Asmus Toys Tauriel

[pixiegirl1492]

Yeah, they definitely missed the mark on her. The clothes are way too baggy, and the face sculpt and paint is terrible. It is a shame, because I was really looking forward to their LOTR line, I actually cancelled my order when I saw what they were coming out with. It is a shame that Hot Toys doesn't have the LOTR line, they do amazing quality work.

 

[dortizjr1]

I'm still on board with Asmus for Pippin and Meriadoc. I have them on pre-order. I'm happy with my Eowyn, I'm satisfied with Tauriel (but if Asmus is watching, I'd love a replacement head with rooted hair). Pip and Merry might be my last purchase from them though.

 

[batsheva]

Yeah, they definitely missed the mark on her. The clothes are way too baggy, and the face sculpt and paint is terrible. It is a shame, because I was really looking forward to their LOTR line, I actually cancelled my order when I saw what they were coming out with. It is a shame that Hot Toys doesn't have the LOTR line, they do amazing quality work.

Michael Crawford from the mwctoys.com just put Asmus as the WORST OVERALL LINE - HIGH END for the best n worst collectibles of 2015, and put the Tauriel figure photo following the article.
That should say something about this figure.

 

[hoodonit00]

Michael Crawford from the mwctoys.com just put Asmus as the WORST OVERALL LINE - HIGH END for the best n worst collectibles of 2015, and put the Tauriel figure photo following the article.
That should say something about this figure.

I'll echo what some one else said before. I used to be on your side on this. Now it just seems like you have a vendetta.

 

[batsheva]

I do. But just for Tauriel. Because I'm very disappointed. But I'm being fair, you can see my compliment for Asmus on the Saruman thread. If it's good, I'll say that it's good. If it's bad, then it's bad. I keep on responding to this thread, only because Asmus said they will do something about it, and yet, nothing comes out. Asmus post comments and replies on the Saruman thread, but not here. Which is why I'm having my constant rant.

 

[Travis Baumann]

I have to disagree with the last few posts... I think she looks pretty good. I got one without casting problems nor is mine raccoon eyed. I think she looks way more like screen Tauriel than the Hot Toys Han Solo, Ben Kenobi, or even Luke Skywalker so HT is far from infallible.

I feel that her vest/armor piece is too bulky, that I agree with but her tights and green tunic look good to me. I have not put on her overcoat with hood yet.

To the poster that mentioned the side strands of hair, I did lose some on the right side, it was stuck to the plastic sleeves that cover them when she ships... lost about five strands so it looks too thin on that side. My wife does not like the part sculpted hair/part rooted but I actually think it looks ok, it would be hard to get her intricate braids and part to work in fully rooted but I would prefer that over fully sculpted as then should could not move her head to shoot her bow correctly.

Her accessories are great, the bow and knives are all excellent. A complaint I have is the lack of articulated ankles as it prevents any sort of realistic fighting stance but I think she looks good.

 

[Glennfett]

Looks good to me.beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
And seriously...someone actually called a company and figure worst of the year???
What figures has that guy put out recently??
Seriously, some collectors!

 

[drjedisith]

wow travis! yours does look pretty damn good. i wouldnt say worse company. i agree thats a bit harsh. asmus is trying. i love how they actually come on here amidst the backlash and still try to get input. thanks for that asmus! im sure they will find their stride. already merry and pip look amazing!

 

[Neko]

Travis, yours does look fantastic !

 

[TripleCP]

Travis's does actually look pretty good. I don't know if Asmus plans to do another head sculpt or just offer fixed version of the existing one to those who received ones the were melted and/or have raccoon eyes, but if another sculpt is done I'd rather have all sculpted hair rather than all rooted even if it means limited articulation (Sideshow's Baroness is far and away my favorite female figure of the past couple years). Trying to go all rooted would be a mess with Tauriel's hairstyle. If they stick with the mixed style then I hope they do a better job with how the hair near her ears is attached both with ensuring that it doesn't easily fall out and with adding a little bit more to cover that gap in front of her ears.

Michael Crawford did not call Asmus the worst company of 2015; he named their LotR/Hobbit line as the worst high end line, and said he did so with reluctance because they had made strides to address their problems and showed improvement. The two pieces he singled out for individual criticism were Eowyn (too Barbie-looking with some bad accessories) and the Nazgul Steed (problems with the articulation). He said he was really impressed with Bard prior to encountering forearm issues and clearly judged Asmus's Aragorn to be better overall than ACI's. He's waiting to review Saruman in-hand and I am sure will give that one a thumbs up, as well.

