Smaug the Golden - Faux Bronze - NOW AVAILABLE

[theguru1]

The Hobbit is one of the most read, most loved books of the past 70+ years. It's a safe bet to say almost all of us who have been collecting LOTR statues/bust for years now have been aware of the Smaug statue for a very long time.

I wouldn't be so sure of that. There was a poll on S&F recently (if I have time, I'll try to find it), basically asking how ppl first experience 'Tolkien', between books either the Hobbit or LOTR, animated movie, PJ movies, etc.

I was surprised by the number of ppl that voted, who hadn't initially read the books or anything else and their very first experience/knowledge of Middle Earth, was the PJ films.

So yes, it's a little surprising that with the ES of 300, isn't still not sold out, once Smaug is better know and ppl have this in hand and it lives up to the outstanding quality we are all expecting. Then it will sell out.
As I'm sure you remember, the Daddy Rog took months to sell out and that was with the movie having been released.

 

[cstojano]

I wouldn't be so sure of that. There was a poll on S&F recently (if I have time, I'll try to find it), basically asking how ppl first experience 'Tolkien', between books either the Hobbit or LOTR, animated movie, PJ movies, etc.

I was surprised by the number of ppl that voted, who hadn't initially read the books or anything else and their very first experience/knowledge of Middle Earth, was the PJ films.

So yes, it's a little surprising that with the ES of 300, isn't still not sold out, once Smaug is better know and ppl have this in hand and it lives up to the outstanding quality we are all expecting. Then it will sell out.
As I'm sure you remember, the Daddy Rog took months to sell out and that was with the movie having been released.

Man it absolutely drives me crazy that people put so much emphasis on the Jackson trilogy to the point that they identify with that above and beyond the stories themselves. To me, there is no Lurtz in the Tolkien universe.

But man am I ever surprised this hasn't sold it. It tells me I am completely out of touch with Tolkien fandom. I saw both Howe pieces at SDCC and they blew me away.

 

[theguru1]

Man it absolutely drives me crazy that people put so much emphasis on the Jackson trilogy to the point that they identify with that above and beyond the stories themselves. To me, there is no Lurtz in the Tolkien universe.

Yeah, Lurtz doesn't really mean anything to me either, still, on a plus side, a number of ppl did post on how even tho the PJ films were first, they did then go back and read the books.

So that's a good thing, if nothing else.

 

[Mesa]

I just reread the hobbit last year. That was my second read, initial reading being in Jr. High some 20+ years ago. Damn, I'm getting old.

 

[SDJ]

As visually impressive as the movie's were you need to read the books to get a true feeling for Middle Earth. That being said, Lurtz still made a damn fine PF. The Hobbit, as opposed to LOTR, was written as a children's story and it will be interesting to see how PJ and Del Toro adapt it for the screen.

 

[BRFC]

I've got several pre-orders in at the moment Arganoth, Gandalf PF, Eowyn/Nazgul, Maps of Bilbo but the one i'm most excited about is John Howes Smaug. To me its just so iconic of a piece sculpted from Johns incredible artwork and if/when a film version is made i'll order that,then i'll have both (hopefully).

 

[SDJ]

Tell us a little bit about the Maps of Bilbo if you don't mind. I am unfamiliar with them.

 

[NAZGUL-KING]

I wouldn't be so sure of that. There was a poll on S&F recently (if I have time, I'll try to find it), basically asking how ppl first experience 'Tolkien', between books either the Hobbit or LOTR, animated movie, PJ movies, etc.

I was surprised by the number of ppl that voted, who hadn't initially read the books or anything else and their very first experience/knowledge of Middle Earth, was the PJ films.

So yes, it's a little surprising that with the ES of 300, isn't still not sold out, once Smaug is better know and ppl have this in hand and it lives up to the outstanding quality we are all expecting. Then it will sell out.
As I'm sure you remember, the Daddy Rog took months to sell out and that was with the movie having been released.

Here's a link to that poll. I was the one who started it. I was definitely surprised at how many people were drawn to Tolkien by the PJ films.

https://www.wetacollectors.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34969

 

[woodsy]

I wouldn't be so sure of that. There was a poll on S&F recently (if I have time, I'll try to find it), basically asking how ppl first experience 'Tolkien', between books either the Hobbit or LOTR, animated movie, PJ movies, etc.

