Erick Sosa has sculpted some of Kotobukiya’s most legendary pieces over the past half decade-plus, including the ultra-popular X-Men Danger Room Sessions series of resin statues and the grail-like Spider-Man and Venom Fine Arts statues. But last month, an era came to an end when Sosa announced he was leaving Koto. Even so, there was still one final Sosa statue stuck in the pipeline, and though it no-showed NYCC 2018, it’s officially confirmed to be coming our way: the Kotobukiya Weapon X Wolverine Fine Arts statue is now up for order!

Regardless of the reasons for his departure, the loss of sculptor Erick Sosa is a monumental blow to Kotobukiya’s Marvel statues resin line, as Sosa is responsible for the vast majority of the most popular resin pieces Koto has released. I’m glad that we’re still getting the Danger Room Sessions Storm statue that was solicited over the summer, but I lament that we’ll never get a Beast or Iceman added to that line.

But even though the X-Men Danger Room Sessions series is at an end, we’re lucky that there’s still a final mutant Erick Sosa statue coming our way from Kotobukiya: a gorgeous Wolverine Weapon X statue. This isn’t a version of Wolverine I’d ever feel like I need a 1:4 statue or bigger of, but I think it looks just right in 1:6 scale.

I thought we’d see the grand premiere of the painted prototype of this Weapon X at New York Comic Con 2018 earlier this month, but surprisingly the piece’s only representation at the event was hidden on a page in the product catalog at the show. It’s better than being cancelled, but I’m still surprised Koto didn’t choose to spotlight this gem a bit more at the biggest U.S. show until Toy Fair in February 2019.

The 13″ resin statue features a pre-Wolverine Logan standing atop an icy cliff. The base is nothing huge or fancy, but it does an excellent job of setting the tone and environment for this piece. I dig it.

The Fine Arts Weapon X statue itself is a real beauty, as we’ve come to expect from entries in the series. We get two different interchangeable heads for Wolverine, and the one you choose to display has a big impact on the feel evoked by the statue. While there’s a “helmet on” head included to simulate test runs being done for research during the Weapon X program, there’s also an unmasked, feral Logan head included.

While this Weapon X Wolverine statue isn’t as elaborate as the one Iron Studios released this year, it has a definite advantage over that one in that the Iron Studios version costs $600–almost double what Koto’s is selling for.

The Kotobukiya Wolverine Weapon X Fine Arts statue is now up for order, and is scheduled to be released in June 2019. BBTS technically has the best price on this statue, as they’ve marked it down to $299.99–$20 off of the MSRP. That said, they’re requiring a $60 non-refundable deposit this time out, so collectors who aren’t sure if this piece is a definite buy for them might fare better taking the $319.99 retail price plus free shipping offer from EE, which has no cancellation penalty.

Thoughts on the end of Erick Sosa’s run at Kotobukiya and his final piece for them, Marvel collectors? What effect do you think Sosa leaving Koto will have on the success and quality of their future offerings, and does his departure decrease your interest in their Marvel line as a whole?