Preview Gandalf the White PF ...

[pixletwin]

Woodsy, you are missing a great opportunity to change your avatar heading from freakazoid to "aloof snot".

You must do it. That would be sooo awesome...

 

[Bannister]

good god you can be a bunch of kids sometimes

I'll keep my opinions about the sculpt to myself I think, for fear of offending people on the opposite side of whatever opinions i might express lmao

 

[Bannister]

Woodsy, you are missing a great opportunity to change your avatar heading from freakazoid to "aloof snot".

You must do it. That would be sooo awesome...

 

[woodsy]

Woodsy, you are missing a great opportunity to change your avatar heading from freakazoid to "aloof snot".

You must do it. That would be sooo awesome...

Yeah, I'll have to consider doing that

 

[Bannister]

Okay kids, cool down. We don't have as many pics of this figure as we do of the SS/W pieces. And admittedly, the Gandalfs were ones that Weta pretty much nailed each time (unlike most of their human sculpts), so this piece has a lot to live up to. For me the fact that it's mixed media will sell it for me, but I'm sure when we see more pics the likeness will be good.

I am over the Gandalf the White PF. I personally am now waiting to see how bad CM ****s up their Gandalf the White whenever they get to it.

 

[woodsy]

Okay kids, cool down. We don't have as many pics of this figure as we do of the SS/W pieces. And admittedly, the Gandalfs were ones that Weta pretty much nailed each time (unlike most of their human sculpts), so this piece has a lot to live up to. For me the fact that it's mixed media will sell it for me, but I'm sure when we see more pics the likeness will be good.

This is pretty well what I said in my first posting on this thread, before someone started "reading between the lines" that is.....

 

[fool_of_a_took!]

I never said you did Maybe you should worry a bit more about your own reading skills. This is why I really worry about the youth of today

Incidentally, Youth of Today is one of my all time favorite bands! Any love for YOT??

 

[RoboDad]

Wow, what a discussion! 9 pages in less than 24 hours.

Here's my take on the PF. It is a good sculpt, maybe even a great one, but it is too hard to tell from this one picture. The area around his eyes appears a bit sunken compared to the photo of Sir Ian, although that could be a trick of the angle and lighting. We really need to wait until we see more and better pictures before we can be sure.

However, the hair certainly does look odd, and it appears to be suffering from the same problem the first prototype of the Buffy PF had. Sculpting hair out of polystone is not that difficult (I own numerous statues and PF figures that prove that quite conclusively), but sculpting it in a way that it drapes correctly over a fabric costume is, apparently. Maybe it can be fixed. They did revise Buffy, and it did improve it a lot, though not as much as some people would have liked.

The other problem is the moustache and beard. They do look too thick around the mouth, at least for Gandalf. I took the liberty of applying a couple of minor changes in Photoshop, and I think it looks better, at least a little bit. What do you guys think?

 

[woodsy]

Wow, what a discussion! 9 pages in less than 24 hours.

Here's my take on the PF. It is a good sculpt, maybe even a great one, but it is too hard to tell from this one picture. The area around his eyes appears a bit sunken compared to the photo of Sir Ian, although that could be a trick of the angle and lighting. We really need to wait until we see more and better pictures before we can be sure.

However, the hair certainly does look odd, and it appears to be suffering from the same problem the first prototype of the Buffy PF had. Sculpting hair out of polystone is not that difficult (I own numerous statues and PF figures that prove that quite conclusively), but sculpting it in a way that it drapes correctly over a fabric costume is, apparently. Maybe it can be fixed. They did revise Buffy, and it did improve it a lot, though not as much as some people would have liked.

The other problem is the moustache and beard. They do look too thick around the mouth, at least for Gandalf. I took the liberty of applying a couple of minor changes in Photoshop, and I think it looks better, at least a little bit. What do you guys think?

Yes, it does looks better with the minor changes you've made.

 

[The Josh]

The mustache/shoulder hair area is the main area for me. The beard looks good and in the not touched preview looks much like the real pics do. Maybe a little redness around the eyes.

 

[Lord Aykroyd]

SO ....


What do you think are the possibilites of SSC actually modifying the mustache?


5%?

10%?

:cry

 

[KAOSINLA]

The other problem is the moustache and beard. They do look too thick around the mouth, at least for Gandalf. I took the liberty of applying a couple of minor changes in Photoshop, and I think it looks better, at least a little bit. What do you guys think?

The tweak with the moustache improves it exponentially.

More intricate sculpting of the head and beard hair will change it for the good also.

 

[RoboDad]

SO ....


What do you think are the possibilites of SSC actually modifying the mustache?


5%?

10%?

:cry

Depends. If enough people are dissatisfied, and politely let them know, there is always a chance. They (sort of) fixed Buffy, and a few other pieces of the years have been tweaked based on customer feedback.

There's a similar campaign under way right now with the Angel PF. Time will tell whether either piece is adjusted.

 

[The Josh]

Depends. If enough people are dissatisfied, and politely let them know, there is always a chance. They (sort of) fixed Buffy, and a few other pieces of the years have been tweaked based on customer feedback.

There's a similar campaign under way right now with the Angel PF. Time will tell whether either piece is adjusted.

Robo this is why I like you. You're a smart guy.

 

[RoboDad]

Robo this is why I like you. You're a smart guy.

Thanks Josh. I try, but mostly it's just an act, though. "I'm not really a smart person, but I play one on the Internet."

There is nothing wrong with being dissatisfied. As fans, we all know it can be disappointing, and sometimes even frustrating to have a piece we've waited a long time for be less than we hoped for (even if that hope is due to our own overly-high expectations).

But, it does no one any good to become hostile or adversarial in trying to get the problem "fixed". It only alienates people. And, of course, it doesn't really help to be overly critical of people who do complain either, even -- or rather especially -- when they become hostile. My new rule is to step back, put things into context, and try to add something meaningful to the discussion (fat chance, I know! ).

I do think this looks like a pretty good piece overall (at least from what we can see so far), but there are a few areas, at least at first blush, that look like they could be improved, to make it even better. That's why I experimented in Photoshop. To see if I could start to quantify what I thought was "off". I find that helps me know whether the problems I think I see are real or just my perception.

 

[The Josh]

That's a good line.

I agree. If you don't like something that's totally cool. It happens there have been many many pieces over the years, movies, video games, etc that didn't come out the way I wanted. That makes it very annoying as you said.

You're correct though that it does no good to go to the extreme. If anything it makes it more likely the problem won't get fixed cause who wants to listen or believe someone who can't stay calm. Taking a step back is the best bet IMO. It allows you to take in everything and process it all before reacting.

I'm with ya. It's a sweet looking piece but there are areas where it could be tweaked 2 be even better. I hope it does that way we can all get what we want.

 

[choopie]

There's a similar campaign under way right now with the Angel PF. Time will tell whether either piece is adjusted.

Sideshow is also making changes to the Elvis PF.

I have a feeling they will be tweaking this one too. I like the changes you made in Photoshop. They do make a difference.

 

[The Josh]

I think they will too. Especially if it can be asked in a certain manner.

 

[choopie]

I think they will too. Especially if it can be asked in a certain manner.

We'll work on that at SDCC.

 

[The Josh]

Yup we will.