2017 has been the biggest year ever for First 4 Figures—and when I say “BIG”, it’s impossible not to think of their girthiest statue to date: the biggest bad in the Mario Universe, Bowser! I was among the first people in the world to see the F4F Bowser Statue at New York Comic Con 2017 last month, and I’ve been sitting on tons of hi-res photos of the bad boy ever since! With the F4F Bowser Statue now officially up for order and the ordering procedure being a bit different from the norm, I figure now is the time to share my photos of Bowser and an Ordering FAQ for THE BEAST…
The ordering procedures for getting low numbers and the Day One Exclusive version of Bowser are going to be a little bit different than usual, so read closely…
“When will official non-blind orders for the First4Figures Bowser Statue open up?”
Pre-orders for Bowser will open up on the First4Figures website during the Friday Q&A on Friday, November 3rd. The Bowser pre-orders will remain open until Tuesday November 7th at 10PM Hong Kong Time, when they will close for an hour before resuming.
The pre-orders will then resume and run until Friday, November 17th as usual. There will be a Last Chance Weekend for Bowser from December 1st-4th as well.
“Why are orders opening on Preview Friday instead of Pre-Order Tuesday?”
The reason that pre-orders for Bowser are being opening on Preview Friday (11/3/2017) instead of Pre-Order Tuesday (11/7/2017) is so that both those who blind pre-ordered and those who were waiting for Bowser to be revealed have an opportunity to be in the same “pool” of collectors when low numbers will be assigned. This way, those who pre-ordered during the blind pre-order won’t have a head-start advantage in obtaining low numbers over those who did not.
“How do I get the Day One Edition or a low number for Bowser?”
On Tuesday, November 7th 2017, pre-orders will be closed for an hour at 10:00PM HK (7:00AM PST) and a “Validate” button will go live at 11:00PM HK time (8:00AM PST) on the F4F website on the “My Orders” page on the “My Account” section of the website.
When you push that “Validate” button, your “spot” will be reserved for low numbers. In other words, the earlier you click that “Validate” button, the lower the number you’ll be assigned (assuming you aren’t locked into a number already from authenticating Cat Mario or Lucky Cat Mario).
In addition, you must click the “Validate” button within 24 hours of it going live on 11/7/2017 in order to secure the Day One Edition Bowser Statue.
“Can those who didn’t blind pre-order still get the Bowser Day One Version?”
YES! Everyone who places an order for Bowser and then hits the “Validate” button before 11/8/2017 at 11PM Hong Kong time will get the Day One version, whether they blind pre-ordered or not. The only advantage of blind pre-ordering was the extended payment plan.
“What happens if I forget to click the ‘Validate’ button?”
The “Validate” button will be up on the website for the entire ordering period for Bowser, but if you forget to ever click it, your order will still be a confirmed order as usual—you just won’t be assigned a low number or get the Day One edition of the statue.
“What extras does the Day One Bowser Statue come with?”
The Exclusive Bowser Day One Edition will come with the usual Day One sticker, as well as an additional art card signed by Alex Davis and a whopping 700 bonus F4F Reward Points!
“If I authenticated the F4F Lucky Cat Mario statue, am I guaranteed that number for Bowser?”
Not exactly. Those who purchased Lucky Cat Mario or Cat Mario each have a potential claim to the authenticated number for their statue, so those who authenticated Cat Mario or Lucky Cat Mario will be in competition for the continuation of that number.
If you authenticated both Cat Mario and Lucky Cat Mario with the same number, however, you’re guaranteed that same number for Bowser as well.
“How much do the exclusive and regular versions of the Bowser statue cost?”
The F4F Exclusive Version Bowser costs the exact same as the regular edition, so unless you definitely don’t want the fire breath, you might as well opt for the EX. Both versions retail for the same $699.99 suggested retail price.
“How much is the shipping for the First 4 Figures Bowser Statue?”
The complete table of shipping rates for the Bowser Statue is below. The shipping rates are the same for both the regular and exclusive versions of the statue.
“Can I get combined shipping if I buy multiple Bowsers?”
Nope—each Bowser statue must be shipped by itself. The statues are too large to be combined into one box for combined shipping.
“Is the fire breath flame on the Exclusive Bowser figure removable?”
Yes! For those unsure about displaying the Bowser F4F Statue with the flame, have no fear: the Bowser Exclusive flame is removable and he has a magnetized tongue insert to put inside the mouth to cover up the hole that the flame plugs into. Basically, the EX version is the regular version—just with more options.
“Will payment plans be available?”
YES!!! Payment plans for up to 9 monthly payments will be available. There will be 4-month, 7-month, and 9-month Flexipay options. The 12-month Flexipay option was only available during the blind pre-order. The exact payment breakdowns of the various Flexipay plans will be added under the “Additional Information” tab on the website once the pre-orders go live again (those details haven’t been added yet as of writing).
“What if I want to pay for the whole statue outright right now?”
This isn’t a default option on the website, but it can be done. Place your order on the F4F website, and the $70 deposit will be withdrawn as usual. Then, send a message to F4F CS and request that they charge you the remaining balance immediately.
“What are your personal impressions of the Bowser statue?”
Thanks for asking!
Walking into the First 4 Figures booth at NYCC 2017, there’s no way attendees couldn’t take notice when they were instantly greeted by the largest figure or statue ever made of Super Mario’s iconic nemesis: Bowser! King Koopa himself (paired with Lucky Cat Mario), sat perched on a pillar at the front entrance to the F4F booth at the show, and drew the eyes of tens of thousands of fans during the event—including my own!
While a short “blind pre-order” for Bowser was opened temporarily during the summer, this was the very first time that Bowser was publicly displayed—and the Bowser EX, no less!
As many collectors had speculated, the First4Figures Bowser Exclusive Edition bonus accessory is in fact a huge light-up flame. If you have the space to display it—and make no mistake, this will take up a lot of space—the fire blast add-on looks pretty groovy.
With all the hoopla about how large he was, I was worried Bowser was going to be a monstrously tall figure that would tower over all of my other statues. Thankfully, that’s not the case. While Bowser is tall, it’s his width and depth that really make this statue feel large and imposing. His scale next to Lucky Cat Mario looks perfect to me.
I took special care to remember to take close-up shots of the First4Figures Bowser Statue so that everyone could see the texture on his skin and the subtle shading around his spikes. This statue isn’t just big—it’s beautiful.
Remember–Bowser Exclusive statue pre-orders reopen tomorrow only on the First4Figures website! While local retailers and distributors will likely stock the regular version of the King of the Koopas, the exclusive will only be available through F4F directly. If you want the EX, that is the only place to get it.
Hopefully that answers all of the questions that you guys may have regarding the extra-special (and slightly complicated!) pre-order for the First 4 Figures Bowser statue tomorrow. If anyone has any additional questions that aren’t answered here, please leave a reply with your question or hit us up on the Gamer Toy News Facebook Page and I’ll answer your query ASAP.
Now that the Big Guy’s Big Day is finally upon us, what’s the good word, Nintendo collectors? Will the most expensive First4Figures statue ever be joining your collection, or is a humongous Bowser statue just not in the cards for you?