InArt: The Lord of the Rings - Legolas 1:6

HyperDrive said:

As I mentioned before, I’m not even getting Legolas lol. Just saying in general.

The money that is being used for this hobby shouldn’t even be pulled from the same pool for vacations, imo.

These are rooted mass-produced products. The fact that they’re at/around $500 is great. Typically, it’d be more for a root job. On top of that, the higher quality and premium feel makes it. The realism, etc. My Hot Toys (even the best ones) just don’t compare and certainly not Asmus or Threezero, imo.

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Well, speaking as someone with 1 pool of money that gets budgeted out - or doesn't everyone start that way?

Like many, I've already been priced out as a collector - e.g. that started more with WETA statues than anything, then the money creep hit HT e.g. figs went from the 200s to the 300s and beyond. I won't be surprised if ASMUS as well is forced to raise prices. Labor, materials, shipping has all gone up.

While I'll splurge occasionally - and a number of folks are very happy with InArt - if you are charging diecast Iron Man DX prices you need to deliver, past expensive packaging and a rooted sculpt that may or may not come out of the box with issues. You need to care about every single detail of that costume, not just stuff you find interesting like weapons that get a premium treatment while you sneak in cheap pegs and cheap cloth. E.g. IMO Aragorn doesn't have any more of a premium feel than ASMUS or other companies. The cut and cloth on my new Obi-Wan is amazing (except the boots) and HT has been knocking it out of the park with its SW line lately. Beautiful sculpted hair, too.

Because, with InArt, 2 figs are gonna be ~1,000$ investment; and that's enough to make me pull up and think, hard . And I'm thinking hard this Legolas is a pass; the sculpt is off; InArt is a gamble with hair work; and they are cutting corners in the costuming department. Like I'm waiting on the Ranger cloak I spent extra on.

I personally keep it simple. Very, very simple. I have a pre-made wishlist of characters I already know I want to represent in 1/6, and if/when INART or Hot Toys make them, I’m buying.

HyperDrive said:

INART is the better figure with the price-to-value you should want, imo. Asmus are objectively worse, why does it matter if it has a better perceived value?

Only discussing licensed mass-produced products here, cause yes, there will be those who want even “better” and go custom route.

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Because IMO it's not a better price to value, except maybe the sculpt. Not paint. Plus in my case I have to factor the hours of labor of struggling with hair because Aragon's hair rooter didn't get enough sleep, or whatever.

Then there's the cheap materials and/or other things I need to replace. Or, when I open an ASMUS or HT fig I'm happy; because by now I am familiar with the company and figure I got what I paid for. With InArt at least, I don't think I got what I paid for; I got the Blizzard overpriced Zorro "looks good on the shelf but you can't take the hat off and the sword is badly made" treatment.

InArt has a nice box tho, which I also paid for.

Hot Toys also get things wrong in costuming as well. Why does only INART receive backlash in that department?

I care about accuracy and costuming details as much as most of you here on CF, but fact of the matter is that 90% of 1/6 consumers don’t care about the minutiae. So with that being said, INART is still leagues ahead of other 1/6 licensed mass production companies, and for the normie collector who doesn’t even care about details, they’ll for sure be wowed by INART enough to be happy with them. I’ve seen loads of people with abysmally futzed INART figures and they’re blown away by them lmao.

We Freaks, the users on here, are the minority, and sometimes I feel like most of you on this forum seem to forget that or act like we have the majority opinion. We don’t.

I’ve personally had a great experience with INART so far. The paint work is great, and I prefer it to Hot Toys where they slap the same paint job to all characters regardless of the character’s unique skin texture and details, etc.

Asmus has cheaper materials lol, but we’ll agree to disagree. Out of all the official 1/6 companies, INART understands scaling the best. I think most of you confuse the thinner fabric material they use for cloaks and whatnot as “cheap” but seem to fail to realize that it’s thin like that to better recreate the material in 1/6. I personally have no issues with that, and prefer that to other companies where they use thicker and heavier material which doesn’t even drape well. It ends up looking less accurate.

Edit: On a related note, it’s similar to what OT Customs does: his capes are thinner fabric, almost see-through like, but it better represents the fabric in the film as opposed to heavier and denser fabrics or other custom capes where it just looks like your figure is wearing a velvet fabric cut out, which imo doesn’t work for the scale but people will say it does, cause it’s the same fabric used in the film!

HyperDrive said:

I’ve personally had a great experience with INART so far. The paint work is great, and I prefer it to Hot Toys where they slap the same paint job to all characters regardless of the character’s unique skin texture and details, etc.