I was surprised by the number of ppl that voted, who hadn't initially read the books or anything else and their very first experience/knowledge of Middle Earth, was the PJ films.

So yes, it's a little surprising that with the ES of 300, isn't still not sold out, once Smaug is better know and ppl have this in hand and it lives up to the outstanding quality we are all expecting. Then it will sell out.
As I'm sure you remember, the Daddy Rog took months to sell out and that was with the movie having been released.

The fact this generation, by and large, has been introduced to LOTR via the movies instead of the books does not surprise me in the least. Esp. when most recent studies show that college-aged students or younger now read on average 2.4 books in their lifetime. I may be aging myself somewhat, but that is not the case with my generation.

And I was there, and do remember very well the original Balrog. I believe it took somewhere in the 4-5 month range before it [and upwards of a year for the CT] finally sold out. But let's not forget, it was a $300 statue selling at a time when there was no such thing as high end movie collectible statues. No one was "conditioned" back then to put out that kind of money for something based on a movie. Today, people don't think twice about shelling out $300 for a collectible based on a movie they love, but that was not the case back then. I remember struggling over the decision to purchase one of those for a long time before finally pulling the trigger. The $125 price of most statues back then was bad enough, but I thought SSW was absolutely crazy charging $300 for their excl. line of LOTR statues.

I have no doubt both Smaug and Eowyn vs the Nazgul will both eventually sell out, but is that really saying much? Eventually everything sells out, look no further than poopin Pippin. I've said all along these pieces, as nice as they are, are overpriced. I've said all along these statues being faux bronze in colour, will appeal to the small minority as oppossed to the vast majority. And I've said these statues, based on the books and not the movies, will not remotely be as popular as their movie-based counterparts......and I've seen nothing so far to change my mind on this. Does anyone believe when Weta introduces a colour version of a movie-based Smaug the edition will even remotely be in the 300 ES range? Does anyone believe it'll take 6+ month's to sell out, no matter how high that ES may be? I don't think so.

And I do not believe people are waiting for others to get these in hand before pulling the trigger, simply because I think the 1000's of us who already own Weta collectibles know full well what will be getting already....that being a top quality collectible. And even if your
"once Smaug is better know" statement is true....then how do you explain Eowyn vs the Nazgul? I think it safe to say all LOTR fans/collectors are well aware of this epic ROTK confrontation yet 4+ month's later, it too is still available.

Anyway you slice it these two statues are based on what has to be considered, two of the most well know, well loved John Howe paintings. Yet Weta has struggled to sell out either version. What happens when they release statues based on lesser known or lesser loved paintings.... how long before they sell out? And how long before Weta decides this line isn't remotely as successful as they hoped it would be, and decide it best to pull the plug?

 

[datafagga]

Just got mail from weta.

Smaug will be sent out in June 2010. :chew

 

[LOTRFan]

I can't wait, the spot in my collection has been open for about 7 months now; but I didn't get an email.

 

[The Ringer]

What is the price on the faux?

 

[Anubis]

$430 / £265

Quite a bit, but the detail is insane!

 

[woodsy]

No notice from Weta for me so far. Not that it matters, if this isn't sold out by then I'll be cancelling and pick it up at a later date.....hopefully for alot cheaper.

 

[The Ringer]

$430 / £265

Quite a bit, but the detail is insane!

Thanks man.

 

[coupstair]

The fact this generation, by and large, has been introduced to LOTR via the movies instead of the books does not surprise me in the least. Esp. when most recent studies show that college-aged students or younger now read on average 2.4 books in their lifetime. I may be aging myself somewhat, but that is not the case with my generation.

And I was there, and do remember very well the original Balrog. I believe it took somewhere in the 4-5 month range before it [and upwards of a year for the CT] finally sold out. But let's not forget, it was a $300 statue selling at a time when there was no such thing as high end movie collectible statues. No one was "conditioned" back then to put out that kind of money for something based on a movie. Today, people don't think twice about shelling out $300 for a collectible based on a movie they love, but that was not the case back then. I remember struggling over the decision to purchase one of those for a long time before finally pulling the trigger. The $125 price of most statues back then was bad enough, but I thought SSW was absolutely crazy charging $300 for their excl. line of LOTR statues.

