SW Dioramas

[Ven]

I could, and I actually have both the exclusive Anakin and the exclusive Obi-Wan at hand.

But I'm completely getting out of the 12" line after this announcement. Figures are figures, but statues are art... the kind of art I've been waiting for for over twenty-five years, while collecting Hasbro and what have you.

This line is really a big thing for me. Hope you understand!

I understand, I totally skipped the hasbro phase... so these figures are quite nice, I consider SST figures art... but with medicom for me atleast it's more of pop art, which I like more.

I really want to re-buy the anakin figure , haha shouldn't have blown it up!!

 

[nash]

I agree with most people in here, this is indeed way overpriced, no matter how impressive of a piece.

But knowing star wars, and knowing sideshow, the edition size will probably be too much for demand and we'll see a price drop on the secondary market a few months after the hooplah has settled down.

 

[carbo-fation]

.... we'll see a price drop on the secondary market a few months after the hooplah has settled down.

That's exactly what I'm hoping for!

 

[Seretur]

Snakebeater -- well, I'll put my Anakin up for sale in about a month's time.

And as for the price: yes, it struck me hard too, when I first heard it. But then I also heard reports on how big and complicated the piece is -- and suddenly the price point seemed very much in range of the similar Marvel vs. dioramas (which are in generally the same scale). People are going to be thrown off by the huge difference in price point between the first LOTR and the first SW diorama, but as soon as the first side-by-side picture surfaces, the reason will become perfectly obvious!

The site lists the ES as TBD, probably because Sideshow is gauging the initial interest (as stated in the Q&A). But the Toy Fair reports had it at ES 2000. This isn't small, but isn't terribly large either. And, again, the closest point of comparison would be the Gentle Giant Dewback diorama, one of the first SW polystone statues of the modern era. It had an ES of 1500, went for $240, and that also seemed huge at the time. Still, now it's going for twice that much, and is becoming very scarce.

The SW fandom is large enough to pick up two thousand of these pieces and clamor for more. At least that's what I'm hoping for, as that would mean many more pieces to come.

 

[Boba Fett]

As much as I think this diorama looks cool, I just don't feel the love for getting it. It just doesn't grab me.

 

[Darren Carnall]

the more i see this diorama (its very cool) the more excited I get about building a base for my 12"ers lol

 

[spaceman]

My reaction to the line is about the same as to the new LOTR Dio's. Essentially my entire collection is from these two films. So I'm naturally delighted there will be some great new collectibles. Of coursed, theres a little bit of that "here we go again" feeling of doubt and dread (financial, spacewise, etc.). It's like the start of a roller coaster "*****-*****-*****-*****-*****" - you have a little time to wonder if this was really a good idea, but of course we're all already on board. The collecting train has left the station, and it's way too late. But, we're pretty sure it will actually be fun in the end.

If they can keep the offerings unique from other lines in one way or another, it should be great. I think the Obi/Anakin setup is a pretty brilliant debut. It looks really great all around. I was surprised by the price, after being surprised in the other direction on the Crack of Doom. I think Seretur nailed it though in analysis.

And as for the price: yes, it struck me hard too, when I first heard it. But then I also heard reports on how big and complicated the piece is -- and suddenly the price point seemed very much in range of the similar Marvel vs. dioramas (which are in generally the same scale). People are going to be thrown off by the huge difference in price point between the first LOTR and the first SW diorama, but as soon as the first side-by-side picture surfaces, the reason will become perfectly obvious!

Have to remember Frodo and Gollum are already "halflings", taken again in 1/9 scale.

 

[LOTRFan]

It looks really great all around. I was surprised by the price, after being surprised in the other direction on the Crack of Doom.

It is kinda sad isn't it.

 

[choopie]

I like this piece, but passed on it. Just not that excited about it given it's price point. I'm holding out for OT dios...hopefully with some Stormtroopers. I'd rather put that $280 toward a PF figure.

 

[The Josh]

The price never really suprised me because since the Marvel Dio's are already around this price I just assumed that it would be close. Then the Crack of Doom came out with a cheaper tag so I thought maybe the SW ones would be between $150-$200. The Crack of Doom was a nice suprise all around for me. I would have loved a bit more base but I honestly don't get all the hoopla about it being a bad piece. What suprised me about this piece was how much of an amazing job Trev did on it.

 

[FlyAndFight]

The problem with trying to justify a price point is that any amount can be thrown out there and it's virtually impossible to justify or refute it's validity or worth.

It's a nice looking piece with a nice physical size and nice sculpt. But we have no ES, which to me, is probably the most important aspect in "justifying" a higher price.

The SS/Weta Sauron is undeniably one of the best pieces to come out of the SS/Weta line but the ES brutally killed the "value" of that piece. For those of you thinking that you don't care that you paid full retail ($300) because you love the piece, I also love the piece and only paid ($155). I love it even more because of that deal. On the flip side, we got 500 Newborn Lurtz, which are pulling in considerably more than retail and yet is probably the ugliest thing to come out of the entire SS/Weta line. Another good example is the Weta "White Witch" statue from their Narnia collection. An amazingly sculpted piece and it presently available for $35 bucks. Large ES was the kiss of the death (besides a lack-luster film reception).