Asmus has cheaper materials lol, but we’ll agree to disagree. Out of all the official 1/6 companies, INART understands scaling the best. I think most of you confuse the thinner fabric material they use for cloaks and whatnot as “cheap” but seem to fail to realize that it’s thin like that to better recreate the material in 1/6. I personally have no issues with that, and prefer that to other companies where they use thicker and heavier material which doesn’t even drape well. It ends up looking less accurate.

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LOL if we were out for drinks we could bring our figs and debate points for hours. I'll grant - tho I haven't paid much attention all these years - looking at Obi who is currently standing next to Aragorn - lol Obi's hands seem kinda large. Now I've got something else to OCD over.

I truly wish my Aragorn had come out of the box with "good hair" which was what I was expecting. I guess I learned some stuff about handling mohair, but while it's something I want to learn to do some rooting work, I didn't want to be "forced" into it.

But, it's not like I wouldn't buy another InArt. Thorin, certainly, if he's made and they plan to keep to the proto quality. Legolas would be an outside possibility IF InArt makes improvements as fans suggest.

Sassafras said:

LOL if we were out for drinks we could bring our figs and debate points for hours. I'll grant - tho I haven't paid much attention all these years - looking at Obi who is currently standing next to Aragorn - lol Obi's hands seem kinda large. Now I've got something else to OCD over.

I truly wish my Aragorn had come out of the box with "good hair" which was what I was expecting. I guess I learned some stuff about handling mohair, but while it's something I want to learn to do some rooting work, I didn't want to be "forced" into it.

But, it's not like I wouldn't buy another InArt. Thorin, certainly, if he's made and they plan to keep to the proto quality. Legolas would be an outside possibility IF InArt makes improvements as fans suggest.

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Before anyone thinks I’m giving them a pass or think they’re infallible, I also think they should optimize Legolas as they clearly messed up a few things. But for me, if I wanted Legolas, I’d still get it. It’d be my only way at getting him in the collection.

Hot Toys are also overpriced for what you get even when the set includes everything the figure needs to bring, not to mention the figure is less realistic and more toy-like to begin with, IMO.

I just preordered Legolas because he is gorgeous and because I was waiting for a better-than-Asmus version of him. The only other FOTR characters I would consider would be a hobbit 4 pack. I am happy with all the other Asmus characters in my collection: Saruman, Gothmog, etc

I need to think about winding down, not gearring up

HyperDrive said:

INART is the better figure with the price-to-value you should want, imo. Asmus are objectively worse, why does it matter if it has a better perceived value?

Only discussing licensed mass-produced products here, cause yes, there will be those who want even “better” and go custom route.

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Because everything in this hobby occurs at the intersection of quality and value. As you said, if quality was the sole overriding factor, we'd all be custom collectors; instead, we collect mass market figures because we all have an internal calculus of how much we're willing to commit on a figure-by-figure basis. I don't begrudge anyone who says "I can get Asmus Legolas and a second figure for what InArt is charging." That is a perfectly valid collecting strategy.

BACON! said:

I need to think about winding down, not gearring up

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That was the intent with InArt -- expensive, but one-and-done figure... to avoid the HT trap of constant upgrades (which ultimately end up costing more than an InArt).

But this hobby is tortuous and OCD is NEVER satisfied. So even at InArt pricing, we see flaws and imperfections to lead us toward upgrades and repeats.

webhead05 said:

Because everything in this hobby occurs at the intersection of quality and value. As you said, if quality was the sole overriding factor, we'd all be custom collectors; instead, we collect mass market figures because we all have an internal calculus of how much we're willing to commit on a figure-by-figure basis. I don't begrudge anyone who says "I can get Asmus Legolas and a second figure for what InArt is charging." That is a perfectly valid collecting strategy.

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And that’s why perhaps I have a unique perspective of my own, where if it’s a character I know I want, I’ll get it, especially with INART. For me, the major factor that may deter me from purchasing would be if if the specific character design isn’t the ideal look that I want.

I have more to consider regarding Hot Toys figures where they’re subpar most of the time, for which I see them as high quality 12” toys, whereas with INART I see them as true 1/6 premium figures, if that makes sense.

Wor-Gar said:

But this hobby is tortuous and OCD is NEVER satisfied. So even at InArt pricing, we see flaws and imperfections to lead us toward upgrades and repeats.

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I don't know...I agree with the sentiment here, but honestly, I don't feel I ever need another Aragorn after I got this InArt ones. Maybe a King Elessar would tempt me, but do I need it? No. I don't need another Gandalf the Grey or another Gandalf the White ever. I *would* upgrade my Legolas, but not at $550, so at least I know when I do get my figures that are mostly perfect like Aragorn and Gandalf, I know I can be happy.

