ACI Toys: 1/6 ARAGORN (Improved Production Copy updated!)

[tankgirlfuzzy]

Hi all,

Just wanted to post some pics of my Aragorn that I customized a bit. Nowhere near the rebuild level of my Eowyn but it still got more involved than I expected. Swapped the body, re-dyed the shirt, cut and styled the hair, touched up the beard, remade all the cording on the clothes, removed all factory weathering and did my own, modified and repainted all the straps and scabbard/sword grip, made some pouches and sharpening stone, etc. etc. I have a thread over on OSW for anyone interested in the details.

 

[FREEKDOM]

Awesome pic's!

 

[Manannin]

That's impressive work Tankgirl! I am gonna have to go find your thread...

 

[Platty]

Looks awesome!

 

[denrep-lilium]

I like almost everything about your mods, especially his head, but the neck seems to be short.

 

[abake]

Agreed.
In general terms, I don't think that body has very good proportions. The legs seem very long and the arms a bit short. Still, I suppose it's an improvement on ACI's bulky body.

 

[Neko]

Awesome weathering Tank girl, congrats ! I saw your work in detail on OSW, very impressive.

 

[superdoug]

Wow. Another fantastic job. What body did you switch him to?

 

[Lee in MI]

Agreed.
In general terms, I don't think that body has very good proportions. The legs seem very long and the arms a bit short. Still, I suppose it's an improvement on ACI's bulky body.

I knew something looked off...couldn't put my finger on it.

 

[FlyAndFight]

Excellent work, Tankgirl! Is the figure's neck a bit short or is it just looking that way in some of the shots?


My only concern with the figure in general (not your work) is with the rooted hair, which in this figure's case, I'm just not a fan of.

 

[Neko]

Agreed.
In general terms, I don't think that body has very good proportions. The legs seem very long and the arms a bit short. Still, I suppose it's an improvement on ACI's bulky body.

I thought the same thing at first, because something looked strange on the pictures, so I decided to check it. In fact, proportions are nearly the same between the two bodies, but TTL is shorter.
This is Tank girl's picture, posted on OSW:



On the next picture you can see TTL vs ACI, bring to the same size. I really like the ACI proportions, and the way the duster poses on the elbows, despite it is too bulky in the chest and biceps areas.
With the TTL body, Aragorn seems to wear too big clothes and his head is too big. The neck is maybe a little short, and the belt is too high on the belly. Note that this shows only on the frontal pose with the duster, and nearly disapear on the dynamic poses. (except for the big head, in my opinion)



A good compromise could be to keep the ACI body and cut some "flesh" out in the chest and arms areas, if you choose a neutral pose with the duster. I also think the cloak is too thick, if you trim it a little bit it would look nicer in the neck area (mine had that "short neck" feeling too, until I cut some cloth out)
With the great weathering and accessories customization you did, you would own the perfect Aragorn.

 

[tankgirlfuzzy]

Thanks to all for the kind comments! And to those who don't like it, well... (just kidding!)

Neko, thanks for the excellent analysis of the figure's pros and cons, and for the comparison pics, which are very helpful. You said it better than I could. And, if that's your Aragorn you used in the comp pic, it looks very nice!

The TTL does not have a shorter neck, it's neck is tilted slightly forward which gives it a shorter appearance when viewed from directly in front. Also, I realize the proportions are not ideal. The waist is too high, which makes the legs seem too long if you pull the pants all the way up and tie the belt at the natural waist. The arms are slightly shorter. But I really like the slimmer chest and arms. Viggo was not buff or bulked up for those movies, though he was very fit and athletic, and in many shots you can see how the clothes just hang off his body. I realize I could dremel the ACI body to make it slimmer, but that wouldn't solve the limited joint range at all. The TTL is fantastically flexible, while the ACI is terribly limited--it can barely get past 90 degrees on the elbows. The action poses I made would have been completely impossible with the stock body.

In the end I chose posability and slenderness over idealized proportions. And all from a cheap $20 body which I had on hand. I also don't intend to display this figure in a static standing pose with arms straight down and both feet flat, so perfect proportions matter less to me.

I didn't post all my pics here, because I had already posted them over on OSW and was trying to get more people to go see my thread. (forgot to post the link, which is my bad. Here it is: Aragorn mod thread) Here are some more pics, with side by side comparisons showing original screenshots as well as the effect of adding the layers of clothing that makes the neck seem shorter and shorter (Neko is absolutely right about that).

 

[abake]

ACI's bodies have their own set of problems.
At any rate, for such a clothed figure, articulation always trumps muscle detail...

Please do post more pics!

 

[SirGor]

Love your work on Aragorn Tankgirl and on Eowyn I hope to see more from you in the future.

 

[zombini]

Nice mods Tank girl! You got me to do the chin mod ��

 

[Jokes & Bats]

You need to swap his quiver to the other side.

 

[zombini]

it depends on the scene.

 

[Jokes & Bats]

The scene where they see the burning uruks and then enter Fangorn has been flipped in post production.

 

[zombini]

here's another shot.

 

[crewjd]

I am thinking of selling mine but prices are all over the place online. What do you think would be the average range for this piece?