Statue Aragorn Maquette - Link in 1st post.

[LOTRFan]

Re: Aragorn Maquette Teaser

I am still curious to see more, particularly the price point, before I decide if I might be interested in this line. I loved the idea of Strider in the Ranger Cloak, and the previews looked great, but something is off with this, as if his face looks too full and round. The previous in-progress shots looked good though, so this could just be the angle, or seeing a picture much larger than the actual product.

The texturing on the cloak looks nice!

I should have enough RP's to pay for this, but I am cautiously optimistic. Regardless, this isn't the start that most Ringers wanted for this line.

 

[FlyAndFight]

Re: Aragorn Maquette Teaser

Based on the initial teaser photo they released, the difference between that one and this new photo is quite large. If the sculpt hasn't changed due to licensing issues, I would have to blame the paint aps for the loss in the likeness.

If it is indeed just the angle (which appears to be the angle that most would display it anyway) why provide this shot where likeness is indeed questionable?

I will wait for additional photos before writing this one off. It definitely has potential.

 

[woodsy]

Re: Aragorn Maquette Teaser

Who is that supposed to be again?

I bet lots of folks were hoping it would be a better representation than the WETA one... oh well, keep waiting.

WETA wins if this is how he will turn out.

When practicing with new material I think it best to do so in front of a mirror or close friends......comedy routines rarely work when tested on a forum.

I'd be lying if I thought the likeness screamed Viggo or that it lived up to the potential of the unpainted sculpt, but I don't think it's bad at all. It certainly doesn't look to be on par [likeness-wise] with the PF, but I still think it looks better than any other version of Viggo we have...though I'm reserving final judgement on that until Tues. when we see all the prod. pic's.
Throwing a statue under the bus based on one preview pic. is pointless as far as I'm concerned. If I, not to mention most seasoned collectors around here, had a dollar for every statue we own that looks superior to SS's prod. pic's....we'd all be filthy rich.

 

[woodsy]

Re: Aragorn Maquette Teaser

Yeah...NOT according to their latest Q&A...say bah-bye to the LSBs!!

I'm pretty sure I said that was going to happen.
Where's woodsy.... he can't be happy right now.

You did, and I'm not....though I wasn't exactly surprised by the news. The writing's been on the wall for quite some time now.

Every one of last night's LOTR questions were mine, including the LSB one that SS dropped a bomb on. I was also the one who asked the LSB question back on Mar. 31st where SS said : "The LOTR LSB line is still viable, but our attention has been on the new Maquette line recently."
Since nothing has changed between Mar. 31st and now I have to assume SS, and Greg Anzalone in particular [since those are his exact words], weren't exactly being truthful.

Certainly the economic conditions haven't been helpful, though I can't say that is the only reason the LSB line has hit the skids. The line started off great with not only some outstanding sculpts, but characters [albeit most of these were sculpted by Steve West well before SS ever created the LSB line] as well. They also featured those terrific "themed" bases and nameplates. Yet for some reason [financial I suspect], SS decided to go with those generic "good guy, bad guy" bases instead which added absolutely nothing to these busts.

I don't think some of their character choices or the turtle-like speed [a real momentum killer as far as I'm concerned] at which they produced these LSB's helped much either. Nor do I think SS quite figured out that if you want people to spend $200 on a bust, the likeness had better be there, and in the case of the "good guys" there were definitely some issues.

Unfortunately, I think this is a classic case where the passion of LOTR LSB collectors far exceeded the passion of those responsible for their production. Sideshow can talk all they want about how they value their LOTR lines, and the opinions of their LOTR fans, but in the case of the LSB line they were more than willing to cut corners artistically with those generic bases and their failure to implement light-up features where appropriate [as promised when they 1st introduced this line], and they seemingly ignored many of the great product suggestions handed them over the years such as a Saruman with light-up palantir, MOS with mithril shirt, Fell Beast, etc...

I am sad the LSB line has come to an end, but I'm not going to lose any sleep over it. Perhaps I'd feel differently if I thought SS has done everything possible to ensure the succcess of this line, but they didn't....and they know it.

 

[Agent23]

Re: Aragorn Maquette Teaser

There is no likeness to Viggo here either woodsy, so how can you say it looks better? If this was Weta putting it out, you'd be all over it like stink on sh*%...

