Asmus Toys - 1/6 Arwen 2.0

[Elendil77]

This is what you get...
the shipper
View attachment 539306
inside that you find this
View attachment 539318
open that and you get this (there should be a book in that empty square)
View attachment 539307
lift her out and the rest below
View attachment 539308
You will not get this...
View attachment 539317

Simply incredible, I can't believe It

 

[RandomHero]

Definitely not worth it just for an extra bed and sheet lol

If I didn’t already pay for the deluxe I would cancel for the standard to get the art box. Just not sure I want to go through the hassle of it at this point.

 

[lordnastrond]

The problem I think, is pacing.
There are SO many pieces being made by Asmus for multiple franchises all at once with a very quick turn-around, at least relative to the wait times we're used to in the 1/6 community (Hot Toys is the other extreme - far too slow).
If Asmus just took a little more time then they would be able to do more quality control and absorb and implement the response of the community into their production.
I really don't think this is a case of them "showing their true colors", suggesting that they have somehow been secretly trying to hoodwink us this whole time, I simply think they are rushing the release to get it out there ASAP as they have a pretty full production timetable to adhere to and somewhere along the way someone has made decisions based on what they assumed we would want and mistakes have been made.
What they need to understand is that we will happily wait a little longer for quality and consistency.
I believe that Asmus really does try to be a good company which is trying to earn the community's good will, and has done a fairly good job till now.


That said, it is their problem to fix and the first thing to do would be to immediately reassure everyone that they will be shipping the art box separately (actually for FREE - no additional costs on the recipient's end).
Then a new mission statement emphasizing quality and consistency (and closer adherence to the prototypes unless the community has requested changes - which are then telegraphed beforehand very loudly and visibly) while acknowledging that this may result in slightly longer production times - which we would be understanding of.

 

[DakRen]

The problem I think, is pacing.
There are SO many pieces being made by Asmus for multiple franchises all at once with a very quick turn-around, at least relative to the wait times we're used to in the 1/6 community (Hot Toys is the other extreme - far too slow).
If Asmus just took a little more time then they would be able to do more quality control and absorb and implement the response of the community into their production.
I really don't think this is a case of them "showing their true colors", suggesting that they have somehow been secretly trying to hoodwink us this whole time, I simply think they are rushing the release to get it out there ASAP as they have a pretty full production timetable to adhere to and somewhere along the way someone has made decisions based on what they assumed we would want and mistakes have been made.
What they need to understand is that we will happily wait a little longer for quality and consistency.
I believe that Asmus really does try to be a good company which is trying to earn the community's good will, and has done a fairly good job till now.


That said, it is their problem to fix and the first thing to do would be to immediately reassure everyone that they will be shipping the art box separately (actually for FREE - no additional costs on the recipient's end).
Then a new mission statement emphasizing quality and consistency (and closer adherence to the prototypes unless the community has requested changes - which are then telegraphed beforehand very loudly and visibly) while acknowledging that this may result in slightly longer production times - which we would be understanding of.

I would agree and try to be reasonable about it but Asmus and Rovi especially have failed to even acknowledge the issue. Never mind the fact they are sitting on many paid orders that haven’t shipped and everyone paid extra for shipping that wasn’t part of original agreed price. It’s just salt in the wound at this point and it comes right off the heels of the initial HD Legolas scare and changes from prototype.

 

[scumonkey]

That is so bizarre!... You're not some selected figure reviewer who gets early version for free, right?
Just making sure...

No (i wish)! I paid out my a$$ like everyone else!

 

[mitraheroe]

Asmus: Before many of us receive the DX invoice, I think you should clarify at this point if you are going to fix this mess or not. Otherwise I suspect many cancelations, mine for sure. Is this going to happen again, maybe with Ash' Evil Dead DX or Gollum DX? Gollum/Smeagol are already showing fewer hands in their DX version than in the regular one...

 

[Gipetto0812]

This is what you get...
the shipper
View attachment 539306
inside that you find this
View attachment 539318
open that and you get this (there should be a book in that empty square)
View attachment 539307
lift her out and the rest below
View attachment 539308
You will not get this...
View attachment 539317

Wow! that really sucks that you don't get an artbox! It's like buying a loose figure, which I never do unless I'm buying a second for parts. That would really grind my gears. I don't even display artboxes, but I do absolutely HAVE to have one. What Asmus has done here really takes away from the unboxing experience IMO which is usually one of the best things about getting a new figure. Getting a shipper box with just the figure packed inside makes me think of some Transformers KOs I've gotten, which is ok b/c they are KOs not official figures. Not something I'd expect from a legit licensed company

 

[Sassafras]

Like I said, the true color of Asmus is now shown. Many shady acts before, but this one is a clear and blatant example of how they do things.

