I like Lara Croft. Always have. I remember looking over my big brother’s shoulder when I was little, just to see him play the first Tomb Raider on his computer. When I was old enough, aka able to crack his passwords, I even tried playing the game. Didn’t got that far ’cause I couldn’t save, but I loved it. I’ve always wondered why there aren’t any nice, high quality, statues made of her. Until now!
I had been looking at the Lara Croft Premium Format for quite some time but never cutting the cord on whether we would buy her or not. Then SideShow Collectibles surprised us with the revealing of the Lara Croft Snow Day. We both found it absolutely gorgeous and thus decided to pre-order her. Since we didn’t order anything from the SSC website then, we ordered her at a local shop. They only had the regular… I know, bad us. But Lady Luck smiled upon us and we were able to get the exclusive version at that same shop. Talk about lucky.
The Statue
This is one of my favorite 2010 released statues! And you can easily see why. The details are amazing, just look at those stickers on the luggage, the snow on the boots, all those little props… Everything is just so well made and evidently well thought trough. Also the pose and the paint application are very nicely done. I can’t detect any flaws whatsoever, which means a golden star for SSC today. The details I love the most? Well, let’s see… I love the stickers on the suitcases and the content of that duffel bag the most I think… Those are really well done and just add that last touch to this statue.
The concept art (which is in fact the print included with the exclusive edition) is penned down by Adam Hughes. He’s one of the more famous artists that collaborates quite a lot with SSC. The sculpt is done by Tim Miller. I like these guys.
The one thing that bothers me the most is that the only thing exclusive is the print. Don’t get me wrong, I like the print. I just don’t like it when they only include a ‘lousy’ print as an exclusive. It’s cheap and it’s lame. Don’t know what they could have included… A hardened cloth map? An extra duffel bag? I don’t know, but something besides that print. Besides eh, not in stead of. Just so we’re clear.
I don’t really know of issues with this statue. Frankly, the only things I’ve read about her is that someones dog (and I quote) ate the flimsy map that kept falling out of her hands. But nothing like breakage, paint flaws/misses, chips, … And that’s a really good sign.
What’s really strange is that the edition size on the website is 550 for the exclusive while it’s 500 on the base… That’s really weird…
Conclusion
If you’re a fan of ol’ miss Lara, do not, I repeat; do not miss out on this statue! It’s the best collectible I found on the market to this day from this amazing franchise. I like the Core Designs ones, more because of the poses and their shear number than that I think they’re pretty… I also like the Premium Format. But they just don’t hold a candle to this statue. This one really is the best one out there! Kudos to Adam Hughes.
Item reviewed: Lara Croft: Snow Day (Tomb Raider Underworld)
Type: Polystone
Variations: regular (without the Adam Hughes print)
Rarity: Both the regular and the exclusive are sold out. You can however jump on the waitlist or find her in shops. There are also a lot to be found on the Bay. 500 or 550 (ex) and 1000 (reg) made worldwide.
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