EYE OF THE COLLECTOR

Sideshow Exclusive Gandalf the Grey Premium Format Figure Priority Pre-Order

2009-03-23T12:16:00.009+02:00

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Gandalf the Grey Premium Format Figure - Sideshow Exclusive

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Can's bachelor party...

2008-07-23T19:08:00.006+03:00

Where should I begin...

On 20.07.2008 Sunday, Can rented a boat for his bachelor party. He was dressed in traditional Ottoman clothes because the theme for the nights party was going to be "Ottoman". With his dad he arranged another boat to take "the girls" (his mom, fiance, her mother along with all their friends) half an hour before our boat.The plan was to intercept and siege their boat at exactly 22:00 at Beykoz.

They had no idea we were behind on an other boat, silently gaining on them...

I have heard of real wild bachelor parties but I would never trade that night to any other. It was emotional for all of us and seing Can like that warmed our souls. He was happy and you could easily see it in his eyes. It was pure and without strain. Rock on brother!!!

Can's wedding is next week on the 3rd of August. I'll post photos after the wedding. Stay tuned friends...

Conquistador

Q & A with FelmarWETA ( Felipe )

2008-05-10T21:46:00.013+03:00

Hi everyone, here we are yet with another interview with one of my favorite collector. Felipe from US, kindly opens his doors to his collection and shares his thoughts about the the hobby we all love. He also shared with us some pictures of his amazing collectibles. Here you will see the most rare stuff from lifesize to studio scale, props to statues. Hope you enjoy it.

Can: Hi Felipe. First of all thanks for accepting our interview offer and sharing your collection with us.
Felipe: Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share my thoughts with you.
Can: Now, I know that you have a massive collection from Lord of the Rings, Star Wars and Alien. Most of the collectors are amazed when they see your collection on forums. Hope you will share something different with us today, something we haven't seen before :)
Felipe: LOTR was the first line I got into...its what opened the flood gates, lol. I then ventured into Star Wars, Predator, Terminator and Aliens, everything sci-fi as you can see. I do have some unique 1:1 scale predator and alien figures that I consider my center piece collectibles. Its always scary when Thursday rolls around...new pre-orders at Sideshow.

Can: Ok for a start tell us a little bit about yourself please.
Felipe: Well, I'm 29 years old and live in Southern California. I've been collecting for about 5-6 years now and it looks like there is no end in sight. I enjoy watching movies, playing and watching baseball, gambling, skiing, listening to music and learning about new things in technology. As if collecting statues and props wasn't nerdy enough, I also have a flashlight collection.

Can: When did you first start collecting and what was your first collectible?

Felipe: As I mentioned earlier, I started collecting Lord of the Rings statues from Sideshow/WETA first. That's how I got my handle on the forums (FelMarWETA). My very first statue I bought was the orc overseer piece.

Can: Which lines you collect and What is your favorite collectible and why?

Felipe: I collect the statues and environments from the LOTR line...I did have helms and busts, but I have sold most of those now. I also have many life-size props from Aliens, Predator and Terminator. My United Cutlery collection is comprised of swords and helmets while the Star Wars items I have are studio Scale props from Master Replicas. My favorite collectible would have to be the 1:1 scale Alien prop...its stand over 7 feet tall !

Can: What is your favorite collectibles manufacturer? Is there any other line that you always wanted to get in but couldn't find the funds or the space for it?

Felipe: My favorite manufacturer would have to be Sideshow Collectibles. Its the 1st line I got into and it also offers the most extensive pieces from all the different movies. I really wanted to collect some of the Cinemaquette pieces, but along with being very expensive, I have been running out of room to display them. I hope to one day have a room in my house dedicated to just collectibles...that will allow me to get more pieces.

Can: What do you think about the collectible society? For example flippers.. are you one of them ? and ebay? doing trades on forums?

Felipe: I would consider myself a true collector that sometimes "flips" older collectibles to be able to fund some of the new pieces that come out. If an item has a going rate or $500 that originally cost $200, I will sell it in the $500 range. I do sell some of my statues and props on ebay, but I will try and offer them on the forums first. I think doing trades is great if there is something out there you are looking for and can acquire...its great for both parties.