I have no doubt both Smaug and Eowyn vs the Nazgul will both eventually sell out, but is that really saying much? Eventually everything sells out, look no further than poopin Pippin. I've said all along these pieces, as nice as they are, are overpriced. I've said all along these statues being faux bronze in colour, will appeal to the small minority as oppossed to the vast majority. And I've said these statues, based on the books and not the movies, will not remotely be as popular as their movie-based counterparts......and I've seen nothing so far to change my mind on this. Does anyone believe when Weta introduces a colour version of a movie-based Smaug the edition will even remotely be in the 300 ES range? Does anyone believe it'll take 6+ month's to sell out, no matter how high that ES may be? I don't think so.

And I do not believe people are waiting for others to get these in hand before pulling the trigger, simply because I think the 1000's of us who already own Weta collectibles know full well what will be getting already....that being a top quality collectible. And even if your
"once Smaug is better know" statement is true....then how do you explain Eowyn vs the Nazgul? I think it safe to say all LOTR fans/collectors are well aware of this epic ROTK confrontation yet 4+ month's later, it too is still available.

Anyway you slice it these two statues are based on what has to be considered, two of the most well know, well loved John Howe paintings. Yet Weta has struggled to sell out either version. What happens when they release statues based on lesser known or lesser loved paintings.... how long before they sell out? And how long before Weta decides this line isn't remotely as successful as they hoped it would be, and decide it best to pull the plug?

amen brother

 

[theguru1]

Here's a link to that poll. I was the one who started it. I was definitely surprised at how many people were drawn to Tolkien by the PJ films.

https://www.wetacollectors.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34969

thanks man, that was it....

And I was there, and do remember very well the original Balrog. I believe it took somewhere in the 4-5 month range before it [and upwards of a year for the CT] finally sold out. But let's not forget, it was a $300 statue selling at a time when there was no such thing as high end movie collectible statues. No one was "conditioned" back then to put out that kind of money for something based on a movie. Today, people don't think twice about shelling out $300 for a collectible based on a movie they love, but that was not the case back then.

I've said all along these pieces, as nice as they are, are overpriced. I've said all along these statues being faux bronze in colour, will appeal to the small minority as oppossed to the vast majority. And I've said these statues, based on the books and not the movies, will not remotely be as popular as their movie-based counterparts......and I've seen nothing so far to change my mind on this. Does anyone believe when Weta introduces a colour version of a movie-based Smaug the edition will even remotely be in the 300 ES range? Does anyone believe it'll take 6+ month's to sell out, no matter how high that ES may be? I don't think so.

And even if your "once Smaug is better know" statement is true....then how do you explain Eowyn vs the Nazgul?

I'm not so sure that ppl today don't think twice about spending $300 on a statue, especially in the current economy. But at the same time, you prove the point, where $300 for the Daddy Rog was a lot back then, now that the average is more around $250-300, another $150 or so pushes Smaug out of reach for many.

I'm sure a full colour one would do better, but then I also wonder how many maybe judging it on Sideshows faux bronze efforts, which lets face it, for the most part have been less then outstanding. However, but all those that have seen Smaug in person, say that the FB finish is outstanding, which no doubt Weta will be able to reproduce in production. But it's still an unknown to many, due to Weta not making any FB statues in the past.
I have no doubt that a full colour, movie based Smaug will sell just fine, as long as the ES isn't too high and the price is cheap enough. But even if and when that does happen (not a given at this point, what with SS now having a 1/6th scale statue license, which Weta wanted back but couldn't get), I can still get the movie Smaug. At which point I'll have two of the best representations of Smaug. Of course if the movie statue sucks, then it doesn't matter, since I'll have the FB one.

As for Eowyn vs the Nazgul, that one just doesn't do it for me. It may not be an issue in person, but in pictures Eowyn seems to just disappear in the sculpt/FB paint. Plus, as we have pointed out, it's not cheap and I have limited space. Add to that, I have Eowyn and a Fell Beast, so I'm good.
Besides, Smaug is so iconic (once all those film only ppl catch on) and I can already picture how it will sit as a centre piece to a more general 'hobbit' collection.

I guess time will tell which one of us is right.

 

[woodsy]

thanks man, that was it....




I'm not so sure that ppl today don't think twice about spending $300 on a statue, especially in the current economy. But at the same time, you prove the point, where $300 for the Daddy Rog was a lot back then, now that the average is more around $250-300, another $150 or so pushes Smaug out of reach for many.

