Asmus Toys: Gandalf the White

[Malgus]

Heat up the boot with hot water or hair dryer to soften it.

Wow I can't believe it was that simple. It worked. I just popped right in. Thanks. All the while I was soaking the boot in hot water I was thinking it would never work..


Now I will eagerly await someone posting a guide on how to fix the head sitting off of the neck.

 

[Wor-Gar]

Like most things in life, it's only hard when you do it wrong.

 

[Wor-Gar]

GANDALF is in da house. (how old is that phrase now?)

Had a chance -- sacrificing lunch -- to open and inspect.

QUICK NOTES: Good looking figure. Not many extras (I think the boxes are too big in many cases). Lots of detailing in the white (cream) clothing. Sword looks fine. Vest isn't as appalling in person -- but needs to have that black paint muted of course.

HEAD: yes, it's squished. And the neck really makes it much worse than it actually is. Sculpt and paint are very good -- just narrowed when cured. I opooed the head off easily and can see that the neck plug is not near deep enough into the head as mentioned. There's lots of room to dremel deeper -- which is what I will do. The hair will also need to be heated and repositioned on the shoulder to get the head seated where a normal head is. After that, I truly think this figure will shine. The hair looks fine to me -- maybe I've just seen worse with LOTR characters.

All in all, happy I kept my order. Was teetering there for awhile. If I can get the head to sit lower and stay, I think this will be an excellent Gandalf -- perhaps even better than SS's Gray.


I'll post pics later tonight.

 

[hoodonit00]

GANDALF is in da house. (how old is that phrase now?)

Had a chance -- sacrificing lunch -- to open and inspect.

QUICK NOTES: Good looking figure. Not many extras (I think the boxes are too big in many cases). Lots of detailing in the white (cream) clothing. Sword looks fine. Vest isn't as appalling in person -- but needs to have that black paint muted of course.

HEAD: yes, it's squished. And the neck really makes it much worse than it actually is. Sculpt and paint are very good -- just narrowed when cured. I opooed the head off easily and can see that the neck plug is not near deep enough into the head as mentioned. There's lots of room to dremel deeper -- which is what I will do. The hair will also need to be heated and repositioned on the shoulder to get the head seated where a normal head is. After that, I truly think this figure will shine. The hair looks fine to me -- maybe I've just seen worse with LOTR characters.

All in all, happy I kept my order. Was teetering there for awhile. If I can get the head to sit lower and stay, I think this will be an excellent Gandalf -- perhaps even better than SS's Gray.


I'll post pics later tonight.

I've actually been waiting to hear what you thought of it. Head sculpt isn't so bad is it?

 

[Wor-Gar]

I've actually been waiting to hear what you thought of it. Head sculpt isn't so bad is it?

It's not. But its not ideal either. I can see why some have decided to pass based on the head. It's narrower than it should be, and for those who demand exact likenesses this will not satisfy. But for those who are interested in the overall appearance of the figure as representing the character, I think its good -- certainly better in many respects than the SS production sculpt. Asmus would have had a real home-run if it wasn't for the wilted plastic they used.

But again, I think we'll all be able to show of a better product once the neck surgery is complete.

 

[Wor-Gar]

Here's the issue:




The plug is too shallow...











That said, here's the head without the distraction of the neck issue....







Nice, right....?

 

[darkeyes]

I like it. Too bad about the neck issue, but I think the face is actually pretty good.

 

[Stark Resilient]

The face, is actually very impressive.. It's too bad about the other issues on this guy that are holding him bac..

 

[Bucky Underbelly]

I think the likeness in hand is really nice. I didn't find the narrowness of the sculpt super noticeable once I got him out of the box. I'm very impressed with the detail and paint work on the head. Really like the costume as well. It'll take a bit of futzing once I have his display area sorted out, but I really like the mix of different fabrics and subtle patterns. (I am going to do a little something about toning down the vest, though. Haven't decided what route to take yet.)