Asmus is a second rate company.

Doesn't matter if Asmus think that the box art is important or not for the customers (they might think that the box is not important, the customer will just keep it somewhere in the dusty corner or even throw it to the trash), those who bought the DELUXE should get EVERYTHING the regular has, PLUS extra items. Simple logic, and that is how things are always done before. This is just inexcusable.

And Asmus.. we know you read this. Be responsible, respond to your customers. Say something to make things right.

Well it matters to me, in that with ASMUS so far I haven't paid HT prices $$$ and gotten stellar figures, along with a company that interacts with its customers -

and I stand by I'd rather have the figure at those prices than pay extra for a nice box. This looks like a beautiful Arwen. And if they offered a new Thranduil + throne I'd be all over it, nice box or not.

With the cost of everything going up, print-wise if only 500 Arwen (or whatever) are made, to a print company that's a small job. It's possible a fancy box was cost prohibitive, to get Arwen at that price. It's also possible whoever makes the boxes dropped the ball, and didn't deliver when they needed to. It's also possible folks at the box company are ill with Covid, or didn't get the printer inks they needed, or whatever. Maybe the digital art file got corrupted during the print run.

If you really need Arwen art, you can probably get a calender with nice art off Amazon, cheap. I've seen calenders with real nice art. Or wrap a box with nice paper. Personally I'd be mad if someone held up shipping over a nice box, if the rest of the figure was ready to go. Anyway ASMUS hasn't given me any reason to not support them, no one else does what they do, with all the nice costumes and accessories. And they do have customer service who will work with you.

 

[Gipetto0812]

The problem I think, is pacing.
There are SO many pieces being made by Asmus for multiple franchises all at once with a very quick turn-around, at least relative to the wait times we're used to in the 1/6 community (Hot Toys is the other extreme - far too slow).
If Asmus just took a little more time then they would be able to do more quality control and absorb and implement the response of the community into their production.
I really don't think this is a case of them "showing their true colors", suggesting that they have somehow been secretly trying to hoodwink us this whole time, I simply think they are rushing the release to get it out there ASAP as they have a pretty full production timetable to adhere to and somewhere along the way someone has made decisions based on what they assumed we would want and mistakes have been made.
What they need to understand is that we will happily wait a little longer for quality and consistency.
I believe that Asmus really does try to be a good company which is trying to earn the community's good will, and has done a fairly good job till now.


That said, it is their problem to fix and the first thing to do would be to immediately reassure everyone that they will be shipping the art box separately (actually for FREE - no additional costs on the recipient's end).
Then a new mission statement emphasizing quality and consistency (and closer adherence to the prototypes unless the community has requested changes - which are then telegraphed beforehand very loudly and visibly) while acknowledging that this may result in slightly longer production times - which we would be understanding of.

I agree. Plus there's the balancing act of also trying to "tame" EVERYONE who seems to post/ ask "Asmus any news on______?" "Asmus when is _____ shipping/releasing/revealing?" every few days. To me, that would get annoying. It's why I stopped taking on commissions. I think it's one of the reasons why HT and SS decided to not do interviews pretty much at all anymore as well as never really participate in communicating with the community directly. It puts on a lot of added pressure when you actually directly interact with the community and want to give everyone an answer to their production/release/shipping. While folks might hate it when Hot Toys and Sideshow never actually respond to anything really, it's probably overall safer for them to not answer nearly every single question that comes in to them. That's why SS stopped/removed the "ask sideshow" part of their website many, many years ago. Too many ppl asking "where is my ___?" and "when are you going to make ___?"

 

[batsheva]

Well it matters to me, in that with ASMUS so far I haven't paid HT prices $$$ and gotten stellar figures, along with a company that interacts with its customers -

and I stand by I'd rather have the figure at those prices than pay extra for a nice box. This looks like a beautiful Arwen. And if they offered a new Thranduil + throne I'd be all over it, nice box or not.

Oh man, you can't compare Asmus product with Hot Toys. Hence the price difference. Even they know that, so they don't charge as much.
And that's the thing.. we already paid extra with the deluxe. The artbox should be included. No question about it.