I'm sure a full colour one would do better, but then I also wonder how many maybe judging it on Sideshows faux bronze efforts, which lets face it, for the most part have been less then outstanding. However, but all those that have seen Smaug in person, say that the FB finish is outstanding, which no doubt Weta will be able to reproduce in production. But it's still an unknown to many, due to Weta not making any FB statues in the past.
I have no doubt that a full colour, movie based Smaug will sell just fine, as long as the ES isn't too high and the price is cheap enough. But even if and when that does happen (not a given at this point, what with SS now having a 1/6th scale statue license, which Weta wanted back but couldn't get), I can still get the movie Smaug. At which point I'll have two of the best representations of Smaug. Of course if the movie statue sucks, then it doesn't matter, since I'll have the FB one.

As for Eowyn vs the Nazgul, that one just doesn't do it for me. It may not be an issue in person, but in pictures Eowyn seems to just disappear in the sculpt/FB paint. Plus, as we have pointed out, it's not cheap and I have limited space. Add to that, I have Eowyn and a Fell Beast, so I'm good.
Besides, Smaug is so iconic (once all those film only ppl catch on) and I can already picture how it will sit as a centre piece to a more general 'hobbit' collection.

I guess time will tell which one of us is right.

Honestly, I hope it's you. I've got both of these FB on pre-order at the moment and I hope to add many more future pieces to my LOTR collection. I'd hate to see this line end prematurely, but I really don't think things are looking very good at the moment.

I think something else to consider is what you have referred to before, namely the oversaturation factor. These pieces have enough competition as is with SS's PF, LSB, dio., and now maquette lines. Add in Weta's environments, shields/crowns/tiara's, and their yet to be produced 1/12th scale character/dio. line and I think it safe to say we will all be struggling with too many lines, not enough money or space. As if this weren't bad enough we also have Weta's Hobbit statue and busts line coming shortly....and who knows which Hobbit licences SS will also be obtaining. Eventually, something has to give. There is no way all these lines will be able to survive and I hate to say it [and hope I'm wrong], but I can see the JH collection being the first casualty.

That's funny you mention the "Eowyn disappearing" thing. You're right, by all firsthand accounts this doesn't appear to be an issue, but that was the first thing I mentioned to Tim when the photo's of this were first released. I was trying to make the case this statue would be best suited in colour for that very reason....obviously he didn't buy it.

 

[cstojano]

Honestly, I hope it's you. I've got both of these FB on pre-order at the moment and I hope to add many more future pieces to my LOTR collection. I'd hate to see this line end prematurely, but I really don't think things are looking very good at the moment.

I think something else to consider is what you have referred to before, namely the oversaturation factor. These pieces have enough competition as is with SS's PF, LSB, dio., and now maquette lines. Add in Weta's environments, the JH collection, shields/crowns/tiara's, and their yet to be produced 1/12th scale character/dio. line and I think it safe to say we will be all struggling with too many lines, not enough money or space. As if this weren't bad enough we also have Weta's Hobbit statue and busts line coming shortly....and who knows which Hobbit licences SS will also be obtaining. Eventually, something has to give. There is no way all these lines will be able to survive and I hate to say it [and hope I'm wrong], but I can see the JH collection being the first casualty.

That's funny you mention the "Eowyn disappearing" thing. That was the first thing I mentioned to Tim when the photo's of this were first released. I was trying to make the case this statue would be best suited in colour for that very reason....obviously he didn't buy it.

Not sure if woodsy or guru have seen the Nazgul piece in person but I didn't have any sense of Eowyn being lost in the piece on my first viewing. I actually prefer that piece to Smaug. Can't wait to get both.

 

[woodsy]

Not sure if woodsy or guru have seen the Nazgul piece in person but I didn't have any sense of Eowyn being lost in the piece on my first viewing. I actually prefer that piece to Smaug. Can't wait to get both.

Talk about timing. I must have just finished editing my post and adding this line right before you posted yours. And no, unfortunately I haven't seen it yet.

"That's funny you mention the "Eowyn disappearing" thing. You're right, by all firsthand accounts this doesn't appear to be an issue, but that was the first thing I mentioned to Tim when the photo's of this were first released. I was trying to make the case this statue would be best suited in colour for that very reason....obviously he didn't buy it."