RandomHero said:

honestly, I don't feel I ever need another Aragorn after I got this InArt ones.

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That's good. That's the point.

RandomHero said:

I don't know...I agree with the sentiment here, but honestly, I don't feel I ever need another Aragorn after I got this InArt ones. Maybe a King Elessar would tempt me, but do I need it? No. I don't need another Gandalf the Grey or another Gandalf the White ever. I *would* upgrade my Legolas, but not at $550, so at least I know when I do get my figures that are mostly perfect like Aragorn and Gandalf, I know I can be happy.

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Agreed, INART for me is one-and-done, the ultimate representation. With the character of Gandalf, a ‘Gandalf the White’ would be a different character design and from a different film representation so that’d be up to the individual collector if they’d like to have that look as well.

I think the people who Wor-Gar mentioned are the minority. Granted, there’s a decent chunk on this forum who care about accuracy, details, quality more so here than on other forums/groups, but still a minority in the grand collective.

BACON! said:

I just preordered Legolas because he is gorgeous and because I was waiting for a better-than-Asmus version of him. The only other FOTR characters I would consider would be a hobbit 4 pack. I am happy with all the other Asmus characters in my collection: Saruman, Gothmog, etc

I need to think about winding down, not gearring up

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Yep.

Never thought about it when I started collecting - which would have been HTs, think my first HT was the Stealth Cap set. Which I still own.

But for me, not only have prices in general shot up; there's a move to make these "art figures" - and I don't think of them as toys even though you can play with them, so to speak - cross into IMO more or less museum pieces. Like the silicon figures/busts. E.g. when is it time to wind down when all these properties from the MCU to Middle Earth will morph into newer films, directors, and on and on.

Glad I was around for Peter Jackson's work; the golden age of the MCU and SW; and there'll be new stuff - probably a new Aragorn for the planned Gollum movies; and a Gandalf. Maybe even a Legolas and Thranduil since Gollum was handed to the Mirkwood elves. But prices have risen to where it's not fun anymore; it's serious thinking.

I agree with the sentiment that these InArt LOTR offerings feel definitive. Legolas maybe slightly less so with the puzzling omission of the Mirkwood accessories -- and his pauldron is cool but obviously wouldn't fit the Fellowship license. But even those aren't enough to make me feel like I need another version.

webhead05 said:

I agree with the sentiment that these InArt LOTR offerings feel definitive. Legolas maybe slightly less so with the puzzling omission of the Mirkwood accessories -- and his pauldron is cool but obviously wouldn't fit the Fellowship license. But even those aren't enough to make me feel like I need another version.

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I ask this respectfully, but why don’t you cut your losses and sell the Asmus Legolas and use that money for a portion of the INART offering. If I were in your shoes, that’s what I’d do, as I will always go for the best available version.

Granted, I haven’t really been in that position where the current figure is the “outgoing model” due to a new offering. The first time I’ll experience that will be when I end up selling the DX19 in favor of the INART TDK Batman whenever that’s a thing.

After receiving Aragorn, I gotta mention this here again, Legolas needs fabric boots. It will look really horrible next to Aragorn with fabric boots in my opinion.

Why would they make this decision? Even from the proto images you can clearly see the fake plastic shine on them, don't know I really don't like it for the price.

webhead05 said:

I agree with the sentiment that these InArt LOTR offerings feel definitive. Legolas maybe slightly less so with the puzzling omission of the Mirkwood accessories -- and his pauldron is cool but obviously wouldn't fit the Fellowship license. But even those aren't enough to make me feel like I need another version.

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I sure don't feel like Inart Aragon is "definitive". Too many IMO reasonably easy things that could have been corrected were not. I needed a Ranger Aragorn and was curious about Inart.

Legolas might be definitive if they fix some things. Thorin, Nazgul, maybe. But there's no reason for Inart to change their business model if figures sell out anyway.

HyperDrive said:

I ask this respectfully, but why don’t you cut your losses and sell the Asmus Legolas and use that money for a portion of the INART offering. If I were in your shoes, that’s what I’d do, as I will always go for the best available version.

Granted, I haven’t really been in that position where the current figure is the “outgoing model” due to a new offering. The first time I’ll experience that will be when I end up selling the DX19 in favor of the INART TDK Batman whenever that’s a thing.

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Oh, to be clear, I don't own any Asmus stuff. I agree with the recommendation, though; it's always easier to upgrade because the sale of the old figure defrays the cost. I was just arguing from the perspective of someone who had to decide whether to buy-in at Asmus or InArt prices on Legolas... For me, that calculation ultimately went in InArt's direction, but I understand the folks who took the other fork on that road.