for another extension :)
Thanks, Leigh. Will definitely go see it but, God, I hate that costume.
Just caught the eaglemoss tv ad for the DC chess set... Looks nice. I remember filling in a questionaire concerning a Marvel set. This would be a perfect way to give us redoes like ,Original Cap Britain, furry Beast,Classic Iron Man etc.
I youtubed the DC Chess Collection advert.
Gonna run to my shops and hope they have Batman!
Funny how they only show 6 per side. I aint a chess expert, but pretty sure there needs to be more pieces. lol
Judging from the advert, I'd probably pick up maybe 4 of those 12? Maybe.
Yeh Robert, the costume is awful, but seeing that trailer, seeing the new Peter Parker being witty, and actually clever this time, as well as being able to move in the suit for a change, I'll happily try to ignore that mistake.
Would EM consider doing a spidey special for when Amazing Spider-Man comes out?
not many spidey characters would need to be specials. would love a madame web special, but she's not in the movie. although the last special based on a movie was a disappointment, so maybe just going for a character related to spiderman but not necessarily in the movie is the way to go.
madame web for special!!!!
will be tempted to get commissioner gordon from the dc chess set if he's not going to be released in the proper collection, but only if it's to the same scale as the proper collection. no chance of getting the ones on the taller bases as they will look out of place displayed with the others.
same deal would go with any marvel chess pieces. if i could display them alongside the proper collection, then i would be tempted by many characters if done in the costume i want. but if they're really out of scale or the bases are significantly different then i wouldn't bother.
Wow, what an honor!!! I'm so very happy to know you liked my pics, Dan, and I'm thrilled that you are using one of them on the blog. It's more than I could ask for, thank you so much.
You can use any of them whenever you want!
Hopefully a new extension will allow me to do more of them, I certainly have many ideas...
Cheers!
Please no EM :P
I cant stand the costume and would begrudge paying for it in lead (or plastic bit I'm sure Hasbro will have a field day with it)
Having said that I am looking forward to the movie :)
Well the secret's out the DC Chess collection is finally being released (at least testing in certain areas?) - It's just one of the projects Rich has been working on (although he inherited it late on - but he has worked hard on improving on what he inherited), hopefully it will be well received, although it will never replace the DC figurines (in my heart at least!), it will at least fill the void that DC (or Bruce as it was codenamed!!) will leave when it eventually finishes.
PS CMFC's codename is HERO.
Huh? Who? Wha? Last time I checked, I left a (rather long) post about my thoughts on why we should have more extensions (check it out on the last update if you missed it) and a couple days later after two really busy days working, I didn't realize we had an update! Whew!
Well I'll start by saying Firelord's cover is awesome! Didn't expect anything less if I'm honest so nice to see.
Finally an answer about the Green Goblin fig that's on the CMFC main site but not the one we got. I always wondered what that was all about. Thanks for filling us in Dan!
Saw the new Spidey trailer earlier and I gotta say, I was more impressed with it than I thought I would be. Yeah Spidey's costume is quite disappointing but if the film is good, I may try to overlook that. Same with the Lizard, it seems we're getting his human-lizard look and not the reptile-look. Time will tell guys.
Just checked out the DC Chess Collection too. Looks quite nice, my bro is really into Batman so he may like that. Anyone know what the prices are on that? I know the first issue is £2.99.
And finally, less than 3 weeks til Stan Lee arrives folks! Words cannot explain my excitement! :D
SV
do u know if the dc chess pieces are roughly to the same scale as the proper dc collection figures dan?
SV - i think the pieces in the chess set are normally £7.99
Lizard in the spidey movie will look more like first appearance Lizard in his face at least anyway.
Other than that he looks like a giant man lizard, which is a shame they couldnt keep the ridiculous lab coat on him. I imagine logically it makes sense him being a naked lizard, but ah well.
Hope the DC chess set makes it over here in Wales.
So Dan, how many secret projects are going on Marvel/DC related?
Not sure exactly, but i think the chess set is the same scale as the normal collection, although the bases are bigger (chess piece related e.g.the pawns are on lower bases and the more important figs get larger bases).
