My Aragorn review

[The Josh]

Welcome hood!!

 

[screamingmetal]

Greetings all, this is my first post on this board. Ive lurked for years over at OSW. Thought id put my opinion on this thread. Im one of those who seen the first set of pics posted and thought " what a pc. of crap", fully expecting to return mine when I got it. When I opened it I was very happy with it. There were a couple differences as people have said, but I thought it was very close to the pics I seen on SST website. IMHO the headsculpt looks more like Aragorn than the one that is posted on the box. The lack of the weathering doesnt bother me in the least. What amazes me is that ive heard many times people complaining cause a prototype was weathered, they say that they'd rather do it themselves and here they have there chance. The biggest problem I see is that the boots are not as cool as the ones in the prototype, but I can deal with that. I rate this fig. 8.5 to 9. The LOTR trilogy are my favorite movies and im very psyched to collect this line.

Welcome to the board hoodonit00!
That's exactly what I'm puzzled about the most, originally when Dragon previewed their Mike Walker figure, a few people over on OSW didn't like the figure to be weathered and preferred to do that themselves. With Aragorn, a few people there are upset that he's not weathered enough like the Prototype. I'm not saying these are the exact same people but that's the general consensus I got on OSW. If anything, they're the most skilled to do weathering on his jacket.
The only thing I see lacking in the production from the prototype is the painting, everything else including the sculpt is what was there in the prototype. And I don't personally feel that a poor paint job is enough to cancel all the LOTR figures.

The photos that came out before people had their figures, damaged Sideshow's reputation the most. I'm not sure if Sideshow put out production pictures before they started to ship, but I feel that's the best way to prevent bad word of mouth. I agree that Sideshow should keep tighter reins on the way their figures are painted. Maybe they should go to Tempo painting (is that the correct term?) for all their production heads. I also feel like Sideshow should make their prototypes that they show to the public look as close to what we would get in production as possible. Right now, I think they make the prototypes look too good (obviously the samples they send to the factory should look their best).

You know the one thing about the clothing That bothers me the most that I feel a lot of people haven't picked up on is that Sideshow omitted the sleeves on Aragorn's shirt. I watched the FOTR soon after I got him and noticed that he took off his jacket towards the end of the movie and his shirt clearly had sleeves.

 

[Seaward]

You know the one thing about the clothing That bothers me the most that I feel a lot of people haven't picked up on is that Sideshow omitted the sleeves on Aragorn's shirt. I watched the FOTR soon after I got him and noticed that he took off his jacket towards the end of the movie and his shirt clearly had sleeves.

I was a little bugged by that too, but he does wear several shirts in the film. I can only assume that this shirt is based on what he wore prior to getting the hobbits to Rivendell, and we never see him without his duster in those scenes. This figure was so cool, I had to rewatch the Fellowship on DVD! I'll probably do the same when Leggy ships, etc...hours wasted!

 

[Michael Crawford]

You know the one thing about the clothing That bothers me the most that I feel a lot of people haven't picked up on is that Sideshow omitted the sleeves on Aragorn's shirt. I watched the FOTR soon after I got him and noticed that he took off his jacket towards the end of the movie and his shirt clearly had sleeves.

Full length sleeves? Hmm, I hadn't remembered that!

 

[screamingmetal]

Full length sleeves? Hmm, I hadn't remembered that!

Yeah, I looked online and the best screen cap I could find is this one:

I was a little bugged by that too, but he does wear several shirts in the film. I can only assume that this shirt is based on what he wore prior to getting the hobbits to Rivendell, and we never see him without his duster in those scenes. This figure was so cool, I had to rewatch the Fellowship on DVD! I'll probably do the same when Leggy ships, etc...hours wasted!

This is the only shirt I saw in FOTR and by the looks of it's distress I doubt he ever wore it again. It's also the same color as the figure's shirt. There's a nice detailing on the sleeves about where the figures shirt ended. It would've been nice to display him without the duster even though mine is currently in his cloak.
I look forward to Lagolas, and I might have to rewatch Fellowship again when he arrives.

 

[TheObsoleteMan]

I'm sure the sleeves were left off solely to make it easier to get the jacket on. They did the same thing with the Van Helsing figure. If Aragorn had full length sleeves, getting that jacket on without them bunching up in there would be hell.

 

[Customikey]

I'd never have displayed him without the duster, so it's a non-issue for me.

I think Strider is a truly impressively designed figure. The amount of pieces that went into his construction, the completeness of his accessories, the detail in minute items like the Ring of Barahir (which I checked against my 1:1 copy), and the sword WITH the utility knife, nd we even get an extra hand? C'mon! What a marvelous figure he is! I am so stoked about this line! Each figure is a banquet, a full package of complete joy well-crafted for my express pleasure. My opinion, my money, my toys. So there.:chew

 

[galactiboy]

I'm sure the sleeves were left off solely to make it easier to get the jacket on. They did the same thing with the Van Helsing figure. If Aragorn had full length sleeves, getting that jacket on without them bunching up in there would be hell.

Thats kinda what I was thinking... long sleeves can be a real pain. And like Mikey I feel Strider needs the duster at all times... and since I have the exclusive the cloak as well

 

[screamingmetal]

I understand why Sideshow released the figure without sleeves, they've done that more then once before. But it would've been nice to have the option of poseing him as he appeared at the end of the film.
The best solution would be to just pack the complete shirt separately in the package and have Aragorn wearing just the Vest and Duster. Maybe have a little bit of text explaining to people that he's not wearing his shirt because it would encumber the figure's movement, but it's included as an option.

 

[buffy-collector]

Who would display him without the duster anyways lol.
Truley a great piece.

 

[DavAnthony]

Well, I got my Stider today and I like it so much I placed myself on the wait list for the exclusive versions of Boromir and Legolas.
Does Strider look as good as the prototype pictures..no, but it is still an amazingly nice figure. The costume is unbelievably nice and well done. The headsculpt is the same as the prototype but the slight difference in paint applications can change anything.
Also by many of the pictures we have seen taken by fans alot is lost due to lighting, pose etc. I was preparted to be disapointed and was happy to see that the face paint has different shades and is nice and clean. The beard is also not glossy at all.

Perhaps Sideshow needs slightly better control over their mass-production painters but all in all Sideshow is a top notch company and they bring amazing characters to life so we can place them on our desks, mantles, etc.

I'm happy they have the 1/6 scale license for two of the best movie franchises.

Dave

 

[screamingmetal]

Who would display him without the duster anyways lol.
Truley a great piece.

Michael Crawford might, he did say he liked the way the figure looked out of the duster in his review.
Actually it's a 1/6 figure, so you can always display him in or out of the Duster for periods of time. That's what makes clothed 1/6 figures so great, numerous display options.

 

[Michael Crawford]

Michael Crawford might, he did say he liked the way the figure looked out of the duster in his review.
Actually it's a 1/6 figure, so you can always display him in or out of the Duster for periods of time. That's what makes clothed 1/6 figures so great, numerous display options.

Yep, he does look good without it!

 

[Fritz]

I figured it was easier piggybacking on to your thread rather than starting a new one. I hope you don't mind.

Here's my Strider Review.

CLICK HERE