Can: Let's talk about the forums a little bit. We met at Shadow and Flame Forum. My personal opinion is that it is the best forum on the net. There aren't a huge number of members( like freaks board or statue forum) but almost more than half of the members there, are active. and everyone on S&F forum are very friendly. Also i believe that it is the only forum which gives more giveaways than any other forum on the net:) almost 5-6 every month right? you and 3 other members of S&F Forum are also working on a new website right? tell us a little bit about it. also what other websites you visit when you turn on your computer to go for statue hunting.

Felipe: I think Shadow and Flame is the BEST forum on the internet...like you mentioned, its full of great people and its not overly crowded. We have a good number of active posters that have been there since the beginning...I joined several months after it started and visit it almost every day. I also go on the Freaks board from time to time...its a good place to search for items and also sell as there are A LOT more members on that site. I have never gone to statue forum. We do have many giveaways at Shadow and Flame...its one of the characteristics that makes us unique and part of the reason we keep our members posting and participating. There are a few of us that have started posting at a new website- THE COLLECTIVE. Its a blog where we can share ideas on the the collecting industry and also post some reviews and highlights from just about all the lines out there. Charles Song is the man who started it and is also responsible for Shadow and Flame and wetacollectors.com (ARTIST PROOF COLLECTIBLOG).

Can: Do you collect any artwork to display with your collection and who are your favorite artists ?

Felipe: I have a few pieces of art that I collect as well...unfortunately I don't have them on display at the moment since most of my swords and props are taking up the wall space =) I have the great prints that Charles Song made...I have about 6 of his pieces along with the Stunning ORTHANC he made. I will have his Orthanc framed and mounted on the wall...its just a matter of time.

Can: here is the link to Charles Song's website where you can see some of his work.

http://charles-song.com/

Can: If you had to keep one collectible from your entire collection which one would it be? I know it's a stupid question but it's a tradition i had to ask :)

Felipe: I think I would have to keep my Millennium Falcon thats signed by Harrison Ford. Its my favorite Star Wars ship and he's also one of my favorite actors. By the way...I can't wait for the new Indiana Jones movie to come out!

Can: That's all from me. Thanks again for giving your time to answer our questions. I'm sure all visitors will enjoy this interwiev as much as i did.

Felipe: Thanks, Can...I really enjoyed answering the questions and I hope my feedback has been insightful. I look forward on reading other interviews you have with other collectors such as myself.

Collectormania 2008

2008-05-05T21:48:00.015+03:00

David Prowse -

Anthony Forrest - The funniest movie is here. Find it

On the phone with Sideshow Operations Manager Brant Bridges

2008-04-15T18:17:00.053+03:00

Dear EOTC guests,

We would like to share with you photographs of the tie signed by Sideshow's "Production Manager" Scott Klauder which Can had won off of an auction held for Diane Kamahele.

We would like to express our heartfelt condolences to all her family members, her friends at Sideshow and friends all around the world.

This was a great opportunity for us to participate and win a Memorial Auction to show how much we cared for her lovely three kids. Being part of such a mission and being able to contribute was very important to us. We'll continue to participate and provide funds needed for health and education benefits for all three of Diane’s children, Charlie Jr., Dylan and Keilani. We feel that there's so much more to do and our part is definitely not done...

In the near future we'll be auctioning the "prototype" Spider-Man bust that was sent to us as a thank you gift by Sideshow Collectibles and donate the total winning value to The Diane Kamahele Memorial Fund. We are hoping for everyone's participation and blessing.

The Spider-Man bust is a preproduction sample which you'll hear Brant Bridges, the Production Manager of Sideshow state clearly during our phone conversation with him.

Meeting at Ozay Veral's house.

