GaryPool
Super Freak
Got her in yesterday, going to open up later today. Looking forward to seeing how the silicone has come out and the nice shiny armour!
Looking forward to your review!
Also, semi-related: Daniel said in the recent live stream that Batfleck won’t make it this year but probably next year.
It was on Youtube two nights ago. However, I caught it late, so it was already almost over I guess when I started it from the begging b/c just a few minutes in, it switched it to private so no one could watch the replay afterwards. So, I only got to hear that bit about Batfleck, what I posted in the Indy thread and then it cut off and switched to private right when they were about to start talking about the next 1/6 figure, which sounded like it was going to be Bale Batman but I'm not sure.Cheers mate, Batfleck is a relief being delayed!
Which live stream was that?
It was on Youtube two nights ago. However, I caught it late, so it was already almost over I guess when I started it from the begging b/c just a few minutes in, it switched it to private so no one could watch the replay afterwards. So, I only got to hear that bit about Batfleck, what I posted in the Indy thread and then it cut off and switched to private right when they were about to start talking about the next 1/6 figure, which sounded like it was going to be Bale Batman but I'm not sure.
Nah, this wasn't one of the standard JND news videos. This was a live stream literally just Daniel sitting somewhere with some iphone headphones probaby using his phone answering a few questions that he could from those who were on the live which is how I got the info regarding Batfleck and Indy. Then, he switched from reading comments and saying whether or not he can answers something someone asked and switched gears to talk about the next 1/6 figure, but it cut off and said "this video is private" so I couldn't watch the rest.Ahh, is this the monthly video Daniel does? I can't remember the Batfleck commentary but he was definitely heavily implying that the next 1/6 will be Bale's Batman.
Nah, this wasn't one of the standard JND news videos. This was a live stream literally just Daniel sitting somewhere with some iphone headphones probaby using his phone answering a few questions that he could from those who were on the live which is how I got the info regarding Batfleck and Indy. Then, he switched from reading comments and saying whether or not he can answers something someone asked and switched gears to talk about the next 1/6 figure, but it cut off and said "this video is private" so I couldn't watch the rest.
How strange, I was unaware of that. Wonder why it's not kept and made private? So what did he say about Indy? And Affleck is not going up for pre-order this year at all?
So in terms of JL WW, I'm conflicted. On one hand, this is undoubtedly their best statue, the paint applications and hair are somehow improved even more, being their best yet. The sculpt, is 100% Gal Gadot, no doubt about it for me. Even standing 3/4 behind her the realism and likeness is very unsettling. Putting the statue on a plinth so you can walk around her is incredible, the pose, musculature and overall aesthetic is impeccable. It is an incredibly, incredibly beautiful pose and statue.
Out of Arthur Fleck, Bale Batman, Pattinson Batman, WW84 and Joker (being the statues I own), this has the most presence (a lot down to the design of WW being great in general and the colours popping), she definitely has the most interesting pose, very dynamic in its stillness.
The Silicone is firm on the legs and chest, the arms are absolutely fine.
I do have a paint defect, though, on the back of her leg, which is very noticeable, so have contacted JND regarding it, bit disappointing - will see what they say regarding it.
Now the other hand, if this was the only statue I owned and the first, considering it is a miniature very fully realised sculpture of a person, an incredible art statue at that, then I'd say it was worth the money that I paid (which is bordering on twice the cost of WW84). However, there's other statues JND have made, which are all art pieces, and there are some which are more intricate, how Joker cost around 1800 considering he had a fully tailored 3-piece suit made of real cloth compared ot this I have no idea. The Silicone is attached very well to the resin, and it's more firm in areas with better paint applications, so they've clearly created a new formula. But, yeah I just don't see why this is as much as it is, regardless of being their best statue.
But overall, when I get the paint issue sorted, I'm very happy with this. I'll never pay that much again for a statue from them. But this is a real gem in the collection, I think noticeably better than WW84 also.
