Queen Studios 2019 Review

2019 is almost over, and we’re grateful for having the opportunity to do something we all love and make better collectibles. We’d also like to give thanks to you for supporting us throughout 2019. We hope we’ve made collecting exciting again, and we’ve got some big things coming in 2020.

Before we give you an insight into what to expect in the New Year, we want to cover some of our favourite highlights from the year just gone!

JANUARY - MONTH OF THE SPIDER

In January, we released the Iron Spider, our first resin life-size bust. The Iron Spider included switch-out eyes in three different sizes that could also be lit using a switch at the back. The design is based on Spider-Man’s new suit gifted to him by Tony Stark in Avengers Infinity War.

It’s safe to say the Iron Spider was a hit with Marvel and Spider-Man fans. He sold out extremely quickly. If you missed this bust, don’t worry, there’s a chance of something similar will be on the way in 2020.

FEBRUARY - THE UNDEAD FROM UNDERNEATH

February marked the arrival of the Zombie Shark. Inspired by the Zombie Horror genre, the Zombie Shark was Queen Studios’ second statue from the Life-Series. The Zombie Shark was a unique original concept that allowed us to work on innovative painting and 3D printing processes.

The Life Series has been a small passion project for our artists. In 2020, the future of the Life Series is uncertain. If you think we should continue with these statues let us know in the comments.

MARCH - MODEL FES

In March, we warmed up for the exhibition season in Shanghai at Model FES. Model FES is a smaller convention from the guys behind Wonder Festival, one of the world’s largest figure festivals. Model FES gave us an opportunity to show our busts to fans in China and on social media. Until this point, our busts and statues were something of folklore. Collectors had heard about them, but they weren’t to be believed until seen in person.

Model FES marked a turning point for Queen Studios. More collectors were noticing our work, and it gave us a chance to build some momentum.

APRIL - WONDER WOMAN!

In April, we began to enter our peak season. In the fourth month of 2019, we launched the Cartoon Series starting with the Cartoon Joker, and then we followed up with a Thanos and Wonder Woman teaser! This was just the beginning, May and June became the peak. 

MAY - IT'S GETTING HOTTER

In May, many countries around the world begin to warm up, and so did we. In the fifth month of the year, we released an Alita teaser, Captain Marvel announcement, Black Panther, Thanos, the Iron Man Mark 50 and Aquaman Teaser.

In just a few short weeks, we shared months of hard work with the world. This was an epic schedule, and it was awesome to see the response from fans and collectors. 

JUNE – WONDER FEST WAS THE BEST

Wonder Festival is one of China’s biggest events in the world of Comic Books, Manga, Movies and collectibles. This was a much larger outing for the Queen Studios team. At Wonder Festival we debuted the 1:1 Hulk, Thanos, Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel, and Black Panther busts.

For most busts, we got some great feedback, especially for Wonder Woman. We had pushed forward an early version of the bust and she wasn’t quite ready. Thanks to constructive feedback, we could make the necessary adjustments.

JULY - FLYING HIGH 

In July, we were flying high! Loki began shipping, we’d made the suggested improvements to Wonder Woman, and we’d settled on the concept for the 1:3 Joker. If that wasn’t enough, we even found the time to share early 3D images of Alita!

AUGUST - AQUAMAN UPDATES

After the release of the Aquaman head sculpt, many fans were eager to see what his body and base would look like. The concept for the 1:2 statue was based on the scene in which the deep-sea hero (played by Jason Momoa) appears through the waterfall clutching Trident of Poseidon wearing his new armour. From our work on the Life Series, we were able to create a water look feature that fit this base perfectly and set the scene for the statue.

SEPTEMBER - ALITA IS ON HER WAY

Creating busts take time, but it’s worth it! 5 Months after the Alita announcement, we were proud to release an early look at Alita’s Berserker Body and base design. We followed the 3D concept closely and even included the Damascus Blade from the movie. Alita’s base was designed to look like the Motorball stadium. The hoop designs on the back represent the style of the track and the circular arena.

Also in September, some of our childhood dreams came true, or partly at least. Thanks to our friends at the Film Legends Museum, Arnold Schwarzenegger met face to face with the Queen Studios T-800 bust. It was an honour and a privilege, and we hope that we’ll be lucky enough to meet Arnie in the flesh one day as well!

OCTOBER - QUEEN STUDIOS GO TO THE BIG

New York Comic Con is one of the largest comic book conventions in the United States. At the last minute, NYCC gave Queen Studios the opportunity to attend and bring a handful of statues and busts. The Con gave us a chance to debut the 1:3 Joker statue and get feedback from fans. The reception from fans at the show was incredible, and we’re excited to go back in 2020. The online feedback for the 1:3 Joker was mixed. We knew he wasn’t the finished article, but we knew what changes were needed ready for the PO in November.

NOVEMBER - WHY SO SERIOUS?

In November, we made the changes to the 1:3 Joker and launched the PO in China. In less than 2-hours we sold out! It was an incredible response for our first statue in this scale, although we understand that it left some fans disappointed. If you missed the 1:3 Joker pre-order, don’t worry. We should have one more in the works in 2020, and this time we’re hoping to open up our license to cover more regions. Watch this space…

DECEMBER – THE ARRIVAL OF THE MAD TITAN

As December arrives, 2019 comes to a close. But our work is not over. Our fellow collectors around the world enjoy the holidays, while we work hard to deliver on the promises from earlier in the year. The MK50 has started production, and Thanos the Mad Titan begins to ship. Some lucky fans shared pictures of Thanos in their collections, and it was a pleasure to post on Facebook. If you don’t have your Thanos yet, don’t worry, he’s on his way.

WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2020

2020 marks the start of a new decade, and we’re hoping that 2019 was just a warm-up. Next year Alita will be ready for Pre-Order, we’ll have more surprises for Marvel fans and we’re working on making our DC busts and statues available in more regions. These things take time. We will make mistakes along the way, as is natural with a growing team finding their way. One thing we can promise for 2020 is that we’ll do our very best to make better busts and statues. We hope that you can continue to support us and join us on this journey.  

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