Can't comment on other EM developing projects until they hit the stores unfortunately. Even then i'm on shakey ground as this blog should legally speaking be only about the CMFC! (although i will say that there are possible 2/3 other projects in development that you guys might be interested in as regards to Marvel/DC. 'nuff said).
PS. Not sure it's possible without damaging the figurines, but it may be possible to saw/break off the DC chess figs from their bases and stick them on normal DC bases (if some clever spark could replicate the bases and sell them on ebay? - i could possibly supply that clever person a couple of plain bases for that purpose of duplication???)
PPs just tried to visualize batman and commissioner gordon and i'm thinking they may be slightly larger than DC regulars. still might be possible though?
one more quick thing before i go - got some interesting sketches in for Deathbird from the sculptor Dene Mason - he wants to preview them on here and see what you guys think would work best. I'll upload them on friday if i have time.
Marvellous news about Deathbird! Can't wait to see her!
Thanks for the responses too guys! :)
SV
Hi Dan,
An amazing and insightful post. I love the history and behind the scenes aspect of the CMFC, thank you.
I pray there are more extensions. There are so many A list characters that have not been produced such as High Evolutionary, Jigsaw, Selene, etc. Surely the people in charge know this? If not please inform them!
I just rearranged my entire collection on my bookshelf (I have 190+ figurines including specials etc) and man I can't believe how amazing all these figurines look, the breadth of this massive collection and how unique it is! Thank you CFMC for making a nerdy Marvel fans dream come true :0)
Hope Deathbird has her crown.
Just received my latest subbie pack Forge is actually an impressive fig in hand...apart from the big ass paint chips on his leg :(
Shanna is lovely the paint work on her face is lovely the little hint of blush on her cheeks is deftly done . Annoys me that a big ass paint flake has been either painted over or applied during painting and not removed , either way these. Ugly carbuncles on the paintwork ruin an otherwise excellent fig . Subby substandard this month.
Just opened my box of 12 figurines from Blackheart to Shanna + the last 2 specials.
My faith has been largely restored after a dodgy period.
I dont know if you guys at EM towers have been given a slightly larger allocation for paint or a bigger stick but either way the quality has returned.
I only take a delivery 3 or 4 times a year and this box has been the best since mid 2010.
Well done to all !
Not a single breakage which is impressive when Blackheart and Hydro Man are among them.
Seeing as I'm gushing here's a quick rundown of my thoughts.
Blackheart is fantastic period.
Puppet Master surprised me, I didnt care for the previews but in hand its really well done. I'm amazed his sculpting knife is still there and Thing sets the whole thing off.
Karnak is so-so, artifacts on one leg could have been removed prior to painting and looks like the rear of his tunic is a separate piece thats not positioned correctly. Still nice overall.
Hydro Man - Another cracker.
Captain Marvel - Spot on
Photon - Not a fan of her but she is well painted until you get to her boots. Looks like lead filings not removed prior to paint similar to Karnak.
Magik - Not a character I know at all. Love the way her sword's been done and great sculpt.
Beetle - Wow ! Again I wasnt a fan of the previews but he looks great.
Shanna - A lot better than I was expecting. Too many brush hairs painted over but otherwise love her.
Now comes the not so good part.
MODOK - its MODOK :P Actually he is fairly well painted. Nowhere near the Blog pic mind you but not bad.
Not sure I will display the ugly bleeder though.
Northstar and Aurora - I was expecting to see webbed fingers as others have reported so was pleasantly surprised on that point.
I use plinths for the entire collection and the first thing I did was put them next to each other.
I cant understand why you guys made 2 characters designed to stand side by side that dont fit within the regular figure boxes ? Its only marginally out but seems a silly thing to have done. If the palms of the hands were vertical they would fit.
I came close to pulling the plug a while back but I'm not afraid to give credit and admit that would have been hasty.
Saw the Batman Chess piece in the comic shop this afternoon. Nice pieces and will make a really nice collection but not something I can afford to take on at the moment.
Some of the boxes that could have been are simply awesome. Only problem is I wouldn't have taken them out of the boxes to display them and the collection would have taken up even more room
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