Asmus Toys Lord of the Ring Gandalf Gray

[FlyAndFight]

I don't think that anyone has compared this figure to a piece of crap. The issues found with the figure are of legitimate concern to many of those that purchased it and don't deserve to be easily dismissed.

I for one stated that this figure was both amazing and disappointing. Every issue that my figure suffered with shouldn't have been there, especially at the price point.

I think the question to ask is: "if one knew of the issues beforehand, would they have still ordered the figure?" In my case, the answer is yes, but it still would have been a little disappointing, as most if not all of the issues could have been easily taken care of during the prototype/approval phases.

 

[optical20]

Is there like an asmus store special edition for this Gandalf like Galadriel? It’s cheaper in bbts, I know about the delays but I am not in a hurry. I might just get it there if there is no special items or so.

 

[Hologram AI]

Has anyone who's preordered through Asmus directly around February, gotten an invoice yet? Kind of wondering if I should have just gotten through Sideshow or something.

 

[scumonkey]

I 100% agree with hoodonit00, would buy it again in a flash.
Fantastic job Godfather1408!

 

[superdoug]

I would also order mine again in a heartbeat even though I do not love how the hat turned out. I still see the figure as worth it to me. Now if only I can manage to style the hair like Godfather did. . .

 

[Godfather1408]

I'd say yes! I honestly can't express how much of a masterpiece this sculpt is! The hat though should of been sorted before production.
Ha thank you....just some water and Qtips/ cotton buds and that actually brings the hair out nicely as most have done.

 

[Sankari]

Has anyone who's preordered through Asmus directly around February, gotten an invoice yet? Kind of wondering if I should have just gotten through Sideshow or something.

No news also, and I ordered it on the first days of pre order

 

[TurdFurgusonsHat]

The head sculpt was the key element for the high price. I think it is a mixed bag, with some good and some bad points, which have been covered in this thread.

For me, it was a little disappointing to have the issues that I had. it took away some of the excitement with the release. Now, after having it on display for some time, I'm both more impressed and more disappointed with the figure, if that makes any sense. I've got him looking pretty good but still won't be able to display him with the hat (as I haven't futzed with that yet) nor utilize the display base, with the issues I had with it. The moustache could have been done better, as well.

I hope that Asmus uses it as a learning experience and that the next "Crown" release will be a home-run.

I will say that I'll be a bit more hesitant in pre-ordering the next Crown figure, especially if highly priced.

This is a very good summary. The figure itself looks nice on the shelf. But even the main selling point(the sculpt) has issues with the eyes and mustache. Mine has the botched staff and pipe. The hat is unusable and so is the base.

The hat is absolutely inexcusable and nearly a complete deal breaker.

 

[TurdFurgusonsHat]

I will answer about Gandalf as well. I think Gandalf is a home run. I think some of the issues people are complaining about are nothing burgers. People complain about how hard it is to style the hair. Well that's because they used such fine hair to hair it with. It's what gives it that real look. A human hair is about .005 thick. If you were to scale it down to 1/6 you wouldn't even be able to see it I don't think. They used the best option they could and it came out looking great.

People complaining about the eyes. Not a damn thing wrong with them and blown extremely out of proportion. They look great in real life and only look a bit shadowy in pictures.

The staff. Yes it was a mistake. Yes it should have been caught. But it wasn't. Mine is without the hole. But I have power tools and I have a bit so I will fix it myself. Asmus may not fix the staff but all those missing pipes are going to get them.

Lastly the base. As far as the cheap plants on it? Look back at the pictures in the beginning of the thread. Looks to me like the exact same plants. Not a case of switching something out. Base doesn't go together quite right? Well I''ll either glue it if it's too lose or if it's to tight I scrape down the connection points. No big deal to me. Should I have to on an expensive figure? Probably not but to lambast this figure like it's a piece of crap in my book is just wrong. Especially when we have a representative come here and ask questions and give feedback. I wouldn't blame Asmus if they wouldn't come back.

In closing Gandalf gets a solid yes from me on whether or not it was worth it.