Some quick photos:
View attachment 683528View attachment 683529View attachment 683531View attachment 683532View attachment 683533View attachment 683534
I believe most people consider Mera to be a huge hit (in execution, perhaps not in popularity) regardless what people thinks about the actress. I think JND is top notch when it comes to the ladies but falls short when it comes to the males. This is kind of the opposite problem other companies are having.Congratulations , I'm so glad you like the piece! For a minute I was worried you'd be affected by the hype, and the reality might not have met your expectations. The price is a bitter pill to swallow, that's for sure - what's even more worrying, this was the price of this "top draw" piece when it went up for pre-order in 2022 (?) - so, as the March of inflation and the gradual devaluing of money continues - God only knows what the next "top draw" piece from JND will cost.....
One thing about this piece, that has got me thinking though - where does JND go from here? I don't mean in terms of character, but just in terms of technical creativity. I'm imagining that at this point, at least for JND, this might signal a period of technical stagnation. In that time, I imagine the competition will catch up (to be fair, they're not that far behind) - and JND's pricing policies will become an indefensible laughing stock.....one needs only cast an eye over the performance of their The Witcher piece to see this is already happening! Even though Blitzway is a bit hit or miss, most people (it seems) would rather take their chance with Blitzway, then pay more than double the price for the JND piece.....to be fair, I'm one of those people. And that's also considering the Blitzway piece still has a "TBC" for the edition size, and JND has confirmed theirs to be 500 on the nose.
In my opinion, 2023 was an unmitigated flop for JND, with practically every release being a partial or complete miss (except for their 1/6 Joker) - I'd almost be tempted to advise JND to cut their losses and throw in 100% on the 1/6 Kojun Works brand, I've got a bad feeling that the statue figure brand has hit its ceiling, if not technically, then certainly commercially.
I believe most people consider Mera to be a huge hit (in execution, perhaps not in popularity) regardless what people thinks about the actress. I think JND is top notch when it comes to the ladies but falls short when it comes to the males. This is kind of the opposite problem other companies are having.
IMO the Witcher will be a tough one to sell if Blitzway's final production is as good as cat woman. Indy would have decent demand if the final production ends up with a much better likeness. Overall I am very happy with all their DC females and I think they are the best 1/3 representation of them you can buy.The Mera is one of my favorite JND statues and a great conversation starter when people see the statue in the collection.
The Witcher does not have the mass worldwide appeal of JND's other statues (DC, LOTR, etc) and is competing directly against Prime 1 statue, which is arguably better in some respects.
IMO the Witcher will be a tough one to sell if Blitzway's final production is as good as cat woman. Indy would have decent demand if the final production ends up with a much better likeness. Overall I am very happy with all their DC females and I think they are the best 1/3 representation of them you can buy.
While I don't disagree that the asking price for any JND product is edging on the ridiculous, I do prefer their S3 version of Cavill's Witcher over Blitzway's S2 when just looking at the two and not considering price. As most things, it comes down to person preference as I know I'm in the minority when it comes to that as from what I've read here and on other places online that many ppl like the S2 look. I'm not a JND fanboy either as I don't own any of their products and have already mentioned that I'm debating on canceling my JND JL Superman in hopes that Queen Studios actually comes through on their "stay tuned" when asked if they will be making a version of Cavill in his red and blue suit.Let's be honest, when it comes to The Witcher, it's Blitzway's win....they need to absolutely F it up - spectacularly - to even get the JND piece to start looking like a worthwhile purchase. Right now, a person would have to be a sworn fan of JND (rather than Henry Cavil, or even The Witcher himself) to put their hand n the pocket a pay the price JND is asking.
While I don't disagree that the asking price for any JND product is edging on the ridiculous, I do prefer their S3 version of Cavill's Witcher over Blitzway's S2 when just looking at the two and not considering price. As most things, it comes down to person preference as I know I'm in the minority when it comes to that as from what I've read here and on other places online that many ppl like the S2 look. I'm not a JND fanboy either as I don't own any of their products and have already mentioned that I'm debating on canceling my JND JL Superman in hopes that Queen Studios actually comes through on their "stay tuned" when asked if they will be making a version of Cavill in his red and blue suit.
yup I 100% agree with you. It seems JND have been, quite literally, "banking" on collector's love for a character and/or piece to override their senses when it comes to the price they're asking. Even with some pieces selling out, I've seen a decent amount of ppl seem to regret their purchases and are then selling for well below retail. I honestly love the look of the Reeve Set, so, even with the large price, I think it's worth it, for that one at least.That's fair, my argument is solely focused on pricing. If the JND piece(s) were more competitively priced, there would be a justifiable basis for "brand loyalty" and artistic preference, however, as it stands - even for individuals such as yourself, who prefer the JND arrangement over Blitzway, the question remains - is the JND effort worth more than twice as much as the Blitzway?