With the cost of everything going up, print-wise if only 500 Arwen (or whatever) are made, to a print company that's a small job. It's possible a fancy box was cost prohibitive, to get Arwen at that price. It's also possible whoever makes the boxes dropped the ball, and didn't deliver when they needed to. It's also possible folks at the box company are ill with Covid, or didn't get the printer inks they needed, or whatever. Maybe the digital art file got corrupted during the print run.

If you really need Arwen art, you can probably get a calender with nice art off Amazon, cheap. I've seen calenders with real nice art. Or wrap a box with nice paper. Personally I'd be mad if someone held up shipping over a nice box, if the rest of the figure was ready to go. Anyway ASMUS hasn't given me any reason to not support them, no one else does what they do, with all the nice costumes and accessories. And they do have customer service who will work with you.

All these are not a valid reason, because the regular version has the artbox with what they are paying. Bottom line is, the artbox is ready. They just choose not to include it in the DELUXE version.
Also, buying a "calender" with nice Arwen art off Amazon because Asmus is screwing up? No thanks. I bought a DELUXE figure, in which the regular version has an art box, and I expected to have it as well in my deluxe set. Hence the DELUXE title.

And the customer service that will work with us.. well let's see how they work on this after so many complains here in this thread. So far, they are very very quiet.

 

[Sassafras]

Oh man, you can't compare Asmus product with Hot Toys. Hence the price difference. Even they know that, so they don't charge as much.
And that's the thing.. we already paid extra with the deluxe. The artbox should be included. No question about it.

All these are not a valid reason, because the regular version has the artbox with what they are paying. Bottom line is, the artbox is ready. They just choose not to include it in the DELUXE version.
Also, buying a "calender" with nice Arwen art off Amazon because Asmus is screwing up? No thanks. I bought a DELUXE figure, in which the regular version has an art box, and I expected to have it as well in my deluxe set. Hence the DELUXE title.

And the customer service that will work with us.. well let's see how they work on this after so many complains here in this thread. So far, they are very very quiet.

I get what you feel about the art box, I just can't share it feeling. And while HT can be great, they've cut back accessories a lot of the time, and sometimes the portrait you get is a nasty surprise in hand. They can be cheap about their costume materials. ASMUS puts their time into it, even with some bumps.

Not sure I'd engage in discussions with customers over a box; especially if at this point it's a situation they can't do anything about. I imagine developing packaging is a real headache. I guess they could have made this set so you get a regular Arwen and pack the accessories separately. Maybe they could send you a box if you contact them.

 

[Chopper Face]

It’s pretty lame. Luxury Legolas put the troll head in another box, Helms Deep Aragorn shipped the Diorma in a separate plain box- I guess we were all assuming the deluxe release would be the regular edition Arwen and the chair packed separately which is a suitable compromise to not receiving specially made deluxe packaging.
Going the opposite route and sticking everything is a plain brown box is really a terrible decision.

The first photos shown here had me wondering if we were getting a nice interior design on the inside of the box cover- similar to those Pop Toys Last Samurai figures- which is really what you should get with a deluxe item.

My Arwen and Galadriel arrived last weekend in a big Asmus shipper so I haven’t cracked them open yet. I wonder if my Galadriel is also just packed in with her dio?

As for those expecting a free art box sent out- the way things are with Asmus’ shipping right now- I really wouldn’t count on it. They’d take a big hit and loads of us would probably end up getting customs and handling fees to pay.

I can let it slide this once but my deluxe Legolas, Gollum and Ash especially had better have packaging worthy of the added expense.

 

[FlyAndFight]

It's been two weeks since I paid the balance for the Deluxe and still no shipping email.

 

[DakRen]

It's been two weeks since I paid the balance for the Deluxe and still no shipping email.

Seems a lot of us are in same batch/boat.

idk about you but I’m sending an email inquiry tomorrow if I don’t hear anything.

 

[DakRen]

It’s pretty lame. Luxury Legolas put the troll head in another box, Helms Deep Aragorn shipped the Diorma in a separate plain box- I guess we were all assuming the deluxe release would be the regular edition Arwen and the chair packed separately which is a suitable compromise to not receiving specially made deluxe packaging.
Going the opposite route and sticking everything is a plain brown box is really a terrible decision.

The first photos shown here had me wondering if we were getting a nice interior design on the inside of the box cover- similar to those Pop Toys Last Samurai figures- which is really what you should get with a deluxe item.

