Daniel Bel only joined the Sideshow Collectibles team within the last year, but already he’s becoming one of Sideshow’s hottest rising star sculptors. And far and away, his most hyped Marvel piece thus far is also his latest to be unveiled! When collectors first saw it, I saw a TON of “Day One PO!” and “Instant Grail!” comments posted—now that the Sideshow Exclusive Thor Breaker of Brimstone Statue is actually up for order, are you thinking about buying it?

While my ears have grown accustomed to hearing collectors proclaim the latest Prime 1 Studio or XM Studios statues as the “best” version ever of certain characters, I hear those types of comments far more infrequently when it comes to Sideshow Collectibles.

So when I immediately heard a plethora of such praise befalling the newest Sideshow Thor Statue when it was revealed earlier this month, it really got my attention. Is this Thor Breaker of Brimstone PF Statue worthy of the hype? Let’s take a look…

The level of detail on this 25.5” statue is downright insane. Mjolnir has a full inscription etched onto it, Thor’s armor is beautifully detailed, and the paintwork and the texture on Thor’s skin is a sight to behold.

This is some breathtaking work here that I think is on a level beyond what many collectors are used to seeing from Sideshow Collectibles. By no stretch of the imagination would anyone ever consider this statue “cheap” (it’s $670 for the regular version and $685 for the EX), but you can definitely see the astonishing level of quantity that you’re getting for your money with this piece.

Furthermore, the Thor portrait that Sideshow went with absolutely works. This is no museum-posed, ambivalent-looking Thor—this is the God of Thunder yelling out a battle cry as he flies into the fray.

The facial expression is dynamic and really eye-grabbing, all while retaining Thor’s dashing good looks. Thumbs up.

The cape is a bit of controversial choice, as Sideshow opted for soft goods for the cape rather than the fully sculpted approach. In this instance, I think that’s the right choice—a sculpted cape would be asking for trouble and breakage on this particular statue, IMO. I think folks will ultimately appreciate the fabric cloth cape more than they would a heavy, breakable resin one.

I think there are pros and cons to the deluxe base that this statue features. While I totally dig the extravagant and immersive feel of having Thor jumping toward Surtur’s flaming skull, I also feel like the base just doesn’t mesh well with this year’s new Captain America and Black Widow Premium Format Figures.

Even so, the Surtur base is incredibly compelling and I think this works spectacularly—just as a standalone piece, as opposed to one to stick with the other recent Avengers statues.

As you might expect, there is (of course) a Sideshow Exclusive Version of this Thor Breaker of Brimstone statue. This time out, it’s an interchangeable left hand holding the golden Stormbreaker hammer.

Stormbreaker has become a lot more mainstream and recognizable because of Avengers Infinity War, and the sight of Thor leaping into battle dual-wielding is definitely a mighty one. It also adds 15 bucks to what’s already a very expensive statue, but once you’re paying $670, what’s a few more dollars, right…?

The Sideshow Thor Breaker of Brimstone Exclusive Premium Format Figure Statue is now up for order, with a scheduled release date in May 2019. That gives around a year until this statue arrives, which is excellent for the MANY collectors who are gonna want to do a payment plan on this masterpiece (myself among them).

Now that it’s available for order, are you interested in this Breaker of Brimstone Thor Statue, Marvel collectors? How do you feel about the nearly $700 price-tag on this Premium Format Figure, and would you be okay with more Sideshow statues at this price-point if they’re able to continue to deliver this level of quality?