Weta Workshops The Hobbit Motherload Of Goodies

[The Josh]

Yeah, there is a size difference. One is a 1:4 PF one is a 1:6 statue.

 

[Mr Fell Beast]

Yeah, there is a size difference. One is a 1:4 PF one is a 1:6 statue.

ZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz


Come on admit it, you are the only one, admit it you will feel better!

 

[The Josh]

ZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz


Come on admit it, you are the only one, admit it you will feel better!

Admit what? That I like the Balin and Dwalin statues and felt fine paying what I did? Ok, I admit it.

 

[Mr Fell Beast]

Admit what? That I like the Balin and Dwalin statues and felt fine paying what I did? Ok, I admit it.

Good to see that after all of these years some thing never change.....

 

[The Josh]

Good to see that after all of these years some thing never change.....

I fail to see the issue with being ok with my purchases. If I was upset I'd say it. If others have issues with what I buy you're more than welcome to mention it.

 

[theguru1]

Ok, lousy smart phone pic in awful lighting but tell me the base is the only difference between Mola Ram and Balin

Wait a minute, you got the Mola Ram PF for only $160 including shipping?

Is this the new base pricing at Sideshow for PF's, if so I may have to get some, what with Weta being $80-90 more.

 

[cstojano]

Mola Ram was a slow seller, as most Indiana Jones pieces are. I paid about 160 for mine, a little more for the Indy. They blew out Mola Ram for 199 I think. Deals can be had if you wait. Heck I have seen dewbacks being sold for less than 200 shipped. Unreal. I got the snowtrooper and e-web canon for 218 out the door as well so that was actually less than retail for either dwarf. I can't decide which is the worst deal Weta's 1:6 statues, the Fellowship of the Ring sets, or the Prancing Pony. Oh wait, there's also barad-dur. Hmmm. Man I love these things but if you use your head about it rather than just double fist this stuff into your mouth you have to stand real far back from the painting to make it all look right pricing wise. The new gollum, no way that should be more than a C bill.

 

[DaveMac]

Comparing PF's with 1/6 statues doesn't work in my book.The bulk of a lot of PF's is blank poly stone with the only detailing being on the visible parts (head,parts of arm/ leg) covered up with a costume. Are they worth the money? Yes, some are definately worth it, others not so
WETA is not a collectibles based company, it is a reasonably new string to their SFX/ digital design bow and so they probably don't have the bargaining clout provided by their partnership with the established, collectibles focussed Sideshow, nor the ability to 'flex yet. There 1/6 statue line is well sculpted and has been designed to fit right in with the original line and they have the license covered. Are they worth the price? Yes, all up to now have been except Gollum, but that has been made right.
All can be had cheaper at some point but if you want it now then it's up to the individual as to what they think it's worth. Neither company is producing bad stuff and both companies are feeling the pressure of escalating costs. I have overpaid on the Snow Troll because I wanted it asap and am currently flexing to 'overpay' on SS's new Conan Fury dio because again I want it asap because no doubt there are those who will always say retail is 'way too much!'

 

[cstojano]

I don't know that Conan's Fury is a bad deal, looking at the Prize as an example. Now given hairy ape is no sub for bikini clad girl but still their Conan pieces have held value.

I am curious why everyone is screaming mad about Gollum being overpriced and not the others though. Is the Gollum figure really that different from Balin or Dwalin? Scale is the same, amount of poly is about the same with the extra base on gollum. Is it the detailing? Do we really think the amount of sculpt hours varies that much on pieces like this that are so small anyway.

About the PFs. We shall see. I expect SS to drop a Thorin PF at comic-con and then people can compare detailing and scale and see what an extra 100 dollars (249 vs likely 349) buys you. My prediction, a lot.

 

[theguru1]

I'm going to be very interested in what the prices are like on SS Hobbit statues. Given that we all suspect the Hobbit license costs more then LOTR (for example, $15 price difference between LOTR art prints and Hobbit ones), if things flow through, then I'd be surprised if any Thorin PF is under $400.

 

[The Josh]

I expect a Thorin PF will be in the $350-$375 range. As far as the statues where The Lord of the Rings statues are and where The Hobbit statues are has been the market really for several years now. It was something I talked about in several discussions when the SS line started and we see today this is the market. It comes down to you either don't mind the price/pay it or you don't like the price/don't pay it/wait for it to be cheaper. Where the price market is at for Weta's Hobbit statues isn't out of line with the market as a whole.

 

[cstojano]

I'm going to be very interested in what the prices are like on SS Hobbit statues. Given that we all suspect the Hobbit license costs more then LOTR (for example, $15 price difference between LOTR art prints and Hobbit ones), if things flow through, then I'd be surprised if any Thorin PF is under $400.

Do we know this about the licensing fees or are you basing that just on Weta's high prices? Maybe SS can negotiate a lower fee. If they cannot there no way this line takes off. People will not pay that much for a Hobbit PF. These things should not be more expensive than the SW pieces - period. If they are, then someone needs/needed a better lawyer.

The question about the licensing fees was a serious one. Have we seen confirmation of this NOT from coming from a Weta employee?

 

[DaveMac]

I don't know that Conan's Fury is a bad deal, looking at the Prize as an example. Now given hairy ape is no sub for bikini clad girl but still their Conan pieces have held value.

