Beast PVC Diorama From Diamond Select Toys Review

While working at a nuclear power plant, Norton McCoy was exposed to massive amounts of radiation that affected his genes. As a result, Norton's son, Henry "Hank" McCoy, was born a mutant who showed the signs of his being different from birth with his unusually large hands and feet. As a youth, Hank's freakish appearance was the subject of much ridicule from his classmates, earning him the nickname of "Beast" Hank was invited by Professor Charles Xavier to join the team of teenage mutant heroes and enroll in the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters. Unable to resist the temptation of a private institution that could offer him limitless academic opportunities, Hank accepted and the rest is history.

Beast is a very cool character. He has many different layers about him. From a ridiculed child, to a star football player in high school, to one of the worlds leading scientists Hank is very different from the average character. Plus he’s a big blue beast. I always liked the giant hulking blue version as opposed to the regular guy with massive arms and feet. I think the actual furry blue look adds to the character perfectly, which is why he is one of my favorite X-men. Diamond Select does an amazing job with their X-men line so I was excited to be able to add beast to my collection.

This time we are starting at the bottom because this statue features Beast standing on his hand, so naturally his head is towards the base. This is a very detailed piece. You can see it’s the classic blue furry look. Like in the book, and I have to say this is based off the comic version, not the film version, so its done in a more sleek bright style, you can see his “hair” on the head combed out to the sides in almost a point. He has his trademark smile going for him as well. Beast was always portrayed as a fairly happy individually so the smile is a must. You can see not only his teeth which are a faint white, but the gums as well. That’s a very nice touch of detail. His eyes are pure white and there is a great deal of etching and molding done in the face area to show him almost wincing as he balances upside down.

The body is fantastic. Its simply done in two colors. Black and blue. Its designed to look lie blue fur of course, but it’s the painting that really makes is stand out. The black and blue is done in no particular pattern. Blue being the predominate color of this piece with lots and lots of black thrown in. Nothing is a simple line. Everything goes every which way as opposed to a certain flow. Which is exactly what you need when trying to create the look of hair, of I guess fur in this case. Its sleek, yet as you can see under the lights really does look like animal fur. It’s a marvelous paint job. You can see all of the traditional superhero style muscles are sculpted in the piece as well. Hank is shorter than the other X-men, except Wolverine, but he’s massive, and this is a wide thick piece. The trademark shorts are in full view as well. Sleek black trunks with the yellow band and the big red and black “X” right in the center. I also want to point out how well this is positioned. Its very life like in a way. From the twisting to the right of the stomach to the arching and bending of the legs as Beast stands on his left hand. This really is a great piece.

This side shot shows off more of the detail in the fur design. You can see how areas like the forearm have the fur sticking out a bit more in a ruffled look. You also get a great look at the muscles design as well as everything pops out and strains like an actual person would in this position. Notice that Beast is climbing, or climbing apparently small grey beams. No doubt created by the danger room, which explains why they are simply floating in the air. Just a sleek grey bean nothing fancy. One other thing I really want to mention is the way they used the black in the fur for shading. You can see under the light how certain sections have more black to them. It really helps to show off the bending in leg area and the stretching in the hand. Even the feet themselves are designed to be slightly bent back for balance. This is a very well rounded statue that has a real human element to it.

The base is simply a piece of the Danger Room Floor. A circle of black with a red outline resting on a bright silver base. You can see the “X” logo in silver and black on the side. Its very sleek. No etchings or scratches sculpted in. The silver it very metallic with just hints of black shaded in for depth. You can see Beasts furry blue hand firmly planted towards the side of the base as he balances himself upwards., Notice his fingernails. Painted an almost almond color mixed with white. It really makes it stand out. I like how the base is fancy in its own right, but takes nothing away from Beast himself.

Once again another fantastic X-Men statue to add to the collection. Beast is a great character and I’m glad he finally got his own statue. Up to this point I only had a figure of him. He looks great with my other X-Men statues. I’m just really hoping Gambit is coming soon. If you’re a collector you will definitely want to add this to your collection. Pick one up today.

Overall 5 out of 5 Stars!

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