Give me a break.

As far as the p.f. , yeah I'll agree it WAS the best likeness till the typical SS paint screwed it. It went from being perfect to being Ok in my opinion. The yellow eyes, and the menacing stare...not the humble and reserved Aragorn I remember.

The best likeness, I hate to say it goes to the Gentle Giant bust.

P.S. I read on another forum, that it's so hard to capture the likeness in 1/6 scale...Really? Anyone seen the Hot Toys figures? I'd say the 1/6 Godfather they released is just a smidget better than the p.f Godfather, no? Ok...A LOT better.

 

[FrodoEyes]

Re: Aragorn Maquette Teaser

as i said before, this new line is just a complete waste of precious polystone and everyone's $$$. JUST STICK TO LOTR PREMIUM FORMATS, LEGENDARY SCALE BUSTS AND DIORAMAS sideshow!

I agree, this line should have gone to Weta

I do like it though. I'm such a sucker for polystone statues.

 

[The Josh]

Re: Aragorn Maquette Teaser

I agree with everyone from what we've seen the likeness from this angle is off. Not sure its the paint though cause the paint job looks really good. Could it be a change from the licensor? Quite possible.

That being said what we can see in the banners. At least what I've seen in the banners like what was posted it still looks like a nice piece. I'm quite excited to see some 1:6th LOTR Polystone statues like this come back. I'm in to getting this piece for sure. The likeness not being exact in the end isn't a killer for me because I did love the SSW statue as it looked nothing like Viggo.

 

[The Josh]

Re: Aragorn Maquette Teaser

There is no likeness to Viggo here either woodsy, so how can you say it looks better? If this was Weta putting it out, you'd be all over it like stink on sh*%...

Allan this one does look better and much closer than the SSW piece. Are either exact? Well, from what we've seen maybe not exactly.

As far as the p.f. , yeah I'll agree it WAS the best likeness till the typical SS paint screwed it. It went from being perfect to being Ok in my opinion. The yellow eyes, and the menacing stare...not the humble and reserved Aragorn I remember.

The paint on Aragorn was great. You simply must have gotten a bad one. I had no paint issues at all and hope when I rebuy it someday I get one with another great paint job.

The best likeness, I hate to say it goes to the Gentle Giant bust.

Now, I gotta give you a give me a break. Really? Sorry man but I gotta call that a giant of pig swallow. The GG bust is nice but is as close to being Viggo as I am.

P.S. I read on another forum, that it's so hard to capture the likeness in 1/6 scale...Really? Anyone seen the Hot Toys figures? I'd say the 1/6 Godfather they released is just a smidget better than the p.f Godfather, no? Ok...A LOT better.

I think some likenesses are. Nobody had really captured Ford very well till Trev did it.

 

[FrodoEyes]

Re: Aragorn Maquette Teaser

Woodsy, as SS seem to like answering your questions, did you ask them about te future of the diorama line?
Have all the released dioramas been shipped, and if so has there ever been a time when all the dioramas announced have been shipped and nothing else annonced, like now?

As to the maquette, i think it's better than the SSW one for sure. I still think Weta's bust was good, as well as the Elessar statue.

 

[woodsy]

Re: Aragorn Maquette Teaser

There is no likeness to Viggo here either woodsy, so how can you say it looks better? If this was Weta putting it out, you'd be all over it like stink on sh*%...

Give me a break.

As far as the p.f. , yeah I'll agree it WAS the best likeness till the typical SS paint screwed it. It went from being perfect to being Ok in my opinion. The yellow eyes, and the menacing stare...not the humble and reserved Aragorn I remember.

The best likeness, I hate to say it goes to the Gentle Giant bust.

P.S. I read on another forum, that it's so hard to capture the likeness in 1/6 scale...Really? Anyone seen the Hot Toys figures? I'd say the 1/6 Godfather they released is just a smidget better than the p.f Godfather, no? Ok...A LOT better.

I believe the primary context of my post was that I'm not going to trash the likeness at least until I get to see more than one of SS's traditionally bad preview photo's. And while I did say I prefer this Viggo likeness to any other Aragorn statue to date [with the exception of the PF], that is hardly a ringing endorsement of the likeness. I also specifically stated that opinion may change once we actually get to see this statue from more than one angle.

