Asmus Toys Lord of the Ring Gandalf Gray

[Alatar]

I’m just going to be honest with you, it is a skill thing for me. I have absolutely zero problem futzing or tweaking figures to get them to look great. I don’t expect things to be perfect out of the box. I like working with them to get figures looking exactly how I want it.

I’m also fairly handy, I painted my entire house myself and know how to fix a handful of things. But when it comes to an expensive collectible I have no desire to try and repaint anything. If I screw up, it’s not like I can just get another one when they’re usually sold out and even if I can, why would I want to risk spending another $300+ because I made the mistake.

I honestly just have no desire to try fixing it solely because I don’t want to screw it up. If Asmus willing to offer a reasonably priced fix, I’m willing to put the time in to popping the eyeballs out and getting new ones in. I just don’t want to be the cause of an error I can’t fix.

Yeah, this is really well put. When it comes to touch-up painting the sclera of the eyeballs that takes a very steady hand and some know-how to select the right paint medium and color, etc. This is definitely not something that customers should have to attempt and potentially mess up on for a $350 figure. The eyeballs are too gray—period—and it degrades the appearance of what is otherwise a stunning figure. I too will pay a reasonable fee for a new set of better painted new eyeballs if that’s the sure way to get it done. But if it’s relatively inexpensive for Asmus to make them and send them out, that’s excellent PR with the customer base to ensure they hold onto future buyers of Crown series Gandalf the White, for example. Because Queen Studios is probably going to make GtW as well, and they are definitely giving Asmus a run for its money now! And many of us are going to be making a tough choice about that. I think knowing that Asmus has this kind of customer care for a high end figure like this can tip the scales.

 

[Asmus]

 

[Asmus]

Our ultimate goal is to give ALL our Gandalf buyers a free hat, but it is not we cannot give it away, it is about shipping and spread it to all the corners. We tried to give away items like this to the distributors or dealers before, unfortunately, it happens from time to time, the item will be "lost" before reaching to the collectors.

We cannot mail to all the buyers, because shipping has been a problem to us since the pandemic, it will cost more than 20 dollars to just ship one hat to USA. We cant really afford the man power and extra spending this may cost.


So what our first plan for the hat is :

ALL the copies of old Bilbo Baggins will include a Gandalf hat for free,

Since Bilbo is a minor character compare to Gandalf, it is safe to say whoever has bought a Bilbo, has a pretty high chance owning a GtG. So, if we can cover the buyers of Bilbo, we can cover a good portion of the buyers of Gandalf.

There will be more plan to give away the hat, and we will see how it goes as we are.

It is also why we hold back the sell of the head for now, but once it starts (selling the head), we will make sure a hat and a pair of eyeball are included in the package.

 

[Kalkylen]

That is an awesome move @Asmus thank you!

 

[ghilbertit]

Our ultimate goal is to give ALL our Gandalf buyers a free hat, but it is not we cannot give it away, it is about shipping and spread it to all the corners. We tried to give away items like this to the distributors or dealers before, unfortunately, it happens from time to time, the item will be "lost" before reaching to the collectors.

We cannot mail to all the buyers, because shipping has been a problem to us since the pandemic, it will cost more than 20 dollars to just ship one hat to USA. We cant really afford the man power and extra spending this may cost.


So what our first plan for the hat is :

ALL the copies of old Bilbo Baggins will include a Gandalf hat for free,

Since Bilbo is a minor character compare to Gandalf, it is safe to say whoever has bought a Bilbo, has a pretty high chance owning a GtG. So, if we can cover the buyers of Bilbo, we can cover a good portion of the buyers of Gandalf.

There will be more plan to give away the hat, and we will see how it goes as we are.

It is also why we hold back the sell of the head for now, but once it starts (selling the head), we will make sure a hat and a pair of eyeball are included in the package.

thank you asmus... so just to be sure... all people that buy an old bilbo from you (like me) will receive a new hat and a pair of new 'white' eyeball too? thanks

 

[agonistes86]

Our ultimate goal is to give ALL our Gandalf buyers a free hat, but it is not we cannot give it away, it is about shipping and spread it to all the corners. We tried to give away items like this to the distributors or dealers before, unfortunately, it happens from time to time, the item will be "lost" before reaching to the collectors.

We cannot mail to all the buyers, because shipping has been a problem to us since the pandemic, it will cost more than 20 dollars to just ship one hat to USA. We cant really afford the man power and extra spending this may cost.