Not sure how your flippant dismissal of the figure's issues can be taken seriously when you didn't even mention the hat. A very important accessory that was completely botched. Still waiting for Asmus to address this....

 

[davejames]

I guess if we're comparing to the original Gandalf figure, then yes this was a home run. But as someone who's new to Asmus and has a ton of other figures to judge against, this frankly reminded me more of something I might have bought in the past from a third party company like Redman or Toysworks, what with the floppy body, recast HT hands, very basic paintwork, a hat that looks utterly ridiculous on him, and deepset eyes that are a major downgrade from the proto and look ridiculous compared to those of any HT figure I own.

Obviously there's still tons of potential there if you like to mod figures like I do, but out of the box I'd say this was a pretty big disappointment and nowhere close to the quality I expect from a 1/6 figure.

 

[hoodonit00]

Not sure how your flippant dismissal of the figure's issues can be taken seriously when you didn't even mention the hat. A very important accessory that was completely botched. Still waiting for Asmus to address this....

Oh no, you didn’t take my flippant dismissal seriously... Anyway. I’m not using the hat because the price on this was so high because of the beautiful hairing they did on it. Shame to cover it up so I’m not. If I ever choose to do so I will fix the hat like others in this thread have done. Again an easy fix

 

[hoodonit00]

I guess if we're comparing to the original Gandalf figure, then yes this was a home run. But as someone who's new to Asmus and has a ton of other figures to judge against, this frankly reminded me more of something I might have bought in the past from a third party company like Redman or Toysworks, what with the floppy body, recast HT hands, very basic paintwork, a hat that looks utterly ridiculous on him, and deepset eyes that are a major downgrade from the proto and look ridiculous compared to those of any HT figure I own.

Obviously there's still tons of potential there if you like to mod figures like I do, but out of the box I'd say this was a pretty big disappointment and nowhere close to the quality I expect from a 1/6 figure.

It’s an insult to compare this to a third party figure

 

[Asmus]

I guess if we're comparing to the original Gandalf figure, then yes this was a home run. But as someone who's new to Asmus and has a ton of other figures to judge against, this frankly reminded me more of something I might have bought in the past from a third party company like Redman or Toysworks, what with the floppy body, recast HT hands, very basic paintwork, a hat that looks utterly ridiculous on him, and deepset eyes that are a major downgrade from the proto and look ridiculous compared to those of any HT figure I own.

Obviously there's still tons of potential there if you like to mod figures like I do, but out of the box I'd say this was a pretty big disappointment and nowhere close to the quality I expect from a 1/6 figure.

Thank you for the reply, and you are welcome to have your voice heard. We will try even harder in the future.

But we don't recast HT hands...

 

[Godfather1408]

Thank you for the reply, and you are welcome to have your voice heard. We will try even harder in the future.

But we don't recast HT hands...

Asmus please can you offer a product replacement hat?

 

[Asmus]

Unofficially, I can provide a way to improve the hat...

 

[Greenwood97]

Unofficially, I can provide a way to improve the hat...

View attachment 513017

That's looking very good Asmus!

I haven't received my Gandalf, or the invoice, but I'll definitely reach out to know how to do this modification when I have it.

 

[Rzeznikk]

File me under the pleased crowd. Even aside from the mods to make this figure an even better one, this is still a stand out piece. I guess if you are hard to please or are super critical like some others here then yeah I can see where you'll be disappointed. But the third party remark is STRETCHING. Far. No way does this represent a third party figure at all. Far from it.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

 

[ghilbertit]

Unofficially, I can provide a way to improve the hat...

View attachment 513017

Great asmus...
Will you provide a free replacement hat for all Gandalf or we will have to buy a new hat from you?

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[hoodonit00]

Great asmus...
Will you provide a free replacement hat for all Gandalf or we will have to buy a new hat from you?

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I think he is implying that he can say how to make the supplied hat look better.

 

[ghilbertit]

We already know... It's not so difficult... I have fixed it myself but I hope that they will provide a replacement hat too... Anyways I think that this crown Gandalf, hat apart, is a stellar figure... I'm very happy to have bought it...

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