For toy companies, that means this is the time of the year when they release all the cool monster toys, or at least try to. The monster competition can be a bit much for some of them to take, but the brave of heart try to capitalize off the overall dark mood. Sideshow has just released their first figures in their new line, Modern Horror Classics, and today's review covers one of the new releases.

This sixth-scale line is intended to capture the more recent classic monsters. Their Universal line has already produced most of the old greats, like Dracula, Frankenstein, the Mummy and more, but what about the children of the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s? Where's their fix of ghoulish gore? The modern line covers characters like Jason Voorhees (reviewed last week), Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger (reviewed at MROTW), and Leatherface.

Sideshow has also dabbled in display bases and environments for some of its figures, but stuck mostly with the military theme. The Furnace Environment for Freddy is their first foray into a horror diorama for general consumption. Designed after Freddy's crib, the display is only available through the Sideshow site, and at a run of only 500 probably won't last long.

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!

"FREDDY'S FURNACE ENVIRONMENT"

While the Freddy figure from Sideshow looks great by himself, how much cooler would it be to have him in his familiar environment? That's the purpose of this spiffy display, but you need some serious space to show it off. Remember, this stuff is sixth-scale, so this old hunk is pretty damn big.

Packaging - **1/2

This is a pretty standard box, with a photo on the front of the furnace. Inside, the pieces are wrapped in bubble wrap individually. It comes in three pieces - the large furnace, the block floor, and the steam pipe. The steam pipe section is made from polystone, and mine came out with a broken valve wheel. It wasn't the end of the world, due to that wonder product Super Glue, but the packing could have been a bit sturdier.

Sculpting - ***1/2
The majority of the display - the floor and furnace - are made of foam. I'll get into that more in the Quality section (and no, the choice of material is not a bad thing at all), but it does effect the sculpting section as well. The sculpt here is extremely good, and I was very surprised that they managed to produce the level of quality and appearance that you would normally expect from a resin or polystone sculpture.

The furnace is pocked and weathered, like iron that's seen it's share of use. Its rough appearance lends greatly to the realism, adding that air of dirt, abuse and age. The stone floor is has plenty of detail, and the use of polystone for the steam pipe allowed them to do a nice job with the smaller details (like the valve wheel) that would have been impossible in polystyrene.

The scale is pretty good, although the furnace was likely bigger in reality. The display is 15" tall, 8" deep, and 8" wide. Like I said, you better have some serious display space for this baby.

Paint - ***1/2

Sideshow is a master at complimenting great sculpting with great paint, and they've done it again here. The furnace itself is particularly well done, with a rust-like effect included with the drab brown color. The base isn't as light colored as we saw in the official site pictures, and matches the darker, grimy, dirtier color of the furnace better. If there's one complaint about the paint, it's that the overall appearance has little variation. True, that's very true to life, and it's not like Freddy decorated in bright colors. But the detail gets a little lost in all the drab colors. However, I'd trade that for the realistic representation that we've gotten here.

Quality/Construction - ***
I'm being a little tougher on them in this category than I should be, but while I think the use of foam is fine, there are some minor issues. As I said earlier, the furnace and floor are a form of foam, while the steam pipe assembly is polystone. When I say “foam,” you have to understand that this isn't your momma's craft foam. This is some serious stuff, and you won't be able to tell the difference visually from the polystone pipes. This foam is extremely dense, and denting or damaging it would require a pretty hard blow. A blow that hard to polystone would break it or chip it as well, so this material should be just as sturdy in normal conditions. And if they'd made this hulk out of polystone, your IKEA bookshelf would crumple like a cheap lawn chair at Oprah's house.

You'll also notice in the pictures that the flat back of the diorama is black. That's actually a black velvet-like material on the back and bottom of the base, further reducing the chances that other things can damage it (or that it could damage or mark walls or shelves.) Each of the three pieces fits perfectly together, with no looseness or worse, too tight joints that could cause damage putting it together. The simple and clean design really works well, even when they mixed the materials they used.

There is a disadvantage to the foam though, but the same would be true of polystone or resin - the furnace door can't open. The furnace is a solid piece, and I really do wish they'd come up with a way to go that extra mile and give us an opening furnace. Plastic might have been the only material though that would have allowed this, and the smooth nature of the material wouldn't have given us the realistic texture that we have.

Value - **1/2
The only real issue with this item, and the only thing that will hold up the overall score, is my value interpretation. At $40, it's not a cheap item. While a polystone version would have been ridiculously expensive (they would have needed enough material to make three Muppet busts), this foam alternative allowed them to get the price within reason. Had the run size not been so small, I'm sure that $30 or so would have been doable, but with only 500 produced, the cost will always get driven up. If you're a hard core NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET fan though, $40 is likely to seem a small price to pay.

Overall - ***
While it only receives an average to slightly above average overall score, that doesn't tell my complete story. I really like this diorama, and it looks terrific on the shelf, but the average buyer will be put off by the price. That won't be a big issue for Sideshow, since I'm sure they'll find another 499 people as crazy as I am...at least I hope that there's at least 499 more people as crazy as I am...I'd hate to think I'm that uniquely insane...

If you're worried about the foam, don't. You won't be able to visually tell the difference, and it really was a better choice than polystone. I do wish the furnace door opened, but that's a fairly minor quibble with what is really a great way to improve your Freddy display.

Where to Buy -
This is a Sideshow site exclusive. They have it available, along with the other Modern Horror Classics: