Gandalf vs. Balrog Diorama First Pics

[quadcent]

well from the first pics, i'm glad that i kept this one on order.
i don't even really mind gandalf.
if i were to have one complaint it's the rather largely visable seem on the section of balrog horn that need to be attached.
it seems quite unsightly, or maybe i'm overreacting, but it just seems to be to noticable to me.

 

[Kratos]

well from the first pics, i'm glad that i kept this one on order.
i don't even really mind gandalf.
if i were to have one complaint it's the rather largely visable seem on the section of balrog horn that need to be attached.
it seems quite unsightly, or maybe i'm overreacting, but it just seems to be to noticable to me.

Yea for some reason that bothers me too
One of the Reasons Gandalf should of been sculpted into the Balrog's CHest

 

[DinoDB1975]

This final batch of pics were taken by my girlfriend, who actually knows how to use the SLR. The pics are a hell of a lot better than mine, and show close ups of Gandalf as well as the Balrog's face. I really like the detail of the Balrog's mouth, and did not know that the Balrog's lower jaw is almost like a mandible type appendage a la the Predator. A size comparison of the piece next to the Gandalf the Grey 12" figure is included as well.

Again, I really like this piece. The Balrog sculpt is phenomenal, and I really like the dynamic action pose of actually falling down Khazadum. The Gandalf piece is going to the the dividing line; he does look cartoonish, but the argument could be made that it is difficult to maintain the accuracy of Sir Ian McKellen's likeness in that scale. The counter-argument could be made that the recently released pics of Frodo in the Shades of Mordor dio is spot-on, but we won't know how much larger (relatively) Frodo is until the dio is released.

My only two complaints: the point of attachment for Gandalf to the rest of the dio is the Balrog's left horn; to connect Gandalf, Sideshow designed Gandalf holding a part of the Balrog's horn, and you snap that part onto the connecting end of the Balrog's horn. Unfortunately, the connection point is not seamless; you can really tell up close where the horn break is. I wonder if Sideshow could have designed it so that the entire left horn was solid with a small hole to attach Gandlaf via a peg in his hand.

The second complaint is the attachment of the flame whip. The whip itself is translucent, and attaches via a peg to Gandalf's leg/ankle. However, the three prong end of the Balrog's whip that is wrapped around Gandalf is orange polystone, so the contrast of regular polystone vs. the translucent material of the whip is a little jarring.

In conclusion, I really enjoy this piece. It's my first LOTR dio, and The Duel of Light and Fire is one of my favorite scenes in the movies and books.

 

[LOTRFan]

I wonder why the grip color on Glamdring is wrong (brown) they got it right on the 12" fig - and of course the Weta pieces?

 

[Kratos]

I wonder why the grip color on Glamdring is wrong (brown) they got it right on the 12" fig - and of course the Weta pieces?

Yeap the color of the Grip on Glamdring on my GoS is the right Blue Color

 

[quadcent]

another point that hopefully doesn't occur is that since balrog's whip is now plastic instead of poly we might see some sagging over time. maybe not.
just kinda looks like the same problem alot of people are having with the kiani statues, though with them the plastic is supporting more wieght

everyone in hot climates better keep this sucker in the cooler or have airconditioning

 

[user 122]

Yea for some reason that bothers me too
One of the Reasons Gandalf should of been sculpted into the Balrog's CHest

I think the way they have the pieces attaching will definately lend it's self for some customizing. You can re-sculpt the small remaining horn piece and then a new custom Gandalf that sits on the Balrog's chest without destroying the piece.

Something like this:

 

[Malice]

that thing looks freaking awsome!

 

[Adoptedscot]

Thanks for the piccies and the review DinoDB1975 .
I have started a thread in the review section with it so people have easy access to it.
x

 

[The Ringer]

This turned out great!

Thanks for the pictures Dino!

 

[DinoDB1975]

I wonder why the grip color on Glamdring is wrong (brown) they got it right on the 12" fig - and of course the Weta pieces?

Good eye. I didn't catch that until you mentioned it. That's too bad, but a little custom paint job should fix that.

 

[toystales]

A good LOTR dio this is. Now I just have to wait for mine to arrive in the mail.

 

[DinoDB1975]

Wow thanks for the Pics man and congrats on your Edition Number #26

You're welcome. Yeah, I was pretty stoked when I saw the low edition number.

 

[DinoDB1975]

Are you able to put some pics of it one Display?

