InArt: The Lord of the Rings - Aragorn 1:6

QuiGonFishing said:

Just preordered the rooted hair premium version. First batch from Pop Collectibles (my first order with them).

I’m a die hard Star Wars fan, but it’s been a while since I’ve been this excited for a preorder. I sure hope the production pieces live up to the majesty of the prototype!

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I started down that path as well.

I've been collecting Star Wars exclusively for the last three decades. I guess i can be considered a die-hard fan of the saga. Though i knew about LOTR prior to P. Jackson's trilogy, i really loved his adaptation.

Seriously considered collecting action figures back when Toys Biz launched their line but was already spending a lot on Hasbro Star Wars. Asmus almost got me into LOTR 1/6 collecting but felt quality wasn't there for me. It took Inart Aragorn to break my will.

POed both Aragorn and Gandalf from OSK last week. I guess my "Star Wars only" days are behind me now. Already reevaluating my collecting strategy. I'm gonna have to pass on more Star Wars releases than i used to.

Few days and no posts. The King is dead, cancel all POs while you still can.

Yeah the hype has died down. I'll still get him but he's in the PO pile now.

Haha I’m still very hyped and haven’t stopped thinking about this figure for the last few weeks. I just don’t know what else to say here without repeating myself and bugging everyone.

That is pretty much all any of us can do is express what we like about it and just wait at this point. We can discuss further what we might hope they add or if they will fix the height of his boot cuts.

This Aragorn makes me go back and look at the last figure I was really excited about- Blitzway Kurt Cobain- and look upon it with even greater disappointment that there was no rooted hair option.

What quality does to collectors eh?

I think we all start out collecting stuff we love and once we have it we're getting bored and buying (mediocre) stuff we like but don't really need...the natural way of this hobby. And now we finally see high quality stuff and go: yes this is the **** we were waiting for all the time.

Well that might be part of the hype explanation. Premium products do sell. People might think $400-500 for a single figure?? But the real problem are mediocre figures for $250-300 which should cost 150 max. (Asmus did it right though in most parts I'm thinking of other companies and franchises)

People saying "I cant spend 500 on a single figure" but often these people spend 250 on several subpar or sideplot figures bc those prices while high are still lower than 500 BUT are they really worth 250 at all? Quality over quantity. Back to the roots.

Just some thoughts

I completely agree, I've been collecting hot toys for years now. It is the company that got me started in collecting 1/6th in the first place. I'm happy with my collection, my first was big chap that I paid an obscene amount on through ebay (alien is my fav movie). Since then I've collected star wars figures almost exclusivly but dipped into neo and others (I have the new robocop pre ordered). I did start collecting asmus figures because as I've gotten older LOTR has overtaken star wars as my fav franchise. I agree thought that they are a step below hot toys but I had no choice. Because of this difference in quality it has actually pulled me into collecting statues for the first time. I discovered WETA statues and immediately POrd the 1/6th sauron that came out. I was not disappointed. I love that statue but also still prefer the aspect of having poseable 1/6th figures. I have the crown series asmus gandalf and it looks great (even bothered asmus enough through e-mail and instagram to get the new molded hat they promised, it does look better). When I saw the Aragorn Inart figure release pics, I was sold, I had to PO it and I also POed gandalf Inart as well (need the moria pose that the asmus gandalf cannot do). We are in an interesting time for collectables and I love it. I even had the asmus nazgul which luckily I sold at the same price I purchased it was I found a brand new old stock ACI nazgul at retail cost on ebay (luckiest find I've ever had) but I still have the nazgul steed from asmus for it. I'm hoping Inarts quality lives up to the amazing pics we have been seeing, I've heard good things about the joker figure so I think we are in good hands.

Antarion said:

What quality does to collectors eh?

I think we all start out collecting stuff we love and once we have it we're getting bored and buying (mediocre) stuff we like but don't really need...the natural way of this hobby. And now we finally see high quality stuff and go: yes this is the **** we were waiting for all the time.

Well that might be part of the hype explanation. Premium products do sell. People might think $400-500 for a single figure?? But the real problem are mediocre figures for $250-300 which should cost 150 max. (Asmus did it right though in most parts I'm thinking of other companies and franchises)

People saying "I cant spend 500 on a single figure" but often these people spend 250 on several subpar or sideplot figures bc those prices while high are still lower than 500 BUT are they really worth 250 at all? Quality over quantity. Back to the roots.

Just some thoughts

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I’d agree with that. I was listening to a video about this the other day actually. The guy couldn‘t justify the price despite having spent thousands of dollars on a collection. Seems odd to me. Personally, if I have the money and it’s a fav character and it’s done well, I’ll pay. I’ve always considered figures of this format and caliber to be pinnacle or grail pieces, like statues but better, and am finally at a point in life now where I can do a lot less lurking here and engage more because I can actually get in on the excitement, but I want to be smart about it. If it doesn’t meet my high standards, I won’t jump on it. I’ve passed on many renditions of my favorite characters because of that. I’ve never added something cheap/good enough quality to my collection simply because it fit, no matter the format. BvS Batman for example. My favorite live action look of my favorite character and I passed on it. Same with Aragorn and what Asmus was putting out. My point is, my hype and spending limit is tied to my personal collecting habits. It’s easy to justify for me because I don’t go out and buy anything and everything.

My flame for Middle-earth is still glowing, i will love this world until the day i die and i am happy that there are always new things to discover, like the INArt figures, even though i only collect statues, i have managed to be so happy again like a little child, it is crazy but I am happy to have retained this characteristic.

Pretty sure these were movie stills, but tbh can't tell the difference with Aragorn.

If they get this close with Aragorn, Legolas should also be as good. OMG I was not planning on going this deep, but if Legolas looks like this then I'll have to be in !!

