Review: DST Marvel Universe X-23 Mini-bust

Here's my third statue review already, four if you count the X-23 CMF. If you want to read the others, here are the links to the Bowen Logan MB, Kotobukiya SDCC exclusive X-Force Wolverine, and the CMF X-23.

Packaging and CoA:The packaging of the bust is similar to the other Marvel Universe busts produced by DST. It shows the promo pictures of the bust up front, on the sides and at the back, with the necessary character blurb written so it can introduce the character. On top are the words "Marvel Universe" while at the bottom is the number of the bust, mine is 1188/2500. The packaging seems pretty plain to me, it doesn't have the simple flair that's similar with the Kotobukiya pieces but it also doesn't have that real distinct look that Bowen has. The packaging is good enough but doesn't really grab attention.
Inside the box is a huge styrofoam layer so that it can protect the bust properly in case it isn't handled well. The X-23 bust itself is neatly placed in the middle, mine came with a plastic wrapper so that the styro wouldn't stick to it, and maybe protection from dust too. The condition of the box isn't really as important to me as long as it's still presentable but you should expect some storage wear especially since this is a pretty old bust, almost 5 years have passed since it was first produced. The one thing I like the most about the DST statues and busts are the CoA that comes with it, it just seems to add to the authenticity of the product you are buying. From what I know, Sideshow is the only current Marvel Statue producer who also gives CoAs, but I might be wrong.
Base:
The base could have been better the only thing that makes it an X-23 base is the number "23" written on it, simple improvements could have been done such as making the marks look like her claw marks, it's pretty simple really, they could've just used a mix of a pair of claw marks and a single claw slash instead of those four marks up front and three at the back.
Once again, it looks real simple, nothing eye catching about it. This is probably one of the worst bases I've seen. Very unimaginative in my opinion. Could have been a lot better, maybe even use a thick "X" as a base with 23 written in the upper right side, kind of like how her logo looks.


Figure:
As for the figure itself, this is where I'm truly impressed by the bust. It makes up for the dullness of the base. It really captures how X-23 looks like when she first appeared together with the X-Men, just look at the cover of Uncanny X-Men 451:I know DST has made some hits and misses during their run with marvel busts and stats but i do believe that this piece is one of the better ones since it captures the early X-Men appearances of X-23. She is actually sculpted to look like an actual teenager, and the pose she has might be feminine but it doesn't give away too much. Sort of like X-23's personality. X-23 is the type of character that keeps her emotion underneath, that often times she would appear almost like a machine. Though that doesn't mean that she has no emotions. It's nice that the pose they chose for this bust isn't a seductive kind of pose, since she is a teenager and that would be out of character. In terms of sculpt, this bust is great. The hair and the bones on the costume are really detailed, plus an additional perk for me is that the claws are actually sturdy. The paint is also solid, i know that busts are SUPPOSED to be painted well but I still have to commend them on that.
But i have to admit that I am not all praises for this piece. One of my biggest complaints is that the costume she wears here is already obscure, it's not like it's a first appearance look. It's sort of just a forgotten look, DST could've waited a couple of months more before doing this..It would have been a lot better if she was wearing something else. I also think that her breasts are a bit big here, since the bust is actually portraying a character that's around 14 years old. I'm not sure how SKINTIGHT the costume is but the belly button is actually sculpted in.
In terms of scale, this is actually a pretty big bust, it's bigger than my Bowens and my other DST Wolverines. It would be a good thing if you were to display it alone or together with other X-23 stuff but if you decide to display it with other X-Men characters, she'd look like she's the same height as She-Hulk.
Compare the two busts, they're pretty much the same distance away from the camera. I know Wolverine's supposed to be shorter than her (5'6"-5'3") but I don't think it's supposed to be by this much. I guess for those planning to display her with other statues, be wary of the sizing.

Overall, I think that this is pretty much a good buy if you're a fan of X-23 and you're into this thing. It's pretty much sold lower than it's original price on ebay so if you like it, go ahead and check it out. But if you want to have just one X-23 piece, i suggest you go ahead and wait for the upcoming Bowen statue.