And you're dead wrong. If, after seeing more pic's I think it stinks, I will say so. I wouldn't trash a Weta statue after seeing a single photo and I'm not going to do so with SS either, and quite frankly you're been around long enough to know better yourself.

 

[woodsy]

Re: Aragorn Maquette Teaser

Woodsy, as SS seem to like answering your questions, did you ask them about te future of the diorama line?
Have all the released dioramas been shipped, and if so has there ever been a time when all the dioramas announced have been shipped and nothing else annonced, like now?

As to the maquette, i think it's better than the SSW one for sure. I still think Weta's bust was good, as well as the Elessar statue.

It's a number game FE. I ask so many questions I'm afraid the odds are always heavily in my favour. I'll have to get on SS in regard to some dio's questions now, since my focus won't be on the LSB's anymore.

 

[Agent23]

Re: Aragorn Maquette Teaser

Fair enough woodsy.

Josh, really? You mean to tell me even on SS's site the picture of Aragorn is the same as the prototype?

Next thing, you'll be telling me that New Line told SS to change it...




Just stop dude. This isn't 2005.

 

[DinoDB1975]

Re: Aragorn Maquette Teaser

WETA wins if this is how he will turn out.

When practicing with new material I think it best to do so in front of a mirror or close friends......comedy routines rarely work when tested on a forum.

I'd be lying if I thought the likeness screamed Viggo or that it lived up to the potential of the unpainted sculpt, but I don't think it's bad at all. It certainly doesn't look to be on par [likeness-wise] with the PF, but I still think it looks better than any other version of Viggo we have...though I'm reserving final judgement on that until Tues. when we see all the prod. pic's.
Throwing a statue under the bus based on one preview pic. is pointless as far as I'm concerned. If I, not to mention most seasoned collectors around here, had a dollar for every statue we own that looks superior to SS's prod. pic's....we'd all be filthy rich.

Woodsy beat me to it, I was going to post the same comparison. Sideshow Weta's version of Aragorn is a pretty good version, but he looks like Viggo as much as Sideshow's new maquette does.

I wonder if there will be an exclusive version, and if so it must be the hoodless sculpt that was shown in the announcement trailer. Could the sculpt of the hoodless head be that much better than the hooded one that has been shown?

The preview is a little disappointing in terms of the headsculpt, but unless the full reveal is a major bomb, I will be ordering this. Not because I'm a SS fanboy / apologist, or a completist, but because the Strrider incarnation of Aragorn remains my favorite, and I'd like to have one in my collection.

The Aragorn PF remains the best representation of Aragorn / Viggo so far. I may be in the minority, but I'd like to see a PF of Strider in his ranger gear with his leather duster. With the pace the PF line is going though, I know people won't want to see another double dip when there are other characters to be made.

 

[The Josh]

Re: Aragorn Maquette Teaser

Josh, really? You mean to tell me even on SS's site the picture of Aragorn is the same as the prototype?

Something appears to be different. Is it drastic? I don't know yet. We shall see. I do still see some Viggo in it though.

Next thing, you'll be telling me that New Line told SS to change it...




Just stop dude. This isn't 2005.

I'm not saying anything never have. I've always said we don't know how much influence a Licensor has on a company.

You're right its not 2005 at least thats what my Calendar says.

 

[woodsy]

Re: Aragorn Maquette Teaser

Woodsy beat me to it, I was going to post the same comparison. Sideshow Weta's version of Aragorn is a pretty good version, but he looks like Viggo as much as Sideshow's new maquette does.

I wonder if there will be an exclusive version, and if so it must be the hoodless sculpt that was shown in the announcement trailer. Could the sculpt of the hoodless head be that much better than the hooded one that has been shown?

I've been wondering about that myself....I guess we'll find out on Tues.

The preview is a little disappointing in terms of the headsculpt, but unless the full reveal is a major bomb, I will be ordering this. Not because I'm a SS fanboy / apologist, or a completist, but because the Strrider incarnation of Aragorn remains my favorite, and I'd like to have one in my collection.