 

[epitaph04]

Looks good to me.beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
And seriously...someone actually called a company and figure worst of the year???
What figures has that guy put out recently??
Seriously, some collectors!

MWC does reviews. He's a reviewer and has been doing reviews for a long time. Why does he have to release a toy to be able to release an opinion? If howard chan said asmus sucked, would you be onboard with it then?

 

[Travis Baumann]

Michael Crawford did not call Asmus the worst company of 2015; he named their LotR/Hobbit line as the worst high end line, and said he did so with reluctance because they had made strides to address their problems and showed improvement. The two pieces he singled out for individual criticism were Eowyn (too Barbie-looking with some bad accessories) and the Nazgul Steed (problems with the articulation). He said he was really impressed with Bard prior to encountering forearm issues and clearly judged Asmus's Aragorn to be better overall than ACI's. He's waiting to review Saruman in-hand and I am sure will give that one a thumbs up, as well.

I think some of SSC's misses this year were pretty bad and they absolutely ignore the issues and their customers. Not sure why Michael has to even have a "Worst" line category but each to their own. I like my Eowyn, I don't think she is Barbie-esque at all other than she is blond and her accessories are great, cool functioning helmet, metal sword, and a shield. I also like my steed, super impressive display. I wish it could stand on its own or had a better support stand but I found a good pose for him and the light up eyes are one of the best light up features in my collection. I definitely disagree with him on the Aragorn as well, ACI's is really epic and I love him in my collection. As stated in this thread, I am very happy with Tauriel and I just got my Saruman and I think he is awesome.

I used to love Michael's reviews and read them all before purchases but the more figures I buy, the more I realize my criteria and tastes differ from his. I also feel that a lot of his reviews are a bit predictable and sometimes can be overly generous for SSC/Hot Toys where I have issues and then vice versa with other manufacturers where I am satisfied and he is not. Just differences of opinion. One thing I would be curious about is how many of the figures he pays out of pocket for and how many the manufacturers send him for review purposes, as much a one may try not to be biased by such things, it would be hard to separate your bank account from this hobby entirely.

 

[dortizjr1]

Travis, your pics are excellent. My Tauriel looks exactly like yours except for the thinner hair on the left side of mine. It really is a negligible issue and she just looks great over all. I'm quite satisfied with this figure.

 

[Stryker2011]

I think some of SSC's misses this year were pretty bad and they absolutely ignore the issues and their customers. Not sure why Michael has to even have a "Worst" line category but each to their own. I like my Eowyn, I don't think she is Barbie-esque at all other than she is blond and her accessories are great, cool functioning helmet, metal sword, and a shield. I also like my steed, super impressive display. I wish it could stand on its own or had a better support stand but I found a good pose for him and the light up eyes are one of the best light up features in my collection. I definitely disagree with him on the Aragorn as well, ACI's is really epic and I love him in my collection. As stated in this thread, I am very happy with Tauriel and I just got my Saruman and I think he is awesome.

I used to love Michael's reviews and read them all before purchases but the more figures I buy, the more I realize my criteria and tastes differ from his. I also feel that a lot of his reviews are a bit predictable and sometimes can be overly generous for SSC/Hot Toys where I have issues and then vice versa with other manufacturers where I am satisfied and he is not. Just differences of opinion. One thing I would be curious about is how many of the figures he pays out of pocket for and how many the manufacturers send him for review purposes, as much a one may try not to be biased by such things, it would be hard to separate your bank account from this hobby entirely.

I have to agree with this. Does anyone remember when Sideshow first started out and they were putting out figures with floppy bodies and inferior materials? Oh, wait... they're still doing that, and somehow they get a pass. Nearly twenty years later and those a-holes are still putting out figures with bodies that crumble to pieces, glue that leaches onto the cloth, inaccurate head sculpts, and they have the nerve to charge HT prices for their crap, which is on about the same par as Asmus, but at least Asmus is trying to improve, and I think each new release is improving. If any company should be on the Worst List it should be Sideshow.

 

[Glennfett]

MWC does reviews. He's a reviewer and has been doing reviews for a long time. Why does he have to release a toy to be able to release an opinion? If howard chan said asmus sucked, would you be onboard with it then?

