Asmus Toys - 1/6 Arwen 2.0

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well, Rovi reacted to few of my recent posts, so they definitely read our outcry.
And the suggestion about the flattened box mailed has already mentioned in previous posts..
I'm not sure if we all email them, we will get any action.

There's not enough complaints about the artbox, perhaps? This is unlike what sassafras said, huge outcry for Tony Stark head on HT.
But on the other hand, asmus can just send small amount of the flattened artbox to those who really want it.
What say you, Rovi?
 
Everyone's mileage will vary in this hobby. On everything - positive and negative. Seeing all the differing perspectives is actually one of the things I find most fascinating about collecting. It would be a dull world if everyone responded identically.

As with every choice made by a company, there will be a wide rainbow of responses on this box issue. On one end there are folks (like me) who shrug it off as a curious omission but are otherwise unfussed ... and on the other, there are folks who see it as an absolute deal-breaker. Both positions are legit. As long as we keep the discussion civil. And understand that both positions are legit. Some things will matter more to one person than another and vice-versa.

The majority of customers will likely fall somewhere between those two poles, but we probably won't hear from most of them because they're not all posting to message boards. Certainly not this one, where we only hear consistently from a few dozen regulars.

The one thing I will always try to avoid, though, is ascribing any motives to Asmus' team. I don't have any idea what sort of financial or calendar pressures they're under. So I really have no idea why certain decisions get made and why certain other ones don't. So I'm not going to tell them what they must or must not do business-wise. I can tell them when I'm disappointed, of course. And have. On a number of occasions. But I'm not going to pretend that I know the first thing about running a toy company or dealing with factories or shippers or schedules or international logistics ...

All I know is, of the dozens of Middle-Earth figures I've purchased from this line, there are only a couple that never made it out of the box and into my display (original GTG, GTW, Saruman, Ringwraith on Steed). So for me, their batting average is pretty good and I'm pulling for them.

Your mileage may vary.

Everyone's mileage will vary in this hobby. On everything - positive and negative. Seeing all the differing perspectives is actually one of the things I find most fascinating about collecting. It would be a dull world if everyone responded identically.

As with every choice made by a company, there will be a wide rainbow of responses on this box issue. On one end there are folks (like me) who shrug it off as a curious omission but are otherwise unfussed ... and on the other, there are folks who see it as an absolute deal-breaker. Both positions are legit. As long as we keep the discussion civil. And understand that both positions are legit. Some things will matter more to one person than another and vice-versa.

The majority of customers will likely fall somewhere between those two poles, but we probably won't hear from most of them because they're not all posting to message boards. Certainly not this one, where we only hear consistently from a few dozen regulars.

The one thing I will always try to avoid, though, is ascribing any motives to Asmus' team. I don't have any idea what sort of financial or calendar pressures they're under. So I really have no idea why certain decisions get made and why certain other ones don't. So I'm not going to tell them what they must or must not do business-wise. I can tell them when I'm disappointed, of course. And have. On a number of occasions. But I'm not going to pretend that I know the first thing about running a toy company or dealing with factories or shippers or schedules or international logistics ...

All I know is, of the dozens of Middle-Earth figures I've purchased from this line, there are only a couple that never made it out of the box and into my display (original GTG, GTW, Saruman, Ringwraith on Steed). So for me, their batting average is pretty good and I'm pulling for them.

Your mileage may vary. As it should.
out of the last 3 pages I've just read,I LIKE this one the most.
Well rhought and written.
No emotion.
Just straight.
Thanks man.
 
what did they say?
Nothing. They just basically explained the same as posted on this board, but no real gesture to fix it.
I must say I am amazed they are doing this to premium collectors (this is what a DX is about) and that there are people here who justify it.
 
At the very least they should have told customers about the box situation early and given them choice to either have the box art flat packed or packed out in plain boxes. Can you imagine if another company pulled this? Big Chief? Star Ace? Sideshow? The uproar would be deafening!
 
I love Asmus products, but this time i was orrified... i have received one dx figure that have worse packaging then a bootleg! Rovi, please suggest to send AT LEAST a normal box for arwen only... At LEAST to people witch have an opening order with you (like dx legolas or gollum)... i can accept that the fornitures have a functional box and for security reasons there were shipped only with the foam
.. but for the arwen figure itself it's inaccettable. So please, rrsolve this. matter...
 
My suggestion for Asmus if they want to save money is to release a digital copy of the boxart in pdf format. So those who want the box art can at least download the file and print it out themselves. Maybe it could be a production ready file with all the correct fold lines and actual dimensions so that you can take it to a professional printer and get the cardboard box made yourself. Still going to cost money but better than nothing I suppose.
 
i don't think that's an option... i already have paid more for the dx, i will not pay other money to have a
repro of the art box... asmus should send at least the 'regular' art box to all the customer that have purchased the dx...
 
My Arwen 2.0 arrived yesterday. Last night I opened the shipping box and found the plain brown figure box inside. To be honest, it felt like one of those gag gifts where there's a box within a box within a box deal...

In any case, upon opening the brown "figure" box, you are greeted with a foam cover piece. I strangely found her book sitting on top of the foam, on the other side of it's slot. No damage so no problem.
Arwen 1.jpg


Removing that top foam cover piece, you are greeted by the figure in her own foam parts holder. The figure, the candlestick, the book and three pairs of hands. For some reason, I thought they were too small in scale but I held them up against the original Arwen and even Hot Toy's "Ripley" and they appeared to be the same size.
Arwen 3.jpg


Underneath that foam piece is another foam piece holding the chaise (surprisingly heavy), the table, pillows, blankets and a figure stand. Under the figure stand is the instruction pamphlet. Under the pillows and blankets there are two finger-sized notches that allow you to pull out the small foam section, which will reveal the legs to the chaise.
Arwen 4.jpg


Finally, under all of this is another thin foam insert, like the top one, to protect the bottom portion of the product.

The deluxe items all look great. I don't have display space open for it all just yet so I'll owe you those pics, once she's set up.

As for the figure itself, she does look beautiful. The sculpt and paint apps are spot on. (skin tones on face match the neck, by the way...)
She looks slightly older than the first Arwen, which I guess is accurate, if the scenes were shot with some time between them. (Principle photography took place from 1999 through 2001, with pickup shoots going through 2003.)

The outfit is amazing.

My only negative, aside from the packaging and extra shipping costs, is with the figure body. Mine has loose legs at the hips. If you were to hold her by the torso and move back and forth, the legs go swinging. I hope it doesn't affect her ability to sit on the chaise correctly, as I do not plan on having her on the figure stand. I will have to test that out soon, in order to confirm one way or another, and if an issue, request a new body.

Final thoughts: The deluxe set is worth getting, if you have the display space. You'll be able to recreate the iconic scene perfectly. I can even see some of our fellow Freaks customizers completing a background for the piece for displaying and photographing the figure and set. But... regardless of the reason(s), the packaging does dampen the "wow" factor when opening a new, and in this case, "deluxe" set. The lack of presentation, save for an Arwen sticker sealing the plain brown box, has a muting affect, even you plan on throwing the box into the attic, closet or trash.

Now to some of my world famous, patent pending crappy pics:

Arwen 5.jpg

Arwen 6.jpg

Arwen 7.jpg
 
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I forgot to mention, that unlike the Crown Gandalf, this Arwen's head was protected by the usual clear plastic wrap. It does protect the paint apps as well as the top part of her hair. Hopefully the longer hair will behave over time and not go all frizzy. I guess there are products that could help with that.

She was a must-get for me but I totally understand the packaging issue. Perhaps if Asmus had not felt the need to rush her out, they could have come to Wor-Gar's conclusion and had the figure come in a nice presentation box and the deluxe items in their own plain packaging. (but I feel that option would have required a bigger shipping box and higher shipping costs, as well.)
 
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My Arwen 2.0 arrived yesterday. Last night I opened the shipping box and found the plain brown figure box inside. To be honest, it felt like one of those gag gifts where there's a box within a box within a box deal...

