Tigra claws her way into the Bowen Full Size fold!

I tend to be leaning more towards full sized statues in my Bowen Designs purchases these days, which is probably for the best as their bust output has been low of late. A number of characters of whom I already own busts are getting the full sized treatment at the moment and I have decided to make the transition as well. The latest addition to this bunch, Tigra, is a character I’m quite fond of, and Bowen has produced a statue to match.

I first met Tigra when, as a fifteen year old, I inherited a big box of Marvel Comics from a friend who was joining the Navy. Amongst the huge lot of now classic Marvel tales was a swag of Avengers comics, including Avengers #211, when Tigra first joined the team. While that first tenure was short-lived, she became a founding member of the West Coast Avengers, a book I enjoyed immensely.

This statue was sculpted by Mike Cusanelli, who has been doing quite a bit of work for Bowen recently, including the Warriors Threeand Satanabusts, which I loved, and the Firestarbust, which was a bit of a Bowen low point. Thankfully, this sculpt is Cusanelli on song, and he has created a beautiful rendition of our favourite tiger-striped Avenger.

It’s a lovely sculpt - her head and hair are particularly well done. I like way that the flow of her hair has an animal-like quality to it. I have been a bit critical of a lack of power in some of Cusinelli’s poses, but this one works quite well, with Tigra raising a fist in her left hand while her claws are at the ready on her lowered right. It’s subtle, but by no means weak. There is a great amount of detail here, in what at first might seem a relatively simple sculpt. Her bikini is sculpted on, as are her totem and the teeth in her waist and armband.

The most impressive aspects of this sculpt, however, is that each and every one of Tigra’s stripes is sculpted, not just painted! This includes the stripes on her arms, legs, torso and tail! It would have been easy to leave all of this up to the painter, but Cusinelli has taken true control of this piece by deciding where every single stripe will be and what form it will take. It’s really a masterful piece of sculpting!

Of course, intricate sculpting detail like this could be completely undone by a less than stellar paint job. Thankfully Tigra’s paint job isn’t letting anyone down - it’s spot on. Stripes aside, the colour choices here are all perfect - the organges for Tigra’s skin and hair, the blue for her outfit (which, in Mrs Andy’s opinion, there should be much more of....) - it’s all brilliant.

I am always impressed by the mixing of different types of materials, so Tigra’s tail is a real treat. It’s made of a flexible material that allows for some bending. While I wouldn’t want to put it’s durability to any kind of serious test, there’s no risk of it being chipped off by bumping against something. It comes as a separate piece and as such it can actually be posed at more than one angle. I like it angling up and around her body - it looks most animal-like. A great touch!

The base on this statue is also quite lovely - and small, which always makes me happy in terms of display space! Bowen has taken to pegs on both feet in recent statues, but there’s only one here, and I miss the second one. She’s a little bit wobbly when being carried. I hope the two-peg trend continues!

I like the bit of symmetry in that Tigra’s full sized version came out just a bit after Yellowjacket’s. I met them both at the same time back in Avengers #211 - Hank was rejoining at the same time as Tigra became a first-time member. My classic Avengers collection slowly marches towards completion!

You can see more pics at Facebook, discuss this at the AFB Forum, and you can comment on this post to enter the June AFB Comment of the Month Contest!

Until next time!