This isn't just the second release of the film. There are actually two versions that were released last week - one, the normal director's cut, three discs of extra goodies to make the fanboy swoon, and two, a version of same said three-disc DVD bundled with a 7" Hellboy bust, sculpted by our friends at Sideshow Toy. This set is referred to as the "director's cut gift set" by most websites and stores.

I suspect that not a lot of these deluxe sets were produced. God knows, the LOTR set with Gollum didn't sell all that well. I only saw a handful at my local Best Buy, and have heard reports of other stores getting only a few. But if you plan on picking up this version of the DVD anyway, then you really need to check out this review first.

I'm going to pretend that you are going to buy the DVD set. It just makes my job easier in discussing the bust, and by the time I'm done, you're going to want it anyway.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, you can always reach me at mwc@mwctoys.com. If you enjoy this review, take a minute to check out my other site at Michael's Review of the Week, and let me know what you think. Now on to the review!

"Hellboy Mini-Bust"

There's certainly been no shortage of excellent Hellboy merchandise. Mezco gave us the 8" action figures (with a second wave hitting soon), the 18" Hellboy, and the Hellboy Mez-itz, while Sideshow cranked out their 1/4 scale Hellboy, sixth scale versions of the main characters, and a variety of busts and props, but full size and quarter scale. With a sequel guaranteed, it's a lock that we'll get a ton more merchandise as well.

Packaging - ***
My score for this category might seem a bit schizophrenic at first. You see, I love the look of this box. The red box, with its stony graphics, is offset perfectly by the gray rocky color of the foam insert. Both highlight the bust extremely well, and you get a nice, clear, unobstructed view of most of the bust. There are windows all around (although one is blocked by the DVD set itself), and if I were grading just on looks, this package would score much higher.

But looks isn't the only purpose of the box. I've heard (and seen) that many of the busts did not survive the brutal trip from the warehouse to the store. I suspect the guys that truck DVDs around play a form of shot putt with the cases, seeing who can toss them the furthest. Afterall, their DVDs - what can they break?

In this case, they can break the bust. There's way too much play in the foam insert, and the bust can bobble around pretty easily. Many bust have guns and hands snapped off, or damaged paint due to all that bumping around. That means annoyed customers, and a higher risk for those buying these from an on-line store.

Sculpting - ****
I had two big sculpting issues with the Sideshow 12" figure. First, I felt there wasn't enough textural difference between the horns and face, and they blended together. Second, I felt the right hand of doom was poorly done, with too soft of a sculpt for a stone appearance. Neither of those issues exist in this excellent bust.

The right hand of doom has no issues because it's not here. Most mini-busts have no arms, or at most one. Hellboy has one, and I think they made a very smart choice with going with his left hand, holding Samaritan. The sculpt on the Samaritan is smooth, clean and sharp, making it appear as though it really is gun metal. I'd also like to point out that they sculpted the index finger off the trigger - nice job!

The head sculpt look very much like Perlman in the make up, with an appropriate amount of wrinkles and detail. The bones are a much rougher texture, and do not blend in with the face sculpt at all. The ponytail in back still seems a smidge too high on the back of the head, but I can certainly live with that.

The base is a rough stone base, with the organization's symbol on the front, and the name "Hellboy" across the bottom. It fits in nicely, yet gives a good color contrast with the rest of the bust.

Paint - ****
The paint ops are superb, with perfectly clean lines, consistent colors, and a nice palette of colors. Far too many busts have one or two colors which dominate, with little variety even in the details. That's not a problem here, with red, black, brown, gray, and silver all working together.

I mentioned the various textures that were sculpted to give the impression of different materials, but the paint was also used to highlight the differences. The brown leather of the jacket, with the darker wash within the folds, appears to be a completely different material than the gray of Samaritan or the stony base.

You do have to be particularly careful though about one aspect of the paint job - the eyes. Obviously, if you're buying this on-line, it's going to be a crap shoot, but if you're picking it up in the store, compare it with the others they have available. I found that some had the lazy eye, while some looked a tad, just a tad, cross eyed.

Design - ****
This is an excellent overall design, from the choice of body and head pose, to the inclusion of the left hand and the Samaritan rather than the right hand of doom. The bust is also well made, solid and almost impossible to tip over. This is definitely a bust that Sideshow and Mat Falls (the sculptor) can truly be proud.

Value - ****
How can there even be any doubt in this category! Remember, I'm assuming you're already a sucker, er, fan who's ponying up the twenty four little ones to buy the DVD. The bust is only costing you eighteen bucks, around half what other busts of this style, size and quality cost. If you were paying $40 just for this bust, it would still get ** or even **1/2 stars in this category, proving what an excellent deal the combo pack really is.

Overall - ****
This is one of the nicest busts I've picked up all year, and it only cost me $18. That's truly amazing considering how much most regular release mini-busts costs these days, and if you're already going to buy the new DVD set, I can't imagine a good reason to pass this up.

Unless of course you don't like mini-busts, and don't already have a shelf load full. But then, you probably haven't made it this far anyway.

This goes very nicely with the 1/4 scale Samaritan and 1/4 scale Right Hand of Doom that Sideshow produced earlier this year, or will fit right in with most other mini-busts in your collection.

Where to Buy -
I picked my set up at Best Buy for $43. On-line options include:

- Amazon.com has it listed in stock for $42 with free shipping.