2018 looks to be the year of the X-Men for Sideshow Collectibles, with their acclaimed Wolverine Premium Format Figure arriving in doorsteps and receiving rave reviews, and no less than eight more X-Men statues slated to arrive over the course of 2018-2019. And while we’re a ways away from Juggernaut and Cable being fully revealed, another legendary favorite is about to have her time: the 1/4 Sideshow Exclusive Rogue Maquette is now up for order! But the X-Men’s female powerhouse comes with a real powerhouse of a price-tag…

After years of being relatively neglected in high-end statue form, the X-Men are roaring back in quarter-scale statue form via Sideshow Collectibles from this summer onwards! The new Wolverine Premium Format Figure is arriving now and blowing collectors away, and the third of five X-females is flying in for pre-orders this week: Rogue!

We haven’t had a new 1:4 Rogue statue released by any company since Sideshow made their original version back in 2011: has seven years of advancement in the statue world produced a better Rogue?

Well… maybe? It really depends on what you’re looking for in a Rogue Statue, as this new Sideshow Rogue Maquette is a drastically different sculpture than the old one.

Whereas the original 2011 Rogue PF Figure was in a space-saving and pretty standard museum pose with a simple ‘X’ base, this new iteration of Anna Marie is in a dynamic flying pose with a huge Danger Room environment base and has a totally different feel.

The new Rogue is “flying” via being attached to a mechanical danger room buzz-saw arm that she’s “ripping” apart. I much prefer the base being used to hide the support rather than any kind of clear pole being used, so I like the overall idea here. I’m not wild about Rogue not having at least one fist, but the idea of her ripping off the saw blade isn’t bad.

The Sideshow Rogue EX (Exclusive Version) comes with a bonus item that I think will make this piece “EX or Bust” for most collectors: an interchangeable classic 90s Rogue head sculpt with wavy hair and green headband.

This is the Rogue that I grew up with and had a crush on as a kid (there’s my embarrassing personal factoid for the month), and I wasn’t even considering this maquette until I saw the Exclusive head. I think it captures Rogue’s feistiness and attitude perfectly, and it looks a lot more like the character I know and love than her modern look does to me.

The Rogue Maquette statue is entirely sculpted with the exception of Rogue’s pleather jacket. I almost never like mixed media on my statues, personally, but I know a lot of collectors love it. The soft goods jacket here is subtle enough that it’s not a deal breaker for me. But if there was a deal breaker…

Of course, perhaps the most controversial difference between this 2018 Rogue Statue and the one Sideshow Collectibles released seven years ago (pictured above) is the price-tag. While the original Rogue Premium Format Figure retailed for $299.99, the new exclusive version is priced at… $715 (or $700 for the regular version).

I never wanted to be a collector who sits around frequently bemoaning prices, but it’s become a frequent and increasing issue lately, so I apologize in advance. If you don’t care about pricing concerns, please feel free to skip ahead to the end.

While prices in the high-end statue market have been rising for a while now, I think we may be approaching the breaking point where collectors are going to revolt. $715 for a Statue that’s pretty basic aside for a sculpted arm on the base seems pretty exorbitant to me, honestly.

Personally, I don’t feel like this Sideshow Rogue Statue is a good value compared to the incredible (and cheaper) Thor Breaker of Brimstone quarter-scale Statue that went up for sale last week, but your tastes may vary.

The Rogue Exclusive Sideshow Maquette went up for order this afternoon, and is expected to be released in mid-2019. I’m really impressed with the expediency that Sideshow was able to produce and deliver the new Wolverine with almost universally flawless quality, so I’m hopeful we’ll get the same lightning release and great QC for the X-Men’s Southern Belle.

With the new Rogue statue fully-revealed–including both portraits, the specs and price-tag–what do you think of this piece, X-Men fans? Do you think the massive price-tag on this maquette is justified, or are you second-guessing Sideshow’s pricing on this one? Is this the 1/4 Rogue figure that you’ve been waiting for, or are you sticking with the original Sideshow Premium Format figure (or neither)?