Asmus - Gandalf the White - Crown Line

[FlyAndFight]

Incredible to hear that this set has officially sold out. But I will say that it feels fantastic to order a figure and not have to wait two years for it.

 

[RandomHero]

I'm so excited for this. Just based on the early pictures, I think it's going to come down to Gandalf the White or the LIM Toys Arthur Morgan for figure of the year. There are figures, and then there are works of art.

It's so nice to see Asmus producing at this level. Bilbo wasn't a Crown release but he won't look out of place in a display near this Gandalf. If Boromir and Thranduil, and later Eowyn, Gil-Galad and Haldir also come out at this kind of quality, I think Asmus will have introduced themselves as major players at the top of the sixth scale game.

I know it's premature to say that just yet, but with some key releases coming up, that potential is there for them.

 

[Entropy]

He's the last one I really wanted for my LotR cast so I put in an order. Got him down to $147 shipped with a coupon.

 

[warlock664]

With the announcement from Asmus that GTW is SOLD OUT, prepare for the onslaught of jacked-up eBay listings …

 

[Rydeck]

We have some damaged boxed ones that will go on sale at Black Friday~
there are also some cancelation or unpaid orders, that we may wait a while before re-list.

Otherwise, yes, it is gone for good, one of the down side to produce before pre-order,
we project a number, and if it runs out, it runs out.

If it is pre-order, we will make whatever the order is and add a little more on top.

So vendors with pre-orders like Sideshow and BBTS have a limited allotment from the total number of sets produced?

 

[Entropy]

My understanding is there’s a 3 week or so window for preorders and then the manufacturer gets those numbers, produces that allotment plus a few extra. But there might be a limit on what that number can be?

 

[Giimli86]

We have some damaged boxed ones that will go on sale at Black Friday~
there are also some cancelation or unpaid orders, that we may wait a while before re-list.

Otherwise, yes, it is gone for good, one of the down side to produce before pre-order,
we project a number, and if it runs out, it runs out.

If it is pre-order, we will make whatever the order is and add a little more on top.

in terms of numbers how many did you produce if I may ask? 1000? 1500?

 

[Nagoya]

He looks like a truly amazing figure and probably Asmus's best. Maybe it's FOMO, but I just had to get in an order in with Sideshow--hope they're able to deliver on all their POs! Especially can't wait to see how this looks on a shelf next to InArt GtG.

edit; really hope there will be an alternative solution to the short staff, that is really throwing me off.

 

[Someperson]

It's certainly not a deal-breaker for me, but I'm bummed they're not including Narya. (They did say they would include it when we brought it up earlier in this thread. But maybe New Line or WB said no?)

It’s odd because even the mini characters weta created had GTW with his ring.

Pre-ordered!

 

[noheddardstark]

It’s odd because even the mini characters weta created had GTW with his ring.

Licensors change their minds about stuff ALL the time.

 

[Wor-Gar]

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

.

Great review, and amazing load of pictures!!!

 

[Gipetto0812]

Congrats to Asmus for selling out so quickly! If you really want one of these, I guess, best to put in an order at a retailer that has it up for PO. I’m trying to not let fomo get to me and have some restraint, as I prefer GtG and don’t need 2 Gandalfs this is one of those cases where it’s such a great looking figure though that it’s hard to not want it

 

[Hologram AI]

Congrats to Asmus for selling out so quickly! If you really want one of these, I guess, best to put in an order at a retailer that has it up for PO. I’m trying to not let fomo get to me and have some restraint, as I prefer GtG and don’t need 2 Gandalfs this is one of those cases where it’s such a great looking figure though that it’s hard to not want it

FOMO bout to make people buy something they wouldn't have normally.

 

[Rydeck]

My understanding is there’s a 3 week or so window for preorders and then the manufacturer gets those numbers, produces that allotment plus a few extra. But there might be a limit on what that number can be?

Right, so what I was getting at was whether vendor pre-orders for GTW fall into the pre-order terms Asmus stated (they will make as many as people pre-order through vendors) or whether Asmus made all GTW figures already and each vendor got an allotment from what was already made and there will be no future production of GTW figures.

 

[Sixth Scale Man]

For Aussie collectors, Sugo has him for pre-order.

 

[Entropy]

Right, so what I was getting at was whether vendor pre-orders for GTW fall into the pre-order terms Asmus stated (they will make as many as people pre-order through vendors) or whether Asmus made all GTW figures already and each vendor got an allotment from what was already made and there will be no future production of GTW figures.

As they aren’t due to ship until next year, I would guess the previous, and will make what is ordered. They’ve sold through and now shipped the stock on hand.

 

[Lizard Lips]

For Aussie collectors, Sugo has him for pre-order.

Phew ordered. I was hoping they might stock it but was nervous given its in such limited supply but happy I waited since it was the cheapest option for me overall.

 

[lordnastrond]

We have some damaged boxed ones that will go on sale at Black Friday~
there are also some cancelation or unpaid orders, that we may wait a while before re-list.

Otherwise, yes, it is gone for good, one of the down side to produce before pre-order,
we project a number, and if it runs out, it runs out.

If it is pre-order, we will make whatever the order is and add a little more on top.

To be fair Asmus - this is a major problem with not doing pre-orders and people warned you of this when you first indicated this would be your new business model. I know the Ash and Arwen debacles stung you a little, but those were problems of YOUR making and poor quality control, not the collectors, and it seems that in response you have taken an anti-collector friendly approach. I do hope you reconsider this in the future.

 

[Lizard Lips]

To be fair Asmus - this is a major problem with not doing pre-orders and people warned you of this when you first indicated this would be your new business model. I know the Ash and Arwen debacles stung you a little, but those were problems of YOUR making and poor quality control, not the collectors, and it seems that in response you have taken an anti-collector friendly approach. I do hope you reconsider this in the future.

Yeah it seems having no preorder window on their website for this release is a solution in search of a problem.

There have been QC issues but that wasn't caused by having a preorder lead in time, it was a consequence of poor QC supervision.

Even if the QC issues are resolved in these non-preorder releases correlation is not causation. Unfortunately all this is going to do is frustrate existing customers and create an immediate market for scalpers.

 

[Chopper Face]

Ha oh dear. So waiting to shop around definitely didn’t work out in my favour.
It hasn’t popped up anywhere I can buy without incurring massive customs and VAT, KG haven’t responded to my query made a few days ago so I still don’t know if they’ll be an option and the one place I’ve seen it show up in the U.K. is charging the oh so unjustifiable price of £465. That’s $553 btw and apparently that’s with them offering £30 discount…

May just have to accept this is not meant to be.
Maybe when InArt get the Two Towers license they’ll do him. I still don’t really like the colours of the outfit or material for the boots so it’s not as devastating as I’d have expected I’d feel for my first instance of missing out on a LOTR figure. However, had Asmus stated this was limited I would have ordered immediately without even thinking about it.

Pretty sure this isn’t going to help their image as it’s clearly the diehards who snatched him up asap and they weren’t the ones who needed convincing.
So now the doubters will know that Asmus can deliver a decent product, they just can’t own it because hardly any were made. Score!

Funny how GtG is still available years later but this is extinct after a couple days though.
Asmus either underestimated demand by a lot or the scalpers rinsed that 3 order limit from multiple accounts and eBay is about to explode.