So what our first plan for the hat is :

ALL the copies of old Bilbo Baggins will include a Gandalf hat for free,

Since Bilbo is a minor character compare to Gandalf, it is safe to say whoever has bought a Bilbo, has a pretty high chance owning a GtG. So, if we can cover the buyers of Bilbo, we can cover a good portion of the buyers of Gandalf.

There will be more plan to give away the hat, and we will see how it goes as we are.

It is also why we hold back the sell of the head for now, but once it starts (selling the head), we will make sure a hat and a pair of eyeball are included in the package.

Great to see you working on this, Asmus! The new hat looks very good and will elevate the quality of Gandalf even more!

I'd definitely be willing to pay for shipping for a new hat directly from you. But as you said that the manpower needed for doing that is also prohibitive at the moment, I'll have to wait for whatever solution you'll come up with (as I'm not getting Bilbo).

Once those Bilbos ship, this hat will be a hot item on the secondary market...

 

[ghilbertit]

Hat is fine, but we want new eyeballs too... the grey ones are the grwater problem with this gandalf... you can dispay gandalf without hat, but not without eyes...

 

[Godfather1408]

Would it be possible to charge customers for shipping to send both hat and eyes?

Awesome move by Asmus it's really cool to see you guys try and fix the few issues. Would love to see how those new eyes look on the sculpt.

 

[mayureshmali1304]

That's good news. I already have the old Bilbo on PO from Asmus online so I'll get that hat with him. However like most collectors what we would want more is the pair of white eyeballs. Would've been great to include the hat+eyeball set with Bilbo. If that's not possible, In that case I'll be waiting for a new head with the proper colored eyes so that it won't look sunken in. Thanks!

 

[agonistes86]

As a customizer, I want the hat a lot more than new eyes. I can repaint the eyes I have, but I can't sculpt a new hat.

 

[satanatos]

What about those who did not order the old Bilbo? @Asmus Cant you just offer the hat and the new eyes for order through the site? I am more than willing to pay for shipping of both items as it will greatly improve the presence of my Crown GtG.

 

[Someperson]

What about those who did not order the old Bilbo? @Asmus Cant you just offer the hat and the new eyes for order through the site? I am more than willing to pay for shipping of both items as it will greatly improve the presence of my Crown GtG.

I agree.
I have both versions of GTG and did not order old bilbo. @Asmus am I able to pay for shipping for the new hat/eyes? I don’t want to miss out…..

 

[superdoug]

Thanks Asmus!

I definitely got preordered Bilbo so my Crown Gandalf will appreciate the new hat. Will the eye balls be included too? Also if so will there be instructions on how to safely swap them out?

 

[Bucky Underbelly]

Thank you, Asmus. You rock!

 

[denrep-lilium]

Our ultimate goal is to give ALL our Gandalf buyers a free hat, but it is not we cannot give it away, it is about shipping and spread it to all the corners. We tried to give away items like this to the distributors or dealers before, unfortunately, it happens from time to time, the item will be "lost" before reaching to the collectors.

We cannot mail to all the buyers, because shipping has been a problem to us since the pandemic, it will cost more than 20 dollars to just ship one hat to USA. We cant really afford the man power and extra spending this may cost.


So what our first plan for the hat is :

ALL the copies of old Bilbo Baggins will include a Gandalf hat for free,

Since Bilbo is a minor character compare to Gandalf, it is safe to say whoever has bought a Bilbo, has a pretty high chance owning a GtG. So, if we can cover the buyers of Bilbo, we can cover a good portion of the buyers of Gandalf.

There will be more plan to give away the hat, and we will see how it goes as we are.

It is also why we hold back the sell of the head for now, but once it starts (selling the head), we will make sure a hat and a pair of eyeball are included in the package.

I can wait for the head a bit more.
I would suggest that you put in the new eyes. It would be safer than doing it myself upon receiving the new sculpt.
The addition of the hat is a good enhancement pack move. Thank you.

 

[FlyAndFight]

This is great news. Thank you, Asmus.

 

[satanatos]

Yes, a hat and eyes "two-pack" for those who did not order old Bilbo would be great. Then you can include the pack with the old Bilbo for those who did preorder him.
That way everyone should be happy I think.

 

[RandomHero]

Asmus, I will happily pay for shipping on a hat and eyeballs for my Gandalf.

 

[Life_m2000]

Great idea to ship it with Bilbo. Happy with that decision

 

[Manannin]

If the new heads come with hat and eyeballs I would probably actually buy two (one for my crown series and one for my V1) if that’s an option.
Thanks for considering the options Asmus, that’s very much appreciated.