INCREDIBLE 1/6 Indiana Jones head by Jonghyuk Park

[Raiders March]

It is awesome, but the eye colour is not right.
Ford has hazel eyes. Only thing that stands out to me.

 

[Gipetto0812]

very beautiful sculpt with equally amazing paint work to match. I don't think anyone can doubt that at all and of course the artists have the right to charge whatever they so choose. But, wooo I would never spend $800 or even close to that on something 1/6, even if money was no issue. When I collect, I collect to invest for something I can sell easily (and usually for a profit) if I have some hard times. I see so many times ppl who buy these expensive sculpts that then try to sell them on the boards here or elsewhere have such a hard time to sell it that they have to lower the price of what they paid in order to sell b/c the ppl who would spend the $800-$1000 for these already have them.

But again, it's fantastic and my rant is not to take anything away from these crazy good sculpts.

...
The thing that really rubs me the wrong way about customs is how elitist the high-end of it is. Just the super pretentious, "I have something that you don't" end of it.

...

I agree with your last statement though. There is a snobbery. I don't like it either.

There's definitely a lot of that to go around even if it wasn't when it came to this sculpt. I see it in clothing runs that I lurk in

But like anything "higher-end," the lower-end stuff all of sudden isn't good enough anymore and probably never will be. Just the nature of anything. If you're out there driving a Lambo, a Challenger or Camero is nothing to you. If you're in a Rolls, what's a Mercedes to you? If you got a mansion, a 4 bedroom house is not enough for you. Just the way things work unfortunately no matter what "scale" you're buying at. I'm on the transformers forums as well and those guys think anything over $100 for a really nice screen accurate movie based figure (that still transforms btw & isn't 3A or P1) is way too much money to spend b/c they're used to buying what you see at your local store for $20-$40. And for them, HT and Sideshow etc are all for the "rich" ppl. It's all relative.

 

[Chubs&Doggers]

Definitely a great looking sculpt. Limiting it to a hard 30 allows people to pay $800 a lot easier. I?m sure the resale value is quite high if one found its way onto eBay though. I have the jinx (I think that?s right) ANH solo and payed close to $200 for it I think.. if not more. I thought that was a crazy price at the time. Spending as much on a head sculpt as one would on a single figure?! & now spending close to 4x that for a head sculpt. Out of my budget for sure.

I would love to see the full 1/6 collection of the people who have it though! Probably pretty epic!

 

[Raymond F.]

In this instance, it is the person who commissioned the sculpt who has limited the numbers. It sounds like the sculptor would have done more but his hands are tied by the agreement that's been made with he private individual who commissioned the work. Very elitist.

There is a lot of misinformation here that I feel a bit compelled to clarify, some of which that has graciously been communicated by a few guys on this thread already, so apologies as I don't intend to beat a dead horse just provide more facts and added perspective on several comments made in this thread but not directed at any one person.

Indeed the 30 cap was decided by Buffy, not the run organizer as implied above, who advocated to actually change it from 20 which was the Deckard size, otherwise it would have went up to 3000 if Buffy was willing.

Painting something 30 times is not easy nor attractive to most. It's in poor form to suggest hypothetical numbers about the artist's business model claiming what is and is not profitable for them. The only commodity you really have at the end of the day is time, and I can assure you, at a precise junction, you yield the chance to make more money by starting a new project with that time than wasting it by dragging on an old one. But ultimately, it's a moot point as it is the artist's decision who decides what their time and product is worth based on who is willing to pay for that product. So a certain price point may not be attractive to many, or perhaps even any, but it all comes down to how much value does that item have to you and what you are willing and able to pay for it.

It is also in poor form to suggest that artists (even if it's not the one in question) have "terrible customer service". Communication is one thing and I've worked with a few bad apples as we all have, but I'll stand for run organizer or custom community critique but not something that implies, out of pure speculation mind you, that Mr. Park is anything other than a consummate professional and a gentleman. And many other artists as well. Just because you want something and are able to pay for it even, the artist is not obligated to give it to you. If an artist takes your money and does not deliver the product this is the only time a comment like this is warranted.

Lastly, in an ideal world everything can be available to everyone. It's wrong to assume someone is elitist because they partake in the custom market. There are a precise few that value something because it is elusive but I can assure you my school of thought and I'd wager to say the vast majority of the contemporary customs community don't value that. Those guys have gone by the waste side crying about the way their old Rainman figures lost value as the hobby evolved from full numbered releases to item-specific builds. We value getting the best version of characters that we love and enjoy the continual process of upgrading him or her. If anything health and inclusion in the community is extra attractive as it provides more possibilities to get projects off the ground and it inspires new talented artists to get in the mix too.