But yes, that neck will need some tinkering. I also might do a bod swap. Haven't decided. It's a much better body than Asmus has used in the past, but still not quite in TruType territory. I'll have to play with it more before I decide. (Guritz, though, who arrived in the same delivery, is definitely getting a new body. He's floppy as a wet rag!)

Unfortunately, it's going to be a while before I can really take him out of the box and fiddle with him. I've got a massive reorganization to do with my display room. Too much awesome and not nearly enough space. Might be a month or more ...




Oh, hey! Post number 2000!

Only took me five years!

 

[Darklord Dave]

Got mine in a couple of days ago. Have to say I'm pretty happy with him. Yea, the black "stitching" on the vest is a bother, but the rest of the vest is pretty cool. And I had thought only ACI was doing metal weapons, so metal Glamdring was a nice surprise.

Regarding the head - I pulled it off and noticed that it did seem like the plug was too shallow. In playing with it I managed to pull the neck connecter out of the rubber on the body. In putting it back the rubber of the neck got folded back underneath the neck connecter. I went ahead and put the head back on and without all that rubber raising the head it sat lower on the neck connecter. You can't see the folded over rubber, so I think I'll leave it this way.

 

[eczamurai]

Got mine in a couple of days ago. Have to say I'm pretty happy with him. Yea, the black "stitching" on the vest is a bother, but the rest of the vest is pretty cool. And I had thought only ACI was doing metal weapons, so metal Glamdring was a nice surprise.

Regarding the head - I pulled it off and noticed that it did seem like the plug was too shallow. In playing with it I managed to pull the neck connecter out of the rubber on the body. In putting it back the rubber of the neck got folded back underneath the neck connecter. I went ahead and put the head back on and without all that rubber raising the head it sat lower on the neck connecter. You can't see the folded over rubber, so I think I'll leave it this way.

Pictures please

 

[Geb]

Dave...sounds like an inadvertent solution to the high neck...can you post a couple images and or better description?

 

[Darklord Dave]

On closer examination, I'm not sure if I gained anything from compressing the rubber. However I did measure the depth of the plug as compared to a HT head and the plug is about 1/2" shallower than on the HT head.

 

[Rydeck]

View attachment 137774

Mithrandir defeated!

Sorry... couldn't resist.

 

[Wor-Gar]

I solved it.

Futzed with Gandalf all day. Got the black stripes muted too. I gotta go to a dinner but I'll post pics later tonight or tomorrow.

Basically the neck socket that holds the ball joint is not seated all the way into the head. There's plenty of room in there, but the head narrowing on casting tightened the hole. I pulled the socket out, cut off the top part -- will show pics -- heated the head -- then shoved the socket back in. Gained half an inch. Head sits fine now on the shoulders.

Having one hell of a time trying to figure out how to hang his belt and scabbard though.

Looks like this now...



Wondering if I should just give the whole vest a whitewash bath now???


Anyway, I'll post some pics showing the head mod -- it's easy and takes only minutes.

 

[Geb]

I solved it.

Futzed with Gandalf all day. Got the black stripes muted too. I gotta go to a dinner but I'll post pics later tonight or tomorrow.

Basically the neck socket that holds the ball joint is not seated all the way into the head. There's plenty of room in there, but the head narrowing on casting tightened the hole. I pulled the socket out, cut off the top part -- will show pics -- heated the head -- then shoved the socket back in. Gained half an inch. Head sits fine now on the shoulders.

Having one hell of a time trying to figure out how to hang his belt and scabbard though.

Looks like this now...

View attachment 137784View attachment 137785

Wondering if I should just give the whole vest a whitewash bath now???

Glad to see that the head can be fixed pretty simply! More pics and details will help all us folks out!

 

[hoodonit00]

Thanks for posting the info Wor-Gar.

 

[Neko]

Thanks for the info, and good job with the vest. It's looking much better like that.

 

[LOTR collector]

I have the Sideshow Gandalf which I'm pretty happy with, however I do need the orc head that comes with him. If anyone wants to sell one for around 40 let me know.

 

[HYMN]

Waiting for pics. Asap please )