Asmus Toys Lord of the Ring Gandalf Gray

[Travis Baumann]

I hate to break it to you guys but Asmus has basically been showing things at the "done and ready to ship" stage lately.

It could be that this one will be different with the amount of time and care going into the head/hair/beard but I think that is entirely where the money/time is going to make this a "Crown" piece.

I have the original GtG and I saw this one in person at SDCC and the clothing and accessories look to be identical (they did not show the book).

I think you all have to really hope the head/hair/beard come out as good as what they are showing in pics and cons and make your purchase based on that hope with the expectation that the clothing and accessories will be what you see here. Yes, Asmus is the MOST responsive out of all the manufacturers to date, however with recent figures the reveal has been shortly followed by pre-order, which has been followed by rapid release (in the case of Theodin, near immediate).

The cloth of his robe is a bit course and thick on the current GtG but as with most figures, some attention to futzing can make it hang/drape much better but it is also quite difficult to find scale weaves/proper texture at this scale and I understand what and why you are asking, just saying lower your expectations and just hope the head comes out as good as shown.

 

[Stryker2011]

I hate to break it to you guys but Asmus has basically been showing things at the "done and ready to ship" stage lately.

It could be that this one will be different with the amount of time and care going into the head/hair/beard but I think that is entirely where the money/time is going to make this a "Crown" piece.

I have the original GtG and I saw this one in person at SDCC and the clothing and accessories look to be identical (they did not show the book).

I think you all have to really hope the head/hair/beard come out as good as what they are showing in pics and cons and make your purchase based on that hope with the expectation that the clothing and accessories will be what you see here. Yes, Asmus is the MOST responsive out of all the manufacturers to date, however with recent figures the reveal has been shortly followed by pre-order, which has been followed by rapid release (in the case of Theodin, near immediate).

The cloth of his robe is a bit course and thick on the current GtG but as with most figures, some attention to futzing can make it hang/drape much better but it is also quite difficult to find scale weaves/proper texture at this scale and I understand what and why you are asking, just saying lower your expectations and just hope the head comes out as good as shown.

Completely agree. The head sculpt is the most important thing on any movie/actor-based figure. I?d rather they focused on that rather than minor nit-picking details of the clothing. What was shown at the cons is a magnificent looking figure, and I?ll be more than happy if it comes out looking like what we?ve seen.

 

[Bucky Underbelly]

Yup yup yup.

Like a lot of folks, I thought the original outfit was pretty great. They haven't promised or even suggested they were changing anything there. So I'm not raising any expectations about that.

For me it's ALL about that amazing head sculpt.

 

[kyekye]

I saw what's obviously wrong and hoped it can be improved before release, but everyone tells me it's not a big issue or it can be fixed after you receive it.
I give up.

I guess it's hopeless with these guys repeating the same thing in parade.

 

[Mike Stutelberg]

I guess it's hopeless with these guys repeating the same thing in parade.

Yeah Kyekye,

What the hell was I thinkin'.

The $350 next level, Crown series thing should of course have the very same outfit they did on the 1st release a bunch of years back.

After all its the Crown Series. Yeah, that makes total sense.


...I give up too.

 

[Lobram]

Yeah Kyekye,

What the hell was I thinkin'.

The $350 next level, Crown series thing should of course have the very same outfit they did on the 1st release a bunch of years back.

After all its the Crown Series. Yeah, that makes total sense.

+1

Completely agree with the irony. We'll only spend $350, why would they invest in improving the outfit?. That's a complete nonsense!!.

 

[Alatar]

Use a fabric that drapes properly. Is it really that difficult and/or expensive issue to address? I dunno maybe it is. But in principle one would think not.

 

[Kalkylen]

Yeah I thought the whole point of the Crown Line was supposed to be the best they could make. Well they have made considerable improvements on their overall quality since the first version of GTG so asking for minor adjustments to make this version better than the first is not an unreasonable request, especially at the price point. They haven't even updated the belt buckle and tips with metal versions from the cheap looking plastic and yet they do that with most of their figures now. It's details like that which ultimately derail the figure from being the best it can be.

I'm not convinced that their statement of these versions figures being made without compromise is entirely accurate unless they strive to improve as much as they can.

Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk

 

[Asmus]

thanks for all the helpful discussion here. I've taken some of the suggestion to our team and we will have more discussion on the wardrobe issues mentioned.
will share more updates if possible!

 

[Mike Stutelberg]

thanks for all the helpful discussion here. I've taken some of the suggestion to our team and we will have more discussion on the wardrobe issues mentioned.
will share more updates if possible!

And that... is why these guys are gonna absolutely take this figure to a new level.
Its clear they will hear reasonable arguments.

BRAVO!

 

[TurdFurgusonsHat]

thanks for all the helpful discussion here. I've taken some of the suggestion to our team and we will have more discussion on the wardrobe issues mentioned.
will share more updates if possible!

Terrific that you do this here! Thank you. I'm getting Gandalf and will be closely watching your future crown releases.

 

[ImABarRoomHero]

Y'all talkin about drapes and dresses, I'm just sittin here waiting information on how I can get Dr. Dalf a new face

 

[Chopper Face]

And that... is why these guys are gonna absolutely take this figure to a new level.
Its clear they will hear reasonable arguments.

BRAVO!

Shame it takes weeks of moaning to get them to adhere to their own mission statement regarding the Crown Series though. If you?re going to announce a sub-line with the intention to reach the pinnacle of what is possible with mass produced figures then that should apply to every aspect of those figures.
Share with the fans all the minute improvements if it?s an updated characters and clue us in on use of new materials and techniques which would otherwise be too time consuming or costly to implement so we can truly appreciate what the Crown Series is seeking to accomplish. Then there won?t be any disputing the higher price range- well there always will be complaining about price but it?ll be much easier to silence with clear examples as justification. At the moment Gandalf is just coming across like a rerelease with a new head and different accessories- and still no blue hat.

If Helms Deep Aragorn is going to be next for the Crown Series then there are going to be very high expectations and certain basic musts such as; obviously an improved head sculpt and way better rooted hair than the original, actual chainmail- we?ve seen it can be done so there?s no excuse not to if this truly is the pinnacle of what?s possible at 1:6, fabric boots and a more accurate Elven dagger. A quality, well articulated body with butterfly joints wouldn?t go amiss either. Tick all those boxes and I?ll have no complaints.

 

[CrankbaitJon]

Shame it takes weeks of moaning to get them to adhere to their own mission statement regarding the Crown Series though. If you?re going to announce a sub-line with the intention to reach the pinnacle of what is possible with mass produced figures then that should apply to every aspect of those figures.
Share with the fans all the minute improvements if it?s an updated characters and clue us in on use of new materials and techniques which would otherwise be too time consuming or costly to implement so we can truly appreciate what the Crown Series is seeking to accomplish. Then there won?t be any disputing the higher price range- well there always will be complaining about price but it?ll be much easier to silence with clear examples as justification. At the moment Gandalf is just coming across like a rerelease with a new head and different accessories- and still no blue hat.

If Helms Deep Aragorn is going to be next for the Crown Series then there are going to be very high expectations and certain basic musts such as; obviously an improved head sculpt and way better rooted hair than the original, actual chainmail- we?ve seen it can be done so there?s no excuse not to if this truly is the pinnacle of what?s possible at 1:6, fabric boots and a more accurate Elven dagger. A quality, well articulated body with butterfly joints wouldn?t go amiss either. Tick all those boxes and I?ll have no complaints.

I think they said Aragorn is not going to be in the Crown line. I hope it is thought, that head sculpt needs improvement. If not, I'm just going to wait for the king version, that might make the Crown line.

 

[Travis Baumann]

This "Best it can be" stuff is all great as a sales pitch but to actually do a sizable (1000 or more) production run with high level quality control and consistent results with that much being done by hand you are looking at WAY more than $350 a figure. You guys are asking for what super small run artists would charge $1000 for on a mass produced figure.

We still don't know if they can even pull off what they are attempting (although I am on the positive side that if they pull out the stops on the head/hair/beard that they can achieve what they have shown).

"Real" chainmail would be awesome but not very realistic with the time consumption that would take at this scale not even counting material sourcing, etc.

I don't mean to be negative but managing expectations is the best way to love the figure when you actually get it in hand.

 

[Bucky Underbelly]

I think they said Aragorn is not going to be in the Crown line. I hope it is thought, that head sculpt needs improvement. If not, I'm just going to wait for the king version, that might make the Crown line.

Yeah, I believe they said Helms Deep Aragorn will be more of a slim release (i.e., not including all his ranger gear). And they've already said they weren't able to do real chainmail. Which made me very sad.

 

[Alatar]

Chain mail to scale would be frickin awesome though. I get it if it’s just too difficult to pull off. But that would look incredible I’m thinking.

 

[Chopper Face]

The reason I brought up real chainmail is because someone just posted a link to this figure in the Theoden thread so if they can manage it for less than $200 then Asmus should be able to bust it out for the Crown Series.
They may have said they can’t do it in the past but this other company is proving it’s possible so I think it’s tike to step up to the plate. “So you can do a nice rooted beard; what else you got?”

I don’t want to come across like an entitled A-hole. This is my favourite line of figures and I respect Asmus for their interaction with the fans and their openness to criticism and even acting on it to give us their best. I just want these figures to put other 1:6 companies to shame because the potential is there and the Middle Earth Mob are a committed and loyal bunch who will follow top quality toys into the very fires of Mordor.

 

[thebreen]

I posted this most of this in the ask Asmus thread, but maybe I should have posted it here:

Hello Asmus! Thanks for the awesome LOTR/Hobbit figures, and also for keeping an open dialogue with fans and collectors!

I?m really looking forward to the new Crown Series Gandalf The Grey, and am really grateful that you are looking at the possibility of improving Gandalf?s robes for the upcoming figure! It would be awesome if you could find a fabric that hangs and drapes more naturally and looks a little more like the rough-woven costume fabric. Perhaps make the robes a bit longer as well?

While your considering improvements to the outfit, can we please get a belt that looks a bit more like the woven belt Gandalf has in the film? The belt we have on the existing figure is nice, but (please forgive my bluntness) looks a bit like a shoelace or ribbon.

Finally, if possible, and not too expensive, would it be possible to get some blue stitching details near the hem of the robes, rather than that satiny strip of fabric? The ?strip? looks nice, but seems a bit of a departure from the design seen on screen.

Obviously, the amazing new headsculpt with rooted beard should have top priority, but I think these other tweaks would really improve the figure, if they could be implemented without pulling resources from the production of the new head.

Thanks again for interacting with collectors on the forum! It is really appreciated!

 

[kyekye]

thanks for all the helpful discussion here. I've taken some of the suggestion to our team and we will have more discussion on the wardrobe issues mentioned.
will share more updates if possible!

Oh My God! Finally!
Thank you! Thank you!
I Love you guys!