Aside from respecting the way Buffy wants to work with private runs only, avoiding recasting probability was indeed a factor in the selection but "trustworthy" goes deeper as you can't combat recasting once an item changes hands several times on the aftermarket. Trustworthy also solicits people who commit to a project and pay on time, who are respectful to the artist and to each other. There's nothing worse than running a project when a lot of people flake on the payment leaving the run organizer or the artist holding the bag. In many cases people desperately had to get the funds together in a short time, but they still did so because they valued the item enough not to want to miss it. You have to understand that this is sometimes why artists like to cap when the demand is high too. It seriously sucks how inconsiderate some people can be.

If you were an active member of this very forum posting regularly and with passion on the Indy customs thread there is a good chance that you were contacted to be a part of it as a genuine attempt was made. Of course there are great guys with solid reps who were missed in that section (and others) too and that really is unfortunate and definitely not intentional but it?s also part of how it goes sometimes unfortunately.

I have great empathy for this as I have missed out on projects, had to pay on the after market. And I will again many times. It stings BIG time. The best chance you have is to be not only here but on custom one sixth, facebook, Instagram build a community of people who look out for one another and give each other heads up on stuff and even after all that you will still miss out on a few things.

The only surefire way to ensure you don't is if you run it or create it yourself. It's easy to sit on the sidelines being frustrates about not being included (and again that does suck big time) but if you are putting in the active effort approaching artists, gathering interest lists, hustling for payments, providing creative guidance and acting as a liaison and building trust with artists you will be rewarded. Not financially, definitely not. You pay as much as any other and in some cases even more than the others on the run, especially with the time investment. You get the reward of having your character made and having a few good people who also want it and are willing to split the cost with you and in most cases, that?s part of the fun too.

I do love the spirit in which this thread was creates though, and really think it's important to showcase the magnificent work of Buffy. One of the most talented artists in this hobby maybe the most talented!

 

[cking]

Raymond F. I messaged buffy on instagram as soon as I saw this sculpt before I posted it here. It was him who told me that the run was limited to 30 by the private individual who commissioned him to do it. Maybe it's a language barrier thing, but that's the response I got directly from the artist. I wouldn't make such a statement based on only an assumption.

 

[Raymond F.]

Raymond F. I messaged buffy on instagram as soon as I saw this sculpt before I posted it here. It was him who told me that the run was limited to 30 by the private individual who commissioned him to do it. Maybe it's a language barrier thing, but that's the response I got directly from the artist. I wouldn't make such a statement based on only an assumption.

Being the individual that commissioned it, (if that was not clear rom the above) and as others confirmed in this thread I can assure you that is not the case.

 

[snoop101]

Who cares.

 

[Mr.E]

I definitely regret not going for it, I will say that. I guess I will just have to vicariously enjoy seeing it in other folk's collections (hopefully people post in-hand photos). However, there will always be more Indy sculpts down the road.

 

[EcklecticBadges]

Raymond F wrote:
It is also in poor form to suggest that artists (even if it's not the one in question) have "terrible customer service". Communication is one thing and I've worked with a few bad apples as we all have, but I'll stand for run organizer or custom community critique but not something that implies, out of pure speculation mind you, that Mr. Park is anything other than a consummate professional and a gentleman. And many other artists as well. Just because you want something and are able to pay for it even, the artist is not obligated to give it to you. If an artist takes your money and does not deliver the product this is the only time a comment like this is warranted.


My response:
It's not poor form to say that I find many artists to have terrible customer service skills if that is my own personal experience from interacting with them over the years. Which sadly it is. Unless you somehow had knowledge of my interactions with those artists, which you don't, then just on what basis can you claim that it is poor form? If your experiences with many artists is different from mine then good for you.

 

[bmarz1000]

Being the individual that commissioned it, (if that was not clear rom the above) and as others confirmed in this thread I can assure you that is not the case.

Trust me, dude. It was CRYSTAL clear it was your commission from the length of your post.

 

[Raymond F.]

Trust me, dude. It was CRYSTAL clear it was your commission from the length of your post.

as it was intended! But apparently there was still doubt after I set the record straight.

 

[higgins1989]

Having a great time reading these comments and seeing peoples opinions.

Art is wonderfully subjective and in my opinion this is nowhere near and $800.00 piece. Despite criticisms I will keep and be very satisfied with my MJ Choi Indy painted by Mark Simpson.

For anyone that got this enjoy it. Anyone that likes it I hope they do another run.

Someone mentioned the elitism in customs often takes over the art and that happens far too often.

