You're definitely right about mix media being best for 1:1 scale. For the fabric to flow how it would on regular humans just doesn't work smaller literally because of Physics. It's a constant battle to "fix" the fabric to "flow" correctly... which is why ultimately I've decided I'll be selling ALL of my Asmus 1/6 figures and sticking to statues from here on out. Great video man!
Hey Ryan!… Wow dude, you going all larger scale? That’s excellent matey!!! Although, I’m sure you’re sticking with Weta 1:6?… Their stuff is all sculpted anyway, and just shows how much better it looks! To me, THAT is a statue! Sculpted and painted! 😁👍🏻 But… each to their own & I do genuinely want to see Infinity succeed with their LotR line in both 1:2 scale and the 1:1 busts line!… Good to hear from you my mate! 👍🏻
When they first released Legolas Promo Shots I pretty blown away with the face sculpt. Though pricey I POd with a dealer in Singapore. And for some reason I thought the Ultimate came with both Silicone and PVC head sculpts - which would help somewhat with the worry of how silicone will perform as years go by. However after seeing in hand photos I was quite disappointed with production release and cancelled. To be honest for UK / EU collectors this is actually very serious money now sitting around 4K+ with shipping and tax. This is way out of league of normal collectors and more niche for 1/2 scale. I think it does make some sense if you really like a specific character and you take one as a signature piece or if you are only into large scales - but collector numbers will be small for this as they take a lot of real estate. In answer to your question though I would say “too much, too expensive and too late” - the collectors market is already saturated and in a serious down cycle now. Whatever you buy now you are facing big loss on resale if you can shift it. 1/6 and 1/4 is fine for me.
Hey matey - excellent points raised here - thank you! And I feel your perspective is spot on!… 👍🏻 I’m just seeing too many of the already released or up for PO pieces not selling, or worse still, collectors selling them on!!… All at reduced prices…. & still no buyers!… This is always pause for concern, for me… Cheers matey 👍🏻
I've got Legolas and Gandalf and they look so much better in real than on the photos. I was worried a little about the hair when i saw it on some videos but when they came to me I didn't have to adjust them much. I also have The Witch King on preorder and I'm thinking about Aragorn too. Gimli is the smallest of the all and the most expensive at the same time so it's a pass for me right now. I have some JND silicon pieces too but half scale by Infinity Studios gives much more presence and the detail is really great. To be honest JND prices are similar to Infinity here in EU and they look really small when i watch them all next to each other.
Hey there, thank you for your comment… I find Infinity to be the best now, by some margin, with their pricing (all barring the 1:2 Gimli - which was a ridiculous price ). JND are certainly the most overpriced, I feel, and in all fairness, I think QS take the piss with some of their prices! But… these statue companies are all going to face some serious hard times soon, if they don’t address their pricing and scaling of future pieces - as they’re simply not selling!… One company has already folded, how long before another goes?… Cheers matey… 👍🏻
@hauntofthecollector Companies have priced some collectors out alongside the shipping. A few more main pieces for me, and I'm calling it quits. I can't sustain this sort of spending.
@@mitchelllawrence2798 I agree mate… it’s now only pieces that grab me that I’m going for! It’s going to have such a detrimental effect on the hobby!… it’s a shame…
I love that Infinity keeps pushing on with this 1/2 scale line. HOWEVER, it is a shame that Infinity is only offering the silicone versions. I’m keeping my 1/2 WK PO and I’m praying for 1/2 Sauron despite having 1/6, 1/4 and (in the future) even 1/1 (bust) version. It is Sauron, what else is there to say 😎 Now, regarding Aragorn’s price, I’ll be surprised if it comes in sub $3,000. Likeness is really good, few minor tweaks and it can be > 95%. If they do Saruman or Gollum 1/2, sculpted, I’m 100% in.
Hey matey!!… I’m now all about the 1:1 busts, so I can enjoy what Infinity are doing with their 1:2 line and know I’m not getting involved… as I can see that were they to tackle MoS or KotD, I feel they’d more likely go the bust route?…
@@hauntofthecollector Honestly, I don’t think Infinity will do many more 1/2 releases. Aragorn makes sense as they already released Legolas, Gimli and Gandalf. On the Dark side, I’m thinking they will release Saruman at some point and maybe one more (Sauron 🤞), and that’s it. Yes, I think their main focus will be on busts in the future. The demand for busts remains solid despite the overall statue market decline.
@@dennissuijkerbuijk172 hey matey! I’d like to see more come from their 1:2 scale line, even though I’m not buying into it, but I really struggle to see how much further it can go, given the very limited success with sales (clearly!), thus far!!?…
I agree with the pricing problem on mixed media, I think they should be a lot cheaper, especially 1/2 Witch King with just black cloak. As for the interest, maybe they are more popular in Asia?
@@hauntofthecollector MM is 100% needed for these larger scales. You can get away with that at smaller scales, but these and life size need max realism.
@@user-hx4br8to3q I agree with the 1:1 busts - as it works on them, but (& it is probably ‘just me’), but I just see ‘doll clothing’ when I see smaller scale MM I’m afraid?…. It looks good on what I can see on Aragorn, but I thought it looked poor on Legolas…. WK was cool!!… Maybe it’s the ‘good guy’ thing that bothers me??? 😁👍🏻
I was planning to get into this 1/2 line since I don't have any lord of the rings pieces but after the Gimli not having a sculpted version I will just try and find the prime 1 line , also like you said the Legolas i watched a unboxing and the portrait just looked horrible compared to the promotion photos
Yeah mate - the hair looked terrible to me?? All ‘puffed up’ somehow??… and for this price range, as I’ve said, shouldn’t be any issues!!… I’ll stick with the 1:1 scale, villains busts! 💀👍🏻
@@hauntofthecollector Rooted hair always needs a bit of futzing out of the box to get it to look right. The hair on mine is very impressive, but can get a bit wild if you let it much like real hair.
@@user-hx4br8to3q yeah, if you have the 1:2 Legolas and you’re pleased with it, what I think really is unimportant?… But, none of this alters the fact that it’s not selling well, collectors are selling theirs & even distributors are lowering the price, just to try and sell these… The focus here was really, how popular is this 1:2 scale range?… Because to me, it looks to be struggling somewhat…?
@@hauntofthecollector I have not seen any sellers over here in the US letting them go, and right now pretty much everything is discounted so I wouldn't say that is reflective of the piece itself. 1/2 and 1/1 are always slow sellers. Infinity busts are still in stock here too and I have seen huge markdowns on some of Wetas best recent pieces like the Marshes and new Bag End.
Oh right, okay?… Well, for me the likeness is really good… but we’ve covered this before, insomuch, we sometimes ‘see’ things differently?… For me, I see the MM on 1:2 scale and smaller as just not looking realistic or authentic - which is why I avoid it as much as possible… 👍🏻
@hauntofthecollector Yeah. When I saw the pictures I didn't go "Oh look! It's Aragorn. " It was more like "Who the f**k is that supposed to be. " 😅 It just didn't scream Aragorn to me.
Main issue one for me is Gimli - that pricing, compared to the others, was incredibly high!!… Which was unusual for Infinity as their pricing, up until then, had been pretty decent? Plus… dropping the sculpted option may prove to be a bad move?…
@@hauntofthecollector I am not interested in the sculpted versions personally, but would be a nice option for some. I agree on the pricing. I have not POd yet and waiting for a sale on that one, but I will get him.
Yes, the InArt series are looking exceptionally good - but that is as long as you’re happy with 1:6 scale, of course? As most statue collectors are after 1:4 scale & upwards… 👍🏻