I think it shocked me that I seen the response from batsheva, and so responded accordingly.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, whether it be good or bad.
As to your question, no.

 

[sabin23]

The pics of Tauriel from this German site seem indicate that not all of these were as badly flawed as the ones posted here. Still has issues with the likeness, the rooted hair, and bulky clothes, but the face doesn't appear as melted or misshapen as in other examples.

Asmus Toys: Tauriel, Daughter of Mirkwood (The Hobbit)

Thank you providing this German review - Google Translate did a relatively good job converting the review to English. It's so rare to find a good written review (with pictures) now that everything is on Youtube.

I took Tauriel out of the box about a month ago but I was so disappointed with the sculpt, that I put it in storage and haven't looked at the figure since then.

But after seeing some these new pictures posted, maybe it's not so bad after all.... or perhaps I'm suffering from this hobby's equivalent of Stockholm syndrome. I need to take a look at my figure again, perhaps it just needs proper lighting or displayed at a certain angle

I'm hoping Asmus will have a replacement program (doubtful) but I'm just going to have to accept the reality that this will be the only 1:6 Evangeline Lilly until possibly a Hot Toys Wasp in 2018 or 2019.

 

[hoodonit00]

Thank you providing this German review - Google Translate did a relatively good job converting the review to English. It's so rare to find a good written review (with pictures) now that everything is on Youtube.

I took Tauriel out of the box about a month ago but I was so disappointed with the sculpt, that I haven't looked at the figure since then.

But after seeing some these other pictures, maybe it's not so bad after all. I need to take a look at my figure again, perhaps it just needs proper lighting or displayed at a certain angle.

I'm hoping Asmus will have a replacement program (doubtful) but I think I'm just going to have to accept the reality that this will be the only 1:6 Evangeline Lilly until possibly a Hot Toys Wasp in 2018 or 2019.

They have already said they will be working on a replacement head sculpt which will be supples free to those who purchased Tauriel. Thats why it drives me nuts some of the harsh responses Asmus gets. SST never replaced any of their head sculpts which varied so much from proto type. How many melting Bat Man suits has HT replaced? How many peeling domes from the ED figure? How mant split muscle bodies? Not a one that I know of.

 

[superdoug]

Well I definitely do not see them as the worst company. Most of their figures have been steadily getting better. Yes there are still some issues but they seem to be addressing them and they are communicating with us that they do hear them and are making changes because of them.

They started with the WK. a lot of the bodies were floppy so they decided to change and have their own designed. Took a while but it seems like they are better. With Bard people had issues with the wrist so the changed the wrist peg and also sent it replacements to those that requested. Now they are saying they are going to be putting in extra pegs with future releases. These are steps that I would think most people would appreciate. Throw in the replacement bodies they are doing for the Nazgul and the extra head sculpt they are doing for Gandalf the White (even if you have to buy it with another figure, SS never went back and tried to rectify bad sculpts) and you have a company that is trying hard to please their customers. Even in the female figure side I would say Tauriel is steps ahead of Eowyn so again progress. Plus paint apps on Bard and Strider heads sculpts are better than any I have seen except some of Hot Toys figures.

Right now for me personally, I would rank them below Hot Toys, slightly ahead of SS (price point, extras like Strider' base, head sculpt paint and customer interaction pushes them past SS in my opinion) and below then would be threezero and star ace. Not close to being worst to me.

 

[superdoug]

They have already said they will be working on a replacement head sculpt which will be supples free to those who purchased Tauriel. Thats why it drives me nuts some of the harsh responses Asmus gets. SST never replaced any of their head sculpts which varied so much from proto type. How many melting Bat Man suits has HT replaced? How many peeling domes from the ED figure? How mant split muscle bodies? Not a one that I know of.

Exactly.

I am still waiting for a replacement for the horrible Faramir paint job. Although to be fair if my memory is correct they took plenty of heat for it when it came out. Probably more than Asmus is getting here.

 

[CanadianBrandon]

I hope Asmus feels encouraged by some of these responses. I can understand it might feel like there is a lot of negative feedback in these forums but clearly there is also a lot of support for Asmus. Some people recognise the progress and improvements.
I still haven't received my Tauriel, which I have been contemplating selling as soon as she arrives, but these more recent photos are making me think that she may be worth holding on to.