I'm in the same boat. I sold my SSW Aragorn back in 2005 and would love to have a 1/6 scale version once again. But I'm not going to buy this just for the sake of owning one. If it's crap, I'll stick with my PF.

The Aragorn PF remains the best representation of Aragorn / Viggo so far. I may be in the minority, but I'd like to see a PF of Strider in his ranger gear with his leather duster. With the pace the PF line is going though, I know people won't want to see another double dip when there are other characters to be made.

SS should have all the main and popular characters done at least once by between 2025 and 2030 at their current rate. Look for a Strider in leather duster anytime after that.

 

[WrathofSauron]

Re: Aragorn Maquette Teaser

Please tell me its a big joke and the LSB line has not been dropped???

 

[WrathofSauron]

Re: Aragorn Maquette Teaser

No Saruman bust???? Gimli? Just a few random LSB characters???? Are they kidding? What sort of a display are we ending up with if this is the end of the LSB line? This SERIOUSLY is putting me off SS and collecting!!!!

 

[Valarauko]

Re: Aragorn Maquette Teaser

My first, instantaneous reaction to the picture of Strider's face was, "it looks like he's had a stroke that affected the right side of the face". Just now I covered the right side of the face (left side of the pic) and voila! it looked more like the Strider I know!

I think that if SS fixes this, I may well be adding this to my collection.

 

[woodsy]

Re: Aragorn Maquette Teaser

Please tell me its a big joke and the LSB line has not been dropped???

Apparently the joke was on us.......for believing this was a line they were fully committed to in the first place. A whopping 3 busts produced over the last 28 month's, two of which being good guys [Aragorn and Boromir] with just OK likenesses, and SS needs to re-evaluate this line? Are they kidding?

I think they need to re-evaluate the people running their LOTR program to be quite honest. One dio. since Spooktacular, one PF in the last 15 month's, and zero LSB's in the last year......either the people in charge of SS's LOTR lines are so incompetent it's not even funny, or SS has LOTR so far down the list of relevent licences these days it barely registers on the radar list.

If it's the 1st scenario...start showing people the door, and replace them with people who are actually passionate, committed, and knowledgeable where the LOTR licence is concerned.

If it's the 2nd scenario then SS should do the right thing,....walk away from lines they are not fully committed to, and let Weta take over. I don't think anyone can question Weta's absolute committment to the LOTR franchise based on the 5 years of the SSW licence....anyone willing to make that same claim for SS based on the last year or so?

No Saruman bust???? Gimli? Just a few random LSB characters???? Are they kidding? What sort of a display are we ending up with if this is the end of the LSB line? This SERIOUSLY is putting me off SS and collecting!!!!

Displays with alot of holes I'm afraid, and yeah, no Gimli is a real kick in the head. I'm not too pleased with SS myself at the moment. I fully realize they are a business and making money is the bottom line, but the way SS handled this line is embarrassing at best. I'd love to see those responsible for overseeing this line [mess might be a better term] forced to appear on Donald Trump's The Apprentice next season. Something tells me a Grade 9 business student would have a better chance of surviving the 1st week.

 

[Valarauko]

Re: Aragorn Maquette Teaser

The way I look at the LSB line is this: It began with characters who were over-large, like Sauron, ML, Cave Troll and the Balrog. The LSB approach was, imo, perfect for this; otherwise we might never have seen these characters in such detail (imagine a 1:1?).

From there, they went into human-sized subjects - for me the result was underwhelming. The GTG LSB was the first item I ever bought direct from SS. The day it arrived, I remember being shocked at how small the box was, at least much smaller than I expected. When I took that bust out of the box, I realized then and there that SS had goofed up. They should have offered such characters as a 1:1 bust instead. I think it would have made all the difference in the world.

I'm sure that price paid a large part in the decision; fewer could have afforded $450-$500 instead of an LSB's going price, but I think that the "underwhelming" aspect of the smaller size is definitely what pushed me out of the line early on. Strictly a view from my perspective but I have spoken with others who share my view. Maybe if they went back to the large baddies (armored battle troll, fell beast head, etc.) it would help.

Imagine in 1:1 a Ringwraith, Gimli, King of the Dead, Eomer w/Helmet! WOW!