I am curious why everyone is screaming mad about Gollum being overpriced and not the others though. Is the Gollum figure really that different from Balin or Dwalin? Scale is the same, amount of poly is about the same with the extra base on gollum. Is it the detailing? Do we really think the amount of sculpt hours varies that much on pieces like this that are so small anyway.

About the PFs. We shall see. I expect SS to drop a Thorin PF at comic-con and then people can compare detailing and scale and see what an extra 100 dollars (249 vs likely 349) buys you. My prediction, a lot.

I think Conan is priced right for what I expect to get, the secondary value of such pieces is not the issue as it seems to be the retail price of most figures that is ruffling feathers. Gollum is not vastly different from Bilbo in my eyes as the rock compensates for the detail lost in no garments, that is why the price should have been Hobbit sized, not the much larger Dwarf size.
If SS pop a Thorin PF out with intricatly detailed costume then it will further add fuel to the dissaproval of their apparent stance on Boromir and Gimli.Time will tell as to what may be bought for what, but at the moment WETA have a competitive range IMO

 

[FrodoEyes]

Wait wait wait, so you're comparing the price on a PF that you got for a deal, not at full price, to a full-priced 1/6 scale statue?

Wait a while and i'm sure you'll also find great deals on the new Weta statues, especially as they're open edition.

And also regarding pricing, i wouldn't be surprised if the license for The Hobbit is worth considerably more than LOTR, especially as The Hobbit is actually happening now. For evidence of this just look at Weta's art prints - The Hobbit ones are more expensive than LOTR ones.

It'll be interesting to see how much Sideshow's Hobbit PF's retail at... and if they're massively over-priced, i do hope you all whine about that too.

 

[cstojano]

Sigh. I got deals on both of them, the Mola Ram and the Weta dwarves for roughly the same price. But let's just talk retail. Mola Ram retail was what, 299, and Dwalin is 249. 50 bucks and 20 inches, yeah good deal on the Weta piece for sure.

Once again I ask: Has anyone confirmed that the licensing fees are higher or is Weta telling you all that. Higher fees and a metal rod in the leg, yeah that's why its so expensive. Look I like Weta's pieces, better than SS actually. The maquette line has become a hodgepodge mess of twisted poses and on-screen, off-screen, multi-scene characterizations. The Frodo and Sam really sealed the deal for me on that line - I have no use for orc armor on those characters. Aragorn is a great piece, though.

 

[FrodoEyes]

No-one has confirmed anything about the cost of the license, and Weta haven't said anything about it. People have asked, but they haven't answered.
If it was Weta just telling us all that, that would kinda be confirmation!
I agree they're over-priced but like i said, you only have to look at the difference in price on Weta's art prints to see that Hobbit merchandise costs more than LOTR merchandise, unless Weta are just hiking the prices up knowing that we'll pay.
And i agree about the maquette line, only Strider is a classic and i love it. I only wish he was a *bit* smaller to fit into the scale of my other statues!

 

[The Josh]

I think we would all love for these to be cheaper but we have to be real in that this isn't 2005. Statues aren't $125 anymore and we either buy or don't. As far as the SS statue line IMO it's freaking awesome. I look at them and think they're some of the best stuff I've owend. I just really dig what SS has done with the line and can't wait for Frodo/Sam to show up next week.

 

[theguru1]

Once again I ask: Has anyone confirmed that the licensing fees are higher or is Weta telling you all that.

No, we have no hard confirmation and never will. No company is going to discuss commercial contract arrangements.

I do remember Tim at Weta saying that making the license deal was the most complex he had ever had to do.

No doubt, as the current 'in thing' the license holders are going to hold out and make as much as they can from the Hobbit over the next few years, while letting LOTR go a bit 'cheaper'.

While the Art prints provide some proof of that, its comparing statues that will be more interesting to see. Even so, the requirements/restrictions, etc within each license line can be very different and very exact, so even comparing statues to statues at different scales, may no be a totally fair comparison.

Would I like it all to be very limited and much cheaper, of course I would, but now days, I'm not expecting it to be. Look at say the new SS Arwen statue, you can't say the development/production work between that and say Thorin or Dwalin would be all that different and yet the prices are much the same. If LOTR license is a bit cheaper then the Hobbit, then they even out pretty much. Having said that, SS started its new LOTR 1/6th scale line with much fan fare, now it's slowed down to a trickle, as has the PF line, while busts and dio's have died.

I'm sure they have high hopes for the Hobbit line, but at the end of the day, I expect a slow death (if you want all 13 dwarfs, your only best bet is going to be Weta) as the money and profits are all in Star Wars/Marvel and DC.

 

[cstojano]

To be honest, the SS thing is already a joke. IF we see a sneak at SDCC then we are likely looking at a PO around August which means we probably won't have the first SS Hobbit piece in hand until August 2014 with the now ever present delays. So unless they have really changed their production supply process, which seems doubtful, we won't have in hand pics of SS Hobbit items until the third and final movie is just about to come out. How can that be? Has SS dropped a totally new piece, done the PO and had the piece in hand within a short time frame recently? I suppose the LSFs came out pretty quickly but the PFs just take forever.

Now maybe they will drop 2-3 PFs at the same time.