REVIEW: Bowen Designs CC Exclusive Cable Retro Statue by sash501
As promised, I'm continuing to do a review of all my Bowens as a way to recharge my excitement in the hobby and as a way to give back to Bowen for designing these amazing pieces and give back to statue marvels for giving this hobby a true home.
Reviews created so far, in chronological order, and their links are as follows:
If you can't wait for a certain statue to be reviewed and want to bump it to the top of the list, click my statue display link below, find a statue you want reviewed (new ones are posted further along in the thread) and send me a PM. I just got requests for some specific X characters so get in line!
Box art will be included on newly shipped statues from this date forward, but older statue boxes are in my attic. They will be updated when I have time.
I will always try to point out something I would like improved or something that wasn't well done about a piece, in efforts to stay truly objective. This can be from a tiny flaw that you would never notice to an all over bad sculpt (haven't had any of the later thus far).
Lastly, a soda can will be used in each review for scale. I'm not going to post next to other statues, as they aren't part of the review, and other collectors might not have the statue I would scale the subject statue next too, thus giving them no real idea of the scale anyhow. That being said, I will occasionally post with another statue simply for fun if the characters are associated together.
Produced by Bowen Designs and sculpted by The Kucharek Brothers, Cable Retro Statue was released during Bowen Designs Phase IV in 2010 as a collectors club exclusive. This is AP of 250. He stands about 21".
Here he is, a grail piece for many collectors. This was a personal grail for me because it was the first ever Bowen I tried to order direct and was forced to go through the rigamaroo of faxing in information to Bowen Designs; by the time that 30 minutes passed, he was sold out and way out of my current price range. I was going to hold off on reviewing him because the detail is insane and this review will take awhile to complete. That being said, he was requested by forum member vwstobbe (who requested some other X characters who I will review soon) and a good friend of mine from this forum may be soliciting a few of these in the near future; Wink Wink (use of actual smilies puts me over the 40 image limit). So this is also a way to help him out and those who may want to pull the trigger but need a little more convincing.
Not that there should be much need for convincing. There is a reason this statue is sought after as a grail piece, the detail is absurd, the paint is perfect, it’s a low numbered collector club exclusive, and the first Bowen statue to sport a sentinel base and the only Bowen to sport a full sentinel head as the base. If that isn’t enough information for you, just look at him.
First and foremost, the weight of the statue is an average weight. I do not believe the base is solid. For those concerned with scale, Cable himself is scaled with the other Bowen pieces; the statue is huge because of the base. The paint throughout is nearly flawless. The more you look at the statue, the more you will notice tiny paint details, which hurl this statue to the top of most wants. The back of the shoulder pads do show slight brush strokes, but I believe this was intended to give the figure a worn look.
Starting with the head: it is typical of what I am learning to be a Kucharek head. For the talent these brothers show in the sculpting world, I must say they use the same idea for a face quite a bit. The sculpt of the face looks almost identical to the Yondu Udonta bust from the GOTG set. (For a comparison, simply click the review link for the GOTG set above). Like the other K Bros I’ve reviewed, the statue is also sporting the typical frown. That being said, it isn’t Cable’s frown that makes or breaks this statue. The hair is well done, the left eye is appropriately white and the right eye has the mutant power streaks that are associated with the character. Also, the neck brace is loaded with detail. It has two different colors of paint; a metallic blue frame, with a darker blue on what seems to be padding. Symmetrical lines go around the neck padding as if they are each separate padded pillows for when his head is getting knocked around. So many people look at the base on this statue that I’m willing to bet many owners of this piece haven’t taken the time to really look at this neck brace feature. I know I didn’t until I started this review.
The head also sports the antenna with mouth piece. It is very thin and looks very fragile. However, it is so close to his head that it doesn’t run much risk of being bumped and snapped off. This feature is my first example of the incredible amount of detail that was put into this piece. If you look closely at the microphone part, it actually has bulges where it meets the wire. The part that connects to the ear has multiple gadgets and the antenna is in four parts. The K Bros could have simply sculpted a box to his ear with a simple pole going up and another to the mouth.
The shoulder pads are easy to miss because of all that is going on. When taking the time to look, you’ll notice that they are actually quite huge, hanging out past the body another arm width.