I've got some pics of my display that I'll post later, but I'm not sure where I'll display this dio yet.

I think I've got a pretty nifty little collection (I posted an inventory of my pieces in the Register thread), but I will be the first to say that my display area SUCKS. I don't have much space, so all my pieces are displayed in the back of my living room. I had two choices: display my pieces in what space I have, or keep them boxed up. The latter choice is no choice at all; what's the point of collecting if your pieces are going to remain boxed up?

On an unrelated note, can someone tell me how to post multiple quotes from different posts in one reply?

 

[quadcent]

Good eye. I didn't catch that until you mentioned it. That's too bad, but a little custom paint job should fix that.

yep just a little touch up is all that's required for that fix.

You're welcome. Yeah, I was pretty stoked when I saw the low edition number.

yeah i noticed that also, nice low number.

I've got some pics of my display that I'll post later, but I'm not sure where I'll display this dio yet.

I think I've got a pretty nifty little collection (I posted an inventory of my pieces in the Register thread), but I will be the first to say that my display area SUCKS. I don't have much space, so all my pieces are displayed in the back of my living room. I had two choices: display my pieces in what space I have, or keep them boxed up. The latter choice is no choice at all; what's the point of collecting if your pieces are going to remain boxed up?

On an unrelated note, can someone tell me how to post multiple quotes from different posts in one reply?

after you've done replying to one quote just highlight the whole quote and reply and cut or copy it, then when you go to reply/quote to next response, just paste it and type in your next response.
just make sure you leave a line or two between each cut and paste, that way it's a bit more legiable.

 

[creature4000]

A good LOTR dio this is. Now I just have to wait for mine to arrive in the mail.

Yoda?????

 

[GondorGirl]

after you've done replying to one quote just highlight the whole quote and reply and cut or copy it, then when you go to reply/quote to next response, just paste it and type in your next response.
just make sure you leave a line or two between each cut and paste, that way it's a bit more legiable.

or you could just use the multiquote button, bottom right of the post, second button in

 

[DinoDB1975]

Thanks for the piccies and the review DinoDB1975 .
I have started a thread in the review section with it so people have easy access to it.
x

You're welcome. Glad to be of service. The Uruk-Hai Berserker Exclusive PF should hopefully be arriving next month, and I hope to post another thread/review. Thanks to all for bearing with the growing pains of my first thread; I'll be sure to resize the pics the next time I post so that they will fit on the screen without having to pan and scan.

 

[DinoDB1975]

This final batch of pics were taken by my girlfriend, who actually knows how to use the SLR. The pics are a hell of a lot better than mine, and show close ups of Gandalf as well as the Balrog's face. I really like the detail of the Balrog's mouth, and did not know that the Balrog's lower jaw is almost like a mandible type appendage a la the Predator. A size comparison of the piece next to the Gandalf the Grey 12" figure is included as well.

Again, I really like this piece. The Balrog sculpt is phenomenal, and I really like the dynamic action pose of actually falling down Khazadum. The Gandalf piece is going to the the dividing line; he does look cartoonish, but the argument could be made that it is difficult to maintain the accuracy of Sir Ian McKellen's likeness in that scale. The counter-argument could be made that the recently released pics of Frodo in the Shades of Mordor dio is spot-on, but we won't know how much larger (relatively) Frodo is until the dio is released.

My only two complaints: the point of attachment for Gandalf to the rest of the dio is the Balrog's left horn; to connect Gandalf, Sideshow designed Gandalf holding a part of the Balrog's horn, and you snap that part onto the connecting end of the Balrog's horn. Unfortunately, the connection point is not seamless; you can really tell up close where the horn break is. I wonder if Sideshow could have designed it so that the entire left horn was solid with a small hole to attach Gandlaf via a peg in his hand.

The second complaint is the attachment of the flame whip. The whip itself is translucent, and attaches via a peg to Gandalf's leg/ankle. However, the three prong end of the Balrog's whip that is wrapped around Gandalf is orange polystone, so the contrast of regular polystone vs. the translucent material of the whip is a little jarring.

In conclusiion, I really enjoy this piece. It's my first LOTR dio, and The Duel of Light and Fire is one of my favorite scenes in the movies and books.

I apologize for quoting my own post, but the first two pics on the top really don't make Gandalf seem that cartoonish. I guess I didn't really check him out that closely.

 

[quadcent]

or you could just use the multiquote button, bottom right of the post, second button in

and and i've never noticed that icon before.
i've always just cut and pasted