Saruman, Frodo and Sam mini-busts review

[Michael Crawford]

I've got mini-busts coming out the wazoo tonight, and trust me, that's not nearly as much fun as it sounds. I have a review up of the three newest Lord of the Ring mini-busts, including the amazing Saruman, the extremely nice Sam in Orc disguise, and the decent enough Frodo in Orc disguise. You can guess from the previous which one I liked best! And earlier this week at QSE, I reviewed the new Dengar bust as well.

You can find the review links at the usual:

https://www.mwctoys.com

And just another reminder - don't forget the Silver Scream contest going on now! With Halloween coming up, it's the perfect time to snap a photo of that cool costume or maybe that nifty display!

Thanks for reading and have a great weekend of Halloween parties!

Michael
MWC

 

[galactiboy]

Cool busts... I don't collect them. But i sure hope the 1/6 Sauraman looks that good when Sideshow releases him

 

[gambit]

again a fair and good review

thanks

 

[Agent23]

Good reviews Michael. But, I was wondering why do you say that after Sauron and Snaga, you wouldn't be suprised if we didn't see anymore LotR busts?

 

[choopie]

Good reviews Michael. But, I was wondering why do you say that after Sauron and Snaga, you wouldn't be suprised if we didn't see anymore LotR busts?

Yeah, I was wondering that too.

 

[The Ringer]

Great review! Saruman is prolly one of the best busts out on the market.

 

[KitFisto]

Well, I am glad to know that the light up feature on Saruman is SUPPOSED to "flicker". I thought mine was messed up.

 

[Lembas Eater]

It seems to me that they've been cranking them out at a fairly regular pace. Sure, there was a bit of a delay on Saruman, but nothing extravagant. While I prefer the ol SSW busts, these have all been good pieces. The light-up features, which I usually don't need, are really well done and the "ring drawers" are well hidden. I don't understand the negative outlook on the future of the line.

 

[OSCORP]

I'm very tempted by these.

 

[DouglasMcc]

Good reviews Michael. But, I was wondering why do you say that after Sauron and Snaga, you wouldn't be suprised if we didn't see anymore LotR busts?

Well, if Ebay trends are an indication, Micheal may be right. I picked the Strider and Gandalf up this summer (way after release) just because the auctions ended around 28 bucks a piece and I was already purchasing some SW busts so their was no additional shipping. Then, this evening, I won Sam in Orc Armor for 14.56 and Frodo in Armor for 16.50. So, if you just go by trends, it appears the busts aren't selling too well. Those auctions could be flukes (and glad I found them either way), but I can see where Micheal would be hesitant. I do hope we at least get Gimli and Legolas (Merry, Pippin, and Boromir to finish out the Fellowship would be great).

 

[The Josh]

I see no reason these will stop anytime soon. They appear to be selling well enough from the original source. If anything it might make the ES tighten up which might not be a bad thing.

 

[DouglasMcc]

Well, if Ebay trends are an indication, Micheal may be right. I picked the Strider and Gandalf up this summer (way after release) just because the auctions ended around 28 bucks a piece and I was already purchasing some SW busts so their was no additional shipping. Then, this evening, I won Sam in Orc Armor for 14.56 and Frodo in Armor for 16.50. So, if you just go by trends, it appears the busts aren't selling too well. Those auctions could be flukes (and glad I found them either way), but I can see where Micheal would be hesitant. I do hope we at least get Gimli and Legolas (Merry, Pippin, and Boromir to finish out the Fellowship would be great).

And the GG deals keep coming LOL. Just won the Balrog bust for 17.36 and a Hermione Harry Potter bust for 28.00 from the seller I won the Sam and Frodo from. Not a bad haul for 78 bucks before shipping ...

 

[KitFisto]

GG could care less what eBay sales are. As long as they sell out they will keep making them. Secondary market values mean nothing to the master company.

Part of the problem with collectibles today is the same thing that killed baseball card collecting. Something is popular......companies FLOOD the market. Then they make a ton of special insert cards ( or exclusive busts ) and only those retain value or go up once the market is flooded.

You'll see the same thing happen to SS's marvel pieces too. The Thing PF's edition size was bumped way up. The company thinks the market is larger than it is because so many flippers are buying stuff up to try to profit. Then the eBay market get flooded and there are so many auctions going on that you can always find a decent deal.

