Thanks.
Great stuff, Mags!
I love how the cape looks.
Thanks man, the cape is great. Actually, the whole outfit is great. It really sells the scale well - much better than the Sideshow figures. Sideshow's Boromir, for example, has pretty much the same kind of tunic, but it looks so puffy and doll-like compared to this. And I love the way all of the clothes fasten together. The real button holes instead of snaps are awesome, and the design for the belt buckle is one of the coolest I have ever seen.
Although this guy isn't up to Hot Toys standards, it's much closer to Hot Toys than it is to Sideshow. Art Figures really did an excellent job on every aspect of this figure. The paint aps are stellar, not only on the face but also the accessories. Some of the parts that are supposed to be metal look so real. I'm even pretty happy with the likeness. As we've all said it's not exactly Viggo, but I think it looks like him enough for the character to be instantly recognizable. I can't say as much for the Sideshow figure.
The body is great too. It's very much like working with a True Type. It's not restrictive at all, and the joints are plenty tight. I think I even like the bendy hands. Although If I decide I don't it's an easy swap with Hot Toys hands as others have said. With a little work, I think I'll be able to get the hands in a very natural position.
I wont deny that the outfit is one of the hardest I've ever had to futz (and I'm only in stage 1 futzing
). The long red vest thing would be next to impossible to fasten without a pointed tweezers. I'm not complaining though, as I love futzing figures and it's part of why I don't like statues. Now when I look at him on the shelf I see the work that I put into him, almost like a kit. Futzing technique together with posing options are why I will always prefer figures to statues.
The only have two real complaints about this figure.
1) The eye's sometimes look a little crossed. Both of my figures have this problem a little. I'm not sure if this is a paint issue or a sculpt issue. I think the sculpt was done with the eyes sunk in a little too far towards the midline. However, with the lighting I have him in, you don't see this problem at all.
2) I wish there was some ankle articulation. It's difficult to get him in a natural looking pose where he doesn't want to fall over. With the pose he's in in my pics he's rock solid, but if you look at his left leg you can see that it's not flat on the base. If there was a little ankle articulation that wouldn't be an issue. All of the Sideshow LOTR figures have this problem as well (with the exception of Frodo and Sam who are barefoot and had bodies designed by Hot Toys). As far as I know, only Hot Toy's has managed to make booted feet with ankle articulation, and even they don't always [Superman, Batman - ankle articulation, Scarecrow - no ankle articulation].
Those are the only two real criticisms I can think of. Overall a great figure, and an excellent value that is rare to come by these days.
It's funny, when I started replying to Gipetto I had no intention of writing a review. I guess I just can't help but gush for this guy.
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