SS Ark of the Covenent Photo Thread.

[kl241]

The real question is if a shinier gold leaf paint does adhere to primed polystone why didn't they use it?

 

[Wor-Gar]

Cost most likely.

I personally could care less about polystone -- it's cool that its heavy but I don't plan on lifting it much and I'd rather lower the shipping cost -- I'd just as soon take plastic with the gold leaf if that cost is the same as this polystone stuff, at least for extras like this.

If I can find some good gold "paint" I'll definitely try it (on the bottom first).

 

[kl241]

Well most hobby and craft stores sell gold leaf paint for stone statues. Who knows if it will work on polystone? Might be a good "Ask Sideshow" question.

 

[Entropy]

After looking at the options, gold leafing is really the only way to go.

 

[thenammagazine]

<--- Also on the fence. No, actually, I just got off the fence. The decision was made as I typed the words. I'm canceling. Sigh.

- J

Edit: Done. I wonder how many people checked "Issue with detail or quality of the finished product" on the final step of canceling their order.

I did that and also clicked the price option too. What we're getting isn't worth $100 more.

If I was to cancel... IF, don't get excited... then I'd be out TOHT as well. That would be unacceptable.

But I'm not opposed to dumping the ark at this point. I want to like it, but it's very hard.

Don't be afraid to cancel. Viking Playground has him shipped for what Sideshow's selling him for.

This must be a first for Sideshow to go from nearly sold out to overstocked. Second Chance, Gift Card eligible and finally Film Food and Figure Friday and Newsletter giveaways. These Arks will be gathering dust in the Sideshow warehouse. But don't worry, they've got "top men" working on it.

Somehow this'll come back as "Indy fans just aren't into 1:6." You watch!

It wasn't on purpose. I tried to line them up in the middle and not get the poles intertwined. Also, it's not in the background, it's THAT much smaller than the SS.

I think the Hasbro ark looks better also. Sideshow's great with human sculpts and portraits, but Hasbro has more experience with inanimate objects. They create sculpts and tooling for spaceships, cars, trucks, robots and all kind of toys! Heck, if you've seen their Big Millennium Falcon you know what I'm talking about. If they can miniaturize that they can definitely
create a more-accurate looking ark. That being said, if the SS one could be vac-metalized or gold leafed it may make all the difference. It feels great and definitely looks like a high-end collectible but is sadly missing the "shine".

I wasn't finger pointing. Merely pointing out how oddly ironic it was that despite the Sideshow Ark being the dominant item in the pic, Hasbro's just outshined it (pun unintended).

 

[IrishJedi]

Hobby gold leaf ain't gonna help this thing.

 

[Entropy]

It would improve the shine, but would never have that vac metal mirror finish, but it won't help the other problems. Maybe if the angel wore vertical stripes they'd appear slimmer?

 

[Murderofcrows71]

I don't know but I'm still waiting for any notice that mine is or has shipped

 

[Darren Carnall]

damn

Hasbro feet are more accurate
Hasbro finish is more accurate
Hasbro lid is more accurate
Hasbro angels are more accurate (Sideshows are too fat, wings are too round.. and pointing up in the middle??)
Hasbro can have the lid half-off without that stupid extra piece designed to hold the lid on (I see why SS did it... but... did it have to be that big?)

Sideshow size is possibly better
Sideshow make Hasbro look (and probably feel) like a toy
Sideshow has better poles & fabric (even if the fabric is based on the '20 years later' faded colour... not as it was at the time)

...if it was shiny, I could possibly forgive all these. But damn it just looks so dull. (I'm sure it's better in hand, as always... but still you can clearly see the difference)

i wonder if the usual trick of spraying black gloss, followed by metallic gold would work on this surface (like how people paint endo skulls and stuff, just in silver)

 

[choopie]

Yeah, it doesn't look bad, but it's not worth $90-plus. If another version wasn't floating around out there for comparisons, Sideshow's version would probably be more forgiving.

