Man it is hard to bite your tongue and scratch your head at the same time. This particular issue, the Howe line, gets me so cranky because I just do not get the lack of interest. Invariably I end up getting very testy, mostly with Woodsy, on this topic which ends up devolving into debates about art, collectability, Weta vs SS, etc. Are both Howe pieces were 2x the aragorn maquette? Apparently not based on sales, but ABSOLUTELY they are (screaming).
Just a suggestion, but if you do insist on getting testy how about reserving those emotions for the ones who deserve it, namely Weta.....as for me, I'm just the messenger.
For close to two years now I have been stating the obvious, namely that these would not resonate with the majority of LOTR collectors because :
1]. They are not movie-related, therefore they were always going to be less popular with the vast majority of collectors
2]. They are faux bronze, again making these much less popular with the vast majority of collectors....who happen to prefer colour
So instead of taking these factors into consideration and pricing them in such a way as to appeal to those on the fence, or who normally don't find FB or non movie-related collectibles appealling...what did they do? They priced them at 40% more than comparable SS statues....thus singlehandedly killing this line.
And this has nothing to do with the quality of the product, which up until the faux base 'bait and switch' incident was pretty well perfect. The simple truth is, no matter how good the quality of an item is, people are only going to pay so much....anything that is priced above it's perceived value is not going to sell...period. Alot of people will pay upwards of 60K for a vehicle of outstanding quality such as a Lexus. Slap another 40% on top of that 60K price tag and all the sudden you have a showroom full of quality vehicles sitting there 'cause no one's buying them.....and that is exact what happened with the JH line.
And the
only people responsible for this are those calling the shots at Weta. Although apparently, alot of people would rather attack me for telling the truth than put the blame squarely where it belongs.
I remember writing a review for the Smaug statue on Weta's website after the one I ordered for a friend arrived. Unlike the rest of the reviews [or rather infomercials] being written I chose to be completely honest so that anyone not familiar with the product could walk away as an informed consumer....and I was villified for do so. Pretty ironic considering 6 weeks after I wrote in my review [in which I pointed out the 'solid wood' base was not solid wood and that the cheap veneer substitute on these would have bubbling/lifting issues] Weta announced a total recall on the product. And as if out of an episode of the Twilight Zone, I actually had one guy attack me for my review....and he did so after Weta had recalled the statues, and the same day that he himself stated he was going to ask for his money back after calling the whole incident 'a fiasco'.
I will say this. I have seen both the faux bronze and bronze of Smaug and there is no comparison. These pieces were meant to be bronzes and it shows I think. I canceled my order for the Nazgul FB and will get the bronze of that piece as well. If they do more pieces from the line (I suspect at least Gandalf will be made) I also suspect they will NOT do a faux bronze version and raise the bronze price back to 6k. This was the original plan, collector outrage ensued, they made FB versions and lowered the bronze price, and then the collectors threw Weta to the wolves. If they can't sell out the FB Smaug then as Woodsy pointed out who will buy the other pieces???
So to bring this back to Rivendell, the collectors clearly said one thing and did another with the Howe line (as I remember it anyway) and Weta may keep this in mind with Rivendell and future pieces.
Well I'm afraid we'll have to agree to disagree on this one because no one 'threw Weta to the wolves'.....they did it to themselves. Most collectors wanted the polystone versions in colour, not faux bronze. And no one expected these would be priced at well over $400 a pop. As for Rivendell, yes collectors have asked for this, and I'm sure all those involved have every intention of purchasing this envoronment once it becomes available....but wanting something, and having the money to pay for it are not necessarily the same thing. Perhaps that is something Weta should keep in mind when they slap a price tag on Rivendell.