2008-04-03T16:30:00.028+03:00

Yesterday on 2nd of April; Can, myself and two more friends were invited to Ozay Veral’s house for a quick gathering and maybe barter a few items. I was pretty anxious about this get together because only one member was missing and everybody was going to be there. This gathering was highly important to me because Can lives in London/England most of the year and because of his university education he was going back to UK in four days. Second reason I was making a big deal about this meeting was we as “EOTC Team” were going to do an interview with Ozay Veral. I wanted things to be perfect but of course nothing can or will go perfect as we plan in life.

I was home the whole morning until mid-afternoon receiving and making calls about the meeting, trying to figure out how it was going to be executed. Can was a life saver as always. What I like about Can is you can almost never see him in a rush, he’s always this calm, helping pal that you’ve been dreaming about and who is also a control freak like my wife. Can is getting married this summer and because of that he had lots of stuff to do in the morning. He had to go and talk to his agent about the house he had rented a few days ago. Renting the house took most of his time this week but in the end everything turned quite alright...well actually more than alright!

I packed up my “Sideshow Thor vs Loki” diorama that morning because we had agreed with Ozay to swap it with his “Regular Edition Kiani”. It was love at first site, I mean how can you not love that piece of art. I’ve been reading Statue Forum threads and poles about it and everyone is blown away by it. I guess when you loose your mind you tend to do crazy things like ordering a Lava version of the same statue. That’s ok because I ventured the possibility of my wife going crazy and busting my balls. I was never really good with comic books and I must say I know nothing about ‘Fathom’ but I thought that this was something I could not miss the chance of owning.

Like I’ve said I was trying to pack the diorama back to it’s box when Can called and told me that he’d pick me up from my house about two o’clock. I didn’t have much time so I got a bit nervous because I had several things to do before leaving the house. Putting these statues back to their box can be very tricky sometimes. I’ve always hated repacking my statues because there’s always the possibility of you breaking them and feeling sorry for yourself which is very dumb. So I approached with the utmost care and luckily repacked without damaging it.

It was almost three o’clock when Can came, we were running late and that was bothering me a lot because we were going to a house with two little babies. I was worried exceeding the time limitation of this meeting could really cause problems since the wife was going to be there and obviously she was going to be pissed.:) Imagine two year old twin rascals running around, crying and the dad is with his friends behind a closed door doing collectible barthering way to long...I’ve never said we were normal.:)I have been to this man’s house before and I know he’s a very hospitable guy. It was around four when we got there and the whole family greeted us at the door. We went back to his private room where his whole collection is piled up and the rest is quality time with friends.

Lets get to the interview and hear what this old collector from Istanbul has to say….

EOTC : First of all Ozay thank you very much for opening your doors for us. It’s an honor to be here and being able to share this with you.

Ozay: The honor is mine.

EOTC : My first question will be a cliché but you know how it is…how did you start collecting?

Ozay : I have started with the advise of my older brother actually. He introduced me to Bowen and I was swept away. It was 2003 and my first statue was Bowen’s full size Spiderman.

EOTC : Did you know Randy Bowen at the time?

Ozay : No, I must admit I didn’t know him but with a quick referencing and research on the net I became addicted to the man’s work. I have only collected Bowen statues from Marvel the past 5 years with a few exceptions from Sideshow Collectibles. You don’t have to look elsewhere because of the amplitude in major character production. You’ll be more than satisfied with Bowen, that's for sure.

EOTC : What about Hard Hero!?!? Did you ever think of getting some of their products?

Ozay : No I’ve never even considered going down that road because of all the statues they've been producing are already done by Bowen.

EOTC : I’m sensing a deep devotion towards Bowen (laughing) I mean…I feel Hard Hero has some pretty good stuff don’t you think?

Ozay : Yes that’s true but like I said I’m going with Bowen and I don’t want it to be a mixed display of Marvel Universe. My MARVEL display is mixed up with Star Wars and that’s bothering me enough already…(laughs) but I have always wanted a Hard Hero Conan! (laughs)

EOTC : What do you think of Sideshow compared to Bowen in terms of Marvel products. I mean Bowen Designs is an older and more experienced company. What differences do you see?