Cleary this is an individual choice, and nobody can / should want to tell others how they spend their money. I also wouldn't personally condemn anyone if they ordered the JND piece....it's simply an observation, given the fact that, even with an ES of 500 - the JND piece is still available on their own website (let alone retailer websites) more than two / three weeks post release - that JND has completely failed to read the market correctly, in both terms of their customers and the competition.....hint: the Basquiat piece is also rotting on the shelf at JND.....and even though they "faked" the "sell out" of Indiana Jones - just check retailers for availability - I'm not sure if such a small company like JND can afford many more "mis-reads".....we've just seen Oniri Studios go bankrupt this year - who could be next?
yup I 100% agree with you. It seems JND have been, quite literally, "banking" on collector's love for a character and/or piece to override their senses when it comes to the price they're asking. Even with some pieces selling out, I've seen a decent amount of ppl seem to regret their purchases and are then selling for well below retail.
I do like that JND tend to live up to their production pieces though. That's something I can't say I've seen Blitzway regularly accomplish, which is why I'm always weary of ordering their pieces. Even with the recent Catwoman turning out nice as mentioned above, the bit of fleshtone paint poking through the mask still isn't as top notch as the prototype. Now, is that worth the extra couple thousand that JND are charging to guarantee that protoype-like finish? Depends on the collector, but seems the majority are saying no, it's not worth it.
Congratulations , I'm so glad you like the piece! For a minute I was worried you'd be affected by the hype, and the reality might not have met your expectations. The price is a bitter pill to swallow, that's for sure - what's even more worrying, this was the price of this "top draw" piece when it went up for pre-order in 2022 (?) - so, as the March of inflation and the gradual devaluing of money continues - God only knows what the next "top draw" piece from JND will cost.....
One thing about this piece, that has got me thinking though - where does JND go from here? I don't mean in terms of character, but just in terms of technical creativity. I'm imagining that at this point, at least for JND, this might signal a period of technical stagnation. In that time, I imagine the competition will catch up (to be fair, they're not that far behind) - and JND's pricing policies will become an indefensible laughing stock.....one needs only cast an eye over the performance of their The Witcher piece to see this is already happening! Even though Blitzway is a bit hit or miss, most people (it seems) would rather take their chance with Blitzway, then pay more than double the price for the JND piece.....to be fair, I'm one of those people. And that's also considering the Blitzway piece still has a "TBC" for the edition size, and JND has confirmed theirs to be 500 on the nose.
In my opinion, 2023 was an unmitigated flop for JND, with practically every release being a partial or complete miss (except for their 1/6 Joker) - I'd almost be tempted to advise JND to cut their losses and throw in 100% on the 1/6 Kojun Works brand, I've got a bad feeling that the statue figure brand has hit its ceiling, if not technically, then certainly commercially.
I don't know why JND products are selling well below retail? Recently scored a TDK Batman 2-pack for a steal. Selling my single Batman is almost half-off. Ridiculous. Market in general for statues and collectibles I feel is all time low.100% agree. Blitzway AND Prime1 suffer from the age old "bait and switch" - when it comes to prototype vs production. This is why I suggested that this was Blitzway's win - IF they don't F it up. I'm not convinced that people will stampede to JND if Blitzway (inevitably) drop the quality in production - because the pricing is simply forcing even the hard-core supports away.
I've spent over $20k on JND pieces over 2022 - 2023 alone (not including taxes and handling fees) - I'm not saying that to brag (that's not a banner I'm happy to wave ) - my point is, as a collector who has invested in JND products - I'm tired of getting my pants dropped at every release. I want (no NEED) this hobby to come back down to a sane pricing level, and I'll be looking for cheaper (and equally competent) pieces from other companies before turning to JND - where ever possible.
I have only seen Bale and Ledger selling under retail. Mera also, but that one some are soured on Amber. All their other pieces are well above retail.I don't know why JND products are selling well below retail? Recently scored a TDK Batman 2-pack for a steal. Selling my single Batman is almost half-off. Ridiculous. Market in general for statues and collectibles I feel is all time low.
Enter your email address to join: