shades of Mordor Dio!

[Polylord]

I meant more because that way they will actually be able to sell the Reg. of this diorama

I do see your points but I personally don't think it looks ridiculous, in fact if you look at it another way, the exclusive means two statues in one, there is no saying that they have to be displayed together, they both depict iconic images from the film without neccessarily being co-dependent of each other. I think that the RRP would have shot through the roof if it had been the Ringwraiths and Frodo on one huge base, with all the added stone etc that would have to go into that...then, of coarse, people would have been complaining about the price.

I highly doubt that the production of the entire piece would have been a lot more expensive if they decided to make a little bit more base, to connect the two pieces and it would have made the entire dio look much more like a dio rather than two pieces that you can put on a shelf seperately.

I'm just hugely disappointed what they did if you see which other (in my opinion even better) possibilities they had. But I guess there's just not pleasing some people.

On the bright side, Sideshow has saved me from spending 400 Euro's on them. Rather spend them on a good Ringwraith PF.

 

[Indiana Fett]

I wasn't expecting too much of an inclusion of Weathertop...

Yeah, me too...thus it's a definite pass for me. It looks sort of 'meh' without more of the environment to go with it.

 

[Polylord]

I don't think the comparison is fair. Having a few Uruk Hai alone on the walls of Helm's Deep is not what I would consider to be a stand alone piece. Whereas I think five ringwraiths lurching forward with swords drawn does work as a stand alone piece. But yeah, I do think having Frodo present is crucial, at least to me it is, which is why I'll be ordering the excl. tomorrow.

Lurching forward towards what?

I partially agree with you, the Ringwraiths do look cool. But with this dio, Frodo is just a must. And therefor they should have at least connected him to the base.

 

[GondorGirl]

I don't think the comparison is fair. Having a few Uruk Hai alone on the walls of Helm's Deep is not what I would consider to be a stand alone piece. Whereas I think five ringwraiths lurching forward with swords drawn does work as a stand alone piece. But yeah, I do think having Frodo present is crucial, at least to me it is, which is why I'll be ordering the excl. tomorrow.

I agree, especially the highlighted part

I highly doubt that the production of the entire piece would have been a lot more expensive if they decided to make a little bit more base, to connect the two pieces and it would have made the entire dio look much more like a dio rather than two pieces that you can put on a shelf seperately.

I'm just hugely disappointed what they did if you see which other (in my opinion even better) possibilities they had. But I guess there's just not pleasing some people.

On the bright side, Sideshow has saved me from spending 400 Euro's on them. Rather spend them on a good Ringwraith PF.

Yeah, it is difficult to please everyone all the time but are your sure your not just a little tempted?? I mean, forget Frodo for a second, the 'five ringwraiths lurching forward with swords drawn' (thank you woodsy) does look superb on its own and is a fantastic dio in itself IMO

 

[GondorGirl]

Lurching forward towards what?

I partially agree with you, the Ringwraiths do look cool. But with this dio, Frodo is just a must. And therefor they should have at least connected him to the base.

Oh come on, we all know what they are lurching toward, perhaps a dio that requires some imagination instead of having it spelled out completely in polystone would be more interesting? And I have to say that I am starting to disagree that Frodo is a must for this piece There is something so menacing about the ringwraiths on their own

 

[woodsy]

I meant more because that way they will actually be able to sell the Reg. of this diorama

I do see your points but I personally don't think it looks ridiculous, in fact if you look at it another way, the exclusive means two statues in one, there is no saying that they have to be displayed together, they both depict iconic images from the film without neccessarily being co-dependent of each other. I think that the RRP would have shot through the roof if it had been the Ringwraiths and Frodo on one huge base, with all the added stone etc that would have to go into that...then, of coarse, people would have been complaining about the price.

Good points GG. I hadn't really considered that but that Frodo sculpt is so good [I'm betting this is Trevor's handiwork] it can easily be displayed by itself, as can the ringwraiths. Now whether anyone will do that or not is anyone's guess.

And yes, the cost would have been substantially more [I figure in the $425-450 range] had SS incorporated a detailed weathertop base. There was no way I expected a detailed base when I saw the $350 price tag, though I have to say I am surprised the ringwraith base itself isn't a bit larger. And without a doubt, alot of people would have been screaming had this dio. been priced at $400+....esp. in this economy.

 

[GondorGirl]

Good points GG. I hadn't really considered that but that Frodo sculpt is so good [I'm betting this is Trevor's handiwork] it can easily be displayed by itself, as can the ringwraiths. Now whether anyone will do that or not is anyone's guess.