Review: Bowen "Logan" Minibust

Before I start reviewing my new Logan bust, let me just clarify my new comics for last week. It's weird that i remembered the ones that I DIDN'T get. here are the ones that i did and their actual pictures together with the ones I got from ebay that same week..

New Mutants #6 was from my LCS, got mixed up wtih the others. Wolverine vol.2 1, Wolverine vol.3 33-35, 73-74, New X-Men 139-141 were the ones i got from ebay.

Now that we have that out of the way, let me start with my review of the Bowen Logan Mini-bust. I first saw this thing in the November 2009 Previews, it was going for $60 and it was supposed to ship out January 2010. I pre-ordered it since i wanted to collect the Bowen Mini-busts. Afterall, i already had 3 of the 4 released at that time, the Brown one being the one i lacked. I didn't really like the hair of the piece, it looked a bit too anime for me to aprreciate. I was real happy to find out that the prototype shown in the previews were still tweaked and in my opinion, the face of the one released was way better than that of the prototype. I've read from the different statue forums that this was supposedly a Weapon X model with a cigar in his mouth and stuff, i also read that it had to be changed in order for Marvel to green light it. I won't compare it to that bust but in my opinion, the changes were for the better. Anyway, I have no idea what type of shipping they used as it took only 4 MONTHS for it to reach the stores. I actually almost forgot about this piece until my LCS texted me that it finally arrived, i found a way to gather the remaining balance i had on this piece so i can finally get it. To my surprise, the bust was actually numbered up until 1300, i had the impression that it would be around the 3000 mark. I got number 299, a pretty good number though it's not really that low.

I guess i should start of with the packaging, it's basically the same with the other Bowen Mini-busts, the front and the box have a huge picture of the product inside. The left side has the specifics of the bust such as the sculptor and the height, while the right has a write up about the character. I think the write-up changes depending on the look which is a nice touch. I think the "LOGAN" could've been made better. Or maybe it could've just replaced the Wolverine logo. Having a plain font really hurts the look of the packaging for me. At the bottom of the box is the number of the bust, mine says 299/1300. Pretty plain, i guess Bowen doesn't feel the need to make CoAs. But the packaging isn't what i'm after, it's the one inside. And let me just say I'm not disappointed with the bust at all, I don't know if it's just the excitement of finally getting it but i think this just replaced the X-Force Kotobukiya as my favorite bust! This bust is years ahead (literally and figuratively) of the last Bowen Wolverine MB released. (Tigerstripe) There's just a whole lot more detail in the bust compared to the older ones.

Here's the actual picture of the bust, the front just looks so detailed. You just get the feeling that the shirt used to be white. It looks like it's been dragged through mud. The gloves look real nice, and the way the claws are placed seems as if there were slits especially made for them. the belt is very detailed too, i think it's inspired by the belt Wolverine uses in the Origins movie, this look is probably inspired by the movie. The bullet wounds seem nice, and just to prove that this Wolverine just went through war, even the back has bullet wounds.

You can see in the picture above that the wound seems to be closing leaving only a hole and dried blood on the shirt. You could also see the way paint is applied on the shirt. Oh, and if you think I'm just going to shower praises to this piece, your wrong. I do have some problems with it, such as the claws. They are REAL fragile, they seem to have been slid inside. It's also thinner compared to the other claws so you better be careful in handling them. My biggest problem with the piece though is the base. Unlike the other 4 Wolverine mini-busts, this one doesn't have it painted. It's a plain black base with claw slashes on it.
The wound on the head is a nice touch too, it shows the adamantium skeleton and it's nice that it's the same color as the claws. The face, though looks a bit anime-ish, looks nice cause it really seems that Logan is pissed. Ready to cut you open if you get on his bad side.

Overall, i think the bust is really good. Bowen lists the product as sold out so i guess if you want it, go check if your LCS ordered one, if not..try ebay. I saw this bust there a couple of months ago, going for $45.00 without the shipping, which will probably end up being $15.00.