My Arwen and Galadriel arrived last weekend in a big Asmus shipper so I haven’t cracked them open yet. I wonder if my Galadriel is also just packed in with her dio?

As for those expecting a free art box sent out- the way things are with Asmus’ shipping right now- I really wouldn’t count on it. They’d take a big hit and loads of us would probably end up getting customs and handling fees to pay.

I can let it slide this once but my deluxe Legolas, Gollum and Ash especially had better have packaging worthy of the added expense.

Asmus isn’t the only depriving Deluxe sets, HT Mandalorian Ahsoka DX doesn’t come with the standard stand the regular version has which is just as ridiculous if not even worse.

 

[batsheva]

I get what you feel about the art box, I just can't share it feeling. And while HT can be great, they've cut back accessories a lot of the time, and sometimes the portrait you get is a nasty surprise in hand. They can be cheap about their costume materials. ASMUS puts their time into it, even with some bumps.

Not sure I'd engage in discussions with customers over a box; especially if at this point it's a situation they can't do anything about. I imagine developing packaging is a real headache. I guess they could have made this set so you get a regular Arwen and pack the accessories separately. Maybe they could send you a box if you contact them.

Well, there's a lot of people here that share the same feeling with me for the artbox.
And come on, comparing HT and Asmus? even in the sculpt detail level, they are not on par, IMHO. Asmus failed on likeness more often than HT does. And I disagree about the costume, I think HT is better in terms of costume, and they also puts their time into it, as we can see more costume variations from Hot Toys, from ironman armor, batman armor, symbiote skin, etc.. you just can't compare it man.
I got Asmus Galadriel, and the costume is awful, it feels cheap, especially the robe. I do love the headsculpt, but the inconsistency of the paintjob and the underscale made it painful. Gandalf was near perfect but the hat is ugly.

As for the customer service, well, they should do whatever they can to fix their mistakes. Hot Toys send a revised Tony Stark head when people protest about the headsculpt of Tony in Mark 85. Now if Asmus's customer service is better as you said, then they would do something to fix this issue instead of being quiet.

Developing packaging is a real headache, yes, but as a member here pointed out, with the deluxe packaging they are sending now, they actually have the space to put in the art box in it.. they just chose not to.

It’s pretty lame. Luxury Legolas put the troll head in another box, Helms Deep Aragorn shipped the Diorma in a separate plain box- I guess we were all assuming the deluxe release would be the regular edition Arwen and the chair packed separately which is a suitable compromise to not receiving specially made deluxe packaging.
Going the opposite route and sticking everything is a plain brown box is really a terrible decision.

The first photos shown here had me wondering if we were getting a nice interior design on the inside of the box cover- similar to those Pop Toys Last Samurai figures- which is really what you should get with a deluxe item.

As for those expecting a free art box sent out- the way things are with Asmus’ shipping right now- I really wouldn’t count on it. They’d take a big hit and loads of us would probably end up getting customs and handling fees to pay.

Exactly. And from their nature, more likely they just expect us to swallow this bitter pill and just move on.

 

[batsheva]

Asmus isn’t the only depriving Deluxe sets, HT Mandalorian Ahsoka DX doesn’t come with the standard stand the regular version has which is just as ridiculous if not even worse.

and just to be fair, yes, this is also ridiculous. A "deluxe" should have all the things that comes with the regular, with extra items.

 

[kyekye]

No (i wish)! I paid out my a$$ like everyone else!

Dang! I'm sorry to hear that.
I ordered regular Arwen, but also ordered deluxe Legolas. I'm guessing the Deluxe Legolas is in the same boat?
Someone did mention Legolas had box issue and that delayed the shipping. I guess Asmus made mistakes on both Deluxe boxes!

 

[Chopper Face]

Asmus isn’t the only depriving Deluxe sets, HT Mandalorian Ahsoka DX doesn’t come with the standard stand the regular version has which is just as ridiculous if not even worse.

Been waiting for someone to mention the Ahsoka stand omission. It’s such a unique looking stand as well so missing out on that really sucks. Much worse than the lack of a box with Arwen- for me anyways.

 

[DakRen]

Been waiting for someone to mention the Ahsoka stand omission. It’s such a unique looking stand as well so missing out on that really sucks. Much worse than the lack of a box with Arwen- for me anyways.

Exactly at least Deluxe Arwen comes with everything accessory wise. I would much prefer buying an empty art box than the extra stand everyone who got the Deluxe Ahsoka will want. And the Deluxe stand is just reuse from ESB Yoda which sucks.