The only way to keep/increase value is by low edition size. Companies don't care about secondary market value so they won't keep edition sizes low while stuff is selling out.

Never collect to "invest".

 

[DouglasMcc]

GG could care less what eBay sales are. As long as they sell out they will keep making them. Secondary market values mean nothing to the master company.

Part of the problem with collectibles today is the same thing that killed baseball card collecting. Something is popular......companies FLOOD the market. Then they make a ton of special insert cards ( or exclusive busts ) and only those retain value or go up once the market is flooded.

You'll see the same thing happen to SS's marvel pieces too. The Thing PF's edition size was bumped way up. The company thinks the market is larger than it is because so many flippers are buying stuff up to try to profit. Then the eBay market get flooded and there are so many auctions going on that you can always find a decent deal.

The only way to keep/increase value is by low edition size. Companies don't care about secondary market value so they won't keep edition sizes low while stuff is selling out.

Never collect to "invest".

I do agree with most of your message Kit. However, I think you are forgetting something. The seller I bought those busts from was a dealer/ store owner, not flipper. He had many extras of the LOTR busts for sale (including Gandalf, etc.) and they were going for 15 to 20 bucks. I would imagine that's close to or below his original cost. Sure, his ability to sell them means nothing to GG for that bust. He's already paid for them, and can't return them. However, a slow market/ merchants losing money will hurt GG in the end. That same seller is much less likely to order many of the next series of LOTR busts. Sure, one seller won't kill the line. But, if this is happening on a large scale, then overall sells start to decline rapidly. Now, hopefully I am too doom-and-gloom, and this isn't the case. But Micheal is pretty close to the industry and GG in particular so I wont lie - if he's worried, then I am plain terrified

 

[KitFisto]

I do agree with most of your message Kit. However, I think you are forgetting something. The seller I bought those busts from was a dealer/ store owner, not flipper. He had many extras of the LOTR busts for sale (including Gandalf, etc.) and they were going for 15 to 20 bucks. I would imagine that's close to or below his original cost. Sure, his ability to sell them means nothing to GG for that bust. He's already paid for them, and can't return them. However, a slow market/ merchants losing money will hurt GG in the end. That same seller is much less likely to order many of the next series of LOTR busts. Sure, one seller won't kill the line. But, if this is happening on a large scale, then overall sells start to decline rapidly. Now, hopefully I am too doom-and-gloom, and this isn't the case. But Micheal is pretty close to the industry and GG in particular so I wont lie - if he's worried, then I am plain terrified

I hear you. I do agree that retailers may order less in the future, but I still think GG would have an easy time selling 1,500-2,000 busts for any given character. I think they may have a hard time with huge editions sizes like 5,000+ if retailers scale orders back though.

Time will tell, but the companies only have themselves to blame if sales droop. Huge edition sizes drives down the "must have" factor to many collectors so it may hurt them in the end, but as long as they sell out they will continue to pump them out me thinks.

 

[The Josh]

GG could care less what eBay sales are. As long as they sell out they will keep making them. Secondary market values mean nothing to the master company.

Part of the problem with collectibles today is the same thing that killed baseball card collecting. Something is popular......companies FLOOD the market. Then they make a ton of special insert cards ( or exclusive busts ) and only those retain value or go up once the market is flooded.

You'll see the same thing happen to SS's marvel pieces too. The Thing PF's edition size was bumped way up. The company thinks the market is larger than it is because so many flippers are buying stuff up to try to profit. Then the eBay market get flooded and there are so many auctions going on that you can always find a decent deal.

The only way to keep/increase value is by low edition size. Companies don't care about secondary market value so they won't keep edition sizes low while stuff is selling out.

Never collect to "invest".

Bingo!!!

 

[Agent23]

I'm gonna real disappointed if this line drops off. I just got all caught up on them all and am really enjoying them. This line has alot of potential, especially with obscure characters getting done (like the Hobbits in Orc Armor). For the line to die off would be a shame....

 

[The Josh]

I actually like the Saruman bust so much I snagged a Promo bust on ebay for like $30 to go with my GTG promo

 

[OSCORP]

I hope it keeps going at least for a gimli