Marvel mini busts really seem to be a dying breed, with industry powerhouse Bowen Designs having not put a new one up for sale in many months and Gentle Giant LTD staggering their few Marvel bust releases throughout the year. So every Marvel mini bust that does get revealed is a big deal, even when that reveal is a simple repaint. Such is the case with Gentle Giant’s newest item reveal: the Previews Exclusive X-Force Deadpool Mini Bust…

X-Force Deadpool seems to be the easy repaint cash cow of choice this year, as I’m having a hard time thinking of any Marvel collectible licensee that hasn’t churned out or solicited some piece of Deadpool X-Force swag yet.

The Uncanny X-Force series that spawned the X-Force Deadpool costume is one of the best and most memorable comic book series of the last few years, and I’m the only person I know who prefers the Sideshow X-Force Deadpool Premium Format Figure to the original. In general, I like X-Force Deadpool merchandise.

To be honest, though, I’m not exactly trembling with excitement for this Deadpool X-Force mini bust, as it appears to be a 100% complete and utter repaint. Usually Gentle Giant tweaks their Marvel mini bust variant sculpts in some way to make them feel somewhat unique, but that didn’t happen here.

The aspect of the mini bust that bugs me the most is the grenades–their olive green coloring really stands out this time against the black and grey of Deadpool’s costume, and it’s really jarring. I can’t find any reference for Deadpool ever having wearing grenades while in his X-Force costume, so it’s pretty blatant they’re only here at all because they were part of the original red Deadpool bust (where I also wasn’t thrilled by them, but they weren’t quite as distracting). Disappointing.

The Gentle Giant Deadpool X-Force mini bust is now available for pre-order and is scheduled to be released in April 2014. It’s a Previews Exclusive, so it should be available from most comic book shops and online retailers.

Much as I like the character design of X-Force Deadpool, I have the red Deadpool mini bust and don’t feel any real need for this total repaint. What about you, Marvel collectors? Anyone feeling the itch to add this X-Force Deadpool bust to their collections?