Each of the numerous yellow pouches, of which there are twenty-nine throughout the body, are painted with some wear and tear. They are not all symmetrical, showing that each pouch is unique. The right thigh pouches can be seen in the pic, but not as good as I would have liked. I had planned on giving them their own pic, but again forty pics per post. The thigh pouches show a metallic clasp and height in each pouch as the seams of each pouch go slightly in. These are my favorite pouches on the piece.
And then comes the chest. The “X” logo is perfectly painted with a shiny metallic red. Around the “X” is a metal casing that shows wear and tear. If you look close, you'll see that it is more than a simple paint rub, dings and scratches have been painted on, showing the metal underneath. Truly amazing detail on this piece. Although he sports many red shot gun grenades (that’s what I think they are) on his left shoulder, I love that he has just one more to the right of the “X” logo. There are also three silver colored bullets locked over the bottom of his sternum, which I assume are for the gun that is holstered across the stomach.
As mentioned above, the left shoulder has five metallic red shotgun grenades holstered with a leather looking strap. Additionally, two metallic red rails run along each shoulder, which is either for shoulder pad adjustment or allows for bigger guns to be strapped on.
The pouches along the waist reciprocate the level of wear and tear that the chest pouches showed. If you look at the second pouch on Cable’s left, you’ll see that the bottom is slightly lifted because it is laying on top of a leg strap. This is the kind of detail that rockets this statue above many others from Bowen Designs.
One of my very few complaints of this statue is the pelvic region. It is almost perfectly flat, and the right leg comes right up to it. It simply doesn’t look natural. The padded leather strap that would cover his genitals, although nicely detailed with leather sown lines and perfect paint shading, lies flat and simply disappears where the leg meets. This is evident in the below picture and even more so in the one directly above this paragraph.
The guns on this piece I feel are overlooked. Everyone loves this piece because of the sentinel head, which I get and admit that it was my initial draw, but the guns are insanely detailed and beautifully painted. A darker metallic blue is applied throughout the edges, giving the resemblance of where gun parts would be oiled. I’ve taken many shots of these to find the perfect ones to post, and sadly these threads limit forty pics per post, otherwise you would have gotten at least three of each gun. I encourage you to take the time when looking at these two pics, especially the first, to take notice of the intricacies of these and the many non-symmetrical parts. Truly these are weapons of the future.
Is Cable, in the words of Pauly Shore “bu . . uff?” Of course he is. The metallic arm here is well done, showing the strength without too much detail, because of course it’s a metal arm from the techno virus.
What the metal arm is appropriately missing, is covered in the organic right. Not shown below is the muscle definition on the outside of the arm (again, only 40 pics a post) but as you can see, the bicep and forearm are simply huge. I chose this pic, rather than a more detailed outside arm pic, because I wanted to show how great it is when a glove or boot appears to go around an arm or leg rather than just meet up with it. For those of you who have read my other reviews, you know this is an issue for me. These are the best I’ve ever seen, however it is a bit of a cheat; both hands remove from the arm (The piece has four parts: The base, body, both hands holding the guns). But cheat or not, it is the most realistic of any other statue I have.
The back isn’t covered with all the pouches and bullets that the front is, but that is understandable; the guy has to be able to move, and he wouldn’t be able to easily reach that stuff anyway. Nonetheless, it is elegant in that it is well painted, shows the breadth of the shoulder plate, still defines the delts and shows the leather straps that help explain all those pouches.
As if Cable didn’t have enough weapons, as a final touch of detail a bowie knife is strapped to the right leg. The handle is detailed with four strapped rings, tiny pins that would hold the sheath together run the length of the sheath, and yet another amount of detail is given with an additional small pouch on the outside of the sheath that also has a detailed flap and leather pin. (Not sure if the metallic pins came out in the pic, so you may have to look close.) Did these guys get carried away with detail? You bet they did and I’m loving analyzing this piece during this review.
The front of the shin pads show incredible detail where each pad is sewn together; in the knee pad especially. The multiple lines indicate that these are leather pads and are stuffed full for maximum protection. I can’t say enough about the detail on this piece. Look closely to each pad where the seems meet, stress lines are sculpted throughout these areas. Small pin holes can also be seen on the sides of the pads, showing where they fasten on.
And now finally onto the base, which I believe is what draws people to this piece. It is a staple in my collection and always one of the first to be admired. I often get the compliment of “I love the guy on the robot head” at which point I clear my throat and correct them, “It’s a Sentinel.”
