Sideshow Collectibles News Blog

World of Warcraft: Blood Elf Rogue Vs Draenei Paladin Diorama from Sideshow

Time for another look at the latest and upcoming releases from Sideshow collectibles in our series of unofficial, independent articles. This time we turn our attention to the World of Warcraft: Blood Elf Rogue Vs Draenei Paladin diorama…

World of Warcraft is a property that lends itself to the grandiose and the majestic, and thus the merchandise should follow suit. Sideshow Collectibles are never one to shy away from a challenge, and they have dived head first into producing an item that does the gaming phenomenon justice. The universe of World of Warcraft / WoW is rich and diverse and its various fantastical races deserve the utmost attention in the merchandise arena. Thankfully, the guys and girls at Sideshow have done the game proud- this diorama is exquisite.

This impressive diorama stands no less than eighteen inches tall, and boasts a sculpt that really captures the essence of the game and its characters. The Blood Elf Rogue and Draenei Paladin show off a superb level of detail that is sure to go down well with the legions of WoW fans the world over. Limited to just 600 pieces, this is a collectible that really has a right to be called thus. Based on artwork from the expansion pack entitled The Burning Crusade, it depicts the two newer races in a battle to the death. Sideshow teamed up with Blizzard themselves to ensure this World of Warcraft collectible meets everyone’s standards, and the results are plain to see.

The only problem I can see with this piece is the worry of how brittle it is. The poses and positioning of the figural elements look as though they could possibly be damaged easily in transit, but with Sideshow’s customary high levels of packaging, that worry should be unfounded. Another great item from Sideshow Collectibles.

DRACULA DIORAMA FROM SIDESHOW COLLECTIBLES

It is a nice thing to see that despite the slew of merchandise released by Sideshow for the latest blockbusters, they still find the time to bring us new items based on the absolute classics. Few films/books/franchises/legends are as Bram Stoker’s undisputed masterpiece Dracula, and here Sideshow are offering a piece that does that legend justice. This is an excellent depiction of Bela Lugosi as Dracula from Tod Browning’s iconic movie, capturing the vampire when he confronts Renfield.

Cast in fine polystone and standing approximately 13 inches tall, this exquisite piece of memorabilia is due to be shipped in the 4th Quarter of 2008. I love the fact that this Dracula diorama has not been stylized in any way, offering a faithful representation of the actors and the characters audiences have loved for generations. Also of note is the base, which instead of a standard logo-adorned effort is a nice sculpted staircase, giving the figural parts of the diorama much more fluidity in their pose and a bit more drama to the piece. Its great to see such a traditional collectible offered on the current market. The trend for overly dramatic poses and unusual materials has here been eschewed in favour of simple, high class craftsmanship. I’d love to see some other old school Universal stuff released again by Sideshow, as there’s really nobody out there that does it better. The only thing I'm not 100% sold on here is the pose itself- from some angles it looks as though the two pieces are about to have a bit of a smooch. Other than that, the Dracula diorama looks great. Now how about some new Mummy, Frankenstein, Wolfman and Creature from the Black Lagoon pieces too?