Ozay : I feel that they are both producing top notch statues but I must say it is impossible to resist Sideshow because of the scale of their products and they’re doing pretty good with their diorama line. I could never get enough of Bowen. Bowen is a passion and Sideshow is more like an adrenaline rush! (laughs)

EOTC : I can see you have quite a lot of Attakus Star Wars statues which are acknowledged to be elite of the elite. It’s more or less a complete line is it not? Both brands unified in one bowl have boosted your appetite I guess!?!?

Ozay : I feel they are one of the top companies that produce SW high-end products. Ok I want to be honest here I feel they’re the best! (laughs) Some pieces are very hard to get and that’s what makes them very desirable for me. Because of the shipping costs and the lack of reliable retailer or seller of these products to our country, I preferred buying and bringing them back from my travels to other countries. I wish I had the opportunity to buy the missing pieces…I’m buying stuff that are not much tiring like the Attakus statues are these days. As you well know because of our customs law and the inequality in the execution of these laws it can sometimes become very hard to do this hobby.

EOTC : Well as someone that’s in the same hobby with you, I should say this is one Attakus collection to be proud of…

Ozay : Thank you, you’re very kind. I know that only someone like you or Can could know how hard it is to make this happen.

EOTC : If you were living in the States you’d probably have not just filled up one room but two with these beautiful statues and busts.

Ozay : Definitely! (laughs) We’re very unfortunate because we have to pay almost half the price of a 300$ statue just for it to be shipped. My friends in the States are buying their 300$ statues and paying maybe a maximum of 30-40$ shipping fee. Now that’s something to be jealous about! (laughs) It is generally like this for all Europeans. We can call it “our misfortune”.

EOTC : I would like to know the company which satisfies your needs and expectations the most these days.

Ozay : Well Bowen is like the first kiss first love for me but other than that I can say it is Sideshow. I would really want Bowen Designs to continue unruffled, just do what they’ve always been doing. There are lots of hard core Bowen lovers out there like me that love Bowen just because of what they are and have been. If things started going a different way that would disappoint me a lot.Sideshow on the other hand arouses a panic state sort of an adrenaline rush which is fun to pursue. That’s why I’ll be there when they put out something new.

EOTC : True! Sideshow has that certain essence of uncertainty doesn’t it?!?! I mean you can never be sure of what they’ll be doing next that is good and can also be bad sometimes.

Ozay : They have too many licenses in hand and sometimes giving me the feeling as if they’re loosing track of things. For instance the Star Wars premium format line…what’s up with that? Only two PFs a year will never make anyone happy because that’s not how most people want it to be. I personally don’t care about 12” format figures, I want four PF’s a year. If they are not doing it that way then I’m out. I have sold all my PFs just because of this. They’re grabbing you with a format and knowing that you’re in their hands then they go for an other format. They shouldn’t be doing that because now there is too many formats to concentrate on…it’s not hard to understand sometimes why some products they put out don’t meet their quality trajectory. It is obvious it was rushed…(laughs) people can see that and they don’t buy.

EOTC : So in summary you would want SS to go with only one or two lines or formats but more products maybe.

Ozay : That’s how I feel…

EOTC : Anything you would like to say to beginners?

Ozay : Only advice I would give them is that this hobby needs passion. There will be lots of ups and downs. It can’t be done for money. Even if you have the time and money it will still take from you. You’ll have to sacrifice more than that. I’ve been collecting high-end stuff for the last 5 years only and I’m 32 years old. I know people that are into this hobby at 15. That’s just great and I hope they treasure it.

EOTC : Thank you for this great afternoon…we were honored.

Ozay : It was good to be with friends such as you. My door is always open to you guys. Thank you.

Interview done by Conquistador.

Meeting at Eray's House

2008-04-02T02:24:00.007+03:00

About a week ago, we gathered at Eray's house to see his collection and also catch up with each other. Most of the gang was there. Gurkan, Ozay, Eray, Baris, Suleyman and myself. We had a great time. Mostly talked about collectibles and took lot of photos. Here is what I have in hand. Thanks a lot to Eray for his hospitality.

Meeting John Howe

2008-03-31T17:52:00.012+03:00

Meeting Andy Serkis

2008-03-31T17:46:00.006+03:00