In any case, upon opening the brown "figure" box, you are greeted with a foam cover piece. I strangely found her book sitting on top of the foam, on the other side of it's slot. No damage so no problem.
View attachment 540049

Removing that top foam cover piece, you are greeted by the figure in her own foam parts holder. The figure, the candlestick, the book and three pairs of hands. For some reason, I thought they were too small in scale but I held them up against the original Arwen and even Hot Toy's "Ripley" and they appeared to be the same size.
View attachment 540050

Underneath that foam piece is another foam piece holding the chaise (surprisingly heavy), the table, pillows, blankets and a figure stand. Under the figure stand is the instruction pamphlet. Under the pillows and blankets there are two finger-sized notches that allow you to pull out the small foam section, which will reveal the legs to the chaise.
View attachment 540051

Finally, under all of this is another thin foam insert, like the top one, to protect the bottom portion of the product.

The deluxe items all look great. I don't have display space open for it all just yet so I'll owe you those pics, once she's set up.

As for the figure itself, she does look beautiful. The sculpt and paint apps are spot on. (skin tones on face match the neck, by the way...)
She looks slightly older than the first Arwen, which I guess is accurate, if the scenes were shot with some time between them. (Principle photography took place from 1999 through 2001, with pickup shoots going through 2003.)

The outfit is amazing.

My only negative, aside from the packaging and extra shipping costs, is with the figure body. Mine has loose legs at the hips. If you were to hold her by the torso and move back and forth, the legs go swinging. I hope it doesn't affect her ability to sit on the chaise correctly, as I do not plan on having her on the figure stand. I will have to test that out soon, in order to confirm one way or another, and if an issue, request a new body.

Final thoughts: The deluxe set is worth getting, if you have the display space. You'll be able to recreate the iconic scene perfectly. I can even see some of our fellow Freaks customizers completing a background for the piece for displaying and photographing the figure and set. But... regardless of the reason(s), the packaging does dampen the "wow" factor when opening a new, and in this case, "deluxe" set. The lack of presentation, save for an Arwen sticker sealing the plain brown box, has a muting affect, even you plan on throwing the box into the attic, closet or trash.

Now to some of my world famous, patent pending crappy pics:

View attachment 540052
View attachment 540053
View attachment 540054
Thank you for the step-by-step unboxing of the figure, I think she will be a great addition to your collection. It's not a figure on my list atm (paying off Gandalf this week!). I may hold off and see if Asmus update her "Frodo Rescue" version. :)
 
My Arwen 2.0 arrived yesterday. Last night I opened the shipping box and found the plain brown figure box inside. To be honest, it felt like one of those gag gifts where there's a box within a box within a box deal...

In any case, upon opening the brown "figure" box, you are greeted with a foam cover piece. I strangely found her book sitting on top of the foam, on the other side of it's slot. No damage so no problem.
View attachment 540049

But... regardless of the reason(s), the packaging does dampen the "wow" factor when opening a new, and in this case, "deluxe" set. The lack of presentation, save for an Arwen sticker sealing the plain brown box, has a muting affect, even you plan on throwing the box into the attic, closet or trash.
Thanks for the pics!

I think you might have a real elf in your box, reading Arwen's book! XD

And yes, that is exactly what I mean. For a deluxe, it lack the proper presentation. The joy of having and opening and collecting a new figure is when we see the packaging, the box, that is the first experience.
I remember back then in the 90's when I bought an X-Men figure, I'm always excited to see the card, and what other characters are on the line from the back of it's card. It's before the age of internet so the only way to find out about the characters made into figures is from the info on the back of the card.
Happy days.

I can't imagine buying that X-Men figure in a plain dull brown box. It took away parts of the happy experience of collecting and unboxing.
That is why, I think, the box art became an issue for this DX Arwen.
 
Can you also take a video of it? As far as I know video of the figure does not exist anywhere on the internet.
 
Guys she is breathtakingly beautiful! She may be the best female 1/6 figure even better than the Leias and Reys I have from HT. I took a 30 second video to show off the lighting and angles as well. The small table is exquisitely realized and captures the elvish decor. The sofa is much larger than I expected. I cannot wait for HD Legolas.
E947D529-3DED-4949-A211-A02614B616D8.jpeg
5465AC56-1BC5-4F67-9A4E-19551ECFC734.jpeg
4343AE18-EE80-42DF-A344-D96C56EB9019.jpeg
F5FA2ED9-EE1A-4C81-82AF-78A538FD3712.jpeg
10B938AA-35AE-4237-B909-E845779DE5DF.jpeg
8E98671E-7AF6-4E21-AAAA-46841196BCBF.jpeg
 
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