And yes, the cost would have been substantially more [I figure in the $425-450 range] had SS incorporated a detailed weathertop base. There was no way I expected a detailed base when I saw the $350 price tag, though I have to say I am surprised the ringwraith base itself isn't a bit larger. And without a doubt, alot of people would have been screaming had this dio. been priced at $400+....esp. in this economy.

Thank you Woodsy,

I think I will try and display them seperately if I don't like the way they look together, then again I have a Hobbit shelf and Ringwraith shelf in my collection so it would probably be easier for me then most

Yeah I agree on your point about the size of the base for the ringwraiths, I mean they don't look squashed but SS have really gone for the bare minimum, which kinda makes me think that the size of this piece is gonna surprise most of us...in a good way of coarse

 

[Polylord]

I guess we will never agree, but that's ok. We just have a difference of opinion on whether something looks good or not. And to be honest, that was to be expected. I'd rather have a proper base and the entire scale of the piece a bit smaller (as to make the costs a bit lower, maybe), than this.

But I'm glad you are happy about it. At least some are happy enough with the piece to buy it.

 

[GondorGirl]

I guess we will never agree, but that's ok. We just have a difference of opinion on whether something looks good or not. And to be honest, that was to be expected. I'd rather have a proper base and the entire scale of the piece a bit smaller (as to make the costs a bit lower, maybe), than this.

But I'm glad you are happy about it. At least some are happy enough with the piece to buy it.

Yeah, agree to disagree is prolly the best bet

And thank you Polylord, I hope the next piece they release will be one you are happy with

 

[Polylord]

Yeah, agree to disagree is prolly the best bet

And thank you Polylord, I hope the next piece they release will be one you are happy with

I hope so too hehe. I was really looking forward to this piece, maybe that's one of the reasons I am so disappointed that it came out the way it came out. I expected at least the base to be recognisable from Weathertop but this base doesn't show ANYthing from the Weathertop environment, which is the main reason I dislike it so much.

I haven't been particularly excited about any of the dio's so far, apart from the Gandalf vs. Saruman dio (which had at least part of Orthanc as a base, which looked AWESOME!), the Aragorn on the walls of Helm's Deep (apart from the look on Aragorn's face, again the surroundings were very cool!) and the Eagle vs. Fell Beast diorama.

We'll see what they come up with next.

 

[DinoDB1975]

Just my opinion, but I think SS with their sneak peeks leave us with a "catch 22" situation. On the one hand they provide us a small glimpse of what is to come, but in doing so, they also allow us enough time for our imaginations to run wild. And unfortunately, rarely does the end product meet the expectations of our wildest dreams.As for the price, yes $350 is alot of money, and no there's not alot of weathertop in this dio., but there are 6 figures....ok 5 1/2 . Sure the Helm's Deep dio. for $50 less features 3 characters and a very nice base, but that's still half the amount of characters in this one. So there's the compromise...alot more figures [guaranteeing the accuracy of the scene] but not much in the way of a detailed base. Something I can certainly live with.

Exactly. I am a fairly new poster here, but have posted a lot (I'm sure some would say too much) on Sideshow's site.

I am mildly disappointed in this piece. Don’t get me wrong, the Ringwraiths and Frodo look spectacular…the sculpts are dead on and this is a great looking piece. My disappointment in this piece was based admittedly on my own flights of fancy where portions of Amon Sul would be sculpted into the diorama. Again, I most likely set myself up for disappointment. Had the dio been entitled something along the lines of “Attack at Weathertop” or “Ambush at Amon Sul” then I may have had a viable gripe that none of Weathertop was included in the dio.

There has been something wrong with the previews and the full reveals at Sideshow lately...the previews used to be a small shot of one component of the piece. Does anyone remember the preview of the Lurtz PF from way back? It was a sideshot of the head sculpt, and it was so good that you couldn't tell it from a movie still. Likewise with the Moria Orc PF preview and the others. However, the "Shades of Mordor" full reveal and the Legolas PF reveal were both underwhelming because the previews essentially revealed the whole thing. The Toy Fair preview of Legolas revealed the PF entirely, albeit from the waist up and from one angle. All that was left to speculate on was the exclusive, and the fact that when the exclusive was finally revealed weeks later, it turned out to be a Moria Orc skull on the base, not switch out hands with the White Knives of even a switch out Galadhrim bow and Lothlorien cloak like a lot of us wished for. Likewise with this dio. The preview in the Newsletter last week revealed the Nazgul (again albeit from one angle) and Frodo, which are essentially the main components of the piece. Speculation was rampant on what the entire dio consisted of. And then the full reveal last night showed us that we had seen the entire piece already!!! Having said all that, I pre-ordered a Legolas PF exclusive and will do so also with the “Shades of Mordor” diorama.

 

[woodsy]

I guess we will never agree, but that's ok. We just have a difference of opinion on whether something looks good or not. And to be honest, that was to be expected. I'd rather have a proper base and the entire scale of the piece a bit smaller (as to make the costs a bit lower, maybe), than this.

But I'm glad you are happy about it. At least some are happy enough with the piece to buy it.

Nothing wrong with that Poly...to each his own. And while I agree 100% a more detailed, intricate base would have been preferable, I don't think I want that if the compromise is a dio. of smaller size/scale. 1/9 scale is about as small as I want to go with these pieces.

 

[quadcent]

like i said earlier, it's a good sample of thinking outside the box, since obviously making a whole dio with the ringwraiths, frodo, hobbits and the complete enviroment would of been completely out of the question both space and $$$ wise for almost everyone.

though it would of been quite interesting if they would of done it in stages with say 6 or so sections/pieces. sadly they didn't so this is what we have available at this time.

ps: on a even higher note i just got a ssw morgul lord statue off of the bay last night. should look great beside sauron.

 

[GondorGirl]

ps: on a even higher note i just got a ssw lorgul lord statue off of the bay last night. should look great beside sauron.

Congrats

Though I have never heard of that variant before??

 

[woodsy]

like i said earlier, it's a good sample of thinking outside the box, since obviously making a whole dio with the ringwraiths, frodo, hobbits and the complete enviroment would of been completely out of the question both space and $$$ wise for almost everyone.

though it would of been quite interesting if they would of done it in stages with say 6 or so sections/pieces. sadly they didn't so this is what we have available at this time.

ps: on a even higher note i just got a ssw lorgul lord statue off of the bay last night. should look great beside sauron.

No, it will look great beside Sauron. Can't say I'm familiar with the lorgul lord though.

 

[The Josh]

Thats a good thing right??

Indeed it is in this case.

I wasn't expecting too much of an inclusion of Weathertop; but as I recall when SS announced the dio line they indicated their own excitement to revist the locations of Middle Earth - truth be told thus far they haven't really done that (or at least in a meaningful way). The only exceptions might be Helm's Deep and Orthanc.

How have they not? They're revisiting ME by doing these Dio's. I'm pretty sure they meant by that was events that happened in those locations. Personally, I like how they're approaching things. I don't need massive dios with tons of pieces from each area or super small dios in some ways like the SW enviroramas.

 

[quadcent]

Congrats

Though I have never heard of that variant before??

No, it will look great beside Sauron. Can't say I'm familiar with the lorgul lord though.

double

 

[Malice]

Like a few of you i have mixed feelings and considering the price will most likely let this pass and hold onto the thought that a Ringwraith PF is lurking just around the next corner.
(Senses malice heading towards this post) [/ QUOTE]

best post ever! ​

like i said earlier, it's a good sample of thinking outside the box, since obviously making a whole dio with the ringwraiths, frodo, hobbits and the complete enviroment would of been completely out of the question both space and $$$ wise for almost everyone.

though it would of been quite interesting if they would of done it in stages with say 6 or so sections/pieces. sadly they didn't so this is what we have available at this time.

ps: on a even higher note i just got a ssw Morgul lord statue off of the bay last night. should look great beside sauron.

you damn skippy it's going to look great next to sauron statue

 

[GondorGirl]

double

Sorry quad, just couldn't resist...and neither could Woodsy either by the looks of things

 

[Polylord]

How have they not? They're revisiting ME by doing these Dio's. I'm pretty sure they meant by that was events that happened in those locations. Personally, I like how they're approaching things. I don't need massive dios with tons of pieces from each area or super small dios in some ways like the SW enviroramas.

There is a HUGE difference between making a massive dio with (in this case) for instance ruins from Weathertop and/or the other Hobbits, and a smaller dio with at least SOME surroundings (like they did with Gandalf vs. Saruman), or at least a BASE that resembles some of Weathertop, so we can at least see where they are. I think nobody was expecting a complete weathertop in 1/9th scale. But I think people are (rightfully so) disappointed with the complete lack of ANYthing Weathertop-ish.