Asmus Toys: Arwen

[Stryker2011]

While you're tightening the bodice, you might as well get rid of the ribbon ties and get something more accurate. That ribbon makes it look cheap and very Barbie-like.

I don’t think you’d be able to do that. That buckle has really small openings that the ribbon is threaded thru; anything thicker wouldn’t fit.

 

[Wor-Gar]

I don’t think you’d be able to do that. That buckle has really small openings that the ribbon is threaded thru; anything thicker wouldn’t fit.

Doesn't need to be thicker, just not a ribbon.

 

[ladyshanz]

I got mine today and overall really like it. I do wish the costume was more film-accurate though, and do foresee myself at some point trying to alter it to have the violet tie in the front and the violet chiffon-like fabric underneath it I find the time and right material.

 

[superdoug]

Argh missed getting mine yesterday. Hopefully my wife can swing by the Post Office on her way home and get it for me.

 

[FlyAndFight]

No word yet on my Arwen order...

 

[Bucky Underbelly]

Picked her up this morning from the post office. Haven't had more than a few minutes to give her a quick once-over, but I've gotta say, she seems to be one of those figures that looks better in hand. I'm not 100% sold on the likeness, but in person it's a lot better than I've seen in photos. Just my opinion, of course.

The Missus, who's the real Arwen dress expert in our house (she built herself her own riding dress a few years back) was reasonably pleased with the outfit. She says the waist needs cinching and she would have liked for the skirt to be fuller so that it would drape and fold, rather than just hang straight down. Also the underskirt (and undersleeve) material she found a little too stiff and lacy, but she also admits it would be a super hard to replicate the real material in that scale, so she wasn't fussed about it. Overall, the figure meets with her approval, and that's a pretty high bar!

Nice work, Asmus!

 

[Life_m2000]

Just got mine and agree she is better in hand. I like the likeness more now she is in front of me. I’m happy with her.
Another good release from Asmus!

 

[warlock664]

No word yet on my Arwen order...

If you mean you haven't received a balance remaining invoice...me either.
Pretty frustrating. I've contacted Rola 3 times, he says he'll pass along the message to accounting, but still nothing. Tempted to re-order and eat the $20 deposit, since it's now "In Stock".

 

[warlock664]

Duplicate post

 

[Wor-Gar]

Despite looking good in hand, would like to see more pictures all the same. Particularly curious about the whole rubber/haired scalp mix.

 

[Stryker2011]

Here you go. The top part is sculpted, the braids are some sort of thin rubber (they give you a warning not to pull on them), and then the real hair:

 

[hoodonit00]

Ugh, yea not crazy about that.

 

[Wor-Gar]

Thank you for the pictures, Stryker2011.

Does it look better in hand? Because it is a strange choice to me. Maybe the scalp needs a good dose of gloss to better match the shiny hair?

 

[DioramaMaker]

I don't think you need gloss, I actually think if you could get close to matching the type of paint HT uses for hair you'd be dang close. For all the **** people give the metallic finishes, it's still the best looking hair when lit properly.

 

[Stryker2011]

Yeah, in hand I think it works just fine. I don’t have studio lighting equipment, and that last one was direct flash — which reflects differently off different material. I honestly think they tackled this as best they could. Those braids are really thin, I couldn’t even imagine some factory workers trying to braid something that small without them being much bigger than they should be. If they went back and did this same technique to an upgraded Legolas head sculpt, I’d be a happy camper.

 

[hoodonit00]

I don't have Thorin but aren't his braids pretty small and tight?

 

[ladyshanz]

I’m sick with some sort of modern plague (in reality and awful upper respiratory infection that won’t let up), so I haven’t been able to really get a lot of photos of mine or adjust Éowyn’s pose to make room for Arwen at all - but overall I’m honestly really happy with this. As always, it seems, I think this looks way better in hand than in photographs. To me, at least, the transition from sculpted to rooted isn’t super noticeable in person. My guess is they did sculpted on top because the nature of braids is to get fly-always over time. It’s difficult enough with natural hair; and with less textured synthetic hair, she’d be getting incredible fly-always. In the movie, her hair is in a fishtail braid, i think, which starts out being braided against the scalp and then flows into the rest of the hair. The part where it leaves the scalp would have been a doozy as time wore on. At least, that’s my two cents why they went the mixed media route!

Mt only real “complaint” other than the miscolored tie at the waist/the underskirts is the fact that getting her to hold the sword without the hand dropping seems to be impossible. I love the metal swords - it really elevated the quality - but the joints in the wrist need to be tighter and the sword hand needs to have a tighter grip in response, I think. Anyone have any tips for working with this?

 

[Star Puffs]

I got mine today. I think this is an outstanding figure.

 

[SWnerdgirl]

The figure looks pretty good to me just seeing the photos. I hope to eventually pick her up. I wished she was a touch cheaper but that is always the case.

 

[Bucky Underbelly]

Had a chance to futz with her a bit more and I really like this one. The likeness is definitely growing on me, too. And the two-part hair doesn't bother me at all. I think it's actually a clever solution, considering how complicated going full rooted would have been. Especially since the colors are really close under normal light. I don't notice the transition at all.

As for the dress, I fiddled with the ribbon in the back. I carefully untied the knot, tightened it as far as it would go and then retied the knot. It cinches in the bodice and gets rid of the loose, boxy look. Made a big difference.

My only gripe is that the material for the skirt hangs too flatly. The actual dress in the movie is a lot fuller and flowy from the waist down. The outfit on the figure just hangs straight and doesn't drape. (As I said earlier, The Missus made one of these dresses for herself so she was painfully aware of the specs of the costume!)

Other than that, I think this is a very nice looking figure. I know it's super unlikely, but seeing how far Asmus has come, it makes me wish they'd take another stab at Eowyn.

EDIT: Also, no one has mentioned it yet, but I like the soft, rubbery boots. They allow a good deal of ankle articulation. Not sure how they'll hold up over time (I've been burned by HT's rubber issues in the past), but so far it looks like a good material choice.