Regardless of how you look at these things, once the sculptor is done with his part, These are cast in large numbers in a factory and assembly-line painted, packaged and shipped out. The major factor in justifying a higher price is simply the ES, in my opinion.

 

[PosterBoyKelly]

Well anythings worth whatever you'd pay for it. I've spent hundreds on simple pieces of vinyl and paint that probably only cost .55 cents to make, but that was my choice. If you think this is worht $280- than it's worth $280. I wouldn't pay for it, but you know what? If it was a battle I liked a lot more, OT, I probably would. Or pay $50 less from a retailer. It's justified because enough people are going to buy it. You know it will sell out eventually, so there it is.

 

[The Josh]

Regardless of how you look at these things, once the sculptor is done with his part, These are cast in large numbers in a factory and assembly-line painted, packaged and shipped out. The major factor in justifying a higher price is simply the ES, in my opinion.

Great post FF. Very well said.

I justify the price by how much I like an item not by how many made. If I did it the other way around I'd have passed on some really cool items like Sauron, ML, etc.

 

[FlyAndFight]

Well anythings worth whatever you'd pay for it. I've spent hundreds on simple pieces of vinyl and paint that probably only cost .55 cents to make, but that was my choice.

Overpaying for something may make it worth it to the purchaser (and seller would happily agree) but it doesn't make it more valuable in or of itself. A wad of chewed gum could be purchased for a million dollars on ebay but that doesn't make it "worth" a million dollars, not even to the person who paid for it, who would, in most probability, never be able to make his money back on it, if he so wanted to. He may be happy with his million dollar wad of chewed gum, but some may argue that he's insane.

You know it will sell out eventually, so there it is.

I don't know. With a very high ES, it may sit in the warehouse next to the ss/weta cave troll bust, and dozens of other unsold pieces...

 

[FlyAndFight]

Great post FF. Very well said.

I justify the price by how much I like an item not by how many made. If I did it the other way around I'd have passed on some really cool items like Sauron, ML, etc.

Thanks, Josh!

I justify the "piece" by how much I like it but justify the "price" by several factors, probably the main factor being ES. I justify the "purchase" by a combination of the above.

I held out in buying the Sauron and Morgul Lord statues until the price was considerably lower than retail. As much as I liked the pieces, I couldn't justify paying the higher price for them. Only when they came down in price was I willing to fork over the cash. THEN they were worth it to me. If both would have had a much lower ES, then I would not have been so patient. (think Orthanc...)

 

[The Josh]

No problem. Just different schools of thought.

 

[WetaWork]

The only SW Diorama I'm intersted in is the moment Vader tells Luke, "I am Your Father".

 

[Seretur]

Spaceman, I really hope you'll add the Dioramas to the Tracker.

And as for the value -- yes, we should all keep in mind the fate of the Weta Kong and Narnia lines. Brilliantly made, but overshot the ES mark by the factor of at least 3-4. And, of course, created before any of the two movies had time to prove its lasting appeal to the collecting fanbase.

I'd hate it if either the LOTR or SW Dioramas were to lose value, more out of my personal vanity than any other reason. But it's not going to be the deciding factor in my decision to keep and/or collect any of them: I've already made my mind up to get everything from SW, as well as those LOTR pieces that can be squared with my book-comes-first-by-a-long-shot attitude.

Actually, with the Crack diorama, I'm very pleased with the quality of the sculpting, even though I have some (slight) misgivings about the pose, and some other (larger) ones about the amount of scenery it includes. (I have no misgivings about the Obi-Anakin diorama whatsoever.) I bet that the next one will be significantly pricier, as there aren't that many hobbit-on-hobbit tussles left to make!

But the important thing is that Sideshow has found a major talent in Trevor Grove; the company lost a few major sculptors in recent months, and I probably wasn't the only one who figured that most of its major pieces would depend on the talent of outside vendors like the Gore Group. But Trev is a new in-house talent, if I'm not mistaken -- and apparently as big an asset to the company as any individual there.

 

[Darth Caedus]

At this point in time, I don't really care much about how much value it will have, just the price I have to pay for it. Too much $ = me not buying, too cheap $ = me buying, just right $ = me buying. So 2/3 isn't too bad. :chew :chew :maul :maul

 

[PosterBoyKelly]

Overpaying for something may make it worth it to the purchaser (and seller would happily agree) but it doesn't make it more valuable in or of itself. A wad of chewed gum could be purchased for a million dollars on ebay but that doesn't make it "worth" a million dollars, not even to the person who paid for it, who would, in most probability, never be able to make his money back on it, if he so wanted to. He may be happy with his million dollar wad of chewed gum, but some may argue that he's insane.




I don't know. With a very high ES, it may sit in the warehouse next to the ss/weta cave troll bust, and dozens of other unsold pieces...

So when you say what somethings worth do you mean the cost of production? Because if the majority of a target audience is willing to pay X amount for something, it's WORTH it. Maybe not in the sense of what it cost to make + profit, but I regress I think we're thinking/talking about different things.