 

[higgins1989]

very beautiful sculpt with equally amazing paint work to match. I don't think anyone can doubt that at all and of course the artists have the right to charge whatever they so choose. But, wooo I would never spend $800 or even close to that on something 1/6, even if money was no issue. When I collect, I collect to invest for something I can sell easily (and usually for a profit) if I have some hard times. I see so many times ppl who buy these expensive sculpts that then try to sell them on the boards here or elsewhere have such a hard time to sell it that they have to lower the price of what they paid in order to sell b/c the ppl who would spend the $800-$1000 for these already have them.

But again, it's fantastic and my rant is not to take anything away from these crazy good sculpts.





There's definitely a lot of that to go around even if it wasn't when it came to this sculpt. I see it in clothing runs that I lurk in

But like anything "higher-end," the lower-end stuff all of sudden isn't good enough anymore and probably never will be. Just the nature of anything. If you're out there driving a Lambo, a Challenger or Camero is nothing to you. If you're in a Rolls, what's a Mercedes to you? If you got a mansion, a 4 bedroom house is not enough for you. Just the way things work unfortunately no matter what "scale" you're buying at. I'm on the transformers forums as well and those guys think anything over $100 for a really nice screen accurate movie based figure (that still transforms btw & isn't 3A or P1) is way too much money to spend b/c they're used to buying what you see at your local store for $20-$40. And for them, HT and Sideshow etc are all for the "rich" ppl. It's all relative.

You ever seen the interior of some of those homes for the extremely wealthy, you guys would die laughing. Some of them have style but most be looking like our grandmas house with the art and furniture lol.

 

[Raymond F.]

Having a great time reading these comments and seeing peoples opinions.

Art is wonderfully subjective and in my opinion this is nowhere near and $800.00 piece. Despite criticisms I will keep and be very satisfied with my MJ Choi Indy painted by Mark Simpson.

For anyone that got this enjoy it. Anyone that likes it I hope they do another run.

Someone mentioned the elitism in customs often takes over the art and that happens far too often.

To be clear, the new normal (if it is indeed the new normal) for pricing is also something I don't care for in a general way as a customer/collector but as an artist It's somewhat encouraging to see as the time for money gap is something I never could recon with and why I never took commissions myself. I mean this is A LOT of money we are talking about here so it does reserve for the most desirable of characters which I think for many Indy is hence the 30 list and those knocking down the door for one.

Always liked the MJ indy too, probably my favorite of the sculpts already out there before this... it's a shame he was so drastically off with his scale though.

 

[thedarkknight]

For $800.00 that head better do special favors for you.

 

[nexus]

I don’t get the argument here. It’s not like this is the world so most expensive 1/6 commission. The market is based on what folks are willing to pay, whether $80, $800 or $8,000. While $800 is a lot, there are a few portraits I’d pay that much for—Indy, Deckard, Roy Batty, ANH Luke Skywalker, probably Lando, and maybe Kirk. For that price I’d expect it to be perfect, and IMO this one hits that mark. While it would be have been nice to have gotten one, I’m certainly not losing any sleep over it. There will always, always be something new.

 

[amarcord]

Beautiful sculpt, really, certainly one of the best I have seen, if not the best.

Congratulations to all the lucky buyers/owners.

 

[cking]

I'm consoling myself with the fact that his Deckard sculpt has a better Ford likeness so even if I'd been lucky enough to get Indy, I probably would have been a bit disappointed that it wasn't as perfect as the Deckard. It was the same with Jnix's Indy - it looked really good without the hat, but as soon as the hat went on, it threw the likeness off. To my eyes at least, the same happens with this Indy.

 

[davejames]

Honestly I don't think it really comes any closer to Ford than Inigo's V2 sculpt. And that modified Choi still tops both. If there's any Indy sculpt I would want to pay $800 for, it would be that one.

 

[dwing]

What we really need is all the tops sculpts painted by one painter. I find that on one sculpt a certain painter will bring out just the right detail or sometimes it's the unpainted sculpt that really nails it.

As for the cost, I never feel that everything made should be at a cost point that anyone can buy. It's just not how life works. If person's can commission and afford a 1k sculpt all the power too them. People pay 400$ for leather boots. Am I jealous, yep. But good for them. Just show me pictures of your collection so I can live through you. We should be happy for those that can afford it. In the end it benefits all of us. It causes a surge in less costly options once the demand is there.

Currently my $$ is going to my house, redoing the back yard=more $ when we sale and move, which will allow for more cash for fun later.

Unfortunately I see an attitude (not just this hobby) of If I can't have neither should you. That's sad IMO.