You all think they would do another round of the main characters? At least Aragorn and GtW?

QuiGonFishing said:

Just preordered the rooted hair premium version. First batch from Pop Collectibles (my first order with them).

I’m a die hard Star Wars fan, but it’s been a while since I’ve been this excited for a preorder. I sure hope the production pieces live up to the majesty of the prototype!

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Is that your second Aragorn preorder? I've already got a sculpted preorder from Pop - thinking about also putting in for the rooted.

So here's a question for you ...

Assuming this figure turns out at the quality level of the prototype (I know, that's a big "if") ... could this spur a seismic shift in the quality level (and pricetags) of figures across the board? In five or ten years, might we look back on this figure as a turning point, not just for this company but for the entire hobby? Is this an isolated incident or might this Is this the next HT Bank Robber Joker?

Just a hypothetical to start your weekend ....

Bucky Underbelly said:

So here's a question for you ...

Assuming this figure turns out at the quality level of the prototype (I know, that's a big "if") ... could this spur a seismic shift in the quality level (and pricetags) of figures across the board? In five or ten years, might we look back on this figure as a turning point, not just for this company but for the entire hobby? Is this an isolated incident or might this Is this the next HT Bank Robber Joker?

Just a hypothetical to start your weekend ....

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Have you been following the InArt Joker release? They seem to be hitting that same level with the ones people are getting in hand.

Bucky Underbelly said:

So here's a question for you ...

Assuming this figure turns out at the quality level of the prototype (I know, that's a big "if") ... could this spur a seismic shift in the quality level (and pricetags) of figures across the board? In five or ten years, might we look back on this figure as a turning point, not just for this company but for the entire hobby? Is this an isolated incident or might this Is this the next HT Bank Robber Joker?

Just a hypothetical to start your weekend ....

Click to expand...

No.

With InArt being limited into which territories they can sell, the number of collectors that can get their hands on the product will be limited as well. Hot Toys didn't really "take over" until Sideshow started distributing their stuff. So, unless Bluefin or one of the other larger distributors gets on board, I don't see any 'seismic shift' happening. And realistically, I don't think it's possible, the only reason that InArt can do the properties they have is because of their limited license.

The original Bank Robber Joker was sort of the 'perfect storm' of circumstance. The movie itself was a phenomenon, plus Ledger died, so the demand was already sky-high. Plus, the original Joker sculpt was, well it's not even fair, because they didn't have reference material, so when the BR sculpt landed, it was just light years ahead of the original but only because of the lack of reference. So I think the impact of that figure is sort of ... not over-stated, but 'out of context' maybe?

Bucky Underbelly said:

So here's a question for you ...

Assuming this figure turns out at the quality level of the prototype (I know, that's a big "if") ... could this spur a seismic shift in the quality level (and pricetags) of figures across the board? In five or ten years, might we look back on this figure as a turning point, not just for this company but for the entire hobby? Is this an isolated incident or might this Is this the next HT Bank Robber Joker?

Just a hypothetical to start your weekend ....

Click to expand...

No. Hot Toys will never do what Inart is doing. Hot Toys produces like 30 figures a year. They very clearly put extra time and attention to select few figures while a bunch of others get the short ugly stick (Batman Begins, BTTF Doc, etc). Inart does the opposite where they very cleary put extra time and effort in each and every figure to reach a higher level of realism, albeit with a lower output quantity of figures per year.

Hot Toys doesn't care to do high quality rooted hair either. As a matter of fact, I think they just gave up on doing rooted hair entirely and have switched to doing sculpted hair only, just look at the recent Black Widow and WW89 release. Hot Toys will stick to the 280-350 price range (for now) while Inart will offer a range from $300-$1000.

In the end, it's just more options for us collectors and competition between the companies to put out better figures. There's no denying that Inart has brought a change in Hot Toys in the past year. WAY more rolling eye system, The Batman figure receiving multiple updates, the latest Bane figure being completely remade from scratch, them trying seamless wrist arms with a Wolverine + real leather jacket.

Looks like I dragged my feet too long in ordering the premium from Kit, but the sculpted is available - which does look amazing on it's own. What was Kit charging for the rooted version? The link is gone.

TheFiend said:

Looks like I dragged my feet too long in ordering the premium from Kit, but the sculpted is available - which does look amazing on it's own. What was Kit charging for the rooted version? The link is gone.

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Here's what all the international retailers had him at. KGHobby had him at the cheapest since they surprisingly offered free shipping with this. $448 shipped for rooted Aragorn.

1. OSK Standard Aragorn ($335 USD Free Shipping): https://onesixthkit.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=4221
2. OSK Premium Aragorn ($480 USD Free Shipping): https://onesixthkit.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=4222
3. GianToy Standard Aragorn ($330 USD Free Shipping): 1/6 INART Aragorn Ag-A005S1 Standard Ver (Please Read Policy) — GIANTOY action figures
4. GianToy Premium Aragorn ($470 USD Free Shipping): 1/6 INART Aragorn Ag-A005P1 Premium Ver (Please Read Policy) — GIANTOY action figures
5. KGHobby Standard Aragorn ($307 USD Free Shipping): InArt Aragorn 1/6th Scale Figure (Standard Version Sculpted Hair) The Lord Of The Rings The Fellowship Of The Ring
6. KGHobby Premium Aragorn ($448 USD Free Shipping): InArt Aragorn 1/6th Scale Figure (Premium Version Rooted Hair) The Lord Of The Rings The Fellowship Of The Ring

Thanks a lot for taking the time to share all those links and info, Hologram! For whatever reason I don't feel as pressed to get the rooted sculpt like I did with Joker. And I don't feel like I need Andúril. Also, it's roughly $140 cheaper.