A first look at the new Asmus Toys Gandalf the White Crown Series in hand!
I was so suprised to receive a shipping notice the day before last, only to have this guy turn up at the door this morning! I didn’t even think to check the tracking yet, it arrived to the UK so quickly!
Firstly, this shipper box arrived inside another box for added protection, with the usual black plastic corner protectors. Unfortunately, there were minimal scuffs on a couple of the edges nonetheless.
The packaging is beautiful, premium quality and although the website shows the serial as LOTR003, the box does show it correctly as CRW002.
I went straight for the head sculpt and damn… SHand has killed it! The likeness in hand is nothing short of perfect and the rooted hair and beard have been applied with precision. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves, but note that the tan issue is very much not a problem in natural light. These photos appear to show the skin tone a little darker, especially against the background and his attire.
Talking about his attire; the detail is incredible. From the tiniest patterns to the quality feel of the fabrics! The cloak arrived a little creased, which I expected, but as a base I feel with some time and attention, you could get the fabric falling a lot more natural.
Accessories albeit minimal, are very well crafted as usual. Glamdring is die-cast and has the runes printed upon the cross guard. The staff is a big upgrade from their first release, with the detailed head being screen accurate. A word of warning… do take great care whilst removing these. Whereas the hands are easy to remove, the dense foam packaging makes removing the staff and sword very tricky. Don’t snap them!
On to Shadowfax! A lovely addition and made from polystone, which I hadn’t realised when ordering. Gandalf fits atop securely and no issues to note! Again, take care when removing the horse, it’s firmly wedged in there.
Articulation in the body is tight and extensive. The figure can easily stand by itself without the aid of the stand, but the stand is a beauty.
I’m sure there will be some great videos to come of fans unboxing this guy, but for now I think I’m one of the first to get him in hand. I thought I’d share my opinion and a ton of pictures. This is by far the best figure I own. Asmus have listened to all criticisms from their first Crown Gandalf, clearly bettering their process and execution. With very few faults to note, I couldn’t not give this a 10/10
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