First I need to get it out of the way that I wish the sentinel was given a metallic finish. The Banshee Sentinel hand has it and it’s stunning (let’s hope Mangeto’s Sentinel hand matches).
The other complaint I have with the sentinel head is the eyes would have been much better as a resin. If they are supposed to light up, I think they should be slightly see through when not lit. This of course is simply my opinion and personal preference.
Now, despite my discrepancy of the head not being a metallic finish, it nonetheless gives a metallic feel. The face is smothered with scratches from what I believe to be Wolverine’s claws. Each scratch mark reveals the metallic base that makes the Sentinel, especially the large chunks taken out of the bottom lip. You’ll also notice that the inside of the mouth has multiple gears and pistons. I think the K Bros did a good job with this. The screw like pieces on the sides show how the mouth may open and shut.
More gears, pistons and the like can be seen on the left cheek of the head, where it looks as if the cheek was simply blown off. The detail is awe inspiring and is at such a high level that it simply wouldn’t be fair to compare it to some of the less detailed statues that have been produced in the past.
The sentinel parts/pieces have been flung around the remains of this Sentinel and are also shown along where the head meets the base. Also apparent are several bullet holes. The stickler in me would like to point out that these are exit wounds and there are no entrance holes on the opposite side. The optimist in me will assume Cable shoved his gun in the Sentinel’s mouth.
There is more damage throughout the back of the head. I’m not quite sure who is responsible for the giant gash, but I like to think it was Cyclops.
One issue I have with the statue is how perfectly Cable stands on the head. The back leg does make physical sense, as he is standing on a piece that has been ripped back from the head.
However, the right leg is standing on a piece that is simply protruding from the head, as if the Sentinel had a growth. It’s too perfect and was clearly done for the convenience of the statue. At least the back left leg is standing on a part of the head that is clearly carved out and pulled back.
What I didn’t show individually in this review is an additional large pouch/holster on the left thigh or the numerous leather straps on the back of the knee and shin pads. Again, pic limitation.
As a final note, some may be easily passing this up or finally giving up on this piece because there are two new Cable preorders (a modern and a retro) that were recently sold out on Bowen Designs' website but have not yet been released. I personally bought the new retro one there and would have bought the modern too if a baby Hope was strapped to the chest (funny how one little detail can determine a buy or pass). That being said, if this is one of your grails, don’t give up on it. Enjoy the hunt, save your pennies, and read this review several times if you have to. Granted, it’s not a piece everyone can have; simply because of it’s low number and price tag. It’s a rare occasion when this even pops up on ebay and the vaults are always $800+. But don’t let that discourage you, do what you can to get this piece if you’ve always wanted it; it will help you with a finalization of your collection (as if we could ever say our collections were complete). And who knows, maybe in the coming days or weeks one might just show up on this forum for purchase. That’s how I got mine. This community has helped me keep the good fight and get amazing deals on my statues. So keep it up, continue the hunt, and God speed.
Last edited by sash501; September 26th, 2012 at 09:13:20 PM..
Without a doubt from the guns to the base this piece is one of the most detailed pieces in BD's history. I remember the anticipation on the boards for this piece to show up in collectors hands and the relief of many when the inhand pics starting popping up and the sculpt lived up to the hype.
Last edited by kavorca; September 27th, 2012 at 01:16:10 AM..
Amazing review. Your attention to detail on the attention to detail on this statue is astounding. I have to agree with Peeps. Your reviews make me go out and buy statues I previously passed up on. I had to get a MODOK as well as a Wendigo solely bases on your reviews. This Cable is my Grail Piece but I haven't been able to convince myself to pay the nearly 1K asking price on these. I would sell most of my collection to own him though. Thanks again. I'm most definitely a fan of yours.
Amazing review. Your attention to detail on the attention to detail on this statue is astounding. I have to agree with Peeps. Your reviews make me go out and buy statues I previously passed up on. I had to get a MODOK as well as a Wendigo solely bases on your reviews. This Cable is my Grail Piece but I haven't been able to convince myself to pay the nearly 1K asking price on these. I would sell most of my collection to own him though. Thanks again. I'm most definitely a fan of yours.
You should PM the GMAN, I think he has one and I know he works with people on the price and offers time payments. I've completed several deals with him, in fact this Retro AP came from the GMAN!
REVIEW: Bowen Designs CC Exclusive Cable Retro Statue by sash501
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