 

[bmarz1000]

Yeah, it doesn't look bad, but it's not worth $90-plus. If another version wasn't floating around out there for comparisons, Sideshow's version would probably be more forgiving.

I totally agree. Sideshow warehouse employees are probably side-stepping around all these things thinking "Darn Hasbro"!

 

[SwedishHeat]

The real question is if a shinier gold leaf paint does adhere to primed polystone why didn't they use it?

Cost most likely.

Dude, if it's legitimately a cost concern, that's BS. Sideshow is cutting far too many corners as it is just to fit a price point. It's hurting the quality of their product and the consumers are responding with their wallets.

It's understood that Sideshow's price creep was brought on by Hot Toys' emerging success and the understanding that the 1/6 scale community was willing to pay that price. So Sideshow is trying to maintain a sub-Hot Toys price while maintaining a sub Hot Toys quality, meanwhile, Hot Toys are selling out and Sideshow is stuck with leftover figs. So, whose business model is working?? People will pay $150 for a knockout figure. They won't pay $90 for a figure that needs fixes. Sideshow has the holy grails of pop culture licenses and they need to treat them with the respect they deserve, not release "fixer-upper figures".

 

[Mad Old Lu]

It must be something with the polystone. Isn't the idol that came with the idol base and Belloq made of polystone? Because that one was the matte gold, and the idol that came with Indy (and not polystone) was shiny.

 

[Darth Madden]

It must be something with the polystone. Isn't the idol that came with the idol base and Belloq made of polystone? Because that one was the matte gold, and the idol that came with Indy (and not polystone) was shiny.

I believe the base idol is metal and the Indy idol is plastic.

 

[Mad Old Lu]

I believe the base idol is metal and the Indy idol is plastic.

Yes, I think you're right. But it's got to be something with the plating process that would have them do the plastic idol shiny and the nice weighty metal idol in matte. I would think one could gold/brass plate anything!

Has sideshow done anything in polystone that was super shiny like the Hasbro Ark?

I think I'll submit the question on Sideshow's site as to why they decided on matte instead of shiny.

 

[Darth Madden]

I would think one could gold/brass plate anything!

You would think, but I don't know materials well enough to say for sure. You figure they could have come up with SOME way to make it shiney though.

 

[SwedishHeat]

I think the problem is that Sideshow couldn't just release a "more accurate" plastic Ark. They had to make it polystone because Sideshow is high-end, that's what I was getting at with price points. They could've put that same Ark out in plastic, charged $30 for it, but then people would've said "Man, this looks like something Hasbro would release". Of course, it is a bit of a lose-lose situation. On the other hand, the Hasbro Ark does look better, soooooo. . .

 

[Mad Old Lu]

I just submitted the question on Ask Sideshow:

Hello Sideshow Team,
I am eagerly awaiting my Toht Exclusive with the polystone Ark of the Covenant. I am curious about one aspect of the ark: why did you choose to make the finish matte instead of shiny? Was it something to do with the manufacturing of the piece, or cost, or was it a personal preference?
I can't wait to get it!

I tried to sound positive and not confrontational. Hopefully they'll answer!

 

[galactiboy]

Has anyone weathered the Hasbro version to make it look a little more worn as it appears in the movie?

Mine is a bit damaged (one side has messed-up flashing) so it might be worth messing with some weathering to help dull down the toyish look.

 

[Sir Tristram]

I think the problem is that Sideshow couldn't just release a "more accurate" plastic Ark. They had to make it polystone because Sideshow is high-end, that's what I was getting at with price points. They could've put that same Ark out in plastic, charged $30 for it, but then people would've said "Man, this looks like something Hasbro would release". Of course, it is a bit of a lose-lose situation. On the other hand, the Hasbro Ark does look better, soooooo. . .

They used 'lesser' materials with the Boba Fett PF and charged just as much. Why not here, with the Ark.