Series: Dragon Ball Z
Company: Palisades
Year: 2001
Size: +/- 12cm
Main distribution: America / Europe
These are small busts that came in limited quantities from the now defunct Palisades. Palisades was an American manufacturing and distributing toy & collectables company that focused on the adult collector market. Made of resin, there is quite some weight to them. 7 busts total were made.
Announced in November 2000 and released in 2001, Palisades released 7 mini busts of Dragonball Z characters. Goku, Future Trunks, Piccolo, Krillin, Android #18, Imperfect Cell and Perfect Cell were made in limited quantities by various sculptors.
I got 2 of these; Krillin and Imperfect Cell.
Krillin
Barcode: 666620200277
Sculptor: Derek Miller
President: Michael Horn
Product Dev: Kenneth Lilly & Michael Renegar
Prototype / Paint: Plan B Toys
Package Design: Greg Leeuwen
#0562 of 2500
The box these come in is quite nice, with a large see-through window at the front that displays the bust nicely. It’s well packaged in foam, keeping it safe. The box also mentions the sculptor, which is a rarity. Krillin was sculpted by: Derek Miller.
The back of the box has a blurb regarding the character. For Krillin, it reads: A good fighter on his own accord, Krillin® is always there to help others. He can and has saved his friends’ lives more than once. Goku® constantly encourages Krillin® to have confidence in his own abilities as Krillin® learns to be a remarkable fighter-that is, for an Earthling.
It also shows some of the other busts that are available, in this case Goku and Android 18. It also displays credits, which is quite a rarity in the toy biz.
The bottom of the box shows the limited edition of 2500, and which number you have, in my case #0562.
The foam insert is well designed and comes in 2 halves, filling the box completely and preventing movement. The front has a nice frame to see the bust, and the bust is well supported by foam bits on the sides. It even has Dragonball Z on the front. The bottom and top have indents for your fingers to pull the foam out of the box, which is a nice practical touch.
Krillin’s bust is very nice with texture on his clothing. His belt cloth hangs off the pillar. He has no arms, as a true bust. His expression is serious. The bust stands on a pillar in a greek style, giving it a European look. On the bottom of the pillar is the Western Dragonball Z logo, with Shenron circling the base.
Underneath it all is the copyrights. It has the Dragonball Z logo, with underneath it the Palisades logo. It reads in black printed font: © 2001 BIRD STUDIO / SHUEISHA, TOEI ANIMATION. Licensed by FUNimation® Productions, Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Dragon Ball Z and all logos, character names and distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of TOEI ANIMATION. Palisades logo ™ and © 2001Palisades Marketing, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
It also lists the number which is handwritten, with the total being printed in a different font (most likely as each bust had different limited runs yet the same copyright text). In my case, it reads #0562 of 2500.
Furthermore there are 3 soft circles on it for placing.
Imperfect Cell
Barcode: 666620200376
Sculptor: Darryl Finney
President: Michael Horn
Product Dev: Kenneth Lilly & Michael Renegar
Prototype / Paint: Plan B Toys
Package Design: Greg Leeuwen
#2743 of 3000
The box these come in is quite nice, with a large see-through window at the front that displays the bust nicely. It’s well packaged in foam, keeping it safe. It’s bigger than Krillin’s. The box also mentions the sculptor, which is a rarity. Imperfect Cell was sculpted by: Darryl Finney.
The back of the box has a blurb regarding the character. For Imperfect Cell, it reads: For the last four years, Kami has sensed a great disturbance on earth of an evil power even greater than the Androids. That evil power is Cell. He has emerged in his Imperfect form and he is creating chaos everywhere… absorbing entire populations of cities in order to increase his strength. His goal is to absorb Androids 17 and 18 and become complete.
It also shows some of the other busts that are available, in this case Future Trunks and Perfect Cell. It also displays credits, which is quite a rarity in the toy biz.
The bottom of the box shows the limited edition of 3000, and which number you have, in my case #2743.
The foam insert is well designed and comes in 2 halves, filling the box completely and preventing movement. The front has a nice frame to see the bust, and the bust is well supported by foam bits on the sides. It even has Dragonball Z on the front. The bottom and top have indents for your fingers to pull the foam out of the box, which is a nice practical touch.
Imperfect Cell’s bust is very nicely done. Unlike the other busts, he has arms, outwards in a menacing way as if about to grab you. It gives him a creepy look. The bust stands on a pillar in a greek style, giving it a European look. On the bottom of the pillar is the Western Dragonball Z logo, with Shenron circling the base.
Underneath it all is the copyrights. It has the Dragonball Z logo, with underneath it the Palisades logo. It reads in black printed font: © 2001 BIRD STUDIO / SHUEISHA, TOEI ANIMATION. Licensed by FUNimation® Productions, Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Dragon Ball Z and all logos, character names and distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of TOEI ANIMATION. Palisades logo ™ and © 2001Palisades Marketing, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
It also lists the number which is handwritten, with the total being printed in a different font (most likely as each bust had different limited runs yet the same copyright text). In my case, it reads #2743 of 3000.
Furthermore there are 3 soft circles on it for placing.
I was a massive Dragonball fan at the time, and one of the first series I truly collected besides the Lion King. I spent all my pocket money on this, and harassed my family to go out to the bigger cities so I could buy more Dragonball things our little town would not get.
I travelled almost weekly by train to Sittard to the Atomic comic bookshop to buy cards and figures.
At this point, I had most of the Irwin Toy Action Figures I could find in the comic book store. But on the top shelf, which I could barely see as a young teen, were the bigger and more expensive things, like these busts. More statues than toys, I remember thinking this was the stuff that was really collectable. They were expensive at the time too. I scraped my money together and bought Krillin, the only one I saw at the time. Looking at the back of the box I knew there were more, and I wanted them all. Later I found Imperfect Cell. Some of his fingers had broken in transit and the shop had gotten it fixed (maybe that’s why it was later in the shop as I hadn’t seen it at first?). Because of this I got it at a discount.
I really wanted Future Trunks (as someone who likes Trunks) and the rest of the line really as I collected full sets, but I never saw any of the others. I thought these were so cool at the time and looked so “adult” (I was 11 at the time). The limited edition of it and the sculptor’s names displayed made me think I had something really special and artful. I took great care of them, having them only displayed for a very brief period before realising they’d be safer in the box (I was scared my younger brothers would knock them). They were also stored / on display in a closed closet, as to not get sun damage. I was convinced I would get a nice glass display vitrine in my house when I grow up and display all these busts! Well, tastes change.
I find the busts very Western looking, and they don’t go well with my other merchandise which is more Japanese. Neither Krillin nor Imperfect Cell is one of my favourite characters either. Imperfect Cell looks kinda creepy, which is fitting for the character, but not something I want to display. Krillin looks nice, but having one bust of Krillin amidst the rest just looks weird. He also looks quite intense.
As nice and limited as they are, they just don’t fit with me, so I have decided to sell these. They now live with a Dragonball Resin collector in the UK, and I’m happy they found a nice home!
There’s isn’t much I can fault on these busts, just personal taste.
I still wanted to catalogue them here for fellow collectors. The photo’s are, as always, of the actual figures in hand.
Got any more details / information you think I should add? Or did I get something wrong? Do you own the same figures? Do you agree or disagree with my findings? Let me know in the comments below!