Asmus Toys Lord of the Ring Gandalf Gray

[Kalkylen]

That's interesting to see, thanks for sharing.

However I'm purely basing my frustration on how dark the eyes look when posed on the shelf. I guess a lighter off white/grey would have suited the job better as the one that was used turned out to be way too dark that his eyes look black. I've just done a test base coat of white on mine and already it looks 10 times better on the shelf. Obviously it's too white at the moment but I'm going to add a lighter off white/grey layer then add the veins and details.

This is how it looks in natural light with no flash.

 

[denrep-lilium]

of course the color of the eyeballs were a result of series of tests.
I have attached photos of the samples we tested.
You can see the pantone numbers were written in different plastic bags as it was tested then.

The point is, that it takes away the realism. Obviously, there can be a slight alteration, but this is too dark. It's just like the green eyes of Frodo, which obviously should be pretty blue.

 

[Galacticat]

It is, in fact, a more natural color. People don't actually have white sclera. I think it has been on trend for action figures to use a touch of grey in the sclera for some time. It does however make the eyes look deeper set, so for a guy like Gandalf who already has deep set grandpa eyes, it is even harder to see what's going on in there because of the actual shadows.

 

[Someperson]

of course the color of the eyeballs were a result of series of tests.
I have attached photos of the samples we tested.
You can see the pantone numbers were written in different plastic bags as it was tested then.

I really like these behind the scenes pics, it’s very interesting ! Thank you for sharing

 

[Gipetto0812]

It is, in fact, a more natural color. People don't actually have white sclera. I think it has been on trend for action figures to use a touch of grey in the sclera for some time. It does however make the eyes look deeper set, so for a guy like Gandalf who already has deep set grandpa eyes, it is even harder to see what's going on in there because of the actual shadows.

While true that real human eyes aren’t stark white, they also aren’t flat out grey. Most ppl’s eyes are more white in color than they are grey while the color Asmus went with is pretty much a typical grey color judging by the pics some have posted.

That said, even with having the InArt figure PO'd, there is something appealing about the Asmus crown figure I really like especially with the mods many talented folks have done. I ended up canceling my order awhile ago but I also love a project as customizing is part of the fun of this hobby for me and it looks like it could be a fun project. Only problem is, I'm not sure I'm up to it to get it at the Gold standard of @davejames fantastic work on this figure

 

[Alatar]

Everyone is obviously entitled to their own personal taste, opinion, and judgement for everything related to this hobby. But I don’t care what anyone says, at least for my taste the sclera of the eyeballs in this case is way too dark gray for a 1/6 figure display. For a repaint the whites of the eyeballs should be a warm or off white shade rather than pure white. I think eventually I’m going to go ahead and take the plunge and attempt to repaint the eyes using a Testor’s enamel paint for plastic model kits. Plus a clear coat. I just need to get the color right. I may need to mix a few test samples. But something in the white family for sure!

I don’t want to belabor the point but again, just look at how much better the eyes look with the proper touch up. I’m sorry, but this is like night and day.

Btw, this is what the guy said he did to achieve the effect:

just did a subtle wash of off-white closest to the irises and then put a couple highlights in the color before doming them with gloss and dulling the shine in the area around the pupils

Versus this:

 

[Sassafras]

Everyone is obviously entitled to their own personal taste, opinion, and judgement for everything related to this hobby. But I don’t care what anyone says, at least for my taste the sclera of the eyeballs in this case is way too dark gray for a 1/6 figure display. For a repaint the whites of the eyeballs should be a warm or off white shade rather than pure white. I think eventually I’m going to go ahead and take the plunge and attempt to repaint the eyes using a Testor’s enamel paint for plastic model kits. Plus a clear coat. I just need to get the color right. I may need to mix a few test samples. But something in the white family for sure!

Well it makes basic sense to me, same reason if u are gonna paint a room to paint a big sample on cardboard and watch how the sample looks as light shifts through the day. Maybe ASMUS's samples looked just fine, and I knew that customizers use a grey white or blued white for the sclera. But the way light is falling a lot of the time on the deep set eyes makes him look zombie like with the light angles off.

Or, makeup principle - light colors "move forward"; dark colors recede.

But overall IMO this is a great sculpt, and hope to get a second head soon.

 

[FlyAndFight]

The eyeball color is surprising but as Sassafras mentions above, the sculpt is indeed great. I too look forward to obtaining the sculpt soon.

 

[optical20]

If the heads are shipping next week then it might be too late but I was Hoping they would update the colors of the eyes. IMO it makes it alot better from the talented ones here that tried the mod.

 

[Someperson]

If the heads are shipping next week then it might be too late but I was Hoping they would update the colors of the eyes. IMO it makes it alot better from the talented ones here that tried the mod.

Maybe Asmus can do a repaint / resizing on the crown GTG’s eyes and offer them for people who have the crown edition?

 

[warlock664]

If the heads are shipping next week then it might be too late

Lol.
Might be ?

 

[hoodonit00]

Maybe Asmus can do a repaint / resizing on the crown GTG’s eyes and offer them for people who have the crown edition?

@Asmus. I’m sure you’re tired of complaints but I think this is something the company should explore. The eyes are no doubt too gray and should not have been released like that. I can’t imagine it costing too much to right this wrong as it seems to be a factory defect.

 

[Someperson]

@Asmus. I’m sure you’re tired of complaints but I think this is something the company should explore. The eyes are no doubt too gray and should not have been released like that. I can’t imagine it costing too much to right this wrong as it seems to be a factory defect.

I wouldn’t mind paying somewhat for the fix as I don’t have confidence to repaint the eyes.
Maybe they could do an exchange ? Ship the old eyes back and send out new ones ? Asmus could repaint the old ones and reuse them for the future.

 

[scumonkey]

i've been asking them to sell me a set of these grey eyes so i can repaint, (just in case i mess them up I can still have a usable set)...
1/6 scale water slide decals in blue for the iris are readily available on ebay, so you only have to paint them your choice of white).
They don't return email- no reply.

 

[Someperson]

i've been asking them to sell me a set of these grey eyes so i can repaint, (just in case i mess them up I can still have a usable set)...
1/6 scale water slide decals in blue for the iris are readily available on ebay, so you only have to paint them your choice of white).
They don't return email- no reply.
View attachment 580329

Asmus does take awhile to reply to emails. I find they are on and off with how long it takes. Great idea for the iris !!

 

[RandomHero]

@Asmus. I’m sure you’re tired of complaints but I think this is something the company should explore. The eyes are no doubt too gray and should not have been released like that. I can’t imagine it costing too much to right this wrong as it seems to be a factory defect.

Good idea - I would pay for this.

 

[Asmus]

I will sure pass on the concern to my supervisor at the production.

 

[Sixth Scale Man]

For me the eyes and the hat are really the only major issues that keep this figure from being a 10/10.

 

[RandomHero]

I will sure pass on the concern to my supervisor at the production.

Please do. Offering a solution to the eyes and hat would be splendid, and I'm sure help a lot of people feel good about their Gandalf figures and not buy one from the competition.

 